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!

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 🙃

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.

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!

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!

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!

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.

Tasting while preparing is one habit I do not have…

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?