Chat room - what's on your mind?
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Hi all and Happy Friday, or whatever day you're on where you are at! I finished making the newsletter for the animal sanctuary where I volunteer my time, and this month it's all about the turkeys. There are 3 at the sanctuary: Jive, Tank, and Tack (female). All are "meat" turkeys that have been bred to grow like crazy and then get slaughtered at 14-16 weeks. But these guys will live their best lives on the farm. So let me bore with you a couple of fun turkey facts:
-- They see better than you, have a 270-degree field of vision and see in color. Because the eyes are set on the side of the head, turkeys have monocular vision and must turn or swivel their heads in order to perceive distance and depth perception.
--They choose their favorite humans and can remember your face!
-- They blush, much like humans do. When turkeys are confident. excited, or scared, the skin on their heads and necks may change color.
Anyway, here they are in all their glory. Love them!
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@Red_B1rd I hate November because of the turkeys 🦃. I will avoid the grocery store at times…They’re such glorious birds and what is being done to them is just horrible. I have a tradition to “adopt” a rescued turkey through Farm Sanctuary every year.2
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Very interesting facts !
Whishing you a happy week-end
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@Maya440 well done with the spin class! I nearly passed out the first time I did it, my legs were like jelly! Enjoy your weekend socials!
@Red_B1rd such cool turkey facts! Thanks for sharing, I learnt something new today 😀
@henridw2095 such a sweet idea. Bless you.
I've just spent 6 hours solidly deep cleaning the house, missed breakfast completely and feel like that counts as today's workout as I'm now shattered! 🙃 nothing nicer than sitting down afterwards and enjoying your clean space. No idea what's for dinner tonight though, I'm going to scour Insta for some inspiration 😋 gave a great weekend all!2 -
@henridw2095 : Yep, turkeys are pretty glorious, and they have such personalities! Jive will pound his feet and his comb turns deep red if you stroke his chest and back--the turkey equivalent of getting in the mood, I think. Tank is king and oversees a large number of chickens. When they free-range for the day, he's most often seen down at the main barn in supervisory mode of the volunteers, lol. Tack came to sanctuary after other turkeys bullied her and forcing her out of the shelter, resulting in a bum foot and respiratory disease. I love it that you "adopt" one for the season! So cool!
@Maya440 : Hope you have a great weekend, too!
@Curvykinkycurls : Hope you find something good for dinner. It's bean soup and salad for us tonight. Ugh, deep cleaning is very satisfying, but it's a lot of hard work. I'd say it's a great workout!1 -
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Cut 15cm of hair but didn’t lost weight as a result
Too bad 🤣🤣3 -
@Marilynsretired how do you make a smaller picture?0
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@Maya440 great haircut!! Picture is perfectly sized on my phone…1
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@Maya440 - truthfully I don't know but the ones I post I have collected over the years here on MFP and other websites - most of them are the right size some are bigger.
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@Marilynsretired how do you make a smaller picture?
@Maya440, a lot of photo editing programs/apps will let you resize. On my Windows laptop, I do it with Microsoft Photos, one of the free programs that comes with Windows. Some photo editing apps on phones/tablets can do it, too.
ETA: I wouldn't worry about it much, if I were you. Big photos are OK. 2 -
Lovely length Maya & nice to see you!
How many of you are in a mixed dietary family?
My family are not vegan and I continue to make their regular meals alongside my own. I've been vegan for 285 days today 🙂
I thought I'd struggle with this because I still like the scent of the meals I make them, but have surprised myself by not wanting to even taste to see if the balance of flavours is right. Anyone else in this boat?
This weekend I had my first 'temptation' if you can call it that. They had gammon and it's something I only usually cooked at Christmas, therefore it used to feel like a treat. I told them to eat & not make any comment/mmm noises 😄 I held my resolve and reminded myself of the reasons I've changed my eating habits and even though there's leftovers in the fridge, I feel like I've passed a milestone. It wasn't a temptation at all, I just expected it to be.2 -
Curvykinkycurls wrote: »Lovely length Maya & nice to see you!
How many of you are in a mixed dietary family?
(snip)
@Curvykinkycurls, I probably don't have helpful tips, but did live in a successful dietary "mixed marriage" for over 20 years (widowed now, long ago). I've been vegetarian since 1974, and we married in 1977. He was an omnivore and even a hunter.
I was fortunate in that he was happy to eat vegetarian foods, and even cook vegetarian dishes for both of us. Most often, he ate meat at meals when we were eating separately (breakfast, lunch) or eating out.
About all I can offer is that vegetarian mains for me could be side dishes for him (with some meat for him in addition), or certain things could be cooked and meat added at the end (like soups, chili, some sauced pastas), and of course we could eat certain side dishes in common but different mains (sides like pasta, rice and other grains, veggies, etc.).
Occasionally I cooked meat/fish/fowl for him or when we had guests, but he knew I didn't like to do it . . . not because of philosophical objections, but because I'm mostly a no-recipes cook who likes to taste and adjust, so it was perplexing for me to cook meat dishes.
When I originally became vegetarian, it was like a switch was flipped. I never like meat/fish all that much, so it was easy to stop, and I can't say I've ever been tempted. Nowadays, I'm pretty sure I'd have some digestive upset if I began eating meat again (based on discovering I'd accidentally eaten something with a non-visible meat ingredient once in a while, and discovering that because I did have digestive issues so asked questions about ingredients).
I'm assuming eventually I'll go back to being omnivorous, because when I reach the need for assisted living support, it would be hard to get adequate nutrition as a vegetarian in a setting like that. I'd anticipate an adjustment period.3 -
@Curvykinkycurls
My husband is not vegetarian and doesn't go near anything I cook, since he really struggles eating vegetables. When we first started going out (many years ago now), we used to converge on carbs and beer. But eventually, I decided it's time to do get back into shape. He completely fends for himself food wise, we have a date night about once a week where we go somewhere we can both enjoy. We might eat different foods together, but often don't even eat together or at the same times, although the other person is often around. We're just really different food wise (I have to eat like clockwork or get grumpy and he eats when he's hungry and goes long times without eating). It's weird but works for us .
I am generally not tempted by meat, I have been almost completely vegetarian since I was a child, although I grew up in a meat eating household. It's just something I gravitated towards. My mom claims it's due to seeing a goat being slaughtered one summer. I remember the event well, so it's possible she's right. I've been vegan on and off for more than 17 years. There were a handful of times over the decades I tried eating meat or fish (probably less than 20 times in 35+ years), but it's not appealing anymore, since I've built up too much of a reasoning around it to go back. I don't dislike the smell of meat, but really don't like chewing it (thinking oh, this is an animal). Really good cheese would still tempt me and I may have a piece on a rare occasion. I normally say I follow a near-vegan diet, to allow myself to eat a piece of cheese or an egg in principle. I was more restrictive about this in the past and felt that being too rigid can lead to disordered eating due to a desire for perfectionism.
With age, I've also stopped "preaching" or trying to convert others. When asked, I'll explain my reasons. And yeah, lots of stupid comments over the many years, but I'm very low key and matter of fact about it now, so it's generally not an issue.3 -
@Maya440 : Love the haircut! The photo is large on my desktop computer, but I've never minded that type of stuff. I wouldn't worry about it.
@Curvykinkycurls : I have not bridged the meat-eater and vegetarian dilemma yet as I still eat fish, eggs from the farm, and dairy. I do the cooking, and find myself grimacing a few times at cooking what I call meat-meat, like beef, etc. It's funny, but early on in our marriage, eating vegetarian was a totally foreign thing to him (I had been vegetarian in college). Fast forward 31 years later, and he's very open to it--and he has drastically cut down the animal products he uses.
@AnnPT77 : There's hope for assisted living. My mom, who is definitely not vegetarian, stays at a facility that has vegetarian and vegan options for the resident. She can also request special items, if she wants and there's an RD on staff to help.3 -
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We were vegan only during covid time, otherwise we are vegetarians. At home the four of us (my kids are 12 and 13 year old). Outside home, my kids eat meat (and love it but they eat very well everything I cook).
We have changed our diet in 2017, after watching cowspiracy. It has not been difficult.
I still eat fish but I'd say once or maximum twice a month.
And we eat the eggs of our own happy chicken.
I am happy we all eat the same because I would find difficult to have different meals in regards to time spent preparing different things. But of course, it can certainly works if everybody is happy with the situation !!
@Curvykinkycurls at the beginning seeing meat would make me want it but now I am rather disgusted... which is strange. I thing your stomach and head gets used to the vegetarian/vegan diet. Once about 3 years ago I had meat at a restaurant because I was craving it and it took me 48h to digest it, I was really sick. It was a good lesson ahah1 -
Such interesting responses! I loved reading such varied experiences. My eating choices all started as health related.
I'd been dairy free for almost 9 years because of digestive issues after my gallbladder was removed. Sometimes I still had butter but I almost instantly went off the taste of milk completely.
Then my mum was diagnosed with alzheimers (it's now on both sides of my family) and I started looking at research and listening to podcasts and made the link between plant based diets and less inflammation in the brain. That gave me my 'why'. I had the willpower to switch to vegan eating overnight. To cement my (selfish-vegan!) choice I then looked at the Cowspiracy/Fork over Knives, etc type of documentaries and that helped give me an extra 'why' layer.
I'm not a preachy vegan though and thankfully don't mind preparing meat dishes for the family & dog. Funnily enough it's everyone else who questions me, but I don't debate it, just give them a 2word brain-health response.
As I'm perimenopausal I feel convinced it's actually been better for my health to have made this change now. I'm sure my weight would have rocketed and a diet with more phytoestrogens can hopefully lessen the side effects of estrogen dropping off.0 -
I love that "2 words brain health" response.
I am the same in regards to debating my choice. I don't like it and I am not one to convince.
Sometimes I can see I inspire people and I am willing to help but that's it.
After yesterday's binge I feel not so good this morning. I will make some tea. I have plenty of work and I need to get going. Talk to you later !3 -
Weekly weigh in today - down 4.2 pounds this week. Made my goal for end of October / start of November.
Now for the next 4.4 pounds to be released by end of November = just need to remember to eat healthy and add time on the treadmill every day.
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congrats for reaching your month goal @Marilynsretired
Except for the binge on Monday (and I had burned almost 1000kcal on the bike so it was not such a disaster) I have done 5 excellent days (around 1600-1800kcal and exercising) since I am back from the trip I made with friends and the scale goes up and up and up.
Hugh
I guess my body needs time to readapt but that's disappointing.
Of course I was happy I had taken so little weight in October with all I ate
so I understand my body shows results with delay.
Enfin, let's have a great day today as well and trust my body to go back into my maintenance range at its pace.
And how is it going for you ?0 -
I want to share somewhere how I feel, but I’m not sure where so I just picked this forum okay ?
maybe you share more in the discussion about “what did you eat today?”
In any case it has been 2 to 3 weeks that I’m trying to get back on track to lose a little bit of weight and go back in my maintenance range as I am above it and I don’t know if it’s the fact that I want to restrict again and I didn’t try that for many months but it is definitely not working.
I even had that binge on Monday. I believe because I didn’t eat enough. But that is the point. How to create a deficit otherwise??
My average daily calorie is the same as when I don’t want to restrict due to those small overeating periods. Today was again too heavy in calories, and I know I cannot lose weight eating that much but … I don’t know how to stay motivated until the end of the day, I plan the day before, and everything seems perfectly fine and then it just doesn’t happen.
Well I need to believe in myself I guess.
I know @henridw2095 you lost weight last month. How is it going at the moment ?2 -
Hi Maya, it can be so frustrating waiting to see the number on the scale go down! I am so impatient for it too!!
You are really active though, so keep it up + maybe focus on some NSVs as well? Do you measure yourself & take progress photos? I try to do this every Monday morning and keeping a log of it is really good to look back on. Especially if you logged your foods during times you were happy with your weight. I've kept a pair of jeans on my shelf that I want to feel good in. I try them on now & then, but still got a way to go.
I completely understand your earlier comment, sometimes it takes a couple of weeks for your body to catch up on the good/bad choices we make! So true!
To answer your question, to make a deficit possible everyday, I would take it back to basics.
1. Reduce snacking, or keep it to just fruit/veggie snacks
2. Replace high calorie drinks with water or herbal tea
3. Cut out processed food where possible
4. Avoid alcohol
5. Weigh + log foods before consuming if possible
I don't buy snacks that are vegan, which helps. My kids love chocolate and crisps but I buy stuff I know I can't/won't eat to avoid having temptation in the cupboards!
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@Maya440, how big a deficit are you trying to have - how fast are you trying to lose?
Last time I wanted to re-lose a few pounds in maintenance, I didn't really have the heart for a substantial deficit, so just created a really tiny one. Because I still had some higher days in the mix, it ended up - looking backwards and estimating based on loss rate - as only about a 100-150 calorie average daily deficit. Yes, it took a loooong time to lose those few pounds . . . but it was practically painless.
It does require having a really well-defined idea of your calorie needs, and the patience to recognize it can be weeks at a time before that very slow fat loss shows clearly on the scale. (I even had a period of around a month where my weight-trending app thought I was maintaining/gaining, when I was pretty sure I was losing. Eventually, the expected scale drop showed up: I was right.)
I'm not trying to push you into anything, but just pointing out that an approach like that can be on the list of possible approaches. I'd do it the same way again. I actually kind of am doing it again, though with even lower expectations because my birthday and the holidays (US Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years) are coming up.
There are other options people use sometimes, like the 5:2 kind of approach of eating at maintenance 5 days, and a (fairly big) calorie deficit 2 days each week.
I empathize: Figuring out how to organize things in maintenance is just a different kind of scenario. It takes some thought, experimentation, working things out.0 -
@Maya440 sorry you're struggling - from where I stand you're still at a great weight and very athletic 💐, although I understand wanting to be at your ideal weight.
I currently can't sustain a 500 Kcal deficit myself , at least not for weeks at a time. This month, I'm trying a 250 kcal NET daily deficit and so far so good. I still have 12.5 pounds to lose and am ok if it takes 6-8 months, since I'll be working out and getting fitter at the same time. I almost view this as training myself in new habits that will last for the rest of my life (similarly how you would systematically train in the gym or running). Accepting the slow pace and where I'm currently at also helps. I do try to enjoy the process and like seeing the results, even if they're small. If you only have a few pounds to lose, even a small deficit will get you there pretty quickly.
Today is my big monthly PMS day and I'm eating at maintenance. PMS is what derailed me last month (I think I ate about 3000-4000 calories that day last month). It appears I get this 1-3 days a month now, perhaps due to thyroid meds being too high after weight loss, since I've never had PMS before. Personally, I do believe in discipline and planning, but also in honoring what the body and mind need at a given time and allowing the space to find out what that might be (often a complete mystery to me what I need until I happen to find it).
To be honest, I don't know what changed from having endless snacks every night to being able to not snack now. I think my other symptoms from the thyroidectomy (tingling and numbness, especially at night) were scary enough to make me understand getting back in shape was urgent. I do worry about slipping back once I'm at my goal weight and fitter, so it will be important to develop a good set of "whys" to continue. I've always struggled finding whys - maybe that life is just a lot more enjoyable when you're in good shape. I used food to numb my feelings before and working a bit less has given me a better capacity to deal with negative emotions and I also find some joy in exercise and eating healthier.
I agree with what @Curvykinkycurls said. Although I can now miraculously keep nuts and dried fruit around (I used to binge on "healthy" foods and had no problems eating 600-1000 kcal of peanuts or dried fruits after dinner), I still don't keep chocolate around. I now sometimes just dissolve a tablespoon of cacao powder in hot water for sipping (surprisingly tasty) or eat a single fig. If there are foods you really struggle with - maybe try to not have them in the house (hard with kids, I know).0 -
Thank you all.
Thank you.
Thank you.
It is so nice feeling understood and supported.
Reducing snacks is the key for me. But I don't snack at night. Rather at the end of the afternoon. Mostly emotional: boredom and tiredness. I will always have snacks at home with kids and husband eating lots of them. I can let it there when I eat adequately but if I have not eaten enough then ...
As you said Ann, remembering that going slowly rather than fast then crash is the way to go.
I believe I tried indeed a too high deficit because I was frustrated with the last 2 months. I am doing so much sport, I do need to fuel properly.
5:2 could work as well. But I definitively need to avoid several days with big deficit next to each other otherwise I binge.
Today was a good day so far, and my mental was ok.
We have a party tonight but I am the one driving so I won't drink 1 -
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Hello here,
Back from 2 days partying.
Gosh that was fun but exhausting. I have lost my voice.
My weight had dropped to last month's last day this morning.
Not sure if I am dehydrated or it is all the dancing but I'll take it and will see what happens next week.
I am dedicated to eating adequately and having my weight going back into maintenance range slooooowly. Better than fast and crash.
Wishing you a nice Sunday !3
