Thursday, May 29, 2014

it ain't fear -- it's about reason

Did everybody in the house read the Robb Wolf site post...?

As happens from time to time, I started to leave a comment, and broke off short because I prefer to get long-winded on my own blog instead of being tedious on someone else's.  :-)  So here I go:

I watch what I eat MOST of the time, so I can eat whatever I want SOME of the time.  With an aging and intolerant body, I would feel absolutely horrible if I always ate what I ate on my recent vacation.  How would that enrich my life?  No, i want to feel as good as I can, as much as I can.  That means I have to eat ONLY what promotes my personal well-being ... most of the time.

There are forces out there which want to label this behavior as disordered.  I believe that THEY are the deranged ones.  If I know that excess consumption of nightshades, for example, disturbs my digestion, where is the virtue in stubbornly gorging on these foods, when there are so many things I like better?

Then if, with tongue firmly lodged in cheek, I choose to describe foods as "evil" which tend to make me feel bad if eaten too often, it's more a verbal shortcut than an actual perception.  Food isn't evil.  Eating food isn't evil.  Hyperbole can be amusing.

But really, why does anybody CARE what another person prefers to eat, whose health is not particularly dear to them?  There's something really disturbing about the preoccupation we see, far too often, with personal habits of STRANGERS! 

Amy's article makes a good point -- obliquely -- that if one is going to "cheat" one is a perfect idiot not to enjoy it.  Her imaginary subject wasn't tempted by the devil; wasn't tied up and MADE to consume that fictional slice of bread; had no pressing reason, in fact, not to indulge himself if he felt like it.  He was an imaginary moron, more interested in labels than real life.

Had he been diabetic or celiac, it would have been different.  He wasn't even like me -- I suffer predictably when a certain threshold of intake is crossed.  He has nothing but a self-chosen philosophy standing between himself and something he had a desire to do.  His perspective is warped, or he has so little to think about that he's thinking about TRIPE.

44 comments:

  1. I personally think MORE people ought to give a shit about what they eat; the diabetes and heart disease numbers were PLUMMET if that happened.

    I don't feel disordered. I don't NOT go anywhere because of food. I eat primal because I believe the science behind it, and because I feel WAY better when I do. No fear or trepidation involved.

    Had I been the person with that single slice of bread remaining, I would've turned to my dinner partners and said 'have at it!' They've seen me this way for over a year, it would be no biggie and we'd all laugh over who would get the second piece before a second basket was requested. No biggie.

    Food is food. It should be mostly 'fuel', and not something required to self-soothe or celebrate with. We give food too much emotional power in general. THAT needs to be fixed. I seriously doubt few paleo or primal converts freak out/fear food. Evil? Sure. Many are toxins to their body. That meets my definition of 'evil.' But I'm big on owning my OWN evil, and expects others, animate or inanimate, to do the same.

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    1. we've got an attitude issue in this country about food -- it's WAY too emotional for what it's really about!

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    2. Amen, sistah! Preach it!

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  3. I want back the 90 seconds it took to read that. "Not the food's fault"? Who in the 2000s thinks it is?

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    1. :-P the same anal-retentive, food-reward-believing, monastic types who blame little girls for being raped by their relatives....

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  4. Amy is a recovering anorexic trying to enlighten others with similar food/exercise obsessions to her own. I doubt if many people go to the fictional extremes she's describing, except fellow sufferers.

    I feel bad for anyone who has such disordered thinking - what a way to live :-(

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    1. The site ought to make that more clear. As it is, it gives the impression that being all freaky about food is a paleo thing.

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    2. yes, Wolf's site is a curious place to put articles targeted at people with eating disorders.... unless she too thinks that choosing foods to improve health is "orthorexia"?

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    3. Tend to agree, though they probably assume - silly really - that everybody has read her previous posts "coming out" as anorexic. It's a pretty big assumption to make as not everybody who visits will be regular readers and aware of her history.

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    4. Maybe she's also thinking that because she used paleo to "legitimize" her own disordered eating that everybody else is doing the same thing. Kind of like kids who put their hands over their eyes and assume nobody can see them. I guess we all come from the 'me-centric' view to some extent.

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    5. It is sort-of annoying for me when eating disorders brought up so often when some foods exclusions are discussed, may be because I din't observe such thing closely. For many people eating everything "in moderation" is not a good idea. Probably, for easily scared into self-starving individuals reading blogs of allergics, IBS sufferers, LCarbers who have a physiological need in their diet, even vegans and paleos should be strongly discouraged. Well, some people need food restrictions to be healthy. If you are recovering anorexic or bulemic, don't read such blogs as a part of your recovery, but don't assume other people have the same need to abstain from reading about diets, they need to abstain from eating grains or FODMAPS or whatever as the part of THEIR recovery.

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    6. One of the biggest obstacles of recovering from an ED is that the disease is really in the mind (abnormal reward circuit signaling in anorexia), so it takes a lot of effort to recognize the convoluted thought pattern. I am rereading Amy's post on Robb Wolf's website, and this "Joe" has classic black-and-white thinking that is typical of an anorexic sufferer (intense, debilitating anxiety in regards to food, rejection of food is based on puritanical reasons and not real biological ills). Galina, you are right to say that normal people do not perceive foods this way, and it is perhaps a non-issue for people who have never struggled with ED. Unfortunately, any type of "restrictive" eating plans will attract people with eating disorder because it "legitimatizes" the disease. I can see how a "paleo" template will appeal to people who are already struggling with ED and restrictive eating. You get to eliminate dairy, legumes, seeds, wheat, and a slew of other "nutrition sources" and it will be okay because it is "paleo".

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    7. I just read Mark's blogs and don't even bother with the comments; same old same old young paleo know it alls; nothing new to learn but "eat more fat". Although now it's about eating more starch! I don't think we should eat more of anything, less is better at our age anyway

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    8. Yes, indeed! Fruit is very Paleo but I don't think it's for everyone :)

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    9. Jasmin, my sentiments EXACTLY. :-) ... I get a little private chuckle, wondering how they'll be eating when they're my age....

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    11. Almond, I think that rejecting some food on the grounds that "it is not paleo" is the most stupid logical reason a human can choose, and it is as close to the food religion as it could be.
      I also think that having an eating disorder or getting starved for any reason (may be a human body even perceive very intense exercising regiment as a starvation) may predispose the individual to the obesity later in life. Must be tough to fight more than 100lbs to loose without triggering your ED at the same time.

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    12. I think people struggling with ED reject foods in general. For them, it is not so much "it's not paleo" but because they have an incessant anxiety about caloric intake and they cannot "will-power" themselves from the defective reward circuit in their brain. I think Amy's post is very much geared towards people who have ED or already struggling with ED-tendencies. Galina, you are right to say that rejecting a food just because "it's not paleo" may seem to a feeble excuse for not eating something. But it helps people with ED to legitimize their disease in public settings, because now they can refuse the bread basket, the beans, the battery-raised eggs, yogurt, cream, nuts... and all sorts of food and it will be "okay" because they are just "paleo".

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    13. If someone has had good results on a paleo diet but doesn't know much about why neolithic or industrial foods are harmful, it's reasonable to avoid non-paleo food. ("Good results" not meaning that you can see the ribs in your back now.) This is how I got started on LC--I actually thought it was a crazy idea at first and just avoided anything carby. But I had a purpose in mind, I wasn't doing it "just because."

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    14. I agree with the part - if something is working the reason is not really important. I annoyed when I observe the people who start to create a paleo cult and start to be concerned with everything "not paleo". So many things are not paleo that we can't accept without major inconveniences like body and hair lice, parasites infestation (not all parasites are harmless "old friends"), lack of contraception, hair coloring, cup of coffee, access to foods from different regions (coconut oil is a good example). I am not even talking about internet.

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    15. Almond, what can I say? If somebody is looking for the reason to reject food, "paleo" is just one of many things which may be brought up. Probably the people who are afraid to eat shouldn't have an accesses to any media - TV, internet, radio, or they may hear some "breaking news" that eggs are dangerous, baked foods are cancerogeneous together with meat, and all water supply is compromised nowadays.

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  5. Diet can be a very personal thing for some people. Opinions are like assholes : everyone has one, but you can only display one of each at certain place and time. Some people do not see the difference.

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    1. i think diet IS very personal to "us" but we tend to assume that our friends know what foods they should be eating, unless they ask our opinions.... it was interesting that on the cruise, Diane Sanfilippo urged everyone not to proselytize about LC unless people expressed interest first.

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    2. I think so, too. I do not talk about diets unless I am prompted for discussion. I have had my fill of people telling me my body will simply collapse from not eating fruitsandvegetables and though I know some people mean well, it is very draining to have to constantly defend one's diet choice

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    3. I respect Robb wolf and his nutrition site but I think his website is primarily aimed at young, cross-fitters whose main concern is maintaining physical fitness and achieving athletic aesthetics. For those with "quirky" metabolism that need adjusting, there are better sources of information out there.

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    5. For the most part, ITA with you about Robb's site, Almond. I enjoy listening to some of his podcasts too, but the same thing tends to happen - instead of talking about health, it's all about athletic performance.

      Kind of brings the whole phenomenon that Hamilton Stapell was talking about at AHS13 - the wide divide in the demographic between sick people trying and heal themselves cf. those seeking optimal health despite not having health issues.

      I think Robb gets it, but a lot of the young Paleo crossfitters don't at all.

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    6. i'm with you both! I respect Robb like I do Mark, but their blogs are not on my list -- they speak most directly to people with a different focus from mine. however, I keep an eye on what they post because their work is often definitive.

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    7. I check Mark only once a week with his review of interesting things in blogs, I, probably, just don't like paleo crowd. Too many of them have that black/white approach.

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  6. Good example why I don't read paleo blogs - they annoy me way too much. It is idiotic not to eat bread (actually being scared of it) just because you CHOOSE to be a paleo person , not because your joints would start to aching, ankles would swell by the end of the day or eczema reminds of its existence. After it happens couple times,, you will be much less tempted to .dig into the bred basket.

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    1. nothing like pain as a reinforcement.... ;-) conversely, I think there's wisdom in planning ahead for health -- i'm glad my daughter is on the "clean food" wagon, and feeds her children that way when at home and when packing their lunches for school. i'm also glad that she doesn't get her panties in a bunch over the things they chose from the buffet last week. ;-)

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    2. Having no plan, no habits and no real motivation to stick to some random thing that sounds good is a recipe for bouncing around from one thing to another. Not just with food.

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  7. I am sick and tired of overweight unhealthy SAD eating people and men who have only been a few pounds "overweight" in their lives tell me that I am wrong wrong in restricting certain foods and setting myself up for a fall and everything should be eaten in "moderation". I have right now found my sweet spot in maintaining a 100lb weight loss by super low carb and now with the elimination of fruits. I know how these foods affect me mentally and physically, how they open the door to cravings and loss of control. I have to abstain completely and if something happens I know I have to jump right back to normal immediately. I just don't want to tell anyone anything anymore for this reason. I just tell them I have allergies now and they leave me alone.

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    1. i'm completely in AWE of all you people who have taken off so much weight and kept it off! to achieve that and maintain it, you have to have a will of iron and pity the poor fools who try to deflect you!

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  9. Hi Tess

    Sorry but you and your commenters have got it all wrong ! You people are certifiable ! Carbsane calls this “Restriction Addiction” and she knows all the answers. What sort of idiot would stop eating the foods that make them ill ? Has anyone stopped to think what this is doing to bottom lines of big pharma and junk food outfits ? All this healthy eating malarky will put countless medics out of a job, the selfishness of some bloggers beggars belief. Think of others you selfish ba**ards !

    Kind regards Eddie

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    1. lol -- the Minions of Moderation are the perfect poster-children for the obsession with other people's lives! they remind me of the fundamentally-religious....

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    2. :-D we live to amuse (and be amused)!

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  10. So many people ask me how I lost the weight and then their eyes glaze over and they lose interest when I say cut out the carbs. Trouble is we aren't seen as healthy eaters; we are setting ourselves up for disease and sickness with our consumption of meats, fats and low fruits and vegetables. If I get sick people will say it was my diet but I know it will have been damage from years of SAD junk and "healthy" pyramid eating. The vegetarians, low fat, health food birdseed eaters are the revered ones, the healthy stoic ones, the ones we should aspire too but us fatty meat eaters who don't eat much in the way of fruit and veggies are freaks who are heading for cancer.

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    1. I still have faith that i'll be that centenarian eating lamb chops, laughing at the potato fetishists! :-D

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    2. Part of my problem is that I'm to damn enthusiastic about eating this way. I just go on and on and don't realize how crazy people really do think it is. They really do think it's some sort of fad. Because duh....eating fat will make you fat.

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    3. Yeah. Eating fat will make you fat, eating cholesterol will give you high cholesterol, but eating sugar won't give you diabetes.

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