Journal of my journey

[sksamboots]

Hey Morris!

Does it help if you fill up with potatoes?

[Morris]

May 23, 2017

If you are asking if eating potatoes will help me with my snacking, I'd have to say probably not. I really think my problem is I don't eat enough beans. I feel different when I eat beans, like I stay fuller and satisfied longer. We have a lot of dry beans and so I try not to have many canned ones around so i'll use the dry. But that requires planning and prepping ahead of time.

Plus, I am an emotional eater and tend to want junk when I am feeling out of sorts. I am working on maintaining a positive attitude, but I am not very successful (as you can tell from my journal). A lot of frustration comes from the relationship with my husband. He is disabled, has a lot of pain due to muscle spasms and so he does not do much around the house and relies on me to get everything done. So, often I feel like I have no life of my own.

Also, I think I am making way too many excuses as to why to eat junk. I need to commit to eating better.

Today I ate:
coffee
shredded wheat cereal with banana, mixed berries and rice milk

juice (1/2 orange juice, 1/2 water with a little salt)

Low fat vegan Pad Thai, followed the sauce recipe from http://lowfatveganchef.com/; I used stir fry veggies, and added extra onion, bell peppers, kale, and mushrooms. Used rice noodles. The sauce was yummy. But I could have used more. Perhaps I added too many veggies

S'mores x2 (2 graham cracker sheets, 1/2 chocolate bar, 2 marshmallows)

Pinto beans, with added onion, bell peppers, and carrots. I added some chili powder, cumin, paprika, cooked in a broth in my Instant Pot. - So, i should be getting my beans these next few days.

I went to running class, ran 3 miles: 13 min run / 2 min walk x 2. I begged to do the hill route, but the minutes took us just to the bottom of the hill before the turn around. Since I was asking to go up it, I ran up it anyways then ran a bit faster on the turnaround to catch up. I was only about a minute or so later than the others.

S'mores x 2 (2 graham cracker sheets, 1/2 chocolate bar, 2 marshmallows)

See, I ate well except for the s'mores. I'll admit it though, I enjoyed them. The positive is that I split the eating of them. I usually eat all 4 in one sitting.

I also took a tumble today. My foot caught on something and I went flying. I landed hard on my left hand and my right knee. This was before my running class and I had no problem, I'll see how i feel in the morning.

[Morris]

May 25, 2017

I need to stop buying graham crackers. They are becoming my go-to "I really should not be eating this much'. I cannot stop at one. They have become the new potato chip for me.

I don't get why I cannot get with this way of eating 100% of the time. It is really simple, instead of junk food I know I should grab a piece of fruit or a vegetable.

Part of my eating is from frustration. I originally was going to post that hubby is the cause of my frustration and then typed all the reason why. But deleted that portion of this post. Why? Because no matter what circumstance I find myself in, I make the choice as to how I will react.

I am thinking that I need to step it up a notch with my eliminating junk. I posted yesterday about the fall I took and my sister reminded that when she took a tumble last year, she broke bones and was laid up for three months. I am 10 years older than her, so I fell that my fall could have been a lot worse for me.

Yesterday, I ate:
coffee
graham crackers (3 sheets)

Ran 2.5 miles

1/2 cup of beans, corn tortilla, and an apple

coffee

Red curry Vegetables at a Thai restaurant. I requested no added oil, but it was coconut based broth. Lots of veggies.
juice, ½ OJ- ½ water with a dash of salt
snacked on way too many graham crackers before bedtime.

One thing that amazed me was that I resisted buying junk when we went to town for the doctor appointment and had to stop on the way. Other than the coffee in between the beans and the curry, i did not snack. I told myself I did not need to eat and it will be OK to get hungry and wait till we stopped at the restaurant.

If I would have made better choice about those graham crackers, it would have been a good day. Let's see what today brings.

[Morris]

May 31, 2014

Same old, same old here. Sometimes I don't bother with my journal because it is just the same ol' struggle for me. The problem is I am not committing to commitment. I need to commit to this program. I read so many success stories and am secretly jealous that they can stick with it. I plug away one meal at a time, fail with snacking, then back on track with my meal. I think I need to eliminate the snacking.

Plus I eat too much, no matter what.

My latest eats are Lentilogna - (len-til-o-nee) OMG! it tastes like bologna (at least how I remember it tasting. It has been forever and I day since I ate that nasty stuff.) It makes a great sandwich with lettuce and tomato on it. Can also be made into ruebens, pepperoni, and deviled ham copy cats. --- oh, so excited. Now i can have something other than peanut butter and OLTs for sandwiches. Look up video for how to on youtube.

I ate poorly the other day. I had some rum cherry ice cream -- big mistake I ended up with insomnia and then a migraine the next day. I think I learned my lesson. I am done with dairy and dyes.

My running class went well last night. 15:2 x 2 ratio. The distance was 3.24 miles and finished it in 32:28. My fitbit (connected to my phones GPS) said it was a 10.01 pace. WHOO HOO. Now if I can do this in the 5k race in three weeks. I'd be one happy old lady.

Well, off to weed garden and hopefully get the final planting done. I was hoping to have it done by now, but weather was not cooperating.

Have a great day and starch away!

[Morris]

June 4, 2017

Weighed myself this morning. Lost 2 of the pounds I gained. I am back to my last weigh-in weight. I have been eating better and attempting to snack on fruit instead of junk. A lot of my excess calories come from the processed junk. But i am still eating junk.

Seriously, I don't know why I keep eating that stuff because it seems to drag me down and make me feel bleh. It is choices, choices, and more choices. It all begins with a thought. Everything I eat is always preceded by a thought to eat it. I am working on changing that thought.

I belong to a facebook page that some one has started a phrase, "Not my food", but what I am trying to learn is that a lot of that overly processed sugar, salt and fat laden foods are not food. There have been many times I wanted a donut; but I'd always read the label and see the list of ingredients fill up the backside of the package and think "This in not even food." Label reading can be a great deterrent.

For my meals I have been boiling potatoes and steaming a variety of vegetables. Then I'd make a sauce using the potato water and mixing it all together. Hubby likes sauces, I prefer my food plain. But if I make it with sauces, then he'll not eat as much meat. His choices are usually the fatty kind. He is asking for a plant based sausage, but these plant base substitutes just don't have the texture he is looking for.

6.55 mile trail race on Saturday and the following week is a 5k. I am hoping to just finish strong, I have given up on getting faster because then it is not as enjoyable for me. Besides, I just treat races as another run and don't push myself any harder than when I go for a run here at home. I just pay for it and get a t-shirt. I just do the ones that support a local charity. So, it is my feel-good run. Plus, I do like to compare my times year to year.

Happy Starching

[Morris]

June 5,2017

Weighed myself today and dropped 1 ½ pounds. That is by cutting back on the junk and it could be because I ran 5½ miles yesterday, then mowed the yard with a push mower, then worked in the garden. I also worked hard at staying hydrated. I slept well last night. WHOO HOO!

My son-in-law, who has a mushroom business, gave me some mushrooms, so I made some Mushroom Gravy from http://hellonutritarian.com/ I served it with a salad (romaine, mixed greens, green onion, tomato, red pepper) and used the Cauliflower cream from Hello Nutritarian as the dressing. I usually do not add a dressing, but this was an exception and it was an awesome alternative to the oily and/or vinegary dressings. Tasty change for me. I put the gravy over some purple, yellow and red potatoes and had some broccoli on the side.

I munched on graham crackers - did not add the chocolate and marshmallows (step in right direction) I think it was because I was so busy, I just wanted something quick to eat and get right back to it.

Well, since I have been dropping weight and had a bit of change in my activity, I think I will really need to pay attention to what I am eating.
So far today, I had:
coffee
bowl of mixed greens, apple
2 slices whole grain bread with peanut butter and jelly.

Now, I am going to go and get the mulch on my walkways in my garden so i won't have to spend so much time weeding....

Happy Starchin'

[Morris]

June 6, 2017

This is a vent post. I am not sure if I posted about the source of some of my frustrations and I don't want to go back and reread my posts, but here goes...

My husband has chronic pain and is about 100 pounds overweight. He has some other issues going on also and one of them is that he never takes responsibility for his actions. It is always some one else's fault for whatever he did. Last night, his pain was severe and as I was given him a back massage, I mentioned that he needed to stop eating junk food (I was thinking that perhaps something was triggering the pain). His response was that he was having a hard time stopping eating junk food because of me eating too much.

All right, I know I have been posting about eating too much junk, but other than the s'mores (and the fixin's), I do not have junk food laying around the house. Most of my junk food eating is done away from the house, especially if I am alone, (you know, the calories and such don't count if no one sees me eating it --ha!).

But, this is one thing that frustrates me about him, is that he does no wrong and his bad doings are always someone else's fault. Yesterday, we went to town to grocery shop and he puts a box of cookies, and 2 bags of chips in the cart. But, it is my fault that he is going to eat that junk because I eat too much of the stuff. Get real!!! --- I am so tired of it.

His bad behavior is always some one else's fault. I read Potatoes not Prozac a while back and in it was a person who never took responsibility for his actions and when his brain chemicals got more in balance he started to be more accountable for his actions. I don't know how potatoes work on my hubby's brain, but I do know that I have a better attitude when I consistently add potatoes to my meals.

His remark frustrated me, I am so tired of being blamed for everything, especially things that I have no control over. In my frustration, I ate a pack of Belvita breakfast cookies (a whole grain, fortified biscuit). Just one, even though I wanted more.

OK, hopefully that is out of my system and I won't dwell on it today.

[Morris]

June 8, 2017

Another day, 2 days til the trail run.

Yesterday, I noticed the tomatoes I bought were all ripening at once. They must have thought they were avocados. So I made me a batch of "creamy tomato soup". I water sauted some onion, celery, carrot and red pepper. When the veggies were soft, I added 2 cups broth and 2 diced potatoes. After potatoes started to soften, I add 5 chopped roma tomatoes. Cooked until potatoes and tomatoes were softened. With an immersion blender, I blended until smooth, then added some of Hello Nutritarian's Creamy Cauliflower -- ohh, so good.

I have been working on getting my salads in my meal plan again. I was lacking that for a bit. I feel so much better when I have my salad, especially when I top with a lot of veggies.

This morning for breakfast, I enjoyed a couple handfuls of mixed greens, an apple, mixed berries and pumpkin seeds. (Sort of seems like a Furhman breakfast rather than a McDougall one.)

Speaking of Furhman, he recommends the salad as the main dish. But, whenever I eat my salad first, it seems like I never really seem to get full, no matter how much I eat after that. But If I eat the starchy stuff first, then it seems to satisfy me better and I will then eat less of the more calorie dense items. It is weird how my body reacts to the order of the way I eat.

Hubby is not feeling well and as I listen to him whine about how miserable he feels, I am getting a bit more motivation to get serious about cutting out the junk in my diet. I cannot figure out why I just cannot seem to get with the program because I really want to stop eating the junk. If I do well in one area, I totally mess up in another. Maybe I should start logging my food intake again because then I'd see the effect of the junk I eat. But I hate logging in my meals, because I always have to key in my recipes because those programs seem to focus on the processed foods. UGH! I am too lazy.

Hubby has a friend who changed his eating habits and lost 40 pounds. I asked what changes he made and it seems he mostly cut out the junk food. Sometimes I think we really over-complicate things. Eliminating the junk and adding in more fruits and vegetables in place of those things.

[sksamboots]

Sounds like you are figuring out what works for you! Dr. Lisle has some great videos to help assist you on this journey. Have you had a chance to look at some?

[Morris]

June 13, 2017

I weighed myself this morning, lowest weight I have been for a while. I am trying to monitor my portion sizes, as well as cut out junk. I seem to have issues with both these. It is said to eat until full, but I like to be a bit overfull so I know I eat way more than I really ought to. Eating slower and chewing, chewing and chewing helps me cut down a bit. Plus, growing up it was whoever grab the fastest got to eat the most, so I often find myself going back for more just in case hubby gets it before I do.

I went to the park where the race will be held this coming Saturday and did a practice run. I was slower than normal and I thought I was running at a good pace. But, I was able to go the whole 3.1 miles without a walk break. So, I am slower, but able to run longer. Plus I felt good after I was finished. I always so mid-afternoon and it was near 80° so I expected to be a bit on the slow side.

Running fast is not a priority for me, I'll be 59 in August and the fact that I am able to run is all I care about. I really need to add in some weight training. Some times when I am running I feel like I have no upper body strength. Some times at the water stops at races, it is a struggle to reach for the cup.

I bought me one of those over the door chin up/ pull up bars and I cannot do even 1. Well, I did 1 once, but I took a jump start. I have to figure out how to improve so I will be able to do at least 3. Maybe that should be my before I turn 60 goal.

What I have been eating, I am having such a hard time eating my greens. I am kind of tired of eating salads and it now the time of year to eat salads.

Tomato sandwiches on whole grain bread and just mayo. I keep buying tomatoes and the seem to ripen too quickly. I did not grow any in my garden this year because the never seem to be healthy in our soil. I am counting on my mom and dad's to come in. She always plants way too many and then calls me up to come and get some. I help her can and she lets me take half of each batch. Store bought tomatoes just do not taste the same.

Brand New Vegan's Italian Sausages and Marinara sauce. The sausages were good, and tasted like some of the store bought ones. The recipe called for white beans, but I only had black. They were speckled. It was supposed to have been a recipe for 4, but I think it should be an 8 serving recipe. I had my youngest grandson over, he is the picky and I like processed food eater, and he had 2 servings. he just gobbled it up.

I served that with some asparagus. It is getting close to the end of the season for that. I love asparagus plain.

Hubby is not making healthy choices, after my run yesterday, he wanted to go to town and so we went grocery shopping. We had both grandsons with us and while I ran, they played at the park with grandpa. They were hungry. So, I bought some V-8 juice, veggie straws, yogurt, dollar bun egg salad sandwich for the boys. The oldest is dye-sensitive, so that eliminates a lot of processed foods he can eat. They add artificial color to the oddest item, like pickles have yellow dye. Why do pickles need dye?

This one like to eat healthy foods and he was saying how the veggies straws were healthy, so I gave him a little lesson in while it was a better choice than potato chips, they still were not healthy because they were too processed. He is a smart 7 year old and I hope he keeps his wanting to eat healthy as he gets older and does not cave into peer pressure.

Hubby got a bacon cheeseburger and fries from the deli. He was so excited because it was only $5.99. To me, it looked very greasy. He offered me some of the french fries. No, thank you, they did not even look tasty to me. The veggie straws were a better choice.

Of course, after the hamburger arrived at the table, our grandson sat there and proclaimed how he was eating healthy. (Not sure if that was a reference to what he was eating vs. what grandpa was eating, but it was an appropriate subtle little lecture coming from a 7 year old.)

happy starchin'

[Morris]

June 15,2017

Is this WOE too extreme? I am seeing people saying that this way of eating is too extreme for most people to follow. Seeing how I am struggling to be 100% compliant, I am beginning to understand why people would think this.

It is extreme to grab an apple instead of chips. It is extreme to grab an orange instead of a fruit drink or soda pop. It is extreme to eliminate meat and dairy from your plate and instead fill it with whole grains, vegetables and legumes. It is extreme only because it is going against the marketing and social norms of what we are to eat.

I asked hubby if he wanted to do the E2 7Day Rescue with me, he said he would, but is fighting me every step of the way. Yesterday at Costco he added chicken and caramel corn puffs to the cart. Recall, a while back, I posted how he claimed he cannot eat healthy because I eat too much junk. OK, whatever. When he put the caramel puffed corn in the cart, I just said, "Keep that out of my sight." - I did not want to be tempted because I have my stash of Salted Nut Rolls hidden in the cupboard. UGH!

My meals are compliant. When I first started to lose weight, many years ago, I used a food tracker and just could not bring myself to record those 6 full-size candy bars. But the reality hit me hard -- that is why I was gaining weight. I think I need to track again just to get the visual of all those junk calories. But my meals are compliant and it is such a pain to have to key in all the ingredients just to get the information I need. Maybe I ought to just keep a written journal. But, I am too lazy and that is too extreme for me.

What I have been eating, other than the salted nut roll x2:
Coffee
2 graham crackers with peanut butter
grapes
stir fry vegetables with chickpeas,
salad: romaine, power greens, onion, red pepper, tomato, cucumber
peas, green beans, black beans, mushroom tortellini with marinara sauce

See, those salted nuts rolls were 300 calories each. That was 600 calories, I could have saved myself 400 calories by having an apple or orange instead. I think I need to go back and review Jeff Novick's calorie density articles. Hmmmmm, is that too extreme?

[sksamboots]

Hey Morris,

I think laying on a hospital table and having your heart operated is extreme and I don't want that to be me. So, pick your poison!

[Morris]

June 22, 2017

I totally blew it once again. What is wrong with me??!! I think it is because I am over-critical of my hubby and am too judgmental that I end up doing the same thing -- abusing my body. I ate so much junk these past few days. However, my meals were compliant.

I need to commit to commit to the WFPB WOE. I did it in the past, and I can and WILL do it again. It seems whenever I post about any measure of success, I seem to blow it big time. I am sabotaging my efforts.

This has got to stop. I need to say right now. I have been up for only an hour and I already blew it for today. I need to focus on the ill-effects that junk food can have on the body. I'll start with saying I just read an article that in Canada the prediction is that 1 in 2 people will have a diagnosis of cancer in their lifetime and 1 in 4 will die from the disease. Now, if that don't scare the daylights out of me, I don't know what will.

One plus, I am holding at the weight I have been at. But, I am tired of feeling chubby. I was walking up to a building and purposely positioned myself so I could see myself walking up. Way back when I was at my heaviest, that reflection is what motivated me --thunder thighs are coming back. (I carry my weight in my hips and thighs).

[sksamboots]

Morris!

I wish I had some words of advice or solutions. Is it okay to give my two cents? Just because you blew it for one meal doesn't mean the day is over and done with. The next meal you eat can be on plan and you could still end the day with 80% or above compliance. Is being too perfect and wanting to be 100% causing too much mental stress? Have you thought about consulting with Dr. Lisle? Best wishes

[Morris]

July 10, 2017

I am still here, but seem to be having issues with Chrome browser. It won't log me in. I am currently using Firefox. I typed a post the other day but it logged me out before it posted. It was then my time to move on to other things, so I did not bother reposting.

I am compliant with my meals. It is just the snacking that I cannot seem to get with the program. But, I am on some facebook pages where people are posting the results of their following a particular meal plan. Many are losing weight and getting of their meds. So, encouraging to see such results.

So far, hubby and I do not really have health issues due to diet. That may be what is causing my lack of compliance. But, what kind of excuse is that? It will catch up to us sooner or later.

I want to declare, "Today is THE day", but i am afraid to, because every time I do, I seem to blow it big time. Yesterday, on my way home from up north, I stopped at Costco and they have a insulated lunch box on sale, it is expandable, has 2 ice packs, and a bento box. I looked at them last month, and said I wanted one and hubby said. "Where and when will you use it?". So, I did not buy it then. But with the discount, and me shopping by myself I bought one and took it home and declared, "When I take you to the doctor, I can pack my lunch so I will have something good to eat and not be tempted to eat junk."

Hubby always wants to eat out when we go to town. He complains that I don't make those SAD substitutes. I don't want to have a substitute for a SAD dish, I want to eat differently. We are so different in our eating. I recall a while back when I committed to a paleo type plan (I lost a lot of weight but gained it back because craving for DQ's Peanut Buster Parfaits hit me and hit me hard.) I don't think I ever recovered from that completely. I have been struggling ever since that.

I seem to get serious whenever my weight hits that "overweight" number. They other day, I asked my daughter if she wanted to do a challenge and we both aim for a 3% weight loss. I jumped in but she didn't and I lost my motivation. Potato chips called my name this past weekend. And, I answered, but the first were too salty and the second was too greasy. OK, it is a start.

My next snack was spinach and baby cut carrots. Tasted much better. I just need to commit to commit because I don't want to end up with some disease that could have been prevented.

I went for a 5 miler run last night. So, guess what? My weight is down this morning. My supper was just 2 pieces of peanut butter bread because I was too lazy to make any thing else. I know it is really a false weight loss because I am sure that most of it was because I sweated so much even though it was a slooooow run.

Speaking of runs, my race time on Saturday was 33:17, I shaved about 40 seconds off from my last race. Next race is in 4 weeks. I going to train a bit for that one to see if by the season's end if I can get my time under 32:00. I am going to add some strength training also by going to gym or doing Fitness Blender's workout. Those are some killer workouts.

Today is a new day with a new start.

Happy Starchin'