Okay, here goes...

To tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind if people voiced their opinions about low-carbing to me. I really wouldn't. If you think it's unhealthy, please, tell me why. I'll listen. I am aware that this WOE is controversial, and when you do something controversial, you have to accept the fact that people are going to have things to say.

My problem with it, is that it is proven fact that cutting carbs, like white flour and sugar, is good for you. And it drives me crazy-upsets me even-when friends and family and loved ones try to speak to me like they are nutritionists and have all the answers. I don't know for sure if this is the diet for me. Hey, it worked. I lost a lot of weight. Health-wise, I don't know. But I am trying to learn all I can to make informed decisions about the way that I eat, and having the people I care about the most try to tell me that I'M wrong after all the research and planning I've done... well, it just makes me nuts. Especially as they are scarfing down "healthy things" like raisin bran, and nutri-grain bars. I want to ask them if they know what kinds of things are nutri-grain bars... I bet they'd be unpleasantly surprised.

Now here is the clencher, what is MOST frustrating to me. When people say things to me about it, it certainly does not SEEM like it is out of care and consideration and love. When someone says to me "You know, you're killing yourself with that diet..." is that really the best way to say it? A friend of mine said that to me yesterday. One of my best friends! If he truly cared about ME and my HEALTH, might he have said "I am concerned about your health, and want to make sure you are being healthy, eating right, etc" instead of making it seem like, if I did indeed die from cutting carbs, he would come to my funeral to say "Told ya so!"?

Just needed to vent for a minute. *Deep breath* Aaand I'm done.

My mom is the biggest opponent I face. She's always making comments and asking when the last time I visited the doctor was. Last time she wouldn't believe me, I had to actually show her the paperwork with my blood information on it to prove to her that this diet is actually doing good for me.

It's frustrating indeed.

I work at Starbuck's and in the beginning, when I talked about being on Atkin's, customers would ALWAYS butt in with their two cents - and I wasn't even speaking TO them!!!!

Since then, I've learned to keep it to a minimum - however, I am lucky. Only one co-worker has any issue with the way I eat, and she is a vegetarian - she made that point once, and it hasn't come up again. Everyone else is supportive and offers encouragement when I am tempted by illegal foods.

However, people really do forget their manners, and really do think they know a lot about something they really don't - and that is uber frustrating!

Everyone constantly says i'm 'killing' myself on Atkins but I just ignore them. They think they know everything. I lost weight and they are still fat, so who's right and who's wrong about the diet there?

A lot of times people won't even know you are doing Atkins if you don't tell them. Unless you end up in a situation where there is nothing legal to eat, of course. I just stick to the meat and veggies and most of the time people never notice. It's when they drag out the dreaded birthday and other celebratory CAKES that I get flack. What is it about friggin' cake, anyway? It's taboo to say NO to it! People pretend to get their feelings hurt. Come on! How could it hurt someone's feelings if you don't eat a dessert? I could see it if you went to dinner somewhere and refused to eat the main course and didn't tell them you were on Atkins. If you told them you were a diabetic, it wouldn't hurt their feelings if you didn't eat the junk food.

My mother knows I am on Atkins and she came up with a tale of someone who "got really sick" doing Atkins. Well, one thing I notice about these stories is it's never the person who got sick telling the story, or second hand information, it's always at least third hand info. Someone who knows someone who knows someone who...anyway you get the picture.

As someone who has been a yoyoer all her life and who I remember taking diet pills like they were going out of style, I find that pretty rich! LOL! I've watched her go from 130 to 200 lbs many times in her life and back down again.

Atkins is so easy for people to pick on, who don't know the mechanics of it. The stories and myths surrounding Atkins are becoming like many other Urban Legends. All we eat is meat! No veggies! No fruits! We are pure carnivores and you know how all that nasty protein causes kidney failure! And all that fat! Good grief, it's a wonder we don't drop dead of a heart attack the first week!

I'd come back with, "y'know, you're right. I was much healthier eating pizza, Froot Loops and Kraft Dinner. All of these whole foods, and the four or five servings of vegetables and fruit I'm getting every day, are killing me. I'm going to die of processed food deficiency."

Good one!

But back in 2001, I was one of those people that thought this was a dangerous diet until I did the research myself. Now here I am, 103 pounds lighter, more energy and healthy. Low fat dieters are just mad because they're hungry and we get to eat and eat and eat!

I just have to concider myself lucky I have such good support. My hubby was against it at first untill he saw the weight going down and my blood sugars dropped to very nice numbers. He said he loved it the day that I got my medication lowered! Just this morning he said that once the bread in the pantry was gone he was going to start it(man cant stand to waste a drop lol) I am glad to maybe have a in home supporter. My mother actualy gave me the book, what a great gift! I dont fear the comments because for me it works. I am doing something about my weight. I am taking charge of me and I am not going to become part of an epidemic of obesity. That makes me feel good. People who talk down about this WOE (many of them)really have no idea how it feels to have failed at so many diets, then find that you dont have to diet at all, just change your WOE. I pitty those with ignorance, smile and knodd and go on with my new me! Happy, Healthy and energetic!

This proves one thing to me. Mantra is a powerful thing. If you repeat to yourself lowfat is healthy and low carb is bad, you will beleive it no matter what the proof says. Even many who begin eating low carb have a very hard time accepting that eating fat is okay.

Black57

That's just great! I think i'll use that line the next time someone tries to tell me Atkins is bad for me.