Starting MWL diet tomorrow, after Dr visit today

[Janice]

I just joined and am excited about the prospect of FINALLY losing weight and controlling my many health problems. I am 58 yrs old and weigh over 230 lbs with just 5'5" in height. I live in Tualatin, Oregon, just south of Portland about 10 miles. I am currently a vegetarian, but not vegan. I know it will be hard for me to forgo my craving for cheese, mayo and oils.
Wish me luck. I will discuss this diet with my doctor today and I am sure she will give me the thumbs up in giving this diet plan a try. Support from those on this diet plan will be important to me so I hope all of you will be pulling for me. Any encouragement from others in my situation will be appreciated. My health problems include Type 2 Diabetes, since May 2001, High BP, High Cholesterol, Raynaud's Syndrome and Osteoarthritis. I am currently taking medication for the Cholesterol, Lipitor, and medication for Raynaud's Dyndrome. I take 81 mg Aspirin, for I had an Angioplasty with Stent back in 2002. I hope I can get off the Lipitor and stay off other medications in the future. I hope that I will be able to continue on this plan for the rest of my life.

[hope101]

Welcome, Janice. (That's my first name too, by the way.) This is definitely a place that will help and support you. This could be a very exciting time for you as you have so many illnesses that can be improved, or even banished, with a low fat vegan diet. I am very happy for you that you have decided to make these changes.

I decided to do this lifestyle after a lot of research with my own health scare. I had valvular heart surgery last year and wanted to do everything I could to prepare for surgery and be around to see my children grow up. I kind of dragged my family into being vegan 10 months ago now. I had expected my husband to protest and have a horrible time because he loved meat and especially cheese, and he has never been particularly health conscious. What ended up happening is that he was just too lazy to prepare foods other than what I provided for the family, but he started to feel good very quickly. He started to effortlessly lose weight, and is down about 30 pounds.

I used to buy a 1kg block of cheese, expecting it to lost many weeks, and finding he would have eaten half of it over the course of a week. When it wasn't in the house, he just didn't eat it. I am convinced that is a big part of why he has been successful in losing the weight.

So, in the end, I would suggest you get rid of all the unhealthy temptations in your home and look forward to the possibility of feeling better than you have in a long time. Good luck!

[S B]

Like Dr. McDougall says, diet is powerful medicine and often your need for medications will decrease rather quickly once you begin McDougalling. So please keep close tabs on your vital statstics and on the amount of medicine you are taking -- so that you do not accidentally overdose!

With this said, I MWL and LOVE IT!

Also, like hope101 said, keeping off-program foods OUT OF THE HOUSE helps a LOT!

I wish you much success with McDing!

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

I know it will be hard for me to forgo my craving for cheese, mayo and oils.

You can do it, Janice. I did it and I was a very big cheese addict! The longer you go without it, the easier it is. One bite and I start all over again.

I highly recommend getting The Pleasure Trap. In fact, I consider it a MUST. I just watched it the other night and it really opened my eyes, and I've been doing this almost 4 years.

There is lots of good advice here, and some good examples too! Read the Star McDougallers on the main website when you have time, they are almost all people who have beat some of the same things you have.

Welcome to the club!

[Janice]

I just got back from the doctors and WOW, I can't believe all the responses to my posts-THANKS SO VERY MUCH!!!! I will make heed to all your suggestions but I have a twin sister in the house and she will not go vegan with me, she wants her butter, mayo, pizza's and sometimes meat as well. That's OK, cause I can put her stuff on one side of the refrigerator and my stuff on the other side. I have my own veggie drawer too so I don't need to view her goodies elsewhere in the refrigerator. I have my own cupboards so that will help. I have some great soup recipes and love steamed vegetables and hope to eat alot of them. I checked with my doctor and she has given me the A-OK on this diet plan so I am ready to go. Got my cholesterol tests back and they are pretty good with medication, total cholesterol 175, LDL 93 and HDL 54. Now I want to get results like that without medication, if possible. Thanks again for all the advise and encouragement. I just got my DVD's from McDougall, for I had requested them earlier so I am all set. Weight at the doctors office was high, 244 with heavy clothes and athletic shoes. I would like to get down to no more that 140 lbs if possible. It may take a few years but I am determined to do it with McDougall's and your help.
All your help is much appreciated. I will keep you updated with my progress. Take care everyone and Happy McDougalling!!

[slugmom]

Yay Janice, it sounds like you're ready for a great start!

Guard yourself against your sister's SAD foods, have some okay snacks you like ready to go if you need to reach for something. You can do it!


kim

[Sunny]

Welcome Janice,
Nice to have you here, you have come to the best place for support. I wish you great success, keep us posted.

[Lin]

Hi Janice,
Welcome.
I used to weigh about 230 at my highest and I'm also 5'5" so we have something in common! I came to this program from eating the SAD, and gave it all up for my health's sake. You can do it too.
I had high BP, cholesterol & triglycerides, osteoarthritis in my feet, gerd, allergies and am a 10 year uterine cancer survivor. I'm 48. I no longer take any meds except an occasional antihistimine for hives. My allergies are much better than they used to be. I have almost no arthritis pain now and exercise on a regular basis. My blood levels are normal too and I have no gerd.
This program will greatly help you. Just do it, and you'll be amazed at the results!!

I now weigh in the 160's. It's very hard for me to lose weight and if I can do it, anybody can!!
Keep an eye on your BP once you start McDougalling, because you may have to get your Dr. to adjust your meds fairly quickly.

I wish you great success!

[Janice]

Woke up this morning all fired up to get started on the first day of the rest of my life. I am SO excited!!! Checked this site and saw even more helfpful hints on how to do it. This is just GREAT!!!! All of your ideas and hints are GREATLY appreciated. I read in a vegetarian diet book that fruit first thing in the morning as your first meal is best because it goes though your system fast as long as you don't have anything in your digestive tract to get in it's way so I am starting off with some frozen strawberries and alittle added frozen blueberries. I have decided that since I am ALWAYS hungry, I will try to have 6 smaller meals instead of three larger ones. An hour after the berries, I will have my regular oatmeal made with just water added, no sweetner or anything. Soup for lunch, salad for next meal then cooked veggies over brown rice and then carrot sticks for evening snack. I am sure that will satisfy me for the day. I have several bean recipes up my sleeve that I love and they are mostly made from scratch, not canned beans so I can control the salt better. I will watch my BP for I do have a BP cuff at home so I can check it daily. Thanks for the warning. Thanks so much for your many wonderful suggestions and look forward to being able to share my success with all of you. 244 lbs and counting down for the rest of my life. ALRIGHT!!!!!

[Malva]

Welcome. Looking forward to reading your updates.
This is a community of "losers" who love to hear good reports, and give encouragement to those who are going through plateaus and water retention times.

Be strong and courageous!
And be a positive example to your twin.

[NancyG]

Hey Janice! Your enthusiasm is great! I bet you won't be feeling hungry all the time after a while on this program. Those whole grains really are filling. The six meals a day is good.

[Doris]

Janice, it is nice to have you join us. Sometimes weekends are more difficult for me, so I try to make something that I can have at a moment's notice. Today I am making a veggie soup with any veggies in my fridge, a few potatoes, an onion, some garlic, and a can of tomato sauce. Just having it on the back burner will help me stay on track. I think you are right about eating 6 smaller meals instead of just 3. Anyway, I wish you success!

[Janice]

Just checked my email and see even more posts of encouragement, thanks so very much. I love Italian food and plan on making my favorite marinara sauce today. I can eat it without noodles and just have it as a sauce to eat by itself. I use lots of chunk tomatoes so it makes it nice and thick. It only has to simmer on the stove for 30 minutes and it's done. Really looking forward to that meal. It's been 'so far, so good' as far as sticking to my plan. I feel 'good' inside, I mean I feel lighter and don't have all the aches and pains that I sometimes have when I wake up in the morning. After a week on this plan, I will try to do some excerise, walking I mean. I want to flush my system out before I start putting demands on it. I will view all of my recently purchased McDougall DVD's this weekend and I am sure they will help me keep on track. Oh, one thought, is it OK with everyone if I share some of my recipes that follow the McDougall Plan? I don't want to bore anyone but think that it might help to have some additions to add to our selection of meals to prepare, what do you think? Thanks again for all your supportive words. Take care everyone and have a good McDougalling weekend.

[Purdy]

I just joined and am excited about the prospect of FINALLY losing weight and controlling my many health problems. I am 58 yrs old and weigh over 230 lbs with just 5'5" in height. I live in Tualatin, Oregon, just south of Portland about 10 miles.

I'd never heard of Tualatin, Oregon. So I Googled it under a variety of words. Tualatin, walking, parks, paths, weight, exercise......you know, under a few different searches.
Anyway, looks like a great place for getting some exercise in addition to your dietary changes. I see a club that walks around there. Also one woman who has lost well over 100 pounds by walking, including around the Tualatin Commons Lake... 3 laps equals about 1.0 miles.
Very nice community and I imagine, it being Oregon, that lots of healthy foods are available. Of course I know this time of year it can be wet and cold outside, and as you've told us you have some serious health issues.
Still, with your doctors OK, after asking him, it would seem that some very....very......very gradual amounts of walking would be available there. Again, emphasis on tiny amounts to begin, then gradually increasing.
That along with McDougalling would seem nice for a person in Tualatin.

BTW, did you know that 1 person in 500 in Tualatin considers themselves of Yugoslavian ancestry?

http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/oregon/tualatin

Any encouragement from others in my situation will be appreciated. My health problems include Type 2 Diabetes, since May 2001, High BP, High Cholesterol, Raynaud's Syndrome and Osteoarthritis. I am currently taking medication for the Cholesterol, Lipitor, and medication for Raynaud's Dyndrome. I take 81 mg Aspirin, for I had an Angioplasty with Stent back in 2002. I hope I can get off the Lipitor and stay off other medications in the future. I hope that I will be able to continue on this plan for the rest of my life.

I also have Raynauds. I never knew there was a medication for it. Does it really make a difference?

"for the rest of my life"......OK......sounds good, but be very kind and understanding with yourself as you begin this. Speed in weight loss in not a high priority, IF you are serious about life long changes.
Do not look at any early deviations from perfection as failures. When and if you find yourself off the path a bit, just allow that to pass and point in the right direction. If you really mean to improve your next 20 years, then by staying with your healthy goals, you will make success possible regardless of some less than perfect episodes.
Going from 244 to 140 is 104 pounds, but you will gain probably 75% of the health benefits in the first 52 pound loss. Even if that first 52 pound loss takes 2 gradual years, that would be a tremendous improvment in your health. If it goes faster, consider that a bonus, but don't become discouraged if you go slower or even plateau from time to time.
People think nothing of going to college for 4 years but many times those same folks think taking 4 years to regain and learn about living healthy is TOO long. I disagree. Persistant progress is what wins. Even half a pound per week over 4 years would be tremendous. BTW, that just happens to take a person from 244 to 140.
So a university degree in weight loss and fitness......over that same 4 years...would be a success by any reasonable persons standards. Don't let your standards be dictated by what the rest of the world shouts out about magical results. You know, the tortois and the hare.
Keep your eye on the prize of being 62 and being under 150 pounds.
To me, and to all those who know you, that would be a shocking result.
Imagine friends who you haven't seen in a few years meeting you in the mall and watching their jaw drop as they realize it is you.

OK OK.......enough from me. I have different views than many here, but I have full confidence that a person such as yourself can indeed make this change if they allow time, and kindness to themselves, to work its magic.

[Janice]

Thanks so much for all your comments. Interesting that you looked up Tualatin OR. Yes, it's about 11 miles south of Portland and we have a few walking paths not very far from my home, my problem is that I live up a step hill and getting down to those walking paths is difficult for me. I don't have a car and have to use public transportation to most places. After my health improves, I hope to do some walking in the Commons area and elsewhere in town but for me, now is not the time that I can do it. Maybe by next summer I will have improved my physical state enough to do alot of walking. I recently purchased a "Gazelle" by Tony Little and that should get me going for the time being. As far as Raynaud's Syndrome, I have been taking Nifedipine for several years now and I would say it helps because I used to have a problem with my fingers turning white from cold exposure of just a few minutes and now I can be outside, waiting for a bus for 20 minutes or more and my fingers don't cause me pain and they don't turn white. I was in alot of pain when I was first diagnosed but haven't experienced any more pain since taking the drug. I may be too optomistic in thinking I could lose 104 lbs in 2 years but I am really more concerned about getting my health in better order and will just take the weight loss as it comes. I do realize that on this diet plan I will lose the weight sooner or later. Thanks again for all your comments