Great, now my friends think I have anorexia... page 6

[Paleobird]

Anybody ever has the nerve to call me anorexic, I'm just going to tear my shirt off, throw the person across my shoulders and squat them. Each rep, I'll ask, "Does this look like anorexia to you? 2! How about now? 3! And now? 4! Do all anorexics squat twice their body weight, or just the really sick ones? 5!"

And then I'll hobble away and drink a tsp of baking soda to quell the imminent cramps...

Hehehe......I adore you.

[Owly]

I find the word "fast" freaks people out, but if I simply say that I only eat when I'm actually hungry, people accept that because that sounds healthy and normal, while the idea of fasting makes people think of eating disorders or religious practices.

Also, I explain (only if asked!) that I have celiac disease (true) and so generally avoid grains, plus I prefer to get my carbs from more nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, which people also happily accept since vegetables are good for you. People are also very much okay with the idea that I don't generally eat sugar (again, CW says this is good too), and that I don't eat processed foods. They also totally get the idea of eating local, seasonal foods.

The fat thing is weirder for people, but it probably helps that I don't do full-on LCHF, although the amount of fat in my diet would still give a CW nutritionist nightmares. But again, if I say that I prefer natural fats over things like processed vegetable oils, people get it. More people are starting to understand the whole dietary cholesterol myth because that's been talked about in the mainstream media enough that it's sinking in, at least with people I know.

I think a lot of the acceptance I get of my diet has to do with how I frame it, rather than the actual food practices themselves. Also, I don't preach or push my choices, and that makes a huge difference too.

[Moll]

In My nutrition class this semester (first 3 weeks into semester) i mentioned in class during the first week about paleo/fasting...MY teacher was "oh wait until i get into those topics this semester and what I think of them"....Oh well in consideration of her being obese yet still a nutrition teacher i kinda giggled..No offense to fat people because i was one at a point and i still consider myself fat... but when she touches this topic and says how we american need 250-300 grams of good carbs daily i cant wait to get into a debate about these topics!!! I havent faced any negativity about my lifestyle from peers recently...Honestly have been hearing good things...Girls around me in class are tuned into my convos with the teacher and how healthy my life is, which i get alot of satisfaction from of course !! anyways if your peers get derogatory about your success on your diet just zone out and realize how much success you have had personally about your gains!

I love it when people who are OBVIOUSLY extremely overweight/unhealthy act like they're the authority on healthy living. *shakes head*

[Moll]

People do the same thing to me. They ask, I tell them, and they're sure it would never work for them. It doesn't seem to ultimately matter how the information is presented. Next time I think it'll go like this:

Well, I went to mount Olympus and duct taped two unicorns together to double their magic, and rode their magic bodies for forty days and forty nights. When I got off, I looked like this. It's great!

OMG LOL!!!! I'm stealing THAT one!!!

[Louisa655]

Actually, my mother has seen me break a fast before and SHE thinks I'm bullemic.

It's my friends who think I'm anorexic because I didn't even BOTHER to tell them about what a post-fast meal was like. At that point I realized I'd be asking for even more trouble.

I don't recall EVER LAUGHING SO HARD as when I read this posting. This is just so CLASSIC. Thanks for the best laugh I've had in a long time. I'm really leaning out and feeling cut and I'm just waiting for these comments to come my way --- makes me laugh my silly, tight a** off!

[Moll]

Ok, Knifegill, you need to go into stand up comedy or something!!! The Primal Comedy Tour...or something hahaha.

Yeah I feel like I'm in the same boat as most of you. Even in my own head, I have a hard time with grains because it was just DRILLED into me from a young age that 6 servings of grains was healthy! (I loved this, since I'm a complete carb addict. If I had 8 servings, oh well, that's only 2 more than recommended! And if I didn't have any fruits or veggies, oh well, at least I got my healthy grains in!) It's so hard to divorce your brain from these "truths" that have been pushed on you from the beginning.

I had to laugh this morning because my friends, D and M, who were in town for a week came to say goodbye - I had gone with them and M's aunt to a petting zoo with the kids. In the car, I was explaining my new lifestyle to D. M's aunt was driving. I could tell she was uncomfortable with what I was saying and after I'd finished talking to D, she told the story of how her church group (anyone familiar with Adventists? ) had started a "whole foods" diet shift and the church together had lost over 1000 lbs! Wonderful. Whole foods including healthy whole grains. Anyway, the conversation didn't continue much past there, but this morning M told me that his aunt was concerned about my diet and worried that I wasn't getting what I needed. Oh lord. D and I rolled our eyes. At least she seemed receptive to what I'd been saying!

I think I'll "bump into" the aunt in about 50 lbs and ask her what she thinks of my health then.

[Lewis]

This is the last straw. I am never telling anyone about the primal blueprint ever again. EVERY TIME I do, I am met with skeptescism, anger, and close-mindedness.

Here's a suggestion -- don't tell them; let them find out. If you feel it's someone you'd like to help, let them borrow a copy of the Primal Blueprint to read.

The risk is you might not get it back. And unfortunately -- from this point of view -- it's popular enough that 2nd-hand copies seem to be changing hands at more than new:

Amazon.com: Used and New: The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series)

Old Zen story:

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

101 Zen Stories - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They can't attend to what you say, because there is so much that they already believe. As soon as something you say conflicts with what they think they know, they stop listening.

The Primal Blueprint is written quite artfully to lead people to where they need to go and to answer the objections that might occur to them as they arise.

Even someone that's fond of you might also find it easier not to take the information from you. But if it comes to them while they're reading, they'd have something of a sense of discovering it for themselves.

You might say something like, "It's rather complex to explain, and might take some time, but I can lend you a helpful book, if you're really interested."

[Betorq]

I used to work with eating disorder patients... fasting for a day (or two) and/or just LISTENING to you body and not eating when you're not hungry is a FAR cry from anorexia....
though I will say I had to stop reading the "fast for a week" thread because it reminded me a little bit too much of the pro-ana websites, but that's JMHO. :-/

I'm curious about that pro-ana comment. You mean pro-anorexia I take it. So there are people and websites devoted to that? Wow, whodathunkit? If you don't feel comfy discussing it openly, you could PM me...

[Paleobird]

I used to work with eating disorder patients... fasting for a day (or two) and/or just LISTENING to you body and not eating when you're not hungry is a FAR cry from anorexia....
though I will say I had to stop reading the "fast for a week" thread because it reminded me a little bit too much of the pro-ana websites, but that's JMHO. :-/

A lot of people fast for reasons that have nothing to do with weight loss. Personally I'm experimenting with it for neurological health. I have epilepsy and there is very good research going back to the time of the ancient Greeks about fasting as a treatment/cure for seizures. So don't freak out about that thread.

I'm curious about that pro-ana comment. You mean pro-anorexia I take it. So there are people and websites devoted to that? Wow, whodathunkit? If you don't feel comfy discussing it openly, you could PM me...

Yes, such things do exist and yes, they are seriously scary. My sister almost died of anorexia/bulimia in her 20s, so I understand how awful it can be and I share PrimalMama's concern over such things but I really don't think that the Primal fasting threads are "going there".

[LauraSB]

I find the word "fast" freaks people out, but if I simply say that I only eat when I'm actually hungry, people accept that because that sounds healthy and normal, while the idea of fasting makes people think of eating disorders or religious practices.

Also, I explain (only if asked!) that I have celiac disease (true) and so generally avoid grains, plus I prefer to get my carbs from more nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, which people also happily accept since vegetables are good for you. People are also very much okay with the idea that I don't generally eat sugar (again, CW says this is good too), and that I don't eat processed foods. They also totally get the idea of eating local, seasonal foods.

The fat thing is weirder for people, but it probably helps that I don't do full-on LCHF, although the amount of fat in my diet would still give a CW nutritionist nightmares. But again, if I say that I prefer natural fats over things like processed vegetable oils, people get it. More people are starting to understand the whole dietary cholesterol myth because that's been talked about in the mainstream media enough that it's sinking in, at least with people I know.

I think a lot of the acceptance I get of my diet has to do with how I frame it, rather than the actual food practices themselves. Also, I don't preach or push my choices, and that makes a huge difference too.

I explain how I eat pretty much the same way. I'm not celiac, but I think gluten intolerance is common enough now that most people accept that I can be healthy without eating grains. I just tell them that since I'm counting calories, I try to focus on the foods that give me the most nutrition for my calorie budget and grains are a lot of calories for not that much nutritional content. The only kind of push back I ever get is people saying they could never give up bread or pasta or whatever and I just say I used to feel the same way and was surprised at how easy it was to slowly cut back. If that doesn't plant a seed...oh, well.