PUTTING IT OUT THERE

bugsypemberton

"Thank you! Food "addiction" is hard. I know, not a real addiction but it sure feels like it. I am learning not to binge. And not to hide it. And how to feed my body thinking of food as fuel 95% of the time. Keep posting, keep moving, accountability is awesome. Recruit some real life friends as well if you can as buddies."

"Food is fuel".

---

Love the slogan! I am 61 years old. Some days I feel like an rpg couldn't get me going lol. And other days I'm rarin' to go!

I'll keep your advice in mind. Maybe think of myself as a car- only right now more like an over-sized clunker

bugsypemberton

BYEBYE SUNDAY!................................................................................medium length article



So, this is another day. Sunday in fact. Sunday morning breakfast is light.
Sunday morning lunch is a sandwich of some kind.
And then there's Sunday dinner.

Remember Sunday dinners? I do. As a kid and when my kids were little. I think this sickness is passed on through families!

Here's how Sunday dinner went in my family.

There was always some kind of hefty meat. Roast, meatloaf, even roast chicken. Back then chicken was "cheap food" (or cheep food, depending on whether or not the chicken was alive right before baking).

You could smell it cooking all day. I think it was a Mom conspiracy to make us want to eat all the food on our plate. Which brings me to a brief side track question:

Did your parents tell you to eat everything on your plate? And how do you handle the accompanying guilt trip of: there are starving children all over the place!

Anyway, you could hear the whirring of Moms new hand mixer (they were all the rage when they first came out). You could smell the green beans cooking (in ham fat, of course). And then there was the smell of some fresh homemade pastry still lingering from the night before.

Suddenly, come Sunday afternoon, you were presented with this culinary culmination of waiting, waiting and more waiting for Sunday Dinner.

And you scarfed it down as if you hadn't eaten in months! And it tasted as good as it smelled!

Today they call all of this "comfort food". As if eating anything else made EVERYTHING else "uncomfortable food".

Mashed potatoes and gravy? Comfort food.
Tossed salad in a light dressing? Uncomfortable food.

Chicken and dumplings? Comfort food.
Squash casserole (no crackers) and salmon? Uncomfortable food.

You get where I'm going?

I am convinced that todays' motivational food handlers intentionally place bad messages about food in our subconscious. But Sunday dinner was an accidental messaging because Sunday dinner wasn't intended to make us obese. It was intended to give us a time when we could all sit down together, enjoy one another's company, and do what mankind has done since the ions of time: share a meal with the ones we love.

So today's dinner is:

Chicken Shepherds Pie
1 can (10 1/2 ounces) Campbell’s® Healthy Request® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup
1 1/4 cups water
1 1/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cut into 1inch
pieces
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning, crushed
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 package (16 ounces) frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, green beans, corn, peas), thawed
1 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1 cup fat free evaporated milk
1/4 cup shredded (2% milk) low fat Cheddar cheese

Heat the oven to 350°F. Stir the soup and 1/4 cup water in a large bowl.

Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, the onion powder and poultry seasoning. Heat the oil in a 12inch skillet over medium high heat.

Add the chicken and cook until well browned, stirring occasionally.

Add the chicken and vegetables to the soup mixture and stir to coat. Spoon the chicken mixture into a 2quart
round casserole.

Microwave the remaining water in a microwavable bowl on HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes or until hot. Add the potato flakes and stir until the water is absorbed. Stir in the milk and remaining black pepper. Loosely cover and microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes or until the mixture is hot. Spread the potato mixture over the chicken mixture. Sprinkle with the cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes or until the chicken mixture is hot and bubbling.

I've never made this before. My sons girlfriend is coming over for the day so a four-person casserole seemed a good idea. Campbells has lightened things up.

Will review after tasting but you get the idea. At 350 calories per serving, not half bad!

lemonychild

You're only accountable to you. I doubt many care to the extent we like to think they do

RoxieDawn

lemonychild wrote: »

You're only accountable to you. I doubt many care to the extent we like to think they do

Nice point.

I have been struggling as to what to say here. This is a personal journal of thoughts, journal of a personal nature of one's days of activities and events, what's being eaten for dinner and actual reading of the recipes.. confused in this matter and using this platform.

TavistockToad

RoxieDawn wrote: »

lemonychild wrote: »

You're only accountable to you. I doubt many care to the extent we like to think they do

Nice point.

I have been struggling as to what to say here. This is a personal journal of thoughts, journal of a personal nature of one's days of activities and events, what's being eaten for dinner and actual reading of the recipes.. confused in this matter and using this platform.

OP doesn't want to blog...

bugsypemberton

"You're only accountable to you. I doubt many care to the extent we like to think they do"

Its a proven fact that if you're accountable to others, most people do much better with their weight loss or whatever they're trying to accomplish. Maybe you don't want to see it, that's fine. Just skip over the thread (it's not so hard to do). But I had an account on here back when I first lost tons of weight and I noticed that nobody read the blog! Hello! And yet I wanted the accountability- the positive peer pressure- whatever you want to call it.

So I thought this would put it out there more.

And no, I am not "only accountable to me". I am accountable to everyone in my family. I am accountable to my dog. I am accountable to you, even. Because if I tell people I use myfitnesspal.com to help me with weight loss and then I fail, I fail you and everyone else on here.

Would life were so simple as "it doesn't matter, I can hide the problem, after all, its just MY problem!" If that were the case I would wolf down a NY Cheesecake, a Giffs burger, and some dutch German chocolate cake topped with a bowl of pasta right now, take a huge burp, and die in my cardiac arrest, comfortable in the thought that nobody really cares, after all, I am ONLY responsible to ME.

Sorry to be so blunt here but really? You can't just skip this thread? Maybe, just maybe, there's others on here who share the same thoughts and feelings on a daily basis. Maybe they're wondering: "what the heck CAN I eat?" Or maybe someone else has lived with the shame and guilt of hiding things in the kitchen or sneaking a meal out just to have something they know they shouldn't be eating in such large amounts.

So if this thread bothers you please, you won't hurt my feelings if you decide not to read it but allow me the right- no the privilege- of sharing this with others. It's not against the rules of myfitnesspal for me to use this simple thread this way.

One more thing: there are people on here already who are cheering me on. More than they probably know! It's like having friends who care enough to say they have a good idea, some advice, prayers, a slogan or just an "atta girl".

That's kind of what myfitnesspal is all about, isn't it?

JeromeBarry1

I'm not Baptist but there aren't any sermons against gluttony in COC either. To lose the weight I've lost, I chose to learn how to cook by the stir-fry method, as it allows me to discretely measure and include the various items and is not amenable to the inclusion of flour. From the ways you describe being a food addict, I guess I'm not. Anyway, it's time to get up and get ready for the evening service.

bugsypemberton

Thanks so much, Jerome.

Stir fry is great! In a way I wish there was more of a push towards health in churches. I guess there's some out there that do. I've just not found one in my area as yet.

By the way guys, I ate the recipe for todays little casserole. Not bad. Had to amp up the black pepper to get some zing and substituted the canned milk with unsweetened plain almond milk.

All in all, not a bad dish. I think I would redo it some though. Decrease the water by half and not add the cheese until after the taters get browned.

bugsypemberton

has anyone else here ever had salad for breakfast?

It seems that we're taught a lot of things that we carry over into our grown up years. One of those is what constitutes breakfast.

Think about this for a moment if you will.

Long before you could reach the upper shelf of the fridge, you were being given breakfast. This usually consisted of some kind of cereal, hot or cold and maybe something else on the side.

In my generation the cereal of choice was cornflakes. Then again, we didn't have too many choices. It's not like today where there's an entire aisle devoted to various flakes and crunchies- much of which is sugar coated.

No, back in my day you basically had three choices: flaked corn, puffed rice, and something that went snap, crackle and pop. That took up a whole 4 feet on one shelf.

Today you have so many choices it's not even funny- its mind boggling. But with all these choices we're still doing breakfast the same way!

Unless, of course, you were raised on a farm. In which case you ate the classic farmers breakfast: eggs, ham or bacon, pancakes, biscuits and gravy and maybe some fruit. Maybe. The difference between now and then, however, is the application of the food. Back then you got up at four, worked until 7, ate and went back outside and worked some more. Today,on the other hand, we get up at 7, schlep to the I-Hop, order the farmers breakfast, chow down and go sit at a desk.

You want to know something? I think we need to change breakfast to meet the times. We don't live in the 1800's and we don't live in 1950. And I bet most of us aren't farmers. We live in todays world and we need to fuel our bodies in a way that works with our today lives.

So, being the brain child that I am (cough cough) I had salad for breakfast. No- not fruit salad! REAL salad. A cob salad portioned out by WalMart Marketplace. A little chicken. A little lean ham. A little shredded cheese. A little dressing. A lot of lettuce. Accumulating into 240 calories.

Basically its blending the two old time breakfasts together. Well, in a way. There's proteins (meat) dairy (cheese and creamy dressing) and crunch (lettuce).

And you know what? It was weird to do but I liked it!

So, if you're of a mind, let me know what you're doing for breakfast. I would love to hear.

kshama2001

You'll get more responses if you start a new thread with 'breakfast' in the title.

Or see some of these: http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/search?adv=1&search=&title=breakfast&author=&cat=all&tags=&discussion_d=1&comment_c=1&group_group=1&within=1+day&date=

bugsypemberton

RoxieDawn wrote: »

lemonychild wrote: »

You're only accountable to you. I doubt many care to the extent we like to think they do

Nice point.

I have been struggling as to what to say here. This is a personal journal of thoughts, journal of a personal nature of one's days of activities and events, what's being eaten for dinner and actual reading of the recipes.. confused in this matter and using this platform.

Actually Roxie, no, it's not a "personal journal". Its an open recounting and sharing of thoughts, insights and maybe even some recipes and products.

I have to wonder though: why dump on someone else trying to get healthier? Maybe lemonychild doesn't care about my struggles and thoughts. That's okay. But if she really believes others don't care to the extent "we think they do", then why bother to tell others her thoughts and ideas, etc?

This platform is called a "message board", Roxie. It doesn't specify what kind of message you put up, as long as you follow the rules outlined in the website terms of service (TOS). Which my posts certainly do.

I chose this venue because I do not want to hide my problem any more. Oh, I guess I could blog it. And the blogs allow you to hide your posts. That's the very thing I do NOT need to do. Even if nobody reads what I write here, I am still being open, for the first time since this struggle began!

So for you, Ms Roxie, and others who say they're confused, I hope this explanation helps.

A lack of transparency only works if you're in government. For the rest of us it only messes up our lives more.

ClicquotBubbles

But this is a blog?. On a general message forum? Surely you blog and then come on the forum with a quick round up of your blogpost and a link to the blog.
I cant see anybody "dumping" on you; I think they are just wondering why your blogging on a message/general forum.I've never seen blogging as hiding, more of a diary/memorandum where you can go into more details and even add pictures and more links.
In fact I think a blog allows you the freedom to confess all and more to yourself and others.

kshama2001

bugsypemberton wrote: »

RoxieDawn wrote: »

lemonychild wrote: »

You're only accountable to you. I doubt many care to the extent we like to think they do

Nice point.

I have been struggling as to what to say here. This is a personal journal of thoughts, journal of a personal nature of one's days of activities and events, what's being eaten for dinner and actual reading of the recipes.. confused in this matter and using this platform.

Actually Roxie, no, it's not a "personal journal". Its an open recounting and sharing of thoughts, insights and maybe even some recipes and products.

I have to wonder though: why dump on someone else trying to get healthier? Maybe lemonychild doesn't care about my struggles and thoughts. That's okay. But if she really believes others don't care to the extent "we think they do", then why bother to tell others her thoughts and ideas, etc?

This platform is called a "message board", Roxie. It doesn't specify what kind of message you put up, as long as you follow the rules outlined in the website terms of service (TOS). Which my posts certainly do.

I chose this venue because I do not want to hide my problem any more. Oh, I guess I could blog it. And the blogs allow you to hide your posts. That's the very thing I do NOT need to do. Even if nobody reads what I write here, I am still being open, for the first time since this struggle began!

So for you, Ms Roxie, and others who say they're confused, I hope this explanation helps.

A lack of transparency only works if you're in government. For the rest of us it only messes up our lives more.

@bugsypemberton you're getting pushback because you are using a discussion board to blog. While it may not be against the rules, we're not used to seeing that, and many of us find it odd.

There are people in my friends list who will post on their feed when they have a new blog post up. To me, that's a more natural use of this platform.

booksandchocolate12

bugsypemberton wrote: »

lemonychild wrote: »

You're only accountable to you. I doubt many care to the extent we like to think they do

Its a proven fact that if you're accountable to others, most people do much better with their weight loss or whatever they're trying to accomplish.

Before I came to MFP, I was a member of WW. I did much better doing the online program on my own, being accountable only to myself, than I did when I was going to meetings and had to get weighed in front of someone.

I think that having an "accountability buddy" vs being accountable only to yourself is personal preference. But if you can provide links to studies that show that it is a "proven fact", and not just your personal opinion, that people do much better when accountable to others, I'd be happy to read them.

bugsypemberton

booksandchocolate12 wrote: »

bugsypemberton wrote: »

lemonychild wrote: »

You're only accountable to you. I doubt many care to the extent we like to think they do

Its a proven fact that if you're accountable to others, most people do much better with their weight loss or whatever they're trying to accomplish.

Before I came to MFP, I was a member of WW. I did much better doing the online program on my own, being accountable only to myself, than I did when I was going to meetings and had to get weighed in front of someone.

I think that having an "accountability buddy" vs being accountable only to yourself is personal preference. But if you can provide links to studies that show that it is a "proven fact", and not just your personal opinion, that people do much better when accountable to others, I'd be happy to read them.

Not a problem

http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/choosing-weight-loss-buddy#1

http://www.signaturemedicinemd.com/weight-loss/personal-accountability
"So how can you accept and show your accountability? Paradoxically, showing personal accountability may mean being accountable to someone else. In much the same way as most of us learn that being accountable to our team or our school with “spirit” is a powerful motivator for striving toward a goal such as winning a game, being accountable to someone else can help you stay true to your weight loss goals. A weight loss buddy, workout buddy or even a dietitian or personal trainer can help. You may also choose to make your commitment public by starting a weight loss blog or social media page."

I particularly found the above interesting as it mentions blog or media page. The problem I found with blogging is that it has the option to HIDE your entries. Believe me when I say I would certainly hide it, which leads to giving up.

http://www.fivewayfitness.com/how-does-accountability-help-with-weight-loss/

There's a lot more out there if you're interested.

I think its GREAT that you're able to self-start and self-maintain on this issue. Maybe food isn't really your obsession (addiction, whatever people want to call it).

Everyone has their addiction they may hide. For some its sneaking that extra cigarette. Or maybe a sip of booze they hide. Or it could be something like Mountain Dew. My husband quit Mountain Dew when it ended up costing us in excess of $1200.00 for his teeth to get fixed. I was his support. But when it comes to my food addiction, I actually need accountability from those who understand it, which he does not.

Some people can do it alone or basically by themselves. I respect that. I cannot.

Someone once said "know thyself". Believe me, I do.

Congrats on your success!!!

bugsypemberton

kshama2001 wrote: »

bugsypemberton wrote: »

RoxieDawn wrote: »

lemonychild wrote: »

You're only accountable to you. I doubt many care to the extent we like to think they do

Nice point.

I have been struggling as to what to say here. This is a personal journal of thoughts, journal of a personal nature of one's days of activities and events, what's being eaten for dinner and actual reading of the recipes.. confused in this matter and using this platform.

Actually Roxie, no, it's not a "personal journal". Its an open recounting and sharing of thoughts, insights and maybe even some recipes and products.

I have to wonder though: why dump on someone else trying to get healthier? Maybe lemonychild doesn't care about my struggles and thoughts. That's okay. But if she really believes others don't care to the extent "we think they do", then why bother to tell others her thoughts and ideas, etc?

This platform is called a "message board", Roxie. It doesn't specify what kind of message you put up, as long as you follow the rules outlined in the website terms of service (TOS). Which my posts certainly do.

I chose this venue because I do not want to hide my problem any more. Oh, I guess I could blog it. And the blogs allow you to hide your posts. That's the very thing I do NOT need to do. Even if nobody reads what I write here, I am still being open, for the first time since this struggle began!

So for you, Ms Roxie, and others who say they're confused, I hope this explanation helps.

A lack of transparency only works if you're in government. For the rest of us it only messes up our lives more.

@bugsypemberton you're getting pushback because you are using a discussion board to blog. While it may not be against the rules, we're not used to seeing that, and many of us find it odd.

There are people in my friends list who will post on their feed when they have a new blog post up. To me, that's a more natural use of this platform.

Maybe you can answer my question:
What is so earth shattering about this? Why are some people so seemingly disturbed by it? There's no rule saying it cannot be done. And nobody has to click on the thread.
So what's the issue?

bugsypemberton

OKAY NOW if someone would kindly tell me who is making you all read this thread out of the thousands available on myfitnesspal, I would like to know! Shame on them for making you click on this thread and double shame on them for making you read it!

bugsypemberton

Jaidann1962 wrote: »

Thank you for sharing. It's not easy to step out of a shell.

Jaidann I wanted to reiterate my thank you to you and others who seem to understand why I selected this over a blog format.

Maybe others dont understand the technology well enough so I will attempt to explain.

Blogs were originated not to be public. Instead they came along as an alternative to the message board. Unlike the message board, which is designed to provide electronic communications between people in an open format, the blog was originally designed as a personal diary, albeit online, that could be closed off to the public.

Over time, though offering the option to stay private, some people opted to make their blogs public. But if you haven't noticed, there's always the option to HIDE your blog. Even with a service like blogger.com.

Message boards, on the other hand. Not so much. Sure you can make it to where a select group only can view segments, but the main body is available.

On MFB, you have to know people before you can include them as a "friend" so they will even know the blog is out there. So how is that any different from using the forum in order to know others and be accountable to them? There isn't really. Except the blog is "more private". Something some of us would take too much advantage of.

What both have in common is the option to read them is only a click away. As is the option not to read them.

Anyway, thanks to Jaidann and others who understand why.

bugsypemberton

HERE'S THE SLOGAN ENTRIES THUS FAR:
queenliz99 No more excuses"!

Petrolhead75 'just keep moving'

youngmomtaz "Food is fuel"

150poundsofme Success is addictive.
Say yes to your potential.
Consistency.
Be your own hero.

Wow these are good! Keep 'em rollin folks! I'm doing this through the month of September!

zyxst

bugsypemberton wrote: »

OKAY NOW if someone would kindly tell me who is making you all read this thread out of the thousands available on myfitnesspal, I would like to know! Shame on them for making you click on this thread and double shame on them for making you read it!

I keep coming back to read what others responses are. I generally skip over your posts.