A REAL Date-killer

Last week I talked about a fake date-killer.  This time I'm going to talk about a REAL one. 

So guys might not care about the salad, but they get really freaked out when you mention your "diet".  Yes, mentioning your diet on a date is a DATE-KILLER. 

When you mention your diet, even if it's offhandedly, one of two things can happen:

1. They never ask you on another date ever again.
2. They ask more questions.

Some guys just can't "handle" a girl who has dietary needs.  I've talked to some people who had guys mention how they could never be with a girl who has a diet like that ON THEIR DATE!!!! 

And when the guy asks more questions about it.  (However kind he may be.)  You can bet that you're going to spend the majority of the date talking about what you can and can't eat.

Date: "Can you have chicken?"

You: "No.  It has a lot of PHE in it."

Date: "How about turkey?"

You: "Same deal... no."

Date: "How about fish?"

You: "Still has a lot of PHE."

Date: "What about water?"

You: "Actually that I can have." (while in you mind you're thinking: Of course I can have water!  You've been watching me drink it for the whole date!) 

It's nice that he's interested.  But while he's busy asking questions about your diet, you lose the chance to get to know each other.  In his head your "the girl with the really complicated diet".

 You could be using the time that you spend trying to explain your diet to find out more interesting things like: what color is his toothbrush?  What's his favorite type of goat?  What's his favorite cartoon?  What is his closet-nerdy habit?  What is his favorite crayon in those big coloring boxes?  Etc...

The funny thing is, even if I know the guy pretty well.  We've been friends for a LONG time, the moment we're in a date setting they suddenly want to know all the gritty detail of my diet.

It's a Date-killer.

So some good advice?  Save discussing you're diet for another day.  Definitely not the first date.  Once you get to know him a little better, and he knows that you're not only your diet.  Because the moment you're diet is mentioned... it becomes the choice topic for a long long long long time. 

    

 

Oh, You're a Salad-Eater?

The other day I was talking with my friends about dates/dating/ guys ... you know.  We were talking about "Date-Killers".  (The things that really make a date awkward or can sometimes even ruin it).

I went home, and later I was still thinking about it.  What are some "Date-Killers"?  And are they real or just a Myth?

Well, when I was 12 years old I was told that one dates you shouldn't order salad or spaghetti because they're really messy.  And on top of being messy, salad makes him think "oh you're one of THOSE girls.  The ones who obsess about their weight and whatnot."

Basically they told me, salad is a Date-killer.

Which for PKU'ers is kind of sad.  Most of the time all we can eat at restaurants IS the salad.  So what do we do?

My first date I decided that I didn't care if my date thought that.  He should already know me well enough to know somewhat about my diet, if he was going to ask me out on a date.  So I ordered a salad.  I order salad a lot on dates, and you know what?  No one cares.  :)

So that Date-Killer has been DE-MYTHED.  Next time I'll talk about a REAL Date-killer, one that I've experienced myself.  Should come with an intriguing story. :)   

(Sorry that this was short.)

Test Day

I love smoothies.  I've mentioned that in a couple posts before.  But I do.  I love smoothies. 

And I ALWAYS make a smoothie for breakfast the morning of a huge test (like the ACT, or an AP Test). 

ALWAYS.

It's a tradition.  I put my medicine and some fruit and some rice milk (or coconut or dairy free, depending on what I have) in a blender and I make it. 

Well, Tuesday I had a HUGE test.  I was taking the PRAXIS.  Which for all those who don't know what that is, it's a test you have to take to be a teacher.  At my college we have to take it in order to get into the teaching program.  Anyways, I was taking the test because I'm going to apply for the teacher's program (which by the way is VERY competitive). 

I was so nervous.  The night before I went to bed at a decent time and just laid there.  I couldn't sleep, and when I finally dozed off I woke up again thinking I was going to be late for the test.  I must've woken up at least 4 times that night.  And the worst part of it was the test was scheduled for 1 pm.  There was no way I was going to sleep in THAT much!!! 

(What does this have to do with smoothies???  I'm getting there.)

The next morning I was SO tired and SO nervous, and I had a piercing migraine.  I don't think I've ever been so nervous for a test before.  I simply didn't have time to make a smoothie for breakfast.  I went to my first two classes smoothie-less and could barely pay attention.

But I learned something very interesting in my 2nd class.  We were talking about endorphins, and what makes it.  And the lecturer (who was a guest speaker that day) said something to the effect of:
"When you do stressed, or nervous, or depressed and you do something you like, or eat something you like, or exercise you're body creates endorphins.  That's what happens when your studying and you suddenly have a comfort food craving."

(Yeah that's the example she used)

Well, I had gone out of my way to collect smoothie items the previous day and I really wanted my smoothie.  So I booked it to my apartment (I had 2 hours until I needed to be at the testing center) and made my smoothie.

It was delicious. :)

But it was kind of funny.  After drinking that smoothie I already felt calmer.  And I still had an hour to get to the test.  So I decided to walk.  It was beautiful weather, and I'm so glad I did.  By the time I reached the test, I was nervous but nowhere near the point I had been that morning.

And the good news is... I survived.  (I won't find out the results for another 11 days.  :-P )

Moral of the story: When your stressed/ depressed/ or extremely nervous, make a smoothie.  Haha.  Okay, make whatever you want.  And exercise.  And do something you like to do.  It helps.  :)

Later Gators!

Wisdom Teeth

My eyes wandered down the list the dentist had given me.

Recommended Foods List:

• Ice Cream
• Smoothies
• Jell-o
• Yogurt
• Mac'n cheese
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• ....

What? 

If you haven't guessed yet, the list was for Post-Wisdom Teeth Surgery. 

Yes, this week I got my Wisdom Teeth removed.

It wasn't too bad.  3 of my 4 Wisdom had grown in already and all they needed to do was pull them out.

But, because of this I was given an extra challenge.  How to stay on the dentist's diet AND the PKU diet?

This week I explored that question.

The top 2 hardest challenges:

1. Remembering to take all the pills AND drink my formula!  I felt like I was constantly taking them all the time.  Or near the end I'd almost forget one or the other.
2. Not being fresh fruits and veggies.  I naturally go and eat a piece of fruit when I'm hungry, so not being able to do that?  It was pretty challenging.  A couple of days ago I made the mistake of eating an orange too soon.  It BURNED!!!

 Here is my revised "Wisdom Teeth Foods"  For the PKU Child:

• Rice Dream Ice Cream
• Sorbet
• Melted Butter/Margarine on PKU bread (to soften it up)
• Smoothies
• Rice (be careful with this one... maybe near the end of recovery)
• Popsicles
• Mashed Potatoes
• And anything else you think might be okay.  Like I said my recovery wasn't that too bad.  It all depends to what you feel up to.  

That was my Spring Break.  Wasn't as bad as it sounds.  I got a lot of time to read and watch movies.  =)  Well enjoy your week!  Be happy!

Happy 2nd Bday!!!

Guess What???

It's my Blog's 2nd Birthday!  

(Well technically it was the 28th of Feb.  But I wasn't able to get on yesterday) 

Hurrah!!!!!!!! 

I never imagined that my blog would amount to much.  At first, it was really for my own sake.  To "help" others yes, but to help me take control of my PKU.  To help me gain interest and responsibility for it. 

Now let's look at some stats for this past year.

Top 5 Posts:

1. Happy PKU Awareness Month (from 2011)- 408 views
2. A PKU Story- 185 views
3. New Favorite Recipe!- 143 views
4. Happy PKU Awareness Day 2012- 74 views
5. Hello to you too!- 66 views 

Top 5 Searches:

1. pku	36
2. pku awareness month	23
3. phenylketonuria	22
4. people with phenylketonuria	15
5. people with pku	10

Top 5 Countries:
 

1. United States	2488
2. Norway	251
3. Russia	194
4. Germany	84
5. Canada	80

I never imagined my blog would be so popular.  Thank you.  All of you.  :)  Especially those who have become "followers"  whenever I see someone on the list that doesn't share the same last name as me, it makes me feel good.  

Special thanks needs to be given to pkuworld.com for putting my blog on your list.  I know that I wouldn't have achieved this much without your referrals.  (Wow... suddenly I feel like I'm giving an Oscars speech or something.)  But anyways thanks everybody!  I never imagined that my blog would live to see 2 years, or that it would keep going after 2 years.  

I have plenty more ideas of blog posts, and I'll see you next time.  Who knows maybe my blog will live to see 3 years?  :)    

Dietwell & Results

Dietwell:

Easy to Use: 3

•   This app was the hardest to use of them all.  Everything was just so complicated.  It felt like you had to do 20 steps before you could enter in what you ate in the log!
  

Amount of Food in Database: 10

•  It had quite a bit of food in it's database.  Which was exactly what I was expecting from a PKU Company. 

 Exact Calculating: 8 

•  It was pretty exact.  it was just so... complicated.

 Score altogether: 21

General thoughts?  So this app won.  Dietwell is the winner!  Woohoo.  It just felt overwhelmingly complicated to me.   I mean it's cool and all... but... I can't wait for technology to catch up to my ideals.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So my roommate just downloaded this calorie counting app.  It's really cool. She can scan the food from her smartphone and it'll calculate the calories based on your serving size.  Why can't we have a PKU app like that?  That would be AMAZING!  A PKU Phe counting app where you scan the item (or several in case it's a homemade recipe) and tell it how much you ate.  Then it would tell you how much Phe you've had today.  That's my dream app.  And while all these apps are good in their own way... they're not that.

-Hint, hint to PKU Companies.  Please make this app!  It will be amazing!-

Anyways as for the apps I reviewed, I'm going to be using AccuGo on my own.  :)  Hope you enjoyed this little contest.  See you later!  

 

PKU Calc

Sorry I didn't post this last week, I've had a crazy busy week. 

This (well last) week I tried using PKU Calc. 

Easy to Use: 5

• This app was a bit trickier to figure out for me.  I don't know if it was just me or what, but it was a little harder. 
  

Amount of Food in Database: 5

•   It did have quite a bit of food in its database.  You could look up the PHE amount in any orange or red food  As for green foods... Let's just say I couldn't find how many equivalents an apple had (as a test.  I memorized that fact a long time ago.)

 Exact Calculating: 8

•  It was an odd calculator.  Exact, but odd.  You imputed the protein amount, and the amount of protein you wished top eat, and it would tell you how much of that you could eat.  You had to look up the protein grams yourself.  And I work in equivalents so for me it was very confusing.

 Score altogether: 18


My general Thoughts:

• It actually lost to AccuGo.  Even though AccuGo didn't have any food in its database, it was easier than this one.  I was really lost for a day or two.  There is no recording what you ate.  You just figure what you COULD eat and how much.  I guess that could be useful to some people, but I just didn't feel like it was useful to me.