Home Alone for the Holidays

[gracenote]

turkey talk

Hi Andrew,

Kati and Islandfinn were talking about a virtual turkey dinner, but I don't know if they have it worked out yet. I think Kati was nominating Reeves as the turkey but there were no takers last I heard. Chicken Delight will probably serve something better.

 

[Kati]

Still here for the virtual turkey dinner. Sounds like the Turkey is a no show we may have to have alternate plans

Bringing some wine, which I haven't drank in a long long time, sort of missing but can't imagine stessing my liver even more than this. Also bringing those tacky paper crowns you find on the cracers you get on your plate. And a maple sugar pie, cuZ it's tradition where I am from

Tomorrow, 6 PM PST?

Hi Andrew,

Kati and Islandfinn were talking about a virtual turkey dinner, but I don't know if they have it worked out yet. I think Kati was nominating Reeves as the turkey but there were no takers last I heard. Chicken Delight will probably serve something better.

 

[andreamarie]

Thank you all

First, Wildaisy, how cruel a fate to lose your mother on Mother's Day. I was born on Mother's day and after my father died, my mother and I spent every Mother's day together. She always came up to Boston. We'd go to a Szchuan Chinese restaurant and rent an appropriate movie. She had a wild sense of humor: one year we rented "Throw Momma From the Train" with Danny Devito and she laughed so hard she fell off the couch. She claimed to be 4'10" and had abundant sparkling white hair and Paul Newman eyes. She took that particular movie back and told the kid working at the video store that she thought they should offer it at a discount for Mother's day. But she couldn't keep a straight face.

This is my first year alone on Thanksgiving. I made that decision after last year's debacle. The food was so bad I couldn't eat it, my friend's schizophrenic brother started hallucinating, her grandson had
been in a fight that morning and lost two teeth and that was just for starters.I decided to play it safe this year.

My mother was ninety four when she died; she was very vigorous until she had a stroke at eighty eight and was still pretty good until ninety two. She did twenty hours of hands on volunteer work until the day she had her stroke, taking busses in frigid Buffalo. When she entered assisted living, she continued the volunteer work she had already been doing there until she was ninety.

She came to this country when she was ten and like many immigrants, embraced it. That's why Thanksgiving was so important to her. She had a special "Thanks" before dinner. By the time I was in first grade I knew it by heart and when my teacher said we had Thanksgiving because of the pilgrims, etc. I raised my hand and told her that the real reason was because FDR had declared the last Thursday in Nov. Thanksgiving. That's what I'd been hearing every year.

Andrew, I'm so happy you can order in. There is NOTHING open in my area on Thanksgiving. Again, thank you all for your responses.

 

[xchocoholic]

Hi all,

I'm wondering how you cope with the holidays. Thanksgiving (for us USA folks) is next week, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa will follow in about a month, and then a week later will be New Years.

My health always takes a downturn beginning in mid-September, so starting with Halloween in October until my birthday in February, it is one major event after another that I'm too tired to participate in. It was really hard when my children were young and at home — you just can't skip the holidays with kids — and now that they're gone I often just do a Bah Humbug act and let the days go by.

But . . . Days seem longer and lonelier when I know that friends and family are gathering without me. On the other hand . . . what a relief not to have to feel the added pressure, the added expense, and the added inevitable crash afterwards.

So how are the holidays for you? I'm interested in how you cope or maybe even flourish during these times.

Knowing I will be alone next Thursday, I want to prepare myself to be present on that day for both the grief and the gratitude that I feel in my life.

Gracenote,

You really captured how I feel about the holidays too. My kids are grown, 36and 22 now, so that pressure is off finally so that's a huge relief. Kids just have no idea how hard we have to push ourselves to keep up with all of this. Well, I have to say, most adults don't get this either. Why isn't ATP an everyday household word ?

I miss out on most of my family at this time because I'm too sick to travel or have a large group staying with me. My kids will be here tomorrow and I'm making a huge GF meal but ... Trust me, gluten free food doesn't taste as good to them as the stuff they're used to. My son just told me yesterday that I shouldn't worry. He plans on lying and telling me how good it is anyways ...

I keep myself going by telling myself that someday I'll be able to travel or have family in to visit without having a flare. I'm an eternal optomist ...

Hope today goes well for everyone ... Happy Thanksgiving ... Marcia

 

[Andrew]

FWIW, some supermarkets roast a bunch of turkey breasts on Thanksgiving and have them in the deli section.

 

[margib]

Today I'm watching Turner Classic Movies. I heart old films! Someone watch them with me if you can!

 

[MEKoan]

I say tomato and you say tomahto!

 

[andreamarie]

Andrew, the supermarkets here are closed. I'll be watching Fred and Ginger today also. And taping Grace Kelly in "The Swan" tonight. It's the only one of her movies I've never seen.

 

[gracenote]

vegan for a day

My kids will be here tomorrow and I'm making a huge GF meal but ... Trust me, gluten free food doesn't taste as good to them as the stuff they're used to. My son just told me yesterday that I shouldn't worry. He plans on lying and telling me how good it is anyways ...

For a brief few months, my two youngest kids went vegan, what my oldest son called "that hippie stuff." We tried to have a vegan Thanksgiving meal, but it just turned out sad. No one is vegan anymore, but they all agree that mom eats weird. They say that I eat the healthiest of anyone they know and I am the sickest, so why eat healthy? How do you argue with that?

 

[gracenote]

throw momma

I was born on Mother's day and after my father died, my mother and I spent every Mother's day together. She always came up to Boston. We'd go to a Szchuan Chinese restaurant and rent an appropriate movie. She had a wild sense of humor: one year we rented "Throw Momma From the Train" with Danny Devito and she laughed so hard she fell off the couch. She claimed to be 4'10" and had abundant sparkling white hair and Paul Newman eyes. She took that particular movie back and told the kid working at the video store that she thought they should offer it at a discount for Mother's day. But she couldn't keep a straight face.

This is hilarious. I like the choice of "appropriate" movie. It should be offered for a discount on Mother's Day!

 

[Kati]

They say that I eat the healthiest of anyone they know and I am the sickest, so why eat healthy? How do you argue with that?

Gracenote, I don't want to open a can of worm, to each their own beliefs etc plus people that have food allergies etc... My rule of thumb is to eat 80% healthy, follow the Canadian food guide- you know the food groups (chocolate is a food group on its own) and I don't fuss over organic really. While it may be better for you, it is more expensive.

My story is this one: 20 years ago my mother died of breat cancer. Wheh she was diagnosed, the doctor told her she needed a radical surgery and she said no. She stayed away from chemo, and went into all oranics vitamins, special diets (macrobiotics etc,) therapies, meditations, fastings, you name it. And it all didn't work. One day she came back from a threapy in Europe and was admited to the hospital, and under pressure of her sibblings, agreed to get chemo. The tumor, which now was opening a big hole in her breast, and he breast being 3 times the normal size, reduced to the chest wall level. It worked! But in her head this was poision- and I agree it is. And she eventually stopped when she was released home.
The moral I got from this is Whatever you do, when it's your time, it's your time. And I got turned off by any kind of alternative healing there can be on planet. (Please refrain from telling me otherwise)

I certainly respect those that choose vegetarian vegan macrobiotic, blood type, low carb diets, it is just not for me on a daily basis. Variety and balance is my choice.

Peace, like Koan would say.

 

[xchocoholic]

For a brief few months, my two youngest kids went vegan, what my oldest son called "that hippie stuff." We tried to have a vegan Thanksgiving meal, but it just turned out sad. No one is vegan anymore, but they all agree that mom eats weird. They say that I eat the healthiest of anyone they know and I am the sickest, so why eat healthy? How do you argue with that?

Hippee stuff ... I couldn't handle vegan either. I'm a serious carnivore ...

I can't tell if you were being ironic when you wrote "How do you argue with that?" . Sorry, I'm not here enough to know anyone that well ... but I don't know what you consider a healthy diet either. My family always considered me to be a healthy eater too but that's just because they were eating mostly crap foods and I would eat salads, less bread, 1/2 a candy bar, etc ... bleh !!!

I feel like I lucked out when after a few days on the elimination diet, I stopped feeling so sleepy and jittery all the time. I felt so much better that I decided to look into what diet / holistic treatments could do. It's been a long journey but so far so good ... KOW ...

Hope you had a good holiday ... TC ... Marcia

PS. Today isn't a good day to talk dieting ... even I'm cheating ... : )

 

[gracenote]

being ironic

I can't tell if you were being ironic when you wrote "How do you argue with that?" . . . Sorry, I'm not here enough to know anyone that well ...

Kati and Xchocoholic,

I was trying to be ironic, I think. I should have added a few of these.

I eat vegetables, lots of vegetables. I don't digest things well, I have gluten intolerance, wrestle with candida, and my gallbladder went wacky which makes it hard to eat animal protein and fats. Pretty much wipes out "normal" food. I eat so I don't feel more ill. I cheat as often as I can sneak it past my hypersensitive constitution, but only if I can really be present and ENJOY the cheat. I can enjoy dark chocolate (small amounts) and have pretty much gotten my body to believe that it is a healing food and necessary for recovery.

Vegetables are beautiful, have you ever noticed? They have such vibrant colors that they sometimes take my breath away green beans, orange carrots, red bell peppers and tomatoes (tomato, tomatoh, either way I don't often eat them), yellow corn, deep red beets, dark green kale, purple cabbage, white cauliflower . . .

This (wo)man does not live by bread.

Oh happy day!

Gracenote

 

[xchocoholic]

Kati and Xchocoholic,

I was trying to be ironic, I think. I should have added a few of these.

I eat vegetables, lots of vegetables. I don't digest things well, I have gluten intolerance, wrestle with candida, and my gallbladder went wacky which makes it hard to eat animal protein and fats. Pretty much wipes out "normal" food. I eat so I don't feel more ill. I cheat as often as I can sneak it past my hypersensitive constitution, but only if I can really be present and ENJOY the cheat. I can enjoy dark chocolate (small amounts) and have pretty much gotten my body to believe that it is a healing food and necessary for recovery.

Vegetables are beautiful, have you ever noticed? They have such vibrant colors that they sometimes take my breath away green beans, orange carrots, red bell peppers and tomatoes (tomato, tomatoh, either way I don't often eat them), yellow corn, deep red beets, dark green kale, purple cabbage, white cauliflower . . .

This (wo)man does not live by bread.

Oh happy day!

Gracenote

yep, that helps ... I love all the colors in fruits and veggies too. Must be a health nut thing ...

Have you seen the yellow cauliflower ? I have no idea why it's yellow, but it tastes good. I've been eating it raw ... For some reason, I'm eating a lot of my veggies raw nowadays. Raw red cabbage has become a treat ...

Sorry to hear that your digestion is giving you problems. I deal with the same things you listed ... gluten, candida and a now missing gall bladder ...

FWIW .. I recently learned that beef and ground lamb were making my digestion worse so I'm staying away from them. Even digestive enzymes and HCL weren't enough to stop me from getting really gassy with these.

Oh and I started drinking a ginger tea (made from boiling real ginger) that I make and it's been GREAT for gas !! Much better than Gas X even ... so far I haven't needed this since giving up the beef and lamb though. KOW ..

I love dark chocolate too. I've been an x "xchocoholic" numerous times in the last 4 years. I recently fell in love with one that I'm trying to stay away from. It's New Tree ginger ... the company isn't gluten free but this bar is so I keep rationalizing that it's ok .. It has guarana in it too in case you're interested. I figured out the hard way that too much guarana keeps me awake at night. Do you know of a dedicated GF chocolate facilily ? I was eating Enjoy Life chocolate but it tastes like wax compared to New Tree ...

TC ... marcia

 

[andreamarie]

I'm an 80% healthy eater also. I have severe inflammatory esophagitis and because of the surgery I had for Crohn's, high oxalate levels. So that puts me in a low fat, high fiber diet. I have to eat red meat once a week for zinc; supplements don't work that well. I remember Nancy Klimas speaking about diet and she said she thought totally cutting out carbs would be murder for CFS people because they give you energy. I used to edit a nutrition column and learned a lot. Also, I'm very fortunate in that my docs are into nutrition in their own lives and we talk about it a lot. Before CFS, cooking was my hobby bigtime and I miss the kind of cooking I did. Also, my parents owned a produce market so the house was filled with fruits and veggies, We lived inland but had fish at least twice a week when no one ate it. We had no money but ate like rich people. And my mother really cooked healthy food. Except for homemade doughnuts a few times a year, she never fried anything. I eat a lot of fish but try to be careful about where it's from, etc. I love ginger tea; when nausea hits I make a big pitcher of iced ginger tea. It's kept me out of the E.R. many times. I think food should be a joy; I have a close friend who feels a type of macro diet will help cure her panic disorder and she's become obsessed with it. Also, she's getting lots of wrinkles and her skin is grey. When I did special diets, and I did eleven of them (none helped, one made me very sick) I worked with a very skilled nutritionist. She used to meet me at the supermarket and shop with me!

 

[xchocoholic]

I remember Nancy Klimas speaking about diet and she said she thought totally cutting out carbs would be murder for CFS people because they give you energy. !

This is SAD ... Most doctors have the wrong idea about how our bodies should work when it comes to food and blood glucose regulation. They must not be teaching this properly in med school ... I was told by my doctors for 30 years that eating a healthy snack every 2 - 3 hours was the way to treat hypoglycemia. WRONG WRONG WRONG ... but that's what they've learned ...

Dr. Myhill realized that most of her patients have chronic hypoglycemia and tells them to eat a low carb / med high protein diet so that their livers can begin to function properly. If you google myhill hypoglycemia you'll see this article ... Granted it can take awhile for this to happen. And low chromium, etc can contribute to blood glucose problems. My hypoglycemia was corrected after 6 - 12 months and my GTT proves it. I knew I felt better, but seeing it on paper made me feel better ...

Not to confuse anyone ... BUT ... I still have feelings of hypoglycemia but my BG readings are good .. I read an article the other day that said certain amino deficiencies will trigger feelings of hypoglycemia even though blood glucose is good ... but I lost that article .. ... dang it ... I have noticed though that if I take 2 (1 never works) Solgar essential aminos when I feel like this, I feel better ... I'm still experimenting with these though .. It may be that they work better if taken with EmergenC.

I really wish well intended, clueless, traditionally trained doctors would stop giving holistic advice when they really should know if they paid any attention in med school that our body's biochemical processes are far too complicated and intertwining to give a flip answer like they do ... OK, some holistic medical professionals give flip answers too but that's were learning to listen to your body comes into play. END OF RANT .. for now ... Dr. Oz is a mess ...

I have a close friend who feels a type of macro diet will help cure her panic disorder and she's become obsessed with it. Also, she's getting lots of wrinkles and her skin is grey. When I did special diets, and I did eleven of them (none helped, one made me very sick) I worked with a very skilled nutritionist. She used to meet me at the supermarket and shop with me!

Honestly, I can see how special diets could make someone get sicker. I couldn't do the SCD or Vegan but I can't see how the Paleo diet would make anyone sick. It's what our DNA is programmed for. I do use more fat that Dr. Cordain recommends though ... Mostly EFAs though and limit my saturated fat which just ends up on my thighs anyways.

IMHO, Your freind and most people miss the point when it comes to dietary intervention. I'd stay away from anything that isn't natural .. unprocessed meats and whole fruits and veggies are 100% natural. Even juicing makes me feel puny because I need the fiber from the pulp.

Funny story ... My mother went on the Atkins diet when I was a teenager so if I wanted to eat, I ate Atkins (meats and salads). I remember my friends commenting on how I had zero body fat ... For some reason it stuck with me and I learned if I wanted to lose weight, I had to lose the carbs.

My rest period is up and I've gotta go make a Thanksgiving dinner ...

TC ... Marcia

 

[andreamarie]

Actually, Dr.Klimas didn't say to load carbs. She was responding to a question about strict Atkins that even cuts out fruits and veggies that have carbs.Basically a zero carb diet. My carb intake is low and I try to follow the glycemic index. It's the only way I can keep my weight down now that I'm inactive and control my hunger. What symptoms did you get from hypoglycemia? I am also very annoyed by Dr.Oz. I thought he was fine when he was on Oprah occasionally. But now that he had his own show it seems like he's using producers to pull stuff from all over the place and not doing his own research. I also sent him an email on his website re Dr. Teitlebaum.

 

[xchocoholic]

Yeah, Dr. Oz lost me when he had a doctor inject someone's underarms with botox to stop profuse sweating ... I have no idea what causes profuse sweating or how to fix it but I'm 100% sure that botox injections are not the solution ...

My symptoms of hypoglycemia were feeling weak and hungry every 2 -3 hours and food resolved this, not being able to stand up in the am without feeling really dizzy, visual disturbances ... oh and that urgent need to eat or else ... there may have been others, I'd have to look at my journal to refresh my memory. Oh and I bought a blood glucose kit to monitor it and it was low but not severely low some of the time but not always. When I tried the low carb diet the first time, I had to give in after a few days / weeks ? and eat a pear because all day long despite eating, it never went above 67 ...

The essential aminos are working pretty good on the urge to eat every 2 - 3 hours. I just had lunch and I had breakfast around 8 - 9 am ... It's interesting how our bodies give us the same signal, urge to eat, when our blood glucose levels are too low and when we need an amino ... whichever amino or combo it is, I don't know yet ... whoever wrote that article I can't find anymore .. explained it all ... and he said that this is how people get fooled into thinking that they have hypoglycemia .. since eating works, it sure looks that way ...

I'm very strict on carbs still. I just don't feel well if I get too much ... the cranberry sauce I made for T day is even too sweet for me ... tastes great though ...

gotta run ... dinner has been moved up an hour ... btw ... I've felt great all day today and I've been up and cooking since 9 ish ... KOW ... throwing salt over my shoulder ... rubbing a horseshoe .. what else brings us luck ..

Marcia