I do have other health-minded friends around, but none who eat raw or properly combine their food. I don't even talk about it much unless someone asks. I KNOW I shouldn't take other people's misguided information to heart, but it's still hard for me take! Someone asked me a question on Facebook this week about food-combining, I answered, and a friend of mine jumped in and said,

"I'm pretty sure digestion doesn't work this way."

It was such a short comment, but instantly my heart started racing. Pretty sure? That means she is only guessing and hasn't educated herself on the subject but is still telling me I'm wrong.

It got me so riled up! So I'm thinking I better learn how to let these comments roll off me or I'm going to be upset all the time.

How do some of you deal with this kind of thing? Suggestions for quick responses to people like this? Or even just how to self-process it?

Ugh.

(also, most of these people are over-weight. So that makes it even more annoying.)

Val
Jesus-Follower, wife, and momma of 3 kids

Experience has taught me that most people think this is nuts, and will cling to what they were taught about nutrition until they have at least one foot in the grave. In order to keep myself from getting miffed when others make silly comments, I let myself feel all superior. lol

No one I know does raw, so I end up not talking about it much. When I do, and others insist that this or that is incorrect or unhealthy, I generally just smile a sh@t-eating smile and say in a polite and respectful way, 'well, I'm going to do it anyway.', then shrug.

Not the best way to handle it, I suppose. But it's all I got. You have my sympathy.

Whoops, didn't mean to ignore your reply. I forgot to come back and check, lol! Thanks for the sympathy

Val
Jesus-Follower, wife, and momma of 3 kids

If your heart starts racing, I would suggest you examine how much the approval of others is important to you. When people are reactive, something is being stirred up in THEM. If most of them are overweight, the most likely scenario is that they feel threatened on some level because you are taking charge of your health and this makes those who are not feel inferior.

In my opinion, Facebook is a sea of conformity and comparisons. Perhaps your consciousness has outgrown it as a good place to interact with likeminded people.

I hope you see this but you will when you're supposed to.

When people say "Wow, you look great! What are you doing?" I tell them what I'm doing briefly and I usually get "Well, I can't do that or I can't give up this and so on." In my head, I say to myself "How's that work'n for ya?"

Jealous people will try to bring you down so they feel better about themselves.

Thanks for this great post and I love the photo you've included.

I've been listening to the lectures of Colleen Patrick-Goudreau and they are excellent. In one of them, she notes that vegans should not have to be so apologetic about their lifestyle when talking to those who consume meat and dairy. I think this approach is correct. It doesn't entail being snobby or behaving as if one is superior, but it does mean that you don't have to sit silently when people begin to disseminate information that you know is inaccurate or tease you. It is basically about being confident and secure that you know-by abstract knowledge and experience, hopefully-that you're putting the right things in your body. And you don't have to apologize for making people feel uncomfortable about their meat and dairy-eating endeavors. If they feel convicted, that may be a sign to them that change would be advisable.

Best,

Jocelyn

I know it's so hard and frustrating. Especially when the naysayers are so unhealthy themselves overweight, poor skin, diseased...my goal is to give vegan ism a good name. You know. Look healthy. I have one vegan/raw day out of every 20 roughly. And those days I eat total crap that would make you hard core peeps cringe. It makes me cringe. I know better but fall into old ways. I want to make greater strides, which is why I'm here. My problem is I'm around 12 lbs underweight...but that's with eating the standard american diet. My hope is that I will eat enough going raw vegan to gain the needed weight. Which is so hard!!! The problem is when people see me once in awhile eating raw vegan they think that's why I'm underweight. Then they tell me how wrong a raw vegan diet is. Uggggh! Needless to say they are overweight and on numerous medications. We can do this! We just gotta try!