Lori Alexander 33: Counting Everyone's Calories

[onemama]

For Lori:

2:21 IS lori! 

 

[lilwriter85]

6 hours ago, EowynW said:

I do think factory farmed butter doesn't look or taste as good as farm fresh or small farm grass fed operations, but it is what it is! Kerrigold is as expensive as I ever get. Walmart has been throwing it in sale here so I've been gleefully stocking up. 

Loris way of healthy eating is unattainable for many people. She'd be a better blogger if she'd give examples about better healthy living and eating on a budget. She doesn't teach at all. Hell, money is super tight here but I make a lot of my own cleaning products and manage to eat sugar/gluten free with a bit of careful juggling. Maybe one day I'll start a healthy yet frugal blog. 

I hope you do start a blog on healthy yet frugal topics. Many people could benefit from that.Yeah, Lori's not a good blogger on food advice.  She just blogs about buying organic from a speshul health food store that is forty minutes away and driving around to farms. I'm willing to bet that she could easily find certain organic food products for cheaper prices at nearby chain grocery stores. I have a few friends who shop at independently owned organic or food health stores in order to support small businesses. Maybe, if Lori said something like that I would give her break. But, on the other hand, she never considers the fact that many of her fangirls can't afford to shop at certain stores.

 

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

@Red Jumper  Do we have the same friend?  I've seen mine order an entree, take an infinitesimal bite (like a morsel on the fork tines) of each thing on the plate. and then push the plate away.  But at the same meal drink 4 (4!!!) full glasses of wine.  She does the same thing at home, so not a secret eater.

I've also known her to go to lunch with her mother (also anorexic), each one order a plain green salad with lemon, neither one take a single bite, but just drink 2-3 glasses of wine apiece. When they're out together there is this unspoken contest to see who can eat the least.

My SIL is exactly like my friend, except she orders an appetizer as her entree,  takes 2 tiny  bites, then drinks 4 glasses of wine.  

[Hisey]

3 hours ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

@EowynW "Maybe one day I'll start a healthy yet frugal blog."

Do it!!!

I'd follow it.

 

So would I! It sounds like you have a lot to offer.

[Red Hair, Black Dress]

1 hour ago, Florita said:

Infant/child mortality was shockingly high before the 20th century

Because of vaccines and new drugs children no longer routinely die of diphtheria, smallpox, polio, mastoiditis, pneumonia, typhoid, scarlet fever, strep infections, whooping cough.

[Red Jumper]

@Red Hair, Black Dress Oh no, my friend is known to be ordering a whole array of plates (appetizers, main course, desserts, several sides,...) but only have a bite from everything. It's so wasteful! Of course everything she orders is the healthiest on the menu. On the other hand she always eats from her husband's plate after she told him that he couldn't order that. This is very annoying to him but as long as she eats something. When not going out she currently lives on super-special smoothies, before it was salad+water.
I don't think they have very unhealthy drinking habits. Due to my upbringing and my anti-alcoholic husband my definition of "often"/"a lot" is probably biased. I really don't judge, I'm just not used to having/or seeing someone at my table having a glass of wine or beer with every dinner and lunch. My guess is that if my DH and I weren't so different she would have 2-4 glasses every time we saw them except for breakfasts. We also spend a weekend skiing together every year. At lunch they have a hard drink (schnaps) and we need to have an afternoon break for their schnaps (with or without tea). It's not out of the ordinary here. In my family noone has any alcohol drinks when skiing (no beer, no schnaps, no whatever-in-your-tea)
There is always some arguing about calories and healthy/unhealthy ingredients between her and her husband. However, not once were alcoholic drinks mentioned. As she is anorexic without admitting it and her drinking habit is within the local traditions I will never tell her that wine, beer,... contain calories. Eat, honey, eat... even if it is liquid and your liver has some work to do.

[SuperNova]

My mother has virtually stopped cooking in the last few years. She says that she's cooked her whole life and she's sick of it. Her and my dad eat in restaurants every single day, sometimes twice a day. They are well off and it doesn't effect them financially. I'm more concerned about the effect it has had on their health. In the last year she's tested high for triglycerides and was pre-diabetic for awhile. More recently, she was diagnosed with gastritis and IBS. Dad's on cholesterol meds and has had increased problems with his joints. Mom was baffled as to how this could have developed. I talked to her about how restaurant food preparation varies from home cooked food. Her response? Now she orders fruit instead of fries, chicken instead of steak, salad instead of appetizer.

They also go to the movies once a week and always order the jumbo popcorn with extra butter. Not to mention she loves going to the bakery and donut shops. She balances that by going to the gym every other day and she is reasonably trim for a 74 year old lady.

Its an unbalanced and unhealthy way to live. It drives me nuts but they're adults. What can I do? I cook double batches of healthy dinners and give them to her. She feeds it to my dad and runs to the deli for pasta salad and sandwich for herself. It's maddening. Sorry. I'm just venting. Rant over.

[louisa05]

@SuperNova I have chronic gastritis and cook from scratch at home all but, typically, one meal a week. Restaurant meals do not cause it. My paternal grandfather had the same symptoms his entire adult life and they never ate out until after retirement as they struggled financially for most of their lives. 

 

[Red Jumper]

@SuperNova I feel with you. A family member thought that soup at cheap diners is homemade from the best pieces of beef and no salt added. Being on a low sodium diet due to kidney issues after two months this believe caused another long stay at hospital, including getting anointment of the sick and the priest bringing the holy communion to the intensive care because we weren't sure if there would be a next Sunday together.
you write about some positive changes, though: They make healthier choices. She does plenty of sport. He gets your healthy dinners. It's a big step from nothing. Perhaps you can influence their choice of restaurants towards the healthier ones? Either something a little pricier or a different cuisine (if that is available where your parents live)?

[Koala]

  Here we go again.  More food that a majority of her readers have no hope of affording.

Lori:

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This is the type of food you want to eat. 

She's referring to Primal Kitchen Mayo.  Retail?  

Amazon: 12 oz. $11.83

On the flip side, you can get Duke's mayo at Wal-mart (32 oz. $4.16).  Publix has it on their bogo rotation, as well.

Look- I get trying to eat healthy, but for most people, there simply isn't $12 in the budget to waste on a mere 12 oz. of mayo.  

Lori talks out of both sides of her mouth.

On one side, she tells women that she has been commanded by God himself to train them in the ways of godliness.

They are to be homeschooled.  No college.  Marry and have children early.  Don't worry about having your ducks in a row.  Planning for the future isn't trusting God!  Mom can't work, so only one income.  Be frugal!  Don't dissipate your husband's substance!

On the other side, she tells them that $14 for 4 sticks of butter is eating the way God intended.  Want to bake a batch of cookies?  That'll be $46.  Mayo for your sandwich?  Hope you've got $12 (I can make an entire meal for less).  

None of them seem to realize that Lori has been afforded the lifestyle she has, by people who WENT TO COLLEGE!  They got their educations, they built successful careers, and they used the money they made to support one of the most spoiled rotten women I've ever encountered.  

It's ridiculous, and I hope her readers don't feel badly about buying things they can actually afford.  

[SuperNova]

@Red Jumper Thanks. It's a work in progress. I try not to push too hard but still keep trying! Sorry to hear about your loved one. It's hard because you want to help but they're adults free to make their own unhealthy choices.

@louisa05 You're right. Restaurant food didn't cause her gastritis but it does contribute to the symptoms and severity. Greasy or fatty foods can be a factor in the level of inflammation experienced. 

[dairyfreelife]

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It has been commonly stated that people live much longer now due to our advanced medical care and vaccinations. Is this true? Our first president, George Washington, lived until he was 67 years old and died 1799, Thomas Jefferson until 83 and died 1826, John Adams until 90 and died in 1826, James Monroe until 73, and James Madison until 85. (You can see HERE that the ages of the deaths of our presidents haven’t changed much even with the advancements in medical care and vaccinations.) Every single drug and vaccinations has many side effects. Type 2 Diabetes and the cost to treat it just may bankrupt our country and it is completely reversible with diet (More than 100 million Americans have diabetes or prediabetes).  Yet, the father of modern medicine said, “Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food!”

You idiot. The average life expectancy went up, but that's because children and babies are no longer are dying at the high rates of the past. Those who made it past childhood did tend to live a long life if they didn't meet with an accident or die in war and such. Anything can have a side effect, but that doesn't take away the good something does the majority. I have a food latex allergy. If I eat normal foods like bananas, avocados, kiwis, my tongue gets all scratchy and I break out in hives. Vaccines have been around for 200 years. We have so much food available to us now and in easy access that we overeat and too much of anything is not a good thing hence obesity, which leads to other health problems like Type 2 diabetes. A good diet is important, but so is exercise and caring for ourselves mentally as well (isolation and high stress can cause health problems as well). But you can eat a healthy diet, exercise daily and take care of yourself, do all the right things and still get sick. 

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Did you know that cancer is the number two killer among children ages five to fourteen years old according to the CDC?

Yeah, but that's because children rarely die in general anymore. The number one killer is accidents. 

I bet the conversation with Lori and her parents went something like this...

Lori: Did you all see many people with cancer when you were young?

Her dad/mom: "I don't recall many people with cancer when I was a kid" 

Goes home and writes that her own parents never knew anyone with cancer when they were young so that meant it didn't happen then, see? So, eat organic and don't get vaccinations because there must be a connection there even though I can't find anything that says so. 

I will be honest and say I don't actually read her posts anymore, but enjoy a chuckle at the comments and quick deleting and the complete hypocrisy. Man alive though...Lori cannot logic at all. Lori, stop trying to do logic, you just can't, okay? Now, get off your computer and go do something useful with your life that won't hurt others anymore. 

[louisa05]

1 hour ago, SuperNova said:

[mention=24560]Red Jumper[/mention] Thanks. It's a work in progress. I try not to push too hard but still keep trying! Sorry to hear about your loved one. It's hard because you want to help but they're adults free to make their own unhealthy choices.
[mention=15834]louisa05[/mention] You're right. Restaurant food didn't cause her gastritis but it does contribute to the symptoms and severity. Greasy or fatty foods can be a factor in the level of inflammation experienced. 

 

Not all restaurants serve only greasy or fatty foods

Deep fried food is a trigger. Otherwise, not all fats are equal offenders.

Biggest triggers for me are caffeine and stress.

But don’t even bother telling most people that caffeine can be a problem. I take more garbage from people for avoiding caffeine than you would believe.

 

[ViolaSebastian]

1 hour ago, Koala said:

  Here we go again.  More food that a majority of her readers have no hope of affording.

And don't forget, you gotta feed your umpteen blessings with that $11 mayo!

Quote

Children in the womb being diagnosed with cancer?

Yes, Lori, because many childhood cancers have a genetic component, to the point that if a child is diagnosed with cancer the physicians invariable run genetic testing. And even in your halcyon days of the 1950s (), there were children who had cancer before they were born--there was just no means of diagnosing it in the womb.

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We all have cancer cells in our body but a healthy body can fight them off. 

 

[Koala]

Lori is just...not smart about health related issues.  This is the woman who claims you can cure your asthma.

2015:

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I have NEVER liked to take drugs. Drugs don't cure. They just deal with symptoms.

She continues:

Quote

I've cured skin cancer, warts and moles with this product. 

Quote

When my youngest daughter, Cassi, burned herself so badly on her foot that her skin fell off, I found the curative powers of aloe vera

Quote

My mom healed herself completely of colitis, which the doctors say is incurable, by living on all raw foods

Quote

You can cure yourself of constipation and allergies and asthma. I had a bladder infection so badly that I had a fever and bled from it and was able to cure it by using this healthy product that cured me in just a few days. After one of my babies, I got a breast infection with a red breast and a high fever so I lived on lemon and honey water all day. The next day, I was much better. 

Now, watch this lie.

In 2015 Lori made the following claim:

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After my first brain surgery, my esophagus was fried from all the cortisone I had to take and after a year of taking the drugs that stopped all stomach acid which made me worse. I finally found a healthy way to heal myself with no drugs. 

Yet in 2017 she made a Youtube video about turmeric, and said:

Quote

I encourage you to get raw, because I've tried...I tried the powder...drinking down the powder, and I fried my esophagus and stomach years ago...about five years ago, and it was extremely painful.  It took me a long time to heal that.

So which is it?  Did cortisone fry her esophagus, or was it powdered turmeric?

Claim 1 can be found here:

http://lorialexander.blogspot.com/2015/07/cancer-leading-cause-of-death-in-chilren.html

Claim 2 can be found here (starting min. 1:01):

 

(Sorry...another video with her mouth wide open)

[Frog99]

@dairyfreelife my DH has a latex allergy- first diagnosed when he was in paramedic program. He had allergy testing done and he too has the latex food allergy (along with some others). 

I can’t fathom spending that for mayo. We use it so rarely I would probably wind up throwing most of it out several months later- definitely not a good use of finances. I am really trying hard to be mindful of my spending. 

[Koala]

Funny comment from the post I linked:

Quote

We are for the first time seriously considering moving out of CA as we cannot live in a state that will not give people a choice on vaccines then demands a choice for so many other ridiculous immoralities, especially abortion and gay marriage.

That was over two years ago.  I guess she found a way to cope.

[feministxtian]

We try to eat healthy here...mostly because I don't have health insurance and can't afford any real issues, and hubby is missing a few internal organs these days and is a surgically induced type 1 diabetic. He just joined the same gym I'm going to...he wants to try to gain weight and muscle mass that his illness took from him. 

However, Lori would not know "healthy" if it bit her in the ass. We both are working with a dietician. We both were told that calories and fat/carb/protein ratio was the most important thing. Most of our groceries come from either Smith's or Trader Joe's. But, we both have our bad habits...

My grandparents (both sides) lived FOREVER! My mother's parents...her mother was in her 80's and died from kidney failure. Her father was in his 90's...he put his cigarillo out, laid down and died. My father's parents were both close to 80. My mother was 78, 2 weeks shy of 79, her sister was 90-something, her brother was in his late 70's, early 80's. My father was 70, but he died due to the effects of all the chemicals he was exposed to in the military and as a civilian. I'll probably live FOREVER. 

[Curious]

6 hours ago, lilwriter85 said:

Lori's full of shit on her pathologist dad never coming across cancer in diagnostic work.

FTFY

12 hours ago, EowynW said:

Maybe one day I'll start a healthy yet frugal blog. 

Would you be interested in being the Leader on the FJ Frugal Living Club (final name TBD)

[Curious]

5 hours ago, Red Hair, Black Dress said:

@Red Jumper  Do we have the same friend?  I've seen mine order an entree, take an infinitesimal bite (like a morsel on the fork tines) of each thing on the plate. and then push the plate away.  But at the same meal drink 4 (4!!!) full glasses of wine.  She does the same thing at home, so not a secret eater.

I've also known her to go to lunch with her mother (also anorexic), each one order a plain green salad with lemon, neither one take a single bite, but just drink 2-3 glasses of wine apiece. When they're out together there is this unspoken contest to see who can eat the least.

My SIL is exactly like my friend, except she orders an appetizer as her entree,  takes 2 tiny  bites, then drinks 4 glasses of wine.  

I would make a horrible anorexic or bulimic.  I could not order a delicious entree from a restaurant and take a couple small bites.  I enjoy food way too much.  I was looking for confirmation on something Lori said once and the google search took me to a bunch of those "pro-ana" websites.   I would be seriously HANGRY constantly trying to live that way.

Wine/alcohol does have lots of calories so I suppose if your wine habit is large enough you would notice some weight gain, but you could cut something out of your diet, not your entire diet.

I don't drink so obviously I don't understand the drinking is better than eating philosophy

[Sarah92]

http://www.fbbc.com/messages/rwwork.htm

This is where Lori's newest post is from. *gasps* your child made a friend! Oh how satanic. Oh that friend doesn't come from a Christian home or at least the right kind of Christian home. The tragedy. I swear these people don't want their children to be able to cope with the outside world. Building companionship and people skills in an essential in life. Social support is crucial for mental and physical health.  

A friend and I were talking last night about all the fear or the world certain Christians have. And I see it a lot in Lori. I went to this evil public school and I turned out pretty darn well. I am just as strong a Christian and some of my homeschooled friends. Why do we let fear drive us? Isn't God sovereign? I don't think homeschooling is wrong but it shouldn't be driven solely on fear. I don't think being a SAHM should be fear based.

[feministxtian]

There is NO WAY I could go to a restaurant and just eat a bite or two. I don't eat as much as I used to, since I've been watching my food, my stomach seems to have shrunk. I will stop when I feel full but that's usually after over half the meal. I pushed it last night and the aftereffects weren't pleasant. 

HOWEVER...I do not drink (long story there) and usually don't drink soda either. So, I can eat more! 

I'm already down a couple of pounds...but when you want to lose 60-80lbs..it doesn't seem like 2lbs isn't enough. 

[dairyfreelife]

1 hour ago, Curious said:

I would make a horrible anorexic or bulimic.  I could not order a delicious entree from a restaurant and take a couple small bites.  I enjoy food way too much.  I was looking for confirmation on something Lori said once and the google search took me to a bunch of those "pro-ana" websites.   I would be seriously HANGRY constantly trying to live that way.

Wine/alcohol does have lots of calories so I suppose if your wine habit is large enough you would notice some weight gain, but you could cut something out of your diet, not your entire diet.

I don't drink so obviously I don't understand the drinking is better than eating philosophy

I admit to not eating much when I eat out. No eating disorders, but fear. I eat just fine at home. My phobia is a little embarrassing.  

[Sarah92]

I used to eat way too much at restaurants (and in general) because I didn't want to waste food, but I also was too shy to ask for a to-go container. Now that I've gotten more outgoing annnnd because I'm a poor grad student looking to stretch her budget, I take stuff home and add to it to bulk it up if I need to. Leftover chicken tenders make really easy chicken parm. I do sometimes enjoy alcohol with my meal but I have strict rules about drinking. I never really drink more than two and I always eat before or while drinking. So drinking responsibly lol. Now that I'm trying to eat healthier that means less eating out and more portion control, It's so hard! But such is weight loss and health. Keep all this healthy food talk going ladies, I'm learning a lot!

Side note: I don't know if Lori would be considered anorexic but I think she might have disordered eating. Or perhaps OCD

P.S. I said ladies but are there any guys on the forum (besides Ken)? I suppose I don't really know.

[Leftitinmysnood]

Armchair diagnosis time. I think Lori has orthorexia, which is an eating disorder characterized by an obsession about the morality or purity of what one eats. A "fixation on righteous eating." Technically an anxiety disorder, it hasn't quite made it into the DSM, but it is talked about. This article gives an overview : https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/z4jd33/orthorexia-eating-clean-eating-disorder. What the article does not talk about is that there is often a religious component where those with orthorexia decide that what they eat is more godly than what everyone else eats.