Pook said:

I feel so strongly I could stand up and soapbox on it
all day long. But mainly what i was hoping for was
info that may help me to anti-def for paleo to the
people in my life who have chosen to go with the
barbaric bariatric surgery.  It's just especially hard
for me to deal with criticism about my chosen eating
habits from people who opted for removal of internal
organs as a solution for what I percieve as a cultural
eating problem.



might they be criticizing you because they detect you feel critical of them?
Kind of a vicious circle. Personally I find not bringing up what I eat is a
whole lot easier, esp. since I've tried a number of different things
including vegetarianism! People can have a field day with that, when you
change your mind, like you're supposed to always think the same thing your
whole life. If the topic does come up and people criticize, I say hey it's
what I think at the moment, you don't have to agree with me, and change the
subject. You don't have to justify anything - why should anyone else care
what you eat? I see my vegan friend CONSTANTLY arguing with meat eaters,
it's so boring. They usually start attacking her because she attacks them,
so on it goes . . .