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I'd just like to start a conversation about a trend that I've seen that is (in my opinion) degrading the quality of our community. There is a tremendous amount of infighting occurring between people who advocate different ways of losing weight. There are people who have seen good results from going low carb, eating intuitively, eating low fat, high fiber, etc. ad infinitum. I've seen several threads derailed into fights between people advocating different ways of eating.
This concerns me for a few reasons. Firstly, there are many regulars around here who make posting a routine (and this post is addressed to you folks), but there are also people who come here to ask a single question or have a concern addressed. It doesn't serve them to have a thread turn into a food fight between people who are advocating different lifestyle changes. There are also people who come here who are new to health, fitness, and lifestyle communities. They may not know that much about healthy eating and it can be confusing when the very people who are trying to help them are bickering back and forth about calories and carbs.
I hope everyone who has an opinion will weigh in. Perhaps this is a non-issue, but I feel that our community will be better off if we think before we post about these issues in Weight Loss Support- one of the busiest subforums and the one that seems to be the biggest problem for these kinds of things. I for one think that everyone should be able to share what works or hasn't worked for them. Did cutting out sugar and grain products help your weight loss? If it did then it also might be helpful to someone else- but we need to pay attention to how we say what we think works.
Here is my idea: use language that encourages people to understand that there are different things that work for different people. Let's take a common example: Susie is a new forum member and her first post is about how she is sick and tired of being overweight. She asks for tips about diet and exercise. Instead of saying "You should not eat carbs" or "You should eat foods in moderation" try "Cutting down on my carb intake has worked for me." If we all speak in terms of our own experiences it won't be as confusing or open for argument. I can't argue with the fact that you feel better eating X way, just like you can't argue with the fact that I have lost weight eating Y foods.
Talk about your experiences and direct people to different forums. "I have felt so much better eating intuitively, we have a support thread about that at this link... etc." will direct people to the subforums for different lifestyles. The bottom line is that different stuff works for different people. We don't need to turn Weight Loss Support into a trench war.
I'm really late to the party here. I've been so busy, I haven't even been here in a while. I read this thread. I'm confused. OP, your message seems to be that we should phrase things as not to insult other people choices in dieting. I agree. I can't say I've never strongly supported what I believe is right, but I can completely stand behind a more "live and let live" (or diet and let diet) attitude.Originally Posted by Locke
Hello All,I'd just like to start a conversation about a trend that I've seen that is (in my opinion) degrading the quality of our community. There is a tremendous amount of infighting occurring between people who advocate different ways of losing weight. There are people who have seen good results from going low carb, eating intuitively, eating low fat, high fiber, etc. ad infinitum. I've seen several threads derailed into fights between people advocating different ways of eating.
This concerns me for a few reasons. Firstly, there are many regulars around here who make posting a routine (and this post is addressed to you folks), but there are also people who come here to ask a single question or have a concern addressed. It doesn't serve them to have a thread turn into a food fight between people who are advocating different lifestyle changes. There are also people who come here who are new to health, fitness, and lifestyle communities. They may not know that much about healthy eating and it can be confusing when the very people who are trying to help them are bickering back and forth about calories and carbs.
I hope everyone who has an opinion will weigh in. Perhaps this is a non-issue, but I feel that our community will be better off if we think before we post about these issues in Weight Loss Support- one of the busiest subforums and the one that seems to be the biggest problem for these kinds of things. I for one think that everyone should be able to share what works or hasn't worked for them. Did cutting out sugar and grain products help your weight loss? If it did then it also might be helpful to someone else- but we need to pay attention to how we say what we think works.
Here is my idea: use language that encourages people to understand that there are different things that work for different people. Let's take a common example: Susie is a new forum member and her first post is about how she is sick and tired of being overweight. She asks for tips about diet and exercise. Instead of saying "You should not eat carbs" or "You should eat foods in moderation" try "Cutting down on my carb intake has worked for me." If we all speak in terms of our own experiences it won't be as confusing or open for argument. I can't argue with the fact that you feel better eating X way, just like you can't argue with the fact that I have lost weight eating Y foods.
Talk about your experiences and direct people to different forums. "I have felt so much better eating intuitively, we have a support thread about that at this link... etc." will direct people to the subforums for different lifestyles. The bottom line is that different stuff works for different people. We don't need to turn Weight Loss Support into a trench war.
But then I noticed you posted this in response to an old thread I poste back in Jan. :
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What the frick OP? Not only is eating clean not a meaningless statement, but I was asking a question about not reaching goal if you are no sugar no/low carb..really your response offered nothing to answer that. Also, you have no stats. That's great you are losing 5 pounds a week, but how big are you? Yes, when I hear someone say they are eating what they want and losing 5 lbs a week the first thing I do is look at their stats. Because lets face it, what works at 300 lbs is not going to work at 150. When I started losing after each baby, the weight came off faster and I didn't have to watch as much, but as the scale creeps down, I do not see weekly 5 lb weight losses! Even with a controlled diet and running.Originally Posted by Locke
I eat junk food. Lots of junk food. Chips, candy, soda, cookies, ice cream, etc. I also eat some healthy meals. I eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm full. Yes, sometimes I am not hungry and my mouth wants something to munch on (usually sugar). It's not a strong urge and it passes. I've been eating this way for a few weeks and I've never felt happier or saner- plus I've been losing about five pounds per week. There are a lot of people here who think you have to "eat clean" (which is ultimately a meaningless statement) to lose weight and that some foods have the power to make you fat. I just thought I'd toss myself in as an example of how that's not necessarily the case.
Anyway, just figured I'd say I'm all for not pushing our diet preferences, and not insulting others. But OP saying the clean eating is a meaningless statement isn't really leading by example. And btw, you are wrong. Just google clean eating. Its far from meaningless! Its a term, with a meaning.