letting off steam!

Challenges and trouble-shooting
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Claudie
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letting off steam!

Post by Claudie »

Yeah, I don't think anyone can solve this one....it's no biggie but kind of annoying. I'm sure some of you have experienced similar...

So I work at this school in Thailand for like one more week and the teachers are going crazy saying goodbye to me and stuff. Food is a MASSIVE part of culture here, every festival and social event is centred around food. Delicious food...that you can convince yourself is healthy...steamed fish with lemon and chili, fried vegetables, noodle and chili salad, papaya and peanut fried fish, tom yam gung, chicken with cashew nuts...AAAARGH! I love everything on the table at these events and what's more the teachers love to "feed the foreign teacher' they get really upset if I don't eat and if I refuse to try something they look like they are about to cry. Not a day has gone by this past month of starting Wai where they haven't brought fried bananas or rice desserts or a big pot of green curry into the office, its torture i promise you! and they make a special point of getting me to try it.

Last night was my leaving do and I caved in to the pressure (and the food addiction no doubt) and ate some fried veg, rice, spicy rice noodle salad and coconut milk mushrooms. I resisted all the meat by telling them I had gone vegetarian (they can just about understand that because monks are usually vegetarian) but I feel so crappy today...as yet no massive breakout but my skin was so greasy this morning and already i feel clogged up and i don't think I'll be going to the bathroom forever. I did try and minimise the damage by taking a little bottle of oil and sipping a little in the bathroom every hour or so, but still...

Anyway, there isn't really a lot of point to this. But I'm pissed off with myself and with circumstances! People make such a big deal about other's eating habits. A couple of my western friends are trying to lose weight and won't listen to me about Wai because "your body won't get enough protein, too many carbs blah blah blah." While the Thai people are genuinely worried I'm not eating enough, I KNOW that with my western friends, a lot of the time they don't like to see me ordering a tomato salad not because they are worried about my health but PURELY because they just ordered a cheeseburger and it makes them feel like they are less disciplined about their diets. So then they have a go at me like "is that all you're having? It's not enough, I think you don't need to lose weight, you look fine." which really doesn't help when you are NOT HAPPY with the way you look or feel!

Also, I'll tell you what else doesn't help: having friends that are gorgeous and skinny with skin like silk and gorge themselves on booze and bread and meat and burgers every chance they get. That my friends is the moment ordering a salad starts to seem kinda pointless since clearly it is the work of God that other people are just more frickin attractive! :roll:

I have a feeling that during my next three weeks of backpacking, i'm going to fall off the wagon, and I think I just made it easier for myself to be susceptible to those cravings, by breaking the diet and putting myself back to square one. Grrrr!

Anyway.....
I guess the point should be: I actually love ordering a tomato salad, and without Wai, I'd still be ordering a cheesburger, so that's more important than breaking the diet once. Yes. Done. Really, I'm over it!

On another note, the emoticon is 25 years old this week :( i'm only a year younger but i feel old!
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

I think we all have experienced that addiction/cravings + peer/social pressure = potential disaster. Especially some of the eastern cultures, like you described, keep offering until they're absolutely sure you're not refusing out of politeness. This can be some part of a traditional ritual, like in the japanese tea ceremony.

Your friends might look good now, but most will start deteriorating after 30, and for sure everyone will when they're in their 40's. A very small consolation, I'm sure... ;)
dionysus
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Post by dionysus »

From my experience its impossible to crave food if you have your energy levels at its "optimal state."

What i have noticed is that after a period of time, after you've got over the food cravings (or better put...you can control them)...then there comes a point where the Wai Diet isn't unconventional anymore, it just becomes as oridinary as ordering a cheeseburger. As waking up in the morning....


This is a bit off topic...

...what do you think the best way to keep your energy levels up and socialise in a club or bar are?

Thing is, alot of bars/clubs search bags before entering the premises therefore taking OJ+OO inside can not be possible.

I'm thinking sugar + order a mineral water from the bar + slice of lemon

I REALLY don't want to let me energy levels drop because i just don't feel as good.
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Claudie
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Post by Claudie »

dionysus wrote:
...what do you think the best way to keep your energy levels up and socialise in a club or bar are?

Thing is, alot of bars/clubs search bags before entering the premises therefore taking OJ+OO inside can not be possible.
Yeah I don't know. I haven't yet managed to find a small plastic bottle that will fit into a clutch purse so I go without oil when I go out and face the consequences. I'm not deathly strict cos my acne isn't awful, so I allow myself a vodka orange juice...the good thing is all oj is fresh squeezed here. I'm not at the stage where I want to make my odd habits the talk of the evening...khao san road is not the place to have a bottle of oil around, when you're meeting loads of new people every night its not a good thing to have everyone going "have you met that weirdo in the corner who brought her own salad and dressing?" hehehe not that I'm saying you guys are weird or anything! I'm just chicken!
Claudie
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Post by Claudie »

oh and sorry i didn't really answer your question about energy ...i mean the times i have trouble aren't really in clubs (cos i drink a lot of oj- don't like beer or wine- and don't have energy drops, in fact i'm bouncing off the ceiling usually- i start my pre-going out 'getting ready' with a few egg yolks and a salad)- but at dinner party type situations. You can't say you've eaten already if you've specifically been invited out to eat. And in Thai restaurants, they don't serve plain veg salad.

And I'm dreading going home because my mum and grandad both love to cook and are really good at it and will be waiting with tons of welcome home dinners, and my friends will want to go out tons....AND it will be christmas...I'm gonna soften the blow before i get there by telling them I've given up meat and dairy. Still it gets to the point where people are like "Get over it, just eat the damn cookies I made for you." or whatever. I guess it just takes some time for people to learn that that's what you do and they shouldn't take it personally.
Claudie
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Post by Claudie »

dionysus wrote:.

I'm thinking sugar + order a mineral water from the bar + slice of lemon
.
I promise this is my last post!

But...sugar?? good luck for when you get your bag searched and they find a small baggie of white crystalline substance..."officer, I was trying to prevent a drastic energy drop that might cause me to be susceptible to opioid peptides!"
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

LOL! :lol:

Sugarwater is a good idea, or just eating it plain. I always took my olive oil in a small (sample) tequila bottle...got really funny reactions to that ;)
dionysus
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Post by dionysus »

Oscar that is genius! A little 35ml vokda/whisky bottle!
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dionysus
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Post by dionysus »

PS Claudie...yeah i did think about that problem! hahaha

What happens if you melt sugar and then let it set. Can you make Sugar 'cakes' you carry around with you? hahaha
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johndela1
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Post by johndela1 »

dionysus wrote:PS Claudie...yeah i did think about that problem! hahaha

What happens if you melt sugar and then let it set. Can you make Sugar 'cakes' you carry around with you? hahaha
isn't that how they make hard candy?
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Oscar
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Post by Oscar »

dionysus wrote:Oscar that is genius! A little 35ml vokda/whisky bottle!
Haha thanks ;)
dionysus
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Post by dionysus »

johndela1 wrote:
dionysus wrote:PS Claudie...yeah i did think about that problem! hahaha

What happens if you melt sugar and then let it set. Can you make Sugar 'cakes' you carry around with you? hahaha
isn't that how they make hard candy?
Not sure John but it is definetly something to look into. Easier to eat a bit of sugar "cake" in a club/bar or other social outing rather than your standard sugar.
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dionysus
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Post by dionysus »

Barley Sugar (Old Fashion sweets):

3 cups of granulated sugar
1/2 pint of water
1/2 beaten egg white (a no-no!)
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method

- Mix all ingredients except the lemon juice together and bring to the boil.
- If any scum rises, skim it off.
- If necessary strain the syrup through a piece of muslin.
- Return to the heat and boil until a spoonful of syrup dropped into a saucer of cold water becomes brittle.
- Remove from the heat.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Let the barley sugar stand for 1 minute and then pour into a greased tin.
- Before it sets hard cut it into long strips and twist each one into a spiral.
- Allow to set hard

Ok...I am no master cook, so i don't know what the egg plays in this recipe but i will try this soon and hopefully try and get something to work. Would be handy, especially if you could work out the exact amount of sugar you require to feel "good" each time.
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dionysus
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Post by dionysus »

PS Some recipes include "cream of Tartar" instead of egg white.

http://www.ochef.com/933.htm
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avo
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Post by avo »

Buy a box of rock candy. Pure sugar. No one would suspect a thing.
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