Saturday 25 April 2015

Buffets are not alwasy a picky eater's friend

I wrote a post a while back about how buffets can sometimes be a picky eater's best friend, and I stand by that. Sometimes buffets are great because they allow you to pick and choose what you put on your plate and no one really thinks twice about what you are eating.

However that relies on there being things that you can eat, which usually for me there are. However I was at a party last night where they had quite a fancy buffet. I honestly didn't even know what half the stuff was.

I was able to find a giant plate of sausage rolls and figured I would just grab a handful of those which I did. I ate one and it was actually really nice, I bit into my second and panic set in. This was not a sausage roll but one of those cheese and onion ones that pretend to be sausage rolls. Someone had mixed them into one plate and there was no obvious way to tell them apart.

Wednesday 22 April 2015

I have slipped back into bad habits

With being on placement and working three or four twelve hour shifts every week for the last eight weeks while trying to write an essay, study for an exam and do my best to help out my sick mother I have slipped into my bad habits again recently.

Its really difficult for me when I am working these shifts, so little of what I eat is portable and reheatable. I guess I need to try harder if I am being honest but all I have eaten for the last eight weeks is the same three or four pasta dishes over and over again. I have three ready meals I can tolerate so I just have to rotate them, or eat toast while at work.

It is really depressing, everyone in the staff room has lovely looking salads or fruit and I have basically the same thing every day. Porridge or toast for breakfast break and one of these stupid pasta things for lunch. I don't even really like the pasta things if I am honest, but it something I know I will be able to eat since its not like I have any way to get an alternative if I don't like something.

Thursday 9 April 2015

Hidradenitis Suppurativa - My diet might be affecting my health after all

Other than being overweight, I honestly don't think my diet affects my health much, if at all. I think the consequences of being overweight for pretty much my whole life will hit me one day, maybe they are already starting to but I honestly don't think that I am unhealthy at the moment.

In saying that, I have been dealing with a minor health issue recently and it turns out that there may be a dietary component.

For the last several years I have been getting what I would describe as large painful spots in my groin and bottom. I really didn't think much about them, as they started in my late teens I just assumed it was a hormonal thing. When it didn't improve in my twenties I still didn't think all that much about it after all I am one of those unlucky twenty-somethings who still has spots from time to time.

My mother was diagnosed with a condition called Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) a few years ago, which is a condition that causes sort of abscess type things, usually in the groin and armpits. Still it didn't click that my 'spots' could be related. Mum is in agony with her frequent flair ups and lesions, my spots come and go as they please and although they are painful, I am not in agony and they usually go away in a few days.

There is not much research into Hidradenitis Suppurativa, well there is research but its not conclusive. Some research suggests a genetic component, you are 30% more likely to suffer from HS if one of your parents has it. Add that to the fact that its more common in women than in men and my chances are somewhere around 50/50. Still I wasn't convinced, I had done some research for mum when she was first diagnosed so I knew what the symptoms were. I was pretty convinced that wasn't my problem, I didn't feel I got the 'spots' often enough and I don't have any scars like most people get when they have them.

Wednesday 1 April 2015

I envy my friends sometimes

I am really not the jealous type, just ask my partner, but I do get a little envious of my friends sometimes. All my friends are what I would consider 'normal eaters' and especially at this time of year when we are getting ready for the warmer weather, at least half a dozen of them will be on a diet.

At the moment three of my friends are doing Slimming World, two are doing Weight Watchers, one is doing the 5/2 diet and a few others seem to be eating nothing but salad for every meal. Now don't get me wrong I am proud of them for sticking with it. One friend who is getting married later in the year is doing really well with Slimming World and has lost a lot of weight so far. It does upset me sometimes though because I would honestly give just about anything to be able to even just try one of these diets, or even just to eat healthier.

Even my doctor has suggested I try either Slimming World or Weight Watchers and I honestly considered it. She assured me that I would be able to eat things that are within my range of safe foods and still stick to the plan, but after spending a bit of time on each of the companies websites I quickly realised that she was completely wrong.