#foods

I'll tell you what I know.

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If your weight stays the same, that means that your calorie intake is equivalent to your energy expenditure over time. If you want to lose weight, then realistically, what that means is that you have to spend more energy than what you take in daily. When this happens, your body will break down fat cells to seek the energy your body is demanding.

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Every person's body is different. Not only for energy expenditure but for calorie intake. For example, one person eating a 200 calorie meal probably won't give both of you the same amount of calories overall due to factors such as enzyme levels, and how hard your body has to work to deconstruct the food into energy (metabolization). This is one of many reasons why you can see certain people eat like Kirby but seemingly never gain weight, haha

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The best way to lose weight is to force your body into remission, which is done by overworking yourself through high intensity physical activity. This process will naturally hurt and make you crave to eat since your body is pulling at your fat cells (stored energy) and wishes to replenish them. At the same time, get a journal and write down what you eat daily, and get a good feel for your calorie intake daily. You can replace some calorie dense foods with fewer calories but just as filling. Celery, for example, replacing pizza as a daily snack. Theoretically, that could be all the change you need.

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I would say the high intensity workouts 4x a week for an hour each session would account for 30% of the overall change, while the change in eating habits would account for the other 70% to lose weight. This means you can lose weight with just a diet change, just not as fast.

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Hope this helps.

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I did feel guilty about buying myself one medium sized and one small sized box of sushi because my mom told me that I could’ve made myself something at home instead of buying overpriced sushi. That made me feel guilty because she said I was getting used to spending too much money on sushi when it isn’t even necessary and that I was being too carefree with money. I could’ve gotten myself more food for less money if I haven’t gone to the store and bought sushi that day. It does make me sad to know that there were/are better options and that some can’t even buy the foods they actually want because they aren’t able to easily afford it. That’s why I also felt guilty that I bought makeup remover for myself a while back when I don’t even wear makeup regularly. All that money that others save up to afford basic necessities whereas I’m taking it for granted sometimes. However, I do think that treating yourself to a nice expensive meal sometimes is ok but only when there isn’t food that’s already made at home and you do it on rare occasions.

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Well… Here’s what I know about this topic (and of course, this is largely from an American perspective).

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Throughout history, various foods were categorized as rich or poor people’s food due to price or quantity, or both. Like, for example, lobster, back in the day, was deemed “poor people food” because there was so much of it at all times, that it was fed to prisoners amongst many others, and was even referred to as “poor mans chicken”. 🥴 A modern day example I know of is that something like instant noodles here in the US, is referred to as “poor people food” (whether it’s jokingly or not, I think depends on who is saying it) because it’s typically super cheap, and notoriously what broke college students eat a lot. And also, a lot of heavily processed foods, in general, tend to be cheaper than whole foods that contain more nutrients, which is why many low income households largely rely on them to get by, sadly.

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However, it seems that this varies between countries and is not a “one size fits all” situation. And that likely goes for many cultures too, depending on what food prices are, and what is traditional to eat for those people. The cultural side is not something I have really any knowledge on though, so I’d need to read up on that. 🤷🏼‍♀️

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If we’re getting real technical about it, I guess you could label any food/dish as being primarily for “rich” or “poor” people depending on who has the most access to it, or who relies on it the most. But I’d say the classification of “poor” food by rich people is likely more prominent because rich people can basically afford any food they want, whereas poor people, sadly, cannot. 🤔 And even more sad than that, rich people tend to look down on poor peoples lifestyles in general… They harshly critique a poor persons food choices without having a single clue what food insecurity feels like, and to not have enough money to be certain that they’ll even get a meal that day. Or to have to ration the little food they have, and stretch it for days or maybe longer, in order to make to their next paycheck, or get food stamps, etc. But, they don’t care about that, cause they eat anything they please… So they just turn their nose up and judge unfairly. 😒

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So, I think, technically, can foods be classified in those ways? Yes, because depending on where you live, and what you commonly eat/can afford, you might view other foods outside of that to be out of your range, or notice that it is marketed towards a different segment of the population than you. Is it good that this happens? No, not at all. Is it absurd? Yes. But it doesn’t stop it from continuing… Cause even I grew up hearing people around me use that terminology fairly regularly. 😅

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I was vegan for five years during my early twenties. Though I suppose, given that the reason for my veganism actually had nothing to do with not wanting to eat animals, "plant based" might be a more accurate label for what I was. Prior to that I was pescatarian, then veggie.

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These days I'm neither vegan, vegetarian, or pescatarian, and there are a bunch of reasons why that is. The main one being that eating a strictly plant-based diet made my already rather disordered relationship with food much, much worse.

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Another reason why the diet became unsustainable for me is because I also like to travel, and when I go somewhere new, I like to be able to experience the culture as much as I can-- including the food. Being plant based made that very difficult and sometimes even impossible, depending where I was.

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Also, selfishly? I just missed a lot of the foods I used to enjoy. Eggs, real cheese, milk chocolate... Plant-based replacements just weren't cutting it for me.

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In the end I just sort of reached the conclusion that my diet was making me sick, tired, and needlessly miserable. So I started steadily introducing animal products back in. I didn't start eating red meat again until earlier this year though, after I was diagnosed with an iron deficiency and advised to either go on supplements or change my diet.

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I suck at remembering to take pills, so changing my diet seemed the logical choice. 😅🤷‍♀️

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I’d want a potion that would temporarily take away all of my dietary restrictions so I could eat whatever I wanted on certain occasions (holidays, my birthday, other people’s birthdays, parties, while traveling, etc). And I know, it probably sounds like I’d be enticed to make this potion every day so I never had restrictions, but I think the joy of having that potion is that it would be a treat! 😋

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Like, maybe it’s not so easy to brew or it takes a long time, so I only use it when I really feel like it’d be most rewarding. 😄 Like, if I knew I wouldn’t have to worry about going abroad and having to consider what foods I can/cannot eat, I’d just bring that potion so I could eat all of the local cuisine without a problem. Or if I’m going to a party, I don’t have to be nervous that whoever is hosting it won’t have anything I can safely eat while there! I can just enjoy the party as intended. That’d be absolutely wonderful! 😁

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Eating healthy is hard for me all the way around, as I already have so many restrictions. 😅 But, what I’ve been trying to do lately, is not cave into late night snacking too much. And just trying to squeeze in healthy/semi healthy foods whenever I can. I also try to not allow myself to get too hungry, cause that doesn’t help with cravings, or with deciding what to eat. That’s when it gets hard to say “I’m gonna make healthy choices” and turns into “What’s the quickest thing I can find to satisfy this feeling?”

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What I do most of the time to help with cravings is sugar free chewing gum. It takes that feeling away for me, and tricks my brain into feeling satisfied (temporarily). But it does seem to curb my cravings more often than not. If that doesn’t work though, I try drinking a tall glass of water. Might sound weird, but sometimes your body can mistake thirst/dehydration for being hungry, so I’ll drink the whole glass of water, then wait 10-20 minutes. It doesn’t always work, but sometimes, I find my cravings (especially for something salty like chips) either disappears completely, or is not nearly as intense anymore. 🤔

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And finally, I always try to find alternatives for my cravings. Like, if I’m craving sugar, things like fruit, sweet potatoes, oats, smoothies, yogurt, etc are good alternatives. And depending on where I’m at health wise, usually dictates which of those is safest for me to eat. 😄 When it comes to savory stuff, that’s a bit harder, as I can’t eat nuts, seeds, hummus, or even plain popcorn as is recommended (which is where the gum or drinking water can help for me personally). But I do find, that salads/fresh produce in general really helps too! And if I have some protein/cheese in a salad for example, that helps with the salt cravings as well! Or if I’m not able to do that, than even just protein alone, like rotisserie chicken, eggs, etc. Those are both satisfying and filling. I at least know I’m still getting some good nutrients, and I can feel content with my choices. 😋

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At first, it is exciting. You don't really think about missing anything. What you do think about is this new, exciting life and environment you're about to have. Everything smells different, tastes different. Feels different. You feel like a completely different person.

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And theeeen it starts piling up on you. Like a blanket that's full of rocks. Heavy. You feel like you're suffocating and don't belong there. You miss the wind, the trees, the grass. Everything. You miss the freedom you had in your own country - the familiarity. You feel alone, misunderstood, and judged. In your own defence, you start to misunderstand and judge others as well.

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In the end, it gets so worse that you don't even want to leave the house anymore. Although it wasn't as bad as you think, it's very hard mentally. The vivid dreams you start having of eating foods they don't have. The memories keep coming back. It feels like someone pulled out your tooth and you keep touching the empty space.

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Now, moving back is another thing. You're excited to go back. Like you're stepping away from that dep.res.sive place you hated so much - the place you didn't belong in.

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BUT, you've come to realise that you can also miss the place that you didn't belong in. The pizza, the environment itself. The excitement of the country you know nothing about. Even though when you've spent years there and realised why you ha.ted it so much, the best thing was to enjoy the moments - all of them.

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