Twenty Facts About You

[IAmFCA]

To the sugar thing. I could never kick sugar out of my home. I put it in too much stuff. Spaghetti. veggie soup. You name it. It takes some of the bitter tomato taste away.

 

Jonny, sugar will kill you, literally. I urge you to try a little less of it, slowly. Your sense of flavors will adjust. Ice cream, which I hold dear, and frozen yogurt have sometimes tasted too sweet to me, after putting myself on a proper eating plan. That is how much our bodies adjust to what we give them. Try fresh tomatoes with pasta, as proper heirloom tomatoes are sweet. Try salads with strawberries instead of tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar in the dressing. Also, google about fructose, sucrose, lactose. Its useful to see how fruit sugar, milk sugar and sugar cane are treated by the body. Also to think about how sugar, when isolated, is easy to eat in large amounts, whereas when we eat sugar in other forms, we generally eat less of it.

 

Try also toeat dark chocolate only, no milk chocolate.

 

You didn't ask for my preaching, I know. Ignore if you like, of course!

[Fudgie]

I have some sugar in my apartment but I haven't touched it in ages. It's more for baking when I am baking for someone else. Otherwise, I have some splenda, stevia, and sugar alcohol (liquid form) that I use for sweetness, depends on what I'm doing. I keep some pasta and potatoes for my boyfriend but I don't eat these.

 

I feel a lot better without refined sugar in my life. It's hard to detox from it but it feels really good in the long run just health-wise. I am at risk for diabetes due to my hormonal disorder so this is just for me health. Also, losing weight is a plus for me. I should probably get my blood work done again but I have very good numbers and I attribute this to me changing my eating.

 

Don't even get me started on the sugar industry in America. I don't know how those folks sleep at night. They fought to make all sorts of fat have daily recommended amounts but HEAVEN FORBID someone ask to have a daily recommended amount of sugar...they don't want that on the labels because they know people will buy less sugar and eat less wheat and grains. The truth will come out someday. JAMA did release an article recently stating that many medical studies in the past, FUNDED BY THOSE WHO HAVE INTEREST IN SUGAR INDUSTRY, downplay the role of sugar in heart disease, and JAMA advises that you don't take these studies seriously because they are biased.

 

Ugh ugh ugh.

[IAmFCA]

I have some sugar in my apartment but I haven't touched it in ages. It's more for baking when I am baking for someone else. Otherwise, I have some splenda, stevia, and sugar alcohol (liquid form) that I use for sweetness, depends on what I'm doing. I keep some pasta and potatoes for my boyfriend but I don't eat these.

 

I feel a lot better without refined sugar in my life. It's hard to detox from it but it feels really good in the long run just health-wise. I am at risk for diabetes due to my hormonal disorder so this is just for me health. Also, losing weight is a plus for me. I should probably get my blood work done again but I have very good numbers and I attribute this to me changing my eating.

 

Don't even get me started on the sugar industry in America. I don't know how those folks sleep at night. They fought to make all sorts of fat have daily recommended amounts but HEAVEN FORBID someone ask to have a daily recommended amount of sugar...they don't want that on the labels because they know people will buy less sugar and eat less wheat and grains. The truth will come out someday. JAMA did release an article recently stating that many medical studies in the past, FUNDED BY THOSE WHO HAVE INTEREST IN SUGAR INDUSTRY, downplay the role of sugar in heart disease, and JAMA advises that you don't take these studies seriously because they are biased.

 

Ugh ugh ugh.

 

One of my friends - some 25 years ago - was offered a job working for the sugar industry, creating messaging that proved that sugar is good for you. With a masters in nutrition (?), she couldn't believe what they were asking of her and declined on the spot.

[Fudgie]

Wow, good for your friend. I don't know how those people do it. How do you say things with a straight face? I don't understand it.

 

The book "Good calories, Bad calories" really turned me around a few years ago. Glad I read it.

 

I really do think the truth will come out someday.

[jonny15]

Jonny, sugar will kill you

 

We're all gonna die of something.

 

Try fresh tomatoes with pasta, as proper heirloom tomatoes are sweet.

 

They aren't sweet enough to kill the nasty flavor. I've tried different ones. My tastes buds say no thank you.

 

Try salads with strawberries instead of tomatoes, and balsamic vinegar in the dressing. Also, google about fructose, sucrose, lactose. Its useful to see how fruit sugar, milk sugar and sugar cane are treated by the body. Also to think about how sugar, when isolated, is easy to eat in large amounts, whereas when we eat sugar in other forms, we generally eat less of it.

 

Meh. I'm not really a big salad eater either. Also.....I like my strawberries with sugar on them. I can't eat many of them without it. They generally are too tart for me to handle.

 

Try also toeat dark chocolate only, no milk chocolate.

 

I have. It gets boring quick.

[jonny15]

The only sweetener I've tried is splenda. And it has a horrible aftertaste. I couldn't use it.

[Jibralta]

1. I am adopted.

 

2. I was born in Texas but grew up in New Jersey.

 

3. I am agnostic.

 

4. I did drugs for years, from 14 until my early 20s. Acid was my favorite drug and the only one I ever paid for (even though I smoked weed almost every day from 19 to the end). I quit one day, abruptly. I've been mostly drug free for almost 20 years. I am happier drug-free, but I do have respect for altered states of awareness.

Reality > altered states, IMO.

 

5. I've been arrested three times but never jailed.

 

6. I have ADHD, and I do fit the bill, but I think the 'disorder' is a load of BS. More a symptom of a systematic shortcoming than individual deficiency.

 

7. I've been bitten by a rattlesnake. That's what I get for picking it up.

 

8. I've been kicked by a turkey. Yes, a turkey. Pike-kicked me in the chest. That's what I get for being uppity.

 

9. I've been kicked by a horse. I've been bitten by a horse. I've been thrown from numerous horses.

 

10. I love horseback riding.

 

11. I love socially awkward people.

 

12. I don't have a TV. Well, I have one, but it's not hooked up to cable or local networks.

 

13. I like to smoke cigarettes when I drink. I used to smoke over a pack a day, but quit years ago. Now I have a system for not getting hooked again: only do it in social drinking situations, and either throw the pack away at the end of the night or give it away.

 

14. I knocked a kid's tooth out in nursery school and broke a boy's collarbone in elementary school. Both times, I was defending myself.

 

15. I like animals more than I like people. But I'm starting to like people better.

 

16. I worked in a tattoo parlor when I was 17, drawing custom tattoos. I found it extremely stressful. Turns out I don't like drawing on demand. But the cool thing is I know people who have tattoos of my artwork.

 

17. Even though I loved my father's tattoos, and always wanted to get one, I never did because my mother asked me not to.

 

18. According to the Myers-Briggs personality test, I come out INTP or INTJ. One or the other, every time.

 

19. When I was a kid, I loved to hunt and catch animals. I've caught birds, squirrels, and rabbits, all with my bare hands. Then my mom would flip out and make me let them go.

 

20. I once decapitated a fly with a roll of toilet paper after meditating on human potential. While suffering from a fierce hangover. True story.

[Jibralta]

17. I make a fantastic spanakopita but can't find a recipe I like for taramasalata.

 

I see from your food that you have Greekness.

[IAmFCA]

Wow, good for your friend. I don't know how those people do it. How do you say things with a straight face? I don't understand it.

 

The book "Good calories, Bad calories" really turned me around a few years ago. Glad I read it.

 

I really do think the truth will come out someday.

 

I'm glad that Jama article came out. Not so much press though. Well, I don't get much media exposure, but I didn't hear it in the top 5 morning rush.

[IAmFCA]

I see from your food that you have Greekness.

 

100%. Except the American culture. I like the way you said that.

 

Also, ADHD. ENTP. And burned a fly in 3rd grade by directing the sun from the window through a magnifying glass. It felt good and mean and smart, all at once. I never did it again.

[Jibralta]

100%. Except the American culture. I like the way you said that.

 

My family is Greek. My sister makes a mean spanakopita and baklava, but doesn't like either. My mom makes kourabiethes. Not sure if you have those in your family. Not everyone does. She loves taramasalata, but we buy it at the Greek store. Other foods that we commonly have at gatherings are keftedes (my aunt makes them), kalitsounia (I make them), pastichio (my mom or my cousin), avgolemono (everybody).

 

When I was little, my grandmother and her sisters would make all of the food in an assembly line. They seemed tall, thin, and severe, and they liked to issue orders!

 

It felt good and mean and smart, all at once. I never did it again.

 

I felt that way after smashing some caterpillars as a kid. I avoid killing bugs now. It makes me sad if I do.

[Seymore]

1. I don't like talking about myself

 

2. I can't count to 20

[IAmFCA]

My family is Greek. My sister makes a mean spanakopita and baklava, but doesn't like either. My mom makes kourabiethes. Not sure if you have those in your family. Not everyone does. She loves taramasalata, but we buy it at the Greek store. Other foods that we commonly have at gatherings are keftedes (my aunt makes them), kalitsounia (I make them), pastichio (my mom or my cousin), avgolemono (everybody).

 

When I was little, my grandmother and her sisters would make all of the food in an assembly line. They seemed tall, thin, and severe, and they liked to issue orders!

 

 

 

I felt that way after smashing some caterpillars as a kid. I avoid killing bugs now. It makes me sad if I do.

 

Oh wow, fun to meet this part of you! I will gladly eat your sister's food. yum. We have served everything you mentioned except I don't recognize kalitsounia. I have never liked avgolemono, and I wish I did. I love the smell, the idea. Something about it doesn't feel right when I eat it. I eat eggs and chicken, a lot, and orzo and rice. Together, I don't know what happens. We have done the lamb for easter too; I need to learn that from the men in the family so I can carry it on. (You see the layers of implication in that?) Oh my gosh, one day an elder family member of some kind was taken aback when he heard I hadn't made any of the food on display. How would the parents know to tell their sons to marry me? I went running for my mother. In my 20s. I had no idea from what she had protected me!

 

Also, I don't know how you ended up with tall and thin yiayias and theas. My family is much more of the traditional fullback variety. And my one yiayia wore black always, after papou died, until her passing 20 years later.

 

Appreciation to the various parties to this thread for being tolerant of so many sidebars. I am having fun at this mixer. (And drinking seltzer.)

[reinventmyself]

Interesting, twisted and cracking me up at the same time

[Jibralta]

We have served everything you mentioned except I don't recognize kalitsounia.

 

Ohhhhhhhhhhh it's so good. I can't say it's my favorite because I like all of the food. But it's really good. Google says it's a sweet cheese pastry, but I find that misleading, as there is literally no added sugar and it's a basic dough. Herb pie is a better description. It's filled with combination of ricotta and cream cheese, seasoned with mint. Looks strange on paper, but tastes so right.

 

My papou planted mint in our back yard, and it (inevitably) spread. Smelling it always brings back fond memories.

 

We have done the lamb for easter too; I need to learn that from the men in the family so I can carry it on.

 

The men in my family make the lamb, too!

 

Oh my gosh, one day an elder family member of some kind was taken aback when he heard I hadn't made any of the food on display. How would the parents know to tell their sons to marry me? I went running for my mother. In my 20s. I had no idea from what she had protected me!

 

I know. I remember my yiayia giving me housekeeping lessons so that I would know what to do when I was married. I simply did not comprehend.

 

Also, I don't know how you ended up with tall and thin yiayias and theas. My family is much more of the traditional fullback variety.

 

My mom thinks there was a strain of Indian in the family. Several of my thetsas had high cheekbones as well. But my yiayia was a little heavier than her sisters, and had a rounder face. Still relatively thin, though.

 

And my one yiayia wore black always, after papou died, until her passing 20 years later.

 

Aw

 

My yiayia did not do that. She did sew her own clothes, though. And she liked to wear pastels. She was still strict, though. She was my only surviving grandparent after 1982!

 

My dad's family is Irish, so I never had any yiayias on that side.

[IAmFCA]

Interesting, twisted and cracking me up at the same time

 

Yeah. My Big Fat Greek Wedding ain't no lie. Lol

[IAmFCA]

Ohhhhhhhhhhh it's so good. I can't say it's my favorite because I like all of the food. But it's really good. Google says it's a sweet cheese pastry, but I find that misleading, as there is literally no added sugar and it's a basic dough. Herb pie is a better description. It's filled with combination of ricotta and cream cheese, seasoned with mint. Looks strange on paper, but tastes so right.

 

My papou planted mint in our back yard, and it (inevitably) spread. Smelling it always brings back fond memories.

 

 

 

The men in my family make the lamb, too!

 

 

 

I know. I remember my yiayia giving me housekeeping lessons so that I would know what to do when I was married. I simply did not comprehend.

 

 

 

My mom thinks there was a strain of Indian in the family. Several of my thetsas had high cheekbones as well. But my yiayia was a little heavier than her sisters, and had a rounder face. Still relatively thin, though.

 

 

 

Aw

 

My yiayia did not do that. She did sew her own clothes, though. And she liked to wear pastels. She was still strict, though. She was my only surviving grandparent after 1982!

 

My dad's family is Irish, so I never had any yiayias on that side.

 

Wow! Cousins, kinda.

[journeynow]

1. I don't like talking about myself

 

1. Me, too. Even for resumes.

 

2. I like reading these lists.

 

3. I read the JAMA article about sugar 2 days ago. (!) Glad I gave up sugar 6 months ago. Keep a small amount in the house to feed the hummingbirds, and now that they've migrated I'll throw it away.

[Jibralta]

Glad I gave up sugar 6 months ago.

 

I was just thinking today about how glad I am that I gave up sugar. Well, more accurately, that I barely use it. I don't get that "crash" that I used to get in the middle of the day. I don't have to get that extra cup of coffee (with sugar) to pick me up.

[Capttrae]

I've tried plenty of different drinks. But all of them have been horrible. I have no idea how anyone can stand the taste to be able to drink enough of it to get drunk.

 

After about the first 4-5 shots your not tasting anymore you are just drinking. When I drink, usually one good drunk when I get home I drink to decompress and sleep, then if I drink any more after that it's just a swig here and there

[IAmFCA]

I was just thinking today about how glad I am that I gave up sugar. Well, more accurately, that I barely use it. I don't get that "crash" that I used to get in the middle of the day. I don't have to get that extra cup of coffee (with sugar) to pick me up.

 

I don't add sugar to anything. Have you both given up sweet foods, as well?

[IAmFCA]

After about the first 4-5 shots your not tasting anymore you are just drinking. When I drink, usually one good drunk when I get home I drink to decompress and sleep, then if I drink any more after that it's just a swig here and there

 

Bourbon, water maybe, ice, maybe.

 

Last night, my friend and her date had 4 cocktails a piece. I had two glasses of seltzer.

[Fudgie]

Shots are gross AND overpriced. Give me a nice wine or mixed drink, or just some straight spirit. If I can't enjoy sipping it, then I don't want it.

[Capttrae]

Shots are way over priced if you are at a bar, but when I drink I do it at my house so I can buy a 1/5th for $20, put on some Hank, get drunk, sing my heart out, blow my duck calls and make an absolute fool of myself and not bother anyone and when I'm done there's no photographic evidence

[Fudgie]

I have not had alcohol with the intention of getting drunk in a very long time. If it happens, it's by accident. For me, it's purely taste and having a bit of a relaxed buzz. I try to avoid getting tipsy now. I like being able to play games and/or watch TV and still know what is going on. If I am tipsy/drunk, I am automatically awful at any game I play, I keep dying in my Playstation games, I can't follow a crime show very well, and then I go to bed too early.