I have lost 60 lbs in 2 months doing 50% raw. I started at 295 lbs. For some reason my co-workers just started to notice.
WHy are they being so negative and judgemental? I thought people would be glad to see someone losing weight. Someone asked me what was my goal weight and I said 150lbs. They said you will look like you have AIDS!! That weight is not good for you!
WHy oh Why, ps these people all weigh more than 150lbs.

Phyl

I think the obesity epidemic is so bad that they don't know what healthy weight is. I think it is amazing that you are losing weight like that. How do YOU feel? If you feel good and are eating balanced meals, then you are on the right track, in my opinion. I wouldn't worry about what they think. Maybe they are jealous of your new found self-discipline. Just keep doing what you know is best for yourself.

Thanks Sundancer,
Well I was on a high blood pressure medication that caused some weight gain and increased appetite. My medications were changed around. That was one of my main reasons for changinf my lifestyle was to get off all meds.
You see I did a miraculous turn around. My diet consisted of junk 24 hours, 7 days a week. I overnight went to 50-75% raw . I will say it was rough, I feel good and my skin looks so much better. I also thjough it was an awful lot of weight, but I also was 300lbs of pure junk.
I also find that eating this way, I lose pockets of fat. I am also insulin resistance. My insulin levels are off the chart. I am also dealing with some inner baggage that needs to be dealt with also.

Not all has been negative, alot of my friends are now telling me thay saw I was spiraling out of control, but they didn't know how to approach me.

Phyl

It may be uncomfortable for them to adjust to the new you, plus it will show them that change is in fact possible with a little effort. In case they too need to make changes, it will show them up as not having enough motivation to even try. Your making the effort and producing results could make them feel that they are running out of excuses to hide behind.

Wishing you vibrant health

Pistachio is absolutely right. It's sad but true that it can threaten others when someone makes a major life change for the better (weight loss, going back to school, etc.). It just points out that change can happen; it takes motivation and will-power. Your co-workers clearly lack those things, and you are taking them out of their comfort zone by making these positive changes in your health.

You cannot change them or convert them to your way of thinking, so don't try. That's my advice. Just keep quietly doing what you've been doing. You won't be getting support from them, so don't look for it. It's like that ad for Datsun that had Lance Armstrong--'Driven by what's inside'. While it would be nice to get support from your co-workers, really, isn't it great to know that you are succeeding in doing something that is so beneficial by tapping into your own inner resources?

You're doing great!!

I know how you feel. Today I had some celery for lunch. I had a big salad at my desk at 10:30am and then went into the kitchen to eat with friends at 12:30. I was eating my celery and someone gave me the most disgusted look and said where's the peanut butter? I said, i like to taste my vegetables and they looked at me like I was crazy. I laughed and it seemed to make her mad. I kind of got a kick out of it. I mean i look at the health benefits of eating just celery and she thought it was boring. I was grateful that I could appreciate it for it was, nutrient, potassium and healthy sodium. I don't know, I haven't been doing this long, but the longer I do it, the more I don't care what people say. It makes me sad that they cannot appreciate food for what it is by itself. It makes my stomach hurt just to think about eating globs of peanut butter with something else. Not that there anything wrong with it, just that the taste of the celery gets lost. I hope that makes sense, not trying to be judgemental. just that we learn to appreciate the simple things and not yearn for more.

yeah, people need to mind their own business.

luckily i can sunbathe in my underwear in the back yard without the neighbors peering and fussing about it.

I went though this. The jealous people say mean things. The nice people say nice things. Just keep focused on what you want to do and where you want to go. People can be such jerks, especially women (IMO). I never had a man say a mean thing when I was losing weight.

Bottom line, is may hurt, but you can only control yourself. Keep up the great work!! :-)


phylisrn Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I have lost 60 lbs in 2 months doing 50% raw. I
> started at 295 lbs. For some reason my co-workers
> just started to notice.
> WHy are they being so negative and judgemental? I
> thought people would be glad to see someone losing
> weight. Someone asked me what was my goal weight
> and I said 150lbs. They said you will look like
> you have AIDS!! That weight is not good for you!
> WHy oh Why, ps these people all weigh more than
> 150lbs.
>
> Phyl


WendySmiling in Oklahoma
www.16weeks2health.blogspot.com
12/17/10.......240/155/125

I actually separated myself from the others in my building while I was getting started. (I'm a teacher.) I just ate in my classroom for a while. Now that I'm back eating in the faculty room, I find it easier to deflect their nasty remarks with a smile, and "I'm just not very hungry today.", or no comment unless its necessary. I find that that is not a lie anymore. I'm not hungry most of the time. I live in Pennsylvania Dutch country where potato filling, shoo fly pie, and VERY large portions reign. This area of the country is not very tolerant of this life style. We have no raw food restaurants anywhere and organic restaurants, even if they cook the food, go out of business quickly. Most people eat what they were fed as children, so I guess if we challenge that we are against their "moms and apple pie". That's a sure fire way to start a fight. I figure as I continue to lose weight, some of them might ask what I'm doing and then I can share. Meantime I'm focus on getting healthier and learning all I can so I have some of the answers when the questions do start. I'm finally getting a Vitamix blender this week, so I'm on the lookout for new recipes. I want to start taking interesting lunches to school so the diet looks as exciting as it feels! Don't give up hope. I think that's why we're here for you.

Wow! That is so awesome! I just started this as well and look forward to the success you have had. And don't worry about what anyone says (or doesn"t say). It's not about them it's about you... I know a nice complement would be great but you keep on doing what you should do and get healthy...
Good luck

I also think the people are jealous if they see someone loosing weight. So, try to not care about their bad talks, just show them how good you feel and enjoy life. I am really proud for you and I admire you that you are so strong and you loose weight to get your ideal weight and health. So do not hesitate to follow the raw path.

At my work, eating fruits plus greens together, I do only when I am alone in the office. But today I was on a business trip with 2 colleagues. I had celery, carrots, 1 apple, and a raw organic power bar. And, I was surprised to see that one colleague also had some salad and chunks of pineapple in addition to her sandwich. So I felt very comfortable.

Unfortunately I have criticized someone in the past for loosing weight. I honestly thought she looked kind of shrunken. I wasn't sensitive to how important it was to her self esteem, and her health. Also to the fact that she did this on cooked foods, some if it processed! I had no idea how hard she was working. I can only imagine now how much more sucessful she would have been on raw, and how much better she would have looked also. I think she looked not so good becasue she used diet sweetners, and some pills to control weight. I found out later that she had a history of using drugs for emotional problems. Too bad for me i didn't see her for her beauty and her attempts at improving herself. Thats bad enough for a teenager to do something like that. For adults to do that goes way, way beyond being insensitive.

Hi Philysrn:
I am so happy for you. You are where I want to be in 2 months. I am starting my new eating schedule in February and I will be going to the raw diet by mid February. I look forward to hearing all about your success stories as I will need encouragment all through my transition. In reponse to your post about co-workers, when I was 19, I was trying to lose weight. My co-workers were mean and snotty to me and when I started to lose weight it was very unsettling to them. When I was asked if I was on a diet, I told them 'no' because keep then off balance and I did not want them to say anymore cruel things, however, I told myself I was on a life change with a new eating schedule to keep myself encouraged. By the time I lost 45 pounds they could not say anything but positive things because my success was evident. I just wanted you to know that sometime improving yourself is like guerilla warfare! You can only talk to persons that are safe and your information about your weight loss is private unless you feel comfortable telling someone about your goals and dreams. You may have to eat in places less frequently used, use your headphones and listen to relaxing music, or your favorite audio book. You may also from time to time go virtual window shopping or read a fitness magazine to help stay on the right track and to ignore all those negative comments. It seems to me that your co-workers need social skill lessons. My mother always said, 'If you can't say something nice, don't say nothing at all,' so its obvious they have not learned that yet.

This reminds me of Dr. Cousens said something about how normal cooked food people say oh, vegetarianism is dangerous. Then The Vegetarians say to the vegans, hey that seems dangerous. Then the vegans look at the raw vegans and say hey, that seems dangerous. I am a huge guy, and I get nothing but support. But my girlfriend is skinny, and breastfeeding and has been doing raw but has had problems holding her weight above 95 pounds as she doesn't eat enough raw foods to maintain an ideal weight. So it can be dangerous, but I can't imagine many people being 100% raw vegan while breastfeeding TWINS !!!! She's gonna go 100% again after the breastfeeding is done. We're also worried about all the detoxing chemicals in the milk.
Just hold firm with your co-workers, humility is the only way to go with that. Try to involve your co workers somehow, give them websites. explain how they can get healthy. Make yourself a source of raw info, and they too will eventually want to lose weight and years !!! GOOD luck.

I know this is really late....but, I lost a lot of weight (I guess they thought, I didn't) with Atkins and people asked me if I "caught AIDS". I volunteer at an AIDS clinic/shelter type place adn I guess that was the first thing that came to mind. I know it was ignorant, but the way I saw it was that something was right b/c they noticed. Wrong or right, I sometimes gauge how something is going by how other people react to it.

With raw foods, no one really says anything because I throw facts out and explain things that I have read. I teach,also, and the kids usually want some of my lunch instead of the cafeteria food they bring back after lunch. When did having a salad or fruit salad for lunch become weird???

I agree that they are probably healous, but if you walk in that office 100 lbs. less and happily glowing, they will be the first on line to ask how you did it.

jeeeeeeeeeeeze!
60 lbs in 2 months at 50%??

wish i had that success

I just heard on the radio that 70% of the kids in whatever school was surveyed were obese. Healthy is NOT normal in our sociey, unfortunately, so people are bound to ask questions.

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