Cara's journal

[ncyg46]

glad to see you back!

[cecac]

I appreciate your encouragement.

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

I am SO glad you're back!

[sksamboots]

I'm so glad your back

[cecac]

Thank you ladies...


Lack of stamina is getting worse.

I am going to pick wheat back up, for I don't guess there's any reason to keep going with gluten free when it doesn't seem to be helping.

Perhaps an increase in calories will help, although I've been making sure I eat enough.

ETA: I have eaten bread for a snack and lunch (bean sandwiches) and my head is clearing....so here's hoping I was just not eating enough. With as busy as I am and all, it is very difficult to eat differently than my family and so I am thinking that this contributed to my problems. It will be much easier for me to eat wheat products along with my family.

I guess if I slow in weight loss I'd rather just go slower with that but have stamina anyway.

I have maintained a 5 pound loss in one month. Maybe I'll be able to keep that off and still lose even though I am back to eating bread. I'll try very hard to stay waaaayyy off the oils, meat, and dairy.

[sksamboots]

yup, you have to do what works for you, I'm a firm believer in that

[cecac]

I got the vitamin D test result back today: 23 mg/ml. The range is 30-60 mg/ml. Definitely low, there, so I guess this is another thing where I better do what I need to do!!

The doctor wants me to supplement for one month and then retest. I think I'll go ahead and take a calcium/Vit D together that is from Standard Process because they are one supplement company of which I know that will use concentrated foods for the supplementation. I am also going to keep on with the liquid iron supplement as well and have that level retested.

I need to get some sunshine, too. I stay inside entirely too much though I am walking a bit.....but that is early in the morning so I am not getting any sun exposure that way.

If I could just feel a little less droopy maybe I'd get out each day and do a little yard/container garden work. Maybe when it isn't 104 degrees outside.

[sksamboots]

aw hope you feel better and get some sun

[cecac]

thank you sksamboots...I did yesterday and will try tomorrow!

I weigh 164.2 now, yippy skippy. Hubby is at 200.something so I am really hoping he'll break 200 soon. That is something I have wanted to see for a couple of years. Now if I can call the MD and get him tested for cholesterol, liver, and kidney functions. Ugh, that man of mine does not like to go to the doctor!! But, I guess that has proven to be a good thing for us because we tend to look to diet and lifestyle and that is a Good thing.

We are not 100 percent, but we are doing pretty well I'd say. I began reading the McDougall Program (one of Dr. McDougall's first books) and it encouraged me this weekend that he says right at the beginning of his book in really big letters something like, "This is not an all or nothing program." and goes on to say as much as you can do is great. We do quite a bit of "as much as you can do" and we are seeing progress.

I am realizing that my mental/physical exhaustion issues are not connected to the diet......and I am getting mental and physical rest right now. I did take two slow & steady walks last week first thing in the morning. I have not gotten to it this week, but I am aiming for tomorrow and Friday mornings. Soon perhaps I'll go to three times. And, I began supplementing with Vitamin D this last weekend because blood tests showed I was indeed deficient.

I am not getting as hungry, and everything is tasting good now. I am getting in the groove with cooking.

We think we saved $800 to $1000 since we cut most meat and dairy from our food bill last month. Of course, it will be more obvious in our household because we are 12 people strong.

I guess that wraps it up this week.

[cecac]

Okay, this has happened twice now.

Dh and I went to a Mexican Restaurant. They have vegetarian dishes. So I ate two white tortilla portobella mushroom/veggie soft tacos, some beans, and rice (that had meat stock, I think, because they warn about that). I told them to skip the queso cup. Oh, and there was a salad with guacamole. It was good.

There was canola oil, I know, but at least we avoided the dairy and meat except for the stock.

I lost weight. The last time that I tried to McDougall, my stamina went out the door like it is doing this time.

I am going to experiment. I've been thinking about Dr. McDougall's book and how he says this is not an all or nothing plan (I am such a perfectionist ). So I am going to put some olive oil back into our diet. I think I have been going too low fat for me. I am wondering about endocrine system issues and this.

My cholesterol is way low so I don't think I'll have any dangers there. I will have to monitor dh and make sure he continues to lose weight and possibly make sure he doesn't get olive oil in salad dressing or stir-fried veggies, etc. He already does not eat a lot of bread so I am not sure this will be an issue for him. Particularly since I will still be cutting back on the fat content, just not as stringently as I have been doing.

I am wondering too if my fuzzy episodes will also decrease or leave. I have a hunch they will.

Dairy continues to remain the enemy, seriously. My dh cannot eat it without having a bout of shoulder pain.....he is now pain free due to the absence of dairy in our diet.

Well, I will be honest in the journal on how it goes.

[momof4]

Hi Cara,
How's it going? Still having the dizzy episodes?

[cecac]

No. Although, I can tend to still get too hungry (like right now) so I can feel a little off. Thanks for asking. I don't have the stamina, right now, to try to figure out how to eat enough starch (only) with veggies......so I am keeping on with a few modifications. I meant to check in today with our weight, so thank you for checking on me.

We are having too many exceptions.....I need to work on that. Although, we are losing weight, though slowly.

My goal the next week is to cut out all exceptions that are outside the modifications I have chosen to keep right now to sidestep my dizziness. We had an interesting week, and it affected my food fixing. I am in a funk with fixing food. I don't seem able to make a menu eating this way, but instead I decide that day or the day before what to fix. I make sure to just have a ton of the foods we do eat in the house so I can do what I decide. It's kinda weird. But anyway, I guess I'll figure it out over time.

I was at 164.4 today and I've seen some 163's this week. My hubby is right at 200 and so we are hoping to see the 199's maybe by next week. I see from 10 days ago that we haven't really lost weight, although we have seen lower weights this week. We tend to go that way, gradually going down but havings some ups as well. If I can cut out the exception meals that have come along the past two or so weeks, I bet we'll pick back up. Fine with me, cuz then I just stay home and I want to do that.

We both have 15 pounds to go to be where we want to be in weight. I think I may want to go under 150, but I dunno. I don't want to have to go hungry or cut calories real low or anything. I think I'll just decide to get Real Happy if I can reach 150 pounds. The same with dh, who would like to stay at about 185.

Cara

[sksamboots]

Glad the scale is going down. The slower, sometimes I think is better--because it will stay off. Your doing good, can't wait to see the modification results

[cecac]

Thank you sksamsboots! I may not make it with the modifications.....I know the danger is that I'll crave more and more fat. But on the other hand, I guess getting dizzy and feeling worse and worse wasn't doing well either. Perhaps it is like you say with the weight going off slowly, perhaps working on sticking to the diet more and more takes time for me. I mean, as opposed to going the whole way right away.

I have figured out that I can only eat one piece of bread a day, maybe two, and lose weight a little easier. Last night we had homemade pizza, and that is just Too Much Bread.....but then again there were a couple of other ingredients on the pizza off plan. I am sitting here thinking that I'll try our pizza again soon, and just keep it to veggies and sauce. I want to try a Mexican pizza as well. If I keep them on plan, perhaps we won't gain a little weight in the eating.

Oh, and I tried the tofu Ceaser salad dressing this week. It was a no go in this house. My crew is not into tofu at all and so I generally maximize on beans, whole wheat pasta, etc. They do like some of the other dressings I have made, though.

Oh, and I got my order from Wheatsville Coop. Goodness, eating this way I have to buy rice and oats by the boatload a lot more than I was....and beans. This coop place makes it much easier to keep my bulk supplies in stock, and I also was able to buy 10 pounds of whole wheat elbow macaroni. Anything "whole wheat pasta" is hard to find around here at a reasonable price in the small packages.

[momof4]

My crew is not into tofu at all and so I generally maximize on beans, whole wheat pasta, etc.

Cara, I'm learning what things work for tofu and what don't for us. With the water-packed (refrigerated kind), anything with asian seasonings works well, and I have a tofu burger recipe that the family likes. For the asceptic packages (shelf-stable, the Mori-Nu brand), the only thing that generally turns out well for us is pudding (from the Mori-Nu mixes--we like chocolate and lemon)--but I don't consider those McDougall foods--more of an occasional thing. Oh, and pumpkin pie made with the asceptic tofu is good, too. But anything else I've tried, like tofu sour cream, or tofu dressings, has a bad taste and none of us like it. Esp. the asceptic tofu has a strong flavor that none of us like, and maybe the sugar in the pudding and pie counteracts that somehow. I'm sure you know you don't NEED tofu, so it's good you're going for the beans and grains.

Oh, and I remember the Wheatsville Co-op--cool place!