Happy Days in Random Chatter 10

[Portia]

So I know many are adverse to calorie-counting, but I signed up for a log because I think it will help me feel healthier and be accountable for what I'm actually eating. I'm not a nutrition nut by any means, but I do want to lose weight, because I managed to gain 5 pounds in the first 2 weeks. TWO. My goal is to be back to where I was around Jan 1 by this Thanksgiving: that's only 1 lb/wk, so I think that's sustainable.

And I actually like seeing the chart of what I eat. I need to be higher in protein and vitamins, a little higher in fat, actually, and (shockingly! I know) I'm a little high in carbs. (I looove carbs.)

So yeah, I think this is better than the "starve because you're poor" way of losing weight I experienced in 2010 and 2012.

(And, no, I don't have a bad self-image or hate my body or whatever. I dislike how politicized eating has become. If I want to lose the "vanity pounds," as someone on the board called them, isn't that my business? I guess I don't think my dress size is a part of my "identity.")

Wish me luck! :-)

[Emiliana]

I don't think there's anything wrong with counting calories as well as you're also getting good nutrition (e.g. if your calorie goal is 1500, you're not just eating 1500 calories worth of doughnuts), which it sounds like you're trying to do. So more power to you! (I'm currently trying to lose a few pounds so I can fit into my pants again because losing weight is cheaper than buying new clothes.)

[Genuine Article]

I have to say that when it comes to keeping track of what you're eating, I really love the USDA's SuperTracker website.

[SmurfBlueSnuggie]

Good luck, Portia! I think losing or gaining weight for the right reasons is great. The right reasons being those you have: to be healthier and because you want to.

[Laser Jock]

Good luck, Uffish! That sounds like a serious regimen. I think it's been mentioned on here before, but Eirene discovered the same thing about SLS, and that has helped her too. She gets them much less often now than she used to. (She actually just uses an SLS-free toothpaste, which you can get a few places; she gets hers from Trader Joe's, but I'm pretty sure you can find similar stuff online. It might be worth trying instead of only switching once yours get bad.)

[Imogen]

I'm beginning my own weight loss journey for the dorkiest reason ever: I want to be sexy when I audition for Monty Python's Spamalot here in my hometown. I WILL BE THE LADY OF THE LAKE!!!!

[Whistler]

after the organ workshop I have determined that organ shoes make any guy look slightly handsomer. I'm guessing it's the heels (also the classic oxford look and the cuteness of uniforms?).

[Portia]

Got my first calling in about five years. I'm going to be a Relief Society teacher. I think it should be an interesting experience ... I've never had a teaching calling before!

[Imogen]

WHY A FEVER IN AUGUST?!?! I AM SO OVERHEATED!!!!

[UffishThought]

I'm RS teacher. I LOVE it. I only have one lesson left before I leave the ward, though. Mostly I'm glad to move on, but I'll be sad to lose my favorite calling.

[Portia]

I'm RS teacher. I LOVE it. I only have one lesson left before I leave the ward, though. Mostly I'm glad to move on, but I'll be sad to lose my favorite calling.

Good to hear. Are you moving within Utah Co?

[Giovanni Schwartz]

WHY ARE GIRLS SO COMPLICATED???

[SmurfBlueSnuggie]

Because we get bored with life unless we can over analyze EVERYTHING.

[mic0]

WHY ARE GIRLS SO COMPLICATED???

D: IT'S A CONSPIRACY!

[Imogen]

WHY ARE GIRLS SO COMPLICATED???

I don't think we're that complicated. I think we're conditioned to think the other sex is complicated when, really, if people would just properly communicate most things we find "complicated" would disappear.

[Katya]

WHY ARE GIRLS SO COMPLICATED???

(1) Because we're socially penalized (by both men and other women) for going about things in a straightforward fashion and (2) because you simply don't have a lot of practice navigating the world from a female perspective. See also my response here.

I don't think we're that complicated. I think we're conditioned to think the other sex is complicated when, really, if people would just properly communicate most things we find "complicated" would disappear.

Do girls generally think guys are complicated, though?

[Portia]

I find women to be more "complicated" than men. I think this comes from the fact that I have invested a lot more into my relationships with men, being heterosexual, and that I have socialized primarily with men since I was in grade school.

Men are generally rewarded for being blunt and candid: women generally are not. Navigating feminine social mores does not come easily to me.

I think it would be more apt to say "relationships/friendships are complicated." And in my humble opinion, Gio has some conflicting desires as to what he wants in a woman.

[Laser Jock]

Do girls generally think guys are complicated, though?

I don't know what girls think, but my impression is that guys think that girls think guys are simple. (I think this also sort of ties into the sitcom stereotype of guys as the bumbling, not-quite-as-smart characters; think Tim Taylor from Home Improvement.)

[Emiliana]

Yeah, I feel like the "guys are simple, girls are complicated" thing is more a cultural stereotype than anything else. Sure, my husband is simple when it comes to some things ("more power is always better!!!"), but so am I ("more chocolate is always better!!!!").

[mic0]

Agreed with everyone. I feel like people are complex (not necessarily "complicated"?).