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dolariNot many people know this about me, but I have something along the lines of an eating disorder. It's something my dad and sister both have, but I don't htink it's psychological as much physiological. We never feel full when we eat. Ever. The only time we feel full is when we've eaten to the point of bursting. At first I thought it was just how everyone ate until I heard about some sort of gene thing they did with a mouse where it had the same effect. (Yes, when under EXTREME stress, I binge eat, but I consider that seperate from this issue).
So even when I'm not on a diet, if I eat a regular meal, I go around feeling hungry, and I drink a lot of water to try and kill that feeling but it really doesn't work. So I usually do my best to ignore it, but it's a hard feeling to ignore. When I'm ON a diet, it can be downright insistent. I've kind found a way to convince myself I've eaten, and that's to specifically plan out a diet/menu for the day (You can't eat anymore - you just had your planned lunch!), but the problem comes when I forget lunch, or worse, have no time to cook the mediocre food I CAN cook.
This came up with my last doctor's visit where I'd gained 15 pounds in one month. I'm very close to a benchmark weight I DON'T want to cross, so I tried to figure out where this extra weight is coming from. I'm actually ON a diet by Dr. Chase, which works when I follow it. And that's the problem, when I forget my lunch I go out and buy food to eat...and then the whole "limited dinner" is off, and I end up buying chips and crap and this and that until I've eaten too much. It's worse when, like this week, I didn't buy any groceries this weekend due to being...well...asleep all the damned time. And then on weekends, when I'm so deep into the comics that I don't have time for cooking, it happens again - I buy too much food, eat till I burst, and get back to comics.
So...how to keep from eating too much when I forget my lunch? Or on the weekends when I have no time to cook? Well, it'd need to be something on the order of fast food...but couldn't be unhealthy...couldn't really be frozen food because it wouldn't last a day at work, and if I forgot my lunch...well...I'd forget my lunch. And then while talking with one of my previously-military coworkers, she mentioned MREs.
The food is one meal, balanced, a little high in calories because they're meant for folks who are the living embodiment of Doom Marines :) but as long as I didn't eat 3 meals a day on them, they'd work as "replacement" dinners for when I forgot my lunch, or when I didn't want to cook while doing comics. I wouldn't even need to worry if I forgot my lunch, since I could keep a few in the truck (at 100 degrees, they last two years!).
I looked around to see what I could find on MREs and learned two lessons: DON'T GET THEM FROM ARMY SURPLUS STORES OR EBAY. The MREs can last up to 10 years in optimal conditions, but even the worst stored MREs only last two years. Who knows how old the cases on EBay and in Army Surplus stores are. Others sell MREs that aren't the military versions, which are simply Fatty Fast Food in a Pouch. That wouldn't help me much in the weight department.
Thankfully, I found a company that makes military MREs in a "civilian version" and a supplier that sells them fresh. You can only buy them in cases of 12 (at minimum) so I went ahead and bought one. We'll see if I buy anymore when I finish these (projected at 2008 :) ).
What's funny is there seems to be a group of MRE afficionados since I found some GREAT FAQs about them, based on nutritional value, similarity to military MREs (did you know those are illegal to sell?), and menu. :) And all the sites I found selling htem have three things in common: Bicyclers, Hikers and Right Wing Apocalyptic Survivalists. :)
Jenn Family Trivia: My dad (who served in Vietnam) has a soft spot for C-Rations. He can go on for hours about the cocoa powder they put in there. :D
So even when I'm not on a diet, if I eat a regular meal, I go around feeling hungry, and I drink a lot of water to try and kill that feeling but it really doesn't work. So I usually do my best to ignore it, but it's a hard feeling to ignore. When I'm ON a diet, it can be downright insistent. I've kind found a way to convince myself I've eaten, and that's to specifically plan out a diet/menu for the day (You can't eat anymore - you just had your planned lunch!), but the problem comes when I forget lunch, or worse, have no time to cook the mediocre food I CAN cook.
This came up with my last doctor's visit where I'd gained 15 pounds in one month. I'm very close to a benchmark weight I DON'T want to cross, so I tried to figure out where this extra weight is coming from. I'm actually ON a diet by Dr. Chase, which works when I follow it. And that's the problem, when I forget my lunch I go out and buy food to eat...and then the whole "limited dinner" is off, and I end up buying chips and crap and this and that until I've eaten too much. It's worse when, like this week, I didn't buy any groceries this weekend due to being...well...asleep all the damned time. And then on weekends, when I'm so deep into the comics that I don't have time for cooking, it happens again - I buy too much food, eat till I burst, and get back to comics.
So...how to keep from eating too much when I forget my lunch? Or on the weekends when I have no time to cook? Well, it'd need to be something on the order of fast food...but couldn't be unhealthy...couldn't really be frozen food because it wouldn't last a day at work, and if I forgot my lunch...well...I'd forget my lunch. And then while talking with one of my previously-military coworkers, she mentioned MREs.
The food is one meal, balanced, a little high in calories because they're meant for folks who are the living embodiment of Doom Marines :) but as long as I didn't eat 3 meals a day on them, they'd work as "replacement" dinners for when I forgot my lunch, or when I didn't want to cook while doing comics. I wouldn't even need to worry if I forgot my lunch, since I could keep a few in the truck (at 100 degrees, they last two years!).
I looked around to see what I could find on MREs and learned two lessons: DON'T GET THEM FROM ARMY SURPLUS STORES OR EBAY. The MREs can last up to 10 years in optimal conditions, but even the worst stored MREs only last two years. Who knows how old the cases on EBay and in Army Surplus stores are. Others sell MREs that aren't the military versions, which are simply Fatty Fast Food in a Pouch. That wouldn't help me much in the weight department.
Thankfully, I found a company that makes military MREs in a "civilian version" and a supplier that sells them fresh. You can only buy them in cases of 12 (at minimum) so I went ahead and bought one. We'll see if I buy anymore when I finish these (projected at 2008 :) ).
What's funny is there seems to be a group of MRE afficionados since I found some GREAT FAQs about them, based on nutritional value, similarity to military MREs (did you know those are illegal to sell?), and menu. :) And all the sites I found selling htem have three things in common: Bicyclers, Hikers and Right Wing Apocalyptic Survivalists. :)
Jenn Family Trivia: My dad (who served in Vietnam) has a soft spot for C-Rations. He can go on for hours about the cocoa powder they put in there. :D
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no subject
Date: 2004-12-02 02:54 pm (UTC)I'm on a drug for migraines called Topamax. topamax is also a powerful appetite suppressant - I've lost at least 40 lbs in the past year and kept it off. There's a doctor in Houston who will prescribe it solely for weight loss if you're interested.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-02 04:57 pm (UTC)Ayup, and it's one of the few instances where I actually agree 100% with a law that appears nonsensical on the surface.
It's illegal to sell just about everything that's classified as active military supplies until it has been processed through the military and decomissioned because, otherwise, it would be extremely hard to determine if something was being carried out the Quartermaster's back door and sold to the black market--potentially causing critical shortages for soldiers in tense, dangerous, or war situations.
Probably more than you wanted to know. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2004-12-02 05:27 pm (UTC)http://weightloss.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://my.webmd.com/content/article/73/82024.htm
no subject
Date: 2004-12-02 09:26 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-02 10:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-02 11:07 pm (UTC)You know, I would never have thought of MREs. Not all that sure I want to, now. :)
Good luck on the dieting, it sucks, I know.
Just playing devil's advocate....
Date: 2004-12-03 12:34 am (UTC)Often when I eat, I get an acidic feeling in my tummy area, but upon further examination, I realize that it's more near my pancreas, which is secreting insulin to process my food. It feels a lot like hunger, but I know it isn't, but sometimes eating the right things (like dairy products) will calm it down.
Maybe you should try to figure out where the "hunger pain" is coming from to make sure that it really is your stomach?
Good luck! :)
no subject
Date: 2004-12-03 01:21 am (UTC)When I was in Boy Scoouts, I'd get them at the BX to eat on the first night of camping triups. What with setting up camp, it was too much extra hassle to do "real" cooking. Putting a canteen cup full of weater on the fire and dropping the canned entree into it to heat was just about right.
The entrees were so-so. The deserts were pretty good. The chocolate cake wasn't bad. The fruitcake and pound cake were great. :-)
no subject
Date: 2004-12-03 08:59 am (UTC)>to, now. :)
I didn't even think about it till a coworker brought it up. I was like "What I need is something that I can keep in my truck to eat when I forget my lunch." and she was like "Why not C-Rations? Or MREs?" Dod liked them. Hope I do, too. :D
no subject
Date: 2004-12-03 09:05 am (UTC)The problem with the civiliam ones is they only have 6 of the 24 available items at any one time (they only make 6 at a time, the army just keeps up to 24 different items in storage).
no subject
Date: 2004-12-03 09:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-03 09:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-03 09:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-03 09:28 am (UTC)Re: Just playing devil's advocate....
Date: 2004-12-03 09:53 am (UTC)I did do some hunting down of "Nutritional Facts" for these things, and manged to find ony one for the Military MRE. No mention of Trans Fats on there, but that's prolly cause the listing is relatively new.
The hunger pain is pretty much from my stomach. I can specifically point to it when my stomach is growling. :) (Which is another thing I do, I don't eat unless it growls) Although I'm definately gonna discuss this more in depth with Dr. Chase next month. Maybe something I can fix with a pill or two.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-03 02:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-12-03 02:56 pm (UTC)topamax was originally an epilepsy drug. It has some side effects as well. If you take it, be sure to add a potassium supplement to your diet.
no subject
Date: 2004-12-08 05:36 am (UTC)