I made the worst poached eggs ever for my lunch today. Although I carefully followed Nagi’s instructions, straining my eggs before sliding them into gently simmering water and forming them between a slotted and a dessert spoon, my eggs looked nothing like hers. I didn’t end up with fat white pillows enclosing perfect soft golden yolks. My eggs swam through the water in all directions. I needed to strain them through a sieve before I could eat them.
I’ve been eating a lot of eggs recently. Each day, after fasting for hours and hours, I reach into the fridge for the box of free-range eggs to make a keto lunch. I used to sniff at the word ‘keto’. I dismissed it entirely. It wasn’t for me. How can anyone eat and enjoy such a restricted diet? Then I read Jack Thompson’s book, Keto Slacking, and I changed my mind.
I’ve been trying to convince myself that I don’t mind being a bit overweight. That extra bit of padding doesn’t bother me at all. It’s vain to even think about it. Maybe it’s natural, something a woman of my age just has to put up with. I should just accept I’m not as lean as I used to be.
But what if I’m not my perfect weight because I lack discipline? Would it be good for my soul as well as my body to get my eating habits into order?
I’ve listened to a few podcasts recently about intermittent fasting. Apparently, there are many health benefits to refraining from eating for a while. The podcast guests say we’re rediscovering something people from years ago were aware of. They mention fasting as an ancient practice associated with many religions.
I know all about fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. But could it shift my extra weight if I did it daily instead of only twice a year? Perhaps it could also make me spiritually strong.
So, I read Keto Slacking, which was written for people like me who are too slack to stick to a keto diet. I only need to eat one keto meal a day. I can eat normally the rest of the time if I halve my carbs. And then there are the hours of fasting.
A typical eating day:
Fast for at least 14 hours.
Eat a keto meal.
Eat nothing for 3 hours.
Eat normally, but half the carbs.
How am I going? Well, the fasting has been surprisingly easy. But I’m battling with my keto lunch. I just can’t seem to cook poached eggs.
Yesterday, I ordered a set of silicone poached egg moulds. When they arrive, I will spray them with a bit of oil, add my eggs, and then pop them in a pan of simmering water, the air fryer, or the microwave.
I forgot to mention my microwave poached egg experiment. The other day, I added an egg to a glass of water and microwaved it for a few seconds. This method of poaching eggs wasn’t entirely successful. My eggs looked rather strange.
You’d think poached eggs would be easy to cook. Nagi has no trouble making them. But me? I haven’t yet found the perfect, foolproof method. Have you?
Image
This photo of a box of beautiful eggs was taken by Kelly Neil, Unsplash.
So…
How do you poach your eggs? Have you tried the keto diet? And what about fasting? Is it something you regularly do?
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It’s kind of funny, when it comes to keto or any other kind of eating plan or new way of eating I have to be so careful because even though I never had an eating disorder I think I was pretty close to having one. I could never eat without following some kind of plan. And I would get obsessed, even militant about it, and some of them I lost a lot of weight and got very thin. There were some right and lost my hair to a good degree. So I am very careful now at 57 years old I’ve got some extra weight on me but I also know that my mental health is worth far more than the extra pounds that I might have one. So now I choose just to make good healthy choices about 80% of the time and 20% of the time I can kind of eat what I want. Now I may eventually drop some of the extra weight that I have on me but I’m not obsessed about it like I used to be when I was younger. I realized that I ended up passing that way of thinking on to my older daughter who really ended up with body dysmorphia because of that so I want my example moving forward to be a good one. But not everybody has an issue like that and if it’s something you enjoy following I would say Live and Let live. Sounds new and exciting Sue!
Nancy,
I’m so glad you shared some thoughts about eating disorders or the risk of getting one. Yes! All my life I’ve had thoughts of my weight at the back of my mind, wondering if I’m too fat. They’ve stopped me from truly enjoying my food, though I haven’t slipped over the line towards an eating disorder. I guess I’ve just never truly been comfortable with my body.
I’ve also experienced the negative consequences of passing on my body image concerns to one of my daughters. I feel so sad about that. Now I never mention weight at all. Except for writing blog posts about it!
After a lot of thought, I think I want to eat better and in a more disciplined way so I’m healthy rather than because I want to look good. I could see my weight starting to increase slowly, and I want to turn that trend around. I’d like to avoid diseases like diabetes. I also want to stay nimble and active. Losing weight is an ageing thing and not a vanity one. At least, I hope it is! I’m never going to be like I was in my 20s. It’s silly to think I can. But I can be a healthy, fit and active woman in her sixties!
I’ve also been thinking about fasting and how it made me gulp with apprehension every time I thought about doing it. Was I too attached to the comforts of life?
I found this quote about prayer and fasting which I like:
‘You could say that prayer without fasting is like boxing with one hand tied behind your back, and that fasting without prayer is, well, dieting.’
Matt Fradd
I hate the idea of calorie counting – that really would continually focus my mind on food – so choosing to eat what I like within the framework of the keto slacking plan might be easier for me. I will see. It’s just an experiment at the moment!
Nancy, your words made me ponder my weight loss intentions. It was good to do that. Thank you! I love how we can continue the conversation in the comments! 😊
I apologize for some of the typos hopefully you get what I’m saying. I hit send way too quickly, LOL
Nancy,
I understood! No problem at all! ❤️
I had my first poached egg two weeks ago on vacation. And given the difficulty of its preparation, I will not bother to do them myself. I didn’t see much difference to a fried egg?
Regarding keto, I haven’t read the book you are recommending, but I have heard that intermittent fasting might have less healthy effects with women than with men. Since most medical studies are conducted only on men, this doesn’t surprise me.
I have given up trying to cook the perfect poached egg. My attempts are nothing like the soft pillows of egg I enjoy in a cafe. Scrambling my eggs is so much easier.
What you said about intermittent fasting and women is interesting. I suspected there were differences between the effects on men and women because of the book ‘Fast Like a Girl’ by Dr Mindy Pelz. I haven’t read the book, but I saw a short YouTube clip with Mindy Pelz. I imagine age is a factor too because of the differences in hormone levels.
For me, intermittent fasting has given me control over my eating. I don’t head to the fridge anymore when I don’t know what to do! That’s the main benefit for me. I feel mentally stronger. But I have lost some weight which is good!