The ultimate goal. Not under nourished (low energy), not over fed (preventing me from doing activity that I would like to do, guilt), not socially awkward (too rigid, can't justify) and keep diet as just one facet of my life, not the only focus.
Consistent energy
Able to sustain energy during long days while climbing.
Understand how my body feels between meals and just after a meal.
No strong need to add sugar or caffeine to ensure performance.
Stable to outside opinions
Stable to opinions and open to well researched ideas. Talk to a nutritionist, get blood work done, etc. Don't just believe the diet will work. Test it and see if it's defensible against critics, but don't bother friends and family with unsolicited debates/soliloquys. Be open to change, review research and make adjustments incrementally. Re-evaluate the diet from time to time, piece by piece to see if new research should dictate changes to food, ratios, foods, documentation/tracking process, etc.
Cost effective
No dependence on expensive specialty foods, only organic and/or supplements.
Quick prep and easy variety
A collection of tastey foods that can be prepared with minimal prep and effort. 15min.
Eating the same food over and over is boring and destined to fail. Variety isn't just nice; it's a requirement
Don't be too rigid
Embrace eating out or misc social situations. Bend the rules and don't force others to focus on my diet. Enjoy the variety and understand that I'll be able to return to my normal schedule without much impact. The occasional change in habit may be beneficial.
Maintain weight
Do not want to add much weight, even if it's muscle. right? I want my body to remain 'light' for climbing but strong and resilient.
Considering these goals, here's my thought process
Sugar is important to limit
I hear this a lot. is it true? If so, why would we like the taste of sugar so much? seems like the body wants us to eat more.
Natural fats are good
Both animal and vegetable
Avoid trans fats: produced at high heat from veg fats and the body can't effectively process them. Not eating processed foods should avoid these.
Fat helps you to feel full and assists against over eating.
It tastes good! Since sugar is drastically reduced, at least fat is still around to ensure satisfaction of the taste buds!
Don't be afraid to call it a diet
Diet defines how and what i eat. It's a diet. Don't create confusion by being afraid of using the word diet or being cognizant of what I use to fuel my future.
Common foods in diet
eggs
bell peppers
onions
mushrooms
zuchinnis
avocados
coconut oil and veggie oil
red cabbage; roasted is good!
green beans
steak/chicken/pork in dinner
carrots
mixed nuts
Occassional though I aim for less frequency
dark chocolate; 90%; low in sugar. Bitter just like I like my...
natural peanut butter
beets
yogurt
half and half
cheese
Drinks
Sparkling water
Sometimes with lemon/lime flavor. avoid artificial sweeteners (why? confirmed they are bad?)
Coffee
2 to 3 cups a day; usually black but sometimes with half and half. God I hope coffee doesn't turn into something I need to give up. Uh oh, seed planted..
Tea
Peppermint, chamomile at end of day. calming.
Tough foods to avoid
I like sweets and crunchy foods so it can feel tough to avoid cookies and chips. Every so often (once every 2/3 weeks), allow one meal when I can eat them and don't worry about turning it into a frequent and thus counter-productive habit. Less sugary deserts can also be enjoyed, but recognize not to use them as a method of over-eating:
banana fried in coconut oil with some peanut butter and yogurt on top
some fruits in yogurt or mixed with some nuts
peppermint tea can also taste like a desert
Alcohol
I used to drink it, but over time I've moved almost completely away from it. The effects can be fun, but the penalties on my body and mind convinced me that it's just not worth it. I want my body to feel consistently strong and avoid tempting depression. With those goals, not consuming alcohol is the obvious choice.
THC
In small doses and not too frequently, I don't notice negative effects on my mind/body. Social and professional impacts are important to recognize. I consider it to be a vice so if partaking then address the pros and cons: the mental effects it produces, the potential social stigma and if I feel guilty or ashamed for consuming then i should stop using it and re-examine my choices.
One experience I had was a perspective change towards worrying about the future, feelings of failure and an inability to believe making positive changes in my future. After almost 1.5 years after leaving my previous job, I was finally able to overcome a strong bout of depression with a combination of travel, exercise, study and increased interactions with others. Some pot was used towards the end of that time and produced some interesting perspectives and questions.
Open questions
How to avoid the temptation to over eat?
I don't want to micro-manage. How much tracking is important? food log? calorie/quantity tracking? I'm not really interested in spending much time documenting, but I do have some curiosity of trends and correlations.
Is ketosis really being achieved? Is it really important to know? I don't feel especially hungry even if I don't eat for many hours and I *think* that I can still perform quite well. So my body is getting energy from somewhere and I'm not eaching a lot of carbohydrates.
How to tell if I'm over eatting? Here are some top google results
TODO: read more about the formal differentions of eatting disorders: Bulimia, etc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_disorder
Does the first sentence in the above article apply to you?
Nominal fallacy here?
I'm getting closer and closer to thinking exercise bulimia sounds like it applys to me and I want to say it's bullshit. Certainly defensive, but is it well considered and supported defense?
Seems like allowing yourself to be diagnosed with a disorder and allowing someone else to define a goal that you don't believe in will lead to a cycle of never being able to break the disorder. You must find your true goals: how do you know if it's a true goal? You go make the changes required to achieve the goal! Didn't make the changes required? The goal may still have been valid (though that not for sure!): re-examine why the goal is important and if you're willing to shift other aspects of your life to work towards and achieve that goal. This all all getting so self-helpy.
Are the above links true? My guess is that everyone qualifies as having an eatting disorder if you believe the qualifications listed. Should other criteria be used to determine if you have an eatting disorder? It seems like these articles want you to think you have a disorder so that you will use their services to find the fix.
If weight stays the same, can I still be considered to have an eatting disorder?
Can I have an overeatting disorder that is due not to the volume of food consumed, but with the feelings attached during the eatting of that food? That seems more like what I experience. I stay close to the same weight, exercise often but will feel tempted to feel guilty for eatting lots of nuts in one sitting. Since I maintain a stable weight, perhaps that doesn't indicate that I need to eat less to undo an overeatting disorder. Instead, I need to find ways to feel confident in the choice of quantity of food that I consume then I will maintain my weight and avoid negative feelings.