I agree with you 100%, Charmion. As I read the Taubes book I realize that I need to look around for information about how much and what types of proteins are going to be best. Case in point, my nextdoor neighbor can only eat beef once a week due to kidney issues and he has to watch the high-oxalate vegetables and things like chocolate. I'm fond of fish and shrimp, and will build more of them into the diet that already has a fair amount of chicken and pork and lamb. This week's shopping included asparagus, spinach, celery (celery mostly for the dogs, but some for me in stir fry), nectarines, and pears. The latter two are going to be probably the only carb of the day when I eat them, since I am working on losing the last few pounds. I'm at 154, aiming for 150. That still gives me a bit of a "buffer" (for my height the weight I see suggested as "optimal" is about 144. I look like a scarecrow if I'm that light).

It looks like 60 grams of carbs a day is what some of the keto routines recommend; one talked about 30 grams a day to get started if you're losing weight then up to 60 grams regularly (that was Perlmutter in Grain Brain).

When we share shopping duties my ex and I are able to save trips (better he drive to my house to pick up stuff than make trips to a couple of stores). I pick up things for him at Costco and we split their large portions (today he took some of my nectarines and pears). Next time I buy a rotisserie chicken it will only be when I can send half of it home with him. It also means we are each the someone who is paying attention as far as each of our well-being. I keep track of his health issues, and I share my experiences, so while our daughter is the contact person for each of us, we also have that information amongst ourselves. He's trying to solve a dermatology-related issue right now and I'm getting over the statins.

Today I ran an errand for the friend who lives downtown and loves the dumpster diving she can do in this high-end building (there are great tax breaks for those buildings when they let in a few public assistance housing clients; she is one of those). Yesterday she asked if I'd take some luggage over to the night shelter and I didn't want to put it off; I've never been there before but a family member used to volunteer there, and more importantly, this friend has an apartment that is filling up with stuff she has found and is gradually giving away or selling. As I drove up the side street to the night shelter at about 4pm the curbs were lined with people sitting waiting for the facility to open for dinner and to let in those who had a bed or cot for the night. All of their worldly possessions are in the packs, suitcases, shopping carts, and rolling duffle bags they have with them. So when I backed into the donations-only parking space and caught someone's eye, I was ready to simply hand over Melissa's donation. The woman who brought the canvas cart out did a double-take when I opened the SUV back and unloaded two large rolling hardside suitcases and two large canvas duffle bags. These are pure gold at a shelter and they probably already are in the hands of new grateful owners. I will describe this dropoff to Melissa later so she will get the glow of having made a significant donation (she was homeless herself for a couple of years, she knows what people need).