I'm a metaphysical kinda gal, and one of the things I find interesting is the concept of nature's sentience, and what you might consider the 'devas' (architects) and 'spirits' (sort of like nature-angels) of nature itself.
This is not 'instead of' a belief in God, but rather, part and parcel of it; I tend to think that all things are by nature (without distortion) divine, because all things are of God. I consider animals, plants and even metals and rock (in different ways) to be "composed of sentience" because I think our entire reality/universe is.
Physicists say that mass, like your coffee table, is 'vibrating energy trapped in a cohesive shape.' That we see it as a coffee table and not vibrating energy is due to the biological filters of our body. That it hurts when we run into it is due to the span of frequencies our biological bodies inhabit "compared to" that of the coffee table. If it vibrated more quickly than our bodys'-energy, it would be less-solid than us, from slightly permeable to liquid to gas to sound to light and finally to invisible. It is vibrating somewhat more slowly, which is why it is seemingly denser and harder than we are. If it were yet more dense, it would eventually be hard as rock, then diamond, and if it were too slow, it might not even be "within the range" of frequency we can perceive, and like light above the violet zone, we might be oblivious to it.
I consider 'energy' to be the other side (wave form) of consciousness, in the same way that space and time are the same thing but in an inexplicable way none of us will ever get our brains around while resident in these bodies. Hence, the coffee table 'has' some degree of consciousness, though it is not 'self-aware' in the way that humans are. And I tend to assume that there are identities in our universe which are 'aware' to a degree that makes us look about as bright as coffee tables. ;-) Angels maybe, who knows.
So lately I've been thinking a lot about my body having its OWN consciousness, as apart from, although part-of, "mine." I've had some "esoteric experiences" where I became incredibly aware of this, and it was totally amazing.
We think of our bodies "as" "us". Yet whether your religion is something traditional or more metaphysical, all of them definitely hold the philsophy that "we are more than our physical bodies" -- that bodies are something we HAVE, not something we ARE.
The past few days I have been forcing myself to think of my body not AS me but as a highly intelligent, complex "nature spirit" that happens to be "part of" me.
And what's kinda funny is that it is really having an effect. I am starting to think of my body as a friend -- as a sweet creature that I want to TAKE CARE OF. Not like, "I'm ignoring you because you're me and who cares about me." More like a partnership of sorts, though not as separated as that makes it sound.
I'm starting to think when I ignore that I am thirsty, or have to pee but I'm busy and try to put it off, or when my back hurts because I'm slouching and I'm ignoring it, that I am being very unkind to this fabulous entity, thanks to whom I have a presence in this range of frequency and beat-pattern we call reality. :-)
I'm starting to think that maybe I should be nicer to my body. It has put up with a whole lot of crap over the years and the fact is, it was my horrible lifestyle that apparently destroyed my metabolism, and that was MY choice, not my body's. Aside from the metabolic issues, I'm really disgustingly healthy. I've been athletic and strong all my life until my massive weight gain around 15 years ago. I've always carried weight far better than most people, looking thinner with more weight and being more active at higher weights, who knows why, distribution of it maybe. I was blessed with the ability to really focus, absorb, extrapolate and innovate, mental qualities that have benefitted my life in every area. Though I'm sure higher aspects of "ME" have something to do with that stuff too, the bottom line is that my body, as an entity worth respecting on its own merits, has worked hard for me, suffered a lot, and continues to support me like a real trooper despite the condition I've put it in.
I'm concluding that maybe there is some "lack of self-value" going on, if I ignore my body when I think of it as "me," yet am suddenly all compassion and appreciation when I think of it as even partly separable. Maybe that Virgo service ethic gone overboard: "Everybody else matters more than me."
I'm starting to think of my body more as a gift from God I've been given for my use, rather than an obnoxious incomprehensible thing I am trapped in.
Anyway, this is just musing a bit, but it's the kind of thing I find interesting. And the good news is, my body is benefitting, and as a result, so is my life.
.
Monday, October 23
Sunday, October 22
MexiChickenMix (quick micro)
Highlights:
4 ingredients. 5 min max to make, 1 min to cook. Mix/cook/store/eat from same bowl. High protein low carb. Yummy. Uses pre-cooked chicken.
I was experimenting with a few goals in mind:
1 - A use for cooked chicken, because we tend to crockpot two big bags of formerly-frozen chicken breasts at a time, so we have a big bowl of cooked chicken that needs to be eaten.
2 - Something that could be made QUICK AND EASY, in the microwave even, and with not many ingredients
3 - Something with enough protein and few enough carbs that eating it wouldn't make me have to do the hula around carbs the rest of my day.
4 - Something that I could make a bunch of, put in those 1/2cup/4oz Glad containers, and eat a few times a day -- so something that could be nuked as leftovers.
This worked out really great!
As it turns out, it's even good eaten at room temp and straight out of the fridge like a sort of mexi-flavored chicken salad. It's like chopped chicken in a sort of 'creamy' mix, not very creamy, but enough to full flavor every bite in the best way.
You can vary this recipe any way you like -- add spices, add fresh herbs, add more or less hot peppers, add onions. This is more a 'concept' recipe but it comes out really yummy!!
I planned it for 'single serving' but it actually came out like 2-3 each.
Old El Paso brand is available in most groceries; they make tons of stuff, including "enchilada sauce" in mild green, red, red medium, and red hot. It comes in cans, they are yellow with red titles and available in the mexican-food section of the store.
INGREDIENTS
1 oz cream cheese,
2 oz El Paso enchilada sauce, either mild green OR red
1-2 oz chopped FRESH chilis so they are crunchy, either green OR red
(you can substitute green chilis in the can, or onions for this, but it's really good with the fresh chilis)
2 oz grated cheese: pepperjack (for green) or cheddar (for red)
4-6oz small- to finely- chopped cooked chicken (I use mine from the fridge)
INSTRUCTIONS
You can mix and cook and store and eat this all from the same bowl. I used one of those deep rectangular 24oz Glad plastic bowls.
Put the cream cheese in your bowl and nuke it till it's supersoft.
Add the enchilada sauce
Add the chopped chilis and stir it all up well
Add the grated cheese (I only had slices for the pepperjack, so I just chopped them up well) and again mix it all together well.
Add the chopped chicken and stir it all up so the chicken is totally mixed into the rest of the ingredients.
Nuke it for 45-60 seconds, take it out and stir it well.
That's it! It's yummy!
This makes about 10-12oz of stuff depending on your ingredients. I used 4.25oz as the 'serving size' in my counts below -- that's 20-25g of protein and 3-4g of carbs depending on the version.
Tips:
If you add 6oz rather than 4oz meat, obviously the same weight of serving will have a little more protein and calories and a little less carbs. So vary it as you need. It's a little creamier the more 'other' stuff you add to the chicken. Chopping the chicken more finely also makes it a little creamier. Theoretically I bet you could even blender this and use it as a 'spread' on something.
Green chilis have a tad more carbs than red chilis, if you're buying and chopping fresh. However, red chilis tend to be hotter. I have a big garden with lots of stuff. For my green I used poblano and anaheim and a jalapeno. For my red I used thai, cayenne, and red jalapeno.
The 'crunch' of the fresh chopped veggies really added a lot to this! Made it kinda like chicken salad with fresh onions or something. If you add onions instead of chilis you add more carbs but keep some of the crunch. If you add canned green chilis instead of the fresh, you keep the flavor on the green chili version but lose all the crunch.
Nutrition Info
Like all the recipes I post, it depends on how you put it together! But here's the counts on the two versions I made in my experiment, with line-item counts in case that helps ya.
GREEN VERSION
RED VERSION
4 ingredients. 5 min max to make, 1 min to cook. Mix/cook/store/eat from same bowl. High protein low carb. Yummy. Uses pre-cooked chicken.
I was experimenting with a few goals in mind:
1 - A use for cooked chicken, because we tend to crockpot two big bags of formerly-frozen chicken breasts at a time, so we have a big bowl of cooked chicken that needs to be eaten.
2 - Something that could be made QUICK AND EASY, in the microwave even, and with not many ingredients
3 - Something with enough protein and few enough carbs that eating it wouldn't make me have to do the hula around carbs the rest of my day.
4 - Something that I could make a bunch of, put in those 1/2cup/4oz Glad containers, and eat a few times a day -- so something that could be nuked as leftovers.
This worked out really great!
As it turns out, it's even good eaten at room temp and straight out of the fridge like a sort of mexi-flavored chicken salad. It's like chopped chicken in a sort of 'creamy' mix, not very creamy, but enough to full flavor every bite in the best way.
You can vary this recipe any way you like -- add spices, add fresh herbs, add more or less hot peppers, add onions. This is more a 'concept' recipe but it comes out really yummy!!
I planned it for 'single serving' but it actually came out like 2-3 each.
Old El Paso brand is available in most groceries; they make tons of stuff, including "enchilada sauce" in mild green, red, red medium, and red hot. It comes in cans, they are yellow with red titles and available in the mexican-food section of the store.
INGREDIENTS
1 oz cream cheese,
2 oz El Paso enchilada sauce, either mild green OR red
1-2 oz chopped FRESH chilis so they are crunchy, either green OR red
(you can substitute green chilis in the can, or onions for this, but it's really good with the fresh chilis)
2 oz grated cheese: pepperjack (for green) or cheddar (for red)
4-6oz small- to finely- chopped cooked chicken (I use mine from the fridge)
INSTRUCTIONS
You can mix and cook and store and eat this all from the same bowl. I used one of those deep rectangular 24oz Glad plastic bowls.
Put the cream cheese in your bowl and nuke it till it's supersoft.
Add the enchilada sauce
Add the chopped chilis and stir it all up well
Add the grated cheese (I only had slices for the pepperjack, so I just chopped them up well) and again mix it all together well.
Add the chopped chicken and stir it all up so the chicken is totally mixed into the rest of the ingredients.
Nuke it for 45-60 seconds, take it out and stir it well.
That's it! It's yummy!
This makes about 10-12oz of stuff depending on your ingredients. I used 4.25oz as the 'serving size' in my counts below -- that's 20-25g of protein and 3-4g of carbs depending on the version.
Tips:
If you add 6oz rather than 4oz meat, obviously the same weight of serving will have a little more protein and calories and a little less carbs. So vary it as you need. It's a little creamier the more 'other' stuff you add to the chicken. Chopping the chicken more finely also makes it a little creamier. Theoretically I bet you could even blender this and use it as a 'spread' on something.
Green chilis have a tad more carbs than red chilis, if you're buying and chopping fresh. However, red chilis tend to be hotter. I have a big garden with lots of stuff. For my green I used poblano and anaheim and a jalapeno. For my red I used thai, cayenne, and red jalapeno.
The 'crunch' of the fresh chopped veggies really added a lot to this! Made it kinda like chicken salad with fresh onions or something. If you add onions instead of chilis you add more carbs but keep some of the crunch. If you add canned green chilis instead of the fresh, you keep the flavor on the green chili version but lose all the crunch.
Nutrition Info
Like all the recipes I post, it depends on how you put it together! But here's the counts on the two versions I made in my experiment, with line-item counts in case that helps ya.
GREEN VERSION
cal prot carb fiber
223.00 43.00 - - 5 oz chicken
18.59 - 2.79 - 2 oz mild green el paso
enchilada sauce
99.00 2.00 1.00 - 1 oz cream cheese
109.00 7.00 1.00 - 2 oz pepper jack cheese
23.00 1.13 5.36 0.90 2 oz green chilis, fresh,
chopped
472.59 53.13 10.15 0.90 TOTAL RECIPE MADE ~11.25 OZ
42.01 4.72 0.90 0.08 per ounce
178.53 20.07 3.83 0.34 for a 4.25oz serving (~ 1/2c)
RED VERSION
cal prot carb fiber
275.00 52.00 - - 6 oz chicken
23.63 0.95 2.84 - 2 oz HOT red el paso red
enchilada sauce
99.00 2.00 1.00 - 1 oz cream cheese
223.00 13.00 1.00 - 2 oz cheddar cheese
14.00 0.66 3.12 0.50 1.25 oz hot red chilis, fresh,
chopped
634.63 68.61 7.96 0.50 TOTAL RECIPE MADE ~11.5 OUNCES
55.19 5.97 0.69 0.04 per ounce
234.54 25.36 2.94 0.18 per 4.25oz serving (~ 1/2 c)
The serving size (half a cup is around 4-4.5 oz) is reasonable because with 20-25 grams of protein this is pretty filling.
Thursday, October 19
PJ's Induction Cycling
It's taken me a month but I've finally solidified my own personal "eating plan" that I think is workable and appropriate for me.
It is based on several factors, including:
I call it "PJ's Induction Cycling." (Added my name just in case the term is used anywhere else and I don't know about it, don't want to get it confused with other stuff.) Here's the basics: (click the link to see the image)
Changed it to 20 on standard (stage 2) after discussion with another LCer.
OK I thought I was done but that's not it.
Q. Do you do protein powder on the first-stage?
A. Yes, protein powders, protein puddings.
Q. Why no grains, mushrooms or cheese?
A. The first for bowel reasons, the second two for herbalism reasons. Basically just to make it so there's a few days each month I detox from such things for sure. And because I know if I don't rule it out I will be eating mega amounts of cheese during the induction period, as I love it, and I really want to force the protein-fat meat/seafood/poultry emphasis instead.
Q. Isn't 20 carbs + 15 deducted carbs a lot compared to 10?
A. Yeah. Monthly re-induction ought to make me appreciate what I get the rest of the time.
Q. Not counting fiber/SA carbs has an effect. You lose more weight if you do.
A. I agree. However if I'm going to be on this eating plan the rest of my natural and unnatural life, I have to have a decent variety of good tasting food to eat. So for me there has to be some middle ground between 'keep it lowcarb to lose' vs. 'keep it enough carb to enjoy it and not feel deprived'. I made it 15 carbs + 15-MAX deducted because that is a different result than just saying '30 carbs'. The deductions will allow me to make little crepes I can use as a bread-replacement of sorts, and a sweet now and then, and have daily fresh garden peppers for example (broccoli stir fried in peanut oil with garlic and ginger, YUM!). But the limit on the deducted carbs per day will probably keep me from ODing on a whole day of food that is "invisible" carbs and calling it a good day... even if carbquick and flaxmeal and my sugar alternatives can make me a ton of food with almost zero net carbs, how much "not quite basic" food I can eat is pretty limited due to the cap on the deductible carbs.
Q. The calorie range is rather large.
A. I have a hard time making 1000 calories half the time. And due to my weight, theoretically I could eat a helluva lot more calories and still lose, but it varies by food choices - drastically. A day with bacon, butter and mayo will skyrocket calories into the 2000 zone while other days I'll be struggling to meet the 1100 minimum. Unfortunately the highest cal stuff is carby sometimes. If I could eat my extra calories in peanut butter without the carbs I'd happily do so! So I leave that a variable option because my mood, food, weight, protein intake and exercise will make me vary the calories. I put 2000 there as a 'maximum' -- not a goal.
Q. Keto sticks don't always measure ketosis.
A. Yeah, I've heard that. If I'm drinking 2 gallons of water a day (I wish) I won't worry about that, it'd flood the ketones. If I still have decent energy, little appetite and no major cravings, and I'm losing weight or size at all, then I'll have to do the three day minimum and call it good. Right now I can't taste, smell or feel ketones and every other time I've been on lowcarb, it's major and obvious. Yet I'm losing weight steadily, have energy, suppressed appetite, no cravings, and I turned a keto-stick purple, so I'm going to have to figure it's ok.
Q. How come you allow yourself nuts/nutbutters but not cheese? The Atkins OWL doesn't bring in nuts until much later.
A. True. Bear in mind this is a maintenance plan not a starting-out plan. But the main reason I allow them is because peanut butter is the only 'sweet' I'm willing to allow myself during stage 1. If I can't go three days without Splenda I've got a problem!
Q. Doesn't this seem like an arbitrary rearrangement of Atkins/Eades/etc., similar to KimKins for example?
A. Sure, everybody comes up with what works for them. Because my weight is so high and my weight-loss efforts will take so long, because my protein demands are so great and my resultant calories tend to be so low, and because I want to experiment with food and not worry quite so much that a 'gradual slide out of ketosis' will lead to my ruin, I felt I needed an approach customized to me.
Best,
PJ
It is based on several factors, including:
- Because I'm so heavy, I need to stay at lower-carb levels than most folks for a long time. That has several built-in considerations, though:
- I need to stay lower than some of the lowcarb eating plans recommend for post-induction. Yet,
- I can't make it so low, that my food range is drastically limited. If it's going to take me years to lose the weight, I really need as much variety in my diet as possible.
- There needs to be some 'allowance' of deductions for fiber and SA carbs, as part of hugely expanding the menu. Yet there should be a cap on them, because SAs in particular can really get out of hand when you're "not counting" them.
- Because it is very easy to 'slide out' of ketosis or at least slide into very light degrees of it, I need to ensure that if this should happen for any reason, it is shortly curtailed and my level of ketosis brought back to something good for weight-loss, carb-craving suppression and appetite suppression. Beginning every month with a few days (or whatever it takes) of "core food only" regularly brings me back to that.
I call it "PJ's Induction Cycling." (Added my name just in case the term is used anywhere else and I don't know about it, don't want to get it confused with other stuff.) Here's the basics: (click the link to see the image)
Warning: If your browser is set to "resize images" it will make that unreadably tiny! Take that setting off! LOL!
This addresses some 'issues' I've observed in the field at large from reading tons of journals, as well as in myself and my own experience.
Now that I know what I'm doing and plan ahead, induction is easy. And given I'm doing it a few days every month based on the eating plan cycle, it no longer seems like such a long-suffering major thing anymore.
Changed it to 20 on standard (stage 2) after discussion with another LCer.
OK I thought I was done but that's not it.
Q. Do you do protein powder on the first-stage?
A. Yes, protein powders, protein puddings.
Q. Why no grains, mushrooms or cheese?
A. The first for bowel reasons, the second two for herbalism reasons. Basically just to make it so there's a few days each month I detox from such things for sure. And because I know if I don't rule it out I will be eating mega amounts of cheese during the induction period, as I love it, and I really want to force the protein-fat meat/seafood/poultry emphasis instead.
Q. Isn't 20 carbs + 15 deducted carbs a lot compared to 10?
A. Yeah. Monthly re-induction ought to make me appreciate what I get the rest of the time.
Q. Not counting fiber/SA carbs has an effect. You lose more weight if you do.
A. I agree. However if I'm going to be on this eating plan the rest of my natural and unnatural life, I have to have a decent variety of good tasting food to eat. So for me there has to be some middle ground between 'keep it lowcarb to lose' vs. 'keep it enough carb to enjoy it and not feel deprived'. I made it 15 carbs + 15-MAX deducted because that is a different result than just saying '30 carbs'. The deductions will allow me to make little crepes I can use as a bread-replacement of sorts, and a sweet now and then, and have daily fresh garden peppers for example (broccoli stir fried in peanut oil with garlic and ginger, YUM!). But the limit on the deducted carbs per day will probably keep me from ODing on a whole day of food that is "invisible" carbs and calling it a good day... even if carbquick and flaxmeal and my sugar alternatives can make me a ton of food with almost zero net carbs, how much "not quite basic" food I can eat is pretty limited due to the cap on the deductible carbs.
Q. The calorie range is rather large.
A. I have a hard time making 1000 calories half the time. And due to my weight, theoretically I could eat a helluva lot more calories and still lose, but it varies by food choices - drastically. A day with bacon, butter and mayo will skyrocket calories into the 2000 zone while other days I'll be struggling to meet the 1100 minimum. Unfortunately the highest cal stuff is carby sometimes. If I could eat my extra calories in peanut butter without the carbs I'd happily do so! So I leave that a variable option because my mood, food, weight, protein intake and exercise will make me vary the calories. I put 2000 there as a 'maximum' -- not a goal.
Q. Keto sticks don't always measure ketosis.
A. Yeah, I've heard that. If I'm drinking 2 gallons of water a day (I wish) I won't worry about that, it'd flood the ketones. If I still have decent energy, little appetite and no major cravings, and I'm losing weight or size at all, then I'll have to do the three day minimum and call it good. Right now I can't taste, smell or feel ketones and every other time I've been on lowcarb, it's major and obvious. Yet I'm losing weight steadily, have energy, suppressed appetite, no cravings, and I turned a keto-stick purple, so I'm going to have to figure it's ok.
Q. How come you allow yourself nuts/nutbutters but not cheese? The Atkins OWL doesn't bring in nuts until much later.
A. True. Bear in mind this is a maintenance plan not a starting-out plan. But the main reason I allow them is because peanut butter is the only 'sweet' I'm willing to allow myself during stage 1. If I can't go three days without Splenda I've got a problem!
Q. Doesn't this seem like an arbitrary rearrangement of Atkins/Eades/etc., similar to KimKins for example?
A. Sure, everybody comes up with what works for them. Because my weight is so high and my weight-loss efforts will take so long, because my protein demands are so great and my resultant calories tend to be so low, and because I want to experiment with food and not worry quite so much that a 'gradual slide out of ketosis' will lead to my ruin, I felt I needed an approach customized to me.
Best,
PJ
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