Thoughts, Epiphanies, Insights, & Quotables
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I know exactly what you mean, NSG! I too live in a rural environment, and find the peace, quiet and starry night skies absolutely essential for my quality of life and peace of mind. The trade offs are worth it to me...but then again, I live in England where nowhere in the entire United Kingdom is more than a few dozen miles from a small town. Our concept of the back of beyond is on a completely different register to that of the USA/Canada/Australia etc...4
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I have almost always lived in a town or a city….we loved living in Key West, and we loved living in Las Vegas….I think at times we need different things in our lives….when we moved to the Keys we needed the quiet and relaxed atmosphere….when we moved to busy and exciting Las Vegas, we were ready for excitement and the hustle and bustle of city life…very few people have the luxury of living where they want to or doing what they want to with their lives…sad but true…we make the best decisions we can at the time we make them….jobs, children, parents,friends and family, other responsibilities take priority over what we would like to be doing ourselves!3
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In a "chopping" post a while back I mentioned job as one of the things that had gone on the block but ultimately not chopped. I had considered mail and/or other deliveries on foot and/or jobs that required movement and lifting.
Ultimately no changes were made and happy!3 -
I was born and raised in the UK's second biggest city Birmingham, and at various times in my life I've lived in London, Copenhagen and Rome. I love all four of those cities, especially London and Rome, but I'd still choose rural over urban living.5
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https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/may/05/vegan-diet-can-help-overweight-people-shed-pounds-study-shows
They're suggesting there's a causal link, though I can think of at least five reasons why the link may not exist. I also personally know three vegans who struggle with their weight....but even so, our lovely Laurie may be onto something....3 -
Saw this too and is Interesting and quite a big study ….. would be a big change here! Old man here is a carnivour through & through…. Personally I would like to go veggie, not vegan though 🙃3
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I had considered mail and/or other deliveries on foot and/or jobs that required movement and lifting.
Ultimately no changes were made and happy!
In my early 20s, immediately after university, I worked as a bike courier in London for a year. It was the fittest I've ever been...but every day you take your life in your hands. So many near misses.
In the summer of 2007 I also worked as a rickshaw driver in Rome for about 3 months, on a bike very similar to the one below - it was popular with tourists. Nowadays the bikes are power-assisted, but back then we relied entirely on pedal power. It was fun, but hard work in the summer heat. I don't think I could manage it now...I did it to pay the rent while my husband volunteered on an archeological dig. Good times...
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Sounds great, Bella.
I spent the first 20ish years of my career (also known as my former life because it feels surreal at times) doing things most people will only dream about or see on something like the Discovery Channel. I hiked, boated, flew, etc with my office on my back into remote areas to study animal behavior and their habitats for days, weeks or even months on end; calling a tent home. I’ve done so many amazing things and witness natures true beauty over and over again while receiving a paycheck. I can’t even begin to fathom the number of miles I’ve hiked in remote wilderness, time repelling into remote areas, calories burned swimming/snorkeling, lbs carried on my back.
While physically and mentally the healthiest I ever was, it also came with a lot of injuries, contributed to my current situation, etc. I wouldn’t trade it for anything though and still get giddy each year with the prospect of getting to dawn the backpack, lace up my boots, and spend the day with the newest crop of biologists headed out into the back country.4 -
WOW
Not much more I can say to those adventurous life periods!
Vegans (I'm actually vegetarian - wanting to be vegan
) can also figure out how to pack in lots of calories! But overall I'm guessing most vegans are more health conscious on the food front so it would make sense that they tend to be a healthier weight? 5 -
Various studies, including from my favourite dude Kevin Hall, whole foods and all that jazz for the win! Cause.. who would have guessed: people eat less calories on average if they consume whole foods!
And no, it's not because of KHEMICALS in the food, sorry. But it absolutely IS about prepared food usually aiming for look, taste, cost (to manufacturer and to consumer) with very little consideration to calories and satiation.
Yes. There ARE vegans who consume too many calories. But it IS a bit harder to do. AND. Any time you introduce inhibition (Vegan, Gluten free, Low Carb, Low Sodium) you not only exclude a bunch of "high calorie "treats"" but you also introduce some extra inhibition and second thought about what is getting eaten as opposed to just opening mouth and consuming... here's looking at you bag of effing cookies!
(bag of cookies used to be 1.5kg three days ago... it is down to 0.5 BUT. 0.5 DID get delivered downstairs
) So... 200g to me and 300g to dad the past couple of days! Ugh. COOKIES! If I was vegan I wouldn't be eating them!
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If you were vegan - you could be eating vegan cookies. Those are not hard to find. Sadly, many mass produced cookies are vegan.2
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Vegan white wine & “cheese” sauce for pasta - olive oil, onion, garlic, white wine, blended butter beans, blended cashews, nutrtional yeast, taragon & bay leaves - was suprisingly delicious! Nutritional yeast was something totally new to me!2
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Nutritional yeast is kick kitten. Cashews for cheese ... The calories don't inspire me!2
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So - back from visiting family in Ohio. No logging, no control over foods served, many restaurants. I’m down 2 lbs. from pre-trip! 🤔 so what is going on here?
I think it’s the lack of access to “just a little more” and snacking. Snacking has been a problem previously. I’m okay at meals but the extras add up. You can’t get snacks late night at a hotel or raid your sister’s pantry at midnight. Getting to goal will have to be done by controlling the snacking!3 -
Welcome back, Yooly! Great outcome Yes - home seems the most dangerous place for packing on weight. 2
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Yup - snacking. And the bites, licks and tastes while cooking or eating at home. No spoon licking! Perhaps I’ll avoid the kitchen altogether and wait to be served. I don’t know how Alexandra does all the cooking and prepping without nibbling on a full day’s calories before the actual meal.
I don’t have much leeway for adding tasting calories because my activity level is much lower now. Hope that’s going to be temporary.3 -
Fingers crossed re temporary. Good that you managed the trip 🐹 extremely well! 👍1
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Tasting while preparing is one habit I do not have…0
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conniewilkins56 wrote: »Tasting while preparing is one habit I do not have…
Wow! I know people like you that can do that. But I’m not one of them. 😣 I could eat a full serving adjusting seasonings. I don’t know why! My best strategy has been avoiding cooking or even being in the kitchen when food is out.
Luckily hubby enjoys cooking and food shopping so he has taken over most kitchen duties.3 -
I'm with you on this one, Connie. I'm not a taster (to the my guests chagrin maybe? ) And the act of cooking - handling and prepping all that food leaves me feeling quite full when it comes time to eat! Very ironic. Perhaps I should be a chef? 3
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Nope, I'm not a taster either. I know the best chefs are, but apart from literally tasting once (or at most twice) to test the seasoning, I never nibble when I'm cooking.
Lots of cooks say they don't have an appetite for the food they've cooked by the time they come to serve it...but I never experience that. I have a hearty appetite for food whether I've cooked it myself or not.4 -
Bites, licks and tastes (BLTs) are in the MFP database! So I can’t be the only one tempted by food prepping and sampling.
I wish it wasn’t a lifelong bad habit but sadly it is. I’m not even all that hungry which might provide an explanation for nibbling. It doesn’t stop me from eating a full meal afterwards. It’s just that it’s FOOD, there right in front of me, begging to be sampled. A trigger to immediately eat. No logical reason.
So I’m constantly on guard when dealing with food prep. Avoidance has worked well thus far. Having hubby in the kitchen with me when I cook on occasion keeps me honest.3 -
I absolutely used to constantly sample and taste as I was cooking. Constantly. Season, sample, continue.
Logging totally curbed that.
Actually I should rephrase that. Logging before putting ANYTHING in my mouth totally cured that after a few uncomfortable incidents.
With my current logging (which is partially while cooking using phone and partially from envelopes, napkins and notes) I could have easily gone back... except that I am now used to not tasting till the end at which time I make most adjustments.2 -
Well the random bites, licks, and tastes have very little to do with seasoning. Honestly it’s just that I’m hands-on dealing with food. I’m okay with a plate/meal that’s logged. But somehow the food eaten while standing, passing by, prepping is not registered in my mind.
Brain fog!
I am much more aware of my bad habit now and mostly able to control it. But heaven help me if there’s an open candy bowl or bag of chips laying around. Or odd bits of sliced cheese, ham while making sandwiches. I try to confine myself to salad making where the stray bits are carrots or tomatoes 🍅2 -
I'm terrible with "serving plate leftovers" - after a big meal - clearing the table - those odd pieces of cheese - last few crackers - a spoonful of hummus - all go into my mouth before I even think.2
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Yes! Thank you Laurie. I was beginning to think it was just me although I know that can’t be true. Stray food of any kind seems fair game. I also avoid cleanups after meals too.
Still trying to understand how I can be in control at the table but oblivious at other times. Like calories don’t count unless I’m sitting down for a meal?
It’s something I struggle with daily.3 -
No, I think it's something many, many people struggle with. There are numerous studies that prove that we don't register calories eaten 'on the hoof' - which is why it's so important to eat your food sitting down, ideally from a plate and with cutlery, because it signals to our brain that we're eating.
I've learned from bitter experience that at parties I graze constantly if there's buffet food available. And if I add alcohol into the mix, I have zero food restraint. I've learned that I need to serve myself one small plate of food and then remove myself entirely from the vicinity of the food, otherwise I'll just pick and pick and pick. I can't remain in the same room as the food - the more walls and doors between me and the food, the better.4 -
Bella_Figura wrote: »...There are numerous studies that prove that we don't register calories eaten 'on the hoof'...
Didn't know this was "official" but I know it is how it works in my world. Glad you posted this, Bella, to hopefully cement it into my reality.
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Actually the whole mindful eating thing is covered by one of my (few) Cardinal Rules of Life...
The rules are:- Be kind
- Keep it fun
- Engage your brain before you open your mouth
As FOPs (Formerly Obese People) we need to cement the habit NEVER to eat anything mindlessly. I may not always physically log what I eat (though I do!), but I try to always mentally log so that I can hold myself accountable.7 -
Today after our training session I hung out on the floor in front of the fan with one of the coaches because it was nice to feel a little cool and she commented on how much my sit ups had improved because she remembered that when I started at the gym I needed to put two 20kg DBs on the floor to stick my toes/feet under to work as a lever to get myself up. She mentioned how a bunch of improvements I made seemed really fast to her (I got rid of the DBs after 4 months or so, not whatI would call fast, but hanging from the pull up bar came about 2 years before I expected it to and burpees also caught me off guard).
It was a really nice conversation where I felt very respected and could openly talk about my body. She was impressed with my consistency showing up and pushing myself hard but she didn't compare me to anyone else so she was lifting me up without bringing anyone down. It was so nice.
We have 5 coaches at the gym and some of them specialise in one type of teaching, for example pilates and other flex stuff or olympic weightlifting, but they all have different styles and approaches. I know I had some negative feelings about the pilates coach at first because she was so shocked that I, a very fat person, could do so much. It just didn't sound very openminded to me. I never had flexibility issues, especially in my hips, and I can almost do a split even now so it irked me.
With the other coaches I kinda struggle with their expectations too, but mostly because they're so inconsistent. Sometimes they think I can do things that seem impossible to me (like knee raises from the pull up bar, which it turns out I can actually do, and box jumps, which I absolutely cannot do) and other times they completely underestimate me. I feel like I'd probably do better with a range of options or a "try out a few things and then decide" approach but I am as often wrong as they are at estimating what I can do.
I definitely prefer the coaches that believe in me but caution me to listen to my body (and praise me when I do take it easy, because I'm bad at resting and not giving it my all every time) but I think this coach is the one I feel most comfortable just talking to about this journey. She's just a little more approachable, a little more interested and a little more respectful towards my current body.
Anyway, this had been on my mind since the conversation took place over 2 hours ago and I wasn't sure where to put it but I just needed to share it and maybe hear a bit about other people's thoughts or experiences.
Also, sidenote, there's this super cute girl at the gym who today confided in me that she used to weigh 147kg (she's less than half that now) and we bonded over our similar body shapes so that was super nice too.5
