Mary - CRON Diary
I record what I eat in this blog so that people new to CRON can see what I eat everyday.
Updated: 1 hour 55 min ago
The Working Weekend
My daughter - who is 2 months away from delivering my granddaughter - decided to put wood floors in her downstairs and upstairs hall. This was supposed to be easy, since she bought some snap together pre-made flooring. Her husband, Dave, was going to have the tile in the entry way all removed by Saturday morning, so we could help to lay the floor.
When we arrived on Saturday, there was still lots of cement stuck on the entry hall floor - a large area, big as a small bedroom. We spent the next two days helping Dave to get the cement up. Quite tiring. I ate weird, since we did not really stop for meals and were too tired to cook. More like snacks - at her house mostly. I was missing my food a lot by the end of the day yesterday. Even my leftovers were running out or going bad at home.
Plus, it was a lot of hard work and somewhat stressful. So, this weekend was not a normal planned out CR weekend. Today, I started to recover a bit. Lunch was still some odd leftovers. I even ate 1/3 of a cupcake - trying out a bakery to see if I wanted to order a shower cake from there (no, no, no - gakky beyond redemption). I am thinking Whole Foods or else just giving up and ordering from a neighborhood bakery. I guess there is no point in trying to make a cake be "good" food. This is a baby shower with mostly my daughter's friends - a bunch of thirty something year olds. I will need to bring a "normal" cake. Not the place to try to make people eat well.
But, dinner was back to normal. I made a Pad Thai dish from a box on the shelf, along with lots of veggies, an egg (between 4 servings), peanuts, and some pork tenderloin. The Pad Thai box just contained a sauce package and some rice noodles. All the fresh ingredients made it pretty tasty. It gave me a chance to use some green beans, bell pepper, onions, mushrooms and carrots that were neglected in the fridge.
It was wintery here today - a normal winter day for Washington, but a cold, dreary day for Austin. Temperatures were in the 30s and we had light rain and clouds. People here, including me now, are just not used to this weather. This would be no big deal to me last year in DC. This year, it seemed terrible. Just Saturday, we were outside in short sleeves in balmy sunshine and eighty degrees. You just don't adjust to the cold at all. It's just so beautiful here on sunny warm winter days that it seems like a tragedy when it's cloudy and cold. I lit a fire to chase away the chill, which did help.
When we arrived on Saturday, there was still lots of cement stuck on the entry hall floor - a large area, big as a small bedroom. We spent the next two days helping Dave to get the cement up. Quite tiring. I ate weird, since we did not really stop for meals and were too tired to cook. More like snacks - at her house mostly. I was missing my food a lot by the end of the day yesterday. Even my leftovers were running out or going bad at home.
Plus, it was a lot of hard work and somewhat stressful. So, this weekend was not a normal planned out CR weekend. Today, I started to recover a bit. Lunch was still some odd leftovers. I even ate 1/3 of a cupcake - trying out a bakery to see if I wanted to order a shower cake from there (no, no, no - gakky beyond redemption). I am thinking Whole Foods or else just giving up and ordering from a neighborhood bakery. I guess there is no point in trying to make a cake be "good" food. This is a baby shower with mostly my daughter's friends - a bunch of thirty something year olds. I will need to bring a "normal" cake. Not the place to try to make people eat well.
But, dinner was back to normal. I made a Pad Thai dish from a box on the shelf, along with lots of veggies, an egg (between 4 servings), peanuts, and some pork tenderloin. The Pad Thai box just contained a sauce package and some rice noodles. All the fresh ingredients made it pretty tasty. It gave me a chance to use some green beans, bell pepper, onions, mushrooms and carrots that were neglected in the fridge.
It was wintery here today - a normal winter day for Washington, but a cold, dreary day for Austin. Temperatures were in the 30s and we had light rain and clouds. People here, including me now, are just not used to this weather. This would be no big deal to me last year in DC. This year, it seemed terrible. Just Saturday, we were outside in short sleeves in balmy sunshine and eighty degrees. You just don't adjust to the cold at all. It's just so beautiful here on sunny warm winter days that it seems like a tragedy when it's cloudy and cold. I lit a fire to chase away the chill, which did help.
Indian Grocery Stores
Now I feel really at home - I went shopping at the Indian grocery store. We used to have one around the corner in Virginia. Here, it is a 10 minute drive. If you've never been to one, it's an interesting experience. There is no better place to get spices. Their prices on spices are a small fraction of American grocery stores. Today I bought dried cilantro, whole mustard seed and sumac powder. Sumac is that red spice that you will see in Middle Eastern cuisine - on rice or on hummus, typically.
I also got our favorite rice - Kohinoor - in a 10 lb bag. We've been missing this as well. We don't eat a lot of rice, so it might as well taste really good. This is a nutty jasmine rice.
I bought a bag of okra, too. Indian stores are reliable sources of fresh okra. It's out of season, but they still have it.
And, best of all, I bought several bags of dhokla mix - our secret ingredient. Indians make a quick bread out of dhokla - kind of like a corn bread. We use it to make a similar bread, but more often, we use it to coat chicken or fish. It's a mixture of several flours - semolina, lentil, and rice - with a slightly coarse texture. It makes a good cornmeal substitute for anyone allergic to corn (which in theory, both me and my husband are).
It's a great place to just walk around and look at all the unusual food items. They had good prices on nuts and beans as well. The almonds I bought were raw and very fresh.
I also got our favorite rice - Kohinoor - in a 10 lb bag. We've been missing this as well. We don't eat a lot of rice, so it might as well taste really good. This is a nutty jasmine rice.
I bought a bag of okra, too. Indian stores are reliable sources of fresh okra. It's out of season, but they still have it.
And, best of all, I bought several bags of dhokla mix - our secret ingredient. Indians make a quick bread out of dhokla - kind of like a corn bread. We use it to make a similar bread, but more often, we use it to coat chicken or fish. It's a mixture of several flours - semolina, lentil, and rice - with a slightly coarse texture. It makes a good cornmeal substitute for anyone allergic to corn (which in theory, both me and my husband are).
It's a great place to just walk around and look at all the unusual food items. They had good prices on nuts and beans as well. The almonds I bought were raw and very fresh.
Pleasure in Less
This woman has a most unusual blog. Please read her post on pleasure. People don't realize that pleasure is all relative. It escalates and de-escalates. It is whatever is more than you expect on a normal basis. For our planet's sake, we should all be de-escalating.
I can really identify with her approach a lot. It is very much compatible with CR. I have often blogged in the past about how much more I enjoy food on CR. My taste buds are sharpened, making everything seem amazingly flavorful. I am really, really hungry for the food, giving me an appetite that I never had pre-CR. Every morsel and crumb is savored. April likes to admit that CR people often lick their plates. They don't take their food for granted.
Like Sharon, this year I have been working to reduce my footprint on the planet. We haven't bought things we really didn't need - since new things disproportionately impact the planet in their manufacture. (More and more, it seems to me that new things are poorly made - made to break.) I just bought a composting bin this week, and intend to compost our kitchen scraps and garden clippings. Maybe I will use the compost to put in a little vegetable garden under the deck (once I fence it off with deer proof netting). Maybe I will just sprinkle it around the yard. But, it's not going in the landfill. We don't take unnecessary car trips. We are careful with energy use and are signed up for the green energy program. We waste very little purchased food. We try to eat mostly seasonal fruit and veggies - though not as fanatically as Sharon.
Even if Sharon's children rebel for a while and reject her frugality, I bet they come back to their own version of asceticism as adults, just as Sharon has. There is a secret joy and pleasure to asceticism that people who have not tried it just don't get. CR people always do get it.
I can really identify with her approach a lot. It is very much compatible with CR. I have often blogged in the past about how much more I enjoy food on CR. My taste buds are sharpened, making everything seem amazingly flavorful. I am really, really hungry for the food, giving me an appetite that I never had pre-CR. Every morsel and crumb is savored. April likes to admit that CR people often lick their plates. They don't take their food for granted.
Like Sharon, this year I have been working to reduce my footprint on the planet. We haven't bought things we really didn't need - since new things disproportionately impact the planet in their manufacture. (More and more, it seems to me that new things are poorly made - made to break.) I just bought a composting bin this week, and intend to compost our kitchen scraps and garden clippings. Maybe I will use the compost to put in a little vegetable garden under the deck (once I fence it off with deer proof netting). Maybe I will just sprinkle it around the yard. But, it's not going in the landfill. We don't take unnecessary car trips. We are careful with energy use and are signed up for the green energy program. We waste very little purchased food. We try to eat mostly seasonal fruit and veggies - though not as fanatically as Sharon.
Even if Sharon's children rebel for a while and reject her frugality, I bet they come back to their own version of asceticism as adults, just as Sharon has. There is a secret joy and pleasure to asceticism that people who have not tried it just don't get. CR people always do get it.
Food News
Wow, everyone was obviously wanting some ideas about what to eat! Certainly incentivizes me to post more menus and recipes. Even when my CR is mediocre, I usually eat pretty nutritious and interesting things. We cycle through about 20 or 30 different dishes, occasionally making something new and experimental. Lunch is almost always leftovers. I rarely eat breakfast, preferring an early lunch. We get up later and later - just because we can. These days, it's usually after 8 when I get up.
Husbands who like to cook can easily change the menu, so I actually ate equivalent, but quite different, vegetables at dinner. He made black-eyed peas - for New Year's luck - and we steamed carrots, yellow squash and broccoli. I splashed the steamed veggies with a little olive oil. The peas were eaten with a teaspoon of chow chow - a southern style relish made mostly with cabbage. I snacked on 3 dried apricots before bedtime. I am not a big fan of chow chow, though I could be convinced to eat it occasionally. It has the flavor of sweeter varieties of sauerkraut. I don't like sweet pickles, so it's a bit sweet for me.
Husbands who like to cook can easily change the menu, so I actually ate equivalent, but quite different, vegetables at dinner. He made black-eyed peas - for New Year's luck - and we steamed carrots, yellow squash and broccoli. I splashed the steamed veggies with a little olive oil. The peas were eaten with a teaspoon of chow chow - a southern style relish made mostly with cabbage. I snacked on 3 dried apricots before bedtime. I am not a big fan of chow chow, though I could be convinced to eat it occasionally. It has the flavor of sweeter varieties of sauerkraut. I don't like sweet pickles, so it's a bit sweet for me.
Today's Food
I am keeping my resolution to post more and do better CR - at least on Jan. 1 - by planning my food carefully today. I am very pleased with the result, so I will share it with you and post it ahead of time. This should help me to avoid the box of chocolates that my husband brought back from his mother's house. Thankfully, the peanut butter cookies and toffee are all gone. I hate holiday food. It just makes CR that more difficult.
"Breakfast"
3 cups of decaf coffee
4 grams of dried papaya (really)
Lunch
Chicken sandwich
105 grams of baked chicken breast - a leftover
51 grams of multigrain bread
4 grams of mustard
Leftover winter squash
90 grams of microwaved acorn squash, cooked with some maple syrup and cinnamon
10 grams of dried cranberries
Snack
80 g of avocado - mashed with lemon juice, salsa, garlic and salt to make guacamole
10 g of tortilla chips (I will weigh these out, too)
200g of low salt V-8
Dinner
100g of wild sockeye salmon, baked without oil
80 g of microwaved sweet potato, including skin
60 grams of romaine, topped with 10g of goat gouda, 10g of carrots, 10g of bell pepper
Post dinner CR cocoa - teaspoon of cocoa powder, dash of cinnamon in hot water with sucalose
This is 991 calories with 100 grams of carbs, and 76 grams of protein. As usual, it is low in things I always supplement - calcium, magnesium, zinc, folate and E.
"Breakfast"
3 cups of decaf coffee
4 grams of dried papaya (really)
Lunch
Chicken sandwich
105 grams of baked chicken breast - a leftover
51 grams of multigrain bread
4 grams of mustard
Leftover winter squash
90 grams of microwaved acorn squash, cooked with some maple syrup and cinnamon
10 grams of dried cranberries
Snack
80 g of avocado - mashed with lemon juice, salsa, garlic and salt to make guacamole
10 g of tortilla chips (I will weigh these out, too)
200g of low salt V-8
Dinner
100g of wild sockeye salmon, baked without oil
80 g of microwaved sweet potato, including skin
60 grams of romaine, topped with 10g of goat gouda, 10g of carrots, 10g of bell pepper
Post dinner CR cocoa - teaspoon of cocoa powder, dash of cinnamon in hot water with sucalose
This is 991 calories with 100 grams of carbs, and 76 grams of protein. As usual, it is low in things I always supplement - calcium, magnesium, zinc, folate and E.
Brains are gluttons
I knew quite a lot of calories are required to fuel your brain. This is fairly unique to humans, with our extra large brains. It's possible that the rest of our body has not evolved adequately to keep up with the brains's requirements. Here's a study that illustrates this point.
This is actually a bit of a quandry for CR. There was also a recent study that showed that low carb diets affect cognition skills. It's not a happy thought that CR would make you dumber - at least temporarily. I think this is one of the reasons that it's important to eat Zone on CR and get a reasonable amount of low glycemic carbs over the day. This means eating at least 100 g of carbs and probably more like 150g or more. Sugar, fruit juice and refined grains should be avoided.
However, from my experience, when you get in a CR groove and eat really low calories for months on end, your body stays in fat burning mode. I am assuming your gene expression shifts to making the hormone that causes fat to be turned into glucose. In this state, your body is able to make as much glucose as you need anytime you need it - if you have extra fat. I guess this would only work until you got really skinny - a problem for those very lean CR guys. For me, this would be a long time from now.
When you spend several years in this fat burning state, returning to diet-dependent glucose swing mode seems somewhat uncomfortable. That's a good description of where I have been for the last couple of years. While I have often been successful at doing consistent good CR for a month or two, there always seems to be some reason to mess it up with a week of extra calories - the move, vacations, holidays, visitors, etc. This then throws me back out of fat burning to getting glucose from diet alone. I know it's really worthwhile to stick to the consistent CR target level. Perhaps I can get back there this year.
This is actually a bit of a quandry for CR. There was also a recent study that showed that low carb diets affect cognition skills. It's not a happy thought that CR would make you dumber - at least temporarily. I think this is one of the reasons that it's important to eat Zone on CR and get a reasonable amount of low glycemic carbs over the day. This means eating at least 100 g of carbs and probably more like 150g or more. Sugar, fruit juice and refined grains should be avoided.
However, from my experience, when you get in a CR groove and eat really low calories for months on end, your body stays in fat burning mode. I am assuming your gene expression shifts to making the hormone that causes fat to be turned into glucose. In this state, your body is able to make as much glucose as you need anytime you need it - if you have extra fat. I guess this would only work until you got really skinny - a problem for those very lean CR guys. For me, this would be a long time from now.
When you spend several years in this fat burning state, returning to diet-dependent glucose swing mode seems somewhat uncomfortable. That's a good description of where I have been for the last couple of years. While I have often been successful at doing consistent good CR for a month or two, there always seems to be some reason to mess it up with a week of extra calories - the move, vacations, holidays, visitors, etc. This then throws me back out of fat burning to getting glucose from diet alone. I know it's really worthwhile to stick to the consistent CR target level. Perhaps I can get back there this year.
New Years Resolutions
I've had two glasses of champagne, so it's easy to come up with a list:
- Do really good CR and get my weight back into the mid-110's
- Yoga every day for an hour
- Less computer time just surfing or playing games
- More writing blog posts
Those are easy. I don't think I will make a resolution about what I spend my time doing this year other than this. I am still "on sabbatical", taking some useful downtime to let my mind clear out. I have done this before in my life and found it very beneficial. At some point you get bored and you really notice what you are missing. This leads to some very productive and focused periods.
I cannot even really make travel plans for the upcoming year. With my mom, it's hard to know. There is plenty of time to travel in the future, that's how I think about it. But, I hope we get to spend some time in the summer with my youngest son in some nice cool place in the mountains - like in Colorado or Utah. Maybe my other kids and grandson can join us.
My fear is that this will be an even worse year for the economy. That's a sad thought. I am sure we will continue to be careful with our money - as always. When the economy is in shambles, spending money seems like a bad idea. We are fortunate that we have so many things to enjoy that are free - family and nature especially.
- Do really good CR and get my weight back into the mid-110's
- Yoga every day for an hour
- Less computer time just surfing or playing games
- More writing blog posts
Those are easy. I don't think I will make a resolution about what I spend my time doing this year other than this. I am still "on sabbatical", taking some useful downtime to let my mind clear out. I have done this before in my life and found it very beneficial. At some point you get bored and you really notice what you are missing. This leads to some very productive and focused periods.
I cannot even really make travel plans for the upcoming year. With my mom, it's hard to know. There is plenty of time to travel in the future, that's how I think about it. But, I hope we get to spend some time in the summer with my youngest son in some nice cool place in the mountains - like in Colorado or Utah. Maybe my other kids and grandson can join us.
My fear is that this will be an even worse year for the economy. That's a sad thought. I am sure we will continue to be careful with our money - as always. When the economy is in shambles, spending money seems like a bad idea. We are fortunate that we have so many things to enjoy that are free - family and nature especially.
Grapeseed Extract
Pretty impressive anti-cancer properties are envisioned for grapeseed extract. I've been taking it for many years, mostly because I swear it gets rid of inflammation in my knuckles. It's nice to think that it is protecting me from other ailments.
Hope you have a safe and happy New Year's Eve. We are making a Greek shrimp dish - shrimp cooked in tomatoes and topped with feta cheese. There is a bottle of champagne in the fridge, too. It's a lovely, sunny and mild day here, with a high around 60. This is the weather that I most appreciate in Austin. If it weren't for the juniper pollen in January here, it would be total paradise. As it is, if you are willing to brave the pollen, our back deck is unbeatable for outside perfection. You can smell the fragrant plants below and the sun from the south warms up the boards until is so warm you actually can get overheated out there. The birds are busy trying to empty my bird feeder faster than the squirrels can. They are only mildly annoyed with humans for hanging out in their feeding area.
Hope you have a safe and happy New Year's Eve. We are making a Greek shrimp dish - shrimp cooked in tomatoes and topped with feta cheese. There is a bottle of champagne in the fridge, too. It's a lovely, sunny and mild day here, with a high around 60. This is the weather that I most appreciate in Austin. If it weren't for the juniper pollen in January here, it would be total paradise. As it is, if you are willing to brave the pollen, our back deck is unbeatable for outside perfection. You can smell the fragrant plants below and the sun from the south warms up the boards until is so warm you actually can get overheated out there. The birds are busy trying to empty my bird feeder faster than the squirrels can. They are only mildly annoyed with humans for hanging out in their feeding area.
Druid Stuff
I ran across the most interesting blog today. He even uses the same blogspot background that I do. I've been reading all his old posts and found this one especially thought provoking in a dark way. I have become increasingly concerned that globalization and specialization will indeed cause real economic hardship when transportation breaks down - eventually due to fuel cost. In fact, shipping is currently at a standstill due to lack of credit, so it is already happening. If all those factories in China go out of business, no one here will be able to make any of the things they were making for us. It could be very dramatic. Hope I am wrong.
I bought a composting bin today. I am thinking again about growing vegetables under the deck - behind deer netting. I even thought about having a tilapia pond on one of the terraces behind the garage. This guy's post has almost inspired me to build a kiln and take up pottery, too. We are having solar photovoltaic panels and a solar hot water heater installed.
Arturo worries about the greenhouse gas and pollution caused by my solstice bonfire. Actually, we have a lot of dead tree limbs on our land which is a fire hazard. We have been shredding the smaller pieces to make mulch and using it on our hiking path. But the larger pieces have been going into the fireplace. I would just use some of this excess wood in my bonfire.
I bought a composting bin today. I am thinking again about growing vegetables under the deck - behind deer netting. I even thought about having a tilapia pond on one of the terraces behind the garage. This guy's post has almost inspired me to build a kiln and take up pottery, too. We are having solar photovoltaic panels and a solar hot water heater installed.
Arturo worries about the greenhouse gas and pollution caused by my solstice bonfire. Actually, we have a lot of dead tree limbs on our land which is a fire hazard. We have been shredding the smaller pieces to make mulch and using it on our hiking path. But the larger pieces have been going into the fireplace. I would just use some of this excess wood in my bonfire.
Merry Christmas to All!!
I've been visiting with family a lot this week and not eating very CR-like - so there is not much good CR advice from me this week. It actually worked very well for me to eat so carefully for 2 weeks before the holidays. I don't seem to be gaining any weight and I am eating more nuts and cookies than I ever would normally. I have gotten used to eating less, so my total calorie amount every day has been pretty low - just not very healthy. Tomorrow, I am back to normal CR though.
Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a very nice holiday. We are not believers, so the Christian part of the holiday is not really part of our celebration. We've had some talk about designing our own family winter holiday for next year - centered on the Winter Solstice. I want to build a bonfire down the hill and toast marshmallows as part of it. We'll need to build a stone fire pit before then, though that should be easy, since there are plenty of stones very handy.
Hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a very nice holiday. We are not believers, so the Christian part of the holiday is not really part of our celebration. We've had some talk about designing our own family winter holiday for next year - centered on the Winter Solstice. I want to build a bonfire down the hill and toast marshmallows as part of it. We'll need to build a stone fire pit before then, though that should be easy, since there are plenty of stones very handy.
Fat is Free
Today I asked the butcher for suet. He gave me a bunch of it for free. I have a suet cake feeder that has been empty until now. The cakes I put into it last Spring just melted and made a big mess. Now that it is almost winter, it should be cool enough to put some suet cake back out.
So I cooked up a very non-CR meal for my bird and squirrel friends of rendered beef fat, peanut butter, shelled bird seed mix and corn meal. It looks really tasty - like peanut butter fudge.
I found it interesting that the butcher is willing to give away what is equivalent to 10,000 calories. Better the birds than people. They need it to survive the winter.
So I cooked up a very non-CR meal for my bird and squirrel friends of rendered beef fat, peanut butter, shelled bird seed mix and corn meal. It looks really tasty - like peanut butter fudge.
I found it interesting that the butcher is willing to give away what is equivalent to 10,000 calories. Better the birds than people. They need it to survive the winter.
Cold
The whole country is cold tonight - except for the east coast, which will get the chill tomorrow. Fortunately, I am warm tonight. It took some work to get that to happen. In March, we had these fancy thermostats installed as part of the "Power Partner" program. The city owns the electric company here and is very environmentally savvy. I've bought into the green power program as well. In theory, all my electricity comes from renewable sources. The thermostat can be remotely controlled by the city and they turn off my air conditioner for 15 minutes every hour in the late afternoon in the summer to help with peak loads.
Unfortunately, the guy who installed the downstairs thermostat connected it wrong. A repairman figured this out, but not before we wasted a lot of money on the first bill, since we were using emergency heat instead of the efficient heat pump, due to the faulty wiring. An electric company guy came out and supposedly fixed it. However, we barely used it after that. It was clearly not working right, since it would say "HVAC OFF" sometimes.
Two weeks ago, when it got cold for the first time, we noticed that it was blowing cold air at first. Then, I checked the electrical usage. Sky high! So, I called them up again. It took until today for someone to come. Fortunately, the guy today was very knowledgeable and diligent. He found two wires that were connected wrong and tonight we have normal heating. It's so much nicer. Too bad this program that was supposed to save me money had cost me so much extra in electrical bills. I sent them a letter complaining about it.
Regardless, it's very cold and we can't enjoy the deck and our walks for a few days. Even the birds are not visiting the feeder much. A racoon did come check it out last night though. They are so cute! I heard the banging and turned on the light. He sat there and looked at me for a while before he decided to leave. His cute little face looked back from the top of the stairs. Almost makes you want to feed them. But, then they'd be back all the time. Racoons are too destructive to make them expect a handout. The deer and the squirrels are enough for me. Hope they are all snug in the burrows tonight.
Unfortunately, the guy who installed the downstairs thermostat connected it wrong. A repairman figured this out, but not before we wasted a lot of money on the first bill, since we were using emergency heat instead of the efficient heat pump, due to the faulty wiring. An electric company guy came out and supposedly fixed it. However, we barely used it after that. It was clearly not working right, since it would say "HVAC OFF" sometimes.
Two weeks ago, when it got cold for the first time, we noticed that it was blowing cold air at first. Then, I checked the electrical usage. Sky high! So, I called them up again. It took until today for someone to come. Fortunately, the guy today was very knowledgeable and diligent. He found two wires that were connected wrong and tonight we have normal heating. It's so much nicer. Too bad this program that was supposed to save me money had cost me so much extra in electrical bills. I sent them a letter complaining about it.
Regardless, it's very cold and we can't enjoy the deck and our walks for a few days. Even the birds are not visiting the feeder much. A racoon did come check it out last night though. They are so cute! I heard the banging and turned on the light. He sat there and looked at me for a while before he decided to leave. His cute little face looked back from the top of the stairs. Almost makes you want to feed them. But, then they'd be back all the time. Racoons are too destructive to make them expect a handout. The deer and the squirrels are enough for me. Hope they are all snug in the burrows tonight.
Surviving Today with CR intact
I've been really trying to stay under 1100 calories every day and less that 1000 off and on. I would like to get my discipline back and lose the couple of pounds that I gained on the vacation. These were those same pounds I lost in June and July.
Today I ate no breakfast and took my mom to the doctor. Afterwards we went shopping at BabysRUs. My daughter is expecting a girl in late February and the shower is in a month. We really wanted to buy some cute little girl clothes. We had a ton of fun picking stuff out. It's so cute. We grandmothers can't wait. It's been a while since our family had a little girl. After the shopping binge we wanted some lunch. My mom pointed out a Baby Acalpulco Mexican restaurant along the way home. I was determined to eat something reasonable there and stay on CR by eating very light the rest of the day. I ordered chicken tacos and ate some of the chips and salsa. I didn't touch the beans and rice that came with the tacos. So, when I got home and totalled it up - 620 calories. Still okay. Not great nutrition, but there was lean chicken, lots of salsa, lettuce and tomatoes involved. Dinner was just some hummus, low salt V-8 and 3 oz. of ham. Still under 1000.
Then my husband brings in a box from the mailbox. It's my sister's yearly Christmas toffee and praline box. OMG. She makes excellent toffee and pralines, too. My mother and husband proceed to dig in. I am thinking I won't even touch it and let them eat it all. Then I decided I would eat a little piece of the toffee, carefully weighed and recorded. 11 grams. Not too bad - 61 calories for the toffee and1012 calories total for the day.
Today I ate no breakfast and took my mom to the doctor. Afterwards we went shopping at BabysRUs. My daughter is expecting a girl in late February and the shower is in a month. We really wanted to buy some cute little girl clothes. We had a ton of fun picking stuff out. It's so cute. We grandmothers can't wait. It's been a while since our family had a little girl. After the shopping binge we wanted some lunch. My mom pointed out a Baby Acalpulco Mexican restaurant along the way home. I was determined to eat something reasonable there and stay on CR by eating very light the rest of the day. I ordered chicken tacos and ate some of the chips and salsa. I didn't touch the beans and rice that came with the tacos. So, when I got home and totalled it up - 620 calories. Still okay. Not great nutrition, but there was lean chicken, lots of salsa, lettuce and tomatoes involved. Dinner was just some hummus, low salt V-8 and 3 oz. of ham. Still under 1000.
Then my husband brings in a box from the mailbox. It's my sister's yearly Christmas toffee and praline box. OMG. She makes excellent toffee and pralines, too. My mother and husband proceed to dig in. I am thinking I won't even touch it and let them eat it all. Then I decided I would eat a little piece of the toffee, carefully weighed and recorded. 11 grams. Not too bad - 61 calories for the toffee and1012 calories total for the day.
Fruit Exceptions
I think I tarred fruit with an overly broad brush the other day. Fruits are not created equal and some of them seem to be not a problem. Any berry is worth eating, in my opinion - raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and even strawberries. I think citrus, mangos, kiwis and plums are also okay, in moderation.
The worst offenders are the most common fruits, bananas, apples and pears. They have been bred for maximum sugar over centuries and are all lacking in nutrients relative to their caloric content.
Dried fruits are also far too easy to overeat. I love them, but I know it is not a good thing.
There are other fruits that fall into a grey area - cherries, apricots, peaches and pineapple.
Another good use of fruit is to have it as a dessert. I would rather have a bowl of cherries than a cherry pie. I think eating the fruit at the end of a balanced meal with good protein and reasonable fat is a good idea.
The worst offenders are the most common fruits, bananas, apples and pears. They have been bred for maximum sugar over centuries and are all lacking in nutrients relative to their caloric content.
Dried fruits are also far too easy to overeat. I love them, but I know it is not a good thing.
There are other fruits that fall into a grey area - cherries, apricots, peaches and pineapple.
Another good use of fruit is to have it as a dessert. I would rather have a bowl of cherries than a cherry pie. I think eating the fruit at the end of a balanced meal with good protein and reasonable fat is a good idea.
Live Cheese vs. Dead Cheese
Most people have their extravagances - things they are willing to pay more for. In general, my mom thinks we are cheapskates. However, she is appalled at our cheese budget. She is happy to eat Velveeta or Kraft cheddar. We have gotten used to nice goat cheeses and an occasional Camembert or Brie. These cost at least 3 times what the Kraft cheese does. To me, it is worth it.
This reminds me of something I read several years ago - that the French think American cheese are "dead", and prefer their own "live" cheeses. I suspect this is not literally true. Yet, it describes the concept pretty well. I am not willing to eat gluey lowfat cheeses either - only cheeses that are naturally lowfat like feta. This works fine for me since I am not relying on dairy for my protein sources and just using cheese as a flavor ingredient or a treat.
My strategy on cheese, which I adore, is to go for strongly flavored cheeses and eat very small amounts of them. I discovered this before my goat cheese habit, when I made the transition from mild cheddar to sharp. This was in my early CR days. This lets you use a fraction of the amout and still get the flavor. This cuts calories and saturated fat without really affecting the taste of a recipe. It will actually improve the flavor of most recipes. I also discovered that sharp cheddar melts better. So, if you are using mild cheese - or used to use it and denying yourself to save the calories - try a small amount of a sharp or strongly flavored cheese.
My favorite cheese is Arina goat cheese. There is increasing availability of other similar gouda or cheddar like goat cheeses at the "normal" grocery. I have found that Whole Foods often actually sells these cheeses for less money. I guess they get volume buying relative to the "normal" store.
A new favorite is a local goat dairy's feta - Pure Luck. It is to die for. There is just something about the flavor and texture that is superior. However, it costs at least twice as much as imported goat feta! Makes me think about buying some goats!
This reminds me of something I read several years ago - that the French think American cheese are "dead", and prefer their own "live" cheeses. I suspect this is not literally true. Yet, it describes the concept pretty well. I am not willing to eat gluey lowfat cheeses either - only cheeses that are naturally lowfat like feta. This works fine for me since I am not relying on dairy for my protein sources and just using cheese as a flavor ingredient or a treat.
My strategy on cheese, which I adore, is to go for strongly flavored cheeses and eat very small amounts of them. I discovered this before my goat cheese habit, when I made the transition from mild cheddar to sharp. This was in my early CR days. This lets you use a fraction of the amout and still get the flavor. This cuts calories and saturated fat without really affecting the taste of a recipe. It will actually improve the flavor of most recipes. I also discovered that sharp cheddar melts better. So, if you are using mild cheese - or used to use it and denying yourself to save the calories - try a small amount of a sharp or strongly flavored cheese.
My favorite cheese is Arina goat cheese. There is increasing availability of other similar gouda or cheddar like goat cheeses at the "normal" grocery. I have found that Whole Foods often actually sells these cheeses for less money. I guess they get volume buying relative to the "normal" store.
A new favorite is a local goat dairy's feta - Pure Luck. It is to die for. There is just something about the flavor and texture that is superior. However, it costs at least twice as much as imported goat feta! Makes me think about buying some goats!
Addictive Power of Sugar
Evidence that mammals - in this case rats - exhibit addictive behavior to sugar. This is worth thinking about. My response to sugar certainly seems addictive. My best CR periods have been ones when I avoid sugar altogether - including most fruit. My appetite seemed much easier to deal with and I felt generally better. This raises the question of why I eat on average several pieces of fruit a day - if it makes CR harder. I've been trying to do good CR for the last several days and eating little or no sugary foods - including fruit. Maybe I'll keep it up and see if it works better for me.
That said - I do love fruit!
My current approach to doing better CR is to record everything I eat, before I even eat it and to plan out dinner before I eat lunch. I also plan for 900 calories a day. That way if my husband decides to change the dinner plan or wants to share a light beer with me, I have a few calories to spare. Tomorrow, dinner is with my daughter's family - their pick - so I am going to eat really light during the day.
Monday we went out for Greek food at lunch. I shared a lunch plate with my mom and didn't eat any of the pita bread. Even so, I decided to make a big pot of vegetable soup for dinner - a very good CR choice. Here's what I cooked in my vegetable soup:
1 cup low salt V-8
3 oz of pork tenderloin - cut in small cubes
1/2 an onion, chopped
1/2 cup of frozen corn
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1/2 cup of frozen black eye peas
can of diced tomatoes, including liquid
2 small white potatoes - cut into small cubes
10 baby carrots - cut into cubes
20 fresh green beans, cut into pieces
enough chicken stock to make it thin enough to stir - but still thick - about a cup
This soup was dinner for 3, plus a breakfast the next day and 2 more lunch servings the third day.
That said - I do love fruit!
My current approach to doing better CR is to record everything I eat, before I even eat it and to plan out dinner before I eat lunch. I also plan for 900 calories a day. That way if my husband decides to change the dinner plan or wants to share a light beer with me, I have a few calories to spare. Tomorrow, dinner is with my daughter's family - their pick - so I am going to eat really light during the day.
Monday we went out for Greek food at lunch. I shared a lunch plate with my mom and didn't eat any of the pita bread. Even so, I decided to make a big pot of vegetable soup for dinner - a very good CR choice. Here's what I cooked in my vegetable soup:
1 cup low salt V-8
3 oz of pork tenderloin - cut in small cubes
1/2 an onion, chopped
1/2 cup of frozen corn
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1/2 cup of frozen black eye peas
can of diced tomatoes, including liquid
2 small white potatoes - cut into small cubes
10 baby carrots - cut into cubes
20 fresh green beans, cut into pieces
enough chicken stock to make it thin enough to stir - but still thick - about a cup
This soup was dinner for 3, plus a breakfast the next day and 2 more lunch servings the third day.
Do You Think This is True?
As Simone Weil observed,
"Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy,
monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new,
marvelous, intoxicating."
"Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy,
monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new,
marvelous, intoxicating."
Alzheimers and Herpes Simplex
It is quite possible that Alzheimer's is actually caused by the same virus that gives us cold sores! Nearly everyone is infected with this virus - which lingers in our bodies for our lifetime. I would question why only older people's brains are affected. I suppose it is possible that the damage occurs slowly over time and only after the immune system fails to keep it in check. Perhaps the blood-brain barrier keeps it out for most people.
Austin is Home
A commenter asked whether I knew anyone in Austin before I moved here. Sort of. I lived here for 15 years, but it was 20 years ago. It still feels like home in most ways. I have old friends here - that I have not looked up. We've been making new friends among neighbors and hiking groups. My two older children, grandson and mother are here.
Really, the city feels like my friend. It is a friendly city. It's a quirky and relaxed place. It's a smart city without pretension. There are tons of things to do, mostly free or cheap. We haven't even scratched the surface.
Every now and then I miss the gravitas of DC. It is also a rich environment - but very serious where Austin is whimsical. But, then I think of the traffic. Actually, the only place in the DC area I miss is Vienna. I really loved living in the heart of Vienna. We walked to great restaurants and stores all the time.
I can't walk to any stores from my current house. The compensation for this is that the scenery we see on any drive anywhere is awesome. Here's a link to some pictures on roads around my house! I can see City Park Road from my deck across the canyon and I see those views from 2222 at 360 practically any time I go out. I used to go down Spicewood Springs Road all the time to get to the last house I owned in Austin. A fun drive. The Chinese people I worked with at the time were all just learning to drive and one of them drove off the side of one of the low water crossings in one of those pictures. The flood gauges are really important. Austin is flash flood capital of the world. People get swept away all the time.
Really, the city feels like my friend. It is a friendly city. It's a quirky and relaxed place. It's a smart city without pretension. There are tons of things to do, mostly free or cheap. We haven't even scratched the surface.
Every now and then I miss the gravitas of DC. It is also a rich environment - but very serious where Austin is whimsical. But, then I think of the traffic. Actually, the only place in the DC area I miss is Vienna. I really loved living in the heart of Vienna. We walked to great restaurants and stores all the time.
I can't walk to any stores from my current house. The compensation for this is that the scenery we see on any drive anywhere is awesome. Here's a link to some pictures on roads around my house! I can see City Park Road from my deck across the canyon and I see those views from 2222 at 360 practically any time I go out. I used to go down Spicewood Springs Road all the time to get to the last house I owned in Austin. A fun drive. The Chinese people I worked with at the time were all just learning to drive and one of them drove off the side of one of the low water crossings in one of those pictures. The flood gauges are really important. Austin is flash flood capital of the world. People get swept away all the time.
Resolution #1
My New Years resolutions are a work in progress, but resolution number one is to do yoga every day. I really have no excuse not to do yoga. I will do it at home with my favorite DVDs at first, maybe join a studio if that gets boring. Today was the first day.