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Convenient dietary restrictions


OrganicJen
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I have this person in my life who whenever we offer her healthy food will say that she can't eat it because of either sugar or salt restrictions from her doctor, yet when there is junk food around she always eats that even though it may be loaded with sugar or salt. For instance, she declined homemade baked beans (ie not from cans) saying that beans have a lot of sodium, but another time she ate a bunch of salty potato chips. She declined a mandarin orange stating that it was more sugar than she was allowed yet ate a frosted donut. I just find the whole thing a bit annoying because it's obvious she just wants to eat junk food so I wish she wouldn't make up such ridiculous reasons for declining healthy foods. If she can eat a frosted donut then I'm sure she can eat a tiny little mandarin orange instead and if she can eat a bag of salty chips I'm sure she could have handled homemade beans. I just find it strange that she seems to think we believe her convenient dietary restrictions. I don't care what she chooses to eat, it's the dishonesty that bothers me really. Is this something other people do? I've never met someone like this.

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We have a family member like that! I just ignore them. They are how they are and I can't do anything to change that. Try not to get offended, personally I see this as a personality flaw that they can't see that you can see something they are clearly doing.

Yeah I don't get offeneded, more like annoyed lol. It's just so weird because I used to think of her as such an intelligent and pleasant person and seeing her behave that way is disappointing.

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It's so annoying when people are untruthful.

I would much rather that they just said, no thank you. And I don't think I'm alone in that.

Yes...I just would rather her say no thank you, than pretend like she is abstaining because she is so concerned with following her doctor's recommendations and then 10 minutes later break her doctor's recommendations by eating garbage.

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But just so you know, potato chips may not be as bad as you think. Certainly canned baked beans are going to be way worse than potato chips if you're watching sodium. Homemade will be better but depends on if you're using any canned products in them (high sodium) and how much salt you're adding. Tortilla chips are actually low sodium (some brands just 25 gm Na per serving). Potato chips will depend on the brand, but any are much better than canned baked beans. But I get your point. If I wasn't in the mood to put up with it, I would have removed the donuts and said, "oh these are terrible for your blood sugar," or the like.

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But just so you know, potato chips may not be as bad as you think. Certainly canned baked beans are going to be way worse than potato chips if you're watching sodium. Homemade will be better but depends on if you're using any canned products in them (high sodium) and how much salt you're adding. Tortilla chips are actually low sodium (some brands just 25 gm Na per serving). Potato chips will depend on the brand, but any are much better than canned baked beans. But I get your point. If I wasn't in the mood to put up with it, I would have removed the donuts and said, "oh these are terrible for your blood sugar," or the like.

Yeah I thought about saying something like that about the donuts but not until it was too late. I always think of the best comments after the fact lol. She was well aware that the beans were from scratch with no canned ingredients and weren't at all salty and the chips she then ate were just basic Lays which I find very salty. She even once refused to eat some fresh peas from the garden because peas have a high sodium content but then ate salty fast food that same day. It's just so weird and annoying.

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Uh, yeah. I know some people IRL like this. I really don't think they see it. I have weird food needs, so I try not to judge any food-related quirks from others, but it's the inconsistency of these folks that comes off as ridiculous. They're otherwise good people, so I just let them have their food issues. Don't we all?  :lol:

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I would guess that she is supposed to be avoiding those things, but doesn't have the will power to skip the junk food. Your healthy versions are probably outside of the restrictions she is supposed to follow and are far easier for a junk food addict to say no to. I get it. The vast majority of people on diets seem to do this. They say they can't eat X, Y, and Z because they are on whatever diet, but then eat XX & YY because they feel constantly deprived and that amazing whatever is just too good to resist. It is part of the normal diet failure cycle for most people. 

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I would probably just roll my eyes at her unless she has true ignorance about nutrition. Is it possible that she does? Maybe you can suggest an appointment with a dietitian? I do recall someone saying that apple turnovers were healthy because they had apples in it. She was 100% sincere.

Part of me wonders if maybe she really is just extremely ignorant, like she actually thinks that a vegetable like raw peas that have a naturally high amount of sodium compared to other veggies could actually be worse for her than salty chips, but I thinks it's a weird personality thing maybe where she wants me to be impressed by her and the way she is listening to her doctor when she declines something, but then when she has a chance to eat garbage later she just can't resist it. I think if she could just fill up on the healthy food it would be easier for her to resist the garbage, but I guess dietary choices and such can be a touchy subject so I'm hesitant to say much about it to her. I also wonder if really she just loves the junk food so much that she doesn't want to fill up on anything healthy.

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This is my dad.  When he is here he must strictly follow his diet which is a huge PITA for me.  When he eats at my sister's place he "splurges/indulges/doesn'tfollowhisdiet".  And he tells me all about it.  :glare:

 

I need to call my sister and ask her what her secret is.

 

He is truly supposed to follow this diet so it's not that he is making it up with me.  He just apparently doesn't mind making me miserable.  :cursing:

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This is my dad. When he is here he must strictly follow his diet which is a huge PITA for me. When he eats at my sister's place he "splurges/indulges/doesn'tfollowhisdiet". And he tells me all about it. :glare:

 

I need to call my sister and ask her what her secret is.

 

He is truly supposed to follow this diet so it's not that he is making it up with me. He just apparently doesn't mind making me miserable. :cursing:

Yup, it's my parents too, except it's just a preference. When they visit I go out of my to respect their choices, only to then be inundated with pictures from their other vacations where they are gloating about gorging on all the foods they won't eat here. Drives me freaking bananas. I try to be respectful and hold my tongue, but man is it hard.

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Everyone in DH's family is like this. The worst offender once asked me to make the entire pot of my homemade veggie soup (with homemade stock) without any salt whatsoever. So that he could eat chips and other high-sodium junk food while it cooked. :cursing:

 

I feel your pain.  My dad does stuff like this (tells me to make all my food without salt) and then on the way to visit me he stops at McDonald's.  And he tells me about it.  If he were smart he'd at least not tell me about it.  LOL

 

Like...I want to make a ham for xmas dinner.  He'll go on and on about how he can't have such a salty food.  And I'll be stupid and make him something different (cuz ya know I love waiting on ppl and stuff...NOT) and then the day after he'll go buy fried chicken at a fast food joint. 

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My youngest sister does this. She's not willing to "cheat" on her dietary restrictions (which are genuine), for something like beans or an orange, but will do it for cheesecake, nachos, etc. If she's going to feel sick for the next 48 hours, she figures she might as well make it worth it. Of course, I know this about her and am careful with what I serve when she's here, but I can see how others would think her behaviour is annoying. 

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My youngest sister does this. She's not willing to "cheat" on her dietary restrictions (which are genuine), for something like beans or an orange, but will do it for cheesecake, nachos, etc. If she's going to feel sick for the next 48 hours, she figures she might as well make it worth it. Of course, I know this about her and am careful with what I serve when she's here, but I can see how others would think her behaviour is annoying. 

 

Ok, now THIS is something I personally understand.  If I "cheat", it will be on something I REALLY REALLY want.  Not something stupid like an orange (which I do not like).  LOL

 

And I do cheat.  And I fully understand that people cheat even if they have to be on special diets.  I get that...really. 

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Yeah I thought about saying something like that about the donuts but not until it was too late. I always think of the best comments after the fact lol. She was well aware that the beans were from scratch with no canned ingredients and weren't at all salty and the chips she then ate were just basic Lays which I find very salty. She even once refused to eat some fresh peas from the garden because peas have a high sodium content but then ate salty fast food that same day. It's just so weird and annoying.

 

I'm on a salt restricted diet for medical reasons. The deal about the chips is real. 

 

You may perceive the Lay's to be salty because the salt is on the outside. However a serving of Lay's potato chips has 7% of the daily recommended intake of salt, which is about the same as a slice of bread. She'd have to eat 3-4 servings of chips to equal a 1/2 cup serving of canned baked beans depending on the brand .  My point is not that your homemade baked beans were salty (I don't know how you make them but if you use  ketchup or tomato sauce they could very well be up there sodium wise) but that eating potato chips in moderation isn't necessarily a big splurge on a sodium-restricted diet. I personally would be very careful about eating anything but a very small portion of baked beans if I were a guest at someone's house.  OTOH, I know a small amount of chips won't hurt me. 

 

But you're right that fast food is loaded with salt. 

Edited by Laurie4b
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I can see that she might feel like if she only is allowed a certain amount of sugar and salt a day she may want to save it for junk food and not use it up on something healthy, but I find it ironic that she brings up her doctor's recommendations at all since I'm sure her doctor would agree that she's better off eating a mandarin than a donut, or raw peas from the garden over fast food. I don't think any doctors would say that someone is limited on salt or sugar so that means all other nutritional considerations should fly out the window. She probably does need to have an appointment with a dietician like someone mentioned. It seems like maybe she's so overly focused now on the things she restricted from that she's completely lost focus on her nutrition in general and on the things she is supposed to be including in her diet like fruits, veggies, and legumes etc.

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I can see that she might feel like if she only is allowed a certain amount of sugar and salt a day she may want to save it for junk food and not use it up on something healthy, but I find it ironic that she brings up her doctor's recommendations at all since I'm sure her doctor would agree that she's better off eating a mandarin than a donut, or raw peas from the garden over fast food. I don't think any doctors would say that someone is limited on salt or sugar so that means all other nutritional considerations should fly out the window. She probably does need to have an appointment with a dietician like someone mentioned. It seems like maybe she's so overly focused now on the things she restricted from that she's completely lost focus on her nutrition in general and on the things she is supposed to be including in her diet like fruits, veggies, and legumes etc.

 

You think that's nuts...

 

The way my dad's diet is, eating junk (so long as it is low in sodium) is actually less problematic than eating too many healthy foods.  No joke.  Because some stuff he is supposed to watch are things that are usually considered good for you like potassium, phosphate, etc. etc.  So he often will choose a piece of mass produced packaged cake because it does not contain too many of these healthy things (whereas fruit, for example, might).

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I have someone in my life who does this while he sits drinking his coke, which is "healthy because it is Mexican coke with real sugar."

 

It could be that the individual has been given a list of things to watch for, such as beans, and really doesn't know how to interpret things if it isn't on the list.

 

It could be that the person has been told to eat no more than X number of grams of sugar in a day and chooses the donut over fruit to meet those requirements.

 

Or, it could just be a finicky eater making excuses.

 

 

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I have someone in my life who does this while he sits drinking his coke, which is "healthy because it is Mexican coke with real sugar."

 

It could be that the individual has been given a list of things to watch for, such as beans, and really doesn't know how to interpret things if it isn't on the list.

 

It could be that the person has been told to eat no more than X number of grams of sugar in a day and chooses the donut over fruit to meet those requirements.

 

Or, it could just be a finicky eater making excuses.

Yes I think this may be the case, where she was told to limit certain things but the doctor assumed she was aware of the rest of the dietary recommendations for what she is supposed to be eating and so instead of a list that said eat 2-4 servings of fruit and 3-5 servings of veggies and so on, and limit sugar and sodium to X, he just told her what to limit so she just thinks about that and stops there.

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