Alligatorob's Diary

[Err2]

I agree that it would be great if possible, but (and I hope I'm not hijacking Rob's diary here) I don't know that it is a realistic/healthy goal for people who have had major struggles with food - especially in places where the "normal" diet already results in about half of the population becoming obese.

I know this... disagreeableness... can cause social friction, but so does an alcoholic's continued abstinence in recovery. For nearly all other addictions, there is no cure - no point at which you wave a magic wand and are recovered. It is just a continual process of recovery. And that is what I expect for me with food...

 

[alligatorob]

An improving day, I felt better than yesterday but got no exercise. I have decided to take it easy the rest of this week, little or no exercise and see how I feel. I have not been able to fully log my food, lots of problems getting the myfitnesspal app to work, I am getting lots of error messages...

Maybe you could start by having the same dinner as your wife, in a reasonable portion, possibly with extra veg, and planning the rest of your day around that?

I have been trying to do some of that, but our eating patterns don't match very well, and she is vegetarian, but not me. Cate don't underestimate the importance of the suggestions you and others have made to me. Much of what and how I eat and exercise comes from advice I have gotten here. And I do appreciate it.

My thinking was that food has more roles in our lives than "just" sustenance and if it's possible without regaining it could be healthy to start enjoying the social aspect of it again as well.

I agree and have been trying, but it can be hard.

I agree that it would be great if possible, but (and I hope I'm not hijacking Rob's diary here) I don't know that it is a realistic/healthy goal for people who have had major struggles with food - especially in places where the "normal" diet already results in about half of the population becoming obese.

I know this... disagreeableness... can cause social friction, but so does an alcoholic's continued abstinence in recovery. For nearly all other addictions, there is no cure - no point at which you wave a magic wand and are recovered. It is just a continual process of recovery. And that is what I expect for me with food...

Well put Err, I know there will be no magic wand for me, I just need to muddle through this and find the most comfortable/sustainable way to do it. Hijack away!
Nothing to post today, MFP not working, but I know I did stay on track with calories for the day.

 

[Llama]

I know this... disagreeableness... can cause social friction, but so does an alcoholic's continued abstinence in recovery.

Contrary to what the AA says not all alcoholics have to abstain completely long-term. (Though many if not most do.) I don't think social drinking is worth the risk (probably because I myself hardly drink and it's not a social problem) and I definitely don't think it's necessary to eat everything the others eat on social occasions (cake, sweets, chips, and sugary drinks can all go to hell for all I care) but being able to sit down with other people and partake in something is just pleasant. Says a person who often can only have a bit of a single dish at social gatherings, due to allergies. There's nothing wrong with filling up on a healthier meal before going to a party (Scarlett O'Hara did it, and while I won't endorse her overall views her social graces don't seem controversial) and just having a little bit of whatever's served but not having anything at all can be unpleasant. In the end it's up to individual preference though, and I do hope that with time we move toward a social system that isn't AS centered around rich, heavy food.

Edited to add: Rob, just having a different eating style as your wife is fine of course. I'm sure you still sit down together for company, regardless of what's on your plate.

 

[Cate]

I forgot that your wife is vegetarian, Rob. That does make it difficult. She isn’t vegan? I do love my animal protein & if I had to give it up I would, but I eat much smaller portions than I used to. Chicken & fish are my favourites.

 

[bensanon]

Hey Rob, hope you continue to feel better. I read your diary from the New Year and glad to see you doing well other than the shoulder and whatever this bug is. Take care!

 

[alligatorob]

Yesterday was a good day, I ate well and am feeling better. I have decided to give exercise a rest for the week, just to see what it does for me. So far so good, I am feeling less weak. I will probably start exercising again next week, but may take it a little easier.

Rob, just having a different eating style as your wife is fine of course. I'm sure you still sit down together for company, regardless of what's on your plate.

Thanks LaMa, and I am trying, but even sitting for company at the evening meal doesn't happen a lot. My wife likes to eat much earlier than I, and she does not like watching others eat. I have been trying to get her out more often to restaurants, but that is challenging in these times.

I forgot that your wife is vegetarian, Rob. That does make it difficult. She isn’t vegan? I do love my animal protein & if I had to give it up I would, but I eat much smaller portions than I used to. Chicken & fish are my favourites.

She is not vegan, and will eat fish. So we do eat a lot of fish, but she tends to cook it early in the day, eat hers and leave mine to eat later. She also does not like more fishy fish, she hates the sardines I eat from time to time.

 

[overlandflyer]

... She is not vegan, and will eat fish. ...

i used to have a friend who would not eat animals with eyelashes.
frankly i don't see much difference between fish and fowl.
i also try to follow an Asian tenet of cooking in that meat should be used more for flavor than for bulk.

...then again, my chili kinda throws that rule out the window...

 

[Marsia]

Hi Rob, sorry you are feeling under the weather, and hope your shoulder is doing much better, too. Not sure if this will work for you (or if you already do this), but when I am having bad cravings lately, I have been experimenting with higher carb veggies with a little healthy fat accompanying them, and that has helped a lot. I make roasted root vegetables (not potatoes because so high in simple carbs, but I like all the other roots) or baked yams with a nice vegan plant-based butter, or I add some corn to a light grain dish like quinoa with veggies and a little olive oil, or maybe have some refried beans with salsa verde and an egg - beans really help for me. Of course I dial back on other calories so I can do this, but since they are filling and nutritious, it's been really helping. I tried adding things back in again like bread, and find I can only do that occasionally or I gain weight back super fast. But I know we all differ a lot!

I also have trouble with meal times and types of food with my husband. We both do IF, and eat at different times. I'll just have a tea when he eats sometimes, so we can eat together. I did just put my foot down about me not baking Keto desserts for him now, because my willpower just isn't there to bake and not eat what I make. I tend to make big batches of the foods we both like, and even freeze some, if I can, for another time.

 

[Cate]

Out of curiosity (yes, I know I'm a sticky beak) what time does your wife like to eat? I think it would be much easier to diet if you didn't eat together, so if it works for you then well & good. I eat a lot less when G is away.

 

[alligatorob]

Yesterday was a good day, ate well and am feeling better.

i used to have a friend who would not eat animals with eyelashes.
frankly i don't see much difference between fish and fowl.
i also try to follow an Asian tenet of cooking in that meat should be used more for flavor than for bulk.

I like the "no eyelashes thing", do birds have eyelashes? I have no problem with meat eating, I think it is the natural way of things, but the idea of using meat more for flavor than bulk does make sense. However like you, I do eat a lot of bulk, particularly fish.

I have been experimenting with higher carb veggies with a little healthy fat accompanying them, and that has helped a lot. I make roasted root vegetables (not potatoes because so high in simple carbs, but I like all the other roots) or baked yams with a nice vegan plant-based butter, or I add some corn to a light grain dish like quinoa with veggies and a little olive oil, or maybe have some refried beans with salsa verde and an egg - beans really help for me. Of course I dial back on other calories so I can do this, but since they are filling and nutritious, it's been really helping. I tried adding things back in again like bread, and find I can only do that occasionally or I gain weight back super fast. But I know we all differ a lot!

That is probably a good idea, and I have been adding a little bread back into my diet. Have not tried much of the higher carb veggies but that's something I am thinking about. I have eaten a few more beans from time to time. Its a slow process...

Out of curiosity (yes, I know I'm a sticky beak) what time does your wife like to eat? I think it would be much easier to diet if you didn't eat together, so if it works for you then well & good.

My wife eats most of her calories around 2 pm, in a kind of late lunch, and she seems to prefer eating it alone. Just doesn't fit my schedule very well, and we eat different things. She often eats no dinner and only a late popcorn snack. We do eat together on occassion, did last night. She fixed salmon and we ate it at 5 pm, a bit late for her and early for me, but it worked ou.

 

[overlandflyer]

... I like the "no eyelashes thing", do birds have eyelashes? ....

birders might say yes, some have a few feathers that imitate lashes, but i think that was the point my friend had... like she felt, i can see being morally against eating higher order animals, but i fish and my sister raises chickens and from my observations, either genus is intellectually barely above plants.

 

[Cate]

Glad you're feeling better, Rob

 

[alligatorob]

It was a good day, feeling better, ate well and thinking about restarting exercise. I have also noticed that for the first time my MFP app says I am no longer in a calorie deficit, the result of upping my calories to 1700 to 1750 and not exercising. I will keep watching the weight trends, I have not been losing for the past several months despite MFP telling me I should be. We'll see.

Flyer, how about reptiles and amphibians? Don't think I have ever seen anything that looked eyelash like on a gator or frog, and I eat both, turtles and snakes too. And when I was in Kuwait I was fed a kind of large native lizard, they called it a dhub. I was told the dhubs are rare and endangered, but I did some work on an Iraqi war ammo dump in a highly secured area. With the security the dhubs had returned and the guys guarding the place hunted them and fixed them for us several times. Not a bad flavor, but no visible eyelashes. I am not a fan of making anything suffer, on the other hand eating other creatures seems to me to be quite the natural thing. Every bite of yogurt kills a billion or so bacteria, its just nature. Think I will keep eating my eyelashed and non creatures.

Thanks Cate!

 

[overlandflyer]

i had frog's legs once... they really do taste like chicken..!

i don't worry about it myself... i'm pretty much an omnivore these days even though i had bouts of veganism many years ago. i'm kinda curious whether we'll start seeing hippo steaks coming up from Columbia, though even Disney captured their long lashes...

 

[alligatorob]

Today was much the same as I have been all week, I am staying on my calorie goals, but not exercising. I am feeling better. I continue to fret over the volume of low calorie food I am eating, and still not sure if its a good or bad thing. A whole lot better than being obese...

i had frog's legs once... they really do taste like chicken..!

The meat is white and does not have a strong flavor, but it seems to me the resemblance to chicken ends there. I think they have a mild but pleasant fish related flavor, subtle though. Depends on how its cooked, had frog risotto a few times in Italy, seems to be a specialty in Verona, that was good. Now hippo steaks would be interesting. Kind of an interesting article, I understand hippos can be dangerous animals.

 

[overlandflyer]

...The meat is white and does not have a strong flavor, but it seems to me the resemblance to chicken ends there. ...

not saying my palate is any more sophisticated now, but it was when i was in college so there were many pints involved.

 

[alligatorob]

Yesterday was not a great day... I have not given up artificial sweeteners and I think that caused me some problems. I had cramps starting in the afternoon, I tried to eat a light but more normal dinner and then it got worse. Some of the worst cramps I have ever had. I ended up light on calories, just could not eat anything more. I had thought I figured it out and would be ok switching to pure stevia and avoiding the sugar alcohols, that worked for a while but not yesterday. And to be honest I ate a lot of stevia yesterday. No artificial sweeteners today and I am going to try to just stop cold turkey, except for diet soft drinks the artificial sweeteners are new to me, just something I started a few weeks ago. However it now looks like my consumption of them got a bit compulsive, never a good thing.

I have also decided to reduce my low calorie fruits and veggies a bit. I will still stay on the high end of the recommended amount, just try not to be as obsessive about it. That should give me a few more calories for a bit more "normal" food. I think the large veggie diet has contributed to my intestinal discomfort, made much worse by the artificial sweeteners. I am constipated and have been intermittently for a long time, but only since starting this diet. I don't recall ever suffering from constipation or some of the other discomforts before going on this diet. I do think it is a worthwhile trade off, I prefer the intestinal discomfort to obesity, but would like to less it if possible. Eating more normal fruit and vegetable portions might help.

Also working on trying to feel better about all this. I sure miss the days when I was so up about losing weight. I am sure y'all have noticed less of me here, that is one of the reasons, or symptoms, not sure which. I know we cannot expect to be excited about ourselves and our diets every day, but feeling that way a bit more often would be nice.

Oh well, upward (in all ways not weight related anyway) and onward.

 

[Err2]

I'm sorry you're at a low point Rob, but I appreciate you sharing your struggles. I think cutting out the sweetener makes sense and you're not going to do any harm dialing back a bit on your fruits & vegetables. If you're going to replace those calories, I'd look at very lean protein (fish/poultry) or perhaps some less fibrous starches.

 

[Llama]

Sorry to hear about you digestion issues. Your fat intake is still quite low, that's one thing WW always warned people about as it led to constipation for a lot of people. But apart from that I'd say see a doctor if things don't improve quickly.

 

[Cate]

Hi, Rob. I'm sorry that you are a bit down. I felt the same way when I was at your stage & I know how weird it feels. Seeing a nutritionist might be a good idea to switch your focus & hopefully find a long-term healthy food plan.