I am still healing from a month long issue on another board that centered around this very topic. This hasn't been the first go-round of this happening. It happened when I first started eating a raw program and studied Natural Hygiene back in the '90's. I lost all my excess weight rapidly and got very fit and healthy. Then, the mass ridicule and down right open humiliation from family, friends, and co-workers got to me and I went back on to the SAD path to disease and decay. I was surprised that this happened again, 20 years later on a website team devoted to of all things: raw foodists! LOL I have left that site and honestly 30BAD is a breath of fresh air, an oasis of sanity in a world that is filled with so much illness on many levels.
I am proud to say that I remained strong throughout this ordeal and I am a much better person in many ways. I ended up being the victor and getting a good look at how people, even raw foodists, can treat others who hold viewpoints that they are afraid of.
How have you handled situations like this?
Permalink Reply by Renee Robinson on I have been Iooked down an frowned upon by neighbours, however as my truth hoIds strong inside my heart, they wouIdn't dare try to humiIiate me or they wouId be up for a fair argument as there is aIot I couId say about their corporation contoIIed food choices.
Permalink Reply by molly clare on my first venture with eating raw, i was dancing at least 20 hrs a week, not eating enough calories from fruit, and in two months lost a lot of weight and all had much more defined and visible muscles. people were like OMG you are ripped!!! and other people were like, you are too skinny!! i got a lot of criticism (where do you get your protein!!??) and did not handle it all that well.
i didn't last that time, but most definitely because i was pretty fatigued and fueled primarily by fats.
this time, i've been 811 for just shy of a month now, and i can tell how sustainable it is because i am slowly making lasting progress. my mom asked me if i was weighing myself and im like Nah mom! i don't need to! i am eating enough, and am seeing weightloss in a different way. it's like my cells are healthier. my skin is tightening up. i come from an eatingdisordered past and it is very liberating to not care about how many pounds i weigh AND to be able to eat until i am full. i've gotta get on the B12 soon though, even before i have my blood test done, and hope to have even more success.
i think this time around i am a better person too. i have the past experience of dealing with haters and i can do it better now! it's not really about defending my lifestyle, more about tryin to educate and let people know that this is sustainable. i have WAY more energy than when eating animals (which I never liked even as a kid. I always HATED eating stuff off the bone cause it grossed me out. so it is very natural for me to thrive on 811!)
congrats to you for finding 30BAD and for enjoying and always progressing on this journey :)
Permalink Reply by ORGANIC811LFRV on Renee, and Molly: Thank you for your responses.
Molly, it is so good that you are on 811 now. What a testiment to your commitment to your health!
Permalink Reply by Paxkey * on this lifestyle is a radical departure from the status quo. dissent is manufactured by fear, ignorance, and sometimes genuinely place concerned for you health and well being. expect radical reactions and you will be halfway prepared when faced with battle.
most heat comes in the form of conversation. this can be dealt with by changing the subject.
see people as your concerned friends and not your enemies. try communicating your results without words by doing 25 pushups effortlessly. show them your bicep. recite pi to the 25th place.
prove to them without words why you are not only healthy but in possession of elevated human performance -- physically mentally and emotionally. of course you have to prove this to yourself first. if people are bringing you down it may be due to self doubt.
finally, if they are in fact a foe and not simply a confused or concerned person, the most powerful weapon to deal with an enemy is usually laughter.
Permalink Reply by molly clare on haha yes.. laughter is key!!
Permalink Reply by Whitedi ellen on I think maybe we shouldn't have to prove anything to anyone. How about going about our own business with our own food choices and forget the rest. It's our lives, and we need to make the most of it. Stop working at proving a thing. Just live your life, and your life will speak to you. And that's the voice we need to hear. Not that of others opinions based upon their own ideas and preception. Everyone has to come to a healthier lifestyle on their own.
Permalink Reply by Whitedi ellen on Thanks Athena..."great minds think alike."
Permalink Reply by Paul Newcomb on "see people as your concerned friends and not your enemies"
this is a very good way of looking at it.
Permalink Reply by AJ on Hey there! I posted this earlier in a similar discussion and thought the same advice could be applied here:
Oh man, I really hate when questions about my diet lead into a discussion of ethical veganism. People tend to mistake correlation for causation and assume that I eat vegan SOLELY for the animals and that the raw part is orthorexia. I've found the best defense is to know hard facts. Even when people don't like them, and even when it goes against what they were taught(but hey, weren't we all taught the same things growing up?), I've found that they can rarely counter my argument with facts of their own. Look up not just the information about animals saved on a vegan diet, but the PEOPLE who could benefit from a global shift to a plant-based diet, such as how we could deliver grains and the like to starving nations, and teach them how to forage instead of cutting down their forests/taking their land and depleting their resources so that we can sacrifice cows and malnourish those in need with powdered milk while rich nations take all the flesh. And sure, emotions tend to run high when a person is being faced with their own ignorance, but the bottom line is if you know and believe in what you are talking about you will walk away triumphant.
I've been having issues like this lately with a particular roommate of mine and certain family members. Some battles you can't win, I've learned to keep my mouth shut around the roommate for the sake of the house- But some people will listen! A different roommate who is an "ethical vegetarian" has started making the shift to vegan after I told her about The China Study- she bought a huge sack of potatoes and apples at the store instead of cheese! My father has struggled with weight-related health issues and depression his whole life and after a heated debate with me where I brought my knowledge and he brought nothin- he's started to incorporate fruit meals into his diet and has lost 10lbs! For every loss there is at least one win =] At the end of the day you know what you are doing is right and beneficial to others, so when faced with what seems like a losing battle, take solace in knowing that you are STILL WINNING!!
Hope that's helpful =]
Permalink Reply by Athena on That's beautiful AJ. :)
I'm normally the type that keeps to myself and regardless of other peoples (different) opinions I do my own thing whether they like it or not. Even when I know what I'm doing is right, I have great difficulty putting it in words at all, let alone arguing about it. I don't know if that's natural by me, due to my past experiences (being regularly confronted with hate and antipathy) and my short fuse as a result of that, or if it's part of my personality.
What I mean to say is I have never been able to influence anyone (as far as I know).
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