Re:Russ's post - Digest Number 550

[Guest guest]

Russ and all,

One of the things I have regretted the most about trying to lose

weight I have gained is the fact that I have to spend so much time

thinking about what to eat and what not to eat. If I eat out of

familar habits- familiar foods and recipes ... I will gain lots.

I agree with you that attitude makes a difference and I also do not

feel deprived if I experience mild hunger. In fact it signals me that

I am meeting my goal and am not in a " stuffing " mode.

For me the difficulty is and always has been ..being tied to

responsibilities surrounding feeding family and caretaking of family.

If I was free to go away from the house to enjoy exercise classes or

take classes at my community college for my own enjoyment boredom

eating would not come into play. [when I lived alone for 13 years

these methods served me very well]

For me it is fairly easy to be involved and not think about foods if

I have the time to get into an enjoyable project [even reading CRON

messages and trying to gain insights]. However, the constant

disruption of projects to be caretaker [which happened as I raised 8

children...and now happens meeting the needs of my 94 yr old father]

lead to frustration, loss of interest in the stop and go of projects,

and eating as reward or compensation. I know... It is a head thing

and I need to overcome it... but old habits die hard. Just my take on

the business of food and hunger.

Lucy

> I suspect that one reason people have problems with most diets,

including

> CRON, is that the culture surrounding the diet encourages people to

spend even more time thinking about food It is a lot harder to eat

less when you are constantly encouraged to think about how much less

you are eating.

>

> I think a better strategy is either (a) to think about and do

something else or ( think about and learn how to enjoy being

hungry, which is my strategy. Under (, if you are thinking about

food, it is a positive experience rather than a sense of self-

deprivation.

> -- Russ

[Guest guest]

Hello everyone,

I've found CR to be relatively easy. When I started, I made a list

of the foods I normally ate in an ad lib diet. The list was

surprisingly short. After you write down the 10 or 12 vegetables,

the 5 or 6 fruits, 5 meats (beef, pork, chicken, lamb, fish), etc.,

the list only encompassed about 50 or so items. I was mildly

shocked that my whole food intake revolved around so few items.

But then I took a good look at the list. All of them were allowed

in a CR diet....I just needed to change the ratio of what I ate to

fall within the CR parameters.....eat more of these, less of those

type thinking.

By manipulating these foods with the help of Walford's DWIDP, I

could concoct meals with better nutrient profiles. Then it was easy

to see which nutrients I was lacking in. The search for these

deficient nutrients led to the inclusion of more foods in my diet,

not fewer. Yogurt is one example, wheat germ another.

Learning to substitute was probably the most difficult part for me.

Using skim milk instead of whole milk, using Splenda instead of

sugar are good examples. My tastes have changed so that now I can

hardly differenciate between sugar and Splenda and whole milk seems

like slime now.

The rare binge on chocolate or the accidental purchase of a sweet

roll are forgiven by CR, and in a way, have been very reinforcing

for me. It strengthens my resolve to defeat old bad habits and

allows me to see what dietary laziness would lead me back to.

A proper mental attitude is certainly a must. I have always tried

to be a person whose glass is always half full rather than half

empty. That is why I can view my list of foods as greater than

before, not less, because it really is. I seldom experience hunger

because my breakfast is so filling and nutritous for 600 calories

and dinner is 9 or 10 hours later when I get to gorge on 900 to 1000

more calories. That is a big meal by any standard. But it keeps me

in my 1500 calorie per day range.

At some point, I will have to increase my calories to accomodate for

exercise and also to stem further weight loss. I really don't look

forward to eating more calories because I don't experience hunger

with what I am doing now and I have grown comfortable with my

program. I'll have to eat more fat, protein, and carbs to keep my

20-20-60 profile (that's not my body's profile, that's my

macronutrient profile...HA!) My breakfast won't change and I like

the 9 to 10 hour fast each day before dinner, so I'll either have to

make a bigger dinner, or have a late evening snack I suppose.

I can empathize with your time constaints Lucy. That is probably

hardest thing I have to contend with now....taking the time to

prepare evening meals. I am one of the fortunate few who have a

spouse willing to undertake this protocol with me and we split

kitchen duties. I was banned from the kitchen before CR. Then

there is the shopping which I do most of the food shopping now,

whereas before, that was in my wife's domain as well. So there are

greater demands on my time to follow this lifestyle. I am not

blessed with an elderly parent to care for. I think though that if

you add up the plus and minus columns, the plus category would win

because afterall, " It is a pleasure to labor for those we love. "

Bob

> > I suspect that one reason people have problems with most diets,

> including CRON, is that the culture surrounding the diet

> encourages people to spend even more time thinking about food It

> is a lot harder to eat less when you are constantly encouraged to

> think about how much less you are eating.

> >

> > -- Russ

[Guest guest]

It might depend on your personality. For me, talking and sharing

with others about diet and exercise is inspiring (extrovert). For

some it might not be (introvert). The attitude you choose to take

when thinking to yourself or talking to others about diet and

exercise Is crucial. Instead of having a self-deprecating attitude,

one can choose to have a positive " this is beneficial " attitude.

I never had trouble with my weight (always ate healthy, low-cal

stuff) until I moved, had a baby, and wasn't around people as much.

For me, it is energizing to hear that someone ate an apple instead of

a cupcake, and it is energizing for me to tell a friend who might

want to listen.

In short, the viewpoint you take if you choose to discuss your

dietary choices Is important, but whether to discuss or not is

probably more dependent on one's personality.

M

>

> > I suspect that one reason people have problems with most diets,

> including

> > CRON, is that the culture surrounding the diet encourages people

to

> spend even more time thinking about food It is a lot harder to eat

> less when you are constantly encouraged to think about how much

less

> you are eating.

> >

> > I think a better strategy is either (a) to think about and do

> something else or ( think about and learn how to enjoy being

> hungry, which is my strategy. Under (, if you are thinking about

> food, it is a positive experience rather than a sense of self-

> deprivation.

> > -- Russ