It is an established fact that I love to cook. When I was denied a hip replacement until I could achieve a qualifying BMI score, my world - already being shrunk by my growing disability - shrank even further. Once a woman who read new recipes and tried the ones that sounded good, I was now a woman who could only eat 800-1200 calories a day. Briefly, that level of food restriction took the joy out of cooking. Then I resolved to be on the lookout for recipes that were delicious and manageable with my restrictions. Spinach, broccoli, and carrots were my friends, packed with vitamins and fiber to be filling. I upped my fruit and veg consumption from 4-6 daily servings to 5-7 and used intermittent fasting on the daily so that with the exception of coffee, I didn’t eat between supper and noon the next day. Lunch was confined to less than 300 calories. That saved some space for supper, where my plate could be anywhere between 500 and 800 calories, allowing me to continue to try new recipes, even those that did not strictly fit low calorie specifications. Cooking was physically hard (see: hip disability) but became enjoyable again from planning point of view. We ate pretty well in the past month, thanks to my cooking skill and desire to try new things.
I offer this information not as an endorsement of diet culture or food restriction. They are physically and emotionally destructive, the biggest predictor of the development of disordered eating, and unlikely to reduce weight in the long run. Bodies need nourishment and kindness; diet culture and food restriction denies both of these important things. Medical science should know this but orthopedists are not very enlightened when it comes to weight and I was forced into food restriction. When my new hip is installed, I will keep to my daily food and veggie commitment but look forward to renewing my relationship with cheese, which I have missed terribly, nearly as much as I have missed being able to walk more than a few minutes a time.
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