Perpetual Healthy Eating and Fitness Rant & Rave thread

[MiniDriver]

I haven't weighed myself yet after returning from vacation (ToM), but my pants still fit so I haven't done that much damage.  Back on track yesterday and today, back to vegan after having meat/fish/dairy on vacation.

The food was awesome and totally worth it.  Saw several people photographing their meals "meals & miles style" and cracked up.  Now the biggest problem is fighting the expectation that I'll have limitless food, fighting the expectation of dessert.

We made time to exercise every day, both in the gym and just out having fun.   We took a spin class one day and really enjoyed it.  Our teacher was in some sort of program in which she got her vacation free if she taught two classes a day.  I've got to check that program out! It would be totally worth getting teacher certified for it.

Time to start working on getting fit for Summer! 

[Courtney]

Holy crap, I'd totaly teach 2 classes a day to get a free vacation.   

[Mom of Scooby]

I haven't weighed myself yet after returning from vacation (ToM), but my pants still fit so I haven't done that much damage.  Back on track yesterday and today, back to vegan after having meat/fish/dairy on vacation.

The food was awesome and totally worth it.  Saw several people photographing their meals "meals & miles style" and cracked up.  Now the biggest problem is fighting the expectation that I'll have limitless food, fighting the expectation of dessert.

We made time to exercise every day, both in the gym and just out having fun.   We took a spin class one day and really enjoyed it.  Our teacher was in some sort of program in which she got her vacation free if she taught two classes a day.  I've got to check that program out! It would be totally worth getting teacher certified for it.

Time to start working on getting fit for Summer! 

When we went to Mexico was always had this too.. techers of yoga/pilates/aerobics who were there for free.. They were not as fun as the resort entertainment staff though

[MiniDriver]

One of my favorite meals from the trip was pumpkin/spinach/ricotta stuffed into cannelloni shells.  I've got to experiment with proportions, but it should be easy to prepare.

I modified a spinach-ricotta recipe thus:

Prepared or home-made tomato sauce
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
10 oz baby spinach
3/4 cups ricotta (12 oz fresh or 15 oz supermarket-style)
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 (6- by 4-inch) fresh pasta rectangles or 8 oven-ready (sometimes labeled "no-boil") lasagne noodles


Make cannelloni:

Heat oil in a 5- to 6-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté onion and garlic, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Add spinach and sauté, stirring, until just wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Stir together ricotta, pumpkin egg, parsley, salt, pepper in a bowl, then stir in spinach mixture.

Boil pasta 2 pieces at a time in a 6- to 8-quart pot of boiling salted water , stirring to separate, until just tender, about2 minutes for fresh pasta or about 6 minutes for oven-ready noodles. Gently transfer with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of cold water to stop cooking, then remove from bowl, shaking off water, and lay flat on kitchen towels (not terry cloth). Pat dry with paper towels. Trim oven-ready noodles (if using) as closely as possible to 6 1/4- by 5 1/2-inch rectangles.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Spread 2/3 cup sauce in buttered baking dish.
Spread about 1/3 cup ricotta filling in a line along 1 short side of 1 pasta rectangle, then roll up to enclose filling. Transfer, seam side down, to baking dish. Make 7 more cannelloni in same manner, arranging snugly in 1 layer. Spread 1/2 cup more sauce over cannelloni. Bake, covered with foil, in middle of oven until sauce is bubbling, about 20 minutes.

Dunno if I can work out a vegan version - I left out the mozzarella and parm cheese, but I think the stuffing won't work without the ricotta and egg.

[Run Amok]

I've been meaning to try these. I'm not vegan... but cheese is pretty calorie dense.  http://www.pbs.org/food/fresh-tastes/stuffed-shells/

[merigayle]

That stuffed shells recipe is really easy and really tasty, even DH gobbles it up, actually, the last time i made it, he ate most of it! It reheats nicely too. Mini, i was actually going to post RA's recipe, because you can use tofu in place of the ricotta.

[Run Amok]

That stuffed shells recipe is really easy and really tasty, even DH gobbles it up, actually, the last time i made it, he ate most of it! It reheats nicely too. Mini, i was actually going to post RA's recipe, because you can use tofu in place of the ricotta.

I got it from you, lady. 

[debbatx]

Sounds like a great trip, Mini!

We did okay this weekend - not too horrible, not perfect, but that's okay. The scale is creeping upward, but as long as it stays at "creeping" pace, I'm fine with that. I still have a little over 18 weeks to go and about 7 pounds to gain (ideal would be 5, personal max would be 10). Of course, if I go over that, even with careful eating, then I do. Reid was 8 lbs, 11 oz. It takes some calories to sustain that size of a kid!

[diablita]

same here over the weekend: not great, not horrible

[Courtney]

Ugh, so my NP/naturopath lady wants me to do this yeast free diet for a while.  I don't know how long that means.  So I tried. 

And all it did was induce some real binge eating.  Deprivation is not something I apparently handle well.     Gah.  The diet is essentially meat and non-starchy veggies, minus tomatoes.  And almonds.

I suppose physically I can do it, but mentally it's fucking with me, and I've just today settled back into reasonable eating, as opposed to binge eating. 

[Schrödinger’s Bat]

Ugh, so my NP/naturopath lady wants me to do this yeast free diet for a while.  I don't know how long that means.  So I tried. 

And all it did was induce some real binge eating.  Deprivation is not something I apparently handle well.     Gah.  The diet is essentially meat and non-starchy veggies, minus tomatoes.  And almonds.

I suppose physically I can do it, but mentally it's fucking with me, and I've just today settled back into reasonable eating, as opposed to binge eating. 

Did she explain what she thought yeast free would do for you?

And, are you sure it is the new eating plan, and not just the time of year? I find January is a very hard month to stay on track, personally.
It is like the lack of sunlight finally hits unmanagable proportions in my brain and my body suddenly just craves sugar/carbs uncontrollably. It is complete self medication, I'm sure.
But it is a fight for most of the month to not just go crazy.

[Courtney]

Did she explain what she thought yeast free would do for you?

And, are you sure it is the new eating plan, and not just the time of year? I find January is a very hard month to stay on track, personally.
It is like the lack of sunlight finally hits unmanagable proportions in my brain and my body suddenly just craves sugar/carbs uncontrollably. It is complete self medication, I'm sure.
But it is a fight for most of the month to not just go crazy.

She did explain what the reasoning was, and while I'm not sure I buy it, I was going to give it a shot.  I actually think I gave myself an anxiety induced nausea episode the night before I was to start it, and then I ate that way all day, and I was visibly down.  DH couldn't figure out wtf was wrong with me when he got home.  And then all weekend, I was sneak eating and binge eating.  Stuff I had a decent handle on up until this.  My shitty weekend was not a big help to all of this, but I gave up on the eating plan before it got very shitty.  Lucky for me, we get a lot of sunshine even in January here in CO.  It's beautiful and sunny right now.   

She told me that nearly no one can stick to this diet, but that she wanted me to try.  I did, but I seriously lasted a day before I was shoving cheetos in my mouth.  It feels impossible, and I can't get myself amped up to even really try, becuase I don't want to.  The idea of eating nothing but meat and veggies for weeks is not something I can wrap my head around. 

[cgraz]

Can she tell you how long she means by "a while" so you have a time frame in mind? I know when mr. cgraz did the paleo challenge, he found it easier to stick to because he knew exactly when it would end. Maybe that would help? Not saying a month is what she has in mind, but even if you set your first goal to try it for a week, maybe that could work?

Also, try focusing on the things you can have, instead of what you can't...and find some favorites that you can go-to when you need some satisfaction. Like if it's focused on meat, is there a particular thing you really like, maybe a nice steak or a pork chop? Or a favorite way to have a certain veggie?

Hang in there, I know you've been dealing with a lot of frustration lately.

[merigayle]

cgraz has some good advice.

I also think meal planning and seeing and planning what you will eat and what you can have will help.

When I went macrobiotic, it was not super severe changes, but enough to really take time to figure out and fall into a pattern. I had health reasons for doing it and that was my motivating factor, and i was excited to try new foods and new recipes. I tried all sorts of vegetables i would never have touched and cooking methods that i never would have tried before.

Does she think you have systemic candida?

[Magic Microbe]

If you cant do it then you cant do it. I wouldn't sacrifice the gains you have made over this.

[Courtney]

Does she think you have systemic candida?

Yes.  And we will probably treat with drugs anyway, but I know that I should do this.

The problem with focusing on what I can have is that it sucks.  I eat meat, but it's not like I crave it.  And veggies are fine, but I can't use any dressings (no dairy, no vinegar, no sugar, no anything to make a decent dressing or sauce).  I'm supposed to use tomatoes sparingly, whatever the fuck that means.  It's so boring and bland, and the food sucks.  No fruit.  I mean, WTF, no fruit?  Really?  No pork either.  So chicken and beef are it (and maybe some seafood, but I'm not a seafood eater).  But it's not like you can put anything on it.  No cheese.  No yogurt. 

So my options are things like baked chicken breast and broccoli.  Neat.  Not tasty by any stretch.  I've been searching recipes all weekend, looking for something new to try, but literally every recipe has stuff in it that I am not supposed to eat.  You know, for flavor.   

So clearly, I associate happiness with good food, and the thought of eating bland food for weeks (the paper she gave me says 8 weeks, but I don't know if that is what she wants).  And even if we do treat with drugs, I'm supposed to try and stick to this as closely as possible.  I know I'm a picky eater, but seriously?  I'm allowed to eat eggs, but the downside is that I don't really like eggs all the much, especially without cheese.  I made up some egg things in my muffin pan to freeze, for breakfasts, and they are fine, but I don't really want to eat them.  I will, I guess. 

I know I'm whining. 

I just know, historically, that if I do this, it's going to end in another binge.  A big ol' FUCK IT sort of deal.  I can't stop thinking about that sort of food right now, and I'm back to eating things I like (healthy foods, just not on this stupid yeast free diet).  I don't like all or nothing approaches, where you can't have X (and Y and Z) at all.  That sort of mindset is a big fat failure for me.  I've already given up gluten and my diet soda vice in the past year, and apparently that is all I've got in me. 

/whine

[MiniDriver]

{{Courtney}}

[Courtney]

{{Courtney}}

Thanks   I'm just feeling sorry for myself right now.  Not particularly helpful, but it is what it is!

[caito]

Oh man, that does not sound like a reasonable or enjoyable diet at all, Courtney.      Ugh.

Will your nutritionist understand that what it does to the quality of your life just isn't worth it? 

[Courtney]

Oh man, that does not sound like a reasonable or enjoyable diet at all, Courtney.      Ugh.

Will your nutritionist understand that what it does to the quality of your life just isn't worth it? 

She's probably going to have to.   

We'll see, I see her again in a few weeks to evaluate my thyroid meds, so we'll touch base again then.  In the mean time, I'm going to focus on eating fewer sweets, because that isn't a bad thing.  That isn't going to equate to no sweets, I'm sure.  I'm also going to work on more veggies in my diet, which is an ongoing theme for me.