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Post by Crouton on May 9, 2014 18:50:37 GMT -6
For example, I'm vegetarian. Do you have any dietary requirements, for example allergies, religious reasons why you can't eat something, vegetarianism etc?
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Post by Liv the Librarian on May 9, 2014 22:12:04 GMT -6
I am lactose intolerant, but only "semi-lactose intolerant". That just means that anytime I have dairy I get to play Russian Roulette with my intestines.
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Post by Crouton on May 9, 2014 22:13:38 GMT -6
Ugh sounds nasty. When I drink full cream milk I get a sort of clogged up throat for a while and a cough but that's the extent of it. Almost everyone has some trouble with diary, which makes sense since humans aren't really supposed to eat/drink it. But we do anyway!
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Post by Liv the Librarian on May 10, 2014 1:12:47 GMT -6
It's just so good lol.
Mine is a horrible stomach ache and usually the rest of the night/day spent on the toilet with a fever/possibly passing out. Other times I just get gassy. Sometimes nothing at all happens! I developed this allergy once I hit puberty, which is really annoying because I used to drink like 4-5 glasses of milk a day as a child.
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Post by Crouton on May 10, 2014 1:16:14 GMT -6
Ah man that sucks. I'm fine without milk. I don't like drinking milk alone, the thought grosses me out. But I do like milk products like cheese, yoghurt, ice cream etc. I'm a cheese addict. It's bad. I need cheese rehab.
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Post by Liv the Librarian on May 10, 2014 2:00:52 GMT -6
cheesehab? Lol sorry, I'm tired I actually really like milk. Can I ask why you are a vegetarian? Is it a lifestyle choice, or are you needed to be one for health reasons (if you don't mind me asking)?
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Post by Crouton on May 10, 2014 2:20:53 GMT -6
I chose to become one because I don't like factory farming, I don't think any living creature should be treated like that. It's basically a holocaust all over again. And I found that it was safer to just not eat meat than to risk eating meat that came from a factory farm. You could buy free-range, locally farmed meat from a good farmer, but out in restaurants, cafes, fast food places etc there's no way of knowing much of the time.
I still feel a lot of guilt about my dairy consumption, since I know the dairy industry is almost just as bad in many regards. I try to limit my dairy intake sometimes but I struggle with cheese, it's basically my favourite food.
I also see a lot of environmental issues of a huge scale when it comes to farming animals for food. Especially in seafood and fish. Everyday with more research I do I grow increasingly worried about the state of our oceans. A few years ago the UN published a report saying that they think within 30 to 40 years most of the oceans fish stocks will be almost completely gone. It's such a horrifying thought and we've already seen the effects of overfishing for dozens of years now, yet people just keep eating fish every day. It's kind of scary to think of our future generations who may grow up only knowing of the wonders of our oceans in history books, since we destroyed it for our own greed and tastebuds.
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Post by Firiath on May 10, 2014 6:20:37 GMT -6
I can actually eat anything I want to eat, as I don't have any allergies or religious restrictions, but as I'm overweight I try not to eat whatever I want. I eat meat only rarely, and when I do it's usually chicken or turkey. I wouldn't say no to a good steak, but meat is too expensive in my opinion, and I can easily live without it. Not entirely, but I try to. I only buy/cook meat when it's for my s.o. or my family - on the one hand because I'm simply too lazy to cook it (and it never tastes that good), on the other hand many people around me are so fixated on a meat-based diet (not sure if meat-based is the right expression, but you get what I mean) it gets on my nerves. I couldn't tell you why, though. In addition I keep track of what I eat daily, and how much I eat. I use a website with an enormous food database to keep a diary (thanks to SJ for recommending it to me!) and it has helped me control myself a lot. I remember that every time I made lasagna I ate 2 portions, and when I saw how many fat and calories a portion of it contained I realised that one portion is entirely sufficient for me. My main problem is that I love baked goods. Whenever I bake something myself I use spelt flour, because I'm trying to consume as little wheat as possible, which is an incredibly difficult thing to do. And I keep failing to control myself when it comes to baked goods. D:
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Post by Crouton on May 10, 2014 7:00:31 GMT -6
That website sounds awesome. I've never kept track of my diet myself, but I think it would be interesting to do some time.
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Post by Firiath on May 10, 2014 7:48:55 GMT -6
It's myfitnesspal.com. You can not only keep track of your diet, but also of your workouts, and it shows the calories you've taken in and burned, so you always know how much you still have to eat (or burn) to reach your daily calorie goal.
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Post by Crouton on May 10, 2014 7:50:50 GMT -6
Hm sounds cool, I'll keep it in mind if I ever try and lose weight. Right now I'm just focussing on trying to get my posture in order.
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Post by Liv the Librarian on May 10, 2014 8:00:01 GMT -6
I chose to become one because I don't like factory farming, I don't think any living creature should be treated like that. It's basically a holocaust all over again. And I found that it was safer to just not eat meat than to risk eating meat that came from a factory farm. You could buy free-range, locally farmed meat from a good farmer, but out in restaurants, cafes, fast food places etc there's no way of knowing much of the time. I still feel a lot of guilt about my dairy consumption, since I know the dairy industry is almost just as bad in many regards. I try to limit my dairy intake sometimes but I struggle with cheese, it's basically my favourite food. I also see a lot of environmental issues of a huge scale when it comes to farming animals for food. Especially in seafood and fish. Everyday with more research I do I grow increasingly worried about the state of our oceans. A few years ago the UN published a report saying that they think within 30 to 40 years most of the oceans fish stocks will be almost completely gone. It's such a horrifying thought and we've already seen the effects of overfishing for dozens of years now, yet people just keep eating fish every day. It's kind of scary to think of our future generations who may grow up only knowing of the wonders of our oceans in history books, since we destroyed it for our own greed and tastebuds. I've tried vegetarianism, but because I am hypoglycemic, cutting red meat entirely out of my diet (especially during menstruation) tends to be detrimental to my health. I'm sure there are charts out there about how to make up for iron content with different foods, though. Also, I love red meat, I can't deny it. I don't know that I could pass up a rare steak anymore. Though, when I buy meat at a supermarket etc, I only buy it if I know the animals are treated ethically. I once created a diet for myself called the "Gorilla diet". I only consumed about as much animal protein a week as gorillas do, and their intake is made up from accidental consumption of insects. I started doing this because I read that if you cut out red meat from your diet once a week, you could help the environment... so I cut it out of my diet 6 days a week. I kept it up for about a month but then I started getting really sick all the time. Normally I don't eat much meat, though, because it's kind of gross to think about. Like, I'm eating an animal that's been processed and bunched up into burger form.. that's kind of disgusting lol. Last night I was craving fried chicken so I caved and got KFC. I couldn't eat the skin after a few because the consistency/texture reminded me of Eldane's shed (I have a huge piece of dried shed of his that I saved). Almost made me throw up lol.
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Post by Crouton on May 10, 2014 8:06:56 GMT -6
I also have iron issues. But I've had them for a long time, even back when I ate meat. My iron levels got so bad once that I was on the verge of being hospitalised and having iron IV infusion. I still have iron problems now, but not nearly as bad as I used to due to medication from my doctors. I also have a personal theory that my health isn't more important than the health of thousands of other living things each year (it's why I'm still conflicted each day about dairy).
Gorilla's only eat insects though. They very rarely (basically never) eat any other form of meat. Insects are actually really good for human health and our dietary needs. In fact if you look at our bodies, and our relatives in the wild such as gorillas, everything suggests that we should really only be eating plant matter and insects, since that's what our body was designed for. The human body was never really designed for red meat, or things like dairy. We just sort of forced it to eat it over time. Insects would actually be hugely sustainable to farm compared to other meat sources, and really good for health. But anyway, that's another conversation altogether, it's just something I've spent a lot of time researching.
Ugh I hate KFC. I hear so many horror stories from them. Things like chickens being boiled alive, having their throat slit, but not doing it properly so they are still alive after, having their legs break under unnatural weight etc. I wish I could not believe these things but I've seen the photos and videos that prove them which are heartbreaking.
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Post by Liv the Librarian on May 10, 2014 8:24:49 GMT -6
I also have iron issues. But I've had them for a long time, even back when I ate meat. My iron levels got so bad once that I was on the verge of being hospitalised and having iron IV infusion. I still have iron problems now, but not nearly as bad as I used to due to medication from my doctors. I also have a personal theory that my health isn't more important than the health of thousands of other living things each year (it's why I'm still conflicted each day about dairy). Gorilla's only eat insects though. They very rarely (basically never) eat any other form of meat. Insects are actually really good for human health and our dietary needs. In fact if you look at our bodies, and our relatives in the wild such as gorillas, everything suggests that we should really only be eating plant matter and insects, since that's what our body was designed for. The human body was never really designed for red meat, or things like dairy. We just sort of forced it to eat it over time. Insects would actually be hugely sustainable to farm compared to other meat sources, and really good for health. But anyway, that's another conversation altogether, it's just something I've spent a lot of time researching. Ugh I hate KFC. I hear so many horror stories from them. Things like chickens being boiled alive, having their throat slit, but not doing it properly so they are still alive after, having their legs break under unnatural weight etc. I wish I could not believe these things but I've seen the photos and videos that prove them which are heartbreaking. I know that gorillas only eat insects, but I'm not about to start eating insects, so I used red meat as a substitute because it was most logical for me. I've done a lot of research too and scientifically, I am against reading red meat/dairy. But I'm not in a position to make the lifestyle change to cut red meat out of my diet. Eating healthy tends to cost more than eating conveniently.
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Post by Crouton on May 10, 2014 8:29:53 GMT -6
I don't personally think I would eat insects either. But I am interested in the idea. A few years ago in Melbourne we had a food festival where things like stir-frys with crickets, and fried mealworms etc were served. They were cooked by professional chefs and a lot of people actually like them quite a lot. I found that pretty cool. There's also so many countries where insects are a main source of food for the people. Anyway don't get me started on insects as food haha. I'm kind of passionate about the idea and could go on for hours!
Yeah it can be hard to stay healthy. Cost is one of the reasons I actually love being veggie though. I've basically never seen a vegetarian dish that costs more than a meat dish in a menu. I save heaps of money that way haha.
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