Thursday 24 October 2013

Pleasing just one person

Wandering about the blogisphere has made me realize how fortunate I am. Coming from a very small family of 6, two of which have passed on, I have not had much experience with large family gatherings and/or, relatives dropping in from other cities and staying with me. Plus, those of us who are left are pretty independent, with completely different interests and lifestyles, however all of us are committed to eating plans that are zero-carb, ketogenic or atkins-like.

My brother is treating his multiple myeloma with an all meat diet (some eggs) and has successfully been in remission for over 7 years with no toxic medication or chemotherapy. He is an avid cyclist and has no problems entering races (at age 55). He is fully keto-adapted. My sister is doing Atkins and has lost 70 lbs. I'm the one with the weakest will and the most health issues. Can't blame them for undermining my success though.

What I have found since I've retired that has helped me stay on track is the lack of stress and keeping it simple. Not having others at home gives me 100% freedom to prepare whatever foods I desire. For example, today I'm baking liver and onions, to which I will add cauliflower. This will last me for about 3 days. The huge pot of chicken vegetable soup I made on the weekend lasted for 5 days. My daily dessert (if I have one) is 1/3 cup of blueberries with 1/4 cup full fat yogurt. This being in control of what one makes and eats makes a big difference to me. The fact that I'm no longer at work where people are constantly racing past my desk with goodies, smacking their lips and grunting "yummms, ummms" or flagrantly sneaking up behind me with a plate of cake and then yelling "have some, it's home made."

Another thing about this simplicity is that I no longer am hungry or craving anything. I am not looking for replacements for anything like bread or pasta or muffins or whatever. I'm just one of those people who can't do it without the cravings kicking in. I need to stick to those simple, real foods like meat, fish, some dairy, veggies and some fruits. When you are not really hungry what does variety matter when you think about it.

5 comments:

  1. Hi Horf

    "simple, real foods like meat, fish, some dairy, veggies and some fruits."

    Sounds great to me too

    All the best Jan

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  2. I have never in my entire life only had to account to me for me. There has always been another in the food decision making process. It must feel very freeing at times.

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    1. Very freeing. When my son lived with me as an adult he ate what I made. There was never any talk of not eating anything I made. Yes, I'm dictatorial. But seriously, I never had any food issues with the kid, as a child or adult, whether it was because he really didn't care or if he just liked everything or whether it was a survival instinct on his part not to say anything. By and large, he seemed to like everything I served. When I went low carb he made no protest and just ate what I made and lost weight. He's a convert btw.

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    2. omg, I just realized that I made my son sound like a very easy-going person which he definitely is not. He was a rebel but food was something he loved and never fussed over. Once at age 7 he packed his suitcase and promptly told me he was leaving home. I kissed him goodbye, wished him luck and asked who was going to prepare his meals for him when he was away. Well, that did it. He changed his mind, lmao.

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