April's CR Diary

Boy, some people really got on your nerves didn't they? My advice: Fuck'em.

I was just thinking about what I can quickly add up some calories on because I'm low on calories right now and need some quickly cos its bed time...

yes, nuts!

I cringe when I hear these:

"You could be doing all that but get hit by a bus tomorrow!"

"You don't live longer but it seems like it"

First of all the probability of getting hit by a bus is pretty low. And even more so when you look both ways when crossing the road and not get too close to buses. Plus with our CR practise it should improve our ability to dodge buses if they ever come our way due to being light on our feet and being able to run like the wind! Also we should have a statistically significant chance of avoiding getting run over by crazy bus drivers, car drivers and cyclists because of our better than average eye sight and hearing for our age groups, plus CRONers ability to maintain muscle function and mass with age (it won't take us forever to cross a road).

and for the one where people say CR doesn't work it just makes it seem like you live longer.

I for one found life to be going past at a VERY quick rate as I started to get older. In dawned on me that It won't be that long before I'm middle aged. This is one of the reasons I took up CR.

Time still seems to be going past an a fast pace while on CR, only I'll probably have a lot more now.

People should start contributing more to Mprize.org to reverse and slow down aging before we all get old and die

:)

You should know better than me that avarage peoples' reaction to anything different and challenging is negative. I know that being an atheist and lesbian. You know that being a CRONİE and a union organizer. We are different from the rest of the world's population. We can only suggest our ways and should be prepared to receive tons of crap. Not many people are equipped well enough to deal with new ideas and change. They get defensive. That's avarage human nature. Don't let that get to you because you're above that avarage. You can only hope that some people will eventually catch up with you. You can only hope.

Did you read Bob Cavanaugh's comment on the Slashfood post? It's really good: sane, rational and intelligent! You're right, though -- when it comes to food, most people are nuts! :-)

You know, this post reminded me of something that happened to me several years ago.
I had been packing on some extra pounds and decided to do something about it. So I exercised like a maniac and lost quite a bit of weight (I later gained it all back because I just couldn't keep up with such a severe exercise regimen). Anyway, for a while there I was quite thin, and a guy I worked with spontaneously complimented me one day on how great I looked after losing the weight.
Another co-worker - an obese woman - happened to be in the room when I got this compliment. She immediately took offense and claimed that rather than complimenting *me* the guy had just said it to insult *her*.
At the time, I thought it was the most bizarre reaction ever. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized why she reacted the way she did. She had convinced herself there was nothing she could do about her weight. I think she felt like obesity was genetically determined and completely beyond her control. But my weight loss suggested that maybe it's possible to do something about weight problems. Every time I got attention for having lost weight, she was reminded of the fact that a) weight loss was possible, and b) she wasn't doing anything about her own weight and health problems.
Over the years, I watched this woman suffer all sorts of chronic conditions - back pain, RSI, knee pain - that were due, at least in part, to her excess weight. She hated going to doctors or physical therapists about these conditions because they all told her the same thing - LOSE WEIGHT! She got really mad if anyone said that to her. She simply refused to believe she had any control over her weight whatsoever, and she resented anyone who implied she had any power to change things.
While I was thin, I could literally feel her anger and disapproval. It was as if I had somehow betrayed her. And I swear I think she was gleeful when I gained the weight back. I'm quite certain she felt that my failure to keep the weight off vindicated her do-nothing-and-just-accept-you're-fat attitude.
This woman is no longer in my life but if she were, I'm sure she would disapprove of me even more now that I've lost weight on CR.
My point is this: we live in a country filled with overweight and obese people like this woman. Most of them seem to think they have little or no control over their weight or health. So anytime they see someone who says, "I used to be a lot heavier but I found a healthy way to lose the extra pounds" they don't want to hear it. In a sense, you are living proof that it really is possible to exert healthy control over food choices. I know that for you, it isn't about weight, but I'm sure many people can't get beyond the fact that you're thin.
I think the first knee-jerk reaction to a thin person in our society these days is to assume the person is doing something unhealthy. "She must be starving herself!" Why? Well, a lot of people *are* losing weight by doing something unhealthy. But also, I think most people, like my former co-worker, are loath to admit that there could be a healthy way to lose weight and keep it off. Because if such a thing is truly possible, these people have to either change the way they live or just admit that they are *choosing* to be overweight and unhealthy. Few people are willing to admit something like that and even fewer are willing to make major lifestyle changes. It's much easier to call thin people freaks and pretend that there's something pathological about wanting to be thin or trying to be healthy. Oh, and they *have* to believe that whatever you're doing must involve an enormous sacrifice in your quality of life. Because how can they go on stuffing their faces with gak if they know it's possible to be thin, possibly live longer, definitely live healthier, eat much less and *still* be quite happy and satisfied with your life? They *have* to believe there's a downside if they are to continue living the way they choose to live.
So yes, I think unhealthy, overweight people look at you and feel like your lifestyle is an implicit condemnation of their own lifestyles. And frankly, there's not much you can do about that.
As for me, I used to get angry whenever I thought of my former co-worker. Now I just feel sorry for her. She gave up the fight for her health and well-being a long time before I met her. Right about now, I'm guessing her poor body is starting to fail in all sorts of new ways. I have no doubt she is suffering and will continue to suffer until the day she dies, probably prematurely.
When you think of it from this angle, these feeble attacks are really sort of pathetic in a way, don't you think?

I think it is natural for people to react negatively to a new concept, etc. It doesn't make this reaction right, but it does happen with more than diet and health perspectives.

The idea of CR is extremely interesting to me not just for the sake of life-extension, but for the sake of living more with less in all possible areas. However, with my past eating disorder, I think it would be counter-productive to weigh, measure and calculate every gram of food that passes my lips. Maybe I will come around to it in the future, but for now, I am one of those people who will take what they can use from CRON and implement it into a workable lifestyle.

Are you still bothered by the NY Magazine comment on your cooking? Let it go.