Mary Mini and Easter

[Sunny]

What I ate yesterday, kids were hogging the computer all evening
B- mashed potatoes w/ swiss chard

L- baked potato w/beans

D- potatoes O'Brien

Snack- carrots / banana

Drink- water

Exercise was Gazelle.

[ReneeK]

B: hashbrowns; diet coke Yes, I still occasionally drink the stuff. It's a habit that I will work on breaking eventually. I've gotten better, because now diet coke is a rare treat for me rather than an every day occurrance.

L: instant potatoes; pad thai soup

D: baked sweet potato; steamed cauliflower; green salad

This has been one very stressful week for me. Overall, I have been very good at keeping on track this week with only minor setbacks. I'm not sure what this weekend will bring. One thing I know, I will be going to a spaghetti dinner Saturday. The good thing is I'm taking along a batch of homemade sauce...filled with zucchini, mushrooms, onions and no meat whatsoever. So, although the pasta may not adhere to the plan, I can rest assured that I can fill my plate with saucy veggies.


annhett - thank you for the suggestion. I have some Potato Buds that I always keep at work, but I never thought to keep a box at home. I'll have to get some next time I go to the grocery store.

havfaith - have you found tater tots without oil??? I LOVE tater tots but every package I've looked at has oil listed on the ingredient list. Very disappointing. I have a recipe for tater tot casserole that could easily be McDougalized if I could find some tater tots without oil.

[havfaith]

B - potato
S - Krispy Kreme doughnut
L - potatoes w/salsa
S - cantaloupe
D - potatoes o'brien
S - salad

There've been lots of people out sick this week and our boss decided to treat everyone for all our hard work picking up the slack and I partook... one Krispy Kreme doughnut. I checked their website when I got home and the one I had was 300 cals. Could have been much, MUCH worse. I've been doing really well, have lost 2.5 lbs (as of this morning) and enjoyed it very much so I have no guilt. I did manage to avoid a second even though they were next to the printer in my area and I'm constantly picking things up there. So I'm pleased. I stopped at the grocery on my way home fore more potatoes and another container of peach/mango salsa. I'm hooked! I think I could eat potatoes forever as long as I had some of that salsa!

One of my friends at work ate 2 doughnuts, a Big Mac, fries and a soda for lunch and was snacking on candy in the afternoon... and telling me how sick she felt. I can imagine!

ReneeK - No, I don't think they were oil-free tater tots. I was finishing off a package I had in the freezer. The rest of my day was so clean I figured I could deal with a bit of oil. I'm mostly just buying potatoes and cooking them myself. Just didn't want to toss the tots.

[KitKat]

Thanks Sunny!

Well unfortunately this is not working for me. I'm going to switch to a more general McDougall diet. Everything was fine, I was loving the potatoes until the 2nd evening, and I got a craving for something else. I ended up eating pancakes for supper, the next day, burritos. I must be a person that has a low tolerance for eating the same foods.

But I want to thank Chaplain Mike for starting this thread, I'd never heard of the Mary Mini Diet and now I'm back on the right track. What I've learned from it is that I need to make simple foods that are easy to prepare, and have the ingredients in the house ahead of time. I think I'll stick with potatos once a day. Plus I've learned some great new easy ways to fix potatos. I did lose a pound, so far, and my blood pressure went down. Also I'm sleeping much better and feeling alot better all ready. I'm looking forward to what another month on the McDougall plan will do for me.

I think this is a great diet though. The only thing I disagree with Mary on is that dogs and cats are happy to eat the same dried foods all the time. I think they eat them because what choice do they have? I know my cats will switch to a cat food they don't like just to get a change from eating the same old stuff that they usually like. They will eat the worse stuff for a day or two, and switch back to the more likable fare.

Also, I've raised my cats from kittens and I put out a little of what I eat to see what they like. They like eating all kinds of foods - spaghetti, yakisoba noodles, oatmeal, baked beans, one cat even likes mandarin oranges! When I'm eating a good organic salad mix my cats come up and swipe greens from my plate! Then they gobble them up - they love them. They're very sneaky about it.

And I think animals are just like people in that fresh foods are healthier. People think they need to feed dry food to get the right nutrients, but cats and dogs before packaged food lived on table scraps, and an occasional mouse. When I have more time I'm going to give fix fresh foods for them and use the dry foods for convenience. Meanwhile I'll put out some of what I fix for myself and continue doing that so they get a treat!

Table scraps are bad for animals if they're our usual unhealthy diet, but McDougall table scraps - gotta be healthy. For anyone interested in feeding a healthier diet to your animals look it up on the internet. They can even eat vegan and it's supposedly more healthy for them, but if that, then make sure you read up on the nutrients they need. Cats need more protein than dogs, but also they need supplements like taurine or they could have serious issues, if they get the supplements they do great tho, from what I've read.

It was good meeting you all, this is a very supportive, fun group! I wish you the best of luck and we'll probably meet I hope elsewhere on the McDougall Boards.

And Chaplain Mike, I think it takes a special person to work with prisoners, I think that's wonderful that you do. And it also sounds very interesting. Best of luck to you!

--KitKat

[jmgoforth]

I didn't get in until late or you might say early in the morning. Long Day!

Breakfast-
Hash Browns
Onions

Lunch-
Cabbage
mash potatos

Suppr-Chaplain Run
Beans
Salad

Snack-
banana

Worked out at the gym for an hour and later rode my sationary bike.

I have lost 7 lbs so far.

I stay motivated spiritually. I consider this a Daniel Fast so I'm praying more not just doing the diet. It has relly helped.
Chaplain Mike

This morning-
I'm having Hash Browns
Snack-Orange
Lunch-
Baked Potate
Green Beans

Will check in this evening about supper.
It felt good going to the gym-will try again today.

[Sunny]

What I ate yesterday:

B- potatoes O'brien

L- mashed potatoes w/ veggies

D- hash browns & salad

Snack- banana / carrots

Drink- water

I am down 3 lbs.

[jmgoforth]

Pat yourself on the back.1 Pound lost is better than one lp gained.
I know we men loose faster than the ladies but then we can't have babies.
I have so much to loose it will be along time until any one notices.

In the Daniel fast you give up wine. I don't drink.
I don't drink alcoholic drinks.
I don't drink juices.
I don't drink milk-I use to drink a gallon a day.
So I gave up diet coke.
All I drink is water. When you eat out it saves $1.50 per person.
Next week-end I'm going to a youth outing. About 5,000 screaming kids. I'm taking 11 and will have to eat where they want. So I will do my best to make the best decisions. We will have to eat fast food. This is all the younger generation knows and we won't have long breaks before the next session.
But it is only two days. 5 Meals. I will do my best and I will surivie.Breakfast will be the most difficult.
Chaplain Mike

[havfaith]

Warrior - I've found the easiest way to keep interested in my potatoes is the topping. I normally grab a plain potato for breakfast as I head out the door to work, but for lunch/dinner, I top my potatoes with salsa. I use regular salsa soetimes, but my favorite has been mango/peach salsa! Try making a veggie stew and using that as a topping. Read back through the posts here and you'll get some other great suggestions for potato toppings. No reason to be depressed over our lunch. Also, you can always pick a different starch if that suits you better.

[jmgoforth]

We are ready. All our clocks are changed. Waiting on the Cell, and Computer to see if they take care of themselves.

Lunch-
potatoes
broccoli
green beans

Supper-
potatoes
corn

Snack-
potato

Exercise 40 mn on bike

Going to bed an hour early so we are ready for in the morning.
Hope everyone is hanging in there.

[Sunny]

This is what I ate yesterday:

B- hashbrowns

L- baked potato w/ veggies

D- potatoes O' Brien and salad w/ veggies

Snack- banana / mandarin orange

Drink- water

I wish we did not have to change the clocks, it should just stay this way.

I did yardwork and housework yesterday.

[Losing Linda]

Yesterday was a mix day because I went on a 8 mile hike along the coast north of San Fransico to the beach which was very hard at the end because of scambling down and the up the cliff. I am very tired today. I ate sweet potato for breakfast but had an almond butter sandwich on whole wheat with fruit for lunch then when we got home I wanted oatmeal really bad so I did. Today I am getting back to potatoes. It is hard to pack a lunch when day hiking. It took 5 hours to do the hike and lots of water but the weather was prefect! I am not weigh myself until the end. Hang in there it is hard to stick to anything at first. One thing I learn on the hike was never think about how much further and don't look down a cliff when climbing it just one step at a time .

[jmgoforth]

Sunday-
Breakfast-Hashbrowns
Lunch- Beans and Salad
Supper-Beans and Salad
Snack-banana
Biked indoors 20 Min and went to bed early and slept alittle later-Felt Good.
Monday-
Breakfast-Monday Hash Browns
Lunch-Baked potato and veggie
Snack-orange
Supper-Hash browns and veggie
Snack-mashed
Will bike 45 Min
All I drink is water.
I didn't loose over the week end but I didn't gain. Good weekend for me.

[Sunny]

Sunday's menu:

B- hash browns

L-baked potato & salad w/veggies

D- hash browns w/ veggies

Snack- banana/ mandarin orange

Drink- water

Exercise: gazelle and crunches

[ReneeK]

B: chocolate chip cookie, yes this is bad but NO COFFEE this morning!

S: 2 clementine tangerines

L: baked potato with leftover spaghetti sauce; sauce was made with a jar of muir glen spaghetti sauce, gimme lean sausage crumbles, zucchini, summer squash, and fresh mushrooms

D: grab-n-go; maybe baked potato and salad from Wendy's