The Just Thought I'd Share Thread

[mezzoforte]

Today has felt infinitely long. I had a Latin midterm and English essay due this afternoon and spent all of yesterday procrastinating (terrible choice; totally my fault). I was up until 6 AM and still had more work to do, but figured I needed a cat nap and would finish in the morning.
Of course I overslept. And I never oversleep! Not in years! But of course today was the day. To make matters worse, my 11AM seminar was meeting at the Met to see some of Winslow Homer's watercolors (amazing opportunity--they aren't on public view). I woke up at 11:08 to a call from a friend in the class telling me to get my ass there.
Didn't have time to finish the paper and study for the midterm, so I'll have to take a half grade deduction on the paper and hand it in Thursday.
Eph. Just finished the exam and I'm basically a mound of jelly.

Sorry--that was long and boring but I needed to vent about the mini-crises of my own making.

[CreepingDeath]

Having no 'real life' friends sucks.

[APerfectLie]

Originally Posted by louielouie2000

I've just officially started your prescription salad diet, by the way. I over being doughy in the middle.

wait, what salad diet??

[jannieC]

Originally Posted by CreepingDeath

Having no 'real life' friends sucks.

That does suck, Kimberly. I hope things get better for you soon.

[chiliD]

Originally Posted by LikeAWillow

What's the story on coffee? Is it healthy? Do the gains outweigh the risks? .

Originally Posted by skcin

A cup or two a day is fine, as far as I'm aware, unless you have a heart condition or something prohibiting you from having caffeine. I just read a study where they recommended it before a workout. It supposedly speeds up the metabolism. I don't know if I'd do that - it dehydrates you as well, but I suppose if you chugged enough water it'd be all good?

Coffee has both diuretic and laxative properties, so "consumer beware".

My Dr is on my case about my weight and said that each cup of coffee is about 60-100 (or more with sweeteners/creamers), that just drinking water in the mornings should give you enough "kick" to get your day started. Water= 0 calories. So, say two cups of coffee each morning, you'd be cutting back on 840-1,400 calories (or more) a week, that's a couple of meals.

[LikeAWillow]

Thanks for weighing in, Paula.

Originally Posted by chiliD

My Dr is on my case about my weight and said that each cup of coffee is about 60-100 (or more with sweeteners/creamers), that just drinking water in the mornings should give you enough "kick" to get your day started. Water= 0 calories. So, say two cups of coffee each morning, you'd be cutting back on 840-1,400 calories (or more) a week, that's a couple of meals.

Okay, do you guys promise not to give me too much hell for it if I confess my number? Seven cups a day. The calorie argument is huge, though.

[LikeAWillow]

Originally Posted by CreepingDeath

Having no 'real life' friends sucks.

People are idiots. I'm sorry.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by APerfectLie

wait, what salad diet??

Mine. I lost 45 lbs in the past year and a half, mostly by just eating a big spinach salad for dinner, every night.

[HomerMcvie]

Originally Posted by CreepingDeath

Having no 'real life' friends sucks.

I used to feel like that. I don't know the answer to tell you, only that I hope it gets better for you, and hope you know that at least we're here, and care about you.

[mezzoforte]

Weight loss:

The best choice I ever made was to give up gluten three years ago.
I've always been weird about body image (my mother and great aunt were successful models--it screws with your head), and developed a moderate case of bulimia in high school. All of the foods I was binging on were wheat based--I craved pasta and bread and couldn't stop eating it. Since I knew I couldn't stop purging as long as I was binging, I went cold turkey and haven't looked back.
I later found out that when you have that kind of an addiction to a food group, it can be a sign that your body doesn't process it well. Sure enough, the constant stomach aches I've had all my life got much better and I even lost some weight. Now I no longer crave bread and I can finally show some self control.
Obviously not everyone has those specific issues, but I always encourage people to look at their problem food areas and consider cutting them out entirely. I'm also a big believer in long-term changes as opposed to diets.

Not that I'm great all the time--I did put on some weight this fall (transferring to a new school through my routine a little) and have about 5 pounds to go.
Good luck to everyone else working on it!

Oh, and as for coffee: I agree with everything Paula said, but had to throw in a warning about artificial sweeteners if anyone uses them. They aren't caloric like creamers and sugar, but they're probably ultimately less healthy. I still use them in small amounts, but since they cause an insulin response and are often hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, they screw with your body's reactions to sugar and can often make you gain weight. Definitely worth googling, though, because I know there's more to it than that.

[mezzoforte]

Originally Posted by CreepingDeath

Having no 'real life' friends sucks.

I'm so sorry. I think most people have felt like that at one point or another--I definitely have--and it really, really sucks. It can take a while to find your way out of that situation, but remember that things do tend to get better eventually.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by chiliD

Coffee has both diuretic and laxative properties, so "consumer beware".

My Dr is on my case about my weight and said that each cup of coffee is about 60-100 (or more with sweeteners/creamers), that just drinking water in the mornings should give you enough "kick" to get your day started. Water= 0 calories. So, say two cups of coffee each morning, you'd be cutting back on 840-1,400 calories (or more) a week, that's a couple of meals.

No, no, no... black brewed coffee is virtually calorie-free. Why would you want to ruin a perfectly good cup of black coffee with sweeteners and gunk anyway?

Originally Posted by mezzoforte

Weight loss:

The best choice I ever made was to give up gluten three years ago.
I've always been weird about body image (my mother and great aunt were successful models--it screws with your head), and developed a moderate case of bulimia in high school. All of the foods I was binging on were wheat based--I craved pasta and bread and couldn't stop eating it. Since I knew I couldn't stop purging as long as I was binging, I went cold turkey and haven't looked back.
I later found out that when you have that kind of an addiction to a food group, it can be a sign that your body doesn't process it well. Sure enough, the constant stomach aches I've had all my life got much better and I even lost some weight. Now I no longer crave bread and I can finally show some self control.
Obviously not everyone has those specific issues, but I always encourage people to look at their problem food areas and consider cutting them out entirely. I'm also a big believer in long-term changes as opposed to diets.

Not that I'm great all the time--I did put on some weight this fall (transferring to a new school through my routine a little) and have about 5 pounds to go.
Good luck to everyone else working on it!

Oh, and as for coffee: I agree with everything Paula said, but had to throw in a warning about artificial sweeteners if anyone uses them. They aren't caloric like creamers and sugar, but they're probably ultimately less healthy. I still use them in small amounts, but since they cause an insulin response and are often hundreds of times sweeter than sugar, they screw with your body's reactions to sugar and can often make you gain weight. Definitely worth googling, though, because I know there's more to it than that.

Just to clear up a misconception about gluten: it is not a bad thing for everyone. It's only bad if you have celiac disease or some other kind of intolerance to it. I am not sure why you had gastric problems secondary to consuming wheat products, but I am glad you were able to diagnose the cause of your distress.

Another misconception- artificial sweeteners do not cause an insulin response in humans. It is just mechanistically not possible. However, I do agree that it's not a good thing; in fact, anything that does not exist in nature in a non-refined state is probably not good for you. Whew, triple-negative!

[LikeAWillow]

Originally Posted by HejiraNYC

No, no, no... black brewed coffee is virtually calorie-free. Why would you want to ruin a perfectly good cup of black coffee with sweeteners and gunk anyway?

Agreed. Black is the only way I drink it. The virtually calorie free just comforted me, thank you

In other news, I am officially the nerd's version of Patti Boyd.

[CreepingDeath]

Originally Posted by LikeAWillow

People are idiots. I'm sorry.

Yes, they are. I won't bore you with the details, but people who I thought were friends completely disappeared when I stopped doing certain things. Las Vegas isn't the easiest place to live sometimes...

[cristochango]

There are officially less than two months until graduation.
Absolutely insane. Where did the past 12 years go?

JTIS