Of refeeds and diet breaks

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  • HDBKLM
    HDBKLM Posts: 466 Member
    anubis609 wrote: »
    dancefit2015 wrote: »
    I maintained my weight while in Hawaii (didn't log) so I decided to make it part of a diet break and have been eating at maintenance since I've been back. I, too, am already struggling with staying below my maintenance calories so going back to a deficit on Monday is going to be a challenge. I agree with @HDBKLM , about how the cold weather makes it harder to stay below goal. In Hawaii, with summer weather, I was super active, ate mostly nutritionally dense foods happily, and rarely felt hungry... but as soon as I got back home to winter weather, I was starving and hardly active at all. And I only want comforting junk food. Strange how weather can do that.

    There are animal and human studies that correlate weather and eating patterns. The most used example are bears. Gorge in the fall to get fat and hibernate all winter, wake up lean and hungry in spring to reproduce, raise their cubs in summer and do it all over again.

    People aren't very different. Hotter environments up regulate metabolism to keep from overheating, so resting expenditure is increased. Eating food raises body temperature due to the thermogenic effect of food (TEF), and if it's already hot, the last thing we want to do is make ourselves hotter. Circadian genes also track along with natural sunlight. We will eat appropriately when we're exposed to natural light and reduce our activity/intake at night. On the opposite end, being exposed to cold temperatures and dark environments trigger the body's response to conserve more energy because of it's primal evolutionary fear of starvation and death, so we eat more and the more tasty the food, the more we get to eat.

    Hibernation mode certainly sounds plausible, and @dancefit2015 I'm glad I'm not the only one. Because of the dark, these days I'm in for the night by 6pm whereas in the summer that still feels like mid-afternoon. Also, a lot of my exercise comes in the form of walking from place to place through the city because I'm the type who often needs to be tricked into exercise rather than, say, walking in circles on a track or through my neighbourhood or something that is self-evidently exercise-for-the-sake-of-exercise (trying to get better at that as I'll be incorporating strength training soon). So the choice to walk or use the metro takes a hit this time of year. And then, as I mentioned last time, wine and stew. Making chilli this weekend and having a Skype girltalk with a friend in Italy so there will be real wine with virtual chatter. Based on wine consumption alone I'm getting about an extra 1000+ calories a week at the moment. So that's about 1 pound NOT lost every 3 weeks until this passes and/or nutrients not consumed on the days I manage to fit the wine into my assigned calories.
  • Terebynthia
    Terebynthia Posts: 75 Member
    Wine is my blooming kryptonite. I'm dealing by buying those teeny tiny individual serve bottles!
  • mph323
    mph323 Posts: 3,565 Member
    Terebynthia wrote: »
    Wine is my blooming kryptonite. I'm dealing by buying those teeny tiny individual serve bottles!

    I've thought about that myself. I don't have a problem regulating my wine intake, but my husband usually drinks beer during the week, and I often end up pouring the last glass or two in the bottle down the drain when it's been in the fridge too long. The only small bottles I've found so far are white and rose, and I prefer red - I'm the last thing from a wine snob, so if I found something dark enough I'd be totally open to trying it!
  • Terebynthia
    Terebynthia Posts: 75 Member
    Sainsbury's do some OK rioja, but I agree there's not much choice. One thing that might work for you (it doesn't give me enough of a barrier to consumption sadly, even though they seal very tight) is Vinolok glass stoppers and smaller bottles (I think we bought our 200 ml bottles and stoppers from this place: http://www.thebottlejarstore.co.uk/lids_and_closures/vinolok_glass_stoppers/vinolok_glass_stopper_215_high_top_P899.html).

    Even the teeny bottles with the wine in are pretty good for keeping wine fresh in the fridge in a pinch if you make sure you fill them up to the brim. Learned this one from a guy who was allergic to alcohol apart from in very small quantities while being a serious wine drinker. He put me onto the Vinoloks.
  • HDBKLM
    HDBKLM Posts: 466 Member
    Yeah actually I used to have a friend whose dad would buy a bottle and portion it out between 4 water bottles then drink one each evening. Sadly I'm seemingly not able to achieve this. If it's in the house I drink it. I mean, I can stop myself before I've finished the bottle but not at 1. Basically, my partner and I will split one bottle in an evening, then the only answer is to not buy another one for as long as possible. But that period of time in the winter, with its boring sedentary cabin fever periods, is terribly short :)
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    Do you not have cask wine in North America? Actually not good if you don't stop until the container is empty. It is how to have one glass a night without the rest going bad though. Admittedly, you're not going to get anything quality in a cask.
  • HDBKLM
    HDBKLM Posts: 466 Member
    If you're talking to me, I actually live in the Mediterranean (although yes, I am American, and actually I'll be moving back to the US pretty soon after nearly 12 years away). Typically I see neither the tiny bottles nor boxes when I'm out. Half a bottle then not going back to the shops for as long as I can manage it is my best strategy for the moment.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    HDBKLM wrote: »
    If you're talking to me, I actually live in the Mediterranean (although yes, I am American, and actually I'll be moving back to the US pretty soon after nearly 12 years away). Typically I see neither the tiny bottles nor boxes when I'm out. Half a bottle then not going back to the shops for as long as I can manage it is my best strategy for the moment.

    Ah, that would explain the absence of such uncouth things!
  • HDBKLM
    HDBKLM Posts: 466 Member
    I think MFP needs to add a 'hahahahahahahahahaha' button.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited January 2018
    Box wine is finally starting to catch on in the US. It used to only be cheapo stuff associated with people who didn't know good wine from bad. But now there are several fancy sounding brands putting their wine in pretty but still affordable boxes. And wine snobs are showing them begrudging respect :blush:
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    This conversation reminded me of one of my all time favourite You Tube clips:

    https://youtu.be/nSNHfAX_vZA


    Yup, just like champagne :D
  • HDBKLM
    HDBKLM Posts: 466 Member
    Whoa, and over ice, with Crocodile Rock as accompaniment. Maybe I could also put in for a new MFP 'OMG' button while I'm at it.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    And a 5 litre cask. You know that's quality stuff. Also note that wine comes in both red and white.
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    bmeadows380 wrote: »
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    It's really hard when you have multiple cats who want to graze and one of them is a chub. ......I'll try to think of some ideas for you, but while they're grazing it's nigh on impossible to slim one down. Can s/he be separated while you're at work, with only measured food available? Will s/he engage in interactive play?

    I tried separating her but it was a disaster. She cannot stand to be pinned in any way or having a door shut on her. She'd claw to bedroom door and cry until I let her out. She doesn't get along well with one of her brothers and often stays under the bed or up on something. She does take the notion to play with one of the million cat toys I have occasionally or with her sister and sometimes shell go tearing through the house for no apparent reason lol

    At feeding time the boys eat first. I've got food bowls scattered throughout the house and I have a scoop so I can portion the amount. Lizzy, my problem child, will usually claim one of the other bowls. Her sister Dot (the cute one lol) waits until everyone else is done then will grab a few bites and go off only to come back later for a few more bites. The youngest is practically nocturnal so I have to make sure one of the bowls has food in it at night for her-night is the only time I've seen her eat.

    Lizzie is stressed by her brother. I don't know why they've decided they can't get along; they've been together their entire lives! But he likes to bully her and she's cranky and gets nasty with him. She decided for a while to use the carpet in my last rental house and to stop her I had to keep boxes along the walls and rugs on the carpet. I then bought a house with no carpet but then she started going on the beds. I got around her on that by putting a plastic shower curtain on the bed. I hate to do that often though because her brother Sam likes to burrow under my comforter and I feared he'd suffocate under the curtain, but I can't stop him. He's still here though so I guess my fears are groundless :)

    She's been behaving herself lately, but I'm not going to hold my breath long. Lol

    Sounds like it might be time to have dedicated feeding times so you can better control what she’s eating. So sorry!
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    alteredstates175 wrote: »
    Thanks, @PAV8888, @anubis609 and @Nony_Mouse for taking the time to crunch the numbers and share your knowledge. I will stay the course at around 2000 to 2250 calories. This is relatively easy - seems like plenty of food compared to the earlier regimen. I'll work on getting some additional fiber and carbs in the plan. (Hello, oatmeal, old friend.) With an occasional treat day, I will be fine.

    Patience is not my strong suit (obviously!). I will take measurements again and I will check back in a couple of weeks. Thank you.

    Easy fiber idea (maybe). I buy these high fiber tortillas off Amazon. Ole High Fiber Tortillas. 50 cal per tortilla, no trans fats and ... 11 grams of fiber (per tortilla)! They’re soft and yummy! The sodium is a bit high for my tastes, but they’re a yummy snack with a bit of Smart Balance spread ( or butter-type thing of your choosing).

  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    Oh so you guys may recall that I got a hypoallergenic mattress topper just after Xmas, but had to return it because it was the wrong size. Noticed the other day that they had the 60% off special on it again, so went in to get one, and it was even cheaper! $60 for a $250 mattress topper. Huzzah!! I've just popped it on the bed after taking the sheets off to wash, and holy marshmallow Batman.

    Weight related because sleep is important...

    Right there with ya! I bought one off Groupon last fall: 3.5 inches of memory foam with 1.5 inches of gel on top. Also bought some amazing sheets from Groupon. I now call it Cloud Bed. Because it is. :blush:
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    So I have a great couple of weeks of macros! And I'm telling you all because no one in my real life cares! :lol: 32% protein 34% carbs and fat this week, a slight deviation from last week: 31% protein, 35% carbs and 34% fat. I've been working really hard to get the protein up from ~ 25%.

    Cooked 3.3 pounds of chicken breast last weekend, 6 servings of quinoa and a dozen egg white/turkey sausage/quinoa muffins for breakfast. Need to hit the store again tomorrow.

  • Hungry_Shopgirl
    Hungry_Shopgirl Posts: 329 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    So I have a great couple of weeks of macros! And I'm telling you all because no one in my real life cares! :lol: 32% protein 34% carbs and fat this week, a slight deviation from last week: 31% protein, 35% carbs and 34% fat. I've been working really hard to get the protein up from ~ 25%.

    Cooked 3.3 pounds of chicken breast last weekend, 6 servings of quinoa and a dozen egg white/turkey sausage/quinoa muffins for breakfast. Need to hit the store again tomorrow.

    Wow, I want to be like you when I grow up :D I'm having an awful time trying to eat more protein. I get tired of chicken breasts really easily, plus I have a hunch that the oversized chicken breasts I get at the supermarket are pumped full of hormones (1 breast can be almost 300gr!). Organic, hormone free chicken is just not available where I live in SE Asia. Neither is turkey or cottage cheese. So there go three sources of lean protein out the window. The bit I do get is mostly from eggs and that fishy chicken. Maybe I'll just have to try and find some protein powder to supplement my intake...
  • GottaBurnEmAll
    GottaBurnEmAll Posts: 7,722 Member
    edited January 2018
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    So ... something a little new for me here ... I realize this is a public forum, but it seems like a good place to ask here, in this thread. In the last month or so, several young women have friended me who appear to have very scary issues with consuming enough food.

    I'll accept any request, why not? I think. But this cluster of women is different. The ones who have open diaries have daily calorie goals of 666, 800, 400 calories that they don't seem to be meeting (I started looking at diaries hoping I was misunderstanding the comments coming across my news feed). I haven't made comments and am not personally affected in any way. Their bios say they want to lose vanity weight and most of them are in recovery from eating disorders or state they have an active one. Most are in college. I think a couple started the trend and the rest friended the friends of their new friends. But part of me is wondering why they friended me in the first place. I can't imagine I would come across as someone supporting this level of unhealthy (not) eating behavior.

    This is one of the reasons I don't accept friend requests unless I know people fairly well from the forums. I would tend to get involved because I have an awful personality flaw of being a fixer and I just can't with that sort of behavior because it's so harmful. I have a hard enough time on the forums seeing people eating 1200 that don't necessarily have to!

    Back to you, it's very odd that a group of them friended you.

    ps...on an unrelated note on a different post, that "champagne" was hilarious.
  • nexangelus
    nexangelus Posts: 2,080 Member
    Psychgrrl wrote: »
    So ... something a little new for me here ... I realize this is a public forum, but it seems like a good place to ask here, in this thread. In the last month or so, several young women have friended me who appear to have very scary issues with consuming enough food.

    I'll accept any request, why not? I think. But this cluster of women is different. The ones who have open diaries have daily calorie goals of 666, 800, 400 calories that they don't seem to be meeting (I started looking at diaries hoping I was misunderstanding the comments coming across my news feed). I haven't made comments and am not personally affected in any way. Their bios say they want to lose vanity weight and most of them are in recovery from eating disorders or state they have an active one. Most are in college. I think a couple started the trend and the rest friended the friends of their new friends. But part of me is wondering why they friended me in the first place. I can't imagine I would come across as someone supporting this level of unhealthy (not) eating behavior.

    Could it be your user name? I do not know the connections of it or if there are any connotations to it, sorry, just trying to guess here. No idea otherwise, I tend to steer clear of all that and actively delete undereaters cos triggers and cannot handle that without resorting to being annoyed, frustrated and worried at the behaviour.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,981 Member
    Nony_Mouse wrote: »
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    *Mario needs to be on a hypoallergenic diet, which if I want to do homemade, involves finding a protein source he has never eaten before. Unfortunately, he's tried all the more commonly available ones....srsly, I'm looking into sourcing things like tahr and alpaca. And crocodile (mine and @GottaBurnEmAll's favourite choice for him, but likely unholy expensive).

    Now I've got a mental image of a cat stalking a croc while dressed like the croc hunter..... puss in boots Aussie cousin perhaps?
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,235 Member
    Fish as a source of protein in Asia? Vegetarian proteins such as tofu tempeh seitan or combining legumes like beans, lentils, or peanuts with grains like wheat, rice, or corn (and they don't even have to be at the same time just within 24h kinda thing)
  • Hungry_Shopgirl
    Hungry_Shopgirl Posts: 329 Member
    PAV8888 wrote: »
    Fish as a source of protein in Asia? Vegetarian proteins such as tofu tempeh seitan or combining legumes like beans, lentils, or peanuts with grains like wheat, rice, or corn (and they don't even have to be at the same time just within 24h kinda thing)

    Thanks for the ideas. I will definitely try to incorporate more beans and fish.

    I stay away from tofu though because I've heard soy products can interfere with thyroid function (I'm hypothyroid so I don't need any more of that in my life :D)

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