a coworker of mine made the following statement about my being on the SBD: "you don't strike me as the 'fad diet' type at all!"
i must confess that for many years, i considered the term "south beach diet" to be kind of faddish sounding, and i never looked into it very seriously until my mother, who has recently been diagnosed with diabetes, recommended it to me.
so i know some of you must receive comments like these -- especially those of you in areas outside of south beach where maybe this hasn't been all that popular. how do you respond?
"Consider the source" - has this coworker read the book? (uninformed) does this coworker need to lose weight? (sabatoge) are they a joker? any number of reasons could be why they would make a comment like that.
All you need to worry about is what you think.
Like you, initially, I lumped it into the passing fad category until a friend recommended it and I did my own research. Millions of people have successfully lost weight on this program, as well as improved other areas of their health.
By the way, this way of eating is not limited to South Beach, Florida. It is followed worldwide, and the book has been translated into many languages.
Yup, this was the topic of a thread a while back. Lots of people think, because the name doesn't sound very medical in nature, that SBD is a fad diet. Lots of us admitted that we stayed away from SBD for a while just because of that!
I try to educate people. SBD was recommended to me by two doctors, and that's why I tried it. So that usually keeps people quiet. When I tell them what I eat and when they see me eating, they realize that this isn't some strange fad diet, but an extremely healthy way of eating. You might let them know that SBD is pretty close to the recently released food pyramid, except healthier (i.e. whole grain all the time).
Sky, I hope you don't let their sabotaging comments bother you. You know that you're doing something good for you!
I think the name is a big shocker for people. I know I thought that at first. Then after reading realized that the name came from where he lives...South Beach! Go figure! Don't let peeps throw you off because they probably don't know about it. You just stay in it girl!
A couple of things:
1> Why do you care what they think?
2> Are you feeling better and making healthy and wise food decisions?
3> Are you ever going to stop eating this way?
4> Do you think of this as a "diet" or a way of life?
5> Will this person be with you when you are like 50 (or even younger) and suffering of heart disease or diabetes?
South Beach does sound like a fad-like diet if you have not educated yourself. I kind of get tired of explaining it to everyone myself. Although I have made several converts. I used to talk about it all the time because I felt like I had to explain why I didn't eat certain foods. Now I just say no thanks, I really am not wild about rolls or potatoes. Before I started this, I too thought that this was a silly diet that I would never stick to...so go figure!
I just give them a look and said, "Oh -- so are you an expert at dieting or just the South Beach Diet? Because debating with my doctor can get tricky but as long as you know what you are saying..."
When people ask me how I lost the weight, I tell them that I cut out the proccessed foods, sugar and white flour from my diet. I try to eat a high fiber diet with lots of whole grains foods, vegetables, low fat dairy and leaner meats.
A few people have picked up on it and said, "oh, that's sounds like South Beach."
Oh, really?
I don't like telling people I'm on a "diet" because it's not a diet any longer, it's the way I eat now.
fad diet?
