And NO, I did not say ZEE, I said ZED.
Welcome to Alphabet Time With The Canadian.
Last week , I wrote about bullies. Today, I want to address zealots, who are a variation of bullies, but with less fashion sense.
About 2 months ago, I joined a Facebook "support" group for people who followed the same diet I've been on.
First of all, they called it a "WOE". Way of eating.
Okay, WHAT. EVER.
The diet has been called that since the 1920's. But let's all change things so we don't have to say 'diet'. Ugh.
So, at first, I learned as much as I could, and did a heap of reading of past posts. Then I began to observe the patterns of certain commenters. Now, the group I joined was led by a person with some serious education and experience, a few admins, and about half of all the hyper-keen devotees who roam Facebook at any given time.
I could put up with them, until two different things happened. The first was a comment from someone asking about tips for "staying on plan" whilst on a cruise.
Look, I've been on 2 cruises. One can either roam the ships in stretchy clothes and eat until breathing is an issue, or not. But it is HARD to even contemplate dieting on a cruise. Amazing food is everywhere. Everywhere. And there's enough alcohol flowing that anyone looking to drink can drink like a fish.
This woman was simply looking for encouragement to not stray too much. See those words? "Too much".
And lo, there upon the land, came the zealots, attacking the unwitting and laying waste to the victims.
One person said "You mean, you're planning on cheating?" But it was delivered with such vitriol that I couldn't not say something. Which I did, along the lines of "Do your best and and enjoy the trip."
Not "lay down at the end of the cheesecake table and open wide". Or "Pre-stretch your stomach before eating whole pies with ice cream."
I was disgusted at the free-rein criticism. It seems many people have been to law school, passed the bar, and went on to careers as judges.
The other thing that set me off? The zealots came after one of my family members who was also in the group.
Ya know, very dumb. Not to mention unbelieveable.
Her crime? Suggesting that people track their calorie intake. The responses were instant, and quite a few were utterly ridiculous in their level of nasty.
The science behind the ketogenic diet is that a person switches his/her fuel source from carbs and glucose, to fats and ketones. Essentially, when a person is in ketosis, the body burns fat as fuel, thereby causing weight loss for the individual. Ideally, a balance of macronutrients for any given day is 5% carbs, 70-75-% fats, and 20-25% proteins. These ratios vary by individual and it takes a while to figure out your own.
(*Under Armour makes a fabulous app called My Fitness Pal, I love it and use it everyday.)
Some people in the group came after her like rockets. Their logic was, basically, how dare you count calories and not focus on the macronutrient ratios???
Umm, look. Physiologically, it's important to know how many calories a person needs per day. I can track the same percentages as a 20 year old, male football player, but I cannot possibly consume the same amount of calories. But the zealots wouldn't listen to her logic, and the science behind it.
We both left the group shortly after that, and haven't looked back.
~~~
Is this a do-able experience? Having less than 5% of your nutrients from carbs? You tell me. I got BRAVE and posted these on Facebook yesterday.
Here's me in January.
And here is me yesterday, April 2nd.
I think I'm doing just fine without trying to dodge the zealots. My arthritis is WAAAAY better, and my migraines have decreased alot. ~~~
I'm not a rule-breaker, and I understand the need to tow the line, and know the rules for each game I play. But when people seek to crush someone for having a different opinion, or who approach the same thing in a different manner? Or come after someone for healing a sick person on the sabbath?
I'll finish with this...years ago, when #1 was on its way, I had friend who was due around the same time. She was thrilled that all the doctors and nurses for her scheduled C-section were Christians. I said, "Does it matter as long as you and the baby are okay? Wouldn't you rather have the best team, whether or not they shared your beliefs?"
Wellllll, why not just spray paint her hair green and spit in her coffee?
Here's the thing. I would rather have the best obstetrician than one who shared my beliefs. Who is to say that the Christian doctor is the best doctor? There is a time for discussing theology, and labour and delivery is not it. Nor is surgery.
She thought I was a weak and feeble Christian for not wanting my medical team to share my beliefs. Look, by the end of that pregnancy? I had extremely severe toxemia. The doctors told me the baby had probably lost a pound in utero. A POUND.
Did I care if my doctor wasn't a Christian? NO!! I wanted the best doctor possible for me and my child!
But she layered on the guilt, anyway. Ohh, did she ever.
Zealots are toxic and should be held accountable as bullies.
They're judge and jury and merciless jailor, all rolled in to one.
People, never, ever, ever go after someone for committing a crime if that crime is only an offense to you. Judging people for an offense that you have carried with you from somewhere else is what zealots do.
Jesus healed people on the sabbath because the sabbath was a day devoted to worshipping God.
The sabbath was His.
Ponder this: Jesus flipped the tables INSIDE the temple.