I often review patient’s meal logs. Sometimes it can help in diagnosis or treatment, and often I see things that simply trigger some advice. Perhaps more important: I also believe that most people benefit from keeping the logs in the first place. I don’t demand it, but I do suggest it, and if they bring one in, I give it honest attention.
In my experience, most people on Atkins don’t follow the diet properly. Even the more diligent often make unknowing mistakes and less-than-desirable choices. Moreover, the hostess won’t have all the recipe books and carb references (on-ine sources are often ridiculously inaccurate on portion sizes or gram counts.)
My point is: if people on Atkins can’t master the diet, it’s ludicrous to expect a hostess to. If they are casual about their diet -any diet- and ‘cut corners’ in the privacy of their own kitchen, it’s hypocritical and obnoxious to make a fuss. If they think “it’d be so easy for the hostess” after the difficult mental adjustments they had to make in the transition, they lack a certain human empathy.
Any strict diet is a tremendous mental adjustment for the dieter. There are usually pitfalls - ingredients or techniques that you never thought twice about. I would not expect a hostess to be able to select and prepare a full meal in an unfamiliar diet. I certainly don’t think hostessing should require “studying up” on my diet.
If I take my diet so darn seriously, why would I want to eat a first effort by a cook who might innocently use butter in a strict vegan dish, flour to enhance an Atkins sauce, etc. I’ve seen people end up in the ER because neither host nor guest realized that baba ganoush (a spiced eggplant puree) containing tahini could trigger a life treatening nut allergy.
I think Atkins is fine, but I wouldn’t place it in the category of an allergy, just because they are both “health issues”. There’s a difference between choclate making you break out and peanuts killing you. I think moral grounds are weightier than nutritional diets too - if you slip up on one meal in a nutritional diet, there are usually no lasting moral or health issues.
Ever notice that dieters often make a bigger stink if a host innocently violates their diet than they do when they themselves “cheat” the next day?
Often, it’s more about being “accomodated” than about the diet, either personally or comparatively (“I got so mad that they accomodated her and not me!”) Your predicament isn’t lessened if other guests suffer, or increased if they don’t, so be happy when someone -anyone- doesn’t have to suffer.
Yeah, it’s a shame that we can’t do/have/eat whatever we want whenever we want–but let’s not inflict our decisions on others.
