Anna's Journal

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby VegSeekingFit » Thu Sep 22, 2022 6:50 pm

Hi Anna!!! :)

I remember you fondly!!! :D Cool to see you post...

There are a few peeps that post journals... so keep posting (PLEASE!!!)...

Anyway, wishing you the best!!!!

Cheers,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby annagreen » Fri Sep 23, 2022 7:27 am

Stephanie, good to see you! Thanks for the kind words. So I'll give it a go and hopefully won't be saying the same crap in a couple of years when I haven't posted for awhile. :roll:

ok...so what to say...well I have a couple of addictions right now...watermelon and collard wraps. That crunch of the raw collard leaves wrapped around all kind of things...veggies, grains, beans, onions, a little avo, salsa or pb2 or tahini sauce or mustard, or whatever I have just does it for me. And don't think I'm exaggerating too much with the word addiction. The watermelon...omg...6 small ones came home with me yesterday from Costco. Maybe I'm feeling my roots with these southern celebrated foods. Move over kale...ya ain't all that. (just kidding kale...I love you too)

I have a rule that I resurfaced from the past. If my addiction is healthy I embrace it. Once when I was a teen I had a canned green bean addiction. I wasn't trying to be healthy or lose weight but I did because it's all I wanted...well cooked in onions, garlic turkey ham etc. My mother was kind and would buy extra for me though there were 8 of us in the house and not alot of money. Deep down I didn't like seeing her open those cans for the whole family. I wanted them all. Maybe I've spent my whole life trying to make amends for this greed. Nah...it's not my worst sin. But that leads me to a more serious topic. Part of me is always conscious of being overweight while we have hungry people in the US and in the world. The internal critic (Doug Lisle's influence here) doesn't like it. And I do spend a lot on food though I watch all the budget eats shows on YouTube. Maybe this ought to be my goal...eat more simply, in season, and as local as possible. So that would mean no collards off season. Ok I can't go that far but there are some things like golden kiwi that are not necessary. I have made some steps. I order from Azure in bulk..grains and beans and Ezekiel English muffins. Saves a good bit. But I haven't been taking advantage of the farmer's markets here or shopping sales enough. Ok so what does this mean? No more than 75 a week for the girl and I? That would be generous given what we already have and very telling that I'm spending more than that now. It would push me more toward a simpler diet. Who needs kale chips at 370 a small bag on sale with too much salt etc? And more importantly it would give me extra funds to donate once I have a job that is and keep me in food til then. Or how about retirement so I'm not dependent on family to keep me off the streets. Wow...grown up thoughts.

I have a love hate relationship with writing this stuff down because it means I've documented that I know how I'm supposed to act....sigh. I have to go back and read my journal for some reality checks.
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby annagreen » Sat Sep 24, 2022 6:56 am

So one of the reasons for coming to this site is it gives me contact with a little sanity in a world that sometimes seems like it's going mad. Unless I get to the woods. The plants and bugs and animals could care less about our drama unless unfortunately what we do affects them. But at least they don't talk about it too loudly. The counterculture here is a relief. The message is much more widespread today but I still know no one in my personal life that is on this path with the exception of my kid sometimes. She isn't totally convinced not that being totally convinced always impacts my behavior. Maybe thats part of the problem.

One of the tell tale signs of my inconsistency is the on and off of bp meds. When I'm doing well I'm off obviously. When I have to get back on it's such a let down and I feel alot of shame. The inner critic freaks the *%&$ out! Which really is a good thing if it leads to potatoes and away from french fries. If it just means I drink a beer to not think about it well not so helpful. Journaling helps me to think about it in a healthier way and to recognize that I am healthier than I would have been without this knowledge and intermittent practice. Not that some is enough. When I read the successes of McDougallers here I think as long as I am alive there is a chance to get it right. I love when I am where I am now....feeling better, enjoying the food, having that congruence in my values and actions. I never have figured out why it's so hard to stay the course but sometimes telling myself to just put off the crazy gets me through a rough patch. And not listening to all the minutiae. For example, If I think I need to do intermittent fasting but am hungry at 2a and can't sleep and get a snack it can feel like a failure. And if I fail anyway well might as well have those fries. I hear how ridiculous this is. Maybe intermittent fasting is good but for me right now it's majoring in the minor things as Chef AJ says. And damn that food I ate yesterday was so so good...salad, fruit, oats, potatoes. So that is my focus and that is what I can do today.
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sun Sep 25, 2022 7:02 pm

Hi Anna!!! :-D :) :D

I LOVE your journal and how you are a "real" and helping person...

You are inspiring with what you do!!! (your job... and hoping you find the best place soon!!!)

Going to try to take a thought from you and love collard greens... (this will be a stretch for me... :-D )...

I will in return send you no-oil fries...

Deal??? :D :lol:

Hope you have a great day!!!

Best,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby Anna Green » Mon Sep 26, 2022 10:52 am

Don't have much to say other than I'm enjoying my food. Have been eating alot of salad with a good variety of veggies, corn, flax or pumpkin seeds, fruit, oats and potatoes. Keeping my fat to about 10% and only whole foods. I love when I am feeling that pull to this food. I'm happy with my meals and do not feel too drawn to local cuisine. I do plan to make some veggie gumbo soon.

Exercise has not been so much. Plan to go camping soon because I love it and it gets my buns moving. I go to sites with trails and I need no will power to get on them because they sing to me. If anything I have to tell myself to stop when I start getting too sore. I'm hoping to get past my fear of long hikes alone. I loved them a year and a half ago but I'm not that person right now. Hopefully soon.
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby Anna Green » Tue Sep 27, 2022 6:04 pm

Healthy day! The weather finally made a nice turn and it has been cool and beautiful! I actually went to the trail near City Park and loved every second of the walk. Am sore from the kettle bell yesterday and that is a good thing. Cooked up some lentil stew, quinoa and millet, and kabocha squash. Ate a ton of raw veggies with a dip I made and enjoyed some fruit as well. I like a nice balance between cooked and raw foods. I've been sprouting peas to help with what I think may be histamine intolerance. Not sure if it is what has been helping but I sure do enjoy them raw and crunchy. My gut is much better after a long struggle. It's all good. This seems really easy right now. I''m starting to think about how I will maintain when I start working again. I don't plan on going back to the kind of stress I came from but it will be social work and possibly with Veterans experiencing homelessness...we'll see. So I need a good plan. it's not like any of this is new to me but I know my ways :roll: and the plan needs to be about dealing stress in healthy ways and setting boundaries for work, I'm loving my healthy food but it isn't enough to keep me on track unless I'm food prepping and dealing.
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby Anna Green » Thu Sep 29, 2022 2:59 pm

I have that feeling of excitement and joy for the weather and woods right now...like when I was young and falling in love. The humidity has been so low and the air looks so clear. The sun shines through the trees lighting them up and it makes me feel a little giddy. I have a romance going with the trees. My sister likes to suggest I do nasty things with the trees when I go to the woods. :unibrow: Really though, they can pull me out of a funk and I forget that so now I'm writing it down so that I remember. Trees not beer. Trees not french fries. :)

My food is great. I feel very blessed to have access to good stuff. Whole paycheck had a short sale on persimmons recently...they were as cheap as peaches. I have been smashing them. Also I have come to enjoy quinoa and millet almost as much as rice. I found cheap organic red quinoa from Azure Standards online. They deliver grains and beans and many other things in a huge truck to a drop off point in cities around the country. I buy in bulk to get the better prices.

I've been to the park the last 3 days since the weather cooled. It has been wonderful. My sleep is getting better. Today I struggled emotionally but after the trail I just feel grateful.
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby Anna Green » Sat Oct 01, 2022 6:38 am

I'm the geek today. I'm listening to Dr. McDougall on Chef AJ's channel while I'm typing. Hopefully he can't see all that fruit on my table. He's gonna say "you're fat, no more than one or two!" :-D

I have been eating more fruit though i've never been a big fruit eater. I think worrying about this would be majoring in minor things. I'm not eating 20 bananas.

I'm good. My pushing the envelope at times has been benign...Eating some regular plan instead of MWL sometimes and I think that's good for me. I am not having a problem eating mostly MWL and I want it to stay that way. Eating 10% or less frequently of fat. So I'm wondering why I'm regurgitating all this. I do have a tad of anxiety about the future...the near future. Going hang with my twin for awhile and he eats a horrid diet though I have to say he doesn't push it on me. He loves to cook for me so he made veg sausage and burgers out whole plants and no oil. It is a little richer if he adds nuts or soy. I like it because when he eats some he doesn't eat as much meat. I'm not ready to lose him and he's very sick. I don't need to eat a ton of it so I'm not sure why I'm thinking about this but I guess the response needs to be to prep. Bring potatoes, veggies, fruit, grains and beans. Simple. And not to worry about the small stuff when the real threat for me are the drive thrus and french fries or oily bean burritos. Though I haven't been wanting that stuff for a minute. So I'm done. And all of a sudden the shame at still having these convos with myself after all these years but I push back. I may have to do this time to time for the rest of my life to keep me on track and won't let the shame keep me from doing the work. I've been doing the work for awhile without a public journal. Not sure why I decided to do this again except that when I saw my journal still here it pulled me. I loved how it helped me before and I missed it. Maybe I just like torturing myself.
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby bunsofaluminum » Mon Oct 03, 2022 4:00 pm

Anna! how lovely it is to see you posting again! I'mma go through your recent posts and get re-acquainted!
JUST DON'T EAT IT

I heart my endothelial lining
by red squirrel

simple, humble food
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The rest is an industry looking to make a buck off my poor health
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby bunsofaluminum » Mon Oct 03, 2022 4:33 pm

annagreen wrote:So one of the reasons for coming to this site is it gives me contact with a little sanity in a world that sometimes seems like it's going mad. Unless I get to the woods. The plants and bugs and animals could care less about our drama unless unfortunately what we do affects them. But at least they don't talk about it too loudly. The counterculture here is a relief. The message is much more widespread today but I still know no one in my personal life that is on this path with the exception of my kid sometimes. She isn't totally convinced not that being totally convinced always impacts my behavior. Maybe thats part of the problem.

One of the tell tale signs of my inconsistency is the on and off of bp meds. When I'm doing well I'm off obviously. When I have to get back on it's such a let down and I feel alot of shame. The inner critic freaks the *%&$ out! Which really is a good thing if it leads to potatoes and away from french fries. If it just means I drink a beer to not think about it well not so helpful. Journaling helps me to think about it in a healthier way and to recognize that I am healthier than I would have been without this knowledge and intermittent practice. Not that some is enough. When I read the successes of McDougallers here I think as long as I am alive there is a chance to get it right. I love when I am where I am now....feeling better, enjoying the food, having that congruence in my values and actions. I never have figured out why it's so hard to stay the course but sometimes telling myself to just put off the crazy gets me through a rough patch. And not listening to all the minutiae. For example, If I think I need to do intermittent fasting but am hungry at 2a and can't sleep and get a snack it can feel like a failure. And if I fail anyway well might as well have those fries. I hear how ridiculous this is. Maybe intermittent fasting is good but for me right now it's majoring in the minor things as Chef AJ says. And damn that food I ate yesterday was so so good...salad, fruit, oats, potatoes. So that is my focus and that is what I can do today.


I had similar happen with my foot pain. when I quit the processed foods with refined fats, my foot pain went away. And it has stayed gone, even though my weight is right back up there :\ But I know I really REALLLY know that strict adherence to this WOE is the ticket. I KNOW IT.

But it sure is wonderful to see you again! ha!
JUST DON'T EAT IT

I heart my endothelial lining
by red squirrel

simple, humble food
by f00die

The rest is an industry looking to make a buck off my poor health
by Pamela, a FB user
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby Anna Green » Wed Oct 05, 2022 12:05 pm

Buns! Yay about the foot! Doesn't it feel wonderful when you can impact something like that and not have to take questionable "assistance" from a pharmaceutical company?

I am doing well with food. Have been experiencing some dizziness and saw an ear doc. I'll see. Trying not to be concerned though it's irritating when it happens. Hit a trail yesterday and it was beautiful. Enjoyed so much mostly. Wrestled my anxiety down about being alone, got past the dizziness and just loved it. I'm in Alabama with my bro and holding my own with good delicious and satisfying food....salads, fruit, grains, beans, potatoes, a little chia and pumpkin seeds for a dressing and of course no oil. That's all I got.
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby Anna Green » Thu Oct 06, 2022 6:37 am

So I'm thinking this morn about my twin. I came to spend time with him because my sis and I don't think he's going to be around much longer or will be very disabled. He's doing every thing to get there. My 2 older bros died, one of Covid. So it's the 4 of us left and I've been trying to spend more time with them. He won't eat my food except if I make him guac which I will because it's better than what he normally eats. I can tell he is disappointed that I don't eat his food. I just can't and don't want to though I know he is a good chef. Sometimes he makes oil free veg for me because he wants to cook for me. My family with the exception of my kid all encourage me to eat crap...they are concerned about my not enjoying life or getting protein or whatever. So his making me healthy vegan is a big deal and I appreciate it. Plus it is delish. I just wish he would eat it but like everyone else here I know it's out of my control. There are no magic words or dish. It has to be him. I just have to focus on me and hope that maybe one day before it's too late he'll see I'm enjoying life AND eating well and that maybe he can too. So I'm focused on me and truly am enjoying being healthier and I look forward to my meals. I want to be 80 and walking through the woods without a lot of fear. I have been doing some strength work but plan to ramp it up. I think being stronger will give me more confidence and the workouts help with the anxiety. I'm dealing with PTSD. It's what put me back on the good path. I wanted to feel better, to have some control and because of my experience over the years and knowing how to do it I was able to jump right back in. I sometimes forget what a blessing that is. So many haven't a clue as to what to do for health. It's a gift I don't want to squander. And it does help me feel more grounded. I also feel grateful again for the folks here willing to share the real about their lives, their progress, their hopes. It's inspiring.
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby VegSeekingFit » Thu Oct 06, 2022 6:39 pm

Hi Anna,

Wanted to say so sorry on the loss of your brothers...

Love what you say about walking confidently !!! :) And getting stronger!!! :) I am trying to do the same.

I have been doing McD MWL for about 17 months now and it has totally helped my anxiety. I know that this is not the forum to discuss --- and totally not asking you anything here.... but I related to what you said about PTSD... So, like McD isn't likely to eliminate your brain cells, but will help you cope --- if that makes sense??? You already said that you know that you are on the right path... With you there!!!

Sorry also that we "know" what can help our family / friends, but they aren't receptive to the message. Yeah, this is hard...

Wishing you the best,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby Anna Green » Sun Oct 09, 2022 8:18 am

Stephanie, thanks. Glad to hear about your progress and the wisdom is very appreciated.

I'm doing well with food. My bro smoked me some tofu and I've been using a little at a time to flavor potatoes or my savory oats. It's perfect. I don't want a lot and the little gives a nice smoky hint to whatever I'm eating. Some is going to go into some jambalaya or split pea soup. I like to cook but I'm pretty dang happy with simple stuff too...my oats, a potato, some grain and salad.

It's so beautiful here. I think when it warms a little this afternoon I'll head to a trail again. The best thing that I discovered while hiking recently is that my hip and knees don't hurt. I used to get some aching after a mile or so. I think it's that I'm not consuming all the inflammatory stuff. Rewarded once again for eating good.
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Re: Anna's Journal

Postby Anna Green » Wed Oct 12, 2022 11:04 am

Doing well enough. Back home and glad to be here though I'm glad I went. Eating the good stuff though perhaps too much salt yesterday which made those pumpkin seeds too good. Not worried about it though. I know when I'm off the rails and this ain't it. Making butterbeans and greens today. Probably rice or quinoa too. Was too lazy to make a salad but it might still happen. I've been craving them lately. Maybe some exercise today. I did so well last week and enjoyed it. I need to head to the woods soon. It's never a problem there.
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