Keto haters - what to say to them?


(Amanda ) #1

Ran into my first keto-hate speech today! And of all places, it was on my beloved facebook workout group :frowning:
So bummed that they called this a fad diet. What do you all say to the haters?


Episode 141 - Dr. Stephen Phinney
(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

#%@@^& you, you $^^%&*!

Well, actually, Mom taught me better than that, and Iā€™ve learned that snark is usually counter-productive. If itā€™s someone with a closed mind, who really isnā€™t interested in engaging, I just smile and say ā€œYouā€™re absolutely right.ā€ And then I ignore them. :bacon:


(LeeAnn Brooks) #3

Iā€™ve said ā€œyeah, if by fad diet you mean one thatā€™s been around since 1920ā€™s that has proven benefits for epilepsy treatment and just happens to have weight loss as a side effect.ā€


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #4

You said it! And actually, if you count William Bantingā€™s diet as keto, then itā€™s actually been around since the 1850ā€™s.


(Doug) #5

Say nothing; just brandish a turkey leg in a threatening manner, or a ham or a hip of beef.

It depends on the hating entity - more seriously, Iā€™d say that while some claim ā€œfad diet,ā€ itā€™s based on dietary and metabolic truths that have been suppressed for the last few decades, with the result being the incredible current epidemic of obesity, metabolic syndrome, Diabetes, etc., with all the attendant increases in other diseases.

Moreover, given that many of us are now metabolically compromised from following the bad health guidelines of the past decades, nothing comes close to a ketogenic diet in fixing our problems, for most of this group.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #6

Doug, I like the way you think . . . :grinning:


(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #7

Mostly nothing. I let results talk.


(Kaiden) #8

Iā€™m actually in the top 5th percentile of people who are hated, per after-call surveys.

Being keto means being hated. Not universally, of course, but enough.

Since this is in the Newbies forum, I ought to say something about the Narcissism of Small Differences. No one has said that my dietary choices indicate a cognitive disorder, except high-protein ā€œketoā€ people who call me a ā€œketotard.ā€ Since I am eating a very high fat diet to ameliorate the effects of a decade old traumatic brain injury that I have still not fully recovered from, I cannot say that theyā€™re wrong, simply that they are cruel. The Narcissism of Small Differences is why in the film ā€œThe Life of Brian,ā€ the Judean Peopleā€™s Liberation Front and the Peopleā€™s Liberation Front of Judea both hate each other more than they hate the Romans.

As you said, this flack is coming from a workout groupā€¦ people who are motivated to remain fit and active. People eating a Standard American Diet will more than likely say ā€œgood for you, I hope it works.ā€

Iā€™m used to being hated. Itā€™s part of the armor that comes from growing up autistic in a neurotypical world. I really donā€™t have any advice, except that you donā€™t have to share your choices with anyone else. They donā€™t have a right to know, and from the sound of it, they donā€™t even have a desire to know. Be secretly keto, and if you want to bring it up, Ken Berry has the tactic of asking the question ā€˜have you heard about this crazy keto thing?ā€™

I like Berry because he had all the answers, and he got fat and unwell, so he started asking questions. Better questions win against established answers. Better questions is why we donā€™t refer to phlogiston when talk about burning calories, or why we donā€™t try to solve hormone imbalance by letting out the bad blood.

Good luck, @amc2007.


Judgement and Disappointment
(Doug) #9

Whoo! Quite a post, Kaiden.


(MooBoom) #10

I encountered this today, from a ā€˜veganā€™ who still occasionally eats meat but is working towards a plant based way of life.

I like this person very much. I didnā€™t want Keto to become a wedge between us even though I disagree strongly with her claims i.e. that Keto gives most people cancer of the bowel &/or heart disease, and only two ways of eating are scientifically proven to be healthy: Mediterranean and Vegan.

I gently disagreed and said my understanding is that there is no good science to prove that ANY way of eating is healthy. That nutrition science is still emerging with no concrete census. That many studies supporting a HFLC way of life have been suppressed. That we must have seen different studies because my research had led me to very different conclusions than hers.

And that ultimately, itā€™s all n=1 and Iā€™m happy for her if sheā€™s found a way of eating that works for her.


(Alec) #11

I generally give them a lecture back about Ancel Keys and his sham science, I follow up with what has been proven and what hasnā€™t, and I give them a full volley on the conflicts of interest in the dietary guidelines elite.

At the end of the conversation their view of me as a barking mad dumbass is probably confirmed.

Fortunately I am a fairly big bloke, so it rarely comes to fisticuffs!


(Pat S) #12

I love Ken Berry!


(Omar) #13

I like Doug idea
Replying in the social media I found pictures much better than words. The net is full of pictures that more expressive than any words


(Banting & Yudkin & Atkins & Eadeses & Cordain & Taubes & Volek & Naiman & Bikman ) #14

The real Mediterranean diet, Pioppi, is pretty high in fat, low in processed carbs, and involves fasting, so if youā€™re LCHF with IF, youā€™re pretty much there, with Aseem Malhotra.


#15

Aside from their obvious lack of knowing what a ā€œfadā€ diet is, nothing. Literally just said this in another thread, Facebook is JUST short of being reddit for uninformed moronic idiot trolls that are just there to agree with other sheep whoā€™s main goal is to push whatever the dogma theme of the day is. Speak out against the hive mindā€¦ And they attack. Delete your Facebook acct. Your life will improve dramtically. I know deleting my reddit acct lowered my blood pressure more than keto did, and that brought me down from stage 2 hypertention!


(Sergio Schvezov) #16

I believe, show me the science is the way to go. I would just add that when people mention Mediterranean and Vegan as the true way to dieting to actually provide evidence through facts and not hearsay. I wouldnā€™t do this with everybody, you can get into very frustrating discussions just like if one were to discuss politics or religion.


(LeeAnn Brooks) #17

I started a RunBet competition at the same time I started Keto (really bad idea btw) and I was complaining about how stupid I was for doing this as I had lost all energy during the adaption phase.
There was one guy who responded in a negative way about Keto, but I didnā€™t have to say anything. A few others shut him down real fast.

It was great to see, especially from runners, a group where carb loading is preached.


(Brian) #18

Haters gonna hate. If theyā€™re open minded enough to have a conversation, we will. I have no interest in hanging around for a lengthy tongue lashing about how Iā€™m killing myself.

Yes, it has distanced some friends a bit. But not that many. And Iā€™ve made a few new ones who have figured out that keto works for them, too, and sometimes in places Iā€™d never have expected. Anybody whoā€™s gonna hate me because I eat differently than they do isnā€™t really friend material anyway.


(Karen) #19

Get this from my family sometimes because they love me. Mostly about cholestrol. They say arenā€™t you worried about cholesterol? I just say no, and if they are interested Iā€™d be happy to send them a link to Dave Feldman.


(Candy Lind) #20

DANG! I was just at a truck stop with turkey legs the other day! LOL