Page 1 of 9
1
2
3
... LastLast
  1. #1

    Homeopathy - Should I let her continue in blissful ignorance?

    So, MMOzians, I have a quandary that I seek your expert experience in!

    My partner has started to take a homeopathic solution to assist with weight loss. The program has her taking 10 drops a day of this substance and keeping her calorie intake down to 500 per day. Now, being a scientist, I know this means its basically a starvation diet. This is not a thread about whether or not homeopathy works (it doesn't - the solution she's drinking is simply ionized water, and every scientific trial in history will show you homeopathy has a treatment success rate at or below the level of the placebo effect).

    My quandary is simply whether I should let her continue in blissful ignorance and let the starvation diet do its work? I kind of want to explain to her the solution is doing nothing except costing me $150 a month, and that she can diet without it, but am acutely aware that if she becomes disillusioned with it she may not go through with the diet.

    On the other hand, she has high expectations of the diet because a bunch of women at her work "swear by it" and each week compare how much they say the program helped them lose (although, honestly, looking exactly the same size they did a month ago). I've gently introduced her to the fact that different peoples bodies metabolize differently, etc, so not to be concerned if she doesn't drastically shed the pounds through her magic potion. However if the starvation diet really doesn't do anything for her then at some point I'm going to have to tell her why the miracle water isn't doing anything and then she might feel angry or foolish that I let her continue on it.

    Finally, is it fair to let someone starve themselves under false pretenses? She's already convinced herself that the solution will stop her from feeling hungry however it won't. Shall I let her continue on the current path without knowledge and count on the diet and associated placebo effects to help her, or should I convince her that there are no shortcuts and healthier ways to lose weight (ie, moderate diet and exercise)?

    UPDATE: For anyone new discovering the thread, I did talk to her - problem solved.
    Last edited by Janaa; 2013-01-27 at 08:03 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by DSRilk View Post
    The true measure of a person is how they act when they know they won't get caught.

  2. #2
    I am Murloc! Grym's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Somewhere in UK where there is chicken
    Posts
    5,207
    Tell her the truth, but that is just me, I hate seeing people live in such illusion.

    Tell her the facts, and alternatives method of dieting, no point breaking the bad news to her if you haven't got an alternative ready for her.

  3. #3
    Mechagnome Honkeymagoo's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Location
    ̴̡ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡|̲̲̲͡͡͡ ̲▫̲͡ ̲̲̲͡͡π̲̲͡͡ ̲̲͡▫̲̲͡͡ ̲|̡̡̡ ̡ ̡͌l
    Posts
    606
    Tell her. Why waste money and let her follow both an unhealthy and bullshit diet that won't work. Help her diet the right way if she's concerned about her weight. IDGAF if it'll upset her or make her pissed at you, she made a very ignorant decision to start this and she needs to learn from her mistake, it'll be better for her in the long run.

  4. #4
    Placebo effects are sufficiently strong, particularly for subjective feelings, that there's a reasonable chance that her believing she won't feel hunger will make it work.

    That said, starvation diets are terrible for health, and so is looking for a magic bullet to weight loss. I'd inform her both of the uselessness of homeopathy and what's correct and healthy with regard to weightloss. Not doing so is a tacit form of lying.

  5. #5
    High Overlord Grakey's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Location
    Bermidji Minnesnowta
    Posts
    187
    I would tell her, even if she does get upset, you would have stopped her from starving herself, and as someone who experiences that on a regular basis (not going to go into why), I can say that its draining and it isn't something you want to put yourself through voluntarily.

  6. #6
    Deleted
    I find it incredibly worrying that you even need to ask.

    Seemingly a distinct lack of backbone in most people these days...

  7. #7
    Merely a Setback Adam Jensen's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Sarif Industries, Detroit
    Posts
    29,063
    Well of course she's going to lose weight, she's starving herself!

    Tell her, because what she's doing is not only pointless, its unhealthy and dangerous.
    Putin khuliyo

  8. #8
    Titan vindicatorx's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Where ever I want, working remote is awesome.
    Posts
    11,210
    If you tell her it's more than likely going to piss her off. The question to you is do you want to piss her off and deal with that or would you prefer to not say anything.

  9. #9
    I would not tell her and allow her to learn on her own. Women... have you ever tried to tell one she's wrong? HOLY F&^* S^%&^&%^$.... good luck with that.

  10. #10
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by vindicatorx View Post
    If you tell her it's more than likely going to piss her off. The question to you is do you want to piss her off and deal with that or would you prefer to not say anything.
    Are you seriously suggesting that jeopardizing someone's health is justifiable because you aren't prepared for a little backlash?

    That's beyond despicable.

    She clearly needs to get off this retarded diet and pussyfooting around the problem trying to sugarcoat it isn't making it any better.

    Grow a backbone and stand up for what you know is right and wrong.

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by slime View Post
    I would not tell her and allow her to learn on her own. Women... have you ever tried to tell one she's wrong? HOLY F&^* S^%&^&%^$.... good luck with that.
    Except in this case, letting her learn on her own would cost OP money and endanger her health. And if every woman you've told was wrong about something reacted that way, you should probably spend time with different women...
    He is the life of guilds he has never joined.
    He once had a noobish moment- just to see what it felt like.
    If he were to beat you in a duel, you would have to fight the strong urge to thank him.
    The Lunar Elders have a holiday in which they honor him.
    He can speak Darnassian. In Orcish.
    He is: The Most Interesting Man in the World of Warcraft.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by ChairmanMeow View Post
    I find it incredibly worrying that you even need to ask.

    Seemingly a distinct lack of backbone in most people these days...
    It's not about backbone - it's about whether I should let her continue on a starvation diet for a month to gain the desired effects, and whether the evils of doing that serve a greater good than telling her and possibly shattering her will to continue doing anything, even a milder form of dieting. She's tried other things before but never stuck with them because she couldn't see any effect. This one she's committed to because this bunch of women at work tell her about the marvelous things it does.

    It's not quite as simple as having the courage to tell her - believe me, I shoot her down over various topics all the time. I'm just concerned about whether or not telling her would be helping or hindering her ultimate goal, here. The general consensus seems to be that I should tell, though, mainly due to the negative effects of a starvation diet.
    Quote Originally Posted by DSRilk View Post
    The true measure of a person is how they act when they know they won't get caught.

  13. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Janaa View Post
    It's not about backbone - it's about whether I should let her continue on a starvation diet for a month to gain the desired effects, and whether the evils of doing that serve a greater good than telling her and possibly shattering her will to continue doing anything, even a milder form of dieting. She's tried other things before but never stuck with them because she couldn't see any effect. This one she's committed to because this bunch of women at work tell her about the marvelous things it does.

    It's not quite as simple as having the courage to tell her - believe me, I shoot her down over various topics all the time. I'm just concerned about whether or not telling her would be helping or hindering her ultimate goal, here. The general consensus seems to be that I should tell, though, mainly due to the negative effects of a starvation diet.
    Given she's overweight and doesn't understand basic.... anything, this "partner" must have a lot of personality. You're burning $150 a month for nothing. The chance of a placebo is low. She'll just comfort eat and gain more back after her failure. 500 cal a day for someone who's overweight isn't healthy. Not at all. Unhealthy is bad, but then again overweight people typically don't understand that.

  14. #14
    Well it really depends. If she is seeing any kind of weight loss because of the Placebo effect than it is worth letting her believe that it works. However if she isn't losing any weight you should probably say something.

    The mind is a strong thing. Simply believing in something can do a lot. The thing is the person really needs to believe or it doesn't work at all.

  15. #15
    Make it clear that you care for her and can't stand and watch while she is hurting herself.

    Good luck!

  16. #16
    Deleted
    Just tell her you're unwilling to pay for it. If she thinks it's working for her she can pay for it herself. Telling her she believes in BS won't get you anywhere.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by Spectral View Post
    Placebo effects are sufficiently strong, particularly for subjective feelings, that there's a reasonable chance that her believing she won't feel hunger will make it work.

    That said, starvation diets are terrible for health, and so is looking for a magic bullet to weight loss. I'd inform her both of the uselessness of homeopathy and what's correct and healthy with regard to weightloss. Not doing so is a tacit form of lying.
    pretty much this ^

    starvation diets are not only terrible for your health, but also help develop very unhealthy eating habits, even after one is done "dieting". my stepmom developed an eating disorder by using a similar diet and passed away last year due to anorexia, so it can get quite serious, quite soon.

    as men, we dont have as stringent of conformity policies in place, and so, society doesn't treat us the same. for women, its all in those stupid magazines, tv, movies, video's, etc, etc that force them to think they need to look a certain way. so yea, as a dude, you might not see it as such a big issue, but for women, that stuff can spiral out of control, very quickly.

    for both of yours' sake, just be careful.

  18. #18
    Merely a Setback Trassk's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Sep 2011
    Location
    Having a beer with dad'hardt
    Posts
    26,315
    You have to know where the line is drawn.

    My thought is, if someone believes in something, and it does no harm to anyone else, including themselves, then leave them to it.
    However, if this diet you say is something set to cause harm to her by starving herself, you need to take a front and tell her, if she is obviously becoming effected by it.

    Often what people believe in and what is common sense do not fall into the same catagory. Thankfully since you seem aware of this, you would be someone who can talk her down from it, suggest other methods that won't damage her.

  19. #19
    I am Murloc! crakerjack's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Ptwn, Oregon
    Posts
    5,014
    Don't know about you, but a friend of mine started one of these diets and he lost 80 lbs off of it... and calling it starvation is a bit drastic... why don't we just scrap fasting from our books and rename is starving??? There's a word for it and it's fasting... can't speak on behalf of everyone who tries it, but when you fast properly and take the recommended amount... combined with exercise, the weight does come off. Am I saying this is the best way to go about losing weight? Hell no... but the biggest factor in losing weight is motivation... if you're pushing yourself harder than you ever had in your life and you continue to do so for over a couple months... you'll notice that your motivation levels will drop drastically... why? Because you're working harder than you ever had in your life and your results aren't showing as much as you'd want them to. People think they can work hard like the contestants on the biggest loser and lose just as much weight... but those people are on a show where they work out almost all day and have people making their diets for them. Why do you think the first biggest loser didn't keep off the weight? He didn't know what he was doing, he had someone telling him what to do the whole time. Since people who push themselves harder than they ever had before... they get this idea in there head "Why aren't I seeing the results I deserve? I'm working my butt off and nothing is happening."

    If your friend has been fat her/his whole life... this makes it a whole lot harder... I got fat in high school because I got into WoW... no lie... I used to be a soccer player, made ODP (Olympic Development Program) and could have gone a whole lot further... but got into WoW... but since I had that athletic past and used to be able to run 2 miles in under 12 minutes... I knew how amazing it was to be skinny and fit... I was 5'5" @ 208 lbs... I'm now still 5'5", but I weigh 172lbs @ 9% body fat. Not everyone is like me though... some people have been fat their whole life, so trying to convince them how amazing it is to be skinny and not getting winded while walking upstairs to your bedroom is painstakingly hard to do. It's like telling a cow how amazing it is to be a human... they can't imagine it. That's the one thing I'll never be able to understand... Everyone is lazy, but there's something in all fat peoples brains that makes them be so lazy that they're willing to sacrifice their health so that they can continue doing w/e lazy task it is. It's not hard going to the gym for 30 minutes... people think you have to go for an hour... not even... Go for 30 minutes and that's all you need... don't over eat... and by over eating, I mean don't eat until your gut hurts or you're barely able to eat... eat a small meal, drink lots of water and after 20 minutes, you'll be satisfied.

    Wow that was a rant... well if anyone can dissect that and find the hidden knowledge that would help them lose weight, feel free to do so.
    Most likely the wisest Enhancement Shaman.

  20. #20
    Bloodsail Admiral bekilrwale's Avatar
    10+ Year Old Account
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Sarasota Fl.
    Posts
    1,148
    I personally would tell her that she is being duped because it is both costing you money and if you don't tell her then you are pretty much lying in my book.

    But I don't know your partner and have no clue how she would react. If you think she would simply drop the diet then she is pretty weak willed tbh.
    "Death is not kind. It's dark, black as far as you can see, and you're all alone."

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •