Mary's weight loss ramblings

[LauraA]

Hi - I;m enjoying your journal, and your soup sounds great. I remember that we called the little peas "English peas" as a child - I don't know when that changed! Take care, LauraA

[MaryW]

Thanks for stopping by, folks! it's nice to know I'm not alone.

Today was a pretty good day. i didn't make it to my yoga class because my wrist was bothering me. Wrists are pretty important in most yoga poses! I figured if I went and tried to modify poses, I would just end up doing too much and hurting myself. I have a yoga video at home. Maybe I'll try to do it this weekend. Except my VCR isn't hooked up. So probably not! I did get in my lunch time walk. I forgot to wear my watch today (been out of the habit for years) but I think it might have been MORE than 15 mins!

I made all of this soup last night, but forgot to take it with me to work today! I didn't have any more cans or cups of soup in my desk. And I only had 3 dollars in my wallet! What to do, what to do. I dug around in my car and found a can of Progresso tomato soup. So I bought 2 baked potatoes from Wendy's and ate the soup over the potatoes. I have GOT to remember to take my lunch with me!

So for dinner, I had a large bowl of the soup. There is enough for another large bowl. I'll see if want some more later. If I keep making veggie soups like this, I'll have my freezer cleaned out in a week!

I didn't lose anything this week. In fact I was up a little bit, about a half pound. I'm sure the two main culprits were the olives and potato chips I ate earlier in the week. Salty fat bombs and fatty salt bombs! I've been back on track for several days now. I wonder yet again how much weight I could lose if I stuck to the plan for more than a few days in a row. And I remind myself yet again that although I haven't been perfect, I have been determined to stick with it for over 9 months. I've lost almost 50 pounds. Stubborness and determination actually do count for something! Yes, the first time I tried McDing, I lost 25 pounds in 2 months. But I also gave up after 3 months. Yes, I might lose more weight if I stuck to the program better. But I might gain it back just as fast. So I'm muddling along, losing more than I gain. As long as the scale is trending downward, I really can't complain. Doesn't mean that I don't wish for the scale to move faster though!

Here's what i ate today:

B-more boiled multicolor potatoes from TJ's (the last of them actually) I ate some with dijon mustard and some with Bragg's
L-baked potatoes from Wendy's with Progresso tomato soup
D-leftover veggie soup
snacks-dried chile mango, more veggie soup

Day 15 of my 100 Day MWL Challenge: Yes!
Free eating: nope, Wendy's potatoes (again)
Days w/o chips: 3 (hate to say it but chips are sounding mighty good. Repeat after me: salty fat bombs, salty fat bombs, salty fat bombs)

[Anna Green]

Mary, I feel you, I sure do. Keep at it. Had to keep saying cancer to myself to pass up fried chicken the other day. I'm taking this a day at a time. Sounds like you are too.

[VeggieSue]

added an equal amount of water and put in a bouillon cube (cuz heaven knows I don't get enough salt!)

I am very, very salt sensitive - have been since childhood and I'm in my mid-50's now - so I've always looked for lower salt/salt-free versions of foods. For many years I was using the no-salt-added bouillon cubes from the health food store, but stopped using them when I started McDougalling many years back because of the added oil in them.

Then I found Bryanna Clark Grogan and her recipe for homemade non-chicken bouillon recipes in her books. Now these were lifesavers!

For those who are okay with salt, just leave it in. People like me, who have to avoid salt, just leave it out.

Here's what she wrote in one of her blog posts. I think this is the latest version of her original recipe.
http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2 ... batch.html


BRYANNA'S HOMEMADE VEGAN "CHICKEN-STYLE" BROTH POWDER

NOTE: I used to call for 1 Tbs. powder per cup of water, but have found that 2 tsp. works just fine!

I invented this broth powder when I was having trouble finding a natural broth powder here in Canada that actually tasted good! It's cheap and easy to make and has excellent flavor. You need to use twice as much of this homemade broth powder as Seitenbacher, but the sodium comes out about the same.

Yield: 1 1/4 cups or 30 cups of broth

1 1/3 cups nutritional yeast flakes
3 Tbs onion powder
7 1/2 tsp (2 1/2 Tbs) sea salt
1 Tbs soy protein powder
1 Tbs vegan sugar
2 1/2 tsp. garlic granules or powder
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp finely crumbled dried sage (NOT powdered)
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric

Blend in a dry blender or food processor until powdery. Store in a dry, airtight container .

Use 2 level teaspoons per cup of boiling water.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 2 tsp. serving): 28.4 calories; 10% calories from fat; 0.4g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 475.3mg sodium; 163.9mg potassium; 3.6g carbohydrates; 2.0g fiber; 0.7g sugar; 1.6g net carbs; 4.1g protein; 0.2 points.

[DangerousKiwi]

Say no to the salty fat bombs!!

[MaryW]

I was home today, so I puttered around the house. Unfortunately this means I didn't putter outside for a walk. Of course, it's only 8:30. I guess I could go out for a walk, but not in MY neighborhood!

I tried to make some lentil soup today. Bag of lentils simmered for 30 mins. Then I added a bouillon cube, a bag of spinach, and a bag of mixed summer veggies. I let that simmer for a while and then tasted. I smelled heavenly, but tasted a bit bland. I didn't want to add another bouillon cube (even though it was a big pot). Maybe I am getting too used to salt. So I added some garlic powder and cumin. Cumin and lentils is just awesome together! I decided to thicken it with some bulger. I threw in 2 handfuls and let simmer some more. it didn't seem to thicken very well. The bulger soaked up alot of the liquid. The liquid that was left was very watery. In hindsight, I think would blend a bit of the soup to thicken. The soup wasn't too bad, but I still felt like it needed salt. i added lots of fresh black pepper though. I love that stuff!

Here's what i ate today:

B-polenta with a can of Popeye Spinach
L-lentil soup
D-by dinner time the bulger had soaked up all of the water. I at it on some corn tortillas. It seemed like a really good idea at the time, but I forgot that tortillas aren't MWL. Dang it! I added some tabasco chipotle sauce and they were pretty good though.
Snack--dates

Day 16 of my 100 Day MWL Challenge: er...no, corn tortillas
Free eating: YES! Easy to do when I'm home all day!
Days w/o chips: 4 urge to stuff chips in my face fading...fading...

VeggieSue---Thanks for the idea on bouillon. I use Knorr cuz it's about the only one I can find. It has a bit of oil in it and LOTS of salt. I used to use a brand called Celifibr. It's gluten free and marketed to celiacs (I think). But it's tasty and much lower in salt. I used to get it at a health food store here in Virginia. Then the store stopped carrying it. I asked if they could order me a case and they said they couldn't. Then I moved to Kentucky and found it in a health food store there. Then I moved back to VA and no more Celifibr. it' made in Canada I think. I need to see if I can order some. It's the best!

[MaryW]

I had thought about making the fava bean spread that some (geoffreylevens?) posted on the recipe board. I had a bag of dried fava beans, but...I can't find them. it's amazing that in such a tiny kitchen I have so much trouble finding things! I'm terribly unorganized. Trying to work on that too.

So anyway, i found a bag of mixed beans and decided to make some bean soup. I did the quick soak bean method. I thought I would add some barley and froz veggies to the soup. I added a whole box of pearled (quick cooking) barley. After it had cooked for about 30 mins, the barley was HUGE! It was like a pot of barley with a few beans! Time for the veggies. Well, my freezer is looking much more empty these days!! I found a bag of okra and what I thought was a half bag of spinach. It was in a ziploc bag so I couldn't read the name. When I opened it, I found out it was collard greens. I had used the other half of the bag in making a pot of chili several weeks (months?) ago. After eating the chili, I was doubled over in agony. I had terrible stomach pains and later on gas and diarrhea. So collards is off the menu! Along with oatmeal. It's too bad cuz they are supposed to be so healthy. Anyway, the pot of barley and beans looked so sad with just some okra floating around in it. The only veggies I had in the freezer were green peas (3 bags!!), brussels sprouts, lima beans and corn. Well the soup already had dried peas and limas, so I didn't want to add more of those. I decided to add some canned crushed tomatoes (small) and tomato paste (large). The bag of beans had come with a "cajun" seasoning pack. I never use those, cuz you never know WHAT is in them. I added my own chili powder, garlic powder, smoked paprika and cumin. I LOVE cumin! So my veggie bean soup has turned into chili! But that is OK.

Well, it ook several hours to soak and cook the beans. In the meantime I was getting pretty hungry. I've had 2 roasted eggplant in the fridge since I cooked them LAST weekend. What was I waiting for?? Actually, I had wanted to make baba ganoush, but my food processor is packed away, so I was kinda stuck. I had a can of prepared humus that was pretty high in fat. My math skills stink, but I think it was around 50 percent fat. Eeek! So I was thinking if I mixed the humus with the eggplant, the fat would cojme way down. I also added in lemon juice and lots of fresh black pepper and blended it with my stick mixer. It turned out really well! Sometime I find baba ganoush overwhelming. You know, TOO MUCH eggplant. Mixing in some chick peas--or in this case prepared humus--tones it down a bit. So then what to eat my eggplant dip with? Well, my first instinct was tortillas. I've been hitting the tortillas pretty hard the last couple of days. I have a few other types of bread (whole rye, Ezekial) in the freezer, but I'm TRYING to do MWL, so I didn't even want to start down the bread road. What did that leave? Well, I have a giant bag of organic carrots in the bottom of the fridge that has been there---well, I'm embarrassed to say how long! So I peeled a few of those and dipped them in the dip. Really tasty! And super filling! I had 4 carrots, not sure how much dip. A half cup? I tried to be stingy with the dip. But I'm bad at judging portions. You can look at my pants size and see that!

Oh, I did want to share a recipe I found on the bag of okra. I'll type it as written.

Spanish Okra
1 cup white rice
1 package cut okra
1 package chopped onions
1 tbsp butter
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
1 tbsp chili powder
hot sauce to taste

Prepare rice according to cooking directions, set aside. Place frozen okra and onions in saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Boil for 3 mins, drain. In a large skillet, combine cooked okra, onions, butter, tomatoes, chili powder and hot sauce. Cover and cook over medium heat 15 mins or until veggies are thoroughly heated, stirring occasionally.

I would probably use brown rice or some other kind of rice. Also, you could use fresh onion, and I would probably brown it first before cooking it with the okra. And of course, leave out the butter.

Here's what I ate today:

B-lentils on tortillas with mustard
L-lentils on tortillas with hot sauce
D-well, so far just the carrots and dip. like I said, I'm very full, but if I get hungry later, I've got chili and more lentils
snack--dates

Day 17 of my 100 Day MWL Challenge: still with the corn tortillas!
Free eating: YES! I've found enough food for an army in my pantry!
Days w/o chips: 5 in the clear for now!

[VeggieSue]

I got a laugh about the every-growing barley post. Yes, I had a similar experience the first time I used barely - I had no idea it expanded even more than rice or pasta! My poor Crockpot was overflowing less than half-way through the cooking time when I tried to make a double batch of Barleycorn Beans from the Q&E book.
http://susang2.tripod.com/mwlpbarleycornbeans.txt

Oh, the mess! Thank goodness I was home and caught it before it crept too far on the counter top! LOL

[Anna Green]

Hey, I would have put the brussel sprouts in. Weird I know but I love them in refried bean soup and other stews. My son does too.

I love all the details of your posts, how you are thinking. I imagine it's good for you to go back sometimes and read that as well.

[MaryW]

I had another family dinner last night. We have a lot of those, don’t we? That’s good, though. I love getting together with my family. I was going to make these fabulous Brussels sprouts from a recipe in the Vegan Lunch Box, but I just procrastinated too long. Ran out of time. So I took the rest of the baba ganoush with carrot sticks and pita bread and I whipped up some tabbouleh from a mix. As usual, we had enough food to feed an army…and not a small one! One of my cousins was in town. She’s a vegetarian and very green. (one thing I don’t get is if she is so environmentally conscious, why does she still eat dairy, but whatever, we all do what we think is best) She makes the best sauted veggies. This time it was broccoli. I’m sure it had oil in it, but I didn’t care. It was so good! One of my other cousins proudly pointed out that she had made meatless ravioli (but it was full of cheese) so I thanked her and moved on. My grandmother made broccoli cornbread. I was intrigued, so I had a small piece. I’m sure she made it with eggs and oil cuz she doesn’t believe in all the crazy diet and veggie stuff. But she’s 91, so she can do whatever she wants! I think I’ve mentioned before that my aunt’s boyfriend makes an AWESOME ceasar salad. TONS of garlic, but also TONS of oil. I took some leftover salad home with me once. The next day I took it out of the fridge and it had congealed into orange goo. GAK! So I don’t eat it anymore, even though it smells SOO good. Maybe I need to think of a way to make super-garlic 3-2-1 to make my own ceasar salad. So anyway, I had sauted broccoli, cornbread, some hummus that my mom brought (from the same mix I use) and a big pile of carrot, celery and pepper strips. Oh, and fruit salad. It didn’t seem like that much food, but boy was I stuffed! And of course, we were celebreating my grandmother’s 91st birthday, so I had to have a piece of her cake. It was another pound cake with buttercream frosting. That’s pretty much the only cake we have for birthday parties, cuz it’s AWESOME! So anyway, had a small piece of cake and NO ice cream. Not too bad. I feel more in control of myself these days. I can have a little splurge without going crazy. Without going to the grocery store on the way home and buying 2 bags of potato chips and scarfing down both bags when I get home. So yay! I’m winning the battle! I’m not under food’s thumb anymore. Maybe the little finger, but I can wiggle out from under that!

I’m worried about my mom though. She’s been pretty down lately and she seems to have almost given up on McDougalling. She has family members over for dinner a lot. All of these people are big meat eaters and she feels like she has to cater to what they want. I keep telling her to cook McD meals and no one would mind, but she feels like it’s just not a proper meal without a big slab of meat on a platter. At first, she was cooking all of this unhealthy food and then just eating approved items, but more and more she adds in the unhealthy stuff at meals. She’s a grown woman and has to make her own decisions, but I’m so worried about her. She weighs much less than I do, but she’s still very overweight, and was pre-diabetic when she started McDing back in April. Plus she also has bad knees/hips/back that benefit from her being at a lower weight. Even if she stays where she is, that’s better than gaining back the weight. But I’m so worried that she will give up and gain it all back, like we all have so many times before. I don’t know how I can help her. Maybe I can’t. I’ve given her one of those pedaling machines. You know, just the pedals on a stand and you can pedal with your feet or put it on a table and pedal with our hands. She doesn’t use it. I got her that Sittercise CD, but I’m sure she hasn’t played it. I take her healthy things whenever I visit, but whenever I am there, I see lots of cheese and meat and cookies, “for the grandchildren.” Well, my nieces and nephews are plump little things who don’t NEED treats! I was an overweight child. I know where they are headed. It’s just all very worrisome.

And something else that’s really bothering me, my mom made a sweet potato casserole last night. And she didn’t McDougallize it either! Sweet potatoes are perfectly healthy and it would have been good without the milk or butter or crumb topping. I just feel like she’s sabotaging herself. But again, she has to make the choice for herself. But again all I can do is stand by and watch.

And something else that’s bothering me. People keep telling me how good I look. Yes, I’ve lost almost 50 pounds, but I still weigh almost 270 pounds! That’s not thin. How good can I really look? I look BETTER than I did of course, but not GOOD. People who don’t know me only see a severely overweight woman. Only people who knew me at over 300 pounds can tell a difference. I know I have some self-esteem issues to work on. And the more weight I lose, the better I will feel about myself. But for now, I take all compliments with a grain of salt.

Gee, pretty down way to start the week!

Here's what I ate yesterday:

B-big bowl of puffed wheat, puffed millet (!!) and shredded wheat with soy milk (I have soy milk in the fridge and alot of cereal that I want to use up)
L-hmmm...did I eat lunch? this is why I shouldn't post this stuff the next day!
D-family dinner that I mentioned above
snacks--dates, baba ganoush wiith pita

Day 18 of my 100 Day MWL Challenge: nope
Free eating: yes
Days w/o chips: 6 almost to a week!

[Letha..]

I take her healthy things whenever I visit, but whenever I am there, I see lots of cheese and meat and cookies, “for the grandchildren.” Well, my nieces and nephews are plump little things who don’t NEED treats! I was an overweight child. I know where they are headed. It’s just all very worrisome.

Hi Mary,
I’ll bet garlic 3-2-1 dressing would be most excellent. If you try it, let us know how it comes out. Perhaps you could get mom to start making McDougall legal brownies or oatmeal cookies for the grandchildren. Also, fruit sorbet or frozen fruit juice bars as treats for the kids. Better then ice cream or cookies full of fat. Kids also usually like nut butters which is better on sandwiches than meat or cheese, and a lot of kids think green smoothies are fun. But it’s hard for all of us to change, so if Mom is just nodding in agreement when you talk to her about healthy eating and planning to continue doing the same old same old, there’s not much you can really do about it which is hard on you. Well, hope you’re having a good week.
Letha

[sksamboots]

Hi Mary,

Lots of deep thoughts going on here today. I wish I had some words of wisdom but I think you have it all figured out. We all have to find our own paths on this journey. Sometimes we want to drag others along with us and force feed them but we can't. They have to find their own way, even as SAD as it may be. I understand the comments about your weight...I think are society is just jaded. Eh, I wish you a good week. Your doing amazing with all the celebrations and family get togethers!!!

[MaryW]

On the way home last night, I stopped in the grocery store and bought some Oreida hash browns (had a coupon) and some Bird's Eye froz mixed veggies, California blend I think. The Bird's Eye veggies are the best. They come in these ENORMOUS bags. Since my freezer is so tiny, I don't buy them very often. But now that I have used up a bunch of my frozen veggies, I CAN buy the big bags of veggies. I love broccoli, and the Birds Eye broccoli is actual florets, not chopped stems and few bits of florets. I hate when the bags of frozen veggies are opaque and you don't know it's all stems until you get home and open them over the steamer basket and then just want to toss the whole thing in the garbage. Cuz who wants all stems?? Anyway, I digress. I love those Oreida hash browns. I love the store brand too, but like I said I had coupon! I cooked the taters in my big expensive (to me) non-stick pan. They were SOOO good. But somehow I didn't turn the burner all the way off! When I came back in the kitchen after eating, the pan was blazing hot. I've been afraid to touch it all day. Afraid that the non-stick coating will flake off in the dish pan and my big expensive pan will be ruined. I'm so hard on cookware! And many other things as well!

I saw a woman on the Today show this morning who had lost 211 pounds! Wow! In her before pictures, she looked so old and sad. But she was only around 40 when she lost the weight. Now she looks much younger and happier. And she looked good! I'm always so worried about saggy skin. I know, I know, much better to be thin and saggy than fat and unhealthy. But still, I don't want to be saggy. And I know this sounds terribly vain, but i hope I look good when I lose the weight. I've never been thin, so I have no idea what I will look like. I would hate to work so hard to lose the weight and then feel ugly. Of course, how I FEEL is because of my self-esteem, not my face. (That's a scary thought!) I went to a salon once to get my hair cut. The stylist (who was a guy) gushed over my cheekbones of all things, but then under his breath said, "what a shame." So maybe I have good bones under all the goo, but I might not be able to appreciate it when they emerge. We'll see.

Someone on another board mentioned Frances Kuffel's book Passing for Thin. I read it when it came out. Some of the reviews on Amazon were so mean! There is one part where she is in a business meeting and notices her knees. She is fascinated by them cuz she could never SEE them before. But the reviewer said she was vain and shallow. I know how she feels though. I can finally see my collar bones now. I find myself standing in front of the mirror shrugging my shoulders just to watch them move. Vain? Nope, just fascinated and curious.

Here's what I ate today:

B-hash browns! (with Braggs, yum!)
L-lentils and tortillas (sooo good and almost gone)
D-the last of the lentils and tortillas, pumpkin & apple
snacks--dates, baba ganoush wiith veggies

I wanted something dessert-y after dinner (but I usually don't). The only thing sweet I could think of was a can of pumpkin with apples, brown sugar and cinnamon, kinda like sweet potato beginnings. it was pretty good. I have lots of cans of pumpkin left over from when I bought the Hungry Girl cookbook. She uses pumpkin for lots of things. Except I never made any of her recipes! Now I just have lots of pumpkin. it has so few calories! i was surprised. I might have to try that one morning for breakfast.

Day 18 of my 100 Day MWL Challenge: are tortillas REALLY not MWL??
Free eating: yes!
Days w/o chips: 7 take THAT, salty fat bombs! Went to the store last night and bought water and hash browns and froz veggies and didn't even go down the chip aisle. yay me!

[DangerousKiwi]

7 days without chips... Nice! I'm on day one without... again. If you can do it, I can do it. OK... tomorrow is day two.

[MaryW]

Repeat after me: salty fat bombs, salty fat bombs, salty fat bombs