I have a friend who with her new Atkins shape, likes to preach low carb to everyone. As she is a cab driver, she can lock the doors and have a captive audience. If you get in her cab to get your sausage and chips (french fries) from the takeaway, you come back in her cab with just the sausage.
I wondered if Dr Atkins had her on his payroll. As I'm stubborn it actually put me off low carb for awhile. But Hey she was living proof that it worked. So perhaps you can't come to low carbing until you've read the book and are ready to do battle- and french fries are just something you stare and drool at through the Macdonalds window.

good story! I never was a major evangelist IRL, no...but if people offered food or asked about my wt loss, I'd say, "I quit eating sugar and white flour" and if they asked more, I'd talk about paleolithic nutrition theories, insulin, etc, until their eyes started to glaze over. But only if they asked for it.

I think it's natural to be really excited about any new idea that works for us at first, to want to share the good news, but then most of us calm down and realize shoving any concept down others' throats is not a great way to help.

I am totally passionate about this WOE/WOL and given the chance, I can talk about it for a real long time without even taking a breath....

...But I think it's good to be passionate about things and to share knowledge. You never know how many people you might be helping. I remember when I was down at rock bottom--I would have been very happy to have met a passionate LCer!

And for the record...I have NO interest in french fries. Don't need them. They are poison to me. Besides, there are so many other things I can eat that are better for me!

Donald

I too am passionate about this WOL ... I as an individual find anyone who constantly tries to push a certain idea my way a real turn off... I never push LC on anyone unless they ask...I feel by "EXAMPLE" is the best way to go ...hubby and I both have been very successful after almost four years with this WOE... folks constantly come up to us inquiring what we are doing to stay so fit and trim... that is when I politely tell them about LC....

Bonnie

Totally passionate...but don't discuss it unless I'm asked.
Like Raz my first line is always that I have cut out sugar and processed food, and increased my exercise.

It's only if I get further enquiries that I will get into more detail. I still avoid saying I am doing "Atkins" as for some reason this creates negative connotations.

Recently I have had more and more people approach me about it...when you baffle them with the science their eyes glaze over but at least they know that you have seriously researched this WOL and therefore it must be healthy

lesley

I too love talking about this WOL - but only if people ask - and then ... well they asked for it.

I usually respond to someones query of "How have you lost?" or "Why can't you eat that?" With the standard "I've cut out sugar and starches" .. Occasionaly I get "Oh yeah,, you are on that Atkins thing." I just respond "yes"... now if they ask questions..... hee hee - captive audience.

The poor HR Director of my company did this once - poor guy.

I don't volunteer any information, but if asked, I go to town. Once I get started, I almost can't stop. My friend, Robin, and I have become the low-carb (especially TSP) poster children in our office. And we are starting to build up quite a following. We have been responsible for the purchase of at least 10 copies of Dr. S's book.

However, no one is going to start low-carbing until they are ready. One of my friends at work has PCOS and diabetes and she "knows" she needs to low-carb, she has the books (TSP among others), but she just can't get over that it is "unhealthy."

I think she will eventually get past that, but in the meantime, she is gaining weight and feeling horrible. We talk, but I actually don't push. I try to lead by example.

;-Deb

Results do seem to speak much louder than words. A few months back, as I was eating my roast beef, snacking on cheese and dry salami, pouring heavy cream into my diet root beer, etc., the nay sayers among my co-workers were plentiful. Absolutely none would believe anyone could possibly loose weight and inches on such a diet, let alone lower blood pressure and cholesterol.

Now, when the results can no longer be denied by even the most skeptical of my friends, I am quite happy to dispense with low carbing information, and particularly praise and refer to this excellent forum, with an invitation for them to check it out and come along for the ride --but never "preach" the low carb WOL, or any other choice of lifestyle.

I do get a "warm fuzzy" though, whenever I can turn other folks onto a successful path to better health and weight loss!

I can't say I preach it, but if someone asks, I dive right in. One of my co-workers recently decided to switch to low carb. He told me that the turning point was seeing me munch a pork chop at my desk one day. All in all, results speak far better than words. I know lots of people probably think that I'm going to drop dead of a heart attack from the way that I eat, but after a year with no problems, I hope they're not holding their breath!

I pretty much learned my lesson about preaching when I was on Atkins/Protein Power in 1995. I had horrendous carb cravings every single minute of every single day of the 4 months I was on it (I lost a bunch of weight, I think 30-40 lbs) but I finally caved. Although it lowered my cholesterol and triglycerides into the "fantastic" range and made my diabetes type II undetectible, I wasn't taking the right supplements and couldn't keep it up. Now I am taking the correct supplements and am doing well after a month of this.

After I fell off this (necessary for me) way of life, everyone I'd been preaching to was very quick to smugly point out that they were right and I was wrong. So, I'll lay low for a year til I can prove myself.

Then...WATCH OUT EVERYONE, HERE COMES THE MOTHER OF ALL LOW CARB EVANGELISTS

We live in an adult community and several people already know what my husband and I are doing, since they can see we don't eat what everyone else is at the monthly community dinners. So, I know some people are watching, but so far no one has been openly negative, just kindly concerned. It helps being the youngest members of this community, I guess. When we moved in, several people told us it was "nice to see some young people moving in." I'm 52, my hubby is 59. I guess youth, like everything, is relative.

Dee

I can sooooooo relate to this, Donald. John accuses me of actually lisping when I get worked up about something - that means every time I talk LC or weight lifting. Just let someone in our immediate circle of friends (usually one of his sisters or his mother) say a word about how we eat -

BTW, MacDonald fries, after 10 months of LC, taste like deep fried dirt.

Nat

I started giggling reading these posts thinking of the movie Airplane You remember, Ted Stryker has had a bad war experience, can't fly and has a "drinking problem" On the airplane he tells various seatmates the lonnnnngggg story of this, and one by one, they start committing suicide to get away from it. One woman hangs herself, a Japanese man commits seppuku. lmao--that's US! we're stryker!

Yes! That was a great movie! Hopefully, no one will hang themselves over our evangelism, but we may see them crossing the street to the other side when they see us coming, of course that could be keto breath....

Great Post Misty Bee... I have approximately ten friends who are now following this WOL so I guess the "Example" route does work....

Bonnie