It's no secret -- i enjoy movies which my friend Jules and i describe as "charming garbage." ...The kind which have major flaws but which are enjoyable for the mood you come away with, after seeing them. They sometimes have a great soundtrack, or abundant eye-candy, or characters who tickle you, or witty dialogue: whatever! One such piece of '80s fluff was "Streets of Fire."
One character in it reminds me of my niece, the ex-WAC* -- one of those tough babies with a heart of gold. She's sitting in a bar chatting with the hero, and the bartender becomes obnoxious, so she punches him out and delivers the line from which i derived today's blog title.
'Cause it's true -- you can't go anywhere without coming in contact with people who are a disgrace to whatever group or profession or hobby they belong to. For every Chris Masterjohn there's a Stephan Guyenet; for every Sisson or Wolf there's a ... few people who comment on FTA. ;-)
But to assume that the proverbial spoiled apple is reason to discard the entire containerful is faulty logic.
Speaking for myself, even though i was doing low-carb and getting good results as long as i went low enough, when i committed to a month of strict paleo-style eating ... i couldn't believe how much better i felt! The stiffness and aches, the inflammation and allergies, the heart arrhythmia, the bloat and the occasional intestinal woes cleared up in a miraculous way. Clearly -- those foods which have been labeled "neolithic" by my favorite paleoblogospheric writers ARE problematic for me: gluten grains, seed oils, and even some kinds of dairy products.
THIS MUCH smoke indicates a fire somewhere -- the tiny smudge emanating from a guru's incense-burner can't be mistaken for what i'm seeing.
And now that i'm home again, i'm going back on the whole-30-style wagon. (I would say strong-medicine-wagon, except that i anticipate eating eggs as well as my meat, coffee and "yellow vegetables.") I anticipate feeling less like a bloated manatee within the week.
_____
* dating myself with the use of obsolete terminology again....
Saturday, December 29, 2012
Thursday, December 27, 2012
"normal response" to carbs, at last?
There's no doubt about the fact that i feel best on VLC. But surprisingly enough after this holiday of unusual carb intake, my mood and physical sense of well-being are pretty high. Why? I can guess, and it's all about exercise, omega-3 and hormones.
We walked ALL over the downtown area of Seattle, and though the hills did a number on my back and legs, i know we burned a boatload of glucose in the process. I ordered seafood at meals whenever i wasn't actually craving red meat. I encouraged mitochondrial performance with carnitine, and boosted raw material for testosterone production with pregnenolone supplements. Through it all, when not having to wait in uncomfortable public areas for late trains, i've been sleeping well.
I've resisted snacking most of the time, and when i succumbed it was generally to pistachios or cashews (once, waiting for the dinner train an extra 3 hours or so after having no lunch, i had myself a happy-hour with cheese-flavored rice crackers and Abbeys). I've tried to satisfy appetite on the meat or egg main dish , and then "fill up the corners" (if you'll forgive the Hobbitism) with non-starchy vegetables, then potatoes and finally with sweets.
The celebration-worthy part of gaining a little fat through it all is that leptin is doing its proper job of inhibiting subsequent appetite. Eating a good-sized meal with more carbs than i'm used to is not spurring me to chow down again in a couple of hours, but to WANT to fast for awhile! Many days, we've been eating a late breakfast and an early dinner, and that's all.
Well, i'm not going to "continue the experiment" when we get home -- i'll be gratefully returning to the VLC diet i actually PREFER. I enjoyed that croissant and the four bites of sourdough toast i had, but i feel no desire to make a regular indulgence of it. Pushing my luck any further is NOT at all tempting!
We walked ALL over the downtown area of Seattle, and though the hills did a number on my back and legs, i know we burned a boatload of glucose in the process. I ordered seafood at meals whenever i wasn't actually craving red meat. I encouraged mitochondrial performance with carnitine, and boosted raw material for testosterone production with pregnenolone supplements. Through it all, when not having to wait in uncomfortable public areas for late trains, i've been sleeping well.
I've resisted snacking most of the time, and when i succumbed it was generally to pistachios or cashews (once, waiting for the dinner train an extra 3 hours or so after having no lunch, i had myself a happy-hour with cheese-flavored rice crackers and Abbeys). I've tried to satisfy appetite on the meat or egg main dish , and then "fill up the corners" (if you'll forgive the Hobbitism) with non-starchy vegetables, then potatoes and finally with sweets.
The celebration-worthy part of gaining a little fat through it all is that leptin is doing its proper job of inhibiting subsequent appetite. Eating a good-sized meal with more carbs than i'm used to is not spurring me to chow down again in a couple of hours, but to WANT to fast for awhile! Many days, we've been eating a late breakfast and an early dinner, and that's all.
Well, i'm not going to "continue the experiment" when we get home -- i'll be gratefully returning to the VLC diet i actually PREFER. I enjoyed that croissant and the four bites of sourdough toast i had, but i feel no desire to make a regular indulgence of it. Pushing my luck any further is NOT at all tempting!
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
superior P-word supplement
I'm very pleased with how i feel, using the pregnenolone. It's been a two or three weeks since i started taking a 10 mg sublingual every day and i have that "balanced" feeling which, at my age, is cause for rejoicing. I've also settled into taking a gram of carnitine every morning, which together with the P does a much better job of providing steady (if not abundant) energy than tyrosine, which tends to make me uncomfortably wired.
The thing i didn't like about the progesterone creme i used to use was that i definitely put FAT on the portions of my anatomy where it was applied. And those places where it is recommended that one apply the creme? -- EXACTLY where i don't need more fat! :-) I ended up preferring to rub it into my butt, to balance my proportions out a bit. When i first learned about maca, i thought maybe that would be good for me, but hearing that it can be detrimental to thyroid function, i haven't played with it much yet.
I didn't get an immediate boost from the pregnenolone -- it took at least a week for me to feel that something good was happening. Of course, being the cautious self-experimenter that i am, i wasn't about to start off with the massive dose some people use. However, being also of an age at which natural pregnenolone production is significantly reduced, i felt confident about doubling the amount suggested by Dr. Peat -- 10 mg is the smallest concentration offered through Amazon.
I didn't get the boundless energy of youth, but i do feel good about adding this supplement to my regimen -- the more so because it IS the dissolve-in-the-mouth sort (i do get tired of swallowing pills). Perhaps when the time comes to buy another bottle i'll go for the 25 mg size. If i don't like the way i feel with the higher dosage, i'll just bite the little suckers in half.
The thing i didn't like about the progesterone creme i used to use was that i definitely put FAT on the portions of my anatomy where it was applied. And those places where it is recommended that one apply the creme? -- EXACTLY where i don't need more fat! :-) I ended up preferring to rub it into my butt, to balance my proportions out a bit. When i first learned about maca, i thought maybe that would be good for me, but hearing that it can be detrimental to thyroid function, i haven't played with it much yet.
I didn't get an immediate boost from the pregnenolone -- it took at least a week for me to feel that something good was happening. Of course, being the cautious self-experimenter that i am, i wasn't about to start off with the massive dose some people use. However, being also of an age at which natural pregnenolone production is significantly reduced, i felt confident about doubling the amount suggested by Dr. Peat -- 10 mg is the smallest concentration offered through Amazon.
I didn't get the boundless energy of youth, but i do feel good about adding this supplement to my regimen -- the more so because it IS the dissolve-in-the-mouth sort (i do get tired of swallowing pills). Perhaps when the time comes to buy another bottle i'll go for the 25 mg size. If i don't like the way i feel with the higher dosage, i'll just bite the little suckers in half.
Monday, December 24, 2012
enough love
I treated myself to a new DVD copy of my favorite Christmas movie, the 1951 British production of "A Christmas Carol," starring Alastair Sim. This one is very faithful to Dickens' story, and the cast is full of GREAT character actors of the era. It's heartfelt without being maudlin.
To me, the theme of this movie IS Love -- the "Christmas" aspect is almost incidental. You see the Cratchit family in their respectable poverty, mutually supporting each other in an atmosphere in which Love keeps the threadbare aspect of their lives from dominating. Ditto for Scrooge's nephew, though he obviously has a better job than Bob does. (Compare this to my favorite Dickens novel "Our Mutual Friend," in which poor Rumty Wilfer's living room -- cold with selfishness -- is a very uncomfortable place indeed.)
Bearing in mind this IS fiction, you can still connect that when children are raised with the knowledge that they are warmly loved and that their real best interests are considered important*, they learn by example HOW TO LOVE, themselves. Conversely, the hero of the tale grew up convinced that he was NOT loved, which put him emotionally on his own -- no good formative example for HIM! Of course he didn't prioritize love in his life (or anything else besides money) -- he had no idea that it had any value.
We see all the time that some people just don't know HOW to love. Why??? Could it be comparable to a person who has never seen a meal cooked from scratch not knowing how to cook? Is it like a person who has never seen printed materials before not knowing how to read? I sure think so.
For a household, or any other group of people, to enjoy the kind of harmony that makes light of privation, truly caring about the comfort and troubles of each other is a seed which will bear the kind of fruit everyone rejoices to see.
___
* I didn't say "happiness" mind you -- trying to "make children happy" frequently backfires.
To me, the theme of this movie IS Love -- the "Christmas" aspect is almost incidental. You see the Cratchit family in their respectable poverty, mutually supporting each other in an atmosphere in which Love keeps the threadbare aspect of their lives from dominating. Ditto for Scrooge's nephew, though he obviously has a better job than Bob does. (Compare this to my favorite Dickens novel "Our Mutual Friend," in which poor Rumty Wilfer's living room -- cold with selfishness -- is a very uncomfortable place indeed.)
Bearing in mind this IS fiction, you can still connect that when children are raised with the knowledge that they are warmly loved and that their real best interests are considered important*, they learn by example HOW TO LOVE, themselves. Conversely, the hero of the tale grew up convinced that he was NOT loved, which put him emotionally on his own -- no good formative example for HIM! Of course he didn't prioritize love in his life (or anything else besides money) -- he had no idea that it had any value.
We see all the time that some people just don't know HOW to love. Why??? Could it be comparable to a person who has never seen a meal cooked from scratch not knowing how to cook? Is it like a person who has never seen printed materials before not knowing how to read? I sure think so.
For a household, or any other group of people, to enjoy the kind of harmony that makes light of privation, truly caring about the comfort and troubles of each other is a seed which will bear the kind of fruit everyone rejoices to see.
___
* I didn't say "happiness" mind you -- trying to "make children happy" frequently backfires.
Sunday, December 23, 2012
defending your ... sanity
If you've never seen the movie "Defending Your Life," i recommend it heartily. It's the story of what happens in one man's afterlife, and although Albert Brooks' whining gets old really fast, some of the comic touches more than make up for it. I also think that Meryl could have done a lot better for herself....
The "Judgement Hall of Osiris" gets a new twist in this flick. With the help of an advocate, the recently-dead individual needs to demonstrate a certain degree of personal growth. We are told that when we become sufficiently intelligent, we don't have to reincarnate ON EARTH anymore -- we go on to a different place where we'll continue to evolve, then move on to another place and so on. When we start using more of our brains, we don't WANT to be here any longer.
I think i've been on this planet one life too many. Accidentally overhearing the "news" programs my husband watches -- that is, the rampant flaunting-of-stupidity of those trying to mold public opinion -- leaves me astonished and nauseated. I feel surrounded by self-absorbed idiocy. How CAN people be so illogical?
I'm inclined to blame the carbs. ;-)
The "Judgement Hall of Osiris" gets a new twist in this flick. With the help of an advocate, the recently-dead individual needs to demonstrate a certain degree of personal growth. We are told that when we become sufficiently intelligent, we don't have to reincarnate ON EARTH anymore -- we go on to a different place where we'll continue to evolve, then move on to another place and so on. When we start using more of our brains, we don't WANT to be here any longer.
I think i've been on this planet one life too many. Accidentally overhearing the "news" programs my husband watches -- that is, the rampant flaunting-of-stupidity of those trying to mold public opinion -- leaves me astonished and nauseated. I feel surrounded by self-absorbed idiocy. How CAN people be so illogical?
I'm inclined to blame the carbs. ;-)
Friday, December 21, 2012
shame on me...
...for not posting in a week! ;-) I've been busy traveling, TRYING to get enough sleep (despite the midnight train a couple of days ago being 3.5 hours late in loading). On the rails, our internet connection was on-again-off-again despite having a good "portable hotspot." When the modem was not connecting i could sometimes read my favorite blogs on my Blackberry, but i can't comment or post from it.
I tell ya, eating from the menu while traveling via Amtrak is a tricky business. Only in the dining car can one get dishes which are not carb-based -- and for lunch one has to order sandwiches without the bread in order to meet that criterion. :-( On the flip-side, the food IS good even though the menu is limited.
If one is obliged to eat in a station between trains ... good luck! We had a terrific meal in Sacramento, but that was only because the depot was in the middle of town and a short walk took us to a variety of restaurants to choose between (apologies for the grammar). There WAS a time when stations had a Harvey House or at least a good diner nearby, but the glory days have passed them by. What a pity! Rail travel has virtues that flying can't aspire to, even if the hour at which one has to make connections can be inconvenient.
On the ground here in Seattle, we've been eating a lot of the excellent seafood to be found. We were profoundly impressed with the fresh fin- and shellfish in the shops of Pike Place Market. Omega-3 heaven! ;-) I had a steak for dinner tonight, however -- sometimes, only red meat satisfies....
And we've WALKED (and walked and walked and walked). My starchy and sugary sins (not too many of them) have been atoned-for, i believe. We've also come to understand why coffee is so important here -- the cold damp weather we've enjoyed since arriving encourages me to find a snug corner and a hot drink. ...Hmmm, i wonder if Victor down in the hotel bar knows how to make hot Tom&Jerry? :-D
I tell ya, eating from the menu while traveling via Amtrak is a tricky business. Only in the dining car can one get dishes which are not carb-based -- and for lunch one has to order sandwiches without the bread in order to meet that criterion. :-( On the flip-side, the food IS good even though the menu is limited.
If one is obliged to eat in a station between trains ... good luck! We had a terrific meal in Sacramento, but that was only because the depot was in the middle of town and a short walk took us to a variety of restaurants to choose between (apologies for the grammar). There WAS a time when stations had a Harvey House or at least a good diner nearby, but the glory days have passed them by. What a pity! Rail travel has virtues that flying can't aspire to, even if the hour at which one has to make connections can be inconvenient.
On the ground here in Seattle, we've been eating a lot of the excellent seafood to be found. We were profoundly impressed with the fresh fin- and shellfish in the shops of Pike Place Market. Omega-3 heaven! ;-) I had a steak for dinner tonight, however -- sometimes, only red meat satisfies....
And we've WALKED (and walked and walked and walked). My starchy and sugary sins (not too many of them) have been atoned-for, i believe. We've also come to understand why coffee is so important here -- the cold damp weather we've enjoyed since arriving encourages me to find a snug corner and a hot drink. ...Hmmm, i wonder if Victor down in the hotel bar knows how to make hot Tom&Jerry? :-D
Friday, December 14, 2012
another "duh" moment
My mood, energy and well-being vary significantly, depending on what i eat. If i eat like "normal people" for awhile (i'm out of town, eating in restaurants a lot, snacking, or at the mercy of some other person's cooking), i lack vitality, i tire easily and take a long time to recover, and tend to be crankier. Now, by most people's estimation, i'm STILL EATING LOW-CARB (under 100g/d), but far more than i'm used to ... and some of the food is FRIED.
AHAAA, shouts the mainstream, it's that high-fat diet!!!
NO. It's that omega-6 overdose. ...In ME, who has NO industrial-seed-oils in the house AT ALL. Can you imagine the imbalance in those poor overweight devils who try to live on salad ... with commercial dressing?
In one of those blinding-light-on-the-road-to-Damascus moments, i "saw" last night that the reason i FEEL SO GOOD eating my at-home diet of grassfed/pastured meat and eggs is ... the additional omega-3s. I take cod liver oil every day and eat salmon and sardines regularly, but obviously in my case more is better. My thanks to Wooo and Sidereal for pointing out recently what a difference O3 makes to the brain.
It wouldn't be the first time.... I need to supplement all kinds of things that properly-functioning individuals safely assume they get from food. Iron, B12, carnitine....
We're going out of town again as a Christmas treat -- the first vacation J and i have enjoyed ALONE together without him having any work duties, in over a decade. I'll be eating out for over a week. Tell ya what i'll also be doing -- loading up on fatty fish! I considered leaving the CLO at home, but that ain't gonna happen now. If i have to fill the hotel fridge with lox, i WILL do it! ;-)
AHAAA, shouts the mainstream, it's that high-fat diet!!!
NO. It's that omega-6 overdose. ...In ME, who has NO industrial-seed-oils in the house AT ALL. Can you imagine the imbalance in those poor overweight devils who try to live on salad ... with commercial dressing?
In one of those blinding-light-on-the-road-to-Damascus moments, i "saw" last night that the reason i FEEL SO GOOD eating my at-home diet of grassfed/pastured meat and eggs is ... the additional omega-3s. I take cod liver oil every day and eat salmon and sardines regularly, but obviously in my case more is better. My thanks to Wooo and Sidereal for pointing out recently what a difference O3 makes to the brain.
It wouldn't be the first time.... I need to supplement all kinds of things that properly-functioning individuals safely assume they get from food. Iron, B12, carnitine....
We're going out of town again as a Christmas treat -- the first vacation J and i have enjoyed ALONE together without him having any work duties, in over a decade. I'll be eating out for over a week. Tell ya what i'll also be doing -- loading up on fatty fish! I considered leaving the CLO at home, but that ain't gonna happen now. If i have to fill the hotel fridge with lox, i WILL do it! ;-)
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