You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
Off Topic Chat
>
Watcha' Doing - 2021
My doctor seemed to think Keto & Atkins are interchangeable and what he described sounded more like Keto and less like what I've read about Atkins. Atkins doesn't keep you in ketosis after the first two weeks. Keto doesn't seem maintainable to me long term, maybe Atkins will be? My guess is that I'll end up with some modified version. I wouldn't take my thoughts/opinions on these diets too seriously, since I haven't read any of the books yet and have just started researching. If anyone has more experience with any of the diets, I'm always happy to learn.
One of the things that the keto diary recommended was that you were to drink a glass of ice water first thing in the morning. Presumably, it kick started the metabolism. I've continued that (without the ice). I was basically following the Canada Food Guide which is what was recommended by the pre-diabetic clinic I went to. The problem is, I'm an emotional eater. Right now, I'm indulging in comfort foods and I know from my history that it can get out of control quickly. And I'm having trouble getting back on track.
I've done the Atkins diet many years ago. I had short term success, but again wasn't able to sustain it.
I think the general consensus in science is that it doesn't matter which diet you choose (they all are about lower calorie intake in one way or another), as long as you stick to it. Making small lifestyle changes you can stick too is often also more helpful than a (crash) diet.Have you ever tried weight watchers Janice?
The thing with keto that a lot of websites and keyboard experts don't mention is you can't stay on it forever. You need to give your body breaks every couple of months, and then you can go back on it. We were at a reasonable stage of ketotis, but we would have backed right off if we were approaching ketoacidosis. Lexx was that permanently when he was diagnosed with diabetes and the first thing they do was to get you out of that asap, it's not good. No wonder you felt so bad on it, Janice!We did 8 weeks before Christmas, and I must say my stomach was going a little googly from all the cream. Also I think for me motivation wise you need that thing to aim for - only 3 more weeks and then I can have a crunchy piece of garlic bread! Leading up to Christmas, and my birthday too, meant we had to be reasonable on it too which I think was a good approach. I went out for work lunches or friends dinners, and just had to go choose the closest thing. And if that means eating parsnip and pumpkin but leaving the potato and sweet potato on the plate is fine. If I you eat 40 carbs one day to not be a pain in the arse socially instead of the 20 you were aiming for, ce la vie. It's still probably 100 less than I would usually eat.
The reason we did it was my brother was put on it by his doctor. We joined in as we had talked about doing it for ages, particularly with Lexx as eating no carbs would mean he would need to inject less insulin. Brother did for 4 months and lost around 15kg. The doctor has told him now that he can have a cheat day every week with carbs (read beer). Eventually he'll move to a couple of months on and a couple of months off but still low carb when gets out of that pre-diabetic zone.
We're going on again until Easter (or the Lexx festival) and also not going to drink for at least a month of that. I lost 6kg in those 8 weeks, but put back on 2.5ish in the past 25 days or so. But the past two weeks we've been eating all the carby meals we missed... still net gain! Lexx's blood sugar was amazing on it too.
And of course Kristie! I have a really good cracker recipe and amazing cauliflower tortillas that I'll put in our recipe thread. Been making the tortillas for years even before these experiments. And a reasonable naan/flatbread one. Hope you're all okay :) 2021 has some work to do.
Kristie wrote: "My doctor seemed to think Keto & Atkins are interchangeable and what he described sounded more like Keto and less like what I've read about Atkins. Atkins doesn't keep you in ketosis after the firs..."Reread some of these now I'm not running off to do something. I think the key thing in Keto is you are trying to maintain about 10% or less of carbs, 10-20% of protein, and the rest fat in your diet. Atkins I believe from what I read was about protein, not really fat.
The idea is that you use the fat for your energy instead of the carbs in the Keto diet. And you need a lot of it and then it starts utilising your body fat after you run out of intake fat, which what causes ketosis. We found that our short term sprint energy was lower, but we could do activities all day and not feel tired.
@Peggy - Yes, I've done Weight Watchers a few times. And others. I've tried them all, pretty much. I recall one book, Diets Don't Work that gave me the most success. Eat only when you're hungry. Eat slowly and with intention (no watching tv etc). Eat only until you are no longer hungry. Eat only what your body is craving. @Rusalka - My sister had done Keto and was the one who recommended it to me. She reversed her diagnosis of "pre-diabetic" and something else, blood pressure or cholesterol levels perhaps. She said that you do need to go off of it periodically so I knew that going in. I was Keto for about a month when I had to stop.
A few years back, I tried a cleanse that involved few carbs. I made a huge batch of a vegetable soup that made up the majority of cleanse. I got sick then too. I think my body needs a certain amount of carbs, and 10% isn't enough for me. We are all different physiologically.
It's been a lifetime battle for me. I remember the yo-yo dieting in my teens and the poor body image. Looking back, I was a proper weight. I could wear bikinis and look good in them for crying out loud. But I believe I destroyed my metabolism. And food is my drug of choice.
Janice wrote: "We are all different physiologically."100% agree. I think this is lost all the time in this kind of discussion. This is the most important thing, something that can work for someone can not for others, or make them not well in your case. The fact this has happened twice sounds like your baseline is higher than others.
I'm sorry you had that experience when you were younger, Janice, and it's had impacts going forward. I hate that this is so much of our culture, shaming women for how they look, when they look normal and frankly, good. We are just always taught we need to be taller, slimmer, bustier, but don't show it, but wear things that show it, but not too much, and be better but... ffs. It's all control.
Rusalka wrote: "I hate that this is so much of our culture, shaming women for how they look, when they look normal and frankly, good..."It's truly a shame, isn't it? I grew up in the day and age where Twiggy was held up to be the standard. At 5-feet, 6 inches — short for a model — Twiggy weighed only 91 pounds when she exploded into the culture. I'm 5'4" and was around 120 lbs during my teen years, and I thought I was fat.
I just hope that things are better for teens these days, but I have my doubts that much has changed.
Janice wrote: "@Peggy - Yes, I've done Weight Watchers a few times. And others. I've tried them all, pretty much. I recall one book, Diets Don't Work that gave me the most success. Eat only when yo..."I recommend this IG account @glucosegoddess specially if you have diabetes. she shows the effects of certain food on your sugar levels and its really useful in general
My niece was telling me the other day my nephew's partner is talking about lip implants and butt implants (I'm thinking "You're welcome to some of my butt!!") at 22. I think they have new and incomprehendable to me pressures with social media and accessible cosmetic surgery. I had a colleague a few years ago at 20 tell me she needed botox as she nearly had developed smile lines. I was almost screaming in her face that they made her look like a wonderful person I wanted to be around. But to her even smile lines were blemishes that had to be purged.
Janice wrote: "I grew up in the day and age where Twiggy was held up to be the standard."Any woman who is named after a stick should not be emulated. Kate Moss in her heroin girl era in the 90s was another ridiculous one. She's that skinny as you know she is literally shooting up. Stop promoting it.
Peggy, I've always thought healthy eating is better than any crash diets too. I think that's why I'm struggling with this concept a bit. When I've wanted to lose a few pounds in the past it was all about calories in versus calories out, trying to take in healthy calories and increase exercise. Unfortunately, this isn't about my weight. The doctor wants to decrease my sugar. I'm just not thrilled with his suggestion because my brain goes straight to healthy foods and nutrition and exercise, so his Keto suggestion threw me off. Thanks for all the input, Rusalka. Maybe Atkins is intended to be more long term? The doctor was definitely suggesting this was long term and mentioned cheat days to be able to maintain. He wants to recheck my blood in 3 months, so he definitely is expecting it to go at least that long. I feel like my little hybrid I have going on is more maintainable for me.
Re: adding fat to your diet. I was really turned off of Keto by someone suggesting I add butter to my coffee to increase my fats. Yuck! Who wants butter in their coffee?
Janice, I agree. It seems to me that your body does not like to be low carb. I've also had some experiences where my body has decided that a diet or something like that didn't work for me. We are definitely all individuals.
Completely understand. I was thinking tonight about a couple of things that are reasonable (I hate fad and crash diet things too) to share, and again I'll take that now to the recipe thread.Just in response to your doctor's three months thing. That's not too hard to give it a go, if they think it's worth a shot. And I'm going to do almost the same come Monday (caveat is depending if we eat all the mangoes in the house before then. Mangoes are expensive down south here so I will delay a day to eat those mangoes!!), so we could do it together? We will go until about 1 April/30 March, and that's 3 of us together which is a massive motivation factor for me so just chucking it in there as an option. Completely up to you though :)
That's so nice of you, Rus. :) I still don't have the book, so I'm not doing it fully. Plus, my doctor said he was ok with keeping fruits, but not root vegetables? I don't know... I'm probably not going to be very good at it. lol Does Keto do net carbs, like Atkins? (carb minus fiber grams)I don't blame you for wanting to eat your mangoes first! That was one of the comments I made to my doctor. I can't just throw away all the food in my house. lol
I also am a huge Hello Fresh Fan. I have learned new recipes that have become staples. I learned to cook from family. This means I used only one spice profile. Now I have learned other tastes I enjoy. I am curious if the recipes are similar in other places. What are some of the things people have made?As to cost, it works out a little more per meal for us. But we have much less waste at the end of the week. Buying vegetables is something I tend to over do. I seem to think we need more then we eat. Hello Fresh is portion controlled. This means less wilted vegetables
The down size of this is we don't have our weekly garbage soup. I really enjoy a nice vegetable soup.
Peggy wrote: "I have Hello Fresh since May. I was getting uninspired about dinner, always falling back on the same dishes. I really like it. We get a box every 2-3 weeks now, and there are several recipes that w..."
That's a really good point about food waste, Renee. Although that is sad about your garbage soup tradition. And buying veggies for veggie soup always feels a little weird heh.Kristie, it does use net carbs. Using fiber and/or fat to balance it out. I must say that I find that concept harder to work out on the fly, so tend to work out my day on the normal carbs. But when in doubt, smother it in butter/cheese/cream. My kind of diet ;) Yeah rule of thumb is anything that grows underground avoid, root veggies are really carb intensive (my brother thinks it's going to be years until he eats potato again), but that's why poor people throughout history lived on them. Above ground veggies are usually all good. Fruits, I understand your doctor just including them (also, there may be other reasons for you to eat them). Berries for example are really low carb, which is fantastic as they are my favourite and I have just had over 20ms of canes fruiting in the past month. Melons are quite low too, as are citrus comparatively. I guess also, I am not likely to sit down and eat a whole bunch of bananas in one sitting, but I am likely to eat an entire large plate of hot chips.
And we picked a point time to start both times to run down the fridge because of the food waste issue. That's why we've delayed this start again, there are too many things last weekend I couldn't throw out. I mean, the chickens love the feast, but there was even too much for those four greedy monsters!!
Food waste was one reason I stopped my meal delivery. Craig takes leftovers for lunches and there weren't any! lolThat's the problem with the doctor saying start now. I had just done a big grocery and I've been trying to keep pretty well stocked since the shelves were pretty bare earlier in the year. A lot of the stuff Craig will eat, but not all of it. The plan is basically for me to do the diet with a few cheats due to what we have on hand that might spoil and for him to eat up the rest of the stuff. Once that stuff is gone he'll just eat what I'm eating for the most part, at least for dinners.
Finally catching up on this thread...@ Janice - Congratulations on losing 20 lbs. I know it is hard.
I lost 17 lbs in 2020, but I did several things to get there. I quit drinking Dec 14th 2019 - I know 2020 probably wasn't the best year to quit drinking :) - and within 3 weeks dropped 6 lbs. I've been alcohol free for 13 months.
I then joined Weight Watchers the end of January 2020 which helped me focus on my food. I'm not a strict WW, but it helps me focus on what types of food I am eating and how much food I am putting in my mouth.
And finally I increased my activity by walking everyday - by July 2020 I was at my goal weight. I was walking 5 to 6 miles 5x a week until I broke my foot Dec 2nd. I am now slowly building up my walking. Up to 1/2 a mile, but do seated aerobics on online which has helped me maintain my weight.
I think you have to find what works for you and when you are ready you know it.
An aside question - Does it mean anything when you are sitting on the couch eating a cannoli (I can eat a cannoli on WW) and your cat takes your Fitbit off your dresser and drops it in your lap? LMAO Stormy did that last night.
Kudos to you, Jayme! You should be very proud of yourself. I'm going to give WW another try. I was on it (and still pay the monthly thinking I'll go back so I may as well) but I'm going to try the Blue plan (more zero foods that I'll eat). In the past I was able to lose about 20 lbs but put it back on (+) when I got lazy. I lost about 20 due to covid, which isn't the best way to do it, but when I was better and able to eat again, it came back. So now that I'm disgusted with myself, I going to consciously try again. I tend to be a mindless eater and don't pay attention to portion size. Plus my husband cooks dinner so he'll have to be a partner in this. I just sent him out for fish, salad fixings and fruit. He can eat all the cookies lying around. I walk so at least I have that going for me. I can do about 2 1/2 miles a day now. And I'm getting into chair yoga.
You're right when you say, you have to find what works for you, something you can stick with for the long haul. It's really more about eating healthy (we all really known how to do that), moving more and having a mindset where we like ourselves. The scale (or pant size) shouldn't be the defining factor of who we are. At close to 70, I'm probably not going to get back to my age 25 size/weight. That's okay. I looking to be healthier and live longer. That's all.
Congrats Jayme on hitting that first anniversary of being drink-free. That's amazing.Cats are very perceptive, and Stormy is strong in the force. LOL! My fitbit is flashing at me. I guess it's time to plug it in.
@ Roz - When you decide to go back to WW message me. I go to a weekly group online and the leader is very good - realistic and normal. I think we are in same time zone. Best to you.@ Janice - Thank you. It's been one of the best decisions I've made.
My other cat Breezy sits on my desk and watches the chair aerobic workouts. I have my own work out team! LOL
Way to go Jayme! Clearly you didn't know what 2020 had in store for you when you decided to give up alcohol. lol I did something similar years ago. I gave up soda and immediately lost about 5 pounds without doing anything else. I started watching my portions/calories and exercising more and eventually lost 30 pounds.
Love your cat! haha
You can do it, Roz! My mindset is similar. I'm much more concerned about my health than the number on the scale. Of course, I'm all for losing a bit of weight while getting healthier too.I have to admit that I've only lost about 5 pounds, but I think I gained some muscle and I feel a little better already.
Kristie wrote: "You can do it, Roz! My mindset is similar. I'm much more concerned about my health than the number on the scale. Of course, I'm all for losing a bit of weight while getting healthier too.I have t..."
That was/is my goal - to be healthier. For 2021 we decided to gradually go to a plant-based diet. We are giving ourselves the year to get there totally or find the place were we are comfortable.
Congrats on the 5 lb lose and muscle building. It's all about being healthy enough to enjoy your life.
That's a great plan, Jayme. My daughter did that last year. She moved to a plant-based diet, but not all in one day. She still calls herself plant-based, which gives her the opportunity to eat meat if she wanted to, but honestly she is vegetarian at this point. I think the plant-based label just feels less restrictive. She looks great and says she feels better too, which is key.We are looking into that too, but need to be careful with carbs as well. I don't want to limit my diet too much, so I am trying to find my own happy spot.
Kristie wrote: "That's a great plan, Jayme. My daughter did that last year. She moved to a plant-based diet, but not all in one day. She still calls herself plant-based, which gives her the opportunity to eat meat..."Still my diet became more diversified when I became a vegetarian. so you may be surprised.
I'm sure it did, Esther. My daughter is always suggesting new things to me now.We tried jack fruit as a bbq pulled pork substitute (when I could still have bbq) and didn't care for it. I was pretty disappointed with that. A lot of other things have too many carbs or sugars. The diet my doctor wants me on has no beans/legumes or even root vegetables, among other things, so it really limits my options. That's why I'm doing some research to make sure I get all the nutrition I need while still limiting what I'm not supposed to have. I am leaning towards plant-based anyway. It makes more sense to me.
Kristie wrote: "I'm sure it did, Esther. My daughter is always suggesting new things to me now.We tried jack fruit as a bbq pulled pork substitute (when I could still have bbq) and didn't care for it. I was pret..."
While it seems like a big thing, I think it might turn out easier than you think once you get the hang of it.
One thing I use a lot is my spiralizer. I went through a phase where I spiralized pretty much everything i could think of. Seriously Zucchini pasta is something i really like. Add a bit of pesto and fresh veggies and you get a great meal.
I also have a sheet slicer (Xmas gift to myself). Thank to our curfew I missed my grocery shopping window one evening last week, so i improvised a leftover lasagna with sheets of zucchini. That turned out well.
I am a vegetarian but I probably do a lot of plant base recipes. I just do not really think about it.
Once you figure out a bit more what you can or want to do, feel free to ask. I probably can send a few recipes your way.
I have to opposite problem of quite a lot of you. My goal this year is to repeat more recipes that I like as I tend to try so many new things that i do not revisit my favorite enough.
Just popping in to say a quick hello 👋 My uncle in gone into hospital with a chest infection. While this is not good news it gives me a chance to catch my breath and concentrate on my mum. We are all grieving the loss of my aunt last week and has been difficult. On the positive side I managed to convince the health service to double my uncles home help hours. This should allow me to spend more time just having a chat with him, which is what he really wants.
I've been missing you all and maybe this week I'll have a time to catch up.
Margo, I'm glad to hear you'll get more help. I really don't know how you do it. You are a super woman, a wonderful niece, a supportive mother and a sweet daughter. Sending you a big hug. We'll be here talking books. Don't worry about us. :)
Margo, I'm glad you'll be able to take a breather. Big Hug.
Thanks, Esther. I love trying new recipes. Margo, I'm glad you were able to get more help in for your uncle. That will ease your load a bit when he returns home.
Margo, I'm so glad you are getting some help. You need to take of you as well and hopefully this will give you that opportunity. Hugs!
Janice wrote: "That's almost as funny as the Four Seasons Landscape Company..."Nothing is as funny as the Four Seasons Landscape press conference!!! That is 100% the best thing to happen in 2020!
Janice wrote: "I lost 20 lbs last year and now 5 lbs has creeped back up. I need to get away from the boring food I'm eating. I've tried keto and got quite sick on it. My sister said that she thinks I was too str..."A few years ago I lost 35 pounds and kept it off for over a year - but gained it back in 2020 :( Not only the pandemic and gyms closing, but my adult daughter who lives with me had a psychotic break in 2020 and so I for real went to food (and books and wine) for comfort and escape.
But since I lost the weight once, I know I can do it. So I signed up for a thing where you make a weight loss goal and you have to pay a monthly fee, but at the end of your time frame if you make your goal you get your money back plus more. So I am hoping that the extra motivation will keep me on track!
I got my first vaccine shot this month (I am a teacher in a state that makes us teach fully in-person so we got bumped up the vaccine list), so I am hoping to get back to the gym next month after I get my second dose!
Katrisa wrote: "Janice wrote: "That's almost as funny as the Four Seasons Landscape Company..."Nothing is as funny as the Four Seasons Landscape press conference!!! That is 100% the best thing to happen in 2020!"
Saw a meme with Bernie sitting in his chair there. I was dying. lol
I'm sorry about your daughter, Katrisa. I hope she is doing better now. You have had a very difficult year too.I've never heard about that kind of plan for loosing weight, but I can see that it looks motivating.
Great about the vaccine! Are you having any side effect?
I'm also trying to come back to a more healthier diet and life style in general. My husband and I were doing great, eating healthier and waking between 15 and 20 km each week, but at some point we started losing track. We even managed to maintain it the first months of the pandemic and the summer, but last fall something happened. I'm not sure even what. I'm slowly starting to come back, but I'm finding harder to motivate my husband this time.
Sandra wrote: "I'm sorry about your daughter, Katrisa. I hope she is doing better now. You have had a very difficult year too.I've never heard about that kind of plan for loosing weight, but I can see that it l..."
I only had arm pain the day after, but nothing serious. I got the Moderna version. I have heard that the second dose can have worse side effects, but the peace of mind will be worth it. I have had 2 kids in my class test positive this month and 3 others have to quarantine because family members tested positive but my students didn't get tested (I teach kindergarten).
Sandra wrote: "I'm also trying to come back to a more healthier diet and life style in general. My husband and I were doing great, eating healthier and waking between 15 and 20 km each week, but at some point we ..."The same company that I am doing my weight loss challenge through also has a step challenge that I am doing, so I have been walking much more this month as well. I live in Utah and we usually have a lot of snow this time of year, but we have had almost none this year so I even get to walk outside.
Sandra wrote: "Margo, I'm glad to hear you'll get more help. I really don't know how you do it. You are a super woman, a wonderful niece, a supportive mother and a sweet daughter. Sending you a big hug. We'll be ..."What a lovely comment, thank you Sandra. I might just print that it off and it off, frame, it and pull it out to show to my family the next time I think they're not appreciating me enough! :-) But seriously, I couldn't cope without Pete and Ciara, they do a huge amount to help.
Katrisa wrote: "Janice wrote: "I lost 20 lbs last year and now 5 lbs has creeped back up. I need to get away from the boring food I'm eating. I've tried keto and got quite sick on it. My sister said that she think..."Sorry to hear about your daughter Katisa, that must be really tough.
Best of luck with your weight loss. I lost 3 stone about 5 years ago but I let it all creep back on :( My local gym is closed since march 2020 and I can't see it reopening anytime soon. I miss swimming so much.
Katrisa wrote: "I only had arm pain the day after, but nothing serious. I got the Moderna version. I have heard that the second dose can have worse side effects, but the peace of mind will be worth it. I have had 2 kids in my class test positive this month and 3 others have to quarantine because family members tested positive but my students didn't get tested (I teach kindergarten)."Good. You will feel so much safer now.
Margo wrote: "What a lovely comment, thank you Sandra. I might just print that it off and it off, frame, it and pull it out to show to my family the next time I think they're not appreciating me enough! :-) But seriously, I couldn't cope without Pete and Ciara, they do a huge amount to help. "Well, I mean each word. And I'm sure your family appreciate what you do, it is just that we human being some times are horrible to say thank you. Especially if we are going through a hard time.
It was a boring, tedious, uneventful, monotonous Sunday until an hour ago when playing around the webpage of my Uruguayan public library I noticed they got a lot of new audiobooks in the catalog. I ended adding 24 to my to-be-listened list. I focused mostly on authors from Uruguay, Argentina, and Spain. I feel much better now. :)
That's a great end to a boring, tedious day. How to turn it around. :)
Sandra wrote: "It was a boring, tedious, uneventful, monotonous Sunday until an hour ago when playing around the webpage of my Uruguayan public library I noticed they got a lot of new audiobooks in the catalog. I..."Sounds like you hit the jackpot - lol!
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
You'll love this one...!! A book club & more
Books mentioned in this topic
Dark Horse (other topics)A Clean Kill in Tokyo (other topics)
State of Terror (other topics)
The Way of Kings (other topics)
The Way of Kings (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jane Harper (other topics)Gabriel García Márquez (other topics)
Gabriel García Márquez (other topics)
I don't really like the idea of keto. I feel like it's unnatural to put your body in that state and maintaining ketosis just doesn't seem healthy to me. I can't really wrap my head around it.
My doctor wants me on Atkins, but when he discussed it with me he was really strict with the carbs (No whole grains at all, no root vegetable, no beans...) and wanted me to substitute it by adding more meats to diet.
I think it's pretty scary that you made yourself sick like that. It would put me off Keto forever. Atkins at least seems more lenient after the first couple of weeks. I like the idea of "net carbs" (carbs - fiber = net carbs). My doctor didn't mention that part. I've ordered the book and I'm just waiting for it now.
I'm also looking into Fiber Fueled: The Plant-Based Gut Health Program for Losing Weight, Restoring Your Health, and Optimizing Your Microbiome, which initially makes more sense to me.
I'm currently doing some weird hybrid thing of my own creation. My biggest goals are staying low carb and trying for no added sugar.