Now pull it out; the hole that remains is a measure of how much you’ll be missed”
Saxon White Kessinger
The big issue here is they are just not approaching it as Carol Dweck (author of Mindset) would say with a "growth mindset". They are in a "fixed mindset". They are not open at all to the possibility that there may be another diet approach which could just as well achieve the same outcome as their apparent "one true way". What is even more appalling is the fact that these Diet Absolutists argue ad nauseum with everyone and sundry who dares to suggest their is another way. The sheer waste of effort is absolutely mind boggling. Now of course some healthy banter challenging beliefs and suggesting alternatives is fantastic. The problem presents itself however when they engage in these rants online with other Diet Absolutists. Then as a result they bang on and on to someone as fixed minded as they are and neither party can see let alone is willing to even admit that their may be alternatives out there.
The above quote springs to mind as advice these fixed mindset diet absolutists would benefit from. Your desperate attempts to provide "evidence" as to why your approach is the only way is just as meaningful as sticking your hand in a bucket of water and then expecting there to be a hole when you remove it, such is the power and immense omnipotence of your knowledge bombs. Your efforts are all for nothing and frankly it is appalling.
The unfortunate side effect of all this is that people who are genuinely seeking to be enlightened further about how diet can play a crucial role in their particular health journey are left trying to sift through a massive pile of garbage with no apparent clear approach in site. So as a result they either give up or they too join the flock of sheep that are fixed to a particular diet approach.
There is a reason the best coaches in the fitness industry, people like Josh Bryant or John Berardi are the best at they what they do. They are self proclaimed "approach agnostics". They know their is not "one true way". They develop years of expertise across a huge variety of approaches. They then expertly apply the approach which will work for that individual. I have no doubt they don't always get it right the first time. They however keep working with their client until they develop the best approach for that individual.
All the diet absolutists out there. Learn from the stoics. They were masters of not ensuring that they get so irate and hot under the collar to things that frankly don't matter. They knew it was a pointless exercise to do so. You can't change the situation. If you so truly believe that your one particular way, be it Vegan, Intermittent fasting or LCHF approach is the only way, why then if someone feels the same way about their diet approach are they going to listen to you. Turn your energies into something positive. Please just allow the rest of us not to have to watch this ridiculous debate rage day in and day out across social media and any other platform you diet absolutists wish to subject us to your endless rants!
A great heuristic I often hear proposed is that you know the person is not an expert when they speak in absolutes. You listen to any genuine expert on a subject and they will tell you that there will be exception, or they will apply multiple caveats before stating an opinion. This comes from the fact that they more they learn, the more they realise they have a lot more to learn. Unfortunately the majority of diet absolutists online have superficial knowledge at best and then believe that they can "educate the world" on the little bit they know. Diet absolutists out there.....Stop it!