Floater's diary

Finally some good news!! I had an online meeting with my social worker and she'll try to get me approved for a limited time period living at the housing unit for evaluating my housing needs. Typically that's 8-12 weeks and then my progress/well-being is evaluated and they'll try to get me a permanent flat at the housing unit. Of course with these too the goal is to eventually move out and live independently, but it's normal to stay for several years.

It's so weird to get this kid of support as an adult. Living as autistic, and going through most of my life unmedicated and misdiagnosed (tends to happen to girls/women and AFAB a lot), I was totally numb to the fact that everything is a bit or a lot harder for me than for neurotypical folks. No wonder that I have such a huge bag of unhealthy coping mechanisms. But I can learn better ones, especially with professional help.

I'm feeling really good about my body today. I feel neutral about how it looks, but I feel very positive about how it feels. I can notice the difference now that I've been eating a lot more fresh veg and kept up with eating small portions regularly. The GI issues are still here but not as bad as before. That's very motivating. :)
 
I focus on my own thing, I don't do diets. There's a whole section on this forum dedicated to low carb and keto stuff so there will be people who have something to say about the subject.
 
alligatorob said:
I have also had gut problems from my high veggie diet. Work on it, try to find veggies that are easier on you, for me spinach and zucchini are good, broccoli and cauliflower are not. Celery is also good, been eating a lot lately. Have not eaten a lot of beets or peas so I can't say much about that. And of course your body will adapt.

You are off to a great start, work at it and I know you can find your way!
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Floater said:
Finally some good news!! I had an online meeting with my social worker and she'll try to get me approved for a limited time period living at the housing unit for evaluating my housing needs. Typically that's 8-12 weeks and then my progress/well-being is evaluated and they'll try to get me a permanent flat at the housing unit.
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That's great, fingers crossed it all works out!
Floater said:
I'm feeling really good about my body today. I feel neutral about how it looks, but I feel very positive about how it feels. I can notice the difference now that I've been eating a lot more fresh veg and kept up with eating small portions regularly. The GI issues are still here but not as bad as before. That's very motivating. :)
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And that's awesome as well :party: Long may it last.
 
Floater said:
I focus on my own thing, I don't do diets. There's a whole section on this forum dedicated to low carb and keto stuff so there will be people who have something to say about the subject.
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Oh, looks like the prev poster was a spammer and the post was removed? I'm not talking to myself lol
 
Oh no! I was so busy dealing with all the bureaucracy (and relative successes!) that I forgot to report my meals from 8pm yesterday to 8pm today.

Late dinner: a big batch of cauliflower, kidney beans, and potatoes served with hot sauce and marg
Breakfast: 300g of fresh guacamole, black coffee
Lunch: tuna in oil and chickpea noodles with fresh garlic and hot sauce
Snack: instant oatmeal with cherry jam, PB, textured soy protein, and sunflower seeds

I've drank a lot of tea as well, and I went out and bought a cauliflower and an eggplant. I think I'll have roasted eggplant and chickpeas for late dinner, but for now I just need to watch dumb movies for a while longer and then take care of my feeding needs. I've been eating very little during the day, but that's to be expected when dealing with high stress stuff. The chickpea noodles are really good when it comes to nutrition - 11g of fiber per 100g, 14 g of protein - but they don't taste too good... Well, it was worth a try! Maybe I can find ways to make them work. :)
 
I ended up throwing my chickpea pasta away because I just couldn't get past the taste - although I agree the stats are awesome. Red lentil pasta was a little better for taste if I remember correctly. Which remindx me that I once planned to try mixing high-protein pasta with normal and normal sauce to see if that made it better but I never got round to it.
 
We didn't like the chickpea pasta either.
Floater said:
Finally some good news!! I had an online meeting with my social worker and she'll try to get me approved for a limited time period living at the housing unit for evaluating my housing needs. Typically that's 8-12 weeks and then my progress/well-being is evaluated and they'll try to get me a permanent flat at the housing unit. Of course with these too the goal is to eventually move out and live independently, but it's normal to stay for several years.
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Excellent news!

Floater said:
I'm feeling really good about my body today. I feel neutral about how it looks, but I feel very positive about how it feels. I can notice the difference now that I've been eating a lot more fresh veg and kept up with eating small portions regularly. The GI issues are still here but not as bad as before. That's very motivating. :)
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& so is this (except for the GI issues). :)
 
@LaMaria , you mentioned something about mixing chickpea noodles with wheat noodles. I had leftover boiled potatoes sitting in the fridge and got inspired to make a pan-fried dish with cubed potatoes, chickpea noodles, miso glazed eggplant and corn. That helped mask the "dusty" taste of the chickpea noodles. I still don't think that I'll buy more of those after I've finished this pack lol.

I'm feeling really wiped out. Slept badly again. I'll have to see if I can drag my butt to the supermarket for some more guacamole and something for protein... And coffee, I'm out of coffee.
 
Miso-glazed eggplant sounds heavenly! When I'm low on energy for cooking my favorite protein sources are cubed ham and/or preboiled eggs.
 
Now I'm craving ham. :D I got distracted at the supermarket (too many people, moving veeeery slowly with their huge shopping carts) and despite having a list I blitzed out and forgot the protein. I do have chickpeas and mock chicken at home, but I think I might go out later for a package of ham. I checked out the stats of my favorite brand and it's 110kcal/100g, 18g of protein, 3g of fat, high in sodium of course (2g) but that's true for mock meats too. I might go out later to drop a return parcel to the post and get a 200-g pack of ham on my way back. I rarely eat cut meats or cured meats but much like cheese, they are a go-to when I'm too burned out to do anything else... And there is definitely a comfort factor to eating cold ham straight out of the pack.

But. I'm actually feeling/doing much better now. Today turned out to be sunny and warm, spring is close. I had an assistant come by, and I managed to get a lot of chores done. (It's so funny what a difference it makes to just have someone drop by and sit by my kitchen table for an hour and redirect my attention to the stuff I want to get done.) So I'm not too bummed about forgetting the protein - I have coffee, guac, parm flakes and wraps now. And the wraps are a good example of good meal planning. When I was making the miso glazed eggplant, I roasted whole carrots at the same time believing foolishly that their size would help them keep a bite to them. How wrong I was... I now have lovely eggplant and soft, soggy carrots! But I think that in a wrap with a bit of guac and cheese flakes the carrots will be just fine. I could then have a side of plain ham with it to get the macros right. An odd combo perhaps, but in the 1960s aspic molds were the hoot and they are arguably even weirder than a veggie wrap with a side of ham. (For some reason, I just can't imagine putting the ham inside the wrap. I wouldn't probably taste too bad but with the textures of the other stuff I plan to use, just... No.)

Sigh OK apparently I'm heading towards a ramble. But I talked about food with the assistant today, and made remarks on how happy I am about being able to do this thing without demonizing certain foods. For example, I have considered jam to be a "dirty" food most of my life, after all its mostly sugar. But putting jam in my instant oatmeal makes the oatmeal more palatable, and I can add in soy protein and PB to make it more nutritious. So, by thinking that I would miss the benefits of oatmeal, soy protein and PB if I didn't add in the jam is a much more productive way to approach the subject. To which she agreed. She also said that by being flexible and not denying oneself anything specific it's possible to get results, and which much less psychological pressure than by trying to be too strict.

At the time I thought she was speaking in general and maybe she was, but when I came back home from the store I saw my reflection in the elevator mirror and though woah, there is a difference. As I have stated before, I'm not trying to shed weight, as I'm normal weight. But those of us who have had issues with eating for a long time will know how it tends to make the face swell up, especially the jawline (where the big salivary glands are). That swelling is gone now! I also notice changes in my body but I try not to focus too much on them because I don't want to get hooked on that feeling. I want to get hooked on the feeling of feeling hunger and feeling satiated, and on how much fun I have while planning meals and trying out new stuff.
 
Floater said:
I now have lovely eggplant and soft, soggy carrots!
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In case you have a lot of them this might be a fun way to use them up:
Omi houriya (Mashed carrot salad) a garlic recipe I haven´t tried this specific recipe because mine was in a paper cookbook but it looks very similar. (They say to boil the carrots but the baked ones are sure to taste even better.)
Floater said:
For example, I have considered jam to be a "dirty" food most of my life, after all its mostly sugar. But putting jam in my instant oatmeal makes the oatmeal more palatable, and I can add in soy protein and PB to make it more nutritious. So, by thinking that I would miss the benefits of oatmeal, soy protein and PB if I didn't add in the jam is a much more productive way to approach the subject.
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So true. I´m definitely guilty of black&white thinking where food is concerned, too. Working on it...
 
Wow, the recipe looks great; I don't have harissa at home, but hot sauce should do OK as a substitute. And by mashing the carrots, I wouldn't have to worry about the soggy texture. Thanks!!

I got myself the much desired ham, it's waiting in the fridge for now. And for future seitan batches I got myself a can of sun dried tomatoes in sunflower oil. I was a bit conflicted about how much calories they would add to the dough, but at home I checked the label, and it's 180kcal per 100g?! Way less than I expected! Whereas the cheese flakes I got today were 350. (Also: I'm planning to use the sundried tomatoes to bring flavor, so I'll use maybe 50 grams for a dough that will feed me for days.)

I did some bird spotting on my way home. Blackbirds are active, crows busy looking for food and gathering nesting materials. I took a ziplock bad of sunflower seeds and scattered some in places where they can be easily spotted from air. Rats and squirrels will get their share, no doubt, but let's hope that some will be left for the feathered friends as well. :)
 
Nice work so far Floater!

LaMaria said:
I ended up throwing my chickpea pasta away because I just couldn't get past the taste - although I agree the stats are awesome. Red lentil pasta was a little better for taste if I remember correctly.
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Cate said:
We didn't like the chickpea pasta either.
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Have you tried spinach pasta? That has been one of my go to's...

Floater said:
I talked about food with the assistant today, and made remarks on how happy I am about being able to do this thing without demonizing certain foods. For example, I have considered jam to be a "dirty" food most of my life, after all its mostly sugar. But putting jam in my instant oatmeal makes the oatmeal more palatable, and I can add in soy protein and PB to make it more nutritious.
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LaMaria said:
So true. I´m definitely guilty of black&white thinking where food is concerned, too. Working on it...
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This is by far my biggest hang up at the moment. I lost so much weight by basically avoiding simple carbs in favor of more satiating options that I've come to demonize them. But as I find myself doing more and more endurance athletics, I'm finding I NEED simple carbs because I'm needing a lot more calories and those satiating options I've been relying on take too long (or are harder) to digest.

I'm trying to think of food more as fuel and how the body could best use different types of fuel under different circumstances, but it is hard: I still feel guilty drinking a sports drink with "added sugars" even when it makes me feel so much better.
 
I'm in a slump for some reason - maybe ate too little during the day? I'll go cook something now and report my food diary either later tonight or tomorrow.
 
Nevermind! I bounced back after a nice dinner.

My food diary from 8pm last night to 8pm today:
Late dinner: a bit of roasted eggplant and carrots, plant-based nuggets and potatoes pan-fried in a generous splash of oil and topped with hummus
Bedtime snack: a tub of of guac, a handful of cashews
Breakfast: instant oatmeal with textured soy protein, cherry jam, PB and cashews
Lunch: chickpea noodles, potatoes, eggplant and corn (wasn't very tasty so couldn't finish the portion)
Snack: one sweet pear, a bit of cashews
Snack: 100 g of ham
Dinner: a vaguely quesadilla type of thing, pan-fried in a bit of walnut oil, consisting of hummus, 100g of ham, parmesan flakes and eggplant between two large tortillas folded together. Also a couple of carrot bits to wipe up the remaining hummus in the tub.

I was reminded that I like the ham in hot foods, so I gave that a try. It was good, very filling. I feel extremely tired still and will probably go to sleep early. :)
 
Floater said:
I got myself a can of sun dried tomatoes in sunflower oil. I was a bit conflicted about how much calories they would add to the dough, but at home I checked the label, and it's 180kcal per 100g?!
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I´m always a bit unsure about things like that. The calories given clearly aren´t for the entire contents of the jar but how much oil am I supposed to let drip off/squeeze out of the tomatoes? It´s similar with chicken wings: are the calories/100g for the entire wing or should I weigh the bones afterward and subtract them? Good thing I´m no longer as fixated on the numbers and I can just enjoy things sometimes.
 
LaMaria said:
I´m always a bit unsure about things like that. The calories given clearly aren´t for the entire contents of the jar but how much oil am I supposed to let drip off/squeeze out of the tomatoes? It´s similar with chicken wings: are the calories/100g for the entire wing or should I weigh the bones afterward and subtract them? Good thing I´m no longer as fixated on the numbers and I can just enjoy things sometimes.
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This, so much this. I still have to remind myself that kcals and labels are not purely scientific, but also political/commercial when it comes to food packaging. (There are legal loopholes to present the nutritional info as "better-than". And on top of that, our kcal needs vary depending not only on activity but also the weather outside and our health. So my kcals today may effect my body differently if I were to eat the same things tomorrow. Slightly, but still.

I should tone down the counting and focus on enjoyment and feeling energetic.

Thank you.
 
Floater said:
I should tone down the counting and focus on enjoyment and feeling energetic.
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That sounds like a good plan. You seem to be focussing on eating right for your general well-being & it seems to be working well :)
 
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