To my brethren and sistren* converted from deep and woo

prettysoul1908 wrote: »

janjunie wrote: »

Lol this reminds me. One time this woman who I barely know told me that the master cleanse has all the nutrients your body needs. For anyone not familiar that's cayenne pepper, maple syrup and lemon juice. My response was "oh yea really, are you on it?" She quit it because of some reason I don't remember. This woman is at least 2 times the size of me. I'll stick to my exercise and delicious food.

That is quite hilarious. She didn't REALLY believe that did she?

She looked pretty serious. Nothing surprises me about what people think causes weight loss anymore....or basic nutrition.

prettysoul1908 wrote: »

determined24girl wrote: »

I nearly died when she said she was going to try that diet where you only eat like an egg, some crackers, and drink only green tea for 3 to 5 days...

Egg and crackers diet? That's a new one. I wonder what were the promised results of that one. Lol

"Crackers" being the key word on that one!

Nobody wants to believe it's as simple as eating right and getting off the couch. They want to believe all the magic pills, potions, eat-this-not-thats, while mastering the latest fad workout/class/machine/DVD or whatever.

Lifestyle change with sustainable results? Ha! What nonsense! [end sarcasm]

I don't say anything unless I'm directly asked for my opinion. I've been asked how I lost the weight a lot, and people either seem disappointed when I tell them portion control and regular exercise, or they don't quite believe that that's "all" I've done. But if someone mentions a cleanse, or detox, or wraps, or something of that nature, people are all over that. So many people really want there to be some magic product that will take the weight off them with little or no effort.

My husband kept telling me that I wouldn't lose weight because I eat at night. Eventually I told him that he was wrong and that meal timing doesn't matter. He continued to argue even though he hasn't read an article about weight loss or probably even health for 10 years. I've lost 17 pounds in the last 55 days and he doesn't tell me how to eat anymore.

Some extended family members are fond of doing black/white diets like no sugar, no carbs, no grains, etc. I don't say anything because I'm not asked for my opinion.

In skeptic circles, "woo" is superstitious nonsense. Anything from ghosts, alien/bigfoot sightings, to homeopathic remedies.

uggghhh. My sister in law is an ultra-militant vegan. Like, convinced all the problems of the world would suddenly be erased if everyone were forced to be vegan tomorrow. I cannot even with the woo that comes out of her mouth. She's a Freelee disciple and is convinced beyond all reason that eating meat causes cancer. I used to fight, but it turns out just like with anti-vaccine advocates, the best way to win the argument is to ignore them entirely. I just change the subject as quickly as possible. Sometimes when she's being ultra absurd (she's convinced right now that in spite of her vegangelism, she's not losing weight because she "damaged her metabolism" with her juice fast....40 day juice fast....LAST March) I just toss in there a few nods and uh-huhs and then reiterate that it's all cico.


ETA: Nothing against regular vegans. She's the exception, not the rule I'm well aware, and I love you all that much more for it.

I now just smile and nod. I have coworkers who ask me how much I've lost(which is only 23lbs)/how, and when I tell them they always say "I wish I could do that!" They refuse to believe that they can because another coworker (who is a good 50lbs over weight and constantly on a "diet" without ever losing) tells them the only way to lose weight is to eliminate carbs, not eat after 6, and avoid "bad" food.

I do a combination of all options depending on who the person is, what they're saying and how ornery I'm feeling. I'll occasionally ask questions like "so how does that work exactly?" and listen to them stumble over a ridiculous explanation while I try not to roll my eyes. I'm more likely to say something if the person is suggesting something dangerous/unhealthy to others.

I'm a healthcare professional, when people ask me about stuff - I try to explain it. When it spontaneously comes up in conversation, or around me, I tend to ignore it. Every once in a while I can't ignore a convo, so I usually end up asking a side-related question and working from there.

But I try to not have a dog in the fight. Nothing to sell, nothing to convince about. People tend to listen a little more and if not? Not my business.

My brother did a very low cal diet and his exercise and eating habits are way subpar, it would certainly not be the way I'd work. But despite the poor body composition results he has, he also lost a lot of weight. It worked for him. Had he stuck to "my science" he'd probably would have failed, certainly didn't have the patience for it. I learned something about the importance of helping to succeed versus being right.

A lot of woo works. One might think they can only lose weight by restricting x (white bread, pasta, sugar, ice cream, meat, whatever), it might not be true but it still is likely to result in a successful calorie restriction. What then matters is learning good maintenance habits. You don't need to attack a belief to aid on those.

Oh, and eye-rolling counts for exercise!

EvgeniZyntx wrote: »

I'm a healthcare professional, when people ask me about stuff - I try to explain it. When it spontaneously comes up in conversation, or around me, I tend to ignore it. Every once in a while I can't ignore a convo, so I usually end up asking a side-related question and working from there.

But I try to not have a dog in the fight. Nothing to sell, nothing to convince about. People tend to listen a little more and if not? Not my business.

My brother did a very low cal diet and his exercise and eating habits are way subpar, it would certainly not be the way I'd work. But despite the poor body composition results he has, he also lost a lot of weight. It worked for him. Had he stuck to "my science" he'd probably would have failed, certainly didn't have the patience for it. I learned something about the importance of helping to succeed versus being right.

A lot of woo works. One might think they can only lose weight by restricting x (white bread, pasta, sugar, ice cream, meat, whatever), it might not be true but it still is likely to result in a successful calorie restriction. What then matters is learning good maintenance habits. You don't need to attack a belief to aid on those.

Oh, and eye-rolling counts for exercise!

YES! I am burning SO many cals at work this week!

I leave people to their latest "discoveries" unless specifically asked. Not my monkeys.