Family (un)support page

[snarkwad]

so i have been trying the primal/paleo for about a month and i think its working really well.
today my sister sent me this email after my dad told her what i was doing,
is this a fairly typical thing for other people? Ive found some people amazing defensive and hostile towards anything that goes against convention.

email:

i just want to make sure you're not cutting out grains completely, because while wheat and corn are massively overused in western diets, whole grains such as brown rice, oats, rye etc are REALLY important.

a) yes your muscles' recovery and growth are fueled by protein, but your brain is fueled by glucose that it can only access from good quality complex carbs. ie. whole grains. if you cut these out, your brain resorts to using up the glycogen from your major muscles and organs, then once that's gone it's performance is impaired.

b) your muscles need the glycogen from complex carbs for contractions. protein only supports muscle growth and recovery. you will never achieve optimum performance on a low carb diet for any extended period of time. low carb diets have fat loss results over relatively short time periods so this is attractive to people who care about their body image. however the reasons for this is the same for if you were to make any major diet change such as cutting out wheat, dairy, junk, sugar etc. and the only way the results can be maintained is while the diet is maintained. as soon as whatever it is you cut out is reintroduced, the weight is put back on. your metabolism is more sensitive than you realise in terms of how it responds to different food groups.

c) complex carbs/wholegrains, have really important vits and minerals that you can't get from a purely protein, fruit and veg diet. AND they are really important for your digestive system.


the key is balance bro! BALANCE is everything! don't deny yourself anything or it will come back and bite you in the bum. and grains are a natural part of our diet, they have been since we were living in caves, just not PROCESSED grains, there's a BIG difference!
/email

im trying to write a counter argument to each point, i know the general idea but i cant comprehensively put it down on paper.

thanks

[RitaRose]

Wow, wish I could help. All I can do is give you moral support. I get the "You have to have grains for the fiber" thing all the time, which is easy to counter with "I get fiber from vegetables". Though I know what your sister is saying is wrong, I don't have the data to say why.

Don't worry - lots of people here are total science nerds (meant as a compliment) and I'm sure you'll get some amazing facts and links.

[mikebike]

Better yet, have the self confidence to not care what she says. I love my sister, love my parents but I don't allow their opinions to shape how I eat or much else, to be honest. That's the beautiful part of being an adult, you make your own decisions. Quit worrying about what your sister thinks or attempting to sway her.

[denbro01]

What it comes down to is that she cares about you. Be grateful for that and have a discussion about it, don't let it turn into an agruement.

[Sethbacca]

If it makes you feel any better, I'm the only one in my house paying any attention to my eating and activity habits (though I am also the fattest unfit one in the house I suppose). Everyone around me eats what they want, pizza, whoopie pies, etc. On the other hand, nobody gives me grief about what I choose to eat or not eat. Just do what you want to do and ignore everyone else.

[pacificBeef]

I would write back:

Thanks for the concern, I'm very lucky to have a caring family.


Then carry on. If you're healthy and happy from your lifestyle choices then no need to argue.

[RitaRose]

I would write back:

Thanks for the concern, I'm very lucky to have a caring family.


Then carry on. If you're healthy and happy from your lifestyle choices then no need to argue.

I like this!

[sroelofs]

The Primal BluePrint book refutes her claims quite nicely. Tell her, Thanks for the advice, but read this and then get back to me.

That way she will be working with the same info as you and you can have proper discussions.

[loafingcactus]

I would write back:

Thanks for the concern, I'm very lucky to have a caring family.


Then carry on. If you're healthy and happy from your lifestyle choices then no need to argue.

+2

Everyone wants to argue today (there are ka couple of threads like this) instead of Just. Let. It. Go.

[girlarchitect]

I'm not certain why you need to convince your sister via email that you are correct in what you are doing. It's nice that she is concerned, but is as far as I can tell irrelevant to how you live your life. An email is easy to respond to - Thank her for your concern and move on.

Many people here suffer from active daily resistance from family and friends. Imagine living with someone who refuses to respect your food choices on a meal by meal basis. An email from a concerned relative you don't live with is benign and relatively sweet when you consider it is simply an expression of her love for you.

If you want to respond, send her a link to this site and maybe link to Robb Wolf and Weston Price. Let her do her own reading about primal - give her the benefit of what you are reading. Don't try to carry the water on your own. And most important don't expect her to be a convert.

As an aside, in case you aren't clear on this -- you are getting carbohydrates in your diet because vegetables are carbohydrates - complex carbohydrates to be specific. Vegetables also provide significant fiber which is great for your digestive system. You should be getting plenty of carbs and fiber (if you follow this - look at Mark's recommended ratios of proteins and carbs - it's a lot of veggies!!) In fact you are definitely getting more than is in the standard American diet and probably getting more of both than she is in her diet.