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April 25, 2007
Eating Order
Our dear friends Aaron and Christine, creator and first lady of CRON-o-Meter, refer to CR as "eating order." What strikes me as disordered are people who use food as everything other than fuel for your body. From the anorexic to the obese, food means something other than nutrition and energy for most people. Sure, food can be fun, a great way to share in community, a way to celebrate, etc. But why use those as excuses to poison yourself? I do all of the above, with healthier food or smaller portions of the occasional "treat." And sure enough, I'm healthier than I was before... happier too.
What never seems to occur to the people who can't help but project their own problems onto us is that if the science behind CR is correct (and reasonable people can disagree about that) and maintaining youth and health is a priority (which some claim it is not, though I see no lack of people buying "anti-aging" skin creams or complaining about how horrible it is to feel old) then it makes sense to pursue CR. We don't want to recruit people to this lifestyle... if people are interested, they can do the research, use the resources, and decide for themselves. We vehemently try to discourage those who aren't actually practicing CR but are eating unhealthy diets that are too low in calories from refering to their practice as CR, as it's a) dangerous for them b) makes life more difficult for the rest of us. But there's a limit to how much one can control: no matter how many times you tell someone to increase their calories, or use nutritional software, or get their blood work done, or see their doctor regularly, you can't force them to do so. The CR community doesn't have a "diet" or a book of rules, and there are as many ways to practice CR as there are practitioners. We usually show tremendous respect for each other, which is much more than I can say for some people who refer to themselves as journalists.
Thanks to all my readers for the nice comments! Glad the blog is helping you do what you want to do. I sometimes think of giving up the blog... as many rightly point out, I am way too busy with my work and my life, and it's hard to deal with media attacks on top of everything else. I was most amused yesterday that I got called fat for the first time in a long time... further proof that I don't have an eating disorder: I got a tremendous laugh out of that. I wonder if I am the only woman in America who could say that. Before CR, any hint that I was "fat" would ruin my whole day. Now it gives me something funny to laugh about with my co-workers. It was actually the perfect tension-breaker in an incredibly stressful day at work.
It always amazes me that people equate the number of calories you consume with the amount of pleasure you receive. I consider myself a "foodie" -- I love good food, good wine, good restaurants, and cooking. I still go out, and I really enjoy the food I make at home. I just eat a lot less than I used to, and a lot more nutrient dense foods. During a period when I'm going out a lot, I have to be even more rigorous with my calories and nutrition when at home to make sure I get everything I need. Good food can be enjoyed as part of an overall full, satisfying life... but for so many people, I think that food is the focus. Eating is the break from the day, the medication for whatever hurts, the distraction from whatever changes they might want to make in their lives. I know a lot of people who say they'll do this or that when they lose weight. But they never make significant progress towards losing weight. It's just an excuse, a procrastination tool. I don't sit around waiting to change... I live my life, to the fullest, right here, right now. Besides, I figure, if I want to put off doing something, I may as well be healthy while I'm putting it off! The energy that most women put into dieting and obsessing about their weight makes the amount of time I spend on CR look trivial. My own experience was that I spend much less time thinking about food or weight related issues now than I did pre-CR. I think many women would agree.
I don't really have much time to obsess about much of anything... any free time I have I use trying to catch up with my partner or my cats. My work is so demanding that it's hard to find time to sleep! Yesterday I was out the door at 6:30 am to meet with nurses, spent the entire day running around like crazy between meetings and other work that had to be done, got home for an hour break at dinner time and took a quick nap, went back to the office and worked till 9 pm. Because I try not to let my entire social life disappear during these crunch times (which are actually most of the time) I met up with a few friends after work whom I don't get to see very often. We had a very nice time over a light beer and a glass of wine, and I ordered celery sticks to dip the salsa in instead of chips (though I did eat a nacho off the communal plate... without the slightest feeling of guilt or anguish or fear that I would wake up fat! I was under calories for the entire day, while still having had my nutritional staples, so I didn't worry about it in the slightest.)
I don't stress much about food. I do enjoy playing with my nutritional software, much like some people enjoy crossword puzzles. I like the game of finding ways to eat healthy, in a calorie-controlled and nutrient dense manner, while living in a crazy sick food environment. Finding the eggwhites at the Wawa, the excellent salads at my favorite restaurants, the nutritional information at every major chain so that even when I'm on the road I can find something low calorie and healthy to eat... that's all pretty entertaining to me. Just like folks who shop for antiques or bargains on designer clothes, it's fun to find the unexpected and rare. The difference is that my hobby has already made me healthier, and by all measures we have of people on CR (not anorexics or people with wasting diseases) I will continue to enjoy good health.
Unless of course my job or these media people kill me first. Which is a genuine concern. It's quite a challenge for my spiritual discipline to think kind thoughts about those who make money off of labeling us. Anorexia hysteria has become such an industry. It would be interesting to somehow calculate the amount of money that has gone to journalists and people who just call themselves that to promote the idea that a disorder that effects so few is actually a huge public health problem. Like the media frenzy around the school shootings, I find this hysteria disrespectful to the real pain and suffering of those who have eating disorders.
It will never be enough to explain to people who are determined to label us one way or another that we're actually happy, healthy, busy people. Because I have a real job, I don't always have the time to deal with the critics. In the end, as long as they don't succeed in outlawing nutritional software of mandating that every American man woman and child must consume their alotment of French fries, it doesn't matter.
And it sure is fun to wake up every morning feeling good in my own skin. I can only wish those who criticize us that they will at some point feel the same.
Posted by april at April 25, 2007 5:49 AM
Comments
Great post April, but please, NEVER STOP BLOGGING!! I love to read what you write.
You know it just sucks that you almost have to hesitate a bit. Well you do not have to, but I imagine getting a bit shy now telling full stories of WaWa egg whites and other funny CR moments like it.
Please don't let these trival people stop you from posting and being such a active, vivid member of this community!
I heart ya buddy!
Posted by: carolyn at April 25, 2007 8:10 AM
Hi! I've been reading for a few months now, and been wanting to ask questions but scared that comments would have my email address attached. I don't want spam-bots picking that up! But it looks like maybe only url's are attached, so I'm going to try.
As a newbie, I'm still on the weight-loss end of CRON. For that matter, I'm still on the "figure out what this thing is, lower calories slowly while upping nutrition" end of it. So, not stable. For now, the ideas of CRON seem useful for sure - I know that lowering calories works better if I drop junk calories than otherwise.
So, here's my question. I've been tracking calories, intake and exercise, and weight loss over most of 16 months. As a 5'1" woman, age 30, working a sedentary job, I seem to have a basic caloric usage of 1200-1300 calories aside from intentional exercise (walking, yoga, elliptical). Conventional wisdom has it that this number will go down as I lose the 25 lbs between my weight and yours, probably to about 1000 or 1100. So, if you're intaking 1100 calories and maintaining your weight, is that really CR?
I guess what worried me about CR in the post-weight-loss stage (or confuses me, if that reads better), is that by definition it seems like eating less than my body wants = losing weight. Did I miss something?
Caveat: I don't weigh my food, and I go by general averages: cup of milk = 100/skim, starchy fruit = 100, non-starchy fruit = 50, that kind of thing. I may be underestimating my calories by doing this, but I'd rather spend my food budget at the grocery store than at restaurants, so I'm not grossly underestimating.
Oh, and I can't figure out either how to keep my post after I preview or how to have paragraphs. Sorry.
Posted by: RG at April 25, 2007 9:25 AM
Groan. You poor misunderstood martyr.
Why do we always get the feeling when reading these posts - with their "us against the world" snipes, visions of "escape velocity," and teenager-ish fantasies of living forever (to "explore the galaxy" Yeah!) - that we're reading the Gate of Heaven website and that there's a good chance you might all be found one day laid out in a house with a suicide video nearby, Jonestown-style? Creepy.
Posted by: Ron H at April 25, 2007 9:44 AM
Why? Because your blood is polluted with advanced glycation end products and you think electrolytes are something plants crave. Lighten up. As the late great Bill Hicks said frequently:
"The world is like a ride in an amusement park. And when you choose to go on it, you think it's real because that's how powerful our minds are. And the ride goes up and down and round and round. It has thrills and chills and it's very brightly coloured and it's very loud and it's fun, for a while. Some people have been on the ride for a long time and they begin to question, is this real, or is this just a ride? And other people have remembered, and they come back to us, they say, "Hey - don't worry, don't be afraid, ever, because, this is just a ride..." And we... kill those people.
"We have a lot invested in this ride. Shut him up. Look at my furrows of worry. Look at my big bank account and my family. This just has to be real." Just a ride. But we always kill those good guys who try and tell us that, you ever notice that? And let the demons run amok. But it doesn't matter because: It's just a ride. And we can change it anytime we want. It's only a choice. No effort, no work, no job, no savings and money. A choice, right now, between fear and love. The eyes of fear want you to put bigger locks on your doors, buy guns, close yourself off. The eyes of love, instead, see all of us as one. Here's what we can do to change the world, right now, to a better ride. Take all that money that we spend on weapons and defences each year and instead spend it feeding and clothing and educating the poor of the world, which it would many times over, not one human being excluded, and we could explore space, together, both inner and outer, forever, in peace."
Posted by: A. Meeks at April 25, 2007 11:09 AM
um...WHAT???
Posted by: Danielle at April 25, 2007 3:52 PM
I'll take that ride!!
Posted by: Deborah at April 25, 2007 5:46 PM
I thought the heated debate was in the senate regarding funding for the war in Iraq... April, I'll have to schedule time this weekend to read your wonderful writing; I did read Judith's post on MR and how wonderful that a mom can shed light with her observations on her son's eating patterns. Those of us who read your blog know that the food you prepare is fabulous. Ashley, I enjoy your writing, but frankly, I can't really acertain what you are saying in that last comment. Hugs to all.
Arturo
Posted by: Arturo at April 25, 2007 9:30 PM
Your blog has been a true inspiration to me, April. I love hearing about your enjoyment of CR and how every aspect of your life is enriched by it.
I can only try to understand how battered you feel right now. It's senseless what you've been put through.
I just want to thank you. Your efforts have given CR an intelligent, vivacious, and healthy face.
nen
Posted by: Nenette at April 27, 2007 5:07 PM