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11/20/11 10:47 P

Even though I have been mostly vegetarian/vegan for five years, I could never permanently give up cheese. I always planned to eat it after I lost the weight. So I found it easy to "slip up" and have cheese now and then. After reading Dr. Fuhrman's book, I am no longer hungry for cheese. I pass right by the supermarket case with only a glance and no craving! Now if I could only do that with sweets! I guess I need to read the book again.

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11/20/11 7:39 P

I think the responses in the article are a bit extreme.

I do get frustrated at seeing many of my friends who seem to have that "off switch" and are able to eat everything in moderation. They're not overweight, they don't have health problems, they're very active, and don't understand why I can't or don't eat like they do. An easy way to get them off my back would be to tell them I'm eating this way to try to clear my psoriasis ... but talking about one's skin problems isn't exactly great dinner conversation!

But I'm probably building it up too much in my head ... I don't have to explain my choices and when it comes down to it, people probably aren't paying much attention at all to what I eat.

I'll have a chance to test it out tonight -- going to a friend's house for dinner.

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11/20/11 6:54 P

I think people underestimate themselves. My first instinct used to be to think or say "I could never..." It was easier than actually trying and finding out. If you told me even a year ago I would be eating all the greens and vegetables that I am now eating I would have thought you were crazy. It's funny what we can do when we want to and when we understand why we are doing it. I don't make a big deal about how I am eating and so far no one had hassled me about it. I guess if anyone ever does hassle me I plan to ask them why it matters to them what I am eating. I will be curious to hear their response.

current weight: 233.0

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11/20/11 9:28 A

I have seen this before, it is one of the best posts he has had on there. One of the things that I say to people sometimes, of course depending on the person - when they tell me they could NEVER give up cheese, I recommend they read the China Study to find out that the reason they could never give up cheese is because they are addicted to it. I was vegetarian until I read China Study, though I didn't eat much dairy I got rid of it totally after that.

I could NEVER --- follow in my Mother's footsteps and die young, an obese diabetic.

I don't usually offer my opinions to people unless they ask me or they are being totally rude about how I choose to eat.

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11/20/11 9:01 A

Yes, they're definitely a good read.

In my case, I decided "I could NEVER die at age 58 like my sister did, due to uncontrolled diabetes and congestive heart disease." I realized that the only way to avoid her fate was to change my eating style and get more exercise.

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11/20/11 8:54 A

Absolutely. Many of them come across as holier-than-thou or preachy or smart-alecky. I think it really depends on who you are talking to and how you say it. Most times, the simple response you give is as good as it can get, I think. There are the occasional people that these types of replies could work with, however. But you'd DEFINITELY have to be careful to use them with the right audience!!

Regardless, reading through them was helpful for me to remind me of some of the reasons I want to be eating this way! And that's always a good thing with me!!!

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11/20/11 8:42 A

Good points, but I'm afraid that people would perceive me as "smart-alecky" if I responded with those retorts.

I like to say, "I used to think I couldn't, either, but you'd be surprised what you can do when you make your health a priority. And now I actually prefer eating this way."

That opens up the possibility that they might be able to do more than they thought they could. Gets them thinking.

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11/20/11 8:13 A

I'm sure we've ALL had the conversation with people. They ask what our diet plan or eating plan is, and when they hear it, they say, "I could NEVER do that!! Give up cheese? Give up _______ (fill in the blank)??"

I ran across a great article on DrF's DiseaseProof site with way to respond to this (it is from March 2011, I believe, so you folks may have seen this already. If so, please pardon my repetition!). I thought it was really helpful AND motivational. Here's the link:
www.diseaseproof.com/archives/inspiration-
i-could-never-do-that.html