Marsia's Diary
- Thread starter Marsia
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Petal001
New member
I definitely think so . I notice with me I can have a couple of days with no carbs or sweets and feel great straight away then I have something sweet or carbs the next day my stomach feels like I'm carrying a football around .
What I don't understand with all this is , I know bad food makes me feel bad . I know that chocolate or bread especially at night time wreaks havoc , I know I will suffer if I eat the bag of sweets or the fried potatoe . So why do it ? Why subject ourselves to the pain and the suffering ?
Short term gain vs long term suffering. Same reason people do a LOT of stupid things: we aren't wired to be sensible and think about the long run. That's something that takes active work, which gets harder the more tired/stressed/overwhelmed you are.
I really agree with LaMa, and also it's the whole cycle of crashing and then reaching for quick energy that the whole sugar cycle gets you on (like they talk about in all the recent documentaries like "Forks Over Knives", "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead", "Super Size Me", "Food, Inc.", etc.). I am not going to buy any of the stuff Dr. Berg recommends except maybe I'll go to the health food store and get some nutritional yeast, which I like in smoothies. But I like him because he talks about how if you get your body off the sugar/carb burning cycle and onto the fat burning cycle, you reset your system so your hormones are balanced and you aren't shaky and grouchy if you don't snack. One of the really awful things about too much sugar and carbs, for me at least, is the brain fog. My memory is horrible and I am very scattered. So although I am just starting the intermittent fasting, my thinking is clearer already. That is a really big gain for me!
I think the difference between the diabetes diet and the low carb diet is that the diabetes diet is low fat, and the low carb diet is high fat (they do this so you don't cheat and go back to the sugar for increased energy). But I think the diabetes diet is great, too, and if you are getting low energy and reaching for sugar or too many carbs, you could just incorporate a little of the healthy fats. I think there are lots of ways to get healthy, and that it's really great you are listening to your body and what it needs!!!
I think the difference between the diabetes diet and the low carb diet is that the diabetes diet is low fat, and the low carb diet is high fat (they do this so you don't cheat and go back to the sugar for increased energy). But I think the diabetes diet is great, too, and if you are getting low energy and reaching for sugar or too many carbs, you could just incorporate a little of the healthy fats. I think there are lots of ways to get healthy, and that it's really great you are listening to your body and what it needs!!!
I just watched a keto documentary on Netflix called "The Magic Pill" that was really great. I am into a form of gardening called permaculture gardening where you grow mostly perennials so you don't disturb the soil and kill the microbes in it. Then you layer mulch on top of things to kill weeds and amend the soil. I was so surprised that they advocated this type of thing for growing cattle, and that it would replenish the earth like permaculture does. I am from a subsistence farm family where some of these practices were a part of common knowledge, and they create habitat, prevent soil runoff which poisons streams, etc. I just see all this industrialization of our food as such a mess for the ecosystem.
The film also talks about the politics behind the standard American diet (SAD) high carb diet that makes people around the world so fat and sick. It's a really good documentary if anyone is curious. There are a few things I would say differently in it, like they advocate whole, unprocessed foods, but olive oil and many other keto foods are necessarily processed, but it is overall an interesting documentary.
The film also talks about the politics behind the standard American diet (SAD) high carb diet that makes people around the world so fat and sick. It's a really good documentary if anyone is curious. There are a few things I would say differently in it, like they advocate whole, unprocessed foods, but olive oil and many other keto foods are necessarily processed, but it is overall an interesting documentary.
Cate
Long term member
Hi, Marsia. I just caught up with your diary. I hope you start replenishing your personal energy stocks soon. Your Mum needs to learn to take better care of herself & so do you hon. No-one wants you falling apart at the seams. I'm sending you a great, big squishy hug. Look out! Here it comes.......
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It's nice to be home again. I missed my forum friends, xoxo
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It's nice to be home again. I missed my forum friends, xoxo
Petal001
New member
Marsia I will try to watch that documentary. I'm trying to watch one at the moment called minimalism but keep getting distracted.
I was listening to a show the other day on the radio about cattle and the methane they release . It's huge volume . I will certainly try and watch that .
Also listened to a fruitarian on the radio ( I love radio) . She was interesting but I don't think I could live on fruit alone . Actually she lived in Australia .
Marsia my husband eats no carbs , well no refined carbs like bread or pasta or rice on his diet has they send his blood sugars soaring . He might have 1 small potato. He carries no weight now at all .
Hope you have a lovely weekend and get some rest x
I was listening to a show the other day on the radio about cattle and the methane they release . It's huge volume . I will certainly try and watch that .
Also listened to a fruitarian on the radio ( I love radio) . She was interesting but I don't think I could live on fruit alone . Actually she lived in Australia .
Marsia my husband eats no carbs , well no refined carbs like bread or pasta or rice on his diet has they send his blood sugars soaring . He might have 1 small potato. He carries no weight now at all .
Hope you have a lovely weekend and get some rest x
Hi Petal, I looked up Minimalism on Netflix and a bunch of really interesting documentaries popped up. Minimalism looks good, too. I have just been thinking about getting rid of stuff so there is less to take care of, and thinking about the American dream and what a pain in the butt it is for the person who has to clean all the stuff accumulated to get there!!!
I was really wondering about the methane problem when they showed the happy pastures going back to nature because of the cow patties, and why they didn't mention the methane. I think the film just grazed the surface of a lot of amazingly complex issues. Wow, a fruitarian! Never thought about just eating fruit. Sounds interesting, but I agree, I would probably get tired of fruit.
I think what happened with my diet is that I ate badly in grad school and gained all kinds of weight, then lost it and switched to a sort of paleo/gluten free hybrid diet, but didn't cut down on calories and still ate too much sugar. Eventually sugar didn't agree with me and gave me sore throats and crashed my immune system. So I tried to mostly cut it out, but by then I was addicted, and drank too much caffeine to make up for the sugar lifting my energy. So not my body is so messed up that almost all carbs, even the complex good carbs are making me gain weight. So I am going to try cutting them out a while and see if that helps. I am doing this because I am tired a lot, get sick a lot, get stressed over small things, am not losing weight very well, and have brain fog and forgetfulness. So I am trying the more extreme diet, but hopefully you won't need that sort of thing and can eat the good for you complex carbs and be fine. Hope so!!!
I was really wondering about the methane problem when they showed the happy pastures going back to nature because of the cow patties, and why they didn't mention the methane. I think the film just grazed the surface of a lot of amazingly complex issues. Wow, a fruitarian! Never thought about just eating fruit. Sounds interesting, but I agree, I would probably get tired of fruit.
I think what happened with my diet is that I ate badly in grad school and gained all kinds of weight, then lost it and switched to a sort of paleo/gluten free hybrid diet, but didn't cut down on calories and still ate too much sugar. Eventually sugar didn't agree with me and gave me sore throats and crashed my immune system. So I tried to mostly cut it out, but by then I was addicted, and drank too much caffeine to make up for the sugar lifting my energy. So not my body is so messed up that almost all carbs, even the complex good carbs are making me gain weight. So I am going to try cutting them out a while and see if that helps. I am doing this because I am tired a lot, get sick a lot, get stressed over small things, am not losing weight very well, and have brain fog and forgetfulness. So I am trying the more extreme diet, but hopefully you won't need that sort of thing and can eat the good for you complex carbs and be fine. Hope so!!!
It´s all but impossible in the long term to get all the nutrients you need on a fruitarian diet. Especially in a country that doesn´t have a large variety of affordable fresh fruit all year round. Which makes sense because the basic premise is false: our evolutionary ancestors never relied solely on fruit. Our only vegan cousins are gorillas and while they certainly like fruit and will eat it when they can it´s not normally their main food source. That doesn´t mean plant foods aren´t healthy for humans - they are! - or that veganism can´t work - we´re a complex, highly adaptable species - but eating only fruit is more restrictive still than veganism. And the more you restrict your food options the more you have to know about what your body needs and how to get it.
Petal001
New member
Marsia I agree lots of great documentaries on Netflix it's a super service . I think though a lot of them only tell from one point of view.
Most of us are the same with the weight gain and losses . I have a photo of me on my 21st birthday and it looks like I got blown up by an air gun . Then 2 years later looked normal weight , so on and so forth . The more we yo yo diet the harder it is to lose the weight and once in menopause or peri menopause it feels ridiculously hard ( to me anyway) . I think a lot of my problems stem from my childhood. I was considered to be the fat child in the family but when I look back on photos I certainly was not fat but a normal looking child . I developed bad eating habits at that point mainly secret eating and refusing the food put in front of me . And even though they said I was fat I was often made to sit until I cleared my plate . Eventually of course this all caught up with me and I did become overweight . The tone wasn't meant to be hurtful of course when I was a child but it stuck for me .
Yes LaMa we are not designed to live on fruit alone . I love fruit but there are days when I just can't face it .
Most of us are the same with the weight gain and losses . I have a photo of me on my 21st birthday and it looks like I got blown up by an air gun . Then 2 years later looked normal weight , so on and so forth . The more we yo yo diet the harder it is to lose the weight and once in menopause or peri menopause it feels ridiculously hard ( to me anyway) . I think a lot of my problems stem from my childhood. I was considered to be the fat child in the family but when I look back on photos I certainly was not fat but a normal looking child . I developed bad eating habits at that point mainly secret eating and refusing the food put in front of me . And even though they said I was fat I was often made to sit until I cleared my plate . Eventually of course this all caught up with me and I did become overweight . The tone wasn't meant to be hurtful of course when I was a child but it stuck for me .
Yes LaMa we are not designed to live on fruit alone . I love fruit but there are days when I just can't face it .
jackbenimble
New member
Interesting discussion on the fruit only diet. I read a book called "The Martian" (also a movie) about a guy who was stuck on Mars and had to figure out how to live on potatoes only. For him, the key thing was to get enough calories to sustain himself until rescue arrived years later. He figured out he could get enough calories from the potatoes, and he had enough vitamins to give him all the nutrients he needed. I wonder if it's really true you can get all the nutrients you need through vitamins - that was kind of a surprise to me.
Read everyone's comments and diaries, and there is so much interesting stuff to comment on, but I only have time for a quick check in. The sun is shining and it's an absolutely gorgeous fall day. Have to get kid homework done and go play! Lost another pound, and the intermittent fasting is starting to make me feel better. A LOT (a lot, a lot, a lot) of my stress is mood swings I think from crashing and being shaky when I hadn't eaten. I have to think about how to put this better, but basically I don't go into automatic panic mode because my body is shaking and I take that as stress, which triggers actual stress. The fasting is giving me sustained energy weirdly enough. Also my body is rearranging again and shrinking in the torso some. That feels much better. So I lost 30 pounds in 5 months. 30 more to go, and it may go a little faster with the intermittent fasting, maybe.
Thanks, Petal and Cate! I feel pretty good about my progress so far, though not out of the woods yet as far as food cravings and intermittent fasting, and things like that.
Jack, I loved that movie. I think there is a reason the potato is so popular - with the skin it is actually pretty nutritious (lots of vitamin C, potassium, antioxidents, ...). It's just the simple carbs that do you in if you have too much. With vitamins, I have read that the more they are derived from plant-based foods in general the more likely your body will absorb them, and that the synthetic made vitamins are not so easily absorbed. I also read that vitamin absorption is pretty complex, like how some foods block certain vitamins from being absorbed, and others help the absorption of other nutrients. Probably LaMa knows a lot more about that than I do - she is way more knowledgeable on nutrition than I am.
LaMa, thanks for the validation. Do you know who talks about that sort of thing? I would like to explore more about reading the signs from your body more accurately. I am from a family who definitely was not in touch with their bodies, and I have had to teach myself basic stuff about checking in with mine, so I really find this topic interesting.
Jack, I loved that movie. I think there is a reason the potato is so popular - with the skin it is actually pretty nutritious (lots of vitamin C, potassium, antioxidents, ...). It's just the simple carbs that do you in if you have too much. With vitamins, I have read that the more they are derived from plant-based foods in general the more likely your body will absorb them, and that the synthetic made vitamins are not so easily absorbed. I also read that vitamin absorption is pretty complex, like how some foods block certain vitamins from being absorbed, and others help the absorption of other nutrients. Probably LaMa knows a lot more about that than I do - she is way more knowledgeable on nutrition than I am.
LaMa, thanks for the validation. Do you know who talks about that sort of thing? I would like to explore more about reading the signs from your body more accurately. I am from a family who definitely was not in touch with their bodies, and I have had to teach myself basic stuff about checking in with mine, so I really find this topic interesting.
That really stinks you were shamed for your body looking a certain way, and so weird you weren't even overweight and were picked on. I was shamed by a competitive friend when I was a teen, and I think it affected me, but not to the degree you were affected. For me it was more that my body was always sensitive to sugar, toxic cleaning products, exhaust, ... Maybe because my parents were both chain smokers, my body couldn't handle much more pollution? I don't know, I am guessing. So though we had a huge organic garden growing up, when my dad left, I didn't eat as well, as he was the gardener and the cook in the family, and the less healthy food really got me addicted to it. I was also very stressed as a teen because my mom and I didn't get along at that point at all and I binged on ice cream a lot. Before that I didn't even like sugar, and just had a few pieces of candy or cookies a year.
I know what you mean about menopause really slowing down the metabolism. I was overweight when I got pregnant in my early 40s and then my appetite increased in pregnancy, and then menopause hit right after that. So though I was eating fairly healthy, I was probably eating twice what is healthy for my age. I am still struggling with portion size. Some days I just want to heap my plate up with mounds of veggies and meat. I think some of that is emotional eating to feel full and comforted, and some of it is that my portion sizes were so huge for the last 12 years. That's where all my praise of the calorie counter is from!
I agree about the documentaries and many not being balanced. I think it is a big symptom of the age we live in - so much black and white thinking.
Yesterday we went to my favorite bookstore in a little city near Stanford University. It's one of those bookstores where nearly every book you pick up is some topic that is taken to fascinating and surprising new places you hadn't imagined existed. Found a lovely section of hygge (coziness and specialness in Danish homes and surroundings) books, and realized this is what I want to focus on this fall and winter. I would like a nest that is comforting and non-cluttered and relaxing but also interesting. I think this is what I need most in my life is calm, interesting focus. Things have either felt rushed or not interesting lately, and I want to slow down and enjoy the life we all work so hard to have. Trying to get this from just food and the internet is silly. I need to branch out and make this more a priority so I can sit down in a nurturing place and rejuvenate sometimes!