Every day is a battle (lots of photos)

[Jean]

 

1 hour ago, Jett said:

However, I would say, don't start doing this until you've had a long talk with your therapist! If she likes it, great. Probably she'll have a better suggestion, or maybe she will agree with Mel. Your therapist, with input from you, is going to be the one who knows the best way to approach your particular situation. 

 

I like both answers. What I like in Jett's one is that you get to work together with your wife on it. My feeling from the way you've written your last posts is that food is about way more than food in your couple (both for you and your wife). If she, on some level, thinks that "food"="love", then not eating the sweets she bakes would mean to her that you don't love her. But this cuts both way : by pressuring you to give in to sweets, she is also saying to you something like "your wellbeing is less important than the way I see our relationship", which is not very fair on the long run.

 

As much as I like the brainoverbinge approach of tackling things directly, this is a fight I'd say you have to tackle together, as a couple, which means you'll both have to make efforts to let the other express him/herself and have his/her way in life.

[Tobbe]

3 hours ago, Rubik'sCat said:

Eggs and fried rice looks nice, I've never actually tried cauliflower before though.

 

Fried "rice". Using grated cauliflower as a rice substitute is a well knows food "hack" in the paleo/keto/lchf camp  

 

3 hours ago, Rubik'sCat said:

And how many carbs are in an apple you think?

 

Around 20 g

 

3 hours ago, Rubik'sCat said:

Oh well, it's good for you so that's a great decision, congrats on eating healthy.  

 

Thanks  

 

3 hours ago, Rubik'sCat said:

What do you get when you cross a flower with a border collie?

 

  Hide contents

One dead flower and a very messy eater.

 

*Swosh* What was that? That was the sound of a joke that flew right over the top of my head  I have no idea how to interpret this joke  Sorry  

[Tobbe]

2 hours ago, Jett said:

 

 

Haha, my suggestion is the exact opposite of Mel's and for the reason mentioned above (not having a forbidden food).

 

My suggestion is to have one night a week where your wife will bake something for the whole family. That means you too, Tobbe! Every week!

But the important part of this is, ask her to bake just enough that everyone gets one, maybe two servings. No leftovers!

 

If she's willing to try that, then the idea is that you know you can have something sweet every week. But there won't be enough of it to binge on afterwards. So you can eat just a little less on that particular day of the week in preparation for eating that sweet thing, and then you can have just a normal portion of it. So no more "I won't be able to have this ever again" because you can ask her to make it the next week or the week after. No more "I can't ever eat like this except on special occasions" because it's a regular part of your week. It's basically practicing having sweet/baked things as part of your normal life, without it turning into a binge.

 

However, I would say, don't start doing this until you've had a long talk with your therapist! If she likes it, great. Probably she'll have a better suggestion, or maybe she will agree with Mel. Your therapist, with input from you, is going to be the one who knows the best way to approach your particular situation.

 

Jett, thank you! I think this sounds like a great idea! It makes a lot of sense to at least try when you put it like that. But (there's always a "but", isn't there), I'm not quite sure how to integrate it with the rest of my social life. Take this week for example where we're going to a birthday party on Sunday. Obviously there will be cake there. Should I still ask my wife to bake something this week, or do I eat the cake at the birthday party as this weeks sweet treat? (The good thing about going to a part at least is that as soon as we leave I can't continue eating of the sweet food). Or next week, where my wife and I are going to a food tasting where they have promised dessert. 

[Tobbe]

1 hour ago, Jean said:

As much as I like the brainoverbinge approach of tackling things directly

 

I'm having a bit of a hard time navigating that page... Do you have any direct links to anything I can read that describes what it's all about?

[Tobbe]

1 hour ago, Jean said:

My feeling from the way you've written your last posts is that food is about way more than food in your couple (both for you and your wife).

 

Yes. Some of our best moments have always been sharing sweet home baked treats in the couch in front of the TV in the evening.

[Jett]

2 hours ago, Tobbe said:

Jett, thank you! I think this sounds like a great idea! It makes a lot of sense to at least try when you put it like that. But (there's always a "but", isn't there), I'm not quite sure how to integrate it with the rest of my social life. Take this week for example where we're going to a birthday party on Sunday. Obviously there will be cake there. Should I still ask my wife to bake something this week, or do I eat the cake at the birthday party as this weeks sweet treat? (The good thing about going to a part at least is that as soon as we leave I can't continue eating of the sweet food). Or next week, where my wife and I are going to a food tasting where they have promised dessert.

 

Glad you like it.  Hmm, that's kind of up to you and her, I think. There's two components to consider; one is what effect having 2 days with access to sweets will have on you, and the other is to consider your wife's feelings if you asked her not to bake on a week like that. As Jean so astutely pointed out, her making treats for the family seems to be something that is about more than just making food. Maybe you can compromise and she can make smaller portions that week - or skip if she wants to.

[RubiksCat]

4 hours ago, Tobbe said:

*Swosh* What was that? That was the sound of a joke that flew right over the top of my head  I have no idea how to interpret this joke  Sorry  

 

Ah, I see. Just my poor attempt at humor. The audience expects the answer to the joke to be "cauliflower" (a.k.a. collie-flower). An "anti-joke" I mean. Google: Anti-humor is a type of indirect humor that involves the joke-teller delivering something which is intentionally not funny, or lacking in intrinsic meaning. The practice relies on the expectation on the part of the audience of something humorous, and when this does not happen, the irony itself is of comedic value.

[Tobbe]

6 hours ago, Jett said:

her making treats for the family seems to be something that is about more than just making food

 

I feel so self-centered now, but I really never though about it this way at all. Never occurred to me once. But now that you both @Jean and you mention it I feel this way about cooking a healthy meal that the whole family enjoys. I bet she feels great when she bakes something that she can tell everyone loves!  And that is obviously not something I want to rid her of. Now I feel really bad that my problems with food has impacted her in this way, without me even considering anyone but myself  

 

Thanks for bringing this to light! 

[Tobbe]

4 hours ago, Rubik'sCat said:

Ah, I see. Just my poor attempt at humor.

 

Nah, it's probably because English isn't my first language.

[Tobbe]

Day 74

 

Monday, 25/9

 

Food Log

 

Breakfast - 07:00

 

 

Overnight oats with peanut butter, bread with butter, turkey, cheese and cucumber. A boiled egg

 

I'm staying with a coworker, so I ate what he served for breakfast. I would have turned down the bread if it wasn't for the fact that he had just baked it himself, and was super proud of it  And it was a good bread, so I definitely don't feel the slightest bad about eating it. The overnight oats he had made were great too. I even asked for the recipe and think I'll make a batch myself  

 

Lunch - 15:40

 

 

Marinara sauce, zucchini and tuna

 

I'm visiting our office in Stockholm, so I don't have access to my own kitchen to do any cooking. But I still didn't want to go out and eat at a lunch restaurant. So I just threw something super simple together on the stove at the office  Turned out much better than expected. This is something I can actually see myself making again  

 

Dinner - 21:30

 

 

Halloumi and carrot stroganoff with rice and an avocado salad

 

Wasn't' sure what to call this dish. But it's a vegetarian variation of a very common Swedish dish called "Sausage stroganoff", but here we used halloumi for the protein instead of sausage. And added lots of carrots and one red bell pepper for some extra vegetables. A traditional "sausage stroganoff" is made with heavy cream, a mild chili sauce and tomato paste. This sauce was based on créme fraîche and sundried tomatoes instead. Probably not a dish I will cook again, but it was fun to try  The avocado salad was great 

 

Fitness Log

 

Morning walk

 

 

Miscellaneous

 

 

To post something other than a food photo for once I'll show you this Ferrari that I spotted while going to the grocery store to buy lunch ingredients  

What was funny was what I spotted when looking at the side of the car  

 

 

Can you see what's between the front seats of the car? It's a helmet. If you feel the need to wear a helmet while driving a car you probably drive pretty fast  Do you also see the sticker on the window behind the door? "Baby on board"  Hopefully that baby is not on board at the same time the helmet is needed   

[Jett]

6 hours ago, Tobbe said:

I'm staying with a coworker, so I ate what he served for breakfast. I would have turned down the bread if it wasn't for the fact that he had just baked it himself, and was super proud of it  And it was a good bread, so I definitely don't feel the slightest bad about eating it. The overnight oats he had made were great too. I even asked for the recipe and think I'll make a batch myself  

 

Excellent!

 

Also, what are overnight oats?

[Tobbe]

2 hours ago, Jett said:

Also, what are overnight oats?

 

You've never had overnight oats?!  Basically it's oatmeal porridge that instead of cooking you let sit in the fridge overnight to absorb the liquid. Chia seeds are usually added for extra creamyness, but also some added healthy fats and some protein  And some kind of yogurt is usually used as well to make it more creamy. There are a million and one recipes out there with different flavors and different liquids and add-ins/toppings. Just start experimenting! It's fun and super tasty.

 

As I said, I asked for his recipe, and actually went to the store to get all the ingredients. So I'll have it for breakfast at home tomorrow 

[Jett]

9 minutes ago, Tobbe said:

You've never had overnight oats?!  Basically it's oatmeal porridge that instead of cooking you let sit in the fridge overnight to absorb the liquid. Chia seeds are usually added for extra creamyness, but also some added healthy fats and some protein  And some kind of yogurt is usually used as well to make it more creamy. There are a million and one recipes out there with different flavors and different liquids and add-ins/toppings. Just start experimenting! It's fun and super tasty.

 

Interesting. I found this guide/recipe suggestion: https://www.cookingclassy.com/overnight-oats-five-ways/

Worth a try! What's the texture like? It kind of seems like it would be grainy if the oats aren't cooked?

 

And do you heat it up, or eat it cold?

[Tobbe]

1 minute ago, Jett said:

 

Interesting. I found this guide/recipe suggestion: https://www.cookingclassy.com/overnight-oats-five-ways/

Worth a try! What's the texture like? It kind of seems like it would be grainy if the oats aren't cooked?

 

And do you heat it up, or eat it cold?

 

It's not grainy at all. The hours in the fridge will make the oats absorb a lot of the fluid you add to them, and they'll be very soft. I actually think overnight oats are less grainy than regular oats.

 

You eat them cold. Either straight out of the fridge. Or if you need to bring them to work to eat they survive an hour or two at room temperature. So anywhere between 40 and 60 degrees F  I prefer them straight out of the fridge though

 

 

[Tobbe]

10 minutes ago, Jett said:

I found this guide/recipe suggestion: https://www.cookingclassy.com/overnight-oats-five-ways/

 

Looks pretty good. I'd add 1 tbsp chia seeds to the base recipe and double the amount of yogurt for more protein though  

But that's the beauty of it, you can tweak it to match your own preferences!

[Tobbe]

3 hours ago, Jett said:

Also, what are overnight oats?

 

They are also known as "Overnight Oats In a Jar", or OOIJ, because it's very popular to prepare single servings in mason jars. Just do five jars Sunday night, and you have your breakfast ready to grab and go for the entire week! 

[Jett]

3 hours ago, Tobbe said:

Looks pretty good. I'd add 1 tbsp chia seeds to the base recipe and double the amount of yogurt for more protein though  

But that's the beauty of it, you can tweak it to match your own preferences!

 

I do have some chia seeds I need to use! Also some peanut butter...

[Tobbe]

Day 75

 

Tuesday, 26/9

 

Food Log

 

Breakfast - 09:00

 

 

Overnight oats with raspberries and peanuts

 

Brought breakfast to the office today. Eating at 7 am like I did yesterday is too early. I get too hungry before lunch if I do that.

Peanut butter (as I had yesterday) was the better topping choice  

 

Lunch - 12:15

 

 

Same lunch as yesterday

 

Seriously, this was so easy and tasty!  Used up the rest of the ingredients. Half a zucchini, half a can of marinara sauce and one tin of tuna. That's it. Three ingredients and it's done after like 5 - 10 minutes on the stove! Season with a bit of herbal salt and some black pepper and you're ready to eat!

 

Dinner - 18:30

 

 

Bell pepper and tomato mifu wrap

 

Found this new vegetarian protein called "MiFú" at the store that I wanted to try. The description is "A new pan-fryable food protein based on milk, free from lactose". This version was also seasoned with paprika and chili. And what you see on my photo was how they suggested to serve it (except for the two strips of feta cheese, that I added because cheese ). It was alright, but as with most "fake meat" it's more expensive than the real deal, and doesn't taste as good. So next time I make this I'll just use chicken that I season myself instead .

 

Evening snack - 22:10

 

 

A plum and a cup of tea

 

Fitness Log

 

Morning walk

 

 

I walked from my coworker's place to the office today. It was cold! Don't know for sure, but my guess would be around 3 - 4 degrees Celsius (38 F). According to Google maps it should have taken about 1 h 30 min but it actually only took me like 1 h 5 min. When I got there no one else had arrived yet though, to let me in. So I kept walking for another half an hour, wanting to hit 10 km, and waiting for my coworker to arrive to unlock the door for me  

 

Workout

 

Did the stretching routine right before going to bed

 

Completed Quests

 

Go for a 60 minute walk - 60 XP

Walk a 10k (6.2 miles) - 40 XP

 

For the 60 minute walk quest the description is "Now we are really getting warmed up! It’s time for a nice leisurely walk. Grab a friend, your favorite podcasts, or your favorite audio book and get out there!". I didn't go with a friend. I also didn't listen to any podcast or audio book  So I feel a little hesitant to mark this as completed. I did however walk with my coworker from the office back to his apartment last night after work, and it took more than an hour. But I didn't record it on my phone, that's why I didn't mark it as completed already yesterday. Had I only known that the description said to listen to a podcast while walking I would have done that this morning!  I will mark the quest as completed, but not without feeling a little uneasy about it. 

[Tobbe]

So I prepared some Overnight Oats yesterday  

 

 

Turned out really well for my first try with this recipe (that I got from my coworker).

 

If you want to try it yourself, here it is!

 

1 banana

2 dl oats (rolled/old fashioned)

2 dl soy yogurt with coconut flavor

2.5 - 3 dl oat milk

2 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp flax seeds

1.5 tsp ginger powder

3 tsp cinamon

1 tsp cardamon

½ tsp salt

 

Mash the banana. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Let rest in the fridge over night.

I only used 2.4 dl oat milk, but before eating it this morning I stirred in probably an additional 0.5 dl. It all depends on how firm/runny you want it  

 

In US cups:

 

0.85 cups oats

0.85 cups soy yogurt

1 - 1.3 cups oat milk

 

[Arkania]

4 hours ago, Tobbe said:

For the 60 minute walk quest the description is "Now we are really getting warmed up! It’s time for a nice leisurely walk. Grab a friend, your favorite podcasts, or your favorite audio book and get out there!". I didn't go with a friend. I also didn't listen to any podcast or audio book  So I feel a little hesitant to mark this as completed. I did however walk with my coworker from the office back to his apartment last night after work, and it took more than an hour. But I didn't record it on my phone, that's why I didn't mark it as completed already yesterday. Had I only known that the description said to listen to a podcast while walking I would have done that this morning!  I will mark the quest as completed, but not without feeling a little uneasy about it. 

 

I would see this as a harder difficulty, so a bonus to your quest and not not achieved completely.

I find it harder to go for a walk without music/people/etc!

Distraction is for noobs

[Tobbe]

32 minutes ago, Arkania said:

 

I would see this as a harder difficulty, so a bonus to your quest and not not achieved completely.

I find it harder to go for a walk without music/people/etc!

Distraction is for noobs

 

You're too kind  

[Tobbe]

It's also kind of weird how walking 10 km is worth fewer XP than walking 60 minutes. I mean, clearly it takes more effort (i.e. time) to walk 10 km than 60 minutes  

[Jean]

1 hour ago, Arkania said:

 

I would see this as a harder difficulty, so a bonus to your quest and not not achieved completely.

I find it harder to go for a walk without music/people/etc!

Distraction is for noobs

Either this or you'll have to befriend your coworker so that the walk you did with him was with a friend. (Just joking, of course. Marking this quest as done is totally valid. Like, soloing a game gives the "solo the game" AND the "complete the game" achievements. )

 

Also, experience systems are weird. And they manage to do it in a different way everytime. Weird, I say.

[Tobbe]

1 hour ago, Jean said:

Either this or you'll have to befriend your coworker so that the walk you did with him was with a friend.

 

Yeah, I know you're joking  But I would totally have marked it as done after that walk home from work if I had tracked it. But the plan from start wasn't to walk the entire way... 

[Jett]

7 hours ago, Tobbe said:

For the 60 minute walk quest the description is "Now we are really getting warmed up! It’s time for a nice leisurely walk. Grab a friend, your favorite podcasts, or your favorite audio book and get out there!". I didn't go with a friend. I also didn't listen to any podcast or audio book  So I feel a little hesitant to mark this as completed. I did however walk with my coworker from the office back to his apartment last night after work, and it took more than an hour. But I didn't record it on my phone, that's why I didn't mark it as completed already yesterday. Had I only known that the description said to listen to a podcast while walking I would have done that this morning!  I will mark the quest as completed, but not without feeling a little uneasy about it. 

 

I think the podcast and friend are just suggestions, not requirements! And you don't have to record your walk for it to count, as long as you know it was the length or distance in the quest.