writingwyo's Journal, 25 May 2024

Writing my hubs likes to say you have to shock the system😂. Meaning do something different. Kind of like your fake it till its real thought. He will do something completely different in a workout or go for a long long run (tho he runs regularly so?). The idea being shake it up and hope the endorphins kick in. I so often dont want to go meet my trainer and its kind of a thing hanging over my head so i always schedule it for the am but then im happy afterwards. You’ve got this. Good luck with your family member. I have one also that i worry about tremendously. 

Lucky hubby. You are taking good care of him! I think most of us here are so used to reading labels that I am shocked at people who don't. I think my hubby sometimes wishes I didn't read labels. LOL. The truth is that I cheat a lot but I don't do it without knowledge of it and try to do damage control. I aim for 80%/20% and even when I fail I don't have near coma days like I used to. I tend to think you do better than you realize.  

At this point, YOH, shocking the system would involve almost anything amounting to physical activity. 😂 I am so bad to be a weekend warrior where I do my skiing, hiking, and now biking, but do little otherwise. This morning I had a writing project, but hopefully will get something done this afternoon. I'm so relieved my family member seems to be taking it seriously this time... but my biggest concern is that he'll fall into the same trap he has before: getting too gung-ho and then giving up when it's simply unsustainable.  

Morticia -- I have 30+ years invested in this hubby and hope to get 30 more out of him, so I'd better take care of him. I think even my "slipping" eating habits aren't as bad as they could be, so thank you. It really doesn't shock me that people don't read labels. People tend to choose foods based on price, taste, and convenience and don't pay attention to actual nutrition. It's what allows food manufacturers to "healthwash" a lot of foods that really aren't all that healthy 

I tend to look at what people have in their shopping carts and it usually is horrible stuff. Things I didn't even know still existed. LOL.  

Gung ho is great until the motivation runs out... it sucks, then old habits come back. encouraging one small regular change thats sustainable means that he can do healthy habits without relying on motivation to pull him thru.  

Im having a vivid picture of the people at winco in front of me who were both struggling seriously with their weight and in their cart was ice cream, chips, pop, candy and i think some cereal. No fruit, no vegetables, some animal protein tho. Everything else was processed. Well, they didnt have enough $$ to pay for everything so guess what they put back…yup the animal protein. The only thing that had any nutritional value for them. What killed me is that they were under 40 and clearly had many kids by the sheer volume of food. I found myself judging them and then thought, well i never loaded up an entire grocery cart with crappy food but i didnt gain 80 pounds in 8 years by buying just apples so who am i to judge. Addiction hits us all. Mine was/is just more crafty .. i would buy healthy food and then the pint of ice cream that would be gone instantly. Had a thought tho for you writing-be spontaneous and just get out of the house. Go bowling, go to a movie, a comedy show. Might get you out of the rut? Sometimes i will tell my boys lets go for a walk (when i totally dont want to) but once i say it they get so excited i cannot back out i have to go. 

I've spent years reading labels and have always been interested in nutrition. The more I learn, the more appalled I am at the sheer proportion of crap vs healthy in any store. YOH & Morticia - I find it hard not to judge grocery carts. I truly believe people do the best they know how, but food industry marketing is powerful. Dazey - I'm really, at this point, talking with his wife, feeding her info that she can use when planning meals and can discuss with him at times he starts a relevant conversation. I'm only getting what he's doing secondhand, and only in bits. 

And I may need to get out of the house, even if it's just out back to my little cabin.  

The majority of foods I eat don’t come with nutritional labels. But when they do I am focused on reading them and can cause a traffic jam in the grocery aisle. Eight years ago the only thing I looked at was calories and number of servings. Now I decipher what kind of fat it has, what kind of carbohydrate, does it have any added sugar, and how many mystery ingredients. I pretty much disregard the calorie count and serving size I just want to know what the heck is in it. lol 

I am big on labels as well. There are so apps that helps you interpret them. If your family member enjoys playing around with a phone that may be something that helps them. I downloaded something called Yuka. But there are others 

PBS recently showed a 2 hour documentary on the evolution of the food industry since the early 1900s. Such a good, educational show. I don’t suppose many here on FS watched it. If you did, you now have a much better idea of how we got to where we are and what we may have to GIVE UP if you truly want to eat like your ancestors without chemicals and preservatives. It’s almost one of those—- be careful what you ask for scenarios. 

I am interested in that documentary, Kenna.  

Morticia I will see if I still have the program recorded and get the exact name for you if I can. It was well worth watching. We, the American people, are as much to blame for our food issues as manufacturers are.  

The veggies and fruit don't, honeebuns, but the tofu, nuts/seed, grains, etc. all do for me. I find, though, that my diet revolves around a lot of whole foods. I do eat a few processed foods, but I check the labels to make sure they're not too horrifying. liv - hadn't heard of that app. I'll check it out! Kenna -- I'd be interested in the name of that documentary as well 

I understand the fake it until you make approach 😀. I use that one myself to get though some of my really long day's.