IF

Is the way to start the year off properly, after yesterday's (not really) hangover-induced goodbye carbs pigout session. As in Intermittent Fasting, that is. Mind you, I'm not sure it actually qualifies as a fast, but where I've seen it reviewed they say you are allowed to have as much coconut fat and cream as you wanted in coffee during the day. I lasted on that until 6pm, when I got not exactly hungry but bored, I guess. I should maybe do the fasting on a day when time is actually scarce - when you just lounge around all day cooking is such a vital part to mark the passing of the day, that all you do is think about food (at least when you're not supposed to have any).
Anyway, I made a broth on 2 onions, 1 carrot, butter and as much olive oil as I could bring myself to add before it started looking disturbing. And broth cubes, yes yes evil I know, I still use them. And then I added cream when serving :) And probably ate about half.

So although this day probably doesn't count like a fast in any way shape or form, I think I at least came very close to having less than 20g of carbs. Which makes me realize how many carbs I probably normally eat. I think maybe I need to start hunting carbs more. I do like calculations and lists and projects and the such. Shouldn't be a hardship...

Somethings Gotta Give (#2?)

Sooo.
I don't think people perceive me as vain because in order to be vain you kind of have to be pretty (I mean, you could be ugly and vain, but that's possibly even more sad as you have then failed in your efforts). Also, am a geek. But seriously, people with low self-esteem are some of the most egocentric people out there. Hello!! My name is, eh, Librarian Girl, and I am vain.

Anyway, I remember with distinct clarity that several people in different places used to tell me I have the most amazing skin. Like, I wasn't entirely convinced but enough people told me I was like, OK, yeah, not too bad. Never had that much acne. But it's become some kind of distant dream, because for several years I would say I've had bad skin. This year, I would say it's pretty severe. Yes there are people worse off but they've always had it, mine is just, suddenly severe where it didn't used to be. Anyway, I've been trying to ignore it because I was really not wanting to find out it was the fat in my new diet. Because I really don't want to go back to carb-living, EVER. And I've read in several places that people have cured their acne with a high-fat diet. So, hello, confused?

I didn't really want to find out it's probably the dairy either, but I guess it's slightly less catastrophic. Mind you, only just slightly. Apparently it's got to do with hormones, again (of course!). Haven't researched it enough but there's enough arguments I'm going to give it a go.
Anyway, it makes total sense because my skin got worse when I was living in Spain, which is when I became a vegetarian. Bring on the cheese!! And since I became LCHF, I mean, practically all my fat-calories come from dairy. If I go for a quick ICA-run to bring back the essentials, its: cream, creme fraiche, milk, cottage cheese, cheese, and soft cheese. Eeeh. Would probably explain why a good skin day now is a not disastrous skin day where as I used to have good skin most of the time.

Geez. So. Odds for being able to exist as a LCHF vegetarian without eating dairy? I'm going to give it a try, but seriously, what am I going to eat? Fish, nuts, coconut fat, olives, and avocados, I guess. Gonna have to learn to drink coffee black OH DARN.

Hence, vanity. Eating meat or eternal acne? Because Carbs are out of the question.

On making yourself sick, the non-bulimic way

I've been walking around for the past week with a kind of sickly sweet smell constantly in my nose, kind of like puke. I've just put it down to the general affects of a heatwave on an urban settlement, although I thought it was odd no one else was smelling it. Today it's however so strong I feel nauseous so I was walking around sniffing things in my office (where it smells particularly bad) when I realized that the thing that's smelly is me.

My skin smells like puke.

Now, this is not as daft as it sounds, nor as alarming. I'm simply in ketosis as an effect of my diet. I figure it's because of the heatwave it's become more noticable, because it's more common if you don't drink enough. Now I am well-known for my huge water requirements but during 30 degrees I guess it's hard to keep up, even for me. The heatwave is supposed to be over but my office is still really hot and stuffy. So, there. Good thing the only time I spent in the company of others during the weekend was outdoors (the beach with J on Saturday - the only thing worth reporting from a week otherwise filled with heat wave and really really really crappy trains and anger and helplessness and lots and lots of sweat).
Now ketosis is supposed to smell like acetone, but I have come across several instances where people refer to it as 'bad body odour', ' sickly sweet' or 'ripe bananas' (the smell of ripe bananas make me nauseous as well, so, surprise!).

Just another reason to long for the 15C they promised this week. BRING IT ON.

Fat is da shit

I have to say, carb-living is really interesting now that I have something to compare it with. I had two pieces of bread with cheese this morning (don't want to risk anything with a 2hour journey ahead of you!). By the time I got to work, my stomach was screaming for food. I haven't eaten of the Friday morning buffé since I started LCHF, but I couldn't resist today. Had another two pieces of bread with cheese and a healthy (eh) piece of cake.

10 minutes later, my stomach is screaming again. This is just the most pointless kind of food ever! So much time spent preparing and chewing only to get hungry again. I must have eaten at least a 1000 calories and it's only a quarter past nine! This week is definitely a lost cause (possibly with disastrous consequences).

I've now had a cup of decaf coffee with cream and milk, and feel very satisifed. This really is the way to go, I just hope my stomach is OK with it again.

On this note, we're switching caterers again at work with start next week. Apparently no vegetarian option and they promise in a nice little disclaimer to always use as many low-fat dairy products as they can, without compromising the taste they're aiming for.

Pfah! Rough seas, at the moment.

Trek-SPOILER ALERT

So. Bloody marvellous. Not much of a plot, but bloody marvellous!! Lots of character development, skin-prickling and hair-raising sweeps over ships and explosions, and dude...

Spock and Uhura, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, wohoo!!

I don't recall that from the show though, no idea what's gonna happen to it... Spock was amazing, from the woolly shirts at the beginning (I mean, I don't even *get it* but it was adorable) to the emotional explosions and the infallible logic and boy, did sparks fly between him and the Lt.
The "Pretty-boy goes after Pretty-girl who chooses The Dork scenario" - always a hit with your nerd crowd. Even though in these Hollywood productions the geek is usually equally good-looking to the obvious pretty-boy - a fact the production team sometimes tries to conceal with a pair of glasses, with hilarious, and hot (but never successful) results.

Anyway, I think I may have to see it again. The plot was, as one friend claimed, quite recycled from Trek-dom and not much to hang in the Christmas tree, so to speak, but I just want to gawk some more at the pretty glossy ships and people. Oh, so pretty!!

Lame bits: Winona Ryder's old-woman-makeup - just use an actor with the appropriate age for heaven's sakes!! That worked just fine with the old male Vulcans!! Blah (nothing against Winona, just the principle). Also, though I know it fit with the plot, the whole Captain-sacrifices-life-for-ship/crew while his beautiful wife gives birth and just has time to name their baby - eeeh. Just a tad corny (and by tad I mean quite a lot). Oh, and I don't think it was believable for Spock to abandon Kirk to die. So unless we're supposed to assume he didn't (somehow, premonition, who knows) I didn't think that was very good.
Also, Eric Bana's not-at-all-scary arch enemy look (and the fact that he did it to avenge his dead wife............). So much love all around!! Very fuzzy indeed. But nice!

Yey.

So, Friday!! A is coming into town tonight, spending the whole day tomorrow with J and then meeting up with P and H for Indian food followed by - Schlager!! I made some lchf-friendly desserts yesterday for the big night - nut clusters made with dark chocolate and white chocolate swirls. I need to work on my skills though, the white swirls really just look like - globs. Not terribly attractive actually. But they taste nice! And then going to Öland on Tuesday so oh, busy days!

no shit sherlock

Still going strong with the LCHF. I did have a bit of a break, I was down with the flue for almost a week and I was so nauseous the whole time. I stuck to it pretty good but then I bought some ice cream. I don't actually like ice cream much, I eat it in the summer because it's the thing to do but I'd rather have a piece of cake. But when I have a fever, I crave ice cream. So I had one pint of Häägen Daaz Caramel Mocha (heavenly), and bread at two occasions (I couldn't actually go to the shop because I had a fever and most LCHF food is refrigerated stuff and I was runnning out). Anyway, I'm back at it now. I don't mind it much but I can't really imagine eating like this for the rest of my life. I think once you're at a good weight you can eat some carbs, the main thing is not to be afraid of fat (like everyone is, it really is crazy).

Anyway. I missed the choire performance on Walpurgis night because I had the flue, and the final rehersal when we were also due to perform somewhere locally. It really wasn't fun, I wasn't like near death or anything but very dizzy and sick apart from the fever, and it was sooo sunny and apparently mediterranean outside. I wouldn't know, it's not like you want to go into the sunshine when you have a fever. Like how water hurts and you don't want to shower. I didn't, for 5 days - my hair was so shiny when I finally broke that dry spell...

Anyway. Not quite sure what else to write! It's been raining all week but I don't mind and it smells really nice from all the flowers and geez. I'm boring myself here! Eh. Later.

Today, btw, is Friday for me - tomorrow is Danish 'Prayer Day' = long weekend! It's not a holiday in Sweden = shopping.

I need a rain coat.

A report from the land of cream and cheese

So. One slightly annoying aspect of visiting the sis was that she practically talked my ear off about the apparently unlimited marvels of the LCHF diet. As if it wasn't hard enough to sync our respective diets as it was (one gluten-intolerant allergy-prone meat-eater - meet the veggie visiting Spain - carne, carne, carne)!! Now my sister was avoiding carbs as well. Geez!
However, I recognize this obsessive behaviour in myself when I discover something I want to share because it can benefit others and as my sister certainly has my best interests at hearts and I'm a researcher and this Dr Dahlqvist thing has been circulating the media without me bothering to find out properly what it's about, I decided to do what I do best: research.

Having been convinced of its apparent scientific merit (oh there's a real juicy conspiracy involved, one of the best articles can be found here) I've decided to at least give it a try.
Almost one week and counting! I am considering buying a pair of scales, so far it's to early tell for sure whether I've lost any weight, but despite having cooked some fabulous dinners (oh god I made this fish soup Saturday that was to die for with hoki and cream and lemon and broccoli mmm) I certainly haven't put on any weight. My stomach doesn't expand gradually throughout the day like it always has (skirts fit the same way at 4pm like they did at 6am!) so at least in the short term I feel thinner. None of the side effects that I dreaded, constipation and bad skin, have happened. I wouldn't say my skin has gotten drastically better yet but at worst no difference. I have no problems with my stomach at all. The argument is that we need a lot of fiber today to process all those carbs. Reduced carbs = lower fiber intake required. Or, like some guru somewhere put it: eat like a cow, shit like a cow, eat like a fox, shit like a fox (I don't know what fox faeces look like but I'm assuming they're rather tiny compared to cowshit...).

Also, I'm not constantly hungry. I haven't had any severe tests yet (Friday morning brunch was downstairs so less in-your-face tempting) but I can't say that I crave sugar. I usually spend a lot of my mental energy thinking about food, analysing what I eat, todays calories, planning, trying to resist, eating, regretting eating, thinking what I could have eaten instead, etc etc. Hell, one of my most traumatic childhood memories is my after-school teacher telling me I was obsessed with food and how upset I got (I was 7). I can't remember not trying to loose weight and I read everything about nutrition I come across. When it comes to my relationship with carbs/sugar I act in ways that make me ashamed or feel bad or feel guilt pretty much daily. I eat things I don't want to eat because I can't not eat it if it's there.
Now I have completely changed my diet so I do have to still think and plan a lot - but I eat less volumes and I can certainly be more detached when planning.

TBC - I'm going to go have some cheese before heading home for choire practice!