Low-Carb Hell
Day 7
Sabbath, August 4
Settle in. This is a long post.
Breakfast was a half hour later than usual - 7:30 a.m. - followed by Sabbath School. I chose one using the Helping Hand lesson because it was from Lamentations and I didn't want to miss it. We played a sort of "Wheel of Fortune" kind of game where we had to pick letters and try to guess a phrase. The phrase turned out to be "God gives us a rope of hope to help us cope." At the end our teacher handed out short lengths of braided rope to remind us of hope.
After this was morning worship. Once again there was no communion. I don't suppose that will ever be brought back, even though it's so important. Conference is the only time all year that SDBs as a group come together, and what better way to picture out unity as a people than through communion - comm-union.
Worship was followed by lunch. Everything was starches and sugars. The two meats dishes - ham and chicken - were drowned in sugary sauces. There were only two dressings available for the salad - ranch, which is too high in fat and calories, and pesto, which I dislike.
I started with a big plate of veggies, then found some vinegar at the empty salad bar and got a big plate of salad. My only protein? The peanut butter sandwich I brought.
I then went to my room to begin packing for my flight home. I also ate some turkey pepperoni I brought from home.
Next I went to the Awards and Recognitions ceremony at the auditorium. After they handed out the packets of certificates for the Scripture memorization program I checked my church's packet and I didn't have one. I talked to the head of the Board of Christian Education. He said he thinks he was handed my name at Conference. Anyway, I should receive one eventually.
And now, dinner and a rant about something that happened at dinner. The dinner choices were much better than lunch. There were french dip sandwiches (I just asked for the beef in a bowl), chicken (no sugary sauce!), and tofu. The tofu has a sweet sauce, but it was easy to scrape off.
During dinner an SDB lady came over and began talking to the two people I was sitting with. The topic turned to food and diet and how good the food has been at the college. There were vegetarian choices, and they even accommodated a - one - vegan SDB at the woman's banquet where none of the choices were friendly to her.
After listening to all this I finally spoke up and said that the one choice they didn't accommodate was low-carb. The lady said that they couldn't accommodate everyone and the low-carbers would just have to "suck it up," that one week wouldn't hurt them. She didn't seem happy when I told her that the last time I tried that (for my glucose tolerance test) I gained 10 lbs. that did not come off.
So let me get this straight. The college is willing and able to accommodate vegetarians and even vegans, but low-carbers aren't even thought of? Doesn't it seem odd that vegans are considered normal and catered to, but low-carbers are expected to betray their beliefs (the only group that is asked - even expected - to do so) and stuff their faces with carbohydrates because - as everyone knows - carbs are good for you. If you are a low-carber I hope this outrages you as much as it does me.
There were very few hot food I could eat at Conference, so what did I eat? Lots of vegetables and salads. I found plain tuna in the salad bar and loaded my salad with with it for protein. There was also cottage cheese, so I would often have a big bowl of that.
After dinner was the new president installation. This is really a worship service where instead of the sermon, the new president gives a speech and announces the Conference theme for next year. The president of the Conference this coming year is Andrew Samuels from Miami, Florida.
Then there was fellowship and snacks. I went back to my room first and brushed my teeth, then checked the snacks and grabbed a couple of high-calorie, high-carb goodies for breakfast Sunday. Then I turned in my key and went to bed.
Technorati tagged: Bible, Baptist, God, Jesus, Christ, Christian, Christianity, conference, diet, low carb, NutriSystem
3 comments:
Such is the life of a low-carber in a high-carb world, Victoria. :(
I know how you feel Victoria. I frequently attend work-related conferences where the food is provided. It's one of the greatest challenges to my low-carb lifestyle. I am frustrated by the fact that a vegetarian option is ALWAYS offered, but frequently there is no reasonable option for those of us trying to eat low carb. One of the worst was a Mexican style luncheon. Usually Mexican is no problem because I just take whatever meat is offered, and put it on top of a salad. But, for this buffet, the croutons were already thoroughly mixed in with the lettuce (yum- soggy croutons), and the only meat was that contained in a bean/hamburger mix. I did my best to pick out the croutons and ate a few leaves of lettuce. Unfortunately, after a few days of starving like that, my ability to resist carb-laden foods goes way down. I've learned to throw a few packs of tuna or smoked salmon in my bag, so I won't starve and/or resort to eating high carb. In my opinion, it is more important to accomodate those of us who are eating a particular diet by medical necessity rather than those who choose not to eat meat.
You know I'm a veggie gal and not a low-carb proponent, but I have to say this lady's comments were completely insensitive. A conversation like that exposes the offender's ignorance more than anything else. I offer you my sympathies!
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