Thursday, 22 May 2008

thoughts about craving

Last night I had trouble sleeping which is unusual. Normally I'm asleep as soon as my head hits the pillow and wake up 7-ish hours later like an on/off switch. Partly it was to do with having a nice date last night and all the things we talked about.

For some reason around 5am my restless mind wandered to this topic on Ask Metafilter from a few days ago. It's one thing to read Buddhist texts, literature and the like and another to see a full discussion of the meaning of the concepts in progress. Specifically it deals with how one releases craving. One person asked "It seems like if you got beyond craving, you would contentedly waste away." Another person gave a (what I thought to be very good answer) "Would you? If you watered a plant, it would not be because a plant craved water. It requires water to live, but that is very different from wanting.Why would feeding yourself be any different?"

You can see why I immdeiately connected this to CR. Also to my dating situation.

Last night the date asked me if I love cheese so much (the conversation briefly touched on fave foods) why am I so slim? The answer is because I don't have cheese very often. I like cheese, love it in fact. It would be disappointing if for any reason I never had cheese again. But I don't crave cheese, and so treat it accordingly.

The fellow I went out with last night is an Egyptian surgeon-turned-GP. Rather ominously the subject went to, and stayed on, forms of monotheistic thought and the unity of human knowledge in general. His background is Coptic/Muslim (practicing Muslim) and mine is Catholic/Jewish (practicing nihilist, ha ha). So as you might imagine we disagreed on a lot. He also called me "death-obsessed" which I corrected to "death-realist". But fundamentally we were coming to different conclusions from similar ways of thinking, which is interesting.

As far as dating goes I seem to have released myself from craving. Not sure if it's a good or bad thing. It works in the sense that I might want this man (can't tell yet, too early to say) but I certainly don't need him. Unfortunately, most romantic notions are based on the concept of needing someone. Which obviously leads to much pain when one person needs the other, but the other person doesn't feel the same way. I don't believe love is a function of need but it seems everything is conspiring to convince us it is.

Today I'm back on regular calories. Food so far is:

BREAKFAST

usual Total 0%/fruit/All-Bran/flaxseeds

SNACKS

veggie sushi
megamuffin with nonfat cream cheese and chopped almonds

LUNCH

egg/eggwhite fritatta with courgettes, cos (romaine) salad

Dinner most likely will be a tofu or Quorn stir-fry, maybe a salad of scrambled egg whites, rice, bean sprouts and hot sauce, and a hot chocolate.

So pre-dinner totals are:

Nutrition Summary for 22 May 2008
General (58%)
Energy 705.1 kcal 59%
Protein 39.3 g 44%
Carbs 106.6 g 67%
Fiber 30.7 g 123%
Fat 22.4 g 68%

Vitamins (81%)
Vitamin A 3274.2 IU 140%
Folate 447.8 µg 112%
B1 (Thiamine) 1.3 mg 120%
B2 (Riboflavin) 1.3 mg 121%
B3 (Niacin) 14.6 mg 104%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 3.2 mg 64%
B6 (Pyridoxine) 3.8 mg 292%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) 10.4 µg 432%
Vitamin C 63.6 mg 85%
Vitamin D 108.4 IU 54%
Vitamin E 5.2 mg 35%
Vitamin K 34.8 µg 39%

Minerals (73%)
Calcium 488.5 mg 49%
Copper 0.8 mg 91%
Iron 14.6 mg 81%
Magnesium 293.0 mg 92%
Manganese 5.4 mg 297%
Phosphorus 868.7 mg 124%
Potassium 1261.0 mg 42%
Selenium 37.7 µg 69%
Sodium 443.8 mg 55%
Zinc 4.3 mg 54%

Lipids (57%)
Saturated 5.0 g 25%
Omega-3 1.8 g 166%
Omega-6 4.1 g 34%
Cholesterol 203.6 mg 68%

Wednesday, 21 May 2008

thoughts about rationing

Today I ran across this 28-day diet in the Times. I'm always interested to see what they recommend in diets in the national press not least because it's useful to know what mad nonsense everyone will be talking about for the next week. I'm amazed this is a slimming diet. To me it looks like a reasonably balanced, sensible amount of food. Guess that's what years of CR will do to your perception.

It got me thinking about rationing. A friend and I saw a show this weekend about postwar rationing in the UK which was actually worse than rationing during the war. A one-week ration for an adult included one egg, one loaf of bread, two bacon rashers, a small chop's worth of meat, 2-3 pints of milk, 225g sugar, 50g butter, 100g margarine, some tea, rather a lot of jam... just about all of which you could use up today in a single giant fry-up breakfast with sugary tea and a few rounds of toast and jam after.

It is funny how quickly perceptions have changed about what is an appropriate amount of food. Perfectly reasonable portions that would have been considered luxurious up until the mid-fifties are today comsidered a weight-loss diet. In CR we encounter two types of people usually: those who bulk up on giant portions of veg and those who keep their portions small. I'm more the latter than the former mostly because I'm small (5'3" on a good day) and as much as I love green veg (could eat collard greens with vinegar from now until the end of time quite happily) couldn't digest the enormous salads of some of my CR brothers and sisters. But we're all on the same general track, caloriewise. I'm interested in the change in how the rest of the developed-world eats volumewise. Do most people go around feeling really stuffed all day?!?

At the weekend we had a lot of English asparagus with poached eggs because my friend J makes superb poached eggs, the best. The rhubarb in my garden is going crazy and I have to keep picking it so it won't start rotting from underneath, so am throwing it into almost everythign I cook. We also had a tea party with vegan cupcakes. I managed not to eat many of them... one on the day, and one yesterday... but am on austerity measures this week as a result: salads, yoghurt, and veggie and tofu soups. It's nice now that the weather's warmer to be eating lighter.

Speaking of the heat, I can't understand my co-workers. Last weekend the temps here got to about 26C (79F). On the Monday people had their windows open and fans on. As a result I was a little cold but thought, okay they didn't grow up in sweltering heat like I did, that's okay. But by Friday when the temps had gone down to 14C (57F), they still had the office windows open, fans on, and were still complaining about the heat! This is ridiculous.

Monday, 28 April 2008

the train and the training

God, do I feel like I've been spending half my time on transport lately. The 20+ hour flights each way to Australia, then sitting on trains to see friends and catch up, conferences and so on. After work today I'm down to London for a leukaemia conference at Great Ormond Street. Back up late Wednesday then off to Scotland on friday for hillwalking and camping. Hopefully the weather will cooperate!

Australia was good, I have had Vegemite and am converted! Problem will be getting it here but then if I'm down in London so often there will probably be shops catering to expats that carry it.

Been having a lot of disruption to my routine lately but hanging on to the quotidian, just. I need to get some more Mega mixes because my time is very limited these days. Still, without megas am doing just fine. Also I've cut out the protein shakes and bars and am going for an extra lunch course in the day. Here's today so far, no idea what I'll be having for dinner but looking at what I've yet to get in the nutritionals it's probably going to be something involving salad and tofu or Quorn.

Training-wise I have got back into cycling again. My plan is to start bringing running back up slowly. Still not certain if I'll do the Great North Run again this year but will start training as if planning to. Dance is going well, it adds some much-needed coordination into my regime... I'm a lot more fitness than finesse as you probably can tell so anything that requires me to think rather than zone out is a nice change. Have dropped the ball on gardening this spring, blame the uninspiring weather. Still it's good to see things put in last year still going strong and I have all the herbs, cabbage and rhubarb I can eat from the garden. Also I eat nettles and dandelions so they're not entirely unwelcome when they inevitably appear!

Also while I have no injuries at the moment I have been doing a lot of reading and am considering moving to "barefoot"-style running shoes this year. I have high arches and a neutral to underpronated gait. Does anyone have any experience with these kind of shoes?

Summary

Breakfast: Total 0%, stewed rhubarb, honey, All-Bran, flaxseeds

Snack: brazil nuts, Marmite sandwich

Lunch: Quorn sausages, low-salt sauerkraut, mustard

Snack: Tofu salad with hot pepper sauce, matchstick carrots and peppers, chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)

General

Energy 722.3 kcal 60%
Protein 53.9 g 60%
Carbs 84.9 g 53%
Fiber 32.9 g 132%
Fat 31.1 g 94%
Water 261.3 g 10%

Vitamins

Vitamin A 5280.7 IU 226%
Folate 340.7 µg 85%
B1 (Thiamine) 1.2 mg 107%
B2 (Riboflavin) 1.4 mg 126%
B3 (Niacin) 17.0 mg 121%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid) 24.1 mg 482%
B6 (Pyridoxine) 3.6 mg 273%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) 10.3 µg 430%
Vitamin C 45.5 mg 61%
Vitamin D 199.3 IU 100%
Vitamin E 2.6 mg 17%
Vitamin K 57.9 µg 64%

Minerals

Calcium 661.6 mg 66%
Copper 0.9 mg 102%
Iron 12.4 mg 69%
Magnesium 291.5 mg 91%
Manganese 5.0 mg 277%
Phosphorus 718.9 mg 103%
Potassium 1318.1 mg 44%
Selenium 306.4 µg 557%
Sodium 1187.4 mg 148%
Zinc 5.5 mg 69%

Lipids

Saturated 7.6 g 38%
Omega-3 1.1 g 103%
Omega-6 4.7 g 39%
Cholesterol 28.3 mg 9%

Thursday, 10 April 2008

the other side of the world

I'm in Australia for a couple of weeks. So far so good. The flights were long (with a stop in Singapore) and the food terrible, I ended up leaving almost everything they served apart from a fruit yoghurt and a cup of milk. Good thing I packed food... a cos lettuce, baby plum tomatoes, carrot sticks and enough falafel, hummus and Quorn for 20+ hours of travel.

My friend Luke picked me up and we went from the airport to the harbour to drink a glass of bubbly in the shadow of the Sydney Opera House (looks a lot different in person from the photos!). Then we went back to his so I could meet the missus who has apparently been worrying about what to get in for me food-wise. Came in to be greeted with a snack of almonds, roasted soy nuts, a marinated tomato salad and a very toothsome Aus cabernet. I'd say she got it just about perfect! A quick look at the fridge shows they've got plenty of eggs, mushrooms, fresh fruit and greens which will suit me down to the ground. Staving off the inevitable jetlag today with copious amounts of Earl Grey and wondering when we'll be on the road to see "the other Newcastle".

Hope everyone's well!

Tuesday, 18 March 2008

the wide open world

Back from DC and NY. Had a very interesting few weeks, particularly as regards food. As I haven't been back to the US in over three years you can imagine the surprise that was waiting for me. Food! Is! Everywhere! Also... it's HUGE!

DC was very manageable because I was at the AAFS conference so eating what I could grab during breaks in the meetings, usually yoghurt and fruit, or little salads. I must have bought a dozen little bags of carrots from le Bon Pain, but it was so convenient. Also relied on protein bars a lot more than I normally would do but I like the taste, and made full use of the gym at the Shoreham (plus the free fruit contained therein).

New York was another story. One night we went to a Chinese restaurant and I ordered a bento box of braised tofu, steamed baby bok choi, and a cucumber and vinegar salad (also rice which I didn't plan to eat). The box was literally the volume of an enitre day's intake for me, and I ended up eating less than half. Even with the relatively healthy option presented it was so much food that I wouldn't like to think what the calories were in the entire box (always assume even when you specify steamed there will be calories you don't know about, and goodness knows what was in the tofu's sauce). If you can see my Facebook photos you'll see it on there. My ex ended up taking half the veg for his Peking duck because they brought him so much meat with very little greenery. Food is very cheap there compared to the UK, as well.

Walking around was similar. I have a big blind spot when it comes to junk food and most of it passes me by. But in NY there were all these lovely little Korean grocers with giant sold-by-weight salad bars... about every third shop! So while I was happy to be able to get an unimpeded supply of fresh raw veg, undressed leaves and so, there was so very, very much of it that I found myself wishing they'd disappear. Food was on my mind all the time because I was constantly seeing and smelling it. My ex was constantly complaining about gastrointestinal distress because he was constantly eating more rich food than his body could deal with, and because his approach to food is different to mine he found himself unable to resist things like white chocolate Reese's cups.

I don't know if it's that the country has changed or that I have changed. Also I feel this way about politics and the things people do/say in America, have they changed or have I?

Finally got to see my mother and did the first cooking of the holiday, a vegetable and navy bean soup which everyone loved :) Am back in the UK and happily settling back into my quotidian diet now. Looking forward to a visit to Sydney next month. NO idea what I can expect there, does anyone have tips or suggestions?

And because I feel obliged to bring it up... yup... still single and happy with that.

Thursday, 14 February 2008

the land of the free

I'm off to the US for a fortnight from this weekend, DC one week for a conference, then meeting up with people in NY for a week. My ex and my mother included :) Complicated! But I'm looking forward to it and it should be fun.

Today when changing money I didn't even recognise the notes. Goodness knows what will happen when I get to a supermarket. Looking forward to experiencing my first TJs low carb tortillas. Do they store well so I can bring some back? Is there anything else I should stock up on?

Will be staying mostly in hotels so if anyone knows of CR and vegetarian-friendly places to eat in DC, midtown Manhattan and Syracuse (or indeed anything worth going out of the way for, but I won't be driving), please leave suggestions in the comments! I don't even know what they have in chain restaurants so some heads-up on what to expect/avoid would be useful too. Also, where the heck can I get Quorn stateside for when I do get to a kitchen? Assuming the regular grocery stores won't have it...

Monday, 4 February 2008

the word is spreading

My best friend is 37, 5'9" and weighs about 15 stone. He's been on medication for his blood pressure for several years. I only mention this to him once a year for fear of sounding like a nag, it's become the annual Christmas "I'm concerned about your weight" chat. The thing is that when we met 12 years ago, he weighed about 10 stone (140 lbs.). So in a decade and a bit he's gone from a BMI of 21 to a BMI of 31.

Last week he came back from a visit to the GP depressed. He'd gone for an ingrowing toenail but apaprently the GP couldn't help but remark on his increasing weight and that something must be done. I know J knows all the right things to do, so refrained from lecturing him, but I did introduce him to Cron-o-meter (he's a scientist like me and works in pharmaceutical research so more geek = more better) and said I'd visit him next week for a few big countryside walks.

J's problem with food is not gak but volume. Where I'd have a glass of wine, he has a bottle. Where I'd have a pint of beer (proof that no food is banned on CR!) he'd have two or three. He eats a wide variety of fresh foods, all home-cooked, but he literally eats for two. He also doesn't like organised sport, his preferred activites are walking and cycling and he doesn't do those nearly as often as he used to.

J's other concern is that he's been single for years. He works with all men in the office so doesn't meet women there. He's joined a gym in the last year but prefers to use the machine son his own and doesn't like the classes. And he commutes from Sheffield to Macclesfield for work and just wants to sit and watch movies when he comes home. He's a shy guy to start with but I can also imagine the extra weight gives him another barrier to getting out. We'll be going out to a club to see some live music on Saturday night, which he loves to do, but would never suggest himself. I try not to think of my friends as projects but it's hard not to. I've suggested an internet personal ad, and at first he agreed that sounded like a good idea but has been backtracking lately. Any tips for how else to shift him in the right direction without coming across so strongly he'll be put off?

Good thing: he texted this morning to say he started using Cron-o-meter over the weekend and liked it! He's sending me his first three days of results to look at.