Nancy's Journal

[squealcat]

Nice to see you back Nancy !

-squealcat

[Nancy Lou]

Thank You! It is good to be back

January 5, 2022
weight 142.0 -- My scale is mean and a tease! It always gives me a low number when I first step on it. I get all excited and go get my phone because I track the numbers on the app. I open the app and by that time, I gained a pound! I then weigh myself a few more times and take the number that becomes constant (usually the higher).

The other day, I made some tomato basil soup - one of my favorite soups
4 ingredient Tomato Basil Soup:
1 (28 ounce) ounce can crushed tomatoes with basil
1 cup cashew milk
2 cups vegetable broth (hot)
1 tablespoon dried basil leaves (or to taste)

Put in high speed blend and blend!

I think I will get some Cannelli beans and substitute that for the cashew milk and see how I like that.

I found some leftovers of Creole Black Eyed Peas and Rice in the freezer and had that with a salad, Garden salad mix with added spinach, onion, green pepper. I did top it with Yum Yum Sauce (non compliant) But, hey! the majority of my meal was compliant.

Today, I will be be eating some Split Pea Soup that I found in the freezer, I will have a salad with that also and maybe some of Brand New Vegan Fluffy Biscuits (instead of the cheese sauce that is in his recipe I use cold butternut squash) I tried the flour and water biscuit but those were like eating door stops. (recipe fail)

For breakfast, I had coffee and resisted eating those fruit bars that I am addicted to.
mid morning - Cheerios (have not looked if these are compliant - probable not because processed, but they are a low sugar. topped it with a banana and some cashew milk

I hour on the recumbent bike. I managed to do 21. 7 miles in 67 minutes on level 4. Not bad for just starting to get back to exercising after about 2 years of doing nothing (or so it seems). The stretching routine afterward feels fantastic!

[Nancy Lou]

Just updated my weight ticker -- bummer to register a weight gain from the last time I entered. Grateful it is lower than the starting weight

[Nancy Lou]

Jan 17, 2022
Weight - on 1-14 = 141.00

Getting focused on eating right. A friend of ours is recovering from Covid and a couple of our neighbors have passed --> too close for comfort.

I visited my parents the other day, The nursing home allows my dad to go through the building to visit mom in the apartments. Out of all my brothers and sisters, I am the only one that makes the arrangements for them to visit. My mom has COPD and now is having arthritic pain in her knees and it is difficult for her to get around.

My daughters are going through some stuff and we are watching the grandchildren more than I'd really care to, but the grandsons are getting to that age where they can be left home alone and I am sure the time will come when going to grandma and grandpa's isn't all that appealing any more. So we are enjoying it while we can.

I am cooking up our harvest of butternut squash so any soup or dishes that require potatoes get butternut squash instead. I made some "soup" which I will convert to a "cheez" sauce for mac 'n cheese when the grandkids are here. I froze several 1/2 cup servings for making Brand New Vegan's Fluffy Buttermilk Biscuits ( I use the squash were he has cheese sauce) -- these are a huge hit. I love putting mint jelly on them or dunking them in soup.

I checked out the Daniel Fast plans to see if I could entice hubby to jump start his weight loss -- One plan I looked at sure did look like it was a Mary's Mini Can I trick hubby into doing it by calling it Daniel's Fast? haha!

Hoping to log on a bit more frequent to be accountable. I kind of miss journalling and am feeling a sort of disconnect.

[Nancy Lou]

January 26, 2022
Weight - weigh-in for my family challenge is on Fridays. I must say we are not doing so well. My weight is holding - I am on a plateau - I think I need to tweak what I am doing and then be consistent with it.

It is hard, hubby is doing the passive aggression resistance. Right now, there is a case of Tostitos (64 in all) sitting on my chair where I sit It was on sale! You know, I gotta buy it cuz it is on sale. I am struggling with no snacking on junk food. UGH!

I started my day with oats, the fruit and nut packet from the sweet kale lettuce mix and triple berries. OH my! That is a switch from the Nature's Bakery Fig Fruit Bars I had been eating. I, (me, myself and I) need to resist buying some more of those. They go so well with my coffee though.

For lunch I had some peanut butter toast.

For dinner, I making some brown rice seasoned with biryani spice mix with some stir fry vegetables.

[Nancy Lou]

Feb 12 2012
weight 140.8

Just checking in -- things have been rough here. I am barely cooking so that said, I am off plan.

Cannot wait to get back to eating the way I should.

Started a quinzee in the wooded area of our yard. But smelt like there was a critter out there - even the dog was nervous. So, I decided to make 2 entrances. Got a lot of work to do on it. But motivation is nowhere to be found.

[squealcat]

Nancy, you sound a little "down" in the last couple of posts. Just letting you know I am thinking of you and hope everything improves as this month progresses.

-squealcat

[Nancy Lou]

Thank you, I am struggling and trying to stay positive. Still off track with my eating, hence I am not posting much here. Yet, despite it, I am still leaning toward the starch solution in my choices. I am hoping to get back to it again, especially when I view my weigh-in from my scale app. So, I know I can do it.

My lesson I am learning from this is that getting off the trail for too long takes forever to find the trail again and you wander in circles trying to find your way back. But, I see the clearing

[Nancy Lou]

March 19, 2022

Well, here's a positive - down about 2 pounds since last updating my ticker thingee.

Goal is to lose enough inches to fit comfortably in my hiking/camping pants

[Nancy Lou]

April 4, 2022
I cannot believe that it is taking me so long to get back on track. Slowly, day by day, meal by meal. Things are hectic and it is difficult to keep the stress away. Hence difficult to keep the eating within plan.

Hubby's sugar addiction is getting out of control and there is so much junk food in the house now. I think it is a bit much because i mentioned that sugar is cancer food and with all that is going on in the world today, we to do all we can to get a healthy and strong immune system.

Due to my giving in to temptation, I am suffering from lots of aches and pains, I am saying enough of that! Focusing on eating better. The other day I made a batch of black beans and rice. Added some sweet potato and mango to on dish. Then I had a salad (salad mix and added spinach) topped it with some of the black beans.

Today I am have some vegetables and leftover beans.

My downfall is those Nature's Bakery Fig Fruit bars -- I got into the habit of having those with my coffee each morning.

Weight this morning was 138.8 -- about 8 more pounds to get back to where I was before all this craziness started. Add 2 more to that and I should be where I want to be.

It snowed last night and we got about 2 inches of the heavy wet stuff. Did I mention hubby bought me a hammock for camping. I went through our property and found some younger trees that I should be able to use to hang out in the wooded section - unfortunately, I need to clear out the brush on the ground. So, I have been out in the woods prepping my sight -- all this work to try out my hammock before I take it to the state parks. I enjoy being out there that is okay. My new dog, Osa, a germain shepherd/lab mix loved being out in the woods with me. But she is on the timid side and gets scared easy -- not sure that she will protect me when I camp. haha!

Hoping to get back on track and post more frequently. I am disconnecting from the internet during my coffee time, so I am limited to when I am online.

[Nancy Lou]

October 8, 2022

What a year! it is hard for me to get with the program again. I am trying but am not being successful. Stress, stress and more stress. I am having too many demands on me and not enough me time.

I won't bore you with the details but I was pleasantly surprised that when I logged onto my weight ticker that my weight was still the same as the last time. At least I am holding steady.

I cannot seem to get with the program on a steady basis. It is hit and miss. I keep telling myself that I want to get back to eating whole food plant based again.I am thinking the aches and pains are giving me a bit of motivation.

A farmer neighbor brought us some kidney beans and potatoes. Yum. Had some baked potatoes with broccoli tonight. I baked extra potatoes so I will have some ready to eat tomorrow.

I am hoping to start posting again to have some accountability. It is too easy to make excuses.

[Nancy Lou]

March 23, 2023
Weight: 145.2 ~ goal back down to 130. First mile stone: 140 and get back to exercising

OMG!! I cannot believe how much time has passed and how quickly since my last log in. It looks like I was all set to get with it back in October. That is right, October. Here it is almost to the end of March, 5 months have passed.

Our youngest daughter developed some serious health issues and she kept passing out. One minute she'd be with us and then she'd be out of it. (Problem was medication she was taking that lowered her blood pressure a bit too much) She was given a "don't come back to work til you figure out what's going on; plus when she was able to go back to work she had a "no drive" order. So I had to take her to work, pick her up from work, get the grandchildren off to school, pick up the grandchildren when they came home from school. Plus, I am the driver for hubby when ever he had appointments. Needless to say January - February have passed in a blur.

It took it's toll on me. I am at my heaviest weight that I have been in years. Did I mention, I never did get back with the program in October?

15 pounds later and many aches and stiffness is my motivation to get back with it? Why do people not take care of themselves when helping others? The other day, I watched a you-tube video where the lady was suffering from long covid; she gives the quote her mother told her about how the best way to show love for another person that you are helping is to take care of yourself. She adds that is what her mother told her ... and then she (the mother) died. I felt so bad for her as she clearly missed her mother.

And now here I am, taking care of my daughter, grandchildren, husband, and my mother; and I am not taking care of me. Time to get serious and get back to eating healthy. I mean, we are all going to die at some point, but why bring it on sooner. MO

I am not yet on board 100%, but I am working on it one meal at a time, with many do-overs, start agains in the mix.

Today, I did not start out on plan:

Breakfast:
coffee
fig bar
cinnamon roll - I ate this without thinking I was starting over

But lunch was better:
curried chick peas with vegetables
tomato
mix of romaine lettuce and spinach
naan bread

I need to work on eat until satisfied not "full or stuffed" - I still feel like I want to eat more but know I ate enough -- so I tell myself I do not need to eat more. I can wait

Dinner: not sure what I will be making but I just prepped a bunch of brown rice, so it will be something with that in it.

I am seriously hoping to get back to this way of eating. Even my mood was better when I was on the plan.
Send me positive thoughts -- I need all the help I can get as I am the lone starch solution eater in this family.

[Starflower]

Hi Nancy,

Life does get in the way, doesn’t it? Wishing you quieter times and McDougalling success.

All the best!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Nancy,

Sending you positive thoughts... I relate 100% to it is challenging to be the only starch-based person in house... and also taking care of folks and not prioritizing own health.

Wishing you the best,
Stephanie

[Ejeff]

You got this Nancy, great strategy to take it one meal at a time! One suggestion that might help. Since you have so much else going on with care of the entire family perhaps you could simplify your eating to the same breakfast everyday and then perhaps just one or two of your favorites for lunch. This way it will just become automatic and you won’t have to think about food or preparation for at least most of the day. For example if you enjoy oatmeal make that your breakfast everyday. You could cook up a big batch and reheat with a bit more water in the microwave everyday. Lunch could be beans and rice with some veggies. Or a lentil soup with a baked potato on the side. Or whatever is your favorite easy to prepare meal.

I agree with you time sure does fly. Glad you are back on the discussion board.

Erin