Raven's Journal

[raven]

Hi. I have known about The McDougall Plan since the eighties, and have tried and tried to follow the diet, but over the years the weight has crept up and the heath has deteriorated... until this June, when my doctor put me on medicine for high blood pressure and i knew there was no time left to fool around!! I began the Maximum Weight Loss Plan on June 12th, 2009. I weighed 182. On September 2nd, i reached 170 for the first time, and there i have more or less stayed.

I stayed totally on plan for two months, and then i tried to add back food that i missed... even though so many of you have said that this is dangerous... or deadly... well, i guess i had to learn it for myself.

My pattern for many years has been to have a nice dinner on Saturday night, with a fancier meal, often a new recipe, and a dessert. I tried to add this back with higher fat food, but it's been a slippery slope, and i have eaten too much on Saturday and sometimes on other days too.

At first i thought i didn't have time for a journal, but i really didn't want to talk about how i thought i could get away with what others on this board could not... then i thought well, i will begin when i am doing better... but yesterday i realized that i need it now, not when i am doing better! So here i am. I have seen how helpful your journals have been for you and look forward to developing an on-line relationship with some of you.

I like to cook, and have always viewed cooking delicious food that was On Plan as a challenge i could master... but it wasn't until this August that i have actually been cooking meals that i quite like... now my challenge is to find desserts that i like once a week. I have tried many recipes from the many cookbooks as well as fatfreevegan.com, and lots and lots of conversions of my recipe file and cookbooks... most of which are vegan.

A second challenge is that i cook the vegetable part of my husband's meal for him... he cooks the meat, if any. He is a very fussy eater, which i understand, as i have been one too most of my life. He only likes plain veggies for the most part, well, when i say likes i mean is willing to eat... and he thinks that carbohydrates are something that don't need to be eaten every meal or even every day. Also he can never say for sure in advance what he will want to eat, so i have to be sure to have a way to use the leftovers.

I also cook for our dog, a young German Shepherd who is an unwilling but healthy vegetarian... unless she can get a bite of some meat from my husband!

Well, here i am, ready to tell the truth and be told the truth... Thank you all of you for being here!

[grangran7]

Hope you enjoy journaling here. This can be a good tool for you. Thanks for sharing!

Shirley

[sksamboots]

Glad your here

[Letha..]

now my challenge is to find desserts that i like once a week.

Hi Raven,
Great to see you’ve started a journal. I’ve found journaling in this forum to be very helpful. Regarding deserts, did you know fruit sorbet is on McDougall’s list of acceptable packaged foods? It’s pretty high in sugar but a good alternative to SAD deserts. I’ve been eating a fresh apple every day and now consider that my sweet treat. Keep writing.
Letha

[raven]

Hi. Thanks for your greetings, grangran7, sksamboots, and Letha. It is so nice to feel that i am not alone in my work towards becoming healthy, as i was so so many years.

Letha, yes i know about sorbets. I have bought them and made them. I like the banana ice cream too, that many people have mentioned on this board... thanks for the input!

Most of the people in my family cooked... my Great Grandmother, Grandfather, Uncle, Aunt, Mother, Sister, first husband, daughter, and son-in law. My mother probably had me cooking beside her as soon as i could stand up. I know my own daughter sat in her small chair on the counter as i cooked as soon as she was born.

The summer i was 10, my mother told me to plan and cook one meal a week for the family, and i have cooked whole meals frequently since then... before i am sure i was doing cookies, maybe with some supervision.

My first invented recipe was for fish, which my mother insisted was good for us and i hated... i rolled it in breadcrumbs and cooked it in a whole cube of butter!

After years of cooking McDougall style meals there are some things i really like, that i cook even for guests and like even when i am not eating very low fat... split pea soup, pasta with marinara, potatoes with king sauce, burritos... but i am still learning, not so much to cook anymore, but to like the way low fat foods taste... some recipes translate easily, and some old favorites i have just put aside.

I used to smoke one cigarette a day. Two years ago i stopped. For about a year, i would want a cigarette after any traumatic or tiring event... and occasionally i had one... but for the last year i have had none, and just in the past couple of months i have only thought at such times that "i WOULD have wanted a cigarette now... but i really don't want one any more..." I really think if this can happen, i can also stop wanting the unhealthy food that i still want... if i stay away from it long enough... i've eaten high fat food for much longer than i ever smoked.

Meals for Wednesday:

green tea

breakfast: blueberry tea (caffeine free herb tea)
split pea soup with carrot, celery, and potato
2 purple plums

iced green tea

lunch: iced black tea
leftover hot and sour soup with mushrooms, carrot, spinach, peas, and rice noodles (not MWL, not whole grain) - i made this soup hoping my husband would like it, but he wouldn't eat it... i should have known, it was too mixed up for his taste
apple

snacks: blueberry tea
Indian spice tea (no caffeine)
rice crackers

supper: fresh rutabaga and peas
corn on the cob
Mexican veggies - red pepper, carrot, zucchini, mild chili pepper, mustard greens
yams
honeydew melon and lime
twig tea (no caffeine) - a Japanese tea made from tea twigs

I look forward to seeing how all my fellow journalers have fared!

[f1jim]

Great observations on your history with eating healthy. You must realize how helpful this will be to people following behind you. We all think we are different when it comes to eating junk foods. We all have been there thinking we have a winning combination by trying to juggle a few days of healthy eating with weekends of food too high in fat, sugar, salt, etc. Our bodies know better and the ol' bod will keep doing what it is supposed to do till we finally let the truth seep into our thick skulls. Juggling doesn't work. It's actually a lot like Chinese water torture. A big tease to our system. It's as effective as saying I will only eat poison on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays! Poison is poison and you can't get away trying to fool mother nature. The answer is always the same. Start eating healthy, nurturing foods till it's a way of life. When that happens the body's natural healing systems can work effectively without having to focus on damage control from the onslaught of our rich western diet.

We have to help with others on the same road. They may resent it but someone has to speak up and say..."I've been there and you are trying to re-invent the wheel." The journal pages are a snapshot of the McDougall community with lot's of initial enthusiasm fueled by early weight loss and not much else. Lot's of people doing the program "their way" and doomed to ultimate failure because they never made the jump to making this a lifestyle instead they just make it another diet. The sad part is it's actually easier Dr. McDougalls way.

As I said, keep us posted...The good and bad, the successes and the struggles.
Thanks for being here.
f1jim

[raven]

Thanks for your message... it is what i need to hear, and i will reread it many times.

So many times i have found your advice and support so helpful as i read through the boards here.

[raven]

We had to go out. I started supper before we left, as i know i will grab anything quick when i get home and am tired.

We got the week's groceries. We live in the Santa Cruz mountains down a long dirt road, and it takes us an hour to get to any stores that aren't very expensive...

We get our produce mostly at a store that specializes in produce and cheese. It has fairly low prices and good produce, although not much organic, which we can't afford anyway. I do get organic apples, which always seem to me to taste better.

Each week i completely fill up a grocery cart with veggies, potatoes, and yams, and also a handbasket with fruit. We generally spend about $60, which is more than half of what i eat.

We also go to Whole Foods to get grains, tamari, beans, and a few organic apples or what's in season.

Thursdays menus:

green tea

breakfast: Sweet Thai Delight (Yogi Tea) - no caffeine (no sugar even though it says sweet)
split pea soup with yams
pear

lunch: green tea
leftover yam and Mexican veggies with corn
fresh rutabaga and peas
pear

snack: rice cakes
Twig Tea

supper: Sweet Thai Delight Tea
salad of mixed lettuces, carrot, cucumber, and cranberry orange dressing (1 t. agave)
black rice and broccoli with barbecue spice mix ( mostly paprika and lemon rind)
Concord and green grapes

[f1jim]

For those that don't know, Raven lives in a very special place. Boulder Creek is a small town nestled in the Santa Cruz mountains. It's one of those places you dream of making your home when you visit. Lot's of beautiful trees and an eclectic mix of lifestyles. Everything from cowboys to hippies. A perfect place to McDougall and not get noticed for being "weird."
I love Boulder Creek. It's a regular stop when camping at a couple of State Parks.
It looks like you are getting the hang of it. It really is all about planning. keep up the good work.
f1jim

[fitby40]

When I did mcd-ing faithfully for 3 years in the 90's I remember completely losing the taste for the SAD, even though I thought it still smelled really good. A steak on the grill for example, was a smell I always loved. People would think I was lying when I would say I really wasn't tempted to eat any, but I really wasn't. I compared it to liking the smell of a laundry detergent, candle, or cologne. I don't remember how long it took to get there... but TRUST ME when I say you WILL get there.

Also, the best dessert I have found is the peach cobbler mary makes on one of the DVD's. I use strawberries instead, which is one of her suggestions. It is easy and even my husband and 9-yr-old daughter ask for it by name!! Sorry I don't have it here as I type, but I'm sure if you search the website you can probably find it.

[raven]

f1jim, fitby40... it was so nice to hear from you!

Boulder Creek is very nice... we actually live about 40 minutes from the actual town, at 1700 feet elevation. We used to live in Forestville and my husband worked at home for a company in Silicon Valley. This is about a 2 1/2 hour drive. But his job changed and he had to go in to work every day, so we moved to Palo Alto but kept the house for weekends... but i was miserable, and stayed in Forestville a lot... about then my Grandfather died in Los Gatos, and during the week, my husband moved into the house with my mother and Grandmother. I would come down or he would come up for the weekends... eventually he had enough of that and started looking for some place i could stand that was near enough to commute to his work... and we found this land and had our house built with some builders doing the basic house, and us doing the finishing, which after 6 years still isn't done, but that's typical for this neighborhood.

Tea:

I have had migraines since i was 16, and i am the fourth known generation to get them. For a couple of years i was averaging 4 a week... a pain specialist taught me to rate them on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the greatest pain you can imagine... these headaches were usually around 7, but i had a couple of 11s where i thought i would pass out if it got any worse... i tried everything, including screaming, hot tub, ice packs, imetrex, naproxen, and lots of caffeine... the only thing that really works on those big headaches is codeine... but the rest help a little.

These days i only get about a 2, sometimes a 3 migraine. I almost always get a migraine if i cut my caffeine, so i am very careful and slow with it. When i first started MWL in June, i had been going down from four cups of tea a day to one, and i stopped the one cup, got over the migraine (the last cup stopped is the worse)... and started sleeping almost two hours more a night... i waited it out for a month, but i was not getting my work done, so i went back up to three cups a day... of one bag usually or one level teaspoon (the teaspoon you eat with, not the actual measuring spoon, which is smaller). Now i think i will try again... and have cut the first cup of tea on Thursday, with a 1 migraine in the afternoon and evening, and again on Friday afternoon. I am sleeping about a half an hour more.

Friday's menus:

green tea

breakfast: Tazo spicy ginger tea
leftover white beans with French veggies: leek, carrot, celery, turnip, broccoli, onion, red wine, and Herbes de Provence.
black rice
tangerine

sassafras herb tea

lunch: green tea
leftover black rice and broccoli with BBQ spices
cucumber and carrot sticks
concord grapes and Italian plums

blueberry tea

supper: blueberry tea
spinach salad with chive dill dressing (1 t. maple syrup)
beet greens, taro, spaghetti squash, zucchini and wax beans with miso and onion (this was not a success) )1 1/2 t. miso is 330 mg. sodium)
quinoa
quince, guava, and green grapes

It is great to get to know you through your journals and comments... good wishes to all of us!

[raven]

Only a small migraine in the afternoon, and i didn't sleep late.

Last summer, i wanted to cut the fat and sugar in my several daily cups of tea, so i tried my usual black tea without soymilk and sugar, but i threw up. This didn't surprise me too much, as i have thrown up from green tea before. Next i cut the sugar down to 1 t. instead of 3. I tried this for awhile. Then i decided to try cold green tea with a meal... no nausea. More time went by. Then i tried it - bravely - one morning without a meal... slight nausea but tolerable... so i was able to give up the soymilk and sugar except for Tuesdays and Saturdays. As time went on, i had no nausea at all.

While i was making my green tea in the morning, i made several cups of herb tea and refrigerated that too... and found that i drank a lot less fruit juice, and even ate less! I try for the fruity, complex flavors, and have come to really like herb teas. When i am hungry or tired, i try iced herb tea first, and often that is enough to get me working until the next meal.

Saturday Meals:

rose petal black tea, 2 T. soymilk, 1 t. sugar (extra fat .5 g.)

Breakfast: white beans, quinoa, French onion soup
purple plums
Indian spice non-caffeine tea with 2 T. soymilk, 1 1/2 t, sugar (extra fat .5 g.) while keeping my husband company while he ate his gluten-free pancakes

twig tea

Lunch: green tea
leftover veggies and quinoa
cucumber and carrot salad with chive dill dressing (1/2 t. maple syrup)
apple

Mighty Leaf chocolate mint truffle tea (no sugar despite the name)

Dinner: acai mango zinger tea
salad: grated cauliflower, red pepper, and jicama with cranberry orange dressing (1 t. agave)
crepes (half whole wheat 3/4 c. almond milk - 1.8 g. fat)
wine sauce with onion, garlic, and 2 t. cashew butter - 10 g.fat)
tangerine
green tea cupcake with 1 t. soy yogurt, 1 t. almond milk, 1 T. almond butter ( 8 g. fat) and 9 t. sugar

Total extra fat 21.2 g = 191 calories
Total sugar 13 t. (4.3 T.) = 195 calories
Total extra calories = 386 - about 22% of calories!

I don't usually count calories but i wanted to see what a Saturday feast was... i was thinking it was about 10% of the day's calories.

[raven]

It was a stressful day. My husband and i moved a 400 pound 5000 gallon water tank off our truck and up a hill to be filled with rainwater off our roof for fire protection. I got a 2 migraine, but i might have anyway... and i didn't get a bunch of inside chores done.

While we were working, i thought:

I would have wanted to have some special food about now... but i didn't! Maybe i have turned another corner towards making the way i eat now a permanent and comfortable way of life...

Sunday's Meals:
green tea

Brunch: chocolate mint truffle tea (no caffeine or sugar)
salad - cauliflower, red pepper, jicama, cranberry orange dressing (1 t. agave)
potatoes and broccoli rabe with barbecue sauce
black bean soup with carrots, celery, onion, and potatoes
tangerine

Snack: green tea
acai mango zinger tea
plum

Supper: acai mango zinger tea
cucumber slices
sweet potato, collards, and sweet pea guacamole - no avocado
corn on the cob
mango ice cream - mango, 2 T. almond milk, 1 t. maple syrup

[rebecca]

Hi Raven! Looks like you're doing great! Your menus look good. I've lived in Santa Cruz Mountains all my life. So peaceful and green.

[raven]

Hi rebecca, Thanks for visiting.

I measured the salt from the salt shaker that i would normally sprinkle on an entree onto a plate, and found it was about 1/8th teaspoon, which is what i'm aiming for... i'm relieved.

I looked up how much caffeine was in various drinks, and was surprised to learn that a cup of green tea averages 20 mg. while a cup of black tea averages 40... i have cut my caffeine in half by going to green tea, and i didn't even notice it!

I decided to measure my fruit for a couple of days to be see how much one serving really was... i knew it was smaller than what i'm eating. I looked at the calories for various fruits, and decided that a serving was about 80 calories (a small apple, a half a pear, a half a papaya). I think i will get used to what a serving looks like after measuring it for a couple of days... (two plums instead of three, a scant 3/4ths cup grapes, 1 3/4ths cup strawberries.)

No more migraines. Still sleeping a half hour more.

Monday's Menus:

bancha green tea

Breakfast: black bean soup (1 c. beans, carrot, celery, onion, yam)
pear
chocolate mint truffle tea (no sugar)

acai mango zinger tea

Lunch: carrot and cucumber strips
leftover Greek veggies - leek, carrot, celery, turnip, fennel, artichoke, radish, peas, mint and spices)
sweet potato
plums
iced black tea

pomegranate tea

Supper: salad; carrot, radish, celery root, lemon dressing with 1 t. rice syrup, nutritional yeast
brown rice
Indian eggplant - eggplant, kale, red pepper, celery root, onion, garlic, spices (veggies chopped to Prince's Purple Rain)
papaya and lime
Thai Sweet Delight Tea (no caffeine, no sugar)