automated eating tracker

Counting carbs/calories is a drag. Obsessive scale stepping is a recipe for despair. If you want to count something, "days on habit" is a much better metric. Checking off days on a calendar would do just fine, but if you do it here you get accountability and support. Here's how. Start a new topic in this forum called (say) "Your Name Daily Check In." Then every N day post a "reply" to that topic as to whether you stayed on habit. A simple "<font color="green">SUCCESS</font>" or "<font color="red">FAILURE</font>" (or your preferred euphemism if that's too harsh) is sufficient, but obviously you're welcome to write more if you want. On S-days just register that you're taking an S-day. You don't have to do this forever, just until you're confident you've built the habit. Feel free to check in weekly or monthly or sporadically instead of daily. Feel free also to track other habits besides No-s (I'm keeping this forum under No-s because that's what the vast majority are using it for). See also my <a href="/habitcal/">HabitCal</a> tool for another more formal (and perhaps complementary) way to track habits.

Moderators: Soprano, automatedeating

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Post by lpearlmom » Sat Jan 26, 2019 10:00 pm

Yes you can underdo it with the salt and it’ll definitely give uou a headache. Glad you figured it out. A lot of IFers put a little pink Himalayan salt in their coffee/tea to help with this.

Looks like you’re doing great otherwise. Your weight is at an all time low too- wow! Happy for you!
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Sun Jan 27, 2019 1:49 am

Thanks Linda. :-)
Yeah, I'll definitely be watching the salt now.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Sun Jan 27, 2019 3:33 pm

Sunday, January 27

S Day

126.4

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, water w/salt!
L: yogurt w/berries, veggies & yogurt dip
D: steak w/ a few homemade steak fries
Dessert 1: 1 caramel almond chocolate
Dessert 2: small bowl of Reese's Pieces
Dessert 3: another bowl of Reese's Pieces

Drinking - Week 4 of Moderation begins!
Mod Day w/Salt :-) Maybe I should switch to margaritas
2 drink limit (10 ounces wine) -
measured out into my carafe (an vase is my temporary carafe!)
wine bottle hidden behind canned food.
1 hour between drinks, sip slowly (believe it or not, I learned I had developed a bad habit where I would start taking a few sips as I carried my glass to the couch - no more of that!! It's the equivalent of mindless snacking, which was my pre-NoS habit that I quickly ended when I started NoS.)
Although not a formal rule, I have also done my best to finish my second drink (without hurrying, of course) by 8pm so I can head upstairs and read. Haven't been reading to Creator9 much this past week, but I've been reading by myself lots more since starting formal moderation.

Moving
No real plans - I didn't do Elements yesterday either.
Did a 30 minute walk - listened to podcast.
I think I might enjoy doing a bit of lacrosse ball "squashing of my gluts" :lol:
Creator9 got a new basketball yesterday (with Sexy) and so we are going to push the basketball hoop up today (we've had it in the garage because of so many windstorms). Think I'd like to shoot around a bit with him. At his game, he only got to play for about 2 minutes in the 2nd quarter. He was pretty sad. He's not very good at all, but I didn't realize it bothered him. He's such a in-his-own-world kind of kid - just doesn't have that sports intensity. But I think he wants to play more, so he seems to want to practice harder now. I think if he just practices more dribbling and shooting with Sexy and/or me or Challenger, he might improve a bit and get to play at least a little more in the games.

Spending
I might buy a latte this morning.
No other plans.

ReadingtoCreator9
Gosh, this category is always my big embarrassment. No, not last night.

Weekend Blackout (no electronics for anyone in the house)
4-6pm

Also went tanning. Sexy and I bought a small package to get some Vitamin D. 8 minutes of warmth. I can feel my body glorying in the UV light, haha. It's like, "What's this? Are there people that get to feel this every day?"
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Mon Jan 28, 2019 3:44 pm

Monday, January 28

127.4

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, 2 scrambled eggs (salted!) at 11am
L: yogurt w/berries
swallow of pickle juice. :-)
D: (will be) salad, meatballs & noodles for kids, salmon or tuna for me

Drinking
Abs Day
Good news - I woke up without a headache after "supplementing" with salt yesterday. Ha! What a crazy thing to be "deficient" in. More about this later. I'm actually in a bit of a funk over this.

Moving
walk/jog w/HappyHerder
Elements later, hopefully - update, yes, actually did this! Week 4, Day 6. I am halfway through the program. :-)

Spending
nothing that I can think of right now

Reading
Bah. My failures pound me over the head. tonight hopefully.

So I'm in a bit of a funk. I feared this was coming. So my no/low processed foods have lowered my salt, as was my goal in order to reduce calcium excretion by my kidneys. However, my calcium excretion did not even go down under low salt conditions, so that was disappointing. To top it off, I suspect I been suffering from salt-deficiency for quite a while now. I even think it might explain my extreme/severe/life-threatening reaction to the thiazide given to me to reduce calcium excretion. I think my husband might have saved my life that night by giving me salty broth.

By removing myself from the mainstream dietary patterns in my country, I've stumbled into a weird problem that probably only a tiny percentage of humans deal with. Non-industrialized cultures have traditions and habits that help ensure they get enough salt, but I launched away from processed foods without bringing in the salt-ensuring habits. It makes me wonder what ELSE I'm missing in a non-processed food diet.

But what are my options? #1 - return to a processed food diet like I used to eat. Pros - no salt issues, lol Cons - it was giving me high-blood pressure and prediabetes.
#2 - try to eat the same as now, but be aware of getting adequate salt daily. Maybe have pickles with my meals. :-)
#3 - research an entirely different WOE Pros - might find something that works best for me Cons - I love what I am eating now
#4 - no alcohol, since the headaches seem to strike particularly badly when the low salt diet is combined with alcohol metabolism.
#5 - stop drinking a gallon of water everyday Pros - less salt lost from body Cons - increases risk of another kidney stone
I think this week I will just choose option #2, and see if my mod days still result in morning headaches. As I mentioned, I feel good this morning after making sure to get about 2500mg of salt yesterday.

I think I'm just a little down. Not just the whole salt thing, but a normal dip in happiness for a few days.
Last edited by automatedeating on Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:35 am, edited 2 times in total.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Staff Assistant III
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:05 pm
Location: Pennsylvania USA

Post by Staff Assistant III » Mon Jan 28, 2019 5:42 pm

Hey there!

I LOVE salt and we keep the flaked stuff in a cool glass jar by the stove. I don’t eat processed foods either and cook almost all of our food from scratch but I also don’t drink so much water.

If it were me I would back off the water. I have two kidney stones that an unsuccessful lithotripsy did not remove, probably 20 years ago. Not trying to give you medical advice but I don’t think loads of water if the only option for prevention. Maybe discuss with your provider. I know that on the keto and fasting groups they suggest supplementing with salt pretty often.
Good luck.
:D
No S start date 1/11/19

BMI Jan 19 22.7, FEb 19 22.9

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Mon Jan 28, 2019 7:50 pm

Staffy -

Please tell me a little more - your message was very encouraging. You have not had more issues with the stones? My docs seem certain I'll get more, and that it's just a matter of time. :-( Plus, apparently my kidneys have been damaged by the calcium crystals and they were not functioning as well as they should. That said, their function has increased since my diet has been cleaned up, and I am no longer classified with "chronic kidney disease" which is a freaky label to flirt with, by the way. As I've mentioned elsewhere, my dietary changes have also fixed my prediabetes and my blood pressure. My lithotripsy (last summer) was successful, thankfully.

(Just for background - I have had LOADS of conversations with my urologist and my nephrologists, and multiple 24-hour urinalysis). The docs were not helpful, and just wanted to put me on thiazides because I apparently have a weird genetic thing where I lose too much calcium no matter what I do. I have been determined to find dietary changes that help and have researched extensively. My take-aways have been that sugar, salt, and alcohol increase calcium loss in the urine, and that increased water is a no-brainer - although I have taken that one too far. And I have clearly taken reducing my salt too far and so I will also not be doing that anymore.)
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Tue Jan 29, 2019 6:12 am

I think your musings are right in line with what I was suggesting.

Proponents of harm reduction therapy, which is much more successful overall than "let's start from abstinence" therapy, say that getting over the sense that users need to have the substance for pleasure or relief is the biggest hurdle. And of course some times it's that they are blind to the costs.

Hang in there. You are fighting the good fight.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Tue Jan 29, 2019 5:03 pm

Thank you Oolala. I'm feeling really confident about my alcohol moderation now that I have admitted I need to track it (just like any other habit I am working on). For some reason I had a stigma about needing to track it, as if I should just naturally be able to master it, without focused effort. I guess for some people alcohol is just never a real pull, similar to how video games, food, or shopping pull some people but not others into pathological addiction.

Tuesday, January 29

124.8

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, scrambled eggs w/salt!! at 9am
L: yogurt w/berries
after work - slug of pickle juice for sodium - don't worry, I actually like this
D: (will be) salmon burgers & salad
reducing water from 1 gallon to 3 L today.

Drinking
Abs Day
No concerns here. I have a feeling I'll be so ready for bed tonight. Challenger13 hit his head on the windowsill last night (yes - they were goofing around) and I had to take him to the ER for a scalp laceration. It was minor - in hindsight, he probably could have done without the "glue" - but better safe than sorry. Anyway, we didn't get home until 11pm.
And talk about being glad it was an abs day! In the "old days" I would have had two glasses of wine by that point (it happened about 8pm) and not felt safe to drive + I would not have been ready for that sort of clean-up, action, clear thinking, etc.

Moving
walk/jog w/HappyHerder. My coworker really wanted me to wear her fitbit for a day, so I am. I get 6K steps for my morning walks, I now know. :-)
(will) change into my cute yoga clothes after work - can't recommend this "feel good" habit enough to y'all. What a difference in my movement + confidence in the afternoons. I love it. Easiest habit ever because it just feels so good. And it's hilarious to me how much I now recognize that "civilized" clothes totally affect my movement, or shall I say, discourage me from full range of motion. Maybe ultimately where I am going with this is some sort of capsule wardrobe that feels as good as yoga clothes but looks slightly more professional!
(will do) Elements - Week 5!! Day 1 - Spiderman move!

Spending
no plans

Reading
Sexy read to Creator9 for quite a while last night. Share the load of the reading, right? :-) Can I take credit? :lol:
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

ladybird30
Posts: 1118
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 10:41 pm

Post by ladybird30 » Wed Jan 30, 2019 12:55 am

automatedeating wrote: In the "old days" I would have had two glasses of wine by that point (it happened about 8pm) and not felt safe to drive + I would not have been ready for that sort of clean-up, action, clear thinking, etc.
Great that you are already feeling benefits from your new moderate drinking habits. Well done.
Three meals a day - not too little not too much, but just right

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Wed Jan 30, 2019 4:56 pm

Wednesday, January 30th

123.8

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, salted scrambled eggs
L: (will be) yogurt w/berries
a pickle or some pickle juice when I get home
D: (will be) date night. I think we will do a "family date night" tonight where we get some nice take-out (I'm thinking Indian or Thai food) and play board games while I slowly sip my mod wine. :lol: 8)

Drinking
Mod Day!

Moving
walk/jog w/HappyHerder
(will) change into yoga clothes
(will do) Elements Week 5 Day 2, Active Recovery Day (basically lots of stretching)
(will) revel in the movements of my body. :-)

Spending
take-out dinner + bottle of wine

Reading
Sexy read to Creator again last night! Sweet! But Creator asked me this morning about reading Gregor. So I think it's time to get back at it.

Note - somebody else commented about feeling down and then the very next day, feeling cheery. I kind of had that happen. Last night I felt weirdly down, this morning I'm fine again.

My pace of life feels slower somehow, now that I'm not drinking wine every evening. I feel like I've had space and time given to me and I'm kind of amazed at how much time I actually do have, despite a significant number of things on my calendar, and many responsibilities. There ARE enough hours in the day, as long as make my priorities clear.

Nutrition Rant (this is from a discussion with my dear friend who happens to be a dietician): Glad to realize that the U.S. government (as behind in nutrition research as I think they are) has removed the cholesterol restriction entirely from the Dietary Guidelines. They simply haven't been able to link dietary cholesterol with cardiovascular disease (Lord knows they've tried). So I see that as progress. I look forward to a day when dieticians recognize that some of their patients need to limit carbohydrates, whereas others need to limit saturated fat. We do not all have the same metabolism! (OK, off soapbox).
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

User avatar
Octavia
Posts: 901
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:01 pm
Location: UK

Post by Octavia » Wed Jan 30, 2019 11:12 pm

...I too was very down yesterday then inexplicably cheery today. It makes no sense!

Sorry to hear about your salt struggles, and hope you find the answer soon. Maybe the pickles thing, and a little less water, might be the way to go.

Totally agree with you about dietary advice - we are all individuals. I’ve recently switched from brown bread to white, and feel my digestion is better!

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Thu Jan 31, 2019 3:38 pm

Thursday, January 31st

122.4

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, (salted) scrambled eggs when I get hungry
L: walnuts & yogurt w/berries
D: big salad, 3 cheese/spinach ravioli, 1 hot dog dipped in mustard, 1 pickle Got home late from ferrying kids around and was trying to cobble a meal together. Not the most satisfying, but hey - it works.

Drinking
Abs Day
Good news! No headache this morning! The increased salt + decreased water (seems so counterintuitive but it has worked) did the trick.

Moving
walk/jog w/HappyHerder. Our walk/jogs have increased to the point where we are out there for an hour, and finding lots of fun new routes since we have time to range farther. I realized that Google Maps has all my walks recorded! So I know I went 2.8 miles this morning.
(will) change in yoga clothes. I now have two outfits I alternate, and leg warmers (yes they are amazing) and matching scarves and a "house sweater".
Fit in a short walk/jog while I waited for Creator to finish basketball practice.

Spending
Bought a book for Creator last night

Reading
nope not last night.
Last edited by automatedeating on Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:31 am, edited 4 times in total.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Post by lpearlmom » Thu Jan 31, 2019 4:38 pm

Lol on the house sweater! So glad the salt and alcohol changes are helping. I have 12 sober days this month and feeling pretty good about that. I’m definitely more productive those night’s I skip my wine but not ready to give it up entirely.

Love that you’re enjoying your dog walks so much. I adore my dogs but their kind of a pain when it comes to walking. It’s definitely more for them than me. 😊

Thanks again for your endless support on my thread. It means a lot. When I talk about you to outsiders I usually say “my friend†so I guess I kind of think of you as friend as strange as that may sound but I really share more on here than just about anywhere else. Some of us have been on here a long time so We’ve really gotten to know a lot about each other. Really just a special place.

Anyway have a great day!!💜💜💜
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Fri Feb 01, 2019 3:49 pm

Ah, thank you Linda!

Friday, February 1

122.8

Eating
B:coffee w/milk, scrambled eggs & apple slice
L: yogurt w/berries, walnuts
D: tuna fish on big green salad, tortilla chips, pickle, onion, cheese, tomato. Grilled hot dogs for kids

Drinking
Mod Day - 3 glass limit tonight. Making sure to eat dinner first; will space with water, had a pickle and added some salt to my salad!

Moving
walk/jog w/HappyHerder (2.7 miles according to Google maps!)
changed to yoga clothes but didn't get home until almost 6 so now Elements today.

Spending
last night went shopping at Costco - $132
On my way home tonight bought a bottle of wine. Also bought "my pillow" on amazon for Sexy's birthday present (which is next week)

Reading
Sexy read to Creator again last night! Nice sharing of the load! :-)
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:55 am

I'm a little nervous that this server is nearing its last days, and I have opened an account on "Live Journal". My username is automatedeating. I will form a community over there, but I'm not sure what to title it. I could just name it "NoS Forum", but I also love talking about just about anything here on my thread. My motivating passion, however, is change, growth, and habit formation. So maybe I should name my community something like that. Any suggestions on a good name that might attract people that like to journal in a similar way that I do?
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Post by lpearlmom » Sat Feb 02, 2019 3:18 am

Oh gosh! You think the board is going away? I dont want to lose everything. Maybe Ill print everything out. :/

Ill try to think of a good name.
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 02, 2019 3:25 am

Linda, I'm just paranoid. It's like the forum is being overrun by vandal spammers, like the ancient Roman Empire. :-)

I don't mean to freak people out, but like you, I have a lot of my life on these pages!

Update -- Reinhard just posted on the main page that he is upgrading!!!!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

oolala53
Posts: 10059
Joined: Mon Oct 06, 2008 1:46 am
Location: San Diego, CA USA

Post by oolala53 » Sat Feb 02, 2019 5:45 am

I wish there was a way to kick in for his costs. I’ve thought several times of copying everything to a Word doc , or creating the Word doc first and transferring it. Here and on Sparkpeople. But I have thousands of posts! I would hate to lose it all.
Count plates, not calories. 11 years "during"
Age 69
BMI Jan/10-30.8
1/12-26.8 3/13-24.9 +/- 8-lb. 3 yrs
9/17 22.8 (flux) 3/18 22.2
2 yrs flux 6/20 22
1/21-23

There is no S better than Vanilla No S (mods now as a senior citizen)

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 02, 2019 2:10 pm

I just think it's funny that the very night that I was ready to put my feet in a new online journal forum - Reinhard posted! Phew!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 02, 2019 3:15 pm

Saturday, February 2nd
S Day!

122.6 -- this week, after ADDING in salt to my diet, I LOST 2 pounds. I'm totally scratching my head - this is counter to everything I've ever studied about kidney physiology. I started poking around with this idea and found this head-scratching article. If you have a free moment, I guarantee it will raise your eyebrows:
https://www.thespec.com/living-story/73 ... more-salt/

And there's this article that I just read over on my DietDoctor website:
https://www.dietdoctor.com/the-truth-about-salt

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, bacon, eggs, & hashbrowns
L: a few jojos (basically giant french fries), a couple nachos - can you tell I was stealing from my kids..? apple slices
D: burger w/ onion, cheese, tomato, guacamole, bacon - ate all of mine and 1/2 of Creator's
I was so full I didn't even desire my usual ice cream on Saturday night.

Drinking
Abs Day
Feeling really good about this moderation (I'm about a month in). Feels like it is sustainable and a long-term solution for me. I enjoy tracking, so I will just have to keep this on my radar, just like my meals.
Benefits of Moderation
*Helps us save $$
*Allows me to still enjoy and look forward to mod days
*Frees up LOADS of time for productive evening activity + more evening interaction with kids
*Removes the guilt associated with drinking too frequently
*Gives me a sense of pride at being able to do this

Moving
walk to Creator's basketball game.
wear yoga clothes all day
walked before Challenger's game
(will maybe) do Elements - update - did a little here but I'd like to continue this one (Week 5 Day 3) more carefully tomorrow

Spending
(will) shop at local grocery to finish purchases for the week - update - didn't get to this

Reading
Read a little to Creator last night - not much, sadly - he wasn't very focused.
Last edited by automatedeating on Sun Feb 03, 2019 5:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

ladybird30
Posts: 1118
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 10:41 pm

Post by ladybird30 » Sun Feb 03, 2019 12:26 am

I find pride a powerful motivator. Guild removal is an added bonus.
Three meals a day - not too little not too much, but just right

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sun Feb 03, 2019 5:31 pm

Whoop-whoop whoopeee!! What a pretty new bulletin board!! Me likey.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sun Feb 03, 2019 5:45 pm

Sunday, February 3

123.0

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, bacon & eggs
still feeling a little angry that I assumed all the anti-salt advice I was given would help me. Instead, I ended up feeling like s**t when I discounted the importance of salt in my (mostly) whole-foods diet.
snacks: a couple pieces of fancy cheese & sausage
Linner: steak & potato
snacks: (may be) tortilla chips & guacamole
dessert 1: a handful of damn Mike & Ikes - Challenger13 always buys these for football games - different colors for different teams and then he eats that number (3 or 6 or 7, etc) when a team scores. Grrr. I could probably eat the whole bowl if I didn't intentionally reflect on how eating like that doesn't fit with my life goals. But that requires will power (precious precious willpower) and I resent the little turd candies are in the house to begin with. :evil:
dessert: (will be) vanilla ice cream
Oh, so in the coming week I am aiming for about 2tsps of salt a day (this is equivalent to about 4000mg I think - more than the U.S. recommendation but what helps me feel good). I will sprinkle some on my eggs, have a pickle after work (260mg), and salt my meat at dinner. How much salt is in a sprinkle, is the question? I'll need to do some measuring this week to work this out. Indeed, as I look at this, I'm probably still way under even the 2000mg guidelines. My 2 cups of yogurt probably has 200mg salt. Omg I was really not getting any, was I? Other than the weekends or on the rare hot dog occasion. No wonder the thiazide almost killed me - it took the last little bit of sodium in my body and flushed it out.

The Great Super Bowl Steak & Potato Experiment - UPDATE: BOOOORRRRRRRRINNNNGGGGG results ;-)
I'd like to see what happens to my blood sugar after a steak and baked potato meal. I ate a big piece of steak, and half of a giant baked potato (lots of butter & sour cream). My typical plan is to not go above 120 after any particular meal. In the old days, my blood sugar would go above 160mg/dL after a super carby meal like McDonald's cheeseburger and fries (66% carbs - over 100g) or spaghetti (at least 60g carbs). I think the baked potato was about 30 or 35 g, which now, in hindsight, I realize is no big deal for me. I probably eat about 50-75 g of carbs on an N Day - quite a bit more on an S Day.
BEFORE: 92mg/dL
45 min:105mg/dL (um, that was a lot in 45 min.....generally the peak doesn't come for another 45 min - we'll see!)
1 hour: 96mg/dL could not have been more pleased! Did I actually peak already? I will hold off on celebration, but I'm thinking a nice fat delicious baked potato will be able to feature prominently on my menu.
1.5 hours: oops forgot
2 hours: 94mg/dL
Update on this - not sure if it was a coincidence, but I did get a bit of abdominal cramping/bloating and a tiny bit of heartburn after this meal (manifested with pain between my shoulder blades - strange heartburn symptom, I know, but I recognize it now). That is not typical for me anymore, so something to make a note of. Calm curiosity.
Also want to make a note of this: after the meal my knees started to hurt. So so weird. Is it possible potatoes don't really agree with me? Just documenting for future reference.

Drinking
Mod Day! 3 glasses of wine limit (it IS the Super Bowl, after all!)

Moving
Did a great Elements workout this morning (Week 5, Day 3) Bent Arm Monkey, + Monkey 180 & Frogger. Creator and I got really into it and ended up putting on Michael Jackson's Thriller while we practiced. Creator practiced leap-frogging over my back, and HappyHerder practiced herding Creator around the living room. :roll:
Might get in a walk or something later. No need or plans, though. After all, it IS an S Day.

Spending
Went to local grocery and got all my stuff. I like to line up my 4 yogurts (Siggi's, Zoi, Alexandre, and Grace Harbor) and take pictures of them. Just LOOKING at them brings me joy. Maybe someone should invent the Marie Kondo food diet - if it doesn't bring me joy, kick it to the curb (after thanking it, lol).

Reading
Creator and I cuddled together last night and each read our own books, haha. Does that count?

I am so happy happy happy about the upgraded bulletin board. I had had a building sense of doom that I would need to find some way to continue on with my journaling without this forum. And now it's like a revival of the best forum ever!!! Now it even looks cool!

One final reflection point for the day. My knees used to hurt when I tried to run. Even when I was in college and much thinner than I am today - my knees hurt when I tried to go running. Then, about 5 years ago, my Achilles Tendons began to hurt on my walks and was especially painful first thing in the morning. Well, I've been increasing the amount of time on my morning walks that I'm actually jogging. And I've realized - my knees don't hurt. My Achilles Tendons stopped hurting -- months ago? How did that happen? I wonder if it could be the removal of (most) grains from my diet (last summer)? I've certainly read about that phenomenon but never suspected it could possibly apply to me!!!!!
Last edited by automatedeating on Wed Feb 06, 2019 2:48 am, edited 11 times in total.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Staff Assistant III
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:05 pm
Location: Pennsylvania USA

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Staff Assistant III » Sun Feb 03, 2019 6:13 pm

Hi Auto!

Yes, I love the new forum layout too. I had a really hard time on my IPad with the old one and this looks like it may work better, though I may still just cave and post on my PC at work.

So happy the salt is working out. I saw your comment about kidney stones a few days ago. I never had my stones typed as I still have them, so they may not be calcium based. I was having recurrent UTIs and they suspected the stones might be harboring bacteria but once I switched birth control methods that all resolved. I was told my stones were positioned so that they would probably not shift and block my ureter. I can promise I don’t drink more than a liter of water most days!

I have two herders of my own ( border collies). The older one is excellent with our chickens but the younger one , who was rescued at about 1 1/2, doesn’t seem to care about that ( or ball!).

And yes, co-reading definitely counts!
No S start date 1/11/19

BMI Jan 19 22.7, FEb 19 22.9

ladybird30
Posts: 1118
Joined: Sun May 07, 2017 10:41 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by ladybird30 » Mon Feb 04, 2019 3:26 am

In the days when I was still trying to follow the healthy food guidelines, with a diet of unprocessed foods, no added salt and cutting all the fat off my meat, I would get cravings for fatty, salty meat - bacon, sausages. I think my body was trying to tell me something. Nowadays I make sure I add extra salt in hot weather, as it improves my heat tolerance. So glad you recovered from your Thiazide mishap.
Three meals a day - not too little not too much, but just right

sharon227
Posts: 292
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 12:13 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by sharon227 » Mon Feb 04, 2019 1:18 pm

I've been convinced for awhile now that not everyone reacts the same to salt. We all need some, but many eating typical Western diets get too much. But there's likely such a thing as too little for most people also.

Years ago when I needed to be on some medication briefly that had a side effect of lowering blood pressure (and my pressure has always been in the normal range), my doctor cautioned me not to cut back on salt at that time. So, like pretty much everything, moderation is key - and finding what's "moderate" and works well for you. I think the main exceptions are unhealthy man-made things like trans fats ( 0 is better than moderate), and added sugars (moderation is still a fine idea, but it's perfectly OK to not have any in your diet).

Glad you are finding your way on what will work for you! I'm still finding my way with what's best for meat for me. In general, I like the idea I've read about most of the time almost using meat as a "condiment" -- adding a little to a meal that is mostly other things such as vegetables and whole grains. But still, an occasional steak is usually a very enjoyable thing! :D I need to pay attention to how I feel after, though.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Mon Feb 04, 2019 5:53 pm

Thanks Ladybird - eating for our bodies really is a learning process, isn't it?
Staffy - a border collie that doesn't like chasing balls? That is funny! HappyHerder and I had a glorious walk in the snow this morning. Just divine.
Sharon - so much about how and what and when we eat is up for decision-making in modern cultures. Talk about too many choices! It is overwhelming. But yeah - the salt thing has been a big learning experience for me. And finding out that wheat (in spaghetti for example) makes my blood sugar spike, but a baked potato (within the context of a normal meal) doesn't ...... weird, yes? (Granted, the total glucose load in spaghetti is almost twice as much as that in a regular-sized potato, so even though it's not really comparing apples to apples it's good info for me to have). We are all so individual. I am trying to just enjoy the process of learning how best to eat for my own body. On my walk this morning I remembered many other snowy mornings over the years when I felt too lethargic to take advantage of the beauty. It really drove home how much more ENERGY I have now. Probably more than I've had since my early 20's, which is crazy, but does point to the effects of various foods on our metabolism.

Monday, February 4th

N Day but SNOW day but Sexy's Birthday so S EVENT!

124.4

Eating
B: Coffee w/milk, (leftover) steak & eggs (food of the gods - where has this been my whole life? :lol:)
L: yogurt w/berries & banana smoothie
coffee w/milk about 4pm. Was hungry. That smoothie for lunch did not do it for me!
pickle also about 4. Technical fail, because I knew I didn't need the salt but I was starving (probably especially because of all the exercise in the snow I did today)
D: S Event - Round Table Pizza for Sexy's birthday. OK, so I am testing my blood sugar for this mish-mash meal:
2 chicken wings dipped in blue cheese, 3 pieces of supreme pizza in which I scraped all the toppings off 2 and just ate the bread for one (yes, I took some ribbing from my family for this bizarre behavior), and the last few bites of steak.
Blood sugar pretty much when I started - 83
15 min after meal (I think....sorry this wasn't my best-controlled experiment) - 90
45 min after meal - 102
1 hour 15 min - 122 oops above my (self-imposed) limit.
1 hour 45 min - 102

S Event dessert - piece of cake - maybe. I don't really crave/look forward to it; however, it IS a birthday and I don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. Had a small piece. It wasn't very good, but I have never been a big cake fan.

Drinking
Abs Day

Moving
walk/jog with HappyHerder IN FRESH SNOW! :-) So wonderful! I took a bunch of pictures. Snow is a huge deal here in the Northwest, so I wanted to get out there while I could. I waited for it to get light out so we could foray farther into the woods.
2.5 miles, but I was out there over an hour because we took our time.
stay in yoga/walking clothes (school cancelled, although I need to figure out a way to get there later to get some things done before tomorrow)
5 more miles - walked to and from work with HappyHerder in the afternoon (in that deep snow), so I guess I walked over 7 miles today!
When I got back, I shoveled the snow out of the driveway. So lots of moving today!

Spending
Round Table Pizza for Sexy's birthday tonight. Tipped the (young) driver well, since the poor guy is out driving in this very icy & cold weather.

Reading
We all read together last night - it was pretty fun.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by lpearlmom » Tue Feb 05, 2019 5:27 am

Great post! Really impressed with all your movement today. My friend in seattle posted a picture of her dog on the sled with them going down the hill and looking like he was thoroughly enjoying it too. So cute.

Smoothies tend to make me hungier than normal later on. Im with you on cake. It has to be really good quality or else I rather just take a pass on it.

Glad sexy had a nice bday!
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Tue Feb 05, 2019 4:14 pm

Linda, we are all having so much fun with this snow! Lots of sledding by the kids. Both of them got mildly frostbit yesterday, I'd say. :roll: And school cancelled AGAIN today! Wow! Not expecting that! My students had a test planned. Lucky ducks! :lol:

Tuesday, February 5

124.4

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, 2 salted scrambled eggs, and 1/2 a banana
L: yogurt w/berries & a few walnuts
used the last of my glucose strips to test this meal
before: 86
30 min: 90
1 hour: 106
1.5 hours: 102
D: (will be) beef bowl salad w/onions, radishes, tomatoes, cheese, guacamole & salt! (spaghetti for kids)

Drinking
Abs Day

Moving
walk/jog w/HappyHerder. I waited for it to get light out (since school was cancelled) and hopefully I will not twist my knee or otherwise hurt myself on the ice. But really want to get out there! Ended up doing 3.9 miles, found a new path that connects two of my favorite neighborhoods. I only do these types of walks when it's light out, since they are in and out of the woods.
Already did Elements (Week 5, Day 4 and part of Day 5)

Spending
Ordered a couple things from the Schwann company online

Reading
Once again, Sexy read to Creator last night. Very luxurious and lets me continue to plow my way through "Big Fat Surprise" which I thought I was only halfway through and then realized the last 100 pages or so are all references! So I'm much farther than I thought.

I can't remember if I have documented on here that my joint pain has decreased since last summer (update - yes, I see that I have brought it up before). It must be dietary changes, because I weighed less than this in my 20's and still had joint pain. The question is - what part of the diet? The removal of (most) grains? The removal of (most) sugar? The removal of (most) processed foods? The addition of (more) fermented foods? Just not sure which variable is having the biggest impact. But when I was 22, it hurt to run. When I was 32, it hurt to run. Now I am 42, and it doesn't hurt to run! Both knees and both Achilles tendons are pain-free. So so weird. I still have neck pain and my right elbow still hurts, so not everything is better. But the improvement is undeniable. The cause of the improvement? Less easy to figure out.
Last edited by automatedeating on Wed Feb 06, 2019 12:14 am, edited 2 times in total.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

TexArk
Posts: 804
Joined: Sat Dec 27, 2008 2:50 am
Location: Foothills of the Ozarks

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by TexArk » Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:31 am

I loved Nina Teicholz's book. As a scientist, what is your take? It was a rather shocking expose for me. I had read Gary Taubes years ago and he got my attention, but she goes into such depth that I was convinced about the biased research. Since we seem to be on the same wavelength, have you looked at any of Ivor Cummins' youtube lectures? His webpage is thefatemperor.com and all of the links are there as well as youtube. Check out the video KetoCon 2018. Just a bit about him...he is an Irish biochemical engineer who approaches these medical issues from an engineer's perspective of problem solving. He really gets into coronary calcification and focuses on hyperinsulinemia. I was so impressed I bought his book, Eat Rich Live Long, and can say that it is one of the most well written, finely edited books I have come across in years.
24.7 bmi Feb. 2019
26.1 bmi Sept. 2018
31.4 bmi July 2017

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:55 am

Ivor Cummins has the sweetest irish accent, I could listen to him talk for hours.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:08 pm

margot17 wrote:
Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:55 am
Ivor Cummins has the sweetest irish accent, I could listen to him talk for hours.
Margot! I thought maybe you had posted my reply FOR me! That is exactly what I would have said about him, too! :-) I did 23 and me and I am 100% Northern European, 70% UK (and family geneaology puts me one foot in Ireland and one foot in Wales). Margot - I thought I saw a question about what I teach -- which is mostly Anatomy & Physiology and Microbiology at our local community college. I am a Physiologist by training.

Tex - I definitely know Ivor. I've listened to several of his podcasts. I seem to have a things for the engineers that turn their focus toward health. I like the way they think. Actually, I learned about him through DietDoctor, which I currently pay $9/month to support (that is how much I want the research to get more widely known that lets people know it is healthy to eat natural fats!)

To your question about Nina Teicholz, I think Big Fat Surprise is impeccably researched. I highly recommend it to anyone that is curious about the history of the world's nutrition guidelines. I think we can all agree that the guidelines are WAY behind the research, flawed as that research is. At least the U.S. finally removed the total fat restrictions as well as the cholesterol restriction, due to mountains of weak data that failed to find any significant health improvements by limiting either of those nutrients. Can you believe that the pediatrician told me to give my then-3 year old low-fat milk? I look back on that in shock. It was a turning point for me (it was 10 years ago) that got me reading more of the actual original papers on these topics. I ended up turning my back on conventional wisdom and continued to give Challenger13 whole milk. And at 13, he's 5'4'' and 108 pounds, so clearly it didn't make him "fat".

I'm optimistic that the 2020 guidelines will continue to catch up with the science. My next hope is that saturated fat will get to remove its villain hat. But we'll see. The politics of environmental issues continue to be all tangled up with the science of what is ACTUALLY good for us to eat. Those are two separate issues, and the bias that lumps them together as having the same solution is not good science.

In closing (thanks Tex for getting me HIGH HIGH HIGH on my soapbox - sorry to everyone that may think I'm too out there), I generally believe that our genetics dictate what foods we thrive most on.
*I think some people thrive on a high-carbohydrate diet of whole grains, legumes, etc.
*I think some people (I am one of these) thrive on a diet higher in fat, and dosed with ample amounts of greens.
*I think none of us will be at optimal health if we eat a large amount of our diet as processed food, and virtually all of us improve as we eat more whole-foods, whether from plant or animal sources.

To bring it back to NoS, we all must find our own path that leads to the best energy and "healthspan" (meaning longevity but feeling good along the way) for ourselves. Everybody should be welcome here at NoS. Even if all you eat is processed foods, I might add -- that was me for the first 4 years of NoS. So no shame. I think I needed that time to get moderation habits down. The idea of eating healthier exhausted me. I wasn't ready for it and I had to find my own way.
Last edited by automatedeating on Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:20 pm

Wednesday, February 6

123.4

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, (will be) salted scrambled eggs when I get hungry
L: yogurt w/berries
afternoon: salt supplement (AKA pickle!) followed by one more cup of milky coffee
D: Sexy made baked salmon for us. I salted it, then had it on a giant salad before having 2 glasses of wine and working on our puzzle. :-)

Drinking
Mod Day! Just realized this as I type!!! I am breaking out of the "expect to have wine" every day and it feels so great!
2 drink max

Moving
didn't walk w/HappyHerder because it's too icy in the dark.
wearing yoga outfit TO WORK today!!! Legwarmers and all. It is 19 degrees and I'm going to be comfortable.
Elements, Week 5 Day 5 continued (didn't finish it yesterday, and I don't want to rush the program)

Spending
(will) buy a bottle of wine

Reading
Sexy continues to carry the Creator Reading Mantle! Good Daddy! Last night they read Choose Your Own Adventure (Space Odyssey, if you are curious) while I drifted off to sleep at 8:30.

Speaking of sleep, I sleep A LOT! Like more than average, I'm thinking. Usually 9 - 5:30. I guess that's not crazy long, but more than most of y'all, I'd guess. I've always craved a lot of sleep, but didn't get much of it for the past 14 years, with pregnancies, babies, then toddlers, now tween and teen. I hope there's nothing wrong with me to sleep that much. It's only since last summer that I've prioritized my sleep (along with other health priorities), and now I'm starting to wonder why I still sleep so much.
Last edited by automatedeating on Thu Feb 07, 2019 1:29 pm, edited 3 times in total.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Thisisnotabadidea-
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 4:59 am

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Thisisnotabadidea- » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:29 pm

I'm another person who thrives on a super high fat, high vegtables intake. I notice a huge difference in my energy if I try to take out my 6-8% full fat dairy and the like. I do have homemade whole grain bread once or twice a day but always with high fat spreads to keep me full and going, Plus I cook everything in ghee/olive/avocado oil. Then I aim for about 5-7 servings of veg plus one or two of fruit. Protein is the thing I tend not to need a lot of, I do know from experience I eat between 40-70 grams which is fine but it just...doesn't do it for me I tend to only have meat for dinner with vegetables(unless it's liver mmmh liver)

I eat nothing processed though, and that scares some people :)

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:55 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Wed Feb 06, 2019 3:08 pm
Margot - I thought I saw a question about what I teach -- which is mostly Anatomy & Physiology and Microbiology at our local community college. I am a Physiologist by training.
Oh a physiologist! my dad was a physiologist too! ... well then you're in your element when you read up all those case studies. I'm an architect transformed into stocks trader so I never quite know what they're talking about.
Have you ever listened to the 2 Keto Dudes podcast?

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by lpearlmom » Thu Feb 07, 2019 5:30 am

So happy for you that youre finally breakimg that wine habit. I bet that feels really great. I think we’re lucky we caught things soon enough that we didn5 have to give it up all together. All things in moderation right?

Awesome that sexy is helping with the reading and some cooking too. Im terrible about asking doc for help (sahm complex) but I finally realized he likes to feel included and needed so its really win-win.
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Thu Feb 07, 2019 1:47 pm

Tinabi (still needing to work out your name, haha) - I seem to be eating fewer and fewer processed things all the time. It's its own kind of reward system; I can see how it can be addicting even! They even have a name for people that get an eating disorder around it - orthorexia Yikes! Hope I don't get that! And here I was just trying to eat to feel better. :roll:

Hi Margot - We physiologists can become giddy with joy over liver function (well, really any organ actually but I find that I have a particular obsession for the beauty of the liver, haha)!

Linda! I know! I wanted to make sure I didn't have to give up wine forever - that was hugely motivating to me!

Thursday, February 7

122.6

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, salted scrambled eggs
L: yogurt w/berries
salt supplement (AKA pickle) in the afternoon
D: slice of ham, big salad, homemade tortilla chips w/guacamole
update - fail!!! I don't really know what came over me, but I decided to hell with it all and it's a total S night. I ate 2 of Creator's leftover Halloween candy. :roll: All I can guess is that the crazy snow week and being off my schedule finally cracked me. Ah, well. Mark it and move on..(and see below for further fail!)

Drinking
Abs Day -- Um, NO!!!! I was so defiant! I stopped at the store and BOUGHT a bottle of wine on an Abs day. Then I rebelliously decided to drink 2 and a half glasses - very much and absolutely a WTH effect today. I guess I'm sort of wondering if school will be cancelled tomorrow (we are expecting another snowfall for our normally temperate climate). I'm all out of sorts.

Moving
still too icy to walk HappyHerder in the dark. :cry:
(will do) Elements, Week 5 Day 6

Spending
local shopping. More snow may be coming so I'd like to make sure I have everything we need to be cozy here if necessary. Sexy did the Costco trip for me last night.

Reading
I don't even know! I feel asleep at 8:30 again. I think Sexy might have read to Creator after that. You know, Creator is 9 and he still crawls in bed with us sometimes. He did last night. I love it, to be perfectly honest. I don't tell many people (but y'all are my semi-anonymous tribe!) because they might think he's too old for that, but I know the days are coming when he will never do that again.

Speaking of what I share here, thanks to everyone for accepting me even if I have shared nutrition opinions recently that do not match with your beliefs. I appreciate having a place to be honest. At work, I do not feel safe to talk about these things so it's nice to have an outlet.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Thisisnotabadidea-
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 4:59 am

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Thisisnotabadidea- » Thu Feb 07, 2019 2:10 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Thu Feb 07, 2019 1:47 pm
Tinabi (still needing to work out your name, haha) - I seem to be eating fewer and fewer processed things all the time. It's its own kind of reward system; I can see how it can be addicting even! They even have a name for people that get an eating disorder around it - orthorexia Yikes! Hope I don't get that! And here I was just trying to eat to feel better. :roll:
Didn't know my name would cause issues! You can call me by my real name Elle if it's any easier :p. If someone didn't know the reason why I eat this way they might think I'm a little cuckoo but when you have severe reactions that make you feel like you have the stomach flu 24/7 when you eat processed foods then you'd get it! It's sad how people like us have to make an effort and find out ourselves that our food is so badly processed it can make you sick :\

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by eschano » Thu Feb 07, 2019 6:37 pm

Wow auto, despite having no time to follow any threads I just read all of your posts that I missed and they make for completely intriguing reading! I wish I had taken notes so I had something profound to say about something in them but all I can say is that you inspired me massively to look into alternative sources for good nutrition massively. Thank you
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

sharon227
Posts: 292
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 12:13 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by sharon227 » Fri Feb 08, 2019 1:09 am

Interesting thoughts on nutrition. I think many of us will know what's best for us to eat if we honestly pay careful attention to how we feel after we eat different foods. And as you say, it's not the same for everyone.

I feel fine after occasional small amounts of lean red meat, for example, but large amounts of fatty cuts aren't for me. But I agree that everyone would do well with less processed foods.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Fri Feb 08, 2019 7:14 pm

Tracker - I'm sorry that at only 21 you have had to struggle so much with what to eat. :cry: When I was your age, I ate whatever I wanted and never really worried about nutrition at all. I just... ate, ya know? But NoS is such a reasonable place for you to find balance for the coming years.

Eschano - so lovely to see you, as always.

Sharon - I don't actually eat all that much meat. I mean, more than a vegetarian, lol, but generally it's a normal-sized portion with my dinner. My main fat source is my yogurt, and, haha, I think avocados contribute a decent percentage too. My protein intake is 1g/kg, right smack in the middle of the mainstream recommendations.

Friday, February 8

123.4

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, bacon & eggs
L: yogurt w/berries
afternoon - salt supplement (AKA pickle) + cup of coffee
D: (will be) tuna big-ass salad with homemade tortilla chips & guacamole

Drinking
Mod Day. I considered abstaining today because of my fail yesterday, but I think I'll handle my fail in the NoS way - mark it and move on
So 2 drink max tonight
measure it out
sip slowly
water in between
remember how good I'll feel tomorrow to honor my limit.

Moving
Not much moving going on! Another snowstorm headed to our state and the ground is too icy for much jogging.
I can do Elements inside but HappyHerder is wanting walky walky walky
Update - HappyHerder is Happy! We went out in the blustering snow for a good walk. Maybe an hour? Had to walk pretty slow because of the ice, though. And I twisted my knee a tiny bit this morning. It feels kind of weird but hasn't swelled up. :|

Spending
Wine
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 09, 2019 2:54 pm

I had a weird night last night. I had decided (and even announced to my husband) that I was going to have a planned fail - ice cream & more wine. Then, somehow the desire receded and I realized I was just fine not indulging. It's just been a weird week - 3 snow days and lots of schedule chaos and uncertainty about work and school.

Then, I twisted my knee yesterday (doing nothing, really - it was a freak thing) and I think I did something to my meniscus. I heard a pop and it feels tender and a bit unstable. But it's not swollen and I can walk OK, but it makes me even more hesitant to go out in the ice with HappyHerder.

Saturday, February 9

123.0

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, bacon & eggs
snack: apple
L: homemade tortilla chip cheese nachos w/guacamole. I have gotten on this kick making my own tortilla chips. It started because I was curious if I could make them at all (and avoid the vegetable oil in the store-bought ones) and it has turned into me thinking they taste so much better!! Plus there's something about making this very reasonable sized portion of them and happily eating them.
coffee w/milk in afternoon
D: (will be) not sure, I still need to make the menu (have you noticed a pattern this week? I'm really off my game) update - there is no way I'm grilling burgers in a foot of snow. I think we will fix a frozen pizza for the kids and fry up some taco meat for Sexy and me.
dessert: (will be) vanilla ice cream

Drinking
Abs Day! Gotta do this, I can do this, it's a new day, I can do this
It's 4pm. There is WAY too much wine in this house. I need to be prepared to deal with urges tonight.

Moving
Will take HappyHerder for a walk at some point in the light, but it is super icy today so we'll see how far or fast we go. Ended up going 5.4 miles, but it took us 2 hours. I was pretty careful. My knee feels weird, but in some way I thought the long walk was actually a bit of a signal to it that it should prioritize healing itself. :roll: Right? :wink:
will do Elements at home - so far just the stretches. I think I'll lay off the squatting and jumping movements while my knee rests.
I did do more shoveling yesterday

Spending
I bought a $1.59 book on Audible "The Lump of Coal" by Lemmony Snicket. It's a 10 minute story. :)

Reading to Creator
I DID read to Creator last night!! Although what we are reading I don't like. It's about a boy with ADHD that talks about his medications all the time and how he makes mixed drinks for his mother. :| But Creator is thinking it's hilarious - it's from a serious called Joey Pigzsa
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Soprano
Posts: 1184
Joined: Thu Mar 08, 2018 8:56 pm
Location: UK

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Soprano » Sat Feb 09, 2019 3:13 pm

Hope your knee is ok, great re the planned fail :)

Jx
Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sun Feb 10, 2019 5:10 pm

Thanks Soprano. Knee still feeling weird and a bit unstable. I hope I didn't damage the meniscus too badly. Not swollen and I can walk again today, but no squatting. I am grateful that walking is generally not painful, although yesterday there were a couple of uphill segments that caused sort of a radiating pain up and down from the meniscus. We'll see.

Sunday, February 10

S Day!

123.4

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, bacon & eggs
L: homemade tortilla chips with salsa & guacamole
snack: more chips & salsa
D: 1 piece of ham
dessert 1: a handful of toffee-covered almonds
dessert: vanilla ice cream

Drinking
Mod Day - 2 glass limit

Moving
walked slowly with HappyHerder and be careful on this ice! 14 degrees here this morning, more snow expected. I had to "live-stream" my lecture for my students on Youtube - think I will need to do this again this week at some point.
3.8 miles. Snow started again about halfway through. I am listening to Peter Attia's The Drive Podcast - it's a 5-part lipidology series with Tom Dayspring. I am almost done with part 4. Holy cow, it's making me have to pay careful attention. And it causes cognitive dissonance on occasion as I am learning some information that is contrary to my previous training. I had sort of an epiphany on how to deal with this and preserve at least some level of intellectual honesty. I just try to listen and understand what I'm hearing. I don't try to see how it fits (or doesn't fit) into my current paradigm. Then later, my paradigm can be dismantled as much as needed to accommodate new information.

Spending
No plans -- but yesterday Sexy ordered a Microsoft Surface. :roll: He had been wanting to buy a TV stand so I took the money out of the "interior decorating" budget category. No TV stand for him now!

Reading
no reading last night for any of us. We watched a cute documentary "WordPlay" about Crossword Puzzlers. Then Sexy and the boys stayed up to watch "The Barkley Marathons" and this momma went to bed.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Thisisnotabadidea-
Posts: 106
Joined: Sun Jan 27, 2019 4:59 am

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Thisisnotabadidea- » Sun Feb 10, 2019 5:18 pm

Glad to know it's a little better but hope you fully recover soon! Sounds like a delicious planned day, I realized we must be pretty similar heights with how your bmi/weight compares, I'm 5'2

User avatar
Octavia
Posts: 901
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:01 pm
Location: UK

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Octavia » Sun Feb 10, 2019 6:59 pm

Hi Auto, hope your knee recovers soon. Thanks for stopping by my thread!
X

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:55 pm

Thanks guys. Knee is feeling decidedly more stable today - phew.

Monday, February 11

124.6

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, eggs & leftover beef
L: yogurt w/berries
D: beef salad bowl (cheese & bean quesadillas for kids)
dealing with lots of cravings. :cry:

Drinking
Abs Day - Total fail. My god, I throw in the towel until this freaking snow is gone.

Moving
Not planning or doing much. I'm a little tired of slogging through snow. Just really wanting to get back to a normal schedule. I'm mentally not doing my best with this constant uncertainty of what each day will hold schedule-wise. Deep breath. Enjoy the moment. This is all fine. Feeling weird like I should be taking such advantage of this snow and the time indoors but I'm just not as happy as I'd like to be during this unusual wintry weather.

Spending
No plans

Reading to Creator
Read a chapter of Joey Pigza

Kids off school AGAIN tomorrow.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Tue Feb 12, 2019 3:41 pm

Tuesday, Feb. 12

123.0

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, will have eggs & ground beef w/onions (leftover from last night) when I get hungry
L: yogurt w/berries
D: spontaneous date night! Big burger w/a side of brussel sprouts

Drinking
S Day - throwing in the towel on this until we get back to work after this snow. Note - I have failed at moderation after 5 weeks of great success. :shock:

Moving
No plans, although maybe a walk. Resting my knee so no Elements, and the rain is coming today so the roads are going to be slush-flooded and nearly impassible in my neighborhood.
I did get outside to shovel a couple times today. That'll get your heart rate up fast!
Can you tell I've gotten cranky with the constant snow and consequent schedule disruption? :roll:
Not all cranky though - Last night Creator and I went for a night-walker and did some sledding. HappyHerder had a blast with us too. We had the whole sled slope to ourselves. It was peaceful and snowing and I will remember that experience with my little Creator forever. We wanted to get out to enjoy it one more time before the rain and slush begins.

Spending
No plans

Reading to Creator
Last night we listened to "The Lump of Coal" by Lemony Snicket
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Wed Feb 13, 2019 11:21 am

Love your snow tales, although I understand it's a pain too. Your sledging with Creator brought me back to my scandinavian years, when my son was a toddler. He was born in Copenhagen and there was certainly snow and sledging action there too, but 2 years after we moved for a year in Norway, in the mountains out of Lillehammer. And that was radical snow, from october to may. Most beautiful winter ever. I tear up every time I think of it.

sharon227
Posts: 292
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 12:13 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by sharon227 » Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:09 pm

Sorry I missed seeing the knee issue before, hope it's continuing to do better!!

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by lpearlmom » Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:32 pm

Oh sorry you’re having a hard time with cravings and just in trying to stay on track in general. I say cut yourself some slack and you’ll get back on track as soon as you’re back to a normal schedule.

I can’t relate to the snow days but in the summer it’s too dang hot to do anything. Even the pool gets too warm at some point. I start to go a little nutty being inside with the kids all day.

This is just a little blip in your otherwise amazing progress. Be kind to yourself. You got this! 💜❤️💜❤️
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Wed Feb 13, 2019 2:50 pm

Margot - I do really love the snow; I really think it's the schedule disruptions that have gotten to me. I'm so "automated" in my daily routines. If I lived in a place with snow 1/2 the year, I'd have me a fine set or two of Telemark skis (and this new thing called Altai skis).

Sharon - knee is much better, thank you! It's like the meniscus kind of "zing-popped". In my head I imagine that what happened is that it kind of boinged up a bit from the bone, then zinged back into place like a rubber band. It handled the over-stretch of that moment without tearing, but it was a close one. I don't think menisci are attached entirely to the bone, but I should look that up. It had room to wiggle, and it almost wiggled entirely out of place! Or I guess it could have been a ligament, in which case something like my ACL. That seems less likely. It definitely didn't feel like my MCL.

Linda - thank you for the encouragement and especially the hearts - perfect timing for Valentine's Day. :D
I think today is the last disrupted day for the kids - 2 hour delay - and then I hope we're back to normalcy. Hopefully? The only place I really got off-track goal-wise was drinking (of course). Food stayed OK, but I did find myself roving and thinking about getting McDonald's or ordering pizza, etc.

Wednesday, February 13

123.6

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, eggs & remainder of ground beef & onions
L: (will be) yogurt w/berries
D: (will be) salmon burgers & salad (this meal keeps getting moved...!)

Drinking
Mod Day - LOL what a joke this week. But I'm handling it like NoS Fails. Mark it and move on and don't try to take away an S just because I've messed up before.

Moving
I changed into my yoga clothes after work (my first day at work in 5 days, sheesh)
Still too yucky on the sidewalks but it is melting fast.

Spending
No plans

ReadingtoCreator


This article got me really thinking:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/a ... 0156#f0025
Fatty acid composition of membrane bilayers: Importance of diet polyunsaturated fat balance

I had to read it twice to understand it, so I don't suppose too many NoSers will get through it, but the gist is that saturated fats have very little impact on the structure of body cell membranes, but PUFAs (poly-unsaturated fats like omega-3 and omega-6) do. Omega-6 is preferentially taken up into these cell membranes OVER omega-3, so if the proportion of omega-3 to omega-6 is less than 10% (common in U.S. diets - but not mine anymore I might add!), then the membranes are getting pretty weirded out with Omega-6. This particular author has some other papers on how increased PUFAs in membranes correlates with (decreased) longevity, which I may need to start reading up on. But I have to really put my thinking cap on to get through his papers.

Take-home for me is that I am going to be more vigilant at reducing vegetable oils in my family's diet. I already personally avoid most of them just by eating real foods, but tortilla chips have them and those are pretty frequent in my diet. I guess I'm thinking more for my kids, who I think eat over 10% of their calories from veg oils (because they still eat a lot of processed foods). This article was on the tail of me finishing The Big Fat Surprise, which devoted an entire chapter to the growing use of vegetable oils in foods.

And if you're wondering - how to avoid veg oils? Answer - eat natural fats like those found in butter, milk/yogurt, meat, eggs, and cheese. It's so sad that for 50 years we've been told to avoid natural fats and now we're being told to specifically increase our intake of industrial-processed vegetable oils. Warning - if you actually do this, don't be surprised when you lose 10 pounds in a couple months like I did last summer. :mrgreen:

I'll leave you with one more abstract:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27886622
Linoleic acid causes greater weight gain than saturated fat without hypothalamic inflammation in the male mouse.
(Note - linoleic acid is the main polyunsaturated fatty acid in our diets - omega-6 in veg oils.)

All these months I was thinking that the main driver of my weight loss was reducing starches, but now I am starting to wonder if kicking the veg oils to the curb was also important...... reducing processed foods did both of those things, in my case.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Wed Feb 13, 2019 4:47 pm

Interesting. The language was definitely intimitading, I only read the abstract before noticing that you had kindly paraphrased the content for us. I don't eat much processed food either, but I use a lot of olive oil, unfortunately. It's not as bad as the other seed oils but it has its good amount of omega-6.

btw those Altai skis look good! I totally get the disruption, having the kids home etc. Here children stay home from school a couple of weeks every second month or so, I don't know if you do the same. It works very well for them, but for us it's often a mess, especially when they are little. And how do you go out and walk with the snow and the biting cold? not easy. Btw glad your knee is doing good.

Back to the oils, what do you use for salads?

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Wed Feb 13, 2019 5:21 pm

Margot - olive oil is 75% monounsaturated and also didn't mess with cell membranes like the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) did. Sat fat was the kindest to the membranes, though.

Olive oil & vinegar on a salad are the way to go! Actually, I'll either use that or I just add meat and guacamole to the salad and it tastes perfectly delicious without any dressing.

I have bought some of the "primal kitchen" avocado oil dressings and mayo (for tuna fish meals), but I have found the flavor takes a bit of getting used to and I have gravitated more toward using the natural fats in the meats and cheese to flavor my greens.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Staff Assistant III
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:05 pm
Location: Pennsylvania USA

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Staff Assistant III » Wed Feb 13, 2019 5:50 pm

I wish I liked the Primal Kitchen salad dressings. Even my Giant has them now.

I make my own mayo from avocado oil. Costco has a nice big bottle for 9.99
No S start date 1/11/19

BMI Jan 19 22.7, FEb 19 22.9

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Wed Feb 13, 2019 7:45 pm

Avocado oil could be a great idea, is that one fine with the rats?

I am finding myself a little conflicted on this matter, because we decided recently to go flexitarian, after I read an article on the Guardian on how bad the meat industry is for the planet. Really really, bad, worse than cars. In fact, it said that unless we all stop eating meat it's scientifically proved that we're f-ed, and this instantly put me on the pessimistic side of the fence, as I don't think people will ever let go of their steak, in mass. My son had told me already the very same thing and I dismissed it with jokes on how much cows must be farting then. I'm an awful mother. So basically we decided to up the beans and have meat and fish just seldom, and I must say we have adapted wonderfully. We also eat eggs and dairy, so that should cover the amount of sat fats we consume. But yes, the direction will likely be for us towards less and less animal products, in time. So what to do?

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by lpearlmom » Thu Feb 14, 2019 4:56 am

Is it weird i just don’t worry about nutrition anymore? I eat lots of so called healthy food but when i dont, i dont worry about it. Of course, I know youve got health issues that make it so you have to pay attention so i get it but it just seems like every few years a new food group is being demonized. I kind of ignore it all at this point.

Anyway glad things are getting back to normal and you didnt get derailed too much. I had to laugh at my friends fb post today and i thought of you as i think you live that way:

“Just dropped off my kids at school after two weeks of consecutive intermittent snow days from THE MOST snow Seattle has seen in 50 years. AND next week is mid winter break 👀 My washing machine is not working my hair is SCREAMING to be done, I’ve missed 4 of my personal training sessions I haven’t had Starbucks in a week (could be a good thing) and I have work to do!! Seattle I love you but you have shown your TRUE ASS this week. This state is COMPLETELY unequipped for snow and you’ve got a LOT OF MAKING UP TO DO!! back to your regularly scheduled posts....”

Of course, shes from AZ so not exactly used to the snow.

Happy V-day! Hope sexy gets you something sexy!
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Thu Feb 14, 2019 2:18 pm

Linda - LOL about the FB post!!! And I'm a native Northwesterner but I still am annoyed. My favorite NW snows are when it comes down gloriously for one day and then melts ENTIRELY the next day. Obviously, that is NOT what we've had. :-) But this too shall pass! And it has been interesting, that's for sure!

Yeah, about food and food groups, etc., I guess I've always been interested in the science part of it (I mean, physiology is my thing, after all), but have gone through stretches where I throw all caution to the wind, and times when I actually try to implement various parts of my knowledge, haha. I'm in an "implementation" point, but it does feel different/more "forever" this time because of the blood sugar/blood pressure/kidney crap this time around.

Thursday, February 14th! Valentine's Day!!!

124.2

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, eggs & last of the ground beef & onions
L: yogurt w/berries
D: Valentine Surprise Dinner! :P Sexy grilled us New York Steaks & brussel sprouts. :P
dessert/S Event - 3 chocolates - 1 peanut butter crunch, 1 almond crunch, and 1 cashew crunch

Drinking
Abs Day - I'm back baby. Can do. Normal schedule, lots of kid driving tonight, I'll volunteer for the 8:30 basketball pickup.

Moving
I have NOT been moving! :evil: But this too shall pass. The snow is SLOWLY melting and I have the strongest desire to get out and go running.

Spending
No plans

ReadingtoCreator
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Thu Feb 14, 2019 3:48 pm

AE, ever you ever heard of Weston Price? you may find his work interesting.

sharon227
Posts: 292
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 12:13 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by sharon227 » Fri Feb 15, 2019 2:40 am

Hope you get moving soon! It is one of the best things to improve mood.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Fri Feb 15, 2019 4:08 am

Hi Margot - Yes, I'm very familiar with Weston Price! I particularly enjoyed reading "Nourishing Traditions" from cover to cover at some point. Not that I ever actually make bone broth...... but I did love the book. The Auto in my head is quite different than the Auto in actual action. :lol: :mrgreen:

Sharon - I KNOW!!!!! I think I had gotten into such a groove with my exercise that I am literally experiencing withdrawal and I am SOO antsy!!! Gotta say, this has never happened before with my exercise. LOL, usually a little sloth begets more sloth. :wink: I'm thinking tomorrow I'm going out in the dark anyway and I will wear a headlamp and hope that I don't slip on any ice.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Fri Feb 15, 2019 8:16 am

automatedeating wrote:
Fri Feb 15, 2019 4:08 am
Hi Margot - Yes, I'm very familiar with Weston Price! I particularly enjoyed reading "Nourishing Traditions" from cover to cover at some point. Not that I ever actually make bone broth...... but I did love the book. The Auto in my head is quite different than the Auto in actual action. :lol: :mrgreen:
Ah I have Sally Fallon's book! I only peeped here and there because once I got a concept I then feel iffy about traditional american recipes (don't hate me...). Anyway, same idea. And what I like very much about Weston Price is his ethnological angle, that he studied real people who had been eating in a certain way for generations. Kind of similar in this is Valter Longo because he verifies what he says with the traditional diets in blue points.
There was this really knowledgeble dude in Curezone years ago, who went by the handle of Hveragerthi, who had some reserves on meat and animal fats (especially chickens, or my hubby's all time favorite, the duck fat) because of its content in aracnoid acid. I have no way to know if there is something in this, but you may instead have opinions?
Of course one thing is what you read and another how you live, because like Linda said, it's a good thing when this stuff percolates naturally in your life, you don't wanna push it too hard and become an orthorexic monster. Still, information is power.

sharon227
Posts: 292
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 12:13 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by sharon227 » Fri Feb 15, 2019 1:52 pm

Checking in to see if you got moving today, Auto! :D

And Margot, I'll repeat here what I said in my own checkin: I firmly believe that how we eat also matters, not only what we eat. It's a compeltely different experience eating a relaxed meal with family or friends, than wolfing down the same food quickly while working at the computer. I'm sure there are different hormones in your body when you're relaxed and mindful vs stressed and rushed, and it is logical that would affect how your body digests and metabolizes.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 16, 2019 1:03 am

Of course one thing is what you read and another how you live, because like Linda said, it's a good thing when this stuff percolates naturally in your life, you don't wanna push it too hard and become an orthorexic monster. Still, information is power.
Ha! Right! I totally agree! I enjoy reading up on these things so much though - just the learning part is fun. And re: arachidonic acid - I know very little about that fatty acid other than that it is formed from omega-6's in the diet, which means it's highest in vegetable oils. I think grass-fed beef and dairy has less of it. And yes, I think chicken has the most. So no opinions at this point on AA, but I'll probably be reading more about it in the future.

Currently reading Grain Brain, which is an older book and I didn't think I'd learn anything new (or even find the science compelling). But what I'm most enjoying is just learning more about the role of inflammation in brain diseases and mood disorders.

And Sharon - No, I'm the worst! I still didn't get moving today! Thank you for checking in on me though - I will get back in the saddle soon!

Friday, February 15

123.0

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, leftover steak at work when I got hungry
L: yogurt w/berries
D: 2 pieces of pizza

Drinking
Mod Day - doesn't feel as exciting when I've been failing on most of my Abs Days. But oh well. I'll try to enjoy my 2 glasses. :wink:

Moving
Nope - but on the positive side the snow is almost melted enough to try and find a path without slipping and sliding. Plus tomorrow I can go when it's light out and that will make all the difference.

Spending
No plans

ReadingtoCreator
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

User avatar
Octavia
Posts: 901
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:01 pm
Location: UK

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Octavia » Sat Feb 16, 2019 8:34 am

Just checking in to say hi! Really interesting to read all the stuff about the dangers of unhealthy fats. One great thing about No S, I’ve found, that no snacking naturally means much less unhealthy fat, and fewer processed foods altogether. I’m a bit like Linda in that I don’t think too much about this stuff - I’m not a very scientific person so don’t tend to read scholarly articles, but I really appreciate your round-ups on the forum. I was at the supermarket the other day staring at the bottles of cooking oil and wondering what was the latest advice. I do tend to use olive oil mostly.

I had the same reaction as Margot a while ago when I heard about the environmental impact of cattle farming. Worse than traffic etc!! I was shocked and it has changed my eating. It helped that DH was very behind this. We’re cooking more veggie stuff, though perhaps eating more chicken.

Anyway, hope you have a great weekend. 🙂

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Sat Feb 16, 2019 12:53 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Sat Feb 16, 2019 1:03 am
And re: arachidonic acid - I know very little about that fatty acid other than that it is formed from omega-6's in the diet, which means it's highest in vegetable oils. I think grass-fed beef and dairy has less of it. And yes, I think chicken has the most. So no opinions at this point on AA, but I'll probably be reading more about it in the future.
Thanks. Ah that is cool as meat is all grass-fed in France. Maybe not the chickens, but the cows are out and about everywhere. And maybe the ducks as well? not sure how they raise them. I wonder then the foie gras must be loaded of aracnoid acid... (not that I eat it, I am selfish but I draw that line).

Have a nice weekend and enjoy the melting season! I picture you as a person who walks fast and bouncy (because that's how you move in the forum I guess)

TexArk
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Location: Foothills of the Ozarks

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by TexArk » Sat Feb 16, 2019 1:18 pm

Our reading interests seem to be following similar paths. I, too, am just now reading Perlmutter. I am also in the middle of Feinman's book, The World Turned Upside Down. He is a biochemistry professor and researcher and is a hoot! He also uses Richard Feinman, the Other, as a handle, which I am sure you would pick up on, as he is not the well known Richard Feynman.
24.7 bmi Feb. 2019
26.1 bmi Sept. 2018
31.4 bmi July 2017

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 16, 2019 4:59 pm

Worldwide Greenhouse Emissions from the EPA data:
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global ... ata#Sector

76% - all other sectors (electricity/heat, transportation, industry, etc)
24% - ALL agriculture (plants & animals & forestry - animal agriculture #'s were harder to find but I think 13-18%)

U.S. Greenhouse Emissions:
90% all other sectors (transportation, industry, residential, etc)
6% animal agriculture

Note that animal agriculture includes not just raising beef or dairy cows, but also all the chickens for eating and the chickens for eggs, all the pigs, all the sheep, and probably a few ducks or bison or whatever.

2016 U.S. numbers of percent of U.S. greenhouse gases by sector, 2016:
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/source ... -emissions
Electricity - 28%
Transportation - 28%
Industry - 22%
Commercial & Residential - 11%
Agriculture (this includes all plants as well as all animals) - 9%
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 16, 2019 5:03 pm

Saturday, February 16

S Day!

123.4

Tex - Grain Brain is really quite an interesting read! I'm a little surprised I hadn't learned more by this point about the very strong link between elevated blood sugar and its risk of cognitive decline/dementia.
I have heard of the "other" Feinman but haven't read his stuff. I looked up the "The World Turned Upside Down" and I'm interested! But I'm even MORE interested in his upcoming book (March 2019) - Nutrition in Crisis: Flawed Studies, Misleading Advice, and the real science of human metabolism.

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, bacon & eggs
dessert 1&2: 2 chocolates. I threw the box out - hope that doesn't hurt Sexy's feelings but I don't even like the damn things.
L: (skipped) was not hungry, a rare occurrence.
D: tuna fish salad
dessert: vanilla ice cream

Drinking
Abs Day

Moving
no plans yet, but I might get out there this afternoon
ended up going 4.5 miles with HappyHerder

Spending
probably Costco & Haggen - ugh didn't make it and now I'll have to go tomorrow, along with a million other things on my to-do list.

ReadingtoCreator
We should start Harry Potter #5 today
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Sun Feb 17, 2019 9:17 am

automatedeating wrote:
Sat Feb 16, 2019 4:59 pm
Worldwide Greenhouse Emissions from the EPA data:
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global ... ata#Sector

76% - all other sectors (electricity/heat, transportation, industry, etc)
24% - ALL agriculture (plants & animals & forestry - animal agriculture #'s were harder to find but I think 13-18%)

U.S. Greenhouse Emissions:
90% all other sectors (transportation, industry, residential, etc)
6% animal agriculture

Note that animal agriculture includes not just raising beef or dairy cows, but also all the chickens for eating and the chickens for eggs, all the pigs, all the sheep, and probably a few ducks or bison or whatever.

2016 U.S. numbers of percent of U.S. greenhouse gases by sector, 2016:
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/source ... -emissions
Electricity - 28%
Transportation - 28%
Industry - 22%
Commercial & Residential - 11%
Agriculture (this includes all plants as well as all animals) - 9%
Interesting numbers, thank you.
I am very new to all this, and I know from my job (like you know from yours) how long it takes to go down the rabbit hole of data analysis, and how essential it is do it accurately, because even slightly incomplete info can give a very distorted idea of where things are and where they are going. And I use financial newspapers more to test the sentiment than to get a sense of what's true and what's not.
And so I find myself at odds in regards to this subject, because I don't really have the time and energy or inclination to go down that rabbit hole on this, and what can be randomly found on internet and newspapers articles may be too alarmistic and not entirely true. So I personally take it more on the lines of Blaise Pascal's bet, that given that I probably don't know enough about it, I will go for the choice that yields less potential loss, that is, in this case, and in my own interpretation, to up the plant-based portion of my diet and strive to keep the animal-based portion to the minimum (although I don't eliminate it alltogether because complete restriction drives me crazy each and every time).

What transpire in these numbers you give is that in US the % of greenhouse emissions from meat production is much lower than average, this highlights how diverse the environmental impact can be, depending on how facilities are designed.
Here's an article from the site of Oxford's University, on the subject of impact New estimates of the environmental cost of food
Here's a quite old article on Time, that raises interesting points imo on how such impact cannot really be easily optimized in some areas of the planet The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production

Unfortunately the greenhouse emissions, as important as they are, are only one of the many ways that meat production impacts the environment. If 30% of the planet's ice-free surface is employed to produce food for chickens, pigs and cattle by way of intensive agriculture, and intensive agriculture is the main responsible for the so-called "Earth's sixth mass extinction" ongoing among mammals and even worse among insects, well, this seems a really very serious problem.
Earth's sixth mass extinction event under way, scientists warn
Why are insects in decline, and can we do anything about it?
What is biodiversity and why does it matter to us?

Not to talk about meat industry's impact on fresh water, and lack of
Is the world running out of fresh water?

And last bit, this is the article I initially read, which I think had a point in proposing that this is much more of a matter of political action than of personal choice, because for sure it's not that a bunch of metropolitan northamericans and europeans going vegan will change all that much, if the masses go on eating crazy amounts of meat Could flexitarianism save the planet?

And sorry for the long post, I get quite hyper while fasting :)

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sun Feb 17, 2019 1:46 pm

Sunday, February 17

S Day!

122.6

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, 2 eggs
L: burger w/guac, tomato, onion, bacon, cheese
dessert: vanilla ice cream

Drinking
Abs Day

Moving
I will maybe have time to go on a walk before kiddo's basketball tournament, but I am so swamped with work stuff this weekend. Just not sure how today will go. I'm trying to get going on my to-do list and not get distracted by Grain Brain or my Peter Attia podcast. :roll: :wink:
Walked and jogged for about an hour between basketball games

Spending
Shopping has got to get done. And my Corolla needs an oil change.
Costco - $100
Local Grocery - $80 the proportion of money spent between local grocery and Costco has shifted in recent months. I'm buying more local & grass-fed yogurt, meat, milk and eggs and so I'm spending more at the local grocery and less at Costco. However, the strangest part is the total budget category has not expanded noticeably, despite buying higher quality items. Hmmm, pondering that.
Oh, yesterday I did order some cleaning rags on Amazon. And a wicker basket for blankets in the living room. Both splurges but neither cost a lot.
Sexy bought us a desk from amazon for about $100. We're going to put it together and then set it up in the corner of our bedroom. We're going to try to have a bit of an office space.

ReadingtoCreator
Well, we wanted to start HP #5, but it turned out Challenger had taken it with him to his tourney yesterday! So instead we listened to it on Audible (luckily I had credits so it was free).

I am having an INSPIRATIONAL, BLISS-FILLED epiphany. It started because one of the classes I'm scheduled to teach next quarter is not enrolling well. I suspect it's because all the students want the other teacher, a nice, handsome man that teaches well but does not have intense expectations of his students (like yours truly). Well, being avoided by students is not what I want to deal with at my job for the next 30 years. And I do LOVE teaching and discussing ideas (and of course, diabetes and heart function and kidney function and the lovely liver and on and on). But I despise grading students half-hearted work, knowing that most don't exactly pour over my edits looking for nuggets of wisdom. So.... no more grading. I've toyed with this idea in the past, but I am definitely going to try it out in some form Spring Quarter. If the class doesn't get cancelled, that is.

I'll explain to the class the number of hours typically necessary to understand the material in a given week (usually 10 is the expectation). I'll provide a series of tutorials and homeworks to use for those 10 hours. Students will prepare a portfolio of how they spent their time, documenting the number of hours and how those hours were spent. Once a week, we'll meet in small groups of 4 and students can share how their study time went that week. I'll answer questions, we can dig deeper on interesting topics, and they'll submit a self-assessment of themselves. I'm thinking I'll have categories such as time/quality of time/understanding/attitude/level of bliss (ha!)

I'll provide exams for them to take and then they can look at the answer keys and grade their own work - we can use them as launch points for further explanations on tricky topics. Students will continually be able to see how they are progressing and where they still need help.

I love teaching and I don't see why I can't change the system starting with me.

Anyway, if this all sounds crazy and ill-formed, I did just become enamored of it (for the 10th time, but it always feels like a new freedom I'm embracing) an hour ago. But this is the first time I am REALLY committing to trying out the concept on my (guinea pig) students. I have many weeks to finalize how the syllabus and logistics will work.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

sharon227
Posts: 292
Joined: Fri May 18, 2018 12:13 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by sharon227 » Sun Feb 17, 2019 7:50 pm

Hey! You're not the worst at all. But you still need to get moving :D

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Mon Feb 18, 2019 4:30 pm

Monday, February 18

122.2

Eating
B: coffee w/milk
got a little hungry today! Forgot to pack the eggs & yogurt for work (since it was technically a holiday, I guess I just had a brain blip). Anyway, was quite hungry when I got home at 2pm.
L: (late lunch) yogurt w/berries
D: ham and corn on a big salad + glass of milk

Drinking
Abs Day. I took an extra Abs Day yesterday as I've been getting back on track after Snowmageddon. Definitely feel better when I don't drink. I'm thinking I'll need to eventually be a 1 glass kind of gal on mod days. Just hard for me to stop after that first glass.

Moving
Walk/Jog w/HappyHerder. Although it is still icy in places, I was able to wait until it was light out this morning since it is a school holiday. I'm still heading in to finish up a few projects and lead a study session, but it is a lighter-paced day.
3.7 miles/49 min
Elements - Week 6, Day 1 .... Bent Arm Bear, Monkey, Spiderman, Frogger, Bear - 4 Rounds X 30 seconds of each move

Spending
No plans

ReadingToCreator
Sexy read two LONG chapters to Creator last night.

Still toying around with my no-grading plans for next quarter. I'm really going to do it you guys. Seriously. It's the logistics I'm working on. Together we will develop expectations based on time spent studying/mastery level (based on how many questions they can answer correctly on quizzes & tests)/attitude. Then each week they will evaluate themselves on effort, mastery, and attitude. We all have good and bad weeks and then they can compare and rate their "compliance" over time. LOL, maybe we'll do it NoS style -- they can give themselves a green, or a yellow, or a red for various areas each day. :mrgreen: P.S. When I told Challenger13 my plan....well, you can imagine his reaction. He thinks it's horrible. 8)
Auto Signing Off - #TurningConventionsUpsideDown
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

eschano
Posts: 2642
Joined: Wed Jul 18, 2012 2:20 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by eschano » Mon Feb 18, 2019 8:31 pm

Such a fantastic thread! It’s always been one of my favourites and this is so interesting to follow! Auto, can I ask if coconut oil would be good for you to use for cooking? Or not?
eschano - Vanilla rocks!

July 2012- January 2016
Started again January 2021

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by lpearlmom » Tue Feb 19, 2019 3:22 am

Great job with the drinking! Ive been sick a lot this month so its been easier to pass up on the alcohol. I definitely feel & sleep better. I love the no grading idea and excited to hear how it progresses.
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Tue Feb 19, 2019 5:07 pm

Linda - I feel so much more PRODUCTIVE when I don't drink. I am tentatively optimistic that the pleasure of how much better I'm feeling without alcohol will become a motivator for moderation. Simmstone just talked about pleasure as a moderator for NoS over on his thread. But generally, as you know, I've had trouble finding good motivators for long-term alcohol moderation compliance.

quote]Auto, can I ask if coconut oil would be good for you to use for cooking? Or not?[/quote]

Hi Eschano! Coconut oil is a nice stable saturated fat that doesn't break-down at high heat like vegetable oils, so yes, good for cooking. I honestly don't care for the flavor, though, so I stick with butter. You can be comforted to know that even the U.S. dietary guidelines (not sure about UK) have removed fat and cholesterol limits - low-fat diets have been unhelpful in basically every study at weight-loss, heart disease prevention, and cancer prevention. So don't fear fat. Saturated fat itself is still highly controversial, but if you actually read the literature, sat fat intake does not have any clear relationship with heart disease, cancer, or all-cause mortality. Some studies find small negative effects, others small positive effects, other no effect at all. And most of the negative stuff we hear is a report of tiny tiny effects in an observational study (in other words, not a controlled experiment). Correlation does not equal causation. :-) My personal opinion is that flawed science followed by inadvertent bias against saturated fat has led us down this sad path where people now choose an industrially-processed vegetable oil over simply having some whole foods that contain a nice balance of nourishing lipids.

So, in summary, I am a fan of whole foods, whatever fats are in those foods. Not a fan of foods that have had their fat removed. Also not a fan of foods that have been squeezed and heated, and mixed with a variety of chemicals to produce their oils. And eschano, I know you'll laugh that here I am preaching about whole foods, when 5 years ago I was still surviving on primarily processed meals. My journey has been circuitous, but here I am.

Tuesday, February 19

123.4

Eating
B: coffee w/milk
L: (will be) yogurt w/berries
D: (will be) beef, onions, guac, cheese on salad (spaghetti for kids)

Drinking
Abs Day

Moving
2.6 miles/54 min walk w/HappyHerder
Elements, Week 6, Day 2 planned

Spending
No plans

ReadingtoCreator
Sexy has finished chapter 3 of HP #5. I just listen along with the boys.

PersonalReading/Podcasts/Personal Research - new tracking which may or may not remain. I have friends that keep track of their own reading; not sure if it's a good fit for me.
*Grain Brain - chapter 6
*Peter Attia The Drive -
https://peterattiamd.com/navchandel/
In this episode, Nav Chandel, a professor of medicine and cell and molecular biology at Northwestern University, discusses the role of mitochondria and metabolism in health and disease. Nav also provides insights into the mitochondria as signaling organelles, antioxidants, and metformin’s multifaceted effects on human health, among many topics related to well-being.
*Going Gradeless - https://teachersgoinggradeless.com/
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Wed Feb 20, 2019 5:50 pm

Wednesday, February 20th

122.4

Eating
B: coffee w/milk
L: yogurt w/berries
D: date night!! - plan is a burger - yes, had a blue cheese burger w/onion, tomato, and bacon. Also a side salad that was meh.

Drinking
Mod Day - tonight I'm going to try to EITHER have the two drinks separated by TWO hours, or just have one drink. Even having the 2 drinks separated by 1 hour has been too much for me (judging by having a headache the next day). I'll just see how goes, and not consider this a failure either way. Just collecting data. :-)
Update - FAIL!!!! I ended up having 3 drinks. I don't know what my deal was. I'd had a good day, I felt good, I just had this crazy wanna indulge over-do it. :-(

Moving
3.1 miles/55 min Walk/Jog w/ HappyHerder

Spending
Maybe date night? Wait, that doesn't work with pork loin for dinner. Hmmm, maybe we can just do our puzzle together for date night (I've gotten in on a "puzzle exchange" at work - we've done several as a family now)

ReadingToCreator
Sexy read AGAIN to Creator - Chapter 4 of HP #5. I think the moderated drinking is making him more "available" to kids in the evenings, too! And what a wonderful thing for him to get involved with. I've been the "primary reader" for so many years. I'm loving this. :-)

MyReading&LearningLog
*Grain Brain - still in Chapter 7
*Podcast: Peter Attia The Drive: Jake Kushner, M.D.: How to thrive with type 1 diabetes and how everyone can benefit from the valuable insights (EP.41)
In this episode, Jake Kushner, pediatric endocrinologist specializing in helping people with type 1 diabetes, discusses the best strategies to live and thrive with T1D, especially as it relates to diet and exercise. We also discuss why many patients who control their blood sugar with high amounts of exogenous insulin are at a substantially higher risk than people who can control their blood sugar at lower levels of insulin. This concept has great implications for non-diabetics as well considering the increasing prevalence of diseases related to insulin resistance. We also cover some of the basics, the history, the increasing prevalence of type 1 diabetes, and more importantly, what we can do to help kids with this disease, and their families.
*TeachersGoingGradeless - read several articles about developing portfolios with students. Researched possible online formats for students to submit these.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Thu Feb 21, 2019 4:42 pm

Thursday, Feb 21

122.2

Eating
B: coffee w/milk
L: yogurt w/berries
D: bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin w/ green beans and apple slices

Drinking
Abs Day

Moving
3.3 mi/1 hr 3 min walk/jog w/HappyHerder

Spending
No plans - although last night I reserved a 2 night get-away for Sexy and I for our upcoming 20th anniversary (not going until May).

ReadingtoCreator
Nobody read to him last night because of date night

MyReading/LearningLog
Peter Attia Podcast - https://peterattiamd.com/roblustig/
In this episode, Rob Lustig — a researcher, an expert in fructose metabolism, and a former pediatric endocrinologist — discusses what’s wrong with the current food environment, and what we can do to reduce our chances of becoming part of the obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) epidemics. Rob recently earned a Master of Studies in Law because he believes that educating people about sugar from a scientific standpoint is only half the equation: the other half involves changing policy, which he explains in this episode.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Staff Assistant III
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:05 pm
Location: Pennsylvania USA

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Staff Assistant III » Thu Feb 21, 2019 5:14 pm

Interesting, I will check out that podcast.
No S start date 1/11/19

BMI Jan 19 22.7, FEb 19 22.9

clarinetgal
Posts: 1709
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 4:16 am
Location: Western Washington State

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by clarinetgal » Thu Feb 21, 2019 7:33 pm

Hi, Auto! The podcasts you’re listening to sound very interesting! Diabetes is rampant on my mother’s side of the family, so I want to do everything I can to avoid getting Type 2 Diabetes.That’s great that your husband has been reading to your kids!
Committing to a fresh start, with 3-4 plates and no snacking.

1/2018 Current BMI: 31.8
2/2018 BMI: 31.5
4/1/2018 BMI 31.5

User avatar
lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by lpearlmom » Fri Feb 22, 2019 5:27 am

Oooh a getaway! How exciting. Anywhere fun? We just had our 20th too. Cant believe it. Seems like we were just married...
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Fri Feb 22, 2019 5:30 pm

Friday, February 22

122.0

Eating
B: coffee w/milk
L: yogurt w/berries
when I got home, I was ravenous. I wanted to open my wine bottle but that would have been HORRIBLE. Instead I had a glass of milk, then ate my delicious dinner, and now I am fine again. And ready to open that bottle of wine. :wink:
D: salmon & salad

Drinking
Mod Day - will measure out wine to avoid overdoing it.

Moving
3.2 mi/1hr walk/jog w/HappyHerder. A dog tried to attack us, but the owner jumped on it just in time. Then HappyHerder and I raced away in terror and knocked over someone's garbage can. :shock:

Spending
Not sure if I'll hit the store tonight. I should.

ReadingtoCreator
Finished Chapter 4 of HP #5.

MyPersonalLearning
Peter Attia The Drive
https://peterattiamd.com/timferriss/ (of the 4 hour workweek, etc.)
In this episode, Tim talks both experientially and from his own deep dive into the literature of psychedelics and mental health. Tim is shifting his focus from investing in startups to funding experiments that he hopes will establish more reliable knowledge and therapeutic options for those suffering from anxiety, depression, and addiction.

Weirdest Marriage Situation Ever
Yesterday, I walked to campus coffee w/male co-worker that is also a good friend. Ran into Sexy on the way back. Had a MASSIVE adrenaline reaction, as if I'd been caught cheating. It was an EXTREMELY awkward conversation. I have no feelings for this guy romantically, so it's not like I was technically guilty of anything. But I DO know that Sexy would prefer I didn't have such friendships with males. I guess we sound old-fashioned, when I write this down. But the whole thing was weird. Last night, Sexy didn't say a word. But this morning, the co-worker called my office and asked to do coffee again. I said no (feeling like a jerk, actually), and it's pretty obvious that my friend could tell I was WAY weirded out and wanted to talk to me about what happened yesterday. So I assume Sexy could also tell - but he never mentioned it last night. Well, to be fair, neither did I. Sheesh, we are a dysfunctional mess.

And a big step for me:
Starting a website. I actually got my domain and my template. Now I'm just adding content and hope to publish within a couple of weeks. I'm going to link my Youtube channel with my website and provide lecture notes, quizlet links, practice materials, and my video links. Have them all in one place. Next quarter I'm teaching micro lecture content online (the lab is still face to face and the lab is 4 hours a week!). Anyway, Sexy bought us a new Ikea desk to put in our bedroom and I can make all my videos there.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Staff Assistant III
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:05 pm
Location: Pennsylvania USA

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Staff Assistant III » Fri Feb 22, 2019 6:07 pm

Hey auto!

My BCs would run too, so would I! Glad you are ok.

My DH does the silent thing on this kind of thing too. I actually don't have any male friendships at this point (side effect of the 96% female workplace).
But when I did have male coworkers, he tended to not engage if I told a funny story about a work situation. He's always been somewhat insecure, though.
No S start date 1/11/19

BMI Jan 19 22.7, FEb 19 22.9

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 23, 2019 1:55 am

Linda - we are just going down the road to a local resort. We decided to do something pretty tame for our anniversary and then spend a little more on a road trip this summer down the Oregon coast.

Hi Staffy - Yes, everything worked out OK this morning on the walk. It just was not as relaxing as normal, that's for sure!

Clarinetgal - finding a great podcast makes walks and errands so much more pleasant!
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

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lpearlmom
Posts: 4812
Joined: Fri Aug 02, 2013 4:59 am
Location: Arizona

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by lpearlmom » Sat Feb 23, 2019 6:44 am

Omygosh excited for you with your Youtube videos & website! Okay I hope you and sexy were able to talk about the awkward situation. Doc rarely gets jealous but i noticed a sort of odd look coming over his face lately when I mention my good friend/neighbor that happens to be male. I did back off of talking about him so much as i could see how thatd be annoying. I might feel weird if i ran into doc unexpectedly when i was with him eventhough thetes no feelings either way. I think its like how i feel guilty everytime i see a cop even though im a law abiding citizen in every possible way.

So funny that you’re going to the oregon coast this summer cuz so are we. Were taking our camper and camping along different spots for two weeks. Im super excited. We’ve got friends in Oregon and Washington and so many ppl said theyd try to come meet us but i dont think any of them are actually going to make it. Partly because you guys all get out of school so much later than us especially with all those snow days. Oh well, we’ll still have fun. Are you camping or staying in hotels?
:twisted: SW: 210 lbs
CW: 172
GW:160

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sat Feb 23, 2019 2:53 pm

I think its like how i feel guilty everytime i see a cop even though im a law abiding citizen in every possible way.
Exactly! I think I overdo the "imagination" thing sometimes and imagine that someone thinks I am lying (when I'm not) and then I turn red or act like I AM lying! What a funny thing humans are. Sexy never brought it up, and normally I'd tell people he is totally not the jealous type ever, so I think we're OK.

Re: Oregon - we normally would camp the whole way but we are hoping to splurge on a couple of hotels with pools. My parents and sister live in Oregon so we will wrap in a visit to them as well. Linda - I take it you are going in June then? Yeah, who knows when we will all get out of school. :roll: The weather is most predictably nice in August, but you can luck out with some nice days in June, and things will be less crowded.

Re: my website. It is very exciting and kind of funny that I took the plunge so easily! All my talk on here about how maintaining it would be a burden. I DO think getting it set up will be a pain (I'm using Wix and already I can tell this is going to take a long time, despite the fact that I picked the platform with the "easy" reputation). But I basically have enough content already, I just have to upload it.
I think my ultimate motivation is that I often feel hampered by just having videos on youtube. I'd like a space to write out the outlines to the videos and elaborate on particularly curious things, plus have ways for students to practice their knowledge and have the write pages to draw along with me. Also, since I'm going "collaborative grading", I don't really need to worry about tracking all their grades anymore, which means I can use a website more and my school Canvas site less.

Saturday, February 23

121.4

OK, for the most part I try not to notice or think about the weight on the scale. I just record it and move on with my day. However, I feel shocked enough this morning that I'd like to address that my weight is officially lower than it has been since pregnancy with my first son. I weighed 115 when I got pregnant with him in March 2005, so I probably weighed my current weight by summer 2005. That is almost 14 years ago! The craziest thing is how maintainable and easy my eating has been since I started losing weight last summer. I have lost about 20 pounds since August. I don't feel deprived in any way; quite the contrary. All that said, I suffer from mild anxiety about the future. When I ran into some health problems in Fall 2014, I totally lost my NoS groove and struggled off and on for a long time after that. I worry that could happen again. I also find myself mildly anxious that menopause will throw me off. I know these are future concerns (hey, that's what anxiety is, right?), but I just want to lay them out. Anxiety is a sneaky little b*stard.

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, 1 apple, bacon & eggs
L: 4 toffee-covered almonds, a bowl of tortilla chips w/salsa and guacamole, part of a donut
D: hot dog w/mustard and another apple, 2 more toffee-covered almonds
eek - need to make menu, grocery list, etc. lots to do today -
*oil change - update - the place doesn't have time for me today, so that has to be a different day.
*take dog to meet the boarding kennel he'll be staying at - yes, I am taking him for a tour. :lol: Pets.
*shopping
*work on website
*laundry
sorry, my eating documenting just turned into my to-do list. My house is a mess and that always adds to my frenetic feelings on a Saturday morning. But I need to focus on the items on the list before cleaning. Update - did a deep clean of all the floors, toilets and showers. Boys do the bathrooms normally, but, um. Well, yeah - I wasn't happy once I got in there and saw how sloppy they've been lately. :evil:

Once nice thing is that Challenger doesn't have games today. Creator just has one in the afternoon, close by.

Drinking
Abs Day
Fail - 1 glass of wine. Sort of a defiant fail. I tend to do that sometimes.

Moving
Well, I WAS going to walk HappyHerder to the boarding kennel, but I've changed my mind. That would have been 4 hours walking round-trip, and I just don't have time for that. So I'm not sure what today holds. Maybe Elements but I'm not going to worry about it. I'll count today a success if I get other stuff done.

Spending
Oil change, shopping - $68 at Costco & $54 at local grocery. Not bad! Sexy told me I'd forgotten shredded cheese though. Oops.
In the podcast with Robert Lustig, he claimed families would have to DOUBLE their food spending if they want to move away from processed foods. I just don't understand that. That is what we have done since last summer and, if anything, we are spending LESS on our food budget. I find this very confusing. I wonder if I am missing some key logic piece. What do you guys think? Sexy suggests that eating out is not accounted for in Robert Lustig's comment (supposedly), and that is the key piece for our particular family.
Yesterday I spent $300 on Wix for a 2-year upgrade. This got me my domain name free for a year and removes ads from my site - all well worth it. If I weren't pretty sure this is my "future" online, I would have just gotten the free version. But this feels very much like something I need to be all-in with at this point. I also spent $10 to have a "private registration" which supposedly helps protect from Spam. After the experiences on this forum, $10/year seemed worth it.

ReadingToCreator
Nothing last night, but Sexy took Creator to a HP dinner! They had a lot of fun.

MyPersonalReading
Still working on the Tim Ferris podcast. Not my favorite. It's all about psychedelics being used to treat depression and help people maximize potential. I prefer the more technical science ones, apparently.
Also still reading the TeachersGoingGradeless blog and skimmed a chapter in "Undoctored".
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sun Feb 24, 2019 5:51 pm

Sunday, February 24

121.8

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, bacon & eggs
L: jalapeno poppers
dessert 1: toffee/chocolate almonds
D: 3 pieces of pizza
Dessert 2: vanilla ice cream

Drinking
Mod Day - 2 glass limit

Moving
No real plans - I'm obsessed with building my website right now. So my blood is probably pooling in all of my extremities. HappyHerder is giving me his saddest looks.

Spending
No plans, but Sexy just said he might want to get pizza for dinner.

ReadingtoCreator
Creator read Wrinkle in Time last night and wanted to be left to his own devices. Update - he finished it today. :-) That book is a perfect fit with that kid's mind.

PersonalLearning
Peter Attia The Drive: https://peterattiamd.com/rudyleibel/
In this episode, Dr. Rudy Leibel, an expert in Clinical Molecular Genetics and Genomics at Columbia University, discusses his role in the remarkable scientific story of discovering leptin. He also gets into the genetics of obesity, as well as a broader discussion of the causes and effects of obesity, energy expenditure, and metabolism.

Website Update - holy hell have I bitten off a giant project. Good thing I'm going gradeless next quarter because there is no way I could keep up with grading essays and also building new content. :lol: :roll: :wink: My site is going to have about 50 pages, by my current reckoning. Of course, only 4 of them will be visible to visitors but there are so many internal linked pages. It's crazy. I had no idea I'd amassed so much content - videos and other. I also am going to go out on a limb and say I don't think there's really anything out there right now like what I'm planning. I suspect I could find a real niche. Not that it'll make much $$, but it will be gratifying. Speaking of gratification, building a website is an exercise in delayed gratification. I'm looking at about a month out before I'll be ready to publish, at this point.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

r.jean
Posts: 1653
Joined: Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:47 pm
Location: Midwest

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by r.jean » Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:51 am

Wow. You are ambitious. The website sounds like a lot of work.
The journey is the reward.
Maintenance is progress.

User avatar
Octavia
Posts: 901
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:01 pm
Location: UK

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Octavia » Mon Feb 25, 2019 12:05 pm

Good luck with your website plans, Auto. It will be so satisfying when you’re ready to publish! (Will you be sharing the details with us? Or maybe you’d rather keep your anonymity). It was great to read about your plans for going gradeless with the students. I really hope this experiment works, and puts an end to a lot of your frustrations.

Strange how Robert Lustig said that eating non-processed foods would increase spending. Is he thinking calorie for calorie, not meal for meal? It all depends on how he’s doing his calculations: I guess a pack of cheap biscuits has more calories than a pack of free range chicken breasts and costs seven times less! But that’s not a fair comparison. Anyway, I always feel I’m wasting money if I buy ready meals instead of cooking my own.

I too go red if I think someone thinks I’m lying. It must be to do with our sense of empathy/mirror neurons, all that stuff. You were definitely doing an innocent thing, though!🙂

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Mon Feb 25, 2019 4:47 pm

r.jean - my goodness, I will have to be ambitious to get this thing published before my kids go to college - ha!

Octavia - yeah, I enjoy the (relative) anonymity of this forum. As much as reasonable, I'd like to keep this (wonderful) aspect of my life separate from all the politics at my work.

Monday, February 25th

121.6

Eating
B: coffee w/milk
L: yogurt w/berries
blonde flat white - coffee at Starbuck's - while I waited for the oil change
D: (will be) beef salad bowl or pork chops w/salad, depending on what's closer to thawed. Update - neither are thawed so I am thawing the beef under cool water. Ergh.

Last night I had insomnia and heartburn. I think mostly from the 3 pieces of pizza I ate. :roll:

Drinking
Abs Day

Moving
2.4 miles/46 min walk/jog w/HappyHerder
Elements, Week 6, Day 3 this afternoon

Spending
$13 for a basketball shirt for Challenger's team. No other plans.

ReadingToCreator
Now he is reading A Wind in the Door and does NOT want me to read even one sentence to him, he says. :lol:

Personal
Finished the Rudy Leibel podcast
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

clarinetgal
Posts: 1709
Joined: Wed Jul 01, 2009 4:16 am
Location: Western Washington State

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by clarinetgal » Mon Feb 25, 2019 10:42 pm

I LOVED A Wind in the Door! I also really liked A Wrinkle in Time!
Committing to a fresh start, with 3-4 plates and no snacking.

1/2018 Current BMI: 31.8
2/2018 BMI: 31.5
4/1/2018 BMI 31.5

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Tue Feb 26, 2019 4:35 pm

Isaac is really liking Wind in the Door. I remember reading A Swiftly Tilting Planet (the 3rd book) and being disappointed because the cover had a unicorn on it and I was expecting the whole book to be about unicorns. :lol:

Tuesday, February 26

121.0

Eating
B: coffee w/milk
L: yogurt w/berries
latte while out carting kids around
D: pork chops & salad

Drinking
Abs Day

Moving
53 min/2.9 miles walk/jog with HappyHerder. We must really stop a lot for sniff-checks because we don't seem to make it very far.

Spending
No plans - oh yesterday I bought a latte while waiting for oil change. Forgot to log that!

ReadingtoCreator
Again, he's flying through his book on his own. And also writing his own. He "shares" them with me on Google Drive.

PersonalLearning - whoa, this is a serious one that I think we should all listen to......
Hormone Replacement Therapy
https://peterattiamd.com/caroltavris-avrumbluming/
In this episode, Carol Tavris, social psychologist and author of Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me), and Avrum Bluming, hematologist, medical oncologist, and emeritus clinical professor at USC, discuss their collaboration on their recent book, Estrogen Matters. Their book takes on the very polarizing and confusing topic of hormone replacement therapy for women suffering with symptoms of menopause. In many ways, the story and history of HRT is in striking parallel to the bad science that led up to the dietary guidelines being set forth in 1980. Carol and Avrum make a compelling case that most women benefit greatly from being on postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy, and can do so without increasing their risk of breast cancer. We also cover the history of HRT, the impact of the Women’s Health Initiative, and take a deep dive into each of the clinical conditions for which HRT should be considered, such as cardiovascular disease and neurodegenerative disease, and osteoporosis, to name a few.

Alfie Kohn - listened to a podcast with him as I contemplate my new gradeless scheme for next quarter.
https://teachersgoinggradeless.com/2018 ... cast-ep-6/
This episode features an interview with Alfie Kohn, author of the books Punished by Rewards, The Schools Our Children Deserve, The Homework Myth, and his latest, Schooling Beyond Measure.
Topics include:
The difference between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
How teachers can leverage extrinsic motivation
Rethinking reluctant learners
“Doing with” rather than “doing to”
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

Staff Assistant III
Posts: 70
Joined: Thu Jan 10, 2019 11:05 pm
Location: Pennsylvania USA

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Staff Assistant III » Tue Feb 26, 2019 4:49 pm

I have really never considered HRT, but I guess it's because menopause was effortless for me. I stopped at 51, had one light one about 9 months later, then no more (I am 58). No hot flashes, maybe some minor night sweats, but not on the scale I have heard about. So I sympathize with those who truly suffer, but I always wonder if what is a normal process is being seen as a medical situation, kind of like how pregnancy is treated more like an illness rather than a natural state. I also wonder how it feeds into the pressure society puts on women where aging equals unnattractive. But I confess I don't know much about the cardiovascular or neuro benefits.
No S start date 1/11/19

BMI Jan 19 22.7, FEb 19 22.9

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Wed Feb 27, 2019 2:00 pm

Hi Staffy - Interestingly, toward the end of the podcast the author (a long-time feminist) speaks directly to your comments. It was almost as if she had heard you! :-)
I'm particularly interested in HRT for its protective benefits against osteoporosis (as much as 50% reduction in risk!), since I have a family history and I have hypercalciuria (but I kind of suspect the hypercalciuria is what my relatives had, just undiagnosed). Anyway, in another 10 years hopefully more will be known.

Wednesday, February 27

120.6
morning blood pressure - 113/68
I'm going to buy a new blood glucose kit soon. I found a brand has strips for .36 each, which is a good deal.

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, maybe eggs
L: yogurt w/berries
D: date night - I definitely want a steak. I'll make grilled cheese sandwiches for the kiddos. Update -
ended up with the usual burger & salad. The steak was just too ridiculously expensive. We can grill it at home instead. The burger was very good, and the salad was amazing - BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, and avocado)

Drinking
Mod Day - 2 drink limit. I'll definitely measure out tonight.

Moving
walk/jog w/HappyHerder, heading out the door now. 3.3 mi/1 hour
Would REALLY like to do Elements this afternoon - my afternoons have been really sedentary since working on my website building.

Spending
maybe date night

CreatorisReading
Wind in the Door and writing chapter 3 of his book "Hacked". :-)

PersonalLearning
Peter Attia The Drive Podcast:
https://peterattiamd.com/brothersbell/
In this episode, Mark and Chris Bell discuss their love of powerlifting, their unbelievable personal records, and what prompted the making of their now iconic film, Bigger, Stronger, Faster. They also very openly discuss steroid use, their tragic family history with addiction, the many inspirations that lead to their multifaceted success, and their dedication to having a positive impact on others in fitness and life.

TeachingPlans
Update today - thoughts percolating
I'm feeling kind of overwhelmed. So many work responsibilities that I feel frustrated to not have time to work on my new creative ideas. Alas, such is life. Although I have been reading that the most productive people mercilessly and brutally cut out things from their life that are not helping them meet their true goals. That was from "Game Changers".

Anyway, so I'm thinking that each week I will post many possible options for students to learn the material. They can choose from these and complete whichever ones they want. They will need to document their daily study time each day and total it for the week. Then, at the end of each week, I will sit down with a small group of students (3-4) and have them show me their developing portfolios and talk about how they spent their time - what was useful, what wasn't, how I can support their work in the upcoming week, etc. During class time, I will provide a disease of relevance and we will work together to understand the disease. I am a good lecturer, though, so I think I should still spend about 25% of our time together giving an overview of a body system or disease or whatever we're working on. So tentatively 25% small group meetings, 25% lecture, 25% exploratory lab/group work, and 25% independent practice. That may not be a good plan - needs to percolate.

There will be no formal tests, but students can take practice tests whenever they want to gauge their progress. At the end of the quarter, each student and I will collaboratively come up with a grade (they won't know this, but basically I'll let them choose). We'll have this final meeting in lieu of the final exam.

What I feel is a missing piece that could be tricky to figure out is a way to get the students engaged in a class-wide project that we could culminate on that final day together.

I guess a key change is that I am not going to worry about covering all the content anymore. We'll explore a disease and let the physiology that rises to the surface be learned in context. I honestly don't think they retain the masses of content I usually have them cover anyway.

Another key change is that lecture and lab for A&P will now become firmly integrated. Next quarter I will not have a pile of anatomical terms for students to memorize separate from their learning about the physiology of the organism. When I talk about the physiology of the heart, students will hold model hearts in their hands. All connected. I can get away with this because if there are no lab exams, then why bother having a separate "lab" time? It all flows together as we learn how the body works.

I will be doing these giant changes (experimentally) this quarter for A&P and for microbiology. Additionally, the lecture portion of micro is fully online (for the first time ever), so I'll be continuing to build my website and make more videos. These will be added to the "optional" assignments as students learn about diseases. Micro lab, by the way, is truly a different animal that needs to be a bit separated by lecture due to the intense amount of techniques that students are expected to master (although, I might wonder - why? Well, I guess there's safety involved. Sloppy technique could get someone sick.

My goals for this change:
1) Remain invigorated as a teacher
2) Improve my rapport with students and help keep them from all signing up for the other teachers' classes (that said, any positive effects in this arena will probably take a few quarters to be seen)
3) Experimentally observe if students actually can learn as much (or more, as I've read) without the pressure of tests. We shall see, and really, how do I measure that if not by using traditional testing?
4) Free up time grading to be able to find (and write) more interesting case studies and disease stories for students to investigate.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Thu Feb 28, 2019 7:03 pm

Thursday, February 28

120.8

Don't laugh too hard - but I took a sick day from work so I could stay home and catch up on work. :roll: How crazy is that?! But it's worked out great - I pounded out some paperwork & committee work that is due tomorrow and now I'm going to go through some practice problems I'll be helping students with tomorrow.

Eating
B: coffee w/milk (um, 4 cups of coffee today! My usual is only 2)
L: yogurt w/berries
S EVENT/Dinner: -- taking Creator to see Lego Movie 2, and of course we will have popcorn! And we had some candy.

Drinking
Abs Day

Moving
Yikes - no walk this morning. Just hit the work stuff. I'm so tired these past few days. The quarter has reached its zenith of stress, I think, and now we all just white-knuckle it until Spring Break.
Update - 2.7miles/47 min in the dark at night while Challenger had basketball practice.

Spending
Movie & popcorn!

PersonalLearning
Peter Attia The Drive
https://peterattiamd.com/sidmukherjee/
In this episode, Siddhartha Mukherjee, oncologist, researcher, and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, discusses his writing process, his thoughts about medicine, cancer, immunotherapy, and his recent collaboration on a study combining a ketogenic diet with a drug in mice that provided remarkable and encouraging results.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

User avatar
Octavia
Posts: 901
Joined: Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:01 pm
Location: UK

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by Octavia » Fri Mar 01, 2019 9:44 am

Wow, you are really on fire with ideas, Auto! :) I hope the pressure eases soon, so you can take a sickie and have a genuine rest!

Menopause is definitely a feminist issue. It’s hard to stay detached from the bad press, as we all grew up with those negative images. Like Staffy, I sailed through mine with just a few temporary aches and pains, even though it was a sudden early menopause induced by chemo treatment! The main challenge was coming to terms with it, mentally - being part of that Older Women’s Club, being no longer fertile, and I shed many tears of grief and loss. But after a while I realised that it was incredibly liberating to not have periods! AND I did not lose my Bridget Jones Feminine Allure overnight!!! On one of my lowest days, feeling that I was probably radiating unattractive infertile hormones and maybe even smelt funny, a handsome younger colleague made a pass at me!!!! Oh yes!!! The scales lifted from my eyes, and now I have a good chuckle at the dreadful media images of menopause.

I did take HRT for a while, as I have family history of osteoporosis, and my oncologist was fine with it. Can’t say it made a dramatic difference to me, but it was good to know the bones were being protected.

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Fri Mar 01, 2019 3:38 pm

Octavia - thanks for sharing your experience about menopause. It's actually something I've never really thought about so all these people's experiences are fascinating to me.

Friday, March 1

121.2

morning blood pressure : 105/74

Eating
B: coffee w/milk
L: (will be) yogurt w/berries
D: (will be) Steak & Salad

Drinking
Mod Day - 2 drink max

Moving
4.2 miles/1 hr 12 min Walk/jog w/HappyHerder - new route
I am thinking that Google maps is not accurately recording distance. I know I don't go fast, but I'm sure I go 4 mph. I shouldn't worry about it, I guess. Just moving has and is my goal. I'm not focused on speed, but blood flow & not being sedentary & the stress-reduction of movement & the peace that comes from looking at the stars (or sunny sky if it's actually light out, haha) & breathing fresh air.
Thanks to my "change into yoga clothes" after work, I was dressed and ready to go when I got Challenger to his basketball game tonight. I had 45 minutes to kill before the game started, so I took a nice long walk and listened to a Peter Attia podcast (what else - my obsession is real). Point being - yoga clothes habit is awesome! I can't remember exactly when but some other night this week I didn't have any time between work and the first drop-off and I had boots on, and no walking, so I had to sit in my car while I waited. Yoga clothes, baby. Every day.
Oh, I did realize about halfway through my walk that maybe the area I was walking in wasn't the safest. :shock: All the houses had these huge brass fences with spikes, and the drug traffic was visible. I didn't have my mace and sorely missed it...... anyway, I survived, thanks to my lighting fast reflexes and ultra-trained 6th sense. Just kidding. Well, I did survive, but kidding about the other part.

Spending
No plans - Grocery shopping possible but not probable

PersonalLearning
https://peterattiamd.com/mattkaeberlein/
Matt is someone who is deeply interested in understanding the biology of aging. Why do we age? What happens to us as we age? What are the things we can do to slow the aging process? How can we delay or prevent the onset of age-related diseases? These are all questions that Matt thinks deeply about, and explores these questions with his research at the University of Washington. He is currently investigating many of these questions through the Dog Aging Project and the compound rapamycin—the only known pharmacological agent to extend lifespan all the way from yeast to mammals—across a billion years of evolution. We talk about cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, healthspan, lifespan, and what we can do to provide longer, healthier lives for both people and dogs.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Fri Mar 01, 2019 3:58 pm

Great to hear your thought process in regards to your course. At first when you mentioned "gradeless" I thought, hmm... But you're really going for something very articulate and modern. Love it!

automatedeating
Posts: 5305
Joined: Sat Aug 31, 2013 2:16 pm

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by automatedeating » Sat Mar 02, 2019 4:01 pm

At first when you mentioned "gradeless" I thought, hmm...
:mrgreen: I know! That's basically part of my own reaction, too, and I'm the one trying to design something here. Crazy stuff.

Part of me thinks I like to change things up drastically as a teacher to avoid boredom and keep things fresh. Maybe - whatever works..?

Saturday, March 2
S Day!

Eating
B: coffee w/milk, bacon, eggs & hashbrowns
L: 3 chocolate chip cookies and a glass of wine - LOL
D: (will be) - pizza 2 piece max! Last weekend I had 3 pieces and had heartburn and slept like crap. Sexy did buy the thin-crust, so that's good. I also think I'm sensitive to the sauce, actually.
dessert: (will be) vanilla ice cream

Drinking
Mod Day - 2 drink max. Last night I only had 1 drink despite my 2 max! That was a first. Although, it was only because I got home so late. But still....progress.

Moving
No plans
Poor Elements. I've ignored you for so long....
Ended up walking 40 min, 20 of it with my Creator and 10 with Challenger. We had good conversations. Love my boys.

Spending
Grocery Shopping likely. Sexy will take care of driving Challenger to far-away basketball tourney today, so I can stay home and clean & shop with Creator. Also, Creator and I are going to a dog rescue group to help socialize puppies. :-) They are little dogs, like dachshunds and terriers, etc. I've only ever really known big dogs and sports and herding dogs, so this should be fun. I think Creator would LOVE a little dog. And he actually would do a good job caring for it. Being the dog-obsessed owner I am, I wouldn't mind at all helping him, anyway. So we'll see. No puppy today, I promise. But maybe this summer -- ooh, or maybe for his 10th birthday in May.

PersonalLearning
Peter Attia The Drive
https://peterattiamd.com/davidsinclair/
In this episode, David A. Sinclair, Ph.D., a Professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and co-Director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for the Biological Mechanisms of Aging, provides insight into why we age and how to slow its effects based on his remarkable work on the role of sirtuins and NAD in health and diseases. He also presents the case that stabilizing the epigenetic landscape may be the linchpin in counteracting aging and disease.
And a great quote from this interview:
“This is a lesson for anyone who's listening who thinks that getting to somewhere like this is easy. You have to be massively determined, you have to have grit, and I just wouldn't give up because there's nothing else I want to do in my life.” —David Sinclair
Rewatched a great TedTalk on Diabetes Reversal:
https://youtu.be/da1vvigy5tQ

Also, had a good talk with an excellent teacher co-worker brainstorming about teaching & grading, etc.
Month/Year-BMI
8/13-26.3
8/14-24.5
5/15-26.2
1/16-26.9; 9/16-25.6
8/17-25.8; 11/17-26.9
3/18-25.6; 8/18-24.5; 10/18-23.8;
3/19-22.1; 10/19-21.8
6/20-22.5; 7/20-23.0; 9/20-23.6
4/21 - 25.2

margot17
Posts: 207
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2019 8:14 pm
Location: France

Re: automated eating tracker

Post by margot17 » Sat Mar 02, 2019 6:24 pm

automatedeating wrote:
Sat Mar 02, 2019 4:01 pm
At first when you mentioned "gradeless" I thought, hmm...
:mrgreen: I know! That's basically part of my own reaction, too, and I'm the one trying to design something here. Crazy stuff.

Part of me thinks I like to change things up drastically as a teacher to avoid boredom and keep things fresh. Maybe - whatever works..?
Also, I really understand the desire to disassociate teaching from being some kind of policeman. I find that similar to parenting - it's all about the subtext, when you communicate. If the subtext is, 'I know you're smart and I trust that you'll make intelligent choices without me having to breath over your shoulder', then everything usually takes care of itself and it's pleasant for everybody. People in general really tend to respond massively to subtext.

How would stabilizing the epigenetic landscape look like?

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