I've experienced a lot of opposition as I've tried to modify my diet to reduce sugary foods. When I first started going off dessert in 2009 I had to just plain offend people for not trying their dessert they slaved over. If I had a quarter for every time I heard the phrase, "Can't you just try one bite?" I would be a rich woman. People just did not understand, or understood and didn't agree, as to why I would deprive myself of the pleasure of eating sweet food.
Elderly people in my life have posed the greatest opposition, interestingly enough. I really related to Remy in "Ratatouille" as he tried to explain to his dad why he didn't want to eat garbage. His well meaning father lectures him that "Food is fuel son, if you get picky about what you put in the tank, your engine is going to die." From my father in law trying his best to be understanding and asking "Why are you going off sugar? You don't need to lose weight" to my 91 year old grandma asking "Why are you doing this?" as I presented her a divine sugar free dinner, I've had to sigh and wonder why I'm doing it myself. They made it to a ripe old age just fine eating what was available, if a doctor hasn't told me it's something I need to stay away from, why am I being picky about what I "put in the tank"? Even my dad, who has been very supportive, had to ask, "Isn't a little sugar ok to eat?" (The answer to that question is a resounding YES by the way, but in the SAD we eat far far greater quantities of sugar than "a little.")
My sweet sister even took me aside and burst into tears because she was so worried about me starving myself. I felt so much empathy for her, she truly believed I was becoming OCD about what I eat, and that it was my anxiety driving me to a life of self deprivation. My own husband has also looked at me with a sideways glance more than a few times, wondering why I would go to such extremes, but he tries very hard to be supportive. The very culture we live in is against me, with 80% of the foods at grocery stores being man made refined products geared toward appealing to your taste buds, and movies and commercials will flaunt the dessert, bread, pastas, and snack foods in your face on a daily basis.
I have broken down a few times, because it takes a lot of work to return to a tratitional whole food diet, and I went through physical and emotional withdrawals, but my supportive husband encouraged me to keep at it and see what happens. My brother also has been a big support, and his words have helped me keep standing in the face of opposition. I pushed some anti-sugar information at him when I started this and then felt dumb and apologized for it. I loved his reply:
"Lol. Heather!! You don't need to apologize!! What you shared
is something EVERYONE needs to hear. It's something I've known for some
time but didn't share because I'm too introverted and weak to do myself.
You've taken a step in the right direction and we will be where you are
eventually, that i know. You should never feel bad for doing the right
thing. I want to be clear that I 100% agree with you that the sugars we
eat are bad for us. That the diet you are working towards is the same
diet I am working towards, and that what you've received is by the
spirit and I think Heavenly Father is telling you something. I'm just a
bit more analytical than you and while i know this is the correct path
to take, part of me still wants to keep digging just to make sure there
isn't something genetically or medically wrong. One thing that is nice
about you taking this brave step is that you can help everyone else by
your example. By their fruits you shall know them. If this ends up
fixing or helping you then it would be further evidence to me that I
need to do it to help with my condition. So I'm in your corner and I
want to help you with this. I thought coming up with a cookbook together
was a good idea as well. So let's get going on this and get you on this
diet!!!"
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