Here's where i have to make a confession -- i've got my selfish side! ;-) In defense, we HAVE to take care of ourselves primarily, because 1) what others think is right for "everyone" usually isn't, even if you're confident they have your best interests at heart; and 2) we can't do what we need to do, which includes unselfish acts, unless we ourselves are functional, which requires taking care of ourselves first, which is ... selfish...?
For two weeks now, i've been in company with a lot of people, which is completely opposite of the position i was in, this time last year. Without all the distractions and the need to cooperate with the "food desires" of other people, it was comparatively easy to determine and define what is best for myself. I found how to pretty-much eat optimally for my own health, well-being, energy and weight control when i spent a lot of time by myself. That plan is VERY hard to pursue when other people are added to the mix.
There's a big range in how much people use food for "entertainment" purposes. Some get up in the morning and the first thing they think of is "what can i eat today?" Some "get bored" by a diet of limited variety, no matter how nutritionally replete it is. Some treasure their sweets* and treats to the point that they seriously endanger their well-being for the sake of sensual enjoyment. To me, these notions range from "unworthy" to just plain loony. Planning meals for them and otherwise catering to their amusement gets problematic; it's hard to accommodate everyone's absolute needs, let alone please them.
Being around people with that "chow down" philosophy is difficult for those of us who would rather eat simply and eat less -- even more so when we need to cook for them! Supplying meals for those with different requirements is a constant temptation to err. Effort expended (energy requirements thus changed) and stress add to the difficulty. As an OCCASIONAL thing, one little trick has occurred to me, and it is exemplified by the starch-apologists' darlings, the Kitavans. (Of course, if one is diabetic or pre-diabetic what works adequately for ME is off the table -- pun intended).
I pig out at supper, and if it's safe-carb-heavy i don't worry about it. It WILL be stored as fat, being in excess of what my body would currently use. Sometime during the night my body will switch from glucose-burning to fat/ketone burning, as i have reestablished metabolic flexibility through habitual LCHF eating. Then, i don't have anything but coffee for breakfast. At lunch, i continue to go heavy on the fat and have as little protein as will get me through. Nicotine gum is occasionally helpful to tide me over till everybody else is ready for their regularly-scheduled meal. Lather, rinse, repeat. One glucose spike a day, and the rest of the time one is running on a fat/ketone fuel system, consisting of one's own body fat.
It's not something i'd want to do as a regular policy. I do so well on an ultra-low-carb diet of fatty meat two or three times a day, and i feel so good on it! But long trips and houseguests happen. I've discovered that this little trick helps me cope.
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* In the case of sweets-loving, i think a lot of blame belongs on the shoulders of nutritionists (as bribed by their corporate sponsors) who say that sugar is harmless in moderation. DEFINE MODERATION. At what point does that frequent glucose spike stop being harmless and start promoting diabetes, cancer, heart disease and brain damage? What, you don't know?!? Maybe you'll use the onset of serious overweight as a sign of damage -- but that doesn't help all the lean people who (SURPRISE) develop all these illnesses....
Some also say that life is too short to deny oneself dessert, as a prime example. To this i would counter, life is too short to spend the last few years of it feeling like shit! I think it's worth a little privation to promote good health further down the line -- wellness is more important to me than sugar. Limiting cookies, candy, chips, potatoes, bread, desserts ... boohoo! Frankly, i think that NOT limiting them and then having to spend one's last years incapacitated is what life is too short for -- excuse my grammar. ;-)
Luckily I never have houseguests staying with me so I don't have to worry about it but I sympathize..
ReplyDeleteRegarding those who are constantly spouting off they don't want to deny themselves a few moments of simple culinary pleasures are those who are in pain and on several medications that cause several side effects 24/7 (as several of my friends are and others will be as they age). Those moments of pleasure come with a very high price. However, each individual has to choose for themselves.
sad thing, most people have faith that their doctors know something about nutrition, and that pharmaceuticals are safe. :-( some of my "nearest and dearest" can't imagine that humble little me could POSSIBLY know anything about diet....
Delete"Frankly, i think that NOT limiting them and then having to spend one's last years incapacitated is what life is too short for"
ReplyDeleteHear,hear !
All the best Jan
thanks, Jan! it is SO frustrating that most people won't heed this message....
DeleteCouple days ago my friend who lives in Canada now, called and told me a very sad news that her mother was just diagnosed with a brain cancer. I do not bother her normally with my diet views because it would cause her displease for sure. Her mother is a thin diabetic, my friend has PSOS and weight issues, but she is at a piece with herself, with her life and loved by her husband (not a bad combination).
DeleteSo, I though that her mother's cancer was an excusable cause to mention a ketogenic diet. No, she told be firmly that her mother would never touch any fat food, and limited her meat and eggs consumption most of her adult life due to her fear of getting cholesterol on a rise, and anyway, mom was about to start an excellent and expensive radiation therapy (which can be payed for, and not available for free - her mother lives in Moscow, where free medicine exists, but has limitations) . I had a courage to mention a Warburg effect, she knew about it, but promptly GOOGLed something like "sugar causing cancer" , and in a second found an article saying it was a myth . Case closed . People writing articles about healthy whole grains and dangers of unbalanced fad diets are payed because their work is causing desirable effect. My friend's husband is a scientist with PHD who works for a pharmacological company in a cancer research department.
when you think of all the people whose lives have been destroyed by bad medical advice for the sake of protecting an industry, it could make you go berserk. :-(
DeleteMy husband just took his vocation two weeks ago and spent it at home - it is the best time of the year in Florida. He is not a LCarber, but agreed to eat just two times a day, like me, I got used to cook any food without digging into it, but serving food without eating anything myself is possible, but not convenient, He lost 7 lbs staying at home, may be not munching on fruits also contributed to it. It looks like fiber in a fresh produce is causing him IBS. His BMI is now 21.4. May be I should advertise myself as a slimming hostess? We have no close relatives in US.
ReplyDeletetoo much produce upsets us, too -- so much for the vegetarian hypothesis that theirs is the healthiest diet, huh?
Deletewhen it's just my husband and me, i can resist a lot of temptation. it's impossible, though, to not make things my 90-year-old mother likes, when she stays with us! :-)
Yes, there is a limbo in his case - eating too much plants are causing lower cholesterol and IBS, two fatty meals a day raise his total cholesterol, cause a weight loss, real drop in trigs and no tummy troubles. He just had a blood test.
DeleteIt is only food, which is the domain of the stomach; the brain has dominion over the stomach. The stomach like a spoiled child in the mall will throw fits to get the cookie or whatever it wants; the mother should have authority over the child, however, the child throws a fit in the mall screaming, jumping and creating a scene on the floor, this response is no different than the stomach tossing a fit for a treat or more food. It starts saying your blood sugar is low, your brain is foggy and bringing about weakness and fatigue. Like the spoiled brat in the mall, this will pass with proper discipline. As long as the brain exerts it dominion over the stomach and determines what is and how much is proper for the lower organ you can remain moderately in shape in the least. If the other way around the stomach controls the behavior of the body and we become slovenly pigs.
ReplyDeletebut then the mother, in the middle of the mall, has been suffering stress and desperately needs a little "alone time".... she'd love to dump that toddler with the baby-sitter, but the latter is out of town, and no good substitute can be found. alternatively, she'd like to pop into the bar and have a nice quiet cocktail, but that ain't gonna happen with the kid in tow. ...so she makes the kid shut up with an ice-cream and makes do in that food-desert with an iced decaf sugar-free coffee drink for herself -- but has to compromise and use half-and-half in the absence of real cream.
Deleteyep, that describes my week! ;-)
in the days of "ole" the brat would get a backhander and problem solved. When I was a child parents would just say we don't have the money.
ReplyDelete:-) when we were kids, parents were PARENTS, not their children's "friends" -- one rarely doubted who was the boss!
DeleteWhen my best friend visits me, we go grocery shopping together when she arrives. If she wants something I don't eat, she has her yogurt, fruit and other foods in the fridge without my having to cook her something different.
ReplyDeleteso much depends on who is the host, and who the guest.... my husband and i often buffer visiting/visitor situations by going out to restaurants -- then everybody gets to eat pretty much what they want. when we cook, we compromise between our VLC diet and what we think our visitor(s) would enjoy, without violating "rules" about wheat and added sugars, etc.
Deletei've bought too many packages of bread, cereal and fruit which were barely sampled and then had to be thrown away -- i'm too "scotch" to do that anymore! :-)