|
|
Post by Moophles on May 14, 2018 23:05:55 GMT -5
I've been trying to make changes myself and struggling too, so I get that, Toxi. We can do it!  Gotta believe in ourselves, mhmm~ |
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Pooka on May 26, 2018 21:59:26 GMT -5
Hey, How's that going Mr. Pooka? I know Pooka mentioned changing her diet from the one you'd both started. But how've you been feeling on it? It is helping? I fully admit I've not been doing anything I SHOULD. I need a kick in the pants. u.u I just don't know what it's going to be/take. I spent a few hours in sleepy-sinus-y not fun non-sleeping the other night to search through Pintrest for some menu ideas. SO MANY good ideas. All with fresh foods and things I would LOVE to make. But.. I don't understand why I'm struggling so much to make that switch from fast/easy to healthy again. u.u Anyone with advice, I'd love to hear it. Even if it's just, "JUST DO IT TOXI". Maybe if enough people poke me I'll get back on track. And to anyone else reading these, I hope anyone who has been struggling to make changes, successfully made changes, or need some help making them stops in too. <3 Together we can make changes. I'm certain of it. sooo, I'm slow to answer because I was hoping to have more optimistic or definitive results. Everyone wants a magic bullet when it comes to this sort of stuff, right? (-8 I started trying a sort of popular diet/lifestyle thing commonly called 'the potato' diet which is basically what it sounds like and you can google it for details, but basically you need nothing but potatoes (there is lots of variations). Obviously don't do this cuz Mr. Pooka said so, and be responsible and follow your own good judgment weather that involves talking to a doctor or doing your own research or what not.. So for nearly two months I ate nothing but potatoes monday to friday and whatever I wanted on the weekends. So I did loose a ton of weight early on, nearly 20 pounds but some of that has come back... but I'm still about 10 lbs down. I've also been switching things up a bit, and moving to a very restricted low fat diet. That worked very well for me in the past. I wasn't really sick of potatoes... I love potatoes... but I just wanted to vary up my diet a bit because I think it feels healthier. I never really made an 'entry post' for this thread did I... I think its good to visualize and expose the monsters that hold us back when it comes to stuff like this. Its always so much easier to rationalize and given to our fears and weaknesses but I love the idea of sharing here so much I don't know why I haven't yet! I think I make a more detailed ME post tomorrow morning, (-8 ...and see what I can come up with to help us all out! *gets and awesome idea... ponders* |
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Pooka on Jun 17, 2018 18:52:15 GMT -5
...unlike usual, (surprisingly) I didn't actually forget I was going to post more here... just the more I thought about it after my post the more I realized... well lots of things! Those things kept taking me in different directions and on long ponders...
I kind of realize my own cycles of bad eating habits and I can clearly see where and how I got them but my second thought on the topic was that some of these reasons touch into darker places that involve personal loss and living in poverty, especially in my younger years that I wasn't sure if I could or should really just put them out there with a 'hey look at this!' ...but I do think I will just on the chance that it might help someone else and realize that sometimes our life's circumstances are not ideal and it can affect us in ways we might not see at first glance.
So, most of my bad eating habits are not something I am used to as thinking of as bad eating habits. Just the opposite really! Growing up with very little I learned to cook and eat food that will fill you up and keep you alive. How to stretch, strain and make do with what was available. How to be frugal and smart with money and be very food wise. Personally I laugh sarcastically to myself when people 'challenge' themselves to do things like the Elon Musk Challenge, (living on only $1 a day for food for a month), because growing up that was just called living. I've lived on much less and its not particularly hard. ...but this is where some of the problems begin. (I also know our community is made up of people for all different walks of life and backgrounds and situations so please don't be offended by my frugal humor! Everyone's life circumstances are different and everyone challenges in life are also personal and can not really be compared equally!) There is a very common misconception that states that poor people should be skinny because they eat less. This is totally not true. It has way more to do with the quality of food and what is available for your money. Processed foods are some of the most inexpensive choices available and they are usually full of fat and woefully devoid of nutrition.... When you have less than $2 in your pocket and a week of living in front of you what looks more appealing, one or two vegetables (say one small head OR lettuce OR perhaps 3 apples OR maybe 1-2 bell peppers?) or 8 packages of Mr. Noodles? (and that's splurging for the brand name Mr. Noodles at 25 cents each, not the off brand types!) The noodles win every time. They will fill you up and provide you with one filling meal every day. They do nothing at all good for your body except perhaps just basically keeping you alive. (and clog your arteries and spike your salt levels) If you went for the vegetables you've got enough food for a couple of days if your being generous, then what?
I guess I don't really have to go into to much more detail about growing up with not much and then working hard later in life and still not having much. I've got memories of living in shelters a couple of times (when I was very young... once because the whole row of townhouses we lived in burned down.) and memories of not eating every other day while our son was just a baby so that Pooka had enough food to breastfeed, just waiting for the few dollars of a paycheck that didn't go to rent and heat. Some of those times could have been helped with charity but there were points in my life where I was much to proud for that kind of thing and would rather have starved... though nowadays I've worked on both sides of the social service table and my perspectives on life have changed dramatically and I always encourage anyone to take advantage of programs that are available, don't be like young me!
Now I still do have amazing and fond memories of food! I learned to cook from my mom and her recipes became my comfort food. I also learned to be money wise from my mom... why would anyone buy a pie when you could make 5 pies for the same price?
So, I've established that I know what it is to be hungry and I know how to be extremely frugal. I don't pay more than I have to for food and I don't waste food. Those kind of things are programmed into me and a part of my being, the greatest of sins. I also LOVE good food and I LOVE to cook!
...but some of these are traps and even if I can see them I still fall into them, selectively ignoring the warning signs. Let me give some real life personal examples.
- knowing hunger - I buy to much food, I watch for sales and I buy in bulk. I could give some of those prepper shows a run for their money with my pantry. We'd be fine if we didn't have to leave the house for a year. Whenever I have extra money I've spent it on things like this as insurance for the future because there have been times when it has absolutely mattered. This is one of the hardest traps to sidestep because it is probably a good investment and makes the most of our money but it also gives me easy access to tons of the basic staples of any type of comfort food for any excuse I can rationalize. There is no cake or casserole that I cannot whip up whenever we want it...
- being frugal - Here is an exact example of something that happened recently. I like baloney (processed meats and I have an unhealthy relationship as well... that's probably a whole other topic.) and even though I don't eat it much because it's mostly fat and not good for me I wanted some as a treat. Now a prepackaged poundish of baloney (about 20 slices) costs the same as 2-3 slices from the deli. I only want enough for a couple of sandwiches but for the money I can easily get a much much better deal buying the prepackaged slices, even if I threw most of it in the garbage later... not that I would. So I can't bring myself to pay way more for way less (there is no quality or taste difference...) so I ended up buying the larger package. I KNOW I only wanted a few slices and I KNOW that I could buy the larger package, eat what I want and still have lots of leftover and also will have saved quite a bit of money. ...but I also KNOW that this will leave me with leftover meat that I should not be eating because I KNOW it is not good for me, but I also KNOW that wasting food and money are the ultimate bad... So in the end I ate to much baloney, which is not good for me. ...but I also know I ate many many meals for what many people would have just paid for one cup of specialty coffee. It's an unhealthy combination of winning and losing that I can't get past.
- comfort food - All of my programmed comfort foods are just plain not good for me. Unfortunately there have been to many dark things in the last few years that have sent me into bad habit of eating... I don't like talking about this stuff much, but I do love talking about cooking and yummy food.
It has only been recently in life that we have had a bit more money (which is really way below Canada's poverty line but way above our personal survival line!) to purchase healthier food and it has really been showing! One of the first thing that gets back into our diet when we have the money is real whole foods, especially vegetables.
So we are at a point in our life when we have a chance to eat differently but also at a point where we MUST eat differently... which is a nice coincidence, (-8
I loved reading others sharing and I know it can be hard sometimes so I figured I just go all in with my personal descriptions above (though I did still manage to avoid talking about some topics!)... Everyone who is reading this is a friend of mine, and some of you are closer to family and I want to be here to do anything I can to help everyone I can. I know I need help and I see that others need help to. This lead me to another long think. ...and I just got stuck and I was hoping to get some input! I felt like I was close the last time I wrote in this thread but I found to many flaws in my ideas... I wanted to figure out a way to encourage everyone and build some sort of system of encouragement so everyone can help everyone else. I also wanted to come up with some cool or unique prizes that might have given an extra tangible goal that made people eat differently, exercise a bit longer, go to their therapy sessions, overcome their fears and fight their demons. The tricky part is that everyone had different goals, some of which are difficult to quantify, and everyone values different things and many people are motivated in different ways... I need to lose at least 90 pounds. 90 pounds. That is a ridiculous amount of weight... that will get be back to where I was when my mom passed away (not at all coincidentally when my healthy eating habits got tossed in favour of comfort foods). Others around here have different goals and numbers and challenges... now of which are any more or less a challenge depending on their situations!
I've got two ideas (I'll mention below) but I think I need more... if anyone and anything at all they want to share, ideas, concepts plans, websites that worked for them or that look like they have potential... whatever please post it here or PM it to me! There is no bad ideas or input for this I think.
One of my ideas is to negotiate a contract with individuals. Say you want to lose 20 pounds, you could explain the whats and whys and the barriers you have and then we could come up with something that might encourage you to work on your goal... this could create a different situation for everyone... it could also be done either in private or public depending on personal issues... this needs work but has potential.
...another idea might be to pool some similar challenges like weight loss. Say we had 5-10 people who needed to lose weight to be healthier. We could all pledge to work together, create reasonable goals, share weigh ins, diet and exercise plans, just talking regularly, encourage each other to stay 'on the wagon'... and we could all add the weight we need to lose together into one total and when we reach it we could celebrate with an event or prizes or something that sounds fun and challenging for everyone... this also needs details but it's got the rumblings of something perhaps?
...some of these idea's benefit from being public but some could also be very private if we wished. Not everyone wants everyone else to know just how out of shape they are (or discuss other private health issues!) but we could create a hidden thread for certain things as well if that helps with some peoples comfort levels!
...on and on I go, (-8 either way I desperately crave input. General ideas or references that help individuals, ideas to help groups, inspirations, healthy recipes... idk, anything and everything!
We can do this.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sweetintoxikation on Jun 17, 2018 19:15:12 GMT -5
I'm just stopping in briefly to let you know I've read what you posted Mr. Pooka and to mention the bottom ideas could help (specifically the 2nd) for those who are looking for the group support and are a lovely idea to bring us together as a community for a common goal. Even if it's as simple as the group puts in wanting to each lose 5 pounds (or if you are someone who needs to gain weight for health reasons. That's something we include here!)
Ultimately I wanted this board to be a place for everyone who wanted to add something in as a healthier life change they wanted to make. A place for no judgements but support and encouragement. I'll have to think on this a bit more when I'm less.. mentally divided.
I'm also going to open up a bit more for people in the near future as I think it's time.. I do need help that I don't think I'm being successful doing on my own. BUt again, give me a few days. PLUS I'm loathe to post anything a. super personal like this because I've got anxiety to .. a very bad extreme and b. because we're still in Heb/Festival season. And I don't want to bring anyone into the whirl pool that is my crazy when I just want people to be happy and have fun. <3
I'll stop here because I wasn't trying to sound down at all! <,<; *hugs all around to anyone who reads this and to Mr. Pooka for sharing his personal thoughts and emotions above me.*
|
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Pooka on Jun 23, 2018 15:10:10 GMT -5
I think about this thread every day, (-8 just sayin'...
I'm contemplating a second recipe thread for some of the healthier options we've been incorporating into our diet/lifestyle... it might be a good place to talk about what works, what doesn't and maybe help some others try new awesome things? I've been enjoying cooking with whole grains lately (I'm in love with bulger/burghul atm! something I never thought I'd say but it's true!)
|
|
|
|
Post by RaenHale on Jul 6, 2018 9:30:53 GMT -5
Hi! I was able to skim a bit and think this is a GREAT thread. In my workplace, I am tasked with leading a group dedicated solely to fitness/healthier way of living. I find that I can be a great motivator but sometimes drop off when it comes to my -own- eating habits. Some things I am able to get people doing....hiking, kayaking, 1 mile walk, trampoline parks (this is SO great for cardio), trying out new fitness classes, and geocaching for those who don't want to go on the 'big' hikes. We all have a pretty sedentary lifestyle by working in an office and spend a lot of our time behind our cubicles so any little thing can be very helpful.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Pooka on Jul 18, 2018 14:59:26 GMT -5
That all sounds so awesome RaenHale! I really want to quest for some way to help motivate anyone who want's to participate in this sort of thing around here but keep getting a bit stuck for ideas... (is it being so decentralized or perhaps different goals and plans?) plus I can empathize with the personal part. I had been doing really well with some of my lifestyle choices but so much of it went out the window when this heatwave hit... I just sort of gave up any type of cooking and went right for easy and ... icecream? I need to be back on track myself!
|
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Pooka on May 23, 2019 21:39:04 GMT -5
Incentives!
I haven't posted here in a while but I do have an update I think is awesome and I thought I'd share.
One of the BEST things we've done working towards this goal is adding incentives to exercise. It is to easy to not do things... but figuring out just what incentive was the trick. It couldn't be food (that's probably a trap for most people) and it couldn't really cost anything so it had to be something ... ethereal but also substantial enough that it would feel rewarding for us. So, I came up Experience Point Rewards based on the RP games that Pooka and I both play a lot and love. A small amount but a good amount for us. ...and it really really got us moving a lot more!
I didn't put specific amounts because I think everyone's mileage on this sort of thing would vary considerably both by the reward amounts and the amount of work to achieve them. If you like the RP XP idea specifically you could even make yourself and 'exercise character' just for fun and work towards building them up just for yourself!
The main takeaway is that if you can find something like this it gives you a fun goal as an incentive to live healthier! There is lots of stuff like this mentioned online, but sometimes you have to see a plan and apply it to your situation to make it make sense. For us it was role-playing experience. It doesn't cost any money and we both want it and are willing to work for it!
There is also going to be a chart soon which just adds to the benefits because you can see your progress and really start to see the benefits of both the exercise and the rewards making you want to work harder at it, (-8
|
|
|
|
Post by Sweetintoxikation on Jun 13, 2019 14:24:45 GMT -5
I didn't respond to this when it was originally posted because I was going on a vacation and didn't want to weigh myself to start. BUT..
Mr. Pooka, that is one of the world BEST ideas EVER. I'm making a character right now and as an added bonus.. she's going to 'change' with my changes. Hopefully. >.> SO .. Thank you for the idea. I'm also creating her on DnDBeyond in the 5E edition because.. that just seems SO FUN.
So.. I look forward to seeing the chart you came up with. If/when you get down time to post it <3
|
|
|
|
Post by Sweetintoxikation on Jun 13, 2019 20:56:40 GMT -5
SLIGHT update. I finally got her 'done'.. and I rolled the ... best I've ever rolled for stats. I'm kind of in shock. She's even stronger than my fighter Caitlyn. >.>;
|
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Pooka on Jun 16, 2019 23:10:22 GMT -5
That's awesome Toxi and I really hope it helps! It's helped Pooka a lot for sure already and hasn't showed any signs of slowing down, (-8 I'd also love some character updates if you don't mind sharing them, (-8 (perhaps we can even have a place for that sort of thing... kind of a team incentive thing where we can share our experience and character growth? ...as long as that sounds fun and inspirational, not intimidating if you know what I mean?)
ah, we don't have a specifically cool looking chart (though that is also a cool idea!), but we do have a notepad set up so that every exercise time and equivalent XP is listed. I figure it will be satisfying to watch the numbers grow. Like all diet and exercise really its hard to keep on track when you only see tiny increments... but if you get to see a fun overview or culmination, like how many thousands and thousands of XP you earned in a few months or even a year I think it will be super satisfying!
|
|
|
|
Post by Operetta on Mar 15, 2020 13:56:39 GMT -5
I just wanted to post here really quick that I have found a way that works for me. I last posted here in 2017, and several months after that post, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and put on medication for it. My doctor advised me to stay away from bread, potatoes, and pasta in order to lose weight so that I could get off the medication. So, I tried to do just that, and I was perfectly miserable. The following year, I tried to gradually find some sort of balance, and I think I have. Again, this works for me and probably isn't for everyone, but I wanted to share. 1. I try to keep my carbs below 100 grams each weekday. This is doable since I can control what I eat for breakfast and lunch on those days. Since Rasa and I have different tastes in food, it doesn't ruin my "diet" if I have a carby dinner, and I don't feel bad about it. I just make sure to leave room for those carbs by eating a low carb breakfast and lunch. 2. I eat smaller portions and more often. I discovered that along with high blood pressure, I am also hypoglycemic. So, the doctor told me to eat smaller meals throughout the day. This took a bit of adjusting, but I find that I feel a lot better for it. So, I generally have breakfast at 9:30, a snack at noon, lunch between two and two thirty, a snack between five and five thirty, and dinner around seven. Breakfast right now usually consists of a cup of applesauce. Snacks are things like a hand full of trail mix (no candy in it) or about eight baby carrots. Lunch is usually a small salad or some sort of meat and veggies in sauce, about a cup and a half or so. 3. I exercise for fifteen minutes right after work each weekday. I know that once I have settled in after work, nothing is going to get done. So, I make sure to get my exercising out of the way, and I usually read while I do it, so it's more fun. 4. Weekends are free days. I eat whatever I want on the weekend. This really helps as weekends are much less structured, and it's sometimes very difficult to plan ahead for them. It also helps to be able to tell myself on Tuesday when I'm craving that bagel or chocolate bar that I can have it on Saturday. By doing the above, I've lost eight pounds in eight weeks. It's not a huge amount, but I still consider it successful. Here are some of the things that I have found that helps as well. 1. Don't beat yourself up if you slip up. There are definitely days that I end at 112 grams of carbs, and I just tell myself to try again tomorrow. 2. Don't give up. I have had not just bad days, but an entire bad week where things just fell apart. I just did my best for the rest of the week and started over on the following Monday. 3. I have found that the longer I do this the less I crave junk food. 4. Don't force yourself to eat things you don't like. Hummus is a huge low carb thing, and I have tried two different flavors two different times. I just don't like it, but I'm not going to hold it against myself. Instead I have found other options that I do like. A recent discovery has been cucumber slices with chicken salad on top. It's such a delicate balance of finding what works for you, and this is what works for me. I can still eat foods that I really like and I allow myself to eat whatever I want on the weekends. I just wanted to share my little bit of success in the hopes that it may help someone else.  |
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Pooka on Mar 23, 2020 14:58:08 GMT -5
I love these awesome success stories and examples, (-8 I did want to add a note about Hummus Operetta. The first hummus I ever got was hand made at a market *cough ahem* years ago and fell in love with it. Then I learned to make it myself and still make it often. That being said, I've tried to buy hummus from the grocery store before and I can't stand it, universally awful stuff in my opinion and I've tried several brands, flavours and types... If you ever want to try it again, I've got a recipe in our recipe section that would cost you less then $2 to make a ton and its super easy and yummy, (-8 (to me of course, you might still dislike it of course!) |
|
|
|
Post by Operetta on Mar 24, 2020 19:41:40 GMT -5
I love these awesome success stories and examples, (-8 I did want to add a note about Hummus Operetta. The first hummus I ever got was hand made at a market *cough ahem* years ago and fell in love with it. Then I learned to make it myself and still make it often. That being said, I've tried to buy hummus from the grocery store before and I can't stand it, universally awful stuff in my opinion and I've tried several brands, flavours and types... If you ever want to try it again, I've got a recipe in our recipe section that would cost you less then $2 to make a ton and its super easy and yummy, (-8 (to me of course, you might still dislike it of course!) I would love to see the recipe! What do you eat your hummus with? I was trying carrots, but maybe that's part of the problem? |
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Pooka on Mar 27, 2020 16:07:24 GMT -5
Humm, you know I actually started typing out my fav way to serve hummus when I first posted but deleted because I didn't want to add any extra temptation after reading your own struggles/recommendations... Personally my favorite way to eat hummus is with freshly made bread sticks. (my standard white bread recipe in the recipe section, just cut into a full making tray of thin sticks, often twisted for extra texture, sometimes sprinkled in a light spice mix or large salt crystals) After that almost every other way also includes bread of some sort. I've eaten it as a sandwich spread (by itself or with other things), on crackers and with toast... I've used it as veggie dip before (with substantial vegetables that can take a lot of dip, like broccoli and mushrooms) and it was.. ok.. but we just are bread addicts. I did use it as a sort of salad topper/dressing once which was actually lovely. Oh, I've also put it on top of some veggies and eggs, sort of a hummus version of huevos rancheros but using hummus instead of salsa. So... bread does it for me. Now there might be some better bread-like options that might fit into your diet but I don't have a lot of experience in that area. My recipe is on page two of the recipe thread... It's eminently variable once you've made the basic... you can change the oil up and down to control the fat, add lots of different flavours if you want (the basic is still prob my fav and what I make most often, but I like to vary it if I'm making it often just for... variety.) I also find that the hidden bitter of Tahini is one of the things that can really change someones perspective of Hummus... I usually go with the peanut butter myself and also if I was introducing someone new to Hummus. also raw garlic can be really strong and I've def added to much for Pooka a few times (we've got a slightly diff onion/garlic flavour palate, (-8)... and as a staple of a huge part of the world there are thousands of other recipes out there to mix things up to taste! sphinxes.proboards.com/thread/199/cooking-recipes?page=2 |
|
Gotta believe in ourselves, mhmm~
