Saturday, October 4, 2014

back in gear

I can easily believe what Wooo attests -- that at certain times of the year we're prompted by things like day length and cooling weather to eat more.  For about the last week I've had quite a ravenous appetite, myself.  From a weight-maintenance point of view, I observe that if i don't make a good strong effort to fill up on the right foods, the wrong foods WILL highjack me!

Here at my daughter's house, it IS tricky, as my SIL and the kids definitely have higher-carb foods around that L and I are best off not eating.  The children are quite lean and active, and S is one of those enviable people who can eat "anything" without gaining weight -- so rice and potatoes and other things of that nature are just FUEL for them.  For me (and my daughter, as she gets older), these foods are best avoided most of the time ... but Nature is doing her best to get me to succumb!

I believe that my best defense is to fill myself up with plenty of red meat before thinking about eating anything else.  I learned a couple of years ago that i am perfectly well-nourished with 16-18 oz of beef or lamb per day in two or three meals, with a short cup of coffee or 4-oz serving of wine to wash each down (plus somewhere around 48 oz of water between meals).  That amount of food and liquid PERFECTLY satisfied me.

With all the coming and going I've done over the last week, i haven't been as stringent as i might have -- there have been lots of unusual things going on!  At home, i have a freezer-full of meats of all kinds, and no regular evening activities to cause me to have to either rush or postpone meals ... but here it's different, and sometimes a little unpredictable.  When i'm not the one controlling mealtimes as well as i do at home, it's way too easy to eat too many nuts or excessive cheese while waiting for the main culinary event.

Proposed solution:  while everyone is out at work and school, i'll get as much of my ideal diet as i can, and after they come home, i'll "fill up the corners" as the hobbits say, with the rest of my "ration" and permitted extras ... IF i feel the need. 

It's easy to see how people who don't have hearty meals every day might mess up their nutritional intake, just allaying hunger until they have a chance to eat a substantial portion of real food.  And it's also easy to see how those who have been frightened away from red meat and saturated fats might do a lot of snacking to feel satisfied, after a dinner of lettuce and chicken breasts!  If i felt i had to eat EITHER way, i have a sneaking suspicion i'd weigh an awful lot more than i do now....

7 comments:

  1. I love your plan , Tess. Filling up on meat, eating before the kiddos get home. That plan looks super solid-IMO.

    If I did not eat on my LCHF Paleo-ish food template, you can be sure I would be face down in a bowl of nuts, snacks and other "goodies' the family brings/sets out. Adding kids adds to the chances of me going off the rails. I would have regained half of my 70 pounds, I suspect.

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    1. i have a feeling i ought to read that book that so inspired you -- sometimes being strong is harder than at other times! :-) thanks for being an ICON, Karen!

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  2. Many young woman find out that eating like a husband will cause a weight gain, at least your doter know what to do about it. When I visit my mom, I and her are on the same diet, and it is very convenient. However, I am the only person in my household who needs to follow a LC diet, but I started that way, so I am used to live with rice and potatoes around. If I followed something like low food reward diet, it would be way more difficult to practice in a family settings or while visiting people.

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    1. my biggest problem is, i don't often have IMMEDIATE bad effects from those "safe starches" -- they sneak up on me! and the fact that i can fast my way back to normality even deludes me into indulging when i shouldn't.

      :-) even if it IS bragging, i have to say i'm very proud of L -- she's a lot smarter than i am!

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    2. It is the best what every parent enjoys - to be proud of own child.
      I don't complitely avoid starches like a plague, but rather dilute it a lot, like when my family eats buckwheat, I add some into sauteed mushrooms.

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    3. i seem to see some benefit in an occasional "carb re-feed" -- but it sure doesn't work TOO often! :-)

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  3. "Proposed solution: while everyone is out at work and school, i'll get as much of my ideal diet as i can, and after they come home, i'll "fill up the corners" as the hobbits say, with the rest of my "ration" and permitted extras ... IF i feel the need."

    Now that sounds an excellent plan. It is not always easy to keep to your usual eating plan, when away .......we just have to do the best we can.

    All the best Jan

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