Only I Am Allowed To Have Opinions!
I am sitting with a good friend over lattes and pastries. She’s telling me about her recent decision to largely give up eating meat, becoming a pescatarian. She’s doing it for ethical and personal reasons. Then, she complains about a friend of hers.
Friend #1: “When I told [Friend #2], her first reaction was to complain that she wouldn’t have anyone to share a burger with! She is so selfish. She doesn’t understand that this is something I have to do. Everything is always about her! Anyway, I told her I would still eat veggie burgers, so it doesn’t have to change anything. Then she starts arguing that the diet is unhealthy. I don’t think she believes that; she just doesn’t want anything to change.”
Me: “Yes, well, she can be quite selfish at times, and with dairy, eggs, and fish, I don’t think you will suffer any problems.”
A couple of months later, I also decide to change my diet. I would not tell her, but as we often meet in the morning, she’s going to notice.
Me: “So, I have decided to try intermittent fasting. I won’t be eating anything until late in the day, at least for the next month.”
Friend #1: “But who am I going to have coffee with?”
Me: “Me! I will still have coffee, but it will be black and obviously no patisserie.”
Friend #1: “Why are you doing this?”
Me: “For my health. My BMI puts me just into the obese category, and my waist is larger than it’s been all my life. Also, I see that my blood sugar is gradually increasing; I want to turn things around before I am diagnosed as prediabetic. I’ve lost and then regained weight before. I need to do something different.”
[Friend #1] has a similar figure to mine.
Friend #1: “Your weight is normal! You’re fine. And everyone’s blood sugar rises as they age. Eating like this is going to destroy your metabolism.”
I just rolled my eyes internally.