anyone else find it hard NOT to preach to their family/friends?

[neutronnorman]

I drop hints, but people think I'm wrecking my health on this diet. My dad passed away 7 months ago unexpectedly, so I've moved in with my mom and she sees what I eat. I was born in NYC but I am from a Hispanic background. As you can imagine, the AD is the antithesis of a typical Spanish diet. I get preached at constantly. Well, I'm told that my triglycerides and cholesterol will be sky high and my blood's viscosity should resemble Mobile 1 by now. Of course, the majority of my family are taking statins, Warfarin and hypertensive medications. Before I started the AD I was on 4 hypertension meds. I have cut them down two 1.5 (I monitor it myself with a sphygo mamometer) total medications and my BP hover at about 117 / 72. I will taper off one this week. My stress is way, way down, and my sense of well being has skyrocketed. I know, I know, I should see a doctor before discontinuing my BP meds but fortunatley, my fiance is a doctor, albeit she works in pediatrics and I'm almost also a doctor ( I'm defending my disertation August).

I've yanked out a few journals and have read about low carb diets. The research done on restricted CHO diets has been, at the very least, very incouraging.


Of I go to do Cardio.

[Its just me]

My mom is the hardest to get on the program with me. She will cook greens and then put sugar in them. When I go to eat I taste the sugar and stop and then she gets offended about it. She says" I cooked greens like you said you could have" and I reply but I can't have the sugar. She will buy sugar free deserts after I tell her I can't have the carbs. She doesn't like the low carb life and before sabotaged me trememdously.
No one in my family supports me but my hubby then sometimes he forgets. But he is getting better. They hear the word Atkins and then start to proceed to tell me how bad of a diet it is. How greasy it is. I eat baked chicken and baked fish. I don't use fat at all so how is it greasy. I know it doesnt matter how the things are cooked. Like eggs can be fried in grease or bacon grease but I dont want all that grease so I bake or use a spray to coat my pan.

Mom is mom and I can't change her but I have learned to take food I can eat so that away I am ok. It works out better and I have brought food.

It is frustrating though.

[pinkfusion]

VERY hard not to say something! My sister is very overweight and almost all I see her eat is carbs. She stocks my dad up with the food that he "asks for" and it is almost all carbs. You know, the ones that masquerade as healthy (whole wheat, organic, etc) but they are just making HIM more overweight.

It actually makes me angry because she is so insistent and controlling over it and shes pretty much killing herself and doing my dad in with this junk thats how strongly I feel about it.

[liv]

Well that is tough pink. Maybe you can be a role model and as you become thin your sister may change her mind.

I have become a bit of a food ****. I am not proud of this. The other day I was in a charity run and they served food after which included a granola bar. The ladies beside me were talking about how good and healthy this bar was with oats and fibre and stuff. I could not help blurting out but sugar is the first item on the list of ingredients.

[pinkfusion]

I hope so liv. I know she notices the difference at this point, so I'm hoping once I lose even more she will ask more specifically what I am doing. She knows I'm dieting low carb but doesnt know its atkins.

[EmDee]

when people ask me what I'm doing, I just say "lo carb" which means lots of vegetables and no sugar or bread or rice...the "white stuff." I feel kinda bad leaving the good Dr Atkins's name out of it, but you really do get a negative reaction when you say you're following the Atkins Diet.

it's really too bad because most people just don't understand what the Atkins Diet is ~ I know I had the wrong idea before I did my research into it.

[susan423]

Originally Posted by keriann_forgoodthistime

seriously - anyone else find it reallly hard not to sit there and tell others why they shouldn't be eating this or that and instead should be eating the way you do?...

my husband, for example - eats the way I do - when I make dinner but he still likes his potatoes and rare occasional diet pop and when we go out he has his bread and at night he eats his junk chocolate (cookies or little debbies), etc...

I know that I can only do for myself and try NOT to constantly be on him (it'd piss him off if I did...) so i really try not to, but it's SO hard to sit by and watch him eat junk.

same with my parents - who ARE diabetic!!!! I'm CONSTANTLY telling my mom about "cool" new things or recipes I've found (in hopes she'll try them and stop eating the other foods - for example almond flour pancakes instead of wheat flour)...

I don't know. Believe me - I KNOW that I can't change anyone but me. BELIEVE ME, I KNOW that...but it's just frustrating to feel like I finally found the "secret" to weight happiness that I want to share it with everyone but they don't wanna listen.

So I just sit back and do what I can for myself and hope that something rubs off...

Anyways, any one else???

It doesn't really bother me until THEY start tearing down Atkins. My dad is also diabetic and I stayed with my parents for a few weeks this summer. He was constantely talking about the fat being bad for you. They had a nice big slab of chocolate cake for desert every night. I overheard him telling people I was on a no carb diet. I told him not to tell people that. It's a low carb diet. He said that his doctor told him that veggies have so few carbs that they don't count. And we all know that doctors know everything!

[sporty]

I just let my family (outside of my house) eat what they want. However they want to lecture me. I just explain I am eating healthy with my DH because of his diabetes.

Now my MIL was the one that wanted to give me all kind of heck for doing this and said it doesnt work. It is a scam. I know I tried it. She didnt even research it and did the "what she thought was atkins" her way without reading one ounce of the book, etc.

I just roll my eyes and go on. I mean I am not lecturing you so leave me alone about what I do. It gets iritating

[sallyseachange]

I try to drop hints to unhealthy and/or overweight people here, but preaching low carb in a country like Italy is pretty well impossible. Not many Italians would give up their pasta and pizza!
It's a good thing that generally speaking they are more healthy here than people in the US or UK... which is largely due to the fact that food is less "messed around with" and refined here; also portion sizes are smaller.

[barrnone]

I have a friend who's daughter is getting married in December. We have talked a couple of times about atkins and I've told her I would mentor her, but she has all these excuses why she can't [none of which are true]. We first talked in the spring, now summer is over and I saw her last sunday at the Bridal Shower - she is bigger than ever. Just wish I could help!

It's amazing peoples reaction. I have just started saying lo-carb also or nothing at all, I figure they will all be very interested when I lose all my weight