Everyday Systems

I had a realization this morning, that after 7 months of No-S and LOVING it I still hang onto some dieting world hang-ups.

The hang up I discovered is the idea that I have to eat meat at every meal. This is leftover from my Zone diet days, where you have to keep protein and carbs in correct proportion. It's a strange phenomena, b/c I go to the deli to get a Panini, and the Grilled eggplant looks delicious but I think 'I need a protein' like a robot.

I might try a week with no meat, just to try to break the habit.

I was once a vegetarian 8 years ago, and I seriously can't remember what i used to eat?!

Another one would be that we need to eat every few hours.

I think that eating meat at every meal is not only a dietary hangup, but a cultural one -- it's common in Western culture.

The heck of it is that we don't need meat (or dairy, fish, seafood, etc) at all. Many cultures eat animal products, especially flesh, infrequently. Sometimes it's for religious reasons, but usually it's more for economic reasons -- or a combination of the two.

Interesting discussion by Mark Bittman on eating meat:
http://fora.tv/2009/01/12/Mark_Bittman_Food_Matters

Ha! this is who I was listening to this morning on NPR that brought to the realization that i don't know how to NOT eat meat anymore.

so funny, thanks for the link!

I think eating meat comes from the idea that you need meat to feel satiated until the next meal. The whole protein keeps you full idea. In reality it is fat that provides satiety. Covert Bailey once said to prove this try an experiment. Wash back some protein power mixed in water for breakfast. You will get hungry quickly. Try 1/4 cup of butter and you won't be hungry at all. Moral is that the whole fat free and high protein is crazy, but if you are not looking to get hungry between meals I would suggest some fats (preferably good ones) with your food. This does not have to include animal products. Olive oil, guac on a sandwich etc.

Well, in the U.S. I think the idea that you need meat comes from advertising and lobbyists to a great extent.

Here's the interview from NPR that Amyliz mentioned:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... d=99268166

And an article linked to from Bittman's blog, Bitten:
http://www.thelocal.de/national/20090122-16931.html

resident0063 wrote:I think eating meat comes from the idea that you need meat to feel satiated until the next meal. The whole protein keeps you full idea. In reality it is fat that provides satiety. Covert Bailey once said to prove this try an experiment. Wash back some protein power mixed in water for breakfast. You will get hungry quickly. Try 1/4 cup of butter and you won't be hungry at all. Moral is that the whole fat free and high protein is crazy, but if you are not looking to get hungry between meals I would suggest some fats (preferably good ones) with your food. This does not have to include animal products. Olive oil, guac on a sandwich etc.

As someone with blood sugar issues who can get the shakes if I don't make good choices at meals, I can attest to the soundness of this advice. I used to think it was all about protein (flesh) but fat seems to be super key. For me, peanut butter is the perfect solution if I need that steadiness but want to cut down on animal products. I use the kind of peanut butter is that is just ground nuts and salt, and it really does the trick. If my meal does not have flesh or cheese or something, adding a tablespoon of pb to whatever I'm eating is the magic bullet. It's great mixed into a bowl of rice and beans, for example, or alongside oatmeal, or stirred into a veggie soup.

Amen to that!.
I was recently telling my husband that whenever I make dinner dishes in which skinned chicken breasts are the major source of protein and fat, I get really hungry within three hours, which is super fast for me, but if I have two slices of walnut bread slathered with butter, I can go on and on for up to eight hours if I need to.
What gives?, I think the advice is all about money, just as Wosnes says.

Dietary hung up?, mmm, I think mine is GUILT, sometimes, I just can't help feeling guilty for eating this or that; "blueberry cake with whipped cream? are you sure?, you still have weight to lose, you know" type of thoughts.
But I'm getting better at shushing and retorting to myself things like "well it IS saturday, you know".

Mavilu wrote:I just can't help feeling guilty for eating this or that: "blueberry cake with whipped cream? are you sure?, you still have weight to lose, you know" type of thoughts.

But I'm getting better at shushing and retorting to myself things like "Well it IS saturday, you know".

Bravo! That phrase "Well it IS Saturday, you know" may be the ultimate Guilt Slayer! Very helpful line!

winnie96 wrote:

Mavilu wrote:I just can't help feeling guilty for eating this or that: "blueberry cake with whipped cream? are you sure?, you still have weight to lose, you know" type of thoughts.

But I'm getting better at shushing and retorting to myself things like "Well it IS saturday, you know".

Bravo! That phrase "Well it IS Saturday, you know" may be the ultimate Guilt Slayer! Very helpful line!

Yes!, I like to think so too!.

I get a little anxious about S day eating, too -- like I'm not REALLY supposed to take advantage of an S day to, you know, eat. We made pancakes yesterday, and I had four, with butter, and I felt guilty about eating the fourth one, S day or not. I didn't NEED it, I wasn't really still hungry, I just wanted to eat another pancake!

I just had to reply to "I didn't NEED it, I wasn't really still hungry, I just wanted to eat another pancake!"

This made me smile and laugh because I related so much to the comment! I think the beauty of the S day is that it's SUPPOSED to satisfy our emotional cravings as well...not just the physical hunger.

The book talks about needing the S days so you don't feel deprived and drop all the good habits perminately. That 4th pancake was emotionally satisfying and you needed to enjoy it so you can be on task during your N days.

What I worry about is not the 4th pancake...it's falling into a total binge each and every weekend and ruining the hard work I did each and every week. I don't know why I worry about this...but I do. I'm a worrier by nature and I'm only a week into these new habits. I know much more about my old habits at this stage in the process and those habits can be scary.