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October 6, 2005
I Assure You That We Did Not Order A Pizza
Last night as we were enjoying our delicious dinner (Quorn roast topped with bell peppers and Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Tomatoes, broccoli and asparagus on the side for MR; brewers yeast, vegetables and broth soup for me) my cell phone rang. Assuming it must be one of my staff calling with a problem or a nurse from the hospital I'm working with, I rushed into the kitchen to grab it.
"Papa John's," said a gruff male voice, as though I was supposed to know what he was talking about. Papa John's is a pizza delivery outfit that is very popular in this area. Hence, my utter confusion. Why is a pizza man calling my cell phone?
It gradually dawned on me that the intercom system at my old apartment was still set up to ring to my phone when someone tries to buzz into my old apartment. Apparently, the new tenant is ordering pizza. We got a good laugh out of that.
Vow keeping went beautifully yesterday... calories came in right at 1120, including my 20 calorie evening calcium chewy. I was downright wiggy with hunger while preparing dinner, but kept to my decision not to eat between meals. MR and I enjoyed a pot of Celestial Seasonings Almond Sunset tea while I cooked, so that was a great no-calorie alternative to a glass of wine while cooking. I find it much harder to keep my calories low during the second half of the month... hormonal changes seem to really change my appetite. I was quite satisfied after my dinner last night, even though it was a relatively low volume soup, but by this morning I was very hungry again. Ate the same 332 calorie veggie Eggbeater omlette at Denny's... they're being very good about leaving the veggies raw and cooking the eggbeaters in minimal oil. I was downright wiggy with hunger again leading up to lunch time, from about 10:30 am on, but I drank my green tea and dealt with it. I've just decided that I'd rather deal with occasional hunger than worry that I'll age faster than MR. It's not a race to see who can live the longest, but the reality of living with someone who is seriously CR'd inspires me to push myself further. Hunger is annoying at times, but it's still pretty infrequent and it is a much more pleasant sensation than the feeling of being stuffed with unhealthful foods. We have so much hardwiring and programming to belive that hunger is bad, and should be avoided at all costs, when subjectively I don't find it to be all that painful. It's making the decision that it's *okay* to feel a little hungry that's hard. I used to feel that the fact that I felt hungry meant I had to eat. Now, when I get hungry, I register the feeling and move ahead with my day. I also enjoy my food so much when I do eat! Since I'm eating three meals a day, I'm not hungry for very long at a time. Just long enough to really appreciate my delicious, nutritious meals (I say as I polish off my breakfast-salad-for-lunch... I've been eating my lunch at my desk as I write.)
Many of my CR brothers, MR included, have told me that they hit a hungry phase at some point in their CR journeys. RK says it hit him about a year in. I've plateaued so long that my moderate CR was just plain easy... I can't figure out how I managed to weigh between 10 and 30 pounds more my entire adult life! It feels like I can keep up my old level of CR with almost no effort. Taking my calories down consistently, everyday, takes a whole lot more work. When every bite is precisely measured and counted, you realize how much more you're eating when you go out or don't look... it's quite a difference! I'd like to stay in the 1100s for the next ten days or so and see how I feel. That calorie level will cause weight loss, but hopefully not too fast. I weigh myself most days, and even sometimes remember to record it on the calendar (if I can remind myself to do so while my cat screams for his breakfast) so I am not in danger of losing weight too fast, something I definitely did before I purchased my first scale.
Tonight I have a meeting in Center City, and I'm dropping by the water company on my way there to prove that I am a real human being, worthy of paying the water bill. I'll keep you posted. Hopefully I will get home in time for dinner, though there's a fair possibility that I won't. If I'm stuck out late-ish, I'll be starving when I get home. But I'm learning that being hungry isn't the end of the world, and does not signify my immediate demise. Rather, it means that I am choosing hardcore CR over the immediate feeling of being stuffed. It's my choice: not for everyone, but for me, the thought of aging faster than my Orange One is much more horrifying than the thought of being hungry for an hour before dinner. We have so much to live for... it would be just plain ungrateful to blow it all for a few hundred calories a day.
Posted by april at October 6, 2005 12:29 PM
Comments
Interesting that you worry about keeping up with MR. If it's really about "calories calories calories," you are *way* out CR-ing MR. Am I missing something?
As for being hungry before meals, I've been in that phase for years. When I was really skinny, I was hungry a lot more often than that.
But, as you've come to realize, hunger is not such a big deal once you make up your mind that hunger is not such a big deal. The worst I'd say about it is that it can be a little distracting at times.
Posted by: Dan at October 8, 2005 11:39 PM
Just wondered about your Almond Sunset experience. We've been long time drinkers of this tea and it seems to have changed.
Here's a note that I sent to CS on what seems to be their new formulation of Almond Sunset:
You can comment at http://www.celestialseasonings.com/customerservice/ContactUs.php
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My wife and I have been loyal drinkers of your Almond Sunset tea for the past 15 years. We have enjoyed the bold, deep and rich flavors of this tea and indeed it makes a great after dinner tea to have. We serve this tea often with my wife's amazing desserts when we have friends and family over. Our guests often ask what kind of tea they are drinking and we always let them know about CS' Almond Sunset and how it is our favorite after dinner tea.
Just yesterday, I picked up your Almond Sunset tea which was relabeled as a Dessert Tea and brought it home thinking it was the same tea as in the past.
To my disappointment, when we served the tea last night, it was lighter and devoid of flavor. You've lost the bold richness of the original Almond Sunset tea and what we now have is a watered-down version. I don't know if I even combine 3-4 tea bags of your new formulation, would I get the flavor of your original Almond Sunset blend. We are deeply disappointed with this dessert version and hope you consider bringing back Almond Sunset in its original form. I am afraid that the four boxes purchased yesterday will be consumed seldomly and that we will ultimately seek after dinner alternatives if this is what we're stuck with.
Posted by: YM at October 23, 2005 9:56 AM