Stephanie's Journal - One Bite at a Time...

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

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Stephanie's Journal - One Bite at a Time...

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Jan 17, 2020 6:34 pm

Hi,

I'm Stephanie and I love starch... I am forever grateful to Dr. McDougall for empowering me to take charge of my health back in 2003 - when I picked up his book on Women's Health (purple cover) at Half Price Books. I was seeking help - as I had a severe case of JRA from ages 3-17. When as an adult, I felt similar symptoms beginning to emerge, I promptly gave up meat, followed by dairy -- and ramped up potatoes and veggies (with some fruits and no added oil). This way of eating stopped aches and pains in their very tracks! I have continued to follow a diet that doesn't include animal products since I read Dr. McDougall's book. (Have also read as much as I can that he has written!)

However, I have gone through periods of eating higher fat plant foods and leveraging convenience vegan foods (which have continued to grow in number)! As you may imagine, this has resulted in my weight and general health fluctuating based on the concentration of these types of products in my diet. Over the years, I have "fallen off the wagon" and re-started to adhere to some of the core principles of the program (like minimize processed food).

In 2018, I had short-term success at achieving my goal weight on this program and remained compliant for a year - over all of 2018.
Then, "life got in the way", as it has a tendency to do when you least expect it. Unfortunately, I coped by going just a little bit off course... A veggie burger here, some peanut butter there... Soon a little bit became a big bit and instead of following 10 MWL principles, I was only following my top 3. Well, that changed 7 good habits for bad habits - which made my health degrade and packed on some unwanted weight.

I really believe in this program - I know it works, but you have to comply with all 10 points. I had been looking for the right time to jump back in and was inspired to see the participation and enthusiasm on the MWL forum. If not now, when? So, here I am (again) - ready to go!!

I want to discover the secret to permanently changing habits (as I am sure not proud of yo-yo-ing). In order to get back on track, my objective is to follow the 10 pt. checklist for all of 2020. I have written it on note cards - I am tracking my food in an off-line journal. Would like to embed the habits for life. So, I am starting one compliant bite at a time which I expect to translate to compliant meals / snacks - over a period of days, weeks, months, years...

I started on 1/3 at 146.4 lbs. and am currently at 144.2 lbs. A good weight for me is 115 lbs. I am 51 years old female at 5' 5".

Here is the checklist.... :cool:

10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL)

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for desert.

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).

6 Eliminate any added oil.

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.

8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).

I will post my food eaten since I've been tracking below.

Cheers,
Stephanie
Last edited by VegSeekingFit on Sat Jun 26, 2021 11:04 am, edited 1 time in total.
"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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Food - 1/6 to 1/17

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Jan 17, 2020 7:30 pm

This will be a long post just of what I ate since I started tracking meals. I will post on-line until I start to get back on track.

1/6
B: McD Goji Berry Oatmeal cup (used the packet)
Banana
S: Celery
L: Veg stew (potato, carrot, mushroom, tomato, onion)
S: Potato / a couple T. smashed pinto beans, pico de gallo
D: Pasta marinara (with peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomato)
S: Cup of veg stew (woke up in middle of night and grabbed it instead of bad choice)

1/7
B: Yukon gold potato, smashed pinto beans, pico de gallo
S: Apple, carrots, bell pepper
L: Pasta marinara
Grapes
D: Yukon gold potato with mushroom & onion gravy
Banana

1/8
B: Yukon gold potato with mushroom & onion gravy
Banana (same as last night dinner... ) :shock:
S: Remainder of Yukon gold potato with mushroom & onion gravy
L: Apple, carrots, grape tomatoes
Cup of veg stew
D: Red lentil chili over medium Russet potato
Peaches & cherries

1/9
B: Red lentil chili over Yukon gold potato
Banana
S: Carrots & grape tomatoes
L: Spaghetti marinara
Apple
S: Celery
D: Rice, black beans, pico de gallo
S: Cup of veg stew - another late night snack, but at least a good choice

1/10
B: Orange
Yukon gold potato, black beans, pico de gallo
S: Red pepper & banana
L: Red lentil chili over rice
S: Apple, celery, grape tomatoes
D: Oven fries with a T of A-1 sauce

1/11
B: Orange, apple
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold potato
L: Peaches, cherries
Oven fries with black beans - did 50/50 with
Celery and tomato
D: Spaghetti marinara with veggies

1/12
B: Orange, apple
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold potato
L: Banana, celery, grape tomatoes
Cup of veg stew
D: Radishes, carrots - did 50/50 with
Red lentil chili, oven fries

1/13
B: Peaches, cherries
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold potato
S: Carrots, grape tomatoes
L: Spaghetti marinara with veggies
S: Yellow bell pepper, apple, a few leftover oven fries
D: Oven fries with mushroom & onion gravy

1/14
B: Peaches, cherries
Red lentil chili, oven fries
S: Banana
L: Spaghetti marinara with veggies
S: Carrots, grape tomatoes, a few leftover oven fries
D: Yukon gold potato, corn, mushroom & onion gravy

1/15
B: Orange
Yukon gold potato with smashed pinto beans, salsa & onions
S: Celery, radishes
L: Peaches, cherries
Yukon gold potato with red lentil chili
S: McD Black Bean and rice cup (used packet) - got hungry at work
Carrots, grape tomatoes
D: Oven fries

1/16
B: McD Fruit & flax oatmeal cup (used packet)
L: Red bell pepper, 1/2 orange
Russet potato with smashed pinto beans, onions, salsa, pico de gallo
D: Yukon gold potato with red lentil chili

1/17
B: Carrot & celery, cantaloupe
Yukon gold potato with red lentil chili
L: Cucumber, onion, grape tomatoes with balsamic vinegar
Apple
Oven fries with 1 roasted portabella mushroom
S: Cup of split pea soup
D: Celery, radishes
Yukon gold potato with red lentil chili

OK, guess I am pretty darn repetitive, but when I was successful in 2018 - I was also boring... Good news is that I am happy with what I am eating. I am going to try a new recipe over the weekend. Probably stuffed peppers.

The peaches & cherries are frozen. I use a very small bowl - so even though 2 fruits, probably approaches 1 fruit serving. I love this!! OMG!!

For the spaghetti marinara with veggies, I have been cooking the pasta in one pot and preparing the veggies in a really large pan.

It is an 8 oz box of mushrooms, a large red onion, large bell pepper, 15 oz. can of NSA fire roasted tomatoes.

I use 8 oz. of the spaghetti and also add NSA tomato sauce. This makes 3 really large meals - which have been good in managing hunger at work. It looks like normal serving would be 4 for that amount of pasta. Hmmm...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For upcoming week, I am working on getting to a closer to 50/50 volume for meals of veggies / starch.

Also, will be preparing all of my own food and bringing my lunch to work. One of the worst habit changes I made in 2019 was not to always bring my lunch to work.

I am thinking on getting started with regular exercise as I haven't yet incorporated. This should be a no brainer. Unfortunately, my treadmill is not cooperating. I am going to (again) try to fix it - the thing that makes me mad is that it is the Wi-fi part that is not working - and because it has that capability, it won't work on manual mode either. Anyway, there are other options - just not ones I am enthused about yet. This past week, I have walked at work in the basement (lots of people do, especially in the cold weather). The "loop" takes 3:20 at a brisk pace - I have made a point of using stairs and walking around during the day, but I realize that this isn't really exercise.

Onward...

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: Stephanie's Journal - One Bite at a Time...

Postby moonlight » Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:51 am

Good luck, Stephanie. You've done this before so you know you will be successful again. :)
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Re: Food - 1/6 to 1/17

Postby deweyswakms » Sat Jan 18, 2020 10:17 am

VegSeekingFit wrote:This will be a long post just of what I ate since I started tracking meals. I will post on-line until I start to get back on track.



Welcome home! Are you on the January weight loss thread? Posting my weight weekly really helps me because I am goal driven and competitive. Like you, I fell off the healthy eating, got tired of trying to lose more weight etc., so last July I committed to MWL. It works as you know. So much of it is yes, learning new food prep routines and habits but also behavior change. That's what I have had to work on. I tell myself that I have good food at home and I can wait, when I think I 'must' have a snack. Somebody else posted something really helpful: when tempted, tell yourself 'this isn't real food'. And I carry an apple or carrot stick or potato with me on errands. When I get tired, then I am apt to make bad food choices.

Sounds like you are on a great start. Marsha
start weight 210 on 7/25/14; MWL recommit 7/2019 weight 197. 6/11/2022 weight 165.0. Height 5'8".
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Re: Stephanie's Journal - One Bite at a Time...

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jan 25, 2020 10:34 am

moonlight wrote:Good luck, Stephanie. You've done this before so you know you will be successful again. :)



Thank you, Moonlight!! :) I am so glad to see you here and look forward to sharing this journey!!
"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: Food - 1/6 to 1/17

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jan 25, 2020 10:39 am

deweyswakms wrote:
VegSeekingFit wrote:This will be a long post just of what I ate since I started tracking meals. I will post on-line until I start to get back on track.



Welcome home! Are you on the January weight loss thread? Posting my weight weekly really helps me because I am goal driven and competitive. Like you, I fell off the healthy eating, got tired of trying to lose more weight etc., so last July I committed to MWL. It works as you know. So much of it is yes, learning new food prep routines and habits but also behavior change. That's what I have had to work on. I tell myself that I have good food at home and I can wait, when I think I 'must' have a snack. Somebody else posted something really helpful: when tempted, tell yourself 'this isn't real food'. And I carry an apple or carrot stick or potato with me on errands. When I get tired, then I am apt to make bad food choices.

Sounds like you are on a great start. Marsha


Hi Marsha,
Thank you for this supportive post - nice to meet a fellow McDougaller!! :cool: I am also on the January Weight Loss thread - agree with you that this really helps. Sounds like we have some similar challenges … I am known to make bad choices when tired too - and am also trying to embed the 10 MWL habits. Happy McDougalling!!
"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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Checkpoint and Food 1/18-1/24

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jan 25, 2020 11:23 am

Hi,

This has been a good week in following plan to better incorporate the 10 pt checklist.

1) I've made progress on following the 50/50 principle by adding more veggies. I have started to eat a handful of grape tomatoes or a small salad before breakfast at times. Also, have been roasting veggies on parchment paper which are really delicious!! My favorite is portabella mushrooms and red bell pepper. Could eat this all day, but would need a bigger oven... :lol:

Have continued to like incorporating the pasta - it is a great dish to bring for lunch to work. In the spirit of 50 / 50 am trying to get the cooked veggies in the pan to equal the volume of the pasta in the pot. I got closer with this week's pasta - and saw an old McD recipe that added broccoli / cauliflower to the cooking pasta itself in the last 4 minutes. I'm going to give that a whirl when I make this week's batch.

2) I did not eat out at all this week. Zero. That helps with several of the points (hidden oil, calorie dense, salt / sugar). I brought my lunch and snacks (fruit, veg, starch) to work this week.

3) Forward progress on the exercise - did a 30 minute walk at lunchtime (inside) four days in a row. My treadmill is still broken. BOO!! I kind of like the break at lunch and this would be easy to continue to incorporate (exception would be some meetings over lunch...). I did really like the energy in the past from exercising first thing in the AM. Will be more attractive to do outside once the weather improves.

For next week, I am going to continue to focus on these 3 things. Incorporate 50/50 (increase veg), bring my lunch / don't eat out, continue the 30 minute walks.

Non-scale victory - I am sleeping better. I haven't woken up this past week in the middle of the night and eaten a snack.
Scale says - down 1.0 lb.

Here is the listing of meals / food intake.

1/18:
B: Cucumber and onion salad w/balsamic vinegar
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold
L: Cantaloupe
Celery, radishes, grape tomatoes, roasted portabella mushroom
Split pea soup over rice
S: Orange
Japanese sweet potato roasted
D: Baked Yukon gold potato
Red bell pepper and portabella mushroom - roasted

1/19:
B: Celery
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold
L: Cantaloupe
Oven fries w/ 1 T A-1 sauce
D: Orange
Fusilli marinara with veggies (mushroom, onion, tomato) - 50/50

1/20:
B: Grape tomatoes
Banana
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold
S: Cantaloupe & yellow bell pepper
L: Chopped veggie salad (8 - TJ's) with onion, jalapeno (HOT!), and balsamic vinegar
Fusilli marinara with veggies (mushroom, onion, tomato) - 50/50
D: Celery & radishes
Roasted Japanese Sweet potato

1/21:
B: Grape tomatoes
Banana
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold
S: Red bell pepper
L: Fusilli marinara with veggies (mushroom, onion, tomato) - 50/50
D: Carrots & celery
Red lentil chili over rice

1/22:
B: Grape tomatoes
Cantaloupe
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold
L: Apple, orange, red bell pepper
Fusilli marinara with veggies (mushroom, onion, tomato) - 50/50
S: Celery
D: 2 mugs veggie stew (potato, carrot, mushroom, onion, tomato)

1/23:
B: Grape tomatoes
Cantaloupe
Veggie stew (potato, carrot, mushroom, onion, tomato)
S: Banana, orange bell pepper
L: Apple, orange
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold
S: Carrots & celery
D: Red lentil chili over Yukon gold

1/24:
B: Grape tomatoes, sumo orange
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold
L: Cucumber & kumato tomato salad w/balsamic vinegar
1/2 Ambrosia apple, banana
Oven fries - sweet potato & russet
D: Cherries & peaches
Veggie stew (potato, carrot, mushroom, onion, tomato)

I guess that I can be heavy on the fruit. :oops: I will watch and adjust accordingly, if needed. I'm not trying to see how fast that I can lose weight - more to re-build the 10 habits so that I can live life without thinking about weight and feel better!!! (In some sense I do wish that I could just wake up 30 lbs. thinner... )

For fun, I am trying new things -- even if it doesn't look like it with all of the lentil chili and yukon golds... :lol: To keep it simple, it may be just trying a different variety of produce. So far, I have really enjoyed the Sumo oranges and the Ambrosia apples. I also tried the Japanese sweet potatoes - but found them more "meh".

Happy weekend!
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: Checkpoint and Food 1/18-1/24

Postby moonlight » Sat Jan 25, 2020 12:35 pm

VegSeekingFit wrote:….. Oven fries w/ 1 T A-1 sauce


Hi Stephanie,
I noticed that you are eating A-1 sauce with your fries. I have been trying different sauces so I don't eat so much ketchup and sugar. I found that Heinz 57 is very low in calories and sugar. If you are being adventurous you might like it.

You asked in my journal about favorite recipes from the MWL book. I really enjoy so many of them. I am using the 21-day menu to guide my weekly menus. I'm trying two new salads, entrees, and soups each week. I've done this before and it really works for me. I forgot how much I enjoy the recipes. When reading them they don't look so appetizing but usually they come together really well. I like most of the salads, the condiment tomato soup was a nice surprise. I love the Baja soup. I like the potato salads.

I hope you have a good week!
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Re: Checkpoint and Food 1/18-1/24

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:13 pm

moonlight wrote:
VegSeekingFit wrote:….. Oven fries w/ 1 T A-1 sauce


Hi Stephanie,
I noticed that you are eating A-1 sauce with your fries. I have been trying different sauces so I don't eat so much ketchup and sugar. I found that Heinz 57 is very low in calories and sugar. If you are being adventurous you might like it.

You asked in my journal about favorite recipes from the MWL book. I really enjoy so many of them. I am using the 21-day menu to guide my weekly menus. I'm trying two new salads, entrees, and soups each week. I've done this before and it really works for me. I forgot how much I enjoy the recipes. When reading them they don't look so appetizing but usually they come together really well. I like most of the salads, the condiment tomato soup was a nice surprise. I love the Baja soup. I like the potato salads.

I hope you have a good week!


Hi Moonlight, :-D
Thanks for the tip on a better condiment... I really do love to sometimes dip the fries. Sometimes not, but many times yes. I bought a local organic brand BBQ sauce this weekend (called Uncle Dougie's) which seems to be a much better product (ingredients wise) than the A-1. It definitely is not as hyper-palatable as the A-1! I may try the Heinz 57 in future.

Appreciate the info on the good soups / salads. Filing it away to try sometime.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!
"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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Checkpoint and Food 1/25-1/31

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Jan 31, 2020 7:39 pm

Hi,

I met my goals last week on focusing on 50/50 and bringing my lunch. I minimally met my goal on exercise. I did exercise, but was only 3 days with 30 minute walks. Would like to ramp this up, but am going to work on continuing it and planning for how and when to do more. Definitely in search of a daily routine. I don't think that I have clothes to go to the gym at this weight - so I am avoiding for the moment.

I am going to continue to focus on these three things over the next week. Also, going to be mindful of the line that I sometimes walk on the sugar / salt. I don't cook with either. They end up in my mouth from things like condiments (A-1, BBQ) or adding the packet to the McD Right foods cup. I don't think that these are troublesome, but will watch.

Big win is that I haven't gotten up in the middle of the night and "needed" a snack for quite some time. I think that I am waking up less at night as well.

Boo to my cooking sometimes. Even making things that are favorites. This week I overcooked a soup (it turned into a stew) and undercooked a chili (crispy lentils). UGH! This had me turning more to simple things like baked potato or oven fries... :lol:

Scale says down 2.0 lbs. this week.

Here is my food intake...

1/25:
B: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Sumo Orange
Red lentil chili over Yukon gold
L: Carrots & celery
Banana
Veggie stew
Roasted portabella & bell pepper
D: Cherries & peaches
Tomato / corn / onion / bell pepper
Yukon gold with refried pinto beans

1/26:
B: Apple & orange
Cucumber & tomato with balsamic vinegar
Split pea soup with a few Yukon gold potato chunks
L: Banana
Roasted portabella & red pepper
Yukon gold potato
D: Cherries & peaches
Veggie stew

1/27:
B: Grape tomatoes
Cara orange
Yukon gold with mashed pinto beans / onion / pico de gallo
L: Celery & radishes
Cherries & peaches
Red lentil chili over rice
D: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Veggie stew

1/28:
B: Grape tomatoes, orange
Veggie stew (just a couple bites - not hungry)
S: McD Oatmeal - Fruit & Flax (used packet)
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Cherries & peaches
Rice, pinto beans smashed, onions, pico
D: Celery & radishes
Roasted portabella
Yukon gold oven fries w/BBQ

1/29:
B: Grape tomatoes, Cara orange
Yukon gold potato
S: Apple
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Veggie stew
S: Banana, a few oven fries
Celery & radishes
D: Roasted portabella
Yukon gold potato

1/30
B: Grape tomatoes, sumo orange
Yukon gold potato
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Spaghetti marinara with mushroom / onion / pepper / tomato
D: Celery & radishes
McD Tortilla Soup cup (with packet)

1/31
B: Grape tomatoes, sumo orange
Yukon gold potato with smashed black beans & onion
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Spaghetti marinara with mushroom / onion / pepper / tomato
Apple
S: Celery / carrot / radishes
Banana
D: Yukon gold oven fries
Split pea soup

I haven't really tried any new things this week. I did buy a brand of apples that I haven't tried before, but I can't remember the name... duh!! I'm not listing anything that I will try because it seems to be the kiss of death to me actually trying it. Have listed already in these few short weeks stuffed peppers (haven't yet made) and adding broccoli to the pasta (didn't do). :oops:

YAY it is Friday!!

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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Checkpoint and Food 2/1-2/7

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Feb 08, 2020 11:15 am

Happy Saturday!!! :cool:

A couple of good things this week!

1) I "learned" from my bad batches of chili and soup last week and made both of these -- results were DELICIOUS!!!
2) Weather was decent on Sunday and Monday. Got in longer walks - OUTSIDE- both of these days. The snow was mostly melted, but it was still a bit chilly. Felt great to get some sunshine. Makes me anxious for the spring!!! MWL #10 will no longer be a challenge for me when I can go outside...

My goals last week were:

1) Focus on 50 / 50 - room for improvement, some days I am heavier on starch
2) Bring lunch to work - easy peasy
3) Ramp up or continue exercise - not daily yet; didn't ramp up but did have 3 days that were decent

I'm going to continue with these 3 areas next week.

Boo to the scale! It says that I gained 0.6 lbs. (weighed yesterday) :shock: I made a rude hand gesture to it in retaliation... (of course, that didn't change the outcome)

Food intake

2/1:
B: Grape tomatoes, sumo orange
Yukon gold potatoes w/ black beans & onion
L: Celery / carrots / radishes
Banana
Yukon gold potatoes w/ mushroom & onion gravy
D: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Cherries & peaches
Oven fries

2/2:
B: Grape tomatoes, honeydew melon
Oven fries, smashed black beans w/onion
L: Banana & orange
Yukon gold potatoes w/mushroom & onion gravy
D: Spaghetti marinara with pepper / mushroom / onion / tomatoes
EXCELLENT walk outside in 48 unseasonably warm degrees!

2/3:
B: Grape tomatoes, honeydew melon
A very little Yukon gold potato with smashed pinto beans & onion (not hungry; packed this to bring to work)
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion w/Balsamic vinegar
Banana
Spaghetti marinara with pepper / mushroom / onion / tomatoes
S: Apple
Celery, radishes
Remainder of Yukon gold & pinto beans
S2: McD Rice & Black bean cup (used packet) - so VERY hungry in PM … (offsetting the AM not hungry?)
D: Small cup of veg soup
GOOD walk outside at work on paths; lots of sunshine, little wind

2/4:
B: Grape tomatoes, honeydew melon
Yukon gold & smashed pinto beans
L: Banana
Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Veggie soup
S: Apple
Celery / radishes / bell pepper
D: Not hungry

2/5:
B: Grape tomatoes, honeydew melon
Lentil chili
L: Banana
Veggie soup
S: Potato w/ smashed pino bean (saved from yesterday)
D: Potato w/ lentil chili

2/6:
B: Honeydew melon
Potato w/lentil chili
L: Apple and 1/2 Sumo orange
Oven fries (plain with a little salt)
D: Veggie soup

2/7:
B: Honeydew melon
Potato w/lentil chili
L: Carrots
Banana and Sumo orange
Veggie soup
D: Oven fries (plain with a little salt)
Split pea soup

Going to make some more lentil chili today. Yum!! Maybe some more pasta tomorrow.

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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Location: Illinois

Re: Checkpoint and Food 2/1-2/7

Postby moonlight » Sat Feb 08, 2020 11:49 am

VegSeekingFit wrote:Happy Saturday!!! :cool:

I "learned" from my bad batches of chili and soup last week and made both of these -- results were DELICIOUS!!!


I love that you were able to go back and make more tasty dishes. I hate when I spend time cooking only to have a not so great outcome. Good for you! I have some just okay chili and a potato salad in my fridge now.

VegSeekingFit wrote:Boo to the scale! It says that I gained 0.6 lbs. (weighed yesterday) :shock: I made a rude hand gesture to it in retaliation... (of course, that didn't change the outcome)

This made me laugh! Sorry about the reading on the scale. Let's just assume it was water retention. :D
I hope you have a good week!
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Food & Update 2/8 - 2/14

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Feb 15, 2020 6:06 pm

Thanks, Moonlight!!! Feels like getting a bad grade when the scale goes up and you know that you followed the MWL checklist. I "cheated" and peeked at my weight a couple of times during the week to see how it goes up and down. :cool:

Yay, it is Saturday!!! :D

This week my goals were:
1) Focus on 50/50 - still room for improvement with some starch heavy meals that have room for more veggies.
2) Bring lunch to work / don't eat out - was easy peasy again this week. I do have a challenge coming up in March with multi-day workshop where I understand that requirements include evening event participation and attending daily lunch. Probably will also be snack breaks. So, avoidance will likely not work (which is what I usually do). Actually, I probably will be bringing extra food in purse (like potatoes?) to sneak eat. Don't want to draw any attention to my eating (or lack thereof). Plenty of time to think through a strategy.
3) Ramp up exercise - no warm days this week. Yesterday was -5 degrees. Did a couple of 30 minute walks inside with a friend. Have consciously moved during the workday by doing stairs or walking around. I can read the steps on my phone - so I know this has resulted in more activity but is not adequate.

I'm going to continue to focus on the same goals over the upcoming week. I'm also going to have to be cautious about snack attacks. I had a fierce craving for salty / crunchy on Thursday and celery wasn't going to cut it. At least I picked a regular McD approved snack (air popped corn), but it is high calorie density -- which I should avoid in order to lose this extra weight. The snack monster :mrgreen: has not returned on Friday or Saturday (stay away).

Scale showed a loss of 1.6 lbs. this week. I'll take it.

Food intake

2/8:
B: Honeydew melon
Yukon gold & smashed pinto beans
L: Banana & strawberries
Fusilli marinara with mushroom, pepper, onions, tomatoes
D: Sumo orange
Yukon gold with mushroom onion gravy

2/9:
B: Galia melon
Yukon gold & black beans, onion, pico de gallo
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion with orange balsamic vinegar
Sumo orange
Oven fries with mushroom onion gravy
D: Veggie soup

2/10:
B: Galia melon
Yukon gold &
black beans, onion
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion with orange balsamic vinegar
Fusilli marinara with mushroom, pepper, onions, tomatoes
Banana
S: Carrots & grape tomatoes
Veggie soup
D: Oven fries

2/11
B: Galia melon
Yukon gold potato
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion with orange balsamic vinegar
Fusilli marinara with mushroom, pepper, onions, tomatoes
Banana
D: Cherry tomatoes
Veggie soup

2/12
B: Cara Cara Orange
Yukon gold & Black beans
L: Fusilli marinara with mushroom, pepper, onions, tomatoes
Banana
S: Veggie soup
D: Yukon gold with corn & tomato sauce

2/13
B: Yukon gold potato
L: Veggie Soup
Banana
S: Peaches, cherries, strawberries (2 c. total)
Air popped popcorn (1/2 c. dry)
D: Not hungry

2/14
B: Yukon gold with Red lentil chili
L: Grape tomatoes
Sumo orange
No chik noodle soup (OMG!!! - will put what this was below)
D: Yukon gold with Red lentil chili

I haven't made the No Chik soup for a long time and forgot how much that I adore it!! Especially on a -5 degree day. My son was home from school and he asked for it. Good call!!

All that I did was chop mushroom, carrot, celery, onion, garlic and saute in soup pot. Added 4 c. veg broth and 6 c. water. Spices were: poultry seasoning, cayenne pepper, onion powder, parsley. Let this simmer for about 40 minutes. Then added 1 can of NSA Great Northern Beans and some millet / brown rice noodles. Simmer a little longer … add some more spices. Delicious!!

My son also loves the Red Lentil Chili & oven fries. It feels good to share food. My husband doesn't like any of the MWL stuff. Then again, I really don't like any of what he eats either... So there.... :lol:

Been thinking a bit on why I personally fell off this plan last year and how to prevent it from happening again. It's easier to "keep going" than to have to start up a "get healthy" project. Or maybe not.

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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Location: Illinois

Random Thoughts of Today

Postby VegSeekingFit » Tue Feb 18, 2020 5:34 pm

Hi,

Link below to reference a great thread of strategies (from this month's MWL) for not falling off plan (planning to plan) and willpower from Wildgoose and Mark. Also, had a few thoughts that were triggered on why I "fell off" plan :oops: last year.

I am committing to drawing a black line around certain foods - forever - as I will never be able to eat them in moderation. Talking to you pretzels, peanuts, peanut butter....

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=60607&start=150

I had logged in (before seeing that awesome thread) to type out my awesome lentil barley mushroom soup experiment from today. Was blissfully working from home and decided to try something new.

Lentil Mushroom Soup (slow cooker) - I am not exact -- Cut and dump ingredients

1 c. lentils
1 c. barley
4 c. NSA veg broth
4c. water
8 oz. box of mushrooms - chopped
medium red onion - chopped
14.5 oz. can NSA diced tomatoes
couple of handfuls of carrots - chopped
couple of handfuls of celery - chopped
garlic - minced (no vampires live here...)
Italian seasoning
Black Pepper
Cayenne Pepper

Dump it all in the slow cooker and heat on low for 8 hours. It is delicious!

Gripe of the day -- Trader Joe's doesn't sell Red Lentils anymore (at least the 2 by me do not). :eek:

Will post my food in Friday or Saturday post. No snack monsters. All compliant.

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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Location: Illinois

Food Intake and Update 2/15 to 2/22

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Feb 28, 2020 8:34 pm

Hi,

I never had a chance to stop back last week and enter my food eaten... UGH! Now, I am going to list it out -- only because sometimes typing it actually helps me to see some type of pattern.

First - recipes... the one that I was excited about last post with lentils / barley / mushrooms -- was super good the first day, but somehow turned into a gelatinous mess when refrigerated. Meaning -- another meal that goes from soup to stew. I didn't like the leftovers and I had many. So, threw them out because I am not a sadist... :lol: May try another iteration at a future date (either small with no leftovers or more broth less barley and lentils...)

On the positive side, made a wonderful No Chik Veggie Rice Soup that is a keeper. It is same as I mention a few posts above, but I have deleted the beans and the noodles and added 4 servings of cooked rice toward the end. This one has worked well both on the stove and in the large crock pot. Super yummy and will become a "staple" recipe.

I never modified my goals since I neglected to post last week. Was looking for a strategy to get through this workshop with the C execs that I have next week. I decided that I'd take potatoes and smashed beans on corn tortillas (I know bad CD) that I'd hide in purse to eat. I do for most cases just bring my enormous lunch cooler with whatever stuff (what I normally eat) to these events. It was the level of folks / pressure that was making me overthink. Anyway, I bought the corn tortillas (in freezer). Now, this event is postponed due to no travel during the Corona Virus situation at this time. So, they will be fine in freezer in case of future need.

For this next week, I am just going to keep status quo. Goals are to stick to MWL approved foods and to incorporate walking / stairs into day. I will step up the exercise in April. I will add more pre-load to the food plan if I stop losing weight. Today I was at 137.4 lbs. which makes 9 lbs. lost this YEAR.. :cool: Slow, but steady. I'm cool with that!

Going to type my food until I get bored. :D I may just keep this to my own journal (paper) for future. I am going to record for all of the year. The only anomaly that I had this week was a lunch at Chipotle with the Naked Burrito Bowl adding fat. The rice and beans have fat. I couldn't avoid that. The corn salsa has fat that I should have checked before adding. At least I didn't have the Sofritas ... and I was at a celebration for my son of academics and I skipped the chips / pretzels / cookies / candy and had some yummy fruit...

2/15:
B: No Chik noodle soup
L: Sumo Orange
Lentil chili & yukon gold
D: Cantaloupe
No Chik noodle soup

2/16:
B: Yukon gold with smashed black beans and red onion
Orange & banana
L: Celery & grape tomatoes
Galia Melon
No Chik noodle soup
D: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Spaghetti marinara w/ mushroom, pepper, onion, tomato (50/50)

2/17:
B: Cantaloupe
Yukon gold with smashed black beans and red onion
L: Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Spaghetti marinara w/ mushroom, pepper, onion, tomato (50/50)
S: Grapes, banana, Celery, red bell pepper, small yukon gold
D: No Chik noodle soup

2/18:
B: Cantaloupe
Yukon gold with red lentil chili
L: Celery, sumo orange
Yukon gold with red lentil chili
S: Potato, grapes
D: Mushroom lentil barley soup

2/19:
B: Galia melon
Yukon gold potato with smashed black beans
L: Banana
Cucumber / tomato / onion with balsamic vinegar
Spaghetti marinara w/ mushroom, pepper, onion, tomato (50/50)
D: Yukon gold with smashed black beans

2/20:
B: Galia melon
Yukon gold potato with smashed black beans
L: Banana
Spaghetti marinara w/ mushroom, pepper, onion, tomato (50/50)
S: Remainder yukon gold w/ Beans (from breakfast)
D: Split pea soup over yukon gold

2/21:
B: Banana, orange
Sweet potato & smashed black beans
L: Cherries, peaches, strawberries
Yukon gold with tomato sauce
D: No chick rice soup

I'll catch up 2/22 and future in another post...

Cheers! Happy McDing!
Stephanie
Last edited by VegSeekingFit on Fri Mar 06, 2020 9:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"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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Posts: 1324
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