weight and spoken thinking

[miriam_e]

I was chatting with an old friend last night. She was concerned about her weight. She tends to have meat at every meal and eats a lot of sweets. She knows my views on sweets so I left that alone, but instead suggested she go easy on the meat, perhaps cutting back to once a week. She replied that she'd heard meat doesn't put on weight; starch does. I thought for a moment and asked her where were all the overweight vegetarians and skinny butchers then?

Interesting. I'd never really thought about it till I said it. Isn't it weird that you can hold information in your head but never connect it till it escapes your mouth. Often I can resolve a problem simply by talking to someone about it. The other person doesn't even need to really listen; just the act of explaining it seems to make new connections in the brain. We are such strange creatures.

Comments

[dorjejaguar.livejournal.com]

Does she have much dairy?
That might be easier for her to cut out than meat.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I don't think Margaret eats much dairy food. That lowers her options. She does eat yoghurt though, and she should curtail that. When I was ill the last couple of years and the doctor was worried about me being too thin (I've always been skinny) she suggested eating more yoghurt because that stacks on the weight.

Unfortunately Margaret inherited a tendency to have blood clots so she's on warfarin, which is a very scary drug, but still better than dying of a blood clot. Because of the warfarin she is limited in the vegetables she can eat -- nothing with a lot of vitamin K... which is a heck of a lot of vegetables. Poor thing. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't eat all the veges I do.

Also she is on other medication which makes her tired and hungry all the time -- a really bad combination.

My heart goes out to her.

[dorjejaguar.livejournal.com]

Mmm, that's pretty harsh. I hope she can find something that works for her.

[cranky--crocus.livejournal.com]

I often think the same, with the second paragraph. I think it's why when I'm alone I speak aloud. The brain seems to string things together differently when we're thinking to speak instead of thinking within the confines of our minds. I'll often clarify things for myself just by speaking aloud, even without having anyone to question me.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I wonder if it because we bring more circuits into play. We are effectively firing up a whole bunch of extra brain areas by formulating the speech, and then more areas if you listen to what you've just said. Talking to yourself definitely works, but I find that actually speaking to a living, breathing human being works even better and I've always been puzzled by that. As I said, the person doesn't even need to listen really; I simply need to speak my thoughts in a way that another person can understand. Perhaps you can do that without another person present. If so, I'm green with envy. I've tried and haven't got as good results yet.

I find rattling on about things on LiveJournal useful for similar reasons... though it has the added advantage that people can pick up my blind-spots and point them out to me -- something that, by definition, I can't do for myself. For instance, in my previous post dorjejaguar kept bringing me back to an error I was making in the way I was explaining myself -- a very useful thing. I might never have been able to correct my stupid mistake without help from her.

[cranky--crocus.livejournal.com]

I suppose I'm lucky, then in getting my brain to formulate my speeches catering to the hope that another can understand! I don't need another person there. However, I am thrilled when someone else IS there, especially since I then get the same in return!

I'm sensitive and don't do quite as brilliantly with my blind spots pointed out online (text relationships can be painful for me), but if done so in a courteous way then I am well pleased. However given my entries are mainly personal affairs (I mainly keep my science off), I suppose it's a bit more personally painful to have a blind spot pointed out in the way in which someone runs her life rather than her science. Although there's a certain sting to the latter, as well, for those overly sensitive--especially to text statements!

[belegdel.livejournal.com]

I've learned a fair bit from my own attempts to lose weight, and eating meat daily is entirely doable as long as it's lean, and only about 125g per meal. The main factors in weight gain are carbohydrates, fats and a poor balance with activity level. Breads, potatoes and sweets are all evils that must, alas, be compensated with excercise or significantly reduced in intake.

(Baked goods and sweet stuff are my main weakness:)

I sincerely recommend Weight Watchers as an alternative for your friend. They don't push particular foods and they REALLY help understand how the WHOLE process works, including the emotional elements.
Not the cheapest alternative but the education inherent in the program is invaluable. They have non-meeting alternatives too these days.

With some exceptions (like coconut which is evil), vegies are pretty much devoid of fat. Most aren't high in carbohydrates either. I imagine that's why vegetarians don't tend to suffer from being overweight.
Butchers probably have a role-reinforced eating disorder ;)

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

I eat lots of starch -- giant bowl of meusli each morning and dinner is another big bowl, half potato, half other veges. I love potatoes and could eat them till the cows come home. I seem to be skinny by force of genetics though, and given that most humans use up almost half their energy with their incredibly wasteful brains, mine seems to waste even more on nervous energy. I'm kinda glad I don't like sweets. I love salt though, which is really naughty... lookin' at high blood pressure in old age. Damn.

Good idea about getting Margaret to go along to Weight Watchers. I've been trying everything I can think of to get her to go out and meet people. It could be just the trick. She normally says, putting herself down, that people don't want to see a fat person, and that she'll feel out of place. But that is all fine at Weight Watchers. Thanks for the idea.

I like the gentle dig at butchers... role-reinforced eating disorder. heheheh :)

[sealwhiskers.livejournal.com]

I actually know quite a few chubby vegetarians, it usually comes from compensating the lack of protein with cheese (and other dairy products) and grains.
Lots of meat products are good eats, weight wise, it just sounds like your friend doesn't make any of the compromises you need to make in order to stay in shape.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

You're right. [sigh] She doesn't make the compromises, and keeps giving up the small gains and lapses into eating chocolates, cake, and so on.

The worst of it is, she puts on weight which makes her lose self esteem, then lack of self esteem means she gives up trying, and also leads to "comfort-eating".

I feel completely helpless. Like watching an accident about to happen and being unable to intervene.

[satyapriya.livejournal.com]

Doctor has commanded I eat meat. I am doing so, in moderate amounts. Fatter stomach, heavier boobs, body feels more sluggish and heavy. Nuff said.

[miriam-e.livejournal.com]

My vegetarian niece had a blood test the other day and her iron levels were fine. If your doctor told you to do so for iron, then he's wrong. If he told you for B vitamins then get stuck into yeast extracts. I need a lot of B vitamins or find it difficult to function properly.

We do seem to have evolved to require a certain amount of meat in our diets, however that said, it is not impossible to manage with vege diet.

Oh! I just had a thought... are you preggers?