Sharing your LC lifestyle

[chuck41]

How do you share your LC lifestyle with others?
Or do you?
Why, or why not? :q:

[Nancy LC]

I pretty much don't. People get too religious about food and diet. Every now and then I try to share if they're curious, but I'm usually disappointed by the response, so I keep it to myself.

[lovinita]

Well, to me there is no sense in hiding it. Everyone knows I am a open book for the most part. I don't keep things hidden or secret for the most part. It takes up to much energy.

Plus I have nutritional requirements. And frankly I don't want to keep on explaining or feeling awkward when I turn down other people's offerings or order weird at a restaraunt.

I tell them I am diabetic which I am. Another term I am coining is allergic to carbs.

No I don't want a cake for my birthday. No sorry I can't have bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, carrots.

I don't expect people to cater to me. But if I go to my mother-in-laws I find out what she is making. This past easter she was accommodating and left the sugar off the ham. I proceeded to bringing green beans for myself; as my hubby and her had bread rolls and potatoes and aspagarus.

We went up and out for mothers day for her. And I brought my own salad dressing in a small container.

I mean, how do you not explain, ordering a hamburger with no bun or ketchup? Or bringing your own salad dressing.

She was fine and understanding with both those instances.

Most of our friends are understanding. Not alot of people argue with me, a few do but if they want to argue, all I have to do is say Well I have lost x amount of weight with it, and I feel healthier, happier and have more energy.

So you can't argue with the results. That usually shuts them up.

There are some I don't share my weight loss with just my diabetes and that would be my parents. Because there is a complex history there.

The toughest with the low carb when I started was my hubby. He felt it was another fad diet I was trying. Which I can understand. He definitely has a mindset that carbs fill you up and he felt me not eating them was unhealthy. He wasn't too nice to me about it initially.

But he has come around and is actually a supporter. Cause #1 he sees the loss week in and week out. #2 he sees my whole personality has changed. #3, recently, he saw my blood work scores drop me to a non-diabetic level. And finally he doesn't see me struggling or eating things I shouldn't. Meaning, I be good for months have a treat like a slice of birthday cake and that completely screw me over and I would go into this tail spin of craving crap. And it take me forever to break that cycle.

I share with some people at work who I feel are open to it. And they are dieting on their own thing. I don't negate what they are doing, I just go in and say I lost 3 pounds this week whooohooo! And when they don't loose anything with their diet or aren't loosing as quickly they might be jealous. But not my issue. For the most part they are happy for me. And some of those individuals are diabetics. So if they ever get sick of struggling to loose and trying to get their numbers down they can always come and talk to me.

I have a computer degree and a psychology degree. I have thought about once I get all the weight off. Maybe changing professions (in computers right now) and go and help obese diabetics to loose weight and get off meds. Something I am mulling around to do.

[chuck41]

Well, to me there is no sense in hiding it. Everyone knows I am a open book for the most part. I don't keep things hidden or secret for the most part. It takes up to much energy. . . . .

I have a computer degree and a psychology degree. I have thought about once I get all the weight off. Maybe changing professions (in computers right now) and go and help obese diabetics to loose weight and get off meds. Something I am mulling around to do.

I can identify as have similar degrees. Have a BS in elec engineering and a MA in counseling psychology and nine years teaching computer programming. Teaching obese diabetics how to get off meds would be personally rewarding but might not pay as much. :D I got on this woe when it became obvious that I was pre-diabetic.

[Cleveland]

I really do keep it to myself. If asked, I share and 99% of people are not interested once you start off with the no sugar no flour basics...heck you can't even get to the rest of it. Recently though, I hooked a live one. She kept asking and listening, even when I had gotten down to no grains and beans part. She was already gluten free but a near vegitarian so it was not easy to take. she stated she was not feeling well and it could not hurt to
"try it". Well 3 weeks later she said she has lost inches, is not aching and serious digestive problems have cleared. She felt really disillusioned about grains. She thought gluten free was enough..I have to say the grains conversation is the worst. We are so ingrained (lol) to think they are healthy and when you tell people they are really not, they respond with the level of outrage that would be more appropriate if one had uttered racial epitaphs or something similarly offensive.

[Whofan]

I've just learned a new phrase: "no thanks, I have to keep my insulin low". I haven't used it yet, waiting for the opportunity. If the response is "oh, are you diabetic" I'll say "no, thank goodness, because I keep my insulin low".

[Equinox]

Last summer I went hiking in the Alpes Maritimes near Nice, France, and the food served in the mountain shelters was pretty carby, so I just decided to have coffee for breakfast (my stomach hated me for it!) and for the other meals, I told my new hiking buddies that I was "pré-diabétique". It worked well; when we got spaghetti carbonara for dinner one time, everyone in my group decided to spontaneously donate their bacon bits!

At work or school, people often think I'm weird, but they envy me my pre-cooked, frozen, microwavable meal boxes...

[Firefly428]

I just give a vague answer about how I am eating healthier, cutting out breads and sugar and LOSING weight. I get asked about how I am losing weight so I mention the basics. And no more.

I don't volunteer info to anyone. when asked I give the usual standard answer. People are fickle about their menu. If I say cut out sugar and bread they think I am nuts :) so I don't bother

[sarahnya]

I have issues of work, I'm sick and tired of people at work telling me I'm going to have a heart attack on Atkins, wish they would let me eat my bacon in peace ! :yum:

[Elizellen]

I told my new hiking buddies that I was "pré-diabétique". It worked well; when we got spaghetti carbonara for dinner one time, everyone in my group decided to spontaneously donate their bacon bits!Aaah - what a lovely gesture! :thup:

[menew]

While I will tell people if asked that I follow a low carb lifestyle, what bugs me is that most people think that it is a short term diet until I get to my goal weight. Most people also tell me that they could "never" do it for the long run. I usually say that this way of eating works for me because it allows me to eat the foods I enjoy anyway and that I find that eating carbs doesn't work for my digestion. I leave it at that. Then most people will say that they are going to start eating "healthy" right away by downing lots of yogurt and fruits and vegetables. Some people never learn. . .

[2thinchix]

I haven't actually said that I'm on a low carb diet, although if someone ever asks how I'm losing the weight I will. But I've found that if you say things like "I don't eat wheat" or "I'm not having sugar anymore" it has become so mainstream (for such a variety of reasons) that no one even questions it anymore. Funny side note to this - I teach high school, and I currently have a little bunch of boys right after lunch who like to take turns bringing me coffee (seriously, the language of love for teenagers is coffee, LOL) but they're so "go with the flow" about my new diet that they'll be like "So are you still taking just cream and adding sweetner, or are you back to black only?" :-)

[2thinchix]

We are so ingrained.
*groan* :lol:

[Equinox]

Aaah - what a lovely gesture! :thup:

Yeah... They'd become friends already, this random bunch of French and Belgian hikers, but I had to love them at least a little bit for that one!

Here are some of them:

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff172/joridki/20120702_140529_zpscf77ca0d.jpg (http://s240.photobucket.com/user/joridki/media/20120702_140529_zpscf77ca0d.jpg.html)