Men Vs. Women: Biggest challenges to adopting a paleo or carb-restricted diet

1/31/2012

After one month, the response has been nothing short of phenomenal. People from all over the world have been pouring in, sharing their emotional struggles and stunning transformations in vivid detail. Below is a wordle of the responses thus far to the question below, separated by gender. The size of the words in the wordle are a function of how prevalent they were - the bigger the word, the more it appeared.

Worth noting: "Wife" seems to pose a bigger challenge to men than: cravings, pasta, restaurants, or sugar.

What was the biggest challenge to adopting a carbohydrate-restricted or paleo diet?

Women:

Men:

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4 Comments

Conni

1/31/2012 04:14:21 am

I do not find it at all surprising that a man's wife poses the biggest challenge to his success on a low carb/high fat diet. Women - sadly - are usually plugged in to the dieting scene much sooner and more fanatically than men, and what have all these women (me included) been thoroughly taught? Grains=good, fat=bad. Overcoming a fallacy that has been so strongly backed by science and our own government is HARD.

At my last doctor visit, I asked for his opinion about a low carb/high fat diet. He was all for it, very enthusiastic. I was a little taken aback, because he was overweight, but I didn't mention that, of course. He continued by saying that he had done a low carb diet and lost a bunch of weight, but that his wife simply wouldn't get on board. Since it was too hard for him to eat differently than everyone else in the house, he gave up. The result of his giving up remained unspoken between us... "and gained back all that weight".

Think about that. An actual doctor, someone trained in medical science. An actual doctor who did the low carb diet and lost weight, evidence she could see with her own eyes... and yet he couldn't convince his own wife that this diet is healthy.

What chance does an ordinary husband have against the brain-washing his wife has endured all these years? I feel fortunate to have been able to hear the low carb message above the din of FAT IS BAD, CARBS ARE GOOD. Even so, for all of these past thirty years, I could have been thin. For thirty years, while I struggled to lose weight, I believed what the nutritionists said, and the FDA, and the doctors. I believed, and it is infuriating to realize how much damage has been done to the people in our country. The deaths from diabetes and heart disease, the suffering from blaming ourselves for being lazy gluttons, unable to exercise off the pounds. Infuriating.

Hey you guys, struggling with your wives about this diet: Bring her a cup of hot tea and hand her the book Why We Get Fat by Gary Taubes. Maybe it will change her life like it did mine.

Best,
Conni

Larry link

1/31/2012 04:31:29 am

Dear Conni,

What a beautifully articulated comment! It is so refreshing to hear real stories like this, and it is the main inspiration for this site. I hope you continue to share such gems and interact with others on the site!

Sincerely,

Larry

EnglishRose

8/1/2012 07:08:54 am

Well,, in modern equal households woemn often work full time (at leasti n the UK anyway) and often out earn men and men are as likely to shop and cook as women which makes all this a lot easier. Embrace equality at home and life long health can be yours.,....

Or if you are more old fashioned just tell her what the household is going to be eating, if you're the boss and that's that.

Alexandra

1/31/2012 11:13:33 am

Yes, beautifully expressed, Conni!

Fortunately for us, I (the wife) was the one to first embrace low carb eating. When my husband saw me drop 30 pound in 6 months, he signed on as well (and was able to go off Lipitor). He does still crave things like pasta and pizza every so often, but for the most part he gets it. Those first six months were hard, though!

Men Vs. Women: Biggest challenges to adopting a paleo or carb-restricted diet

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