Wednesday 30 May 2007

I've been slightly lamenting the fact that postings from this little community have been getting fewer and fewer as the months go by; I quite like having random musings to read in the mornings over my coffee - I miss them when they are not there! But looking at my own blogging stats from the past month, I am blogging less and less myself - yet I think I am always rambling on about stuff and nonsense. :-)

I guess with CRON more or less under control, there's not a whole lot to write about (to do with CR). Actually, sometimes I am getting too good at the CR bit; I thought I was eating all day yesterday but when I came to add it all up into CoM I was under a 1000 calories. I'd had a few cups of Green and Black's cocoa made with water and a glass or two of sauvignon blanc so the day's total wasn't really that low, but with hovering just over the lowest weight I want to go (I think), I need to be careful of being too low on a regular basis. 100% ON though, according to CoM. Bar the wine, of course.

I'm mildly fretting about this protein restriction thread that's going on on the CR mailing lists. Arturo posted last night/today begging for a layperson's explanation (especially for us vegetarians) and I totally second that because I really cannot understand a word from the more hard-core scientific contributors' posting (yes, I do read them!).

But only mildly fretting. It's not like I'm mainlining steak at la Atkins. It's just that I upped my protein this year to eat CRON and I'd actually be fine lowering it again - this should we, shouldn't we, is getting a bit tiresome for me. I guess I should just make my own decision based on my own instincts - which lately has been cut the eggwhites, and get non-vegetable based protein from non-fat yoghurt, low-fat cottage cheese and LLBY. I'd be quite happy going back to all veggie protein though.

Off to London again later this afternoon. I've almost completed the CRON colonisation of P's cupboards - my nuts and seeds are there, my goji berries are there, my fat-free yoghurt is there, my flax oil and my scales! It makes such a difference knowing there are nutritious foods available, and P's health-kick continues. I am promised fresh tomato soup with braised fennel, and salady things for dinner. Lucky me. :-)

I just cannot believe that it is almost June.

10 comments:

Robin said...

Sara,

I think it's natural for postings to wax and wane. It's always exciting when you start something new; it takes a bit more effort to keep it going once the newness wears off. Also, as the weather improves, people will naturally spend less time snuggled up with their laptops and more time outdoors frolicking in the sun. That's all good, I think.

I have to admit I haven't even begun to wade through all the protein restriction stuff. I have a scientific background and *I* find it all sort of confusing.

Deborah said...

I agree with Robin.. I was just about to say the same thing, and there she is! I don't believe I'll ever snuggle up to this laptop....but I will be getting my Mac repaired only to have it packed up for a month. So I guess this has been good training. It's forced me to get everything transferred over. I used to post every day.. and now I'm not able to get to the computer much less post..but I'm working on it since I see a direct correlation between my good habits and my posting. it's a must for me..hopefully I'll have it under control soon. Don't forget to add your wine in..it makes a big difference.

As always,
:-D

Sara said...

Oh yes, if I didn't have to be glued to this PC for work purposes, I'd be out there gardening myself. Only maybe not in today's downpours! I just find online communities kind of magical, and have for years. I think I was one of the first people to use IRC back in the mid-90's, and CB radio before that, and remain fascinated by the freedom of anonymous communication. Not that I think of any of us as anonymous, but we are really... sort of. Does that make any sense?! :-)

Re the protein restriction - I'm trying not to get too drawn into it. I can see that one could easily end up at a foolish and detrimental level of restriction in all senses, trying to follow every avenue of advice and recommendation. It's not where I want to be. Which is why it would be nice if Arturo's posting got a simple "Yes/No" answer, but I suspect there isn't one.

No wonder scientific research is so fascinating! It just goes on and on, back and forth, with no resolution.

Matthew said...

Hi sara, I hope you keep blogging. A lot people seem to have gone quiet lately, as you say... but this happens often in the CR blogging community. Everyone has their own reasons for quitting, but hopefully a few will carry on. Even if you post one a week, or once a month it still helps others.

Thanks for borrowing me that £10 the other week, I would like to pay you back on friday. By what method would you like to be paid, send in the post?

Sara said...

Matt, email me and I'll send you my postal address; you can just post the tenner back. :-) Glad it helped a little.

Mizpah Matus said...

I love reading your posts Sara, and others in the CRON community as well.

You are so right about the science - there really is never a resolution. As soon as we think it is all worked out another study comes along contradicting it. But we do our best at balancing the rational with the practical.

I firmly believe in following our own instincts. You know how your body responds more than any scientific study can tell you.

Ahh well stocked cupboards. What a wonderful feeling!

Illiah said...

Yeah, the protein stuff is blowing my little pea brain out of the water too. I was always told personaly trainer wise, that normal sedementary people needed .5 g protein per pound of body weight, elite athletes needed 1-1.5 g per pound, and the rest of us could extrapolate based on training activities. I know when I don't get enough, my hair falls out and I get running injuries.

Matthew said...

Michael was saying in the thread on protein about the fact that in a *CR Context* higher protein is actually better. Meaning less cancer, higher survival in adult onset CR.

Arturo said...

Hi Sara
I kind of asked regarding the protein discussion in the list because you had raised the question in a comment in April's blog. I was expecting an answer like Matt's here - one that distills it. Protein from low fat cottage cheese and yogurt sounds sensible to me. I eat primarily vegan, so I have been relying on the protein powders for protein. But I suspect that they are contributing to higher blood pressure, so I have limited the amounts I consume. Maybe this explains why once or twice monthly I gravitage to eating a lot of mozzarella all at once - for the protein and calcium. Regarding the blogs, I too write about too many rambling things, but it's probably because I live alone and don't have a captive audience-significant other at home to blab about what went on that day. Cheers,
Arturo

Sara said...

Thanks for that Arturo! What with Matt's comment and Iliah's, I feel reassured that I am not in any danger of consuming too much protein so can stop fretting about that one. At 110-112lbs and female and fairly active and fairly restricted, 70-90g on a more or less regular basis seems about right.

I guess LLBY is kind of high in sodium but AFAIK I don't have any blood pressure problems that would encourage me to eat less than my 7-14g daily.

My blog is my captive audience too!