How People Treat You Because Of Your Diet

[climbing]

The only person that's given me much greif over it so far is the person I live with. But pretty much anything I do sets her off so I'm far past caring. I'll be moving out soon. I'm supposed to move out in June but I might leave early in April when I have a place to go.

Ew yeah, I've been there with roommates. It's definitely not worth it to try and make it work in a situation with someone who is miserable to be around. Life is too short.

[PansyLo]

^ Agreed!

I feel bad but as I've been eating raw and feeling more energetic and positive it only seems to annoy her more and she seems to be even more miserable.

I don't know what the problem is, I'm doing more than I usually do to help out round the flat.

Anyway, I think the feeling is mutual that we no longer want to be friends. Neither of us have to put up with each others company for much longer.

Hopefully the next people I live with (I think more than one person seems like a better set up) wont have any qualms about my eating raw food. Maybe they'll even try some or show a little interest rather than turning their nose up and criticising.

I just don't like being ridiculed for it, I've never been all that good at dealing with ridicule. I take it too personally and let it wind me up.

[climbing]

Yeah, it took me a long time to realize that you don't have to put up with ridicule, and that there are people out there who do not treat others that way. I grew up surrounded by that sort of negativity in my hometown. Then I moved far away to North Carolina and now I only know people who are nice. :)

[breathless]

I take a college class every Saturday morning, and today when I took out my bag of apple slices, my professor commented "You eat so healthy." I find it interesting that people comment on my choice of food because it is good and healthy. I never see anyone make comments to someone as they eat their hamburger and fries from McDonald's. So, it is normal to eat junk I guess. It is normal to be sick and unhealthy and feel tired all the time. When I eat raw, I get comments like what happened today all the time. At the checkout lane in the grocery store, I've had the clerk say "That's a lot of produce." People at work question what I eat, "What's that green stuff?" I think it's just something we, as raw foodists, have to get used to because our way of eating sadly is not the norm.

[PansyLo]

^ It's not normal to eat healthy. It is totally acceptable to eat a giant plate of fried breakfast or a burger so tall you can fit it in your mouth though.

It's mad.

I've also noticed recently that weirdly in my times of alcoholism, depression, using and manipulating people nobody had much criticism for my behaviour. It's now that I'm happy, trying new things, being a better person and becoming an individual that people seem to have a problem or take it personally.

People really do just have a tendency to feel threatened by things that are not normal.

It's a matter of meeting the right people I guess.

[MysticTree]

I take a college class every Saturday morning, and today when I took out my bag of apple slices, my professor commented "You eat so healthy." I find it interesting that people comment on my choice of food because it is good and healthy. I never see anyone make comments to someone as they eat their hamburger and fries from McDonald's. So, it is normal to eat junk I guess. It is normal to be sick and unhealthy and feel tired all the time. When I eat raw, I get comments like what happened today all the time. At the checkout lane in the grocery store, I've had the clerk say "That's a lot of produce." People at work question what I eat, "What's that green stuff?" I think it's just something we, as raw foodists, have to get used to because our way of eating sadly is not the norm.

but some of it may be down to the fact that when we have been taught that being judgmental is bad we were never told that it is just as judgmental to comment on someone being healthy as it is to comment on them being unhealthy. So we get a situation where it is rude to say "omg you're so fat" but people might not think twice about saying "omg you are so thin" Likewise we struggle to say "omg you are so unhealthy but many have no problem giving a negative comment about a positive aspect such as good health.

[PansyLo]

^ That's a huge factor.

I find it disturbing how rude people can get when it comes to being slim.

When I've been skinnier I've had people shout things at me in the street. People who are completely well meaning and normally kind have no quaffs about telling me that I'm too thin or need a good meal in me. My body and what I do with it is NOT up for discussion, it's mine. And I eat very well, I only gain weight if over eating especially on junk. Other than natural petiteness and frame there are also lots of medical reasons for being very thin. Just like being called fat and being taunted for it people can find getting called thin very hurtful.

Comments like that never bothered me to be honest but I was friends with a girl in school though who was constantly bullied for being "anorexic" when she wasn't. It really effected how she felt about herself (she was only about 13) and actually did begin to cause disordered eating she went through fazes of either over eating or trying to lose weight. She was later diagnosed with Coeliacs Disease. Her weight really effected how people treated her and it shouldn't have.

Hopefully as time goes on and people become more aware of these things societies norms will move on and advance. It's already starting to as information travels so fast around the internet. Just a lot of people like to stay in their own bubbles.

[delmar]

Eating is, in every culture that I know of, a very social thing, and it's a surprisingly emotional issue for a lot of people. I have seen offenders one both sides of this one.

When I was in my 20's I had a couple of hard core vegan roommates, at a time in my life when I had no interest in changing my diet. These were the kind of guys who went around with spray cans changing stop signs to say "STOP murdering animals". They also had the worst vegan diet I ever saw, in that, their idea of a meal was spaghetti sauce and "good bread". They ended up voting me out of the house for doing things like leaving the microwave plugged in, so I could see the clock.

Currently moving, more and more, to a raw food diet has it's difficulties because my wife and kids have very little interest in juicing or sprouting. fortunately they have a great deal of interest in my cancer not coming back.

[adobegirl]

When I first started raw, I wanted to share with everyone this amazing "miracle" thing I was doing. Ironically, no one else thought it was as exciting as I did, lol. I got my feelings hurt in the beginning and at one point even started just telling people I was allergic. I was allergic to wheat, my body was weird and couldn't digest meat even with a digestive enzyme, etc, etc.

But slowly I realized it didn't matter. Some people still think I am "extreme." Others think I'm weird (which I am, no doubt, lol). But people who know me just accept me. I think when I finally started accepting me, others did too. I'm confident in knowing raw food is the best thing for my body and so I don't look down when I talk about what I'm having for lunch. I look up, order a salad and ask them to omit the cheese, etc and please add avocado, no thanks on the dressing. And often people don't even comment on it anymore and if they do, they say something like, wow that looks pretty good. When you see their food next to an amazing raw salad, it's pretty obvious which one is prettier (imo).

I don't share my diet unless someone asks now. If they don't ask, they aren't really interested in what I have to say about it.

As you become more confident in knowing what your body needs, the comments and opinions of others will matter less and less. I went through many stages of my growth, from being defensive to making excuses to finally just realizing we all do what we do and everyone is on their own journey. I'm pretty thankful that my journey led me to raw food. :)

[PansyLo]

I'm settling into it a lot more.

I'm not going to let raw food define me or let others define me by my diet but let my energy, passion and good attitude define raw food for other people. :)

[PansyLo]

It's starting to drive me nuts when people moan about how their diet isn't working or ask me what I think of zig-zagging calories etc.

I really want to rant about it but I know they would not follow my advice.

My flatmate eats literally about 2% raw, if that. She eats simple cooked rubbish (breaded chicken with jarred tomato sauce etc), everything comes out of jars or tins or a bag of frozen processed guff. The only things she keeps in the fridge are her diet low cal soft cheese, diet yogurt, diet butter and diet pepsi.

Then she moans about how she never loses weight. Her diet is so void of nutrition is no wonder she doesn't lose weight, she's always suffering from minor ailments and pains. No. Wonder!

Internally it just drives me nuts but if she wanted my advice she could ask for it. I don't want to be that dick who interferes with their weird (factual) notions on food.

And everyone diets by counting cals!! It's so illogical!!

[/rant]

[Raw Angel Mom]

I'm settling into it a lot more.

I'm not going to let raw food define me or let others define me by my diet but let my energy, passion and good attitude define raw food for other people. :)

That sound like a great way.

Yes be you and enjoy this beautiful energy. I sure do

All the best!

[Raw Angel Mom]

There is a movie that is free It is "Hungry for change" , you need to subscribe. Pass this movie to your friends and family. It is up to them to watch it or not, if they do, they might start to be more aware of what they choose for grocery list.

http://www.hungryforchange.tv/instant_access

[fastfreedom]

For me, I really don't give much weight to the people that were trying to tell me that they knew better...... And really how can anyone expect me to take their advice when they have cancer, are overweight, crippled, riddled with arthritis, take over a dozen different type of drugs, can't jog more than a hundred yards without wanting to fall over, can't pack around over 30 lbs, etc.........

To me what ever they say I listen to, but when I realize that there's nothing of worth being produced from their lips I don't even allow what they say to register.

I feel bad for those that are closed minded and allow themselves to continue to be poisoned and experimented on with drugs, and processed foods while telling me that eating raw veggies and fruits is bad..... LOL Deep down most everyone knows that fruits and veggies are good for ya.

But to sum it up, the quote, "misery loves company", is enough to explain why most people will harp on ya when you are choosing to be healthier. Leave those people if you need to and ignore the ones you can't. Eventually your example will be enough that they will begin to become interested and accept what you are doing.

[blissrunner]

I've only just started out eating raw, I've been vegan and gluten free for a couple of years but a huge part of that is because I'm lactose and gluten intolerant. Getting into raw food is mostly a new things for me.

I was just wondering how people find other's reactions to it?

A lot of people are anti-vegetarian and I had kind of gotten used to that as they just pop occationally (are normally men for some reason) and ignoring them or walking away is easy enough. But a raw food diet is going to get some sort of reaction out of most people.

Some people are going to accuse you of having an eating disorder. People will flat out just tell you you're wrong (as if my personal diet is something that they can judge to be right or wrong). People will try and say your some sort of health food crazy person.

Most people I've talked to who are into raw food aren't crazy extremists. They're just normal people who want to eat well, have lots of energy, be a healthy weight and eat nice food. How do you deal with peoples negative reactions?

I don't generally make a big deal about my eating habits to people unless they ask. Some people will ask things like why my skin glows or other things like that. when they see the benefits they're usually past saying anything negative because it's obvious it's working out well. I've had a couple of people try to force "their" way of eating on me like there is something wrong with the way I eat and it doesn't bother me because everyone is entitled to their own opinion.