Michele Bergh states that she is having a lot of difficulty eating
at friends' homes and going to restaurants. She is trying hard
to avoid fat, and succeeding, but her husband, a SAD eater gets
insulted when people don't eat what is "prepared." It's frustrating
and difficult.
Boy do I ever understand!!
Eating VLF is socially isolating. I have pointed this out many
times, and it continues to be true. My wife and I had the
opportunity to discuss this with Dr. McDougall when he was
in Seattle. He is starting to form an internet discussion
group of VLF people, (which was actually my idea), and I
hope that these people can form clubs to get together.
I have made many scenes in restaurants and our friends
don't want to go out with us anymore. I don't blame them.
At the urging of my wife I have decided to apologize
publicly to our friends and tell them this:
1. Even food felons are entitled to another chance.
2. We will go out to ANY restaurant of their
choice in the future.
3. I will "settle" my eating requirements with
the servers/manager in PRIVATE.
4. I will not complain about any of the restaurant
food publicly in front of them, nor will I make
a scene and embarrass them in any way.
I think this is only fair. Our friends never go
anywhere with us anymore. We had a club that got
together to go to restaurants. Recently they decided
to go without us and meet us later at a theater. This
really hurt my wife when she found out.
We had some bad luck also...My wife's cousin and
her husband came over for dinner once. I served
a FF vegetarian dinner, making TCP m**tballs. I thought
it tasted fine. My wife's cousin actually threw up
after my dinner. Now she will NEVER come over for
dinner again.
Yes, this diet is very socially isolating. I think
that it is a little like alcoholism... You have to
change your friends as well as give up alcohol. The
rest of our country is just not used to VLF vegetarianism.
They don't know what to make of us. It is true that
many of them will die of cardiovascular disease and
other health problems associated with their diets...
But that is their choice.
Dr. McDougall told Yvonne and myself that we should
be the "shining light" and teach our friends how to
eat. I think that is impossible. If we try that they
will drop us like a slab of plastic vomit.
Mike Rosenblatt
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