If rice is cool, there’s also Cream of Rice that you can cook/use like oatmeal. Its got the same calories/carbs as oatmeal in half the volume. So there is 50% less indigestible “stuff” in there.
And rice cakes in place of toast or a bowl of rice can be OK.
Absolutely underrated when you’re tired of eating mush!
It’s been an unusually rough two weeks
Really tired… stress piling up…
Was surprisingly adherent to diet but splurged today
Its really just a knife on a stick.
Must have been a great day 
I’m so confused about the white vs brown rice thing that I mix them half and half now.
His response to “will you take a picture of my back in like 10 minutes?” was “Naked?”
So now we know where HIS fantasies lie, lol.
I have a question for the group: how does everyone handle alcohol? I had two drinks hiking yesterday and found the entire thing delightful, but they’re empty calories. I know some of you don’t drink, just wondering what the consensus is?
Had my first drink at 35 and didnt finish it: it was ruining a good tomahawk steak… No real plans to start again, unless its something really special
I want to brag about this PR by bodyweight deadlift of 13x405 pulled in my pajamas after breakfast
I’m allergic, but I wouldn’t drink even if I could.
It’s toxic, waste of calories and leads to dumb decisions that could at best, hinder your goals, at worst, seriously harm you and or others
The “social benefits” could be gained by simply caring less about what others think. Alcohol could actually backfire bc lack of inhibition. There’s a reason manipulative people or spies ply their targets with alcohol
I mean, in this case we’re talking about something I find both tasty and enjoyable. There was no social - I was in the forest with my husband and my dog. Then home, cooking dinner and trying out a new furniture configuration. After dinner, no more drinks. TV and snuggles, in bed by 10. Totally benign.
Its so silly to suffer and eat mush!
Jacked people are looking forward to chowing down on protein pancakes and pre workout Connection Bowls that taste like peanut butter cups!
I have a drink most nights. Tastes good, is enjoyable. Usually start something around dinner time.
I’ll drink a bottle of wine over two or three nights, or a stronger beer. I’ll often get a drink while at a restaurant if their options are good.
I’m usually novelty-seeking with my drinking, rather than comfort-seeking. I think that makes a huge difference.
The pyramids were built on beer.
I’m (was) a big proponent of using calories to burn more calories, and preferred carbohydrates as the fuel.
Might sound wierd coming from me considering my history, but 2 what evers isn’t enough to have any physiological consequences, unless they’re half barrels.
Then its Strongman!
Okay, I’m late, but here! I’m going to try to hit on several questions/topics all in this one novel of a response…
@jdm135 to address the gluten/oats thing - there could be a couple things at play. If you’re not buying labeled “gluten free” oats, the oats you are eating likely have gluten in them, so that’s one possible reason that oats are an issue too. Another reason is that there is cross-reactivity between gluten and lots of other things (this means that the proteins in gluten are similar to the proteins in other foods). Oats, yeast, corn, dairy, rice, and even coffee in some cases can elicit a reaction, and it’s not all or none, so oats may be one for you, but rice and corn might be fine. It’s definitely an n=1 situation.
I’m always going to be a fan of “slow” carbs and/or carbs that offer some other nutrition benefits that aren’t just “carbs” - so, that’s why I usually recommend sweet potatoes, oats, brown rice, quinoa, corn (still intact not mushed into grits @TrainForPain) etc. over white rice, cream of rice, grits, etc.
My recs for you would be to maybe try gluten free oats if you haven’t already, just to see what happens. Other options that will give you a little more nutritional bang for your buck would be sweet potatoes, corn, popcorn (preferably not doused in butter), quinoa, white potatoes with skin, winter squashes, and parsnips. If you really like white rice, and you’re getting the rest of your vital nutrients somewhere else, then I’m not going to take it away from you, but if you find yourself in a situation where you want to cut/lean out - it’s not going to do you a whole lot of favors. It is less processed than cream of rice, but that’s about all it’s got going for it. lol.
Keep me posted on what you try. Knowing what I know with all the info you’ve given us here and in the past, I’d say you’ve got a gluten intolerance for sure, and maybe get tested for Celiac’s - just to rule it out. I’d also say, take the dairy out for a bit, but I don’t want to steal all the joy in your life, so if you’re good with the current behavior of your digestive system, then keep on keepin’ on! Definitely let us know what you decide to do and keep us posted. I’m here for more questions and will happily help you really drill in and trouble shoot if you’d like.
@EmilyQ the white rice vs brown rice thing - it’s really not a HUGE deal. Nutritionally speaking, brown rice will give you a little more fiber, vitamins and iron than white rice - but if you super enjoy white and brown kind of kills that joy, it’s not a huge deal, especially since I know that you’re not eating cups and cups of it at each meal. If the only carbs you ate were from rice - classic bodybuilder style (chicken breast, piles of white rice, broccoli), I might have a different opinion. I do like the 50/50 blend you’ve got happening, so if you’re happy with that, I say keep doing it!
And the alcohol thing, I’ve never been a drinker - largely in part due to my eating disordered history - alcohol = calories and yeah, no. It’s also expensive and I’m kind of cheap… At this stage of my life, I just really have no interest because I never have. I’d rather chain drink Diet Coke, because that stuff is DELICIOUS!! lol.
What I tell my clients who enjoy alcohol is to handle it like a treat. I give them a weekly “treat budget” depending on their goals - usually 2-3 treats/week. One drink = 1 treat. So, it’s their choice - would they rather have that cookie or a class of wine? or spend two treats at one time? My general philosophy is that all foods/drinks can fit, the devil is in the dose. If a glass of wine or a beer bring you joy, then allowing yourself to have one occasionally is not going to make or break you. Life’s way too short to not enjoy small pleasures once and awhile. And now to end this like any good alcohol commercial would, “Remember to drink responsibly.”
If there’s anything I missed, let me know and I’m here if anyone’s got anything else!
Yep!
@QuadQueen thanks!
I’ll follow up in the future.
No spoilers yet but I believe the “diet” is taking effect. Only calories I’ve cut is going from 4lbs of beef to 3lbs of beef per week. Carbs are stupid high, 15-20lbs of fruit and 1-1.5 pints of honey each week. Playing with some ideas that I’ve heard termed the bioenergetic view, think that crazy guy Salidino has been going down this rabbit hole lately too.
Hit 16 reps on a set of squats with 275lbs yesterday which I think I can safely say is the most I’ve done in about 5 years.
I wanted to come back to this and acknowledge that this is 100% true of college drinking culture. (Toxic and waste of calories is true across the board, of course. But it’s also true of a lot of the things we ingest.)
Interesting. I’d say that for me, it’s an enhancement. It turns a regular walk with the dog into an entire-afternoon date. Like, once we decided “let’s bring drinks, we’ll have a picnic,” a blanket was added to the packs so we could extend the amount of time we sit on a snowy rock. A bottle of wine with dinner out makes it romantic somehow. We linger. Mixing drinks or choosing drinks out probably falls under your “novelty-seeking,” but that’s fun, too. Martini glasses are just so festive, lol. But they’re definitely empty calories, and slightly poisonous.
No, but only by sheer force of will! If you’re wondering who are the people who binge steamed rice, it’s me. Not on its own, of course, but oh my goodness do meats and veggies taste good with rice. MMMMM. But of course I’m cutting now, so correct, I do not eat cups and cups of it. 
Ha, I’ve moved Diet Coke to weekends only since the first of the year, and am down to almost none now. Still, there it is, clustered on the weekends with alcohol and the occasional tablespoon or so of Ghirardelli 72% dark chocolate baking chips. Do I know how to live, or what?
Great post, thank you.
Across a wider sample;
In shape people drink more than non exercising people.
And they drink more following strenuous workouts.
So stay hydrated and get your protein and you’ll be OK.
Some science dude did a big survey and presented his findings at the SWIS symposium within the last few years. I was trying to find it but i just got info on people in Switzerland.
