What do you say when someone asks you...

[Nora'sMommy]

what kind of diet is this that you're on?

Do you say, "I eat traditional foods" or "I eat traditionally" or "I eat NT" or what? What do you call it and how do you explain it to SAD people!?

[Severine]

I get a lot of criticism from my mom especially for not eating SAD. And I haven't even fully transitioned to NT!

But the best way I explain it is that we eat whole foods prepared traditionally. Most could care less about a further explanation, but I figure that covers the bases at least.

BTW, this is not a diet that I'm "on"... this is a way of life. If it's not a lifestyle change, it's not going to be beneficial in the long run. There are no short cuts and no short-term solutions.

[HerthElde]

I use the term "nutrient-dense" ("I try to eat nutrient-dense foods.")

[nourishing]

Natural, nutrient-dense and non-toxic!

[quietserena]

I say 'whole foods' a lot. That seems to be sufficiently vague that if people are interested they ask, if not they just assume I'm a health nut.

[Taedareth]

Yeah, "whole foods" works for us. If people get curious, I start telling them about "my favorite cookbook" - NT.

[Nora'sMommy]

but what is this way of eating technically called?

[MissyH]

I just call it food!

[PeggyinNC]

"but what is this way of eating technically called?"

I call it, and did even before Nina Planck's great book came out, "real food"!
But I think that some of the other replies, whole food prepared in old-fashioned traditional ways would be great descriptions as well.

[Nora'sMommy]

But I considered my diet before I started with NT to be "real food", or "whole foods." So if I said that to my friends who also eat a relatively good whole foods (but not NT) diet, it wouldn't seem like there's a difference.

I guess I'm just looking for a name. Like vegetarians can say "I'm a vegetarian." Isn't there one?

[newcastlemama]

Traditional foodist?

[MyLittleWonders]

I usually say I eat a "diet" that would give most MD's a heart attack. I usually say I eat a whole food/nutrient dense diet heavy with healthy fats. If they ask, I go on to explain. My dad had me trying to explain losing weight with coconut oil to his somewhat crabby girlfriend at Christmas! Needless to say it didn't go over too well (eh, there's only about 28 years of grief there between the two of us, so I think talking about how I've lost all this weight with coconut oil and my dad wanting her to "take notes" probably didn't help! ).

[nicolelynn]

Yeah I usually say that I'm into traditional foods nutrition, because if I just say whole foods people are like "yeah...so you like soymilk and lowfat things? blablabla" and because there are also whole food vegans. I usually have to end up explaining it at least briefly because if I say "yeah I'm into nutrition" people automatically think I mean lowfat, etc. I get confused looks when say I'm into and discuss nutrition with the Chiropractor I work with who is also into "nutrition" (a soy isolate protein shake because he lifts weight...sweetened with sucralose blah!) and then they offer me soymilk and I politely refuse it.

I'm still trying to explain it to a friend of mine. I say I'm into nutrition and she'll say, "I'm so jealous...you're so skinny...teach me" and then in the next breath she says "dairy is my biggest downfall! my husband (a great cook) cooks with butter and cream". To which I say, "I use lots of butter and cream" and she just looks confused. I look at her kitchen and see white flour pasta, bread and cereal with soymilk and realize those are her downfall, not dairy products.
Slowly she is getting it hehe.

[soliloquy72]

I say "traditional foods" and/or "The Maker's Diet." Since TMD was a NYT bestseller a lot of people have heard of it.

[rstump]

I would start by saying whole/organic foods. Then probably traditional/back to basics/nutrient dense for more explaination.

[moneca]

Whole traditional foods. I love explaining that we eat the way my grandparents did on their farm back in the early 1900s. I'm used to people looking at me like I've got five heads because we don't vaccinate. It's just more of those big eyed looks when I mention our eating choices.

[saratc]

Originally Posted by moneca

Whole traditional foods.

That's what I say too. If they look confused, I'll sometimes elaborate and say whole, unprocessed foods prepared in traditional ways. A mouthful, but most accurate. I try to avoid the word organic, since then people try to offer me organic pumpkin bread made with refined sugars and unsoaked white flour.