Handling Critics of Your Low Carb Lifestyle

You’ve made your decision to start on your own low carb journey.  You have drawn your line in the sand, planted a flag and decided that you are NEVER going back to the person you once were.  You are feeling like you are on top of the world, like nothing can stop you.  You feel like a superhero, ten feet tall and bullet proof.  Until you get  the comment – that comment that takes all the wind out of your sails and makes you feel hopeless all over again.

Why do we let people have such control over us with a few simple words?

I share recipes with folks sometimes and invariably someone will tell me “you’re going to have a heart attack eating all that bacon and butter”.  I know they mean well, or at least I hope they mean well, but that doesn’t come across as very encouraging.  Even when you have lost over 100 pounds and become a totally new person, still those little doubts can creep in.  How do you deal with situations and people that so easily bring you down?

The first step is to be your own advocate.  You know what is working for you.  It is your body we are talking about.  No one knows you better than you.  In The Paleo Solution, Robb Wolf says that once you get rid of the crap in your diet you should start to lose weight, gain energy, reduce pain and inflammation, and feel better.  Have you felt these changes?  Are you feeling like a new and better person?  No amount of lab rat feeding studies and anecdotal evidence can replace you seeing real world results in your own body.  Own your accomplishments.  No matter which study is released next week that tells you that eggs are bad, only to be replaced with a study the next week contradicting the first one, hold tight to what you know is true for you.  Hold on to the evidence that you can see and use that to encourage yourself daily.

Tell the people you care about what you are doing and ask them to support you.

If people care about you and want the best for you, they will try to support you.  Sometimes they won’t understand what you are doing; let results speak for themselves.  Ask family and friends to respect your decisions, to help you by not offering you Oreos every time you turn around.  In my experience people will try if you just do your best to explain your self to them and help them with some simple parameters.

Don’t argue with idiots.

This is a BIG one.   If you post on Facebook or Twitter or on your blog about what you are eating, someone will have something snide to say about it.  There is something about the perceived anonymity of the internet that brings out the people’s basest natures. Don’t cast your pearls before swine.  In his book “21 Life Lessons From Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb“, Jimmy Moore says that when you put yourself out there some people will judge you and some people will love you.  Understand which of these people you are dealing with.  Some people you can convince and help, some people just want to steal your joy and pick a fight.  If somone is not there to support you or  receive help from you but  rather to poke fun at any thing not in his personal game plan, leave that person alone.  He’s not worth it.  People like that feed on drama and you don’t have time for drama.  You are in the process of changing your life.

Understand that this is not a “diet plan”.

This is not something that you are going to do for 30 days just to get ready for swimsuit season or a class reunion.  This is a lifestyle choice that is going to help you live a longer, healthier, happier life.  Then next time someone says something to discourage you, have a few strips of bacon, and in your best Robert Duvall voice say to yourself, “I love the smell of ketones in the morning!”

Keep looking forward, enjoy your health and your new life and above all, don’t forget to be awesome.