Finally ready to conquer for good!

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

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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Sat Aug 21, 2021 12:57 pm

If you just read my above post, you know I over-ate 2 times in the past week. The 2nd time was when I only had a very little of left-over red lentils + kale for breakfast (usually have oatmeal with fruit in the oatmeal + ground cinnamon). So I made something I have not had since I got started 7/13/21: hash browns made in the air-fryer...yum!!!!! Actually I ate an entire bag of, I think they're called Potatoes O' Brien (smaller cubed potatoes with diced onions + red + green peppers). I bought them frozen from Wal-Mart, their brand. They were slightly defrosted, threw them in the basket, sprinkled with garlic powder, + cooked. I stirred them a couple times so they were fully cooked, but some were slightly browned + crispy and some still soft--scrumptious!!!! But then as I ate + drank water, I ate too much! Oh well, next time I'll have left-overs! :)
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Fri Aug 27, 2021 4:27 pm

From Friday, 8/27/21:

Weight change +/- in lbs: -3 (265.40 to 262.40)

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.----No, but did better than last week.

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 dessert.----Yes.

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.----Yes.

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

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

6. Eliminate any added oil.----Yes.

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.----Had 4 corn cakes (corn instead of rice) 1 time.

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).----Yes, did not have.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.----Yes, did really well with this all week.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).----Despite continued discomfort + pain, thank God it is waning(!!!), so I have been quite a bit more active. As far as actual walking, there were a couple of days of 400-500 feet. One day I walked 1,000 feet thinking that would be it, but ended up going into a store + that was another 300 or so feet. That was waaay too much + I had problems the next day + couldn't do any extra walking other than what was needed. So, I have to find a balance, but am so thankful I've been able to do what I did.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

----This has been a good, but extremely busy week + it seems like last Friday was 2 weeks ago rather than 1. It has also been very hot + humid. I know it's not ladylike, that women only perspire, but I have profusely sweated for hours for days + just was not hungry. I don't count calories, but there were quite a few days I'd be surprised if I ate more than 800 calories.

----Considering the above, I find it funny that other weeks when I was not exercising* at all, was eating a lot more (+ even had non-MWL foods like bread), I actually lost more weight. Please do not get me wrong; I am very happy I lost 3 pounds on top of all the other great loses, and I know my body can't possibly keep losing as fast as it has on a steady bases. But it does make me wonder if I had eaten more, maybe I would have lost more because my body could have released the excess? Not sure if I'm describing this well. *I don't think I exercised enough to be gaining muscle yet.

----Because of the heat + humidity, I drank lots of water. Sometimes I would get hungry, but then a glass or 2 of water filled me up, so I didn't eat or hardly ate anything. If replenishing lost water because of sweating fills you up, you shouldn't eat if it's time to but you're not hungry, right?

----I profusely apologize for not being on the Forums at all since reading Mark's wrap-up Saturday. My plan was to visit the Forums several times, including to thank you, Mark, for responding to my question about frozen fruit possibly being contaminated with covid. I am happy to know it's not an issue--thank you! :thumbsup: Yes, I too have been eating frozen veggies all along without any concerns because of cooking them.

----So I'm going to post this now + in my journal + unfortunately have to skedaddle, but hope to read any old + new posts by Saturday night. Again, I'm sorry for not participating more and for not being up-to-date. Wishing everyone a wonderful, compliant week filled with grace for yourself if you goof up...this is a journey.

----Oh, I don't know why, but for some reason I've had a reoccurring bad "food" thought: store-bought chocolate cake roll with vanilla buttercream. Why? I am trying to figure that out. But I do not even have a taste for it. And when I do think of how it tasted before I recommitted to restoring my health, it was so greasy (the buttercream) + sugary--even when I was used to lots of fat + sugar. I did have a bit more fresh fruit a couple days this week (2 servings/day verses 1), but it's only because I was washing and prepping them to freeze...not because I was craving something sweet. I really am a foodie vs. a sweetie--lol. Maybe it's because I didn't eat enough calories for a lot of days + this was my body telling me I should eat more calories (but not in the form of a cake roll!)?

----My clothes are becoming huge. :-D Prior to wearing my generously cut 4x short-sleeved shirts, I'd have to really stretch them out with my arms to look halfway decent. Now I put them on without any stretching + they look like tents--lol. Pretty soon I'll have to bid adieu to my capris and slacks, too.

----Thank you Dr. + Mary, Mark, Jeff, wildgoose, + all my fellow MWLers! :nod:
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby deweyswakms » Mon Aug 30, 2021 8:09 am

Love it: " My clothes are becoming huge." Same here. I finally decided I DESERVED a new pair of slacks because, frankly, it was that or buy suspenders. And they were old anyway. Soon you will be shopping for something new.

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: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Thu Sep 02, 2021 9:49 am

deweyswakms wrote:Love it: " My clothes are becoming huge." Same here. I finally decided I DESERVED a new pair of slacks because, frankly, it was that or buy suspenders. And they were old anyway. Soon you will be shopping for something new.

Marsha


Marsha,

Lol---suspenders--I love that!!!! :nod: Thank you! But congratulations are definitely in order for you, too! :-D

"Luckily"(?), I have a fair amount of clothing that I can go down into from previous times I lost weight. So I'll probably just be wearing them as I go down for now. Definitely looking forward to some new outfits in the future, though! But if my weight goes down maybe 10 pounds a month, in 11 months I'd be at goal. I don't know, though, as my weight loss has slowed now, so we'll see.

But yes, you deserve new slacks + more!! :)
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Thu Sep 02, 2021 9:58 am

Well, my good intention of catching up by Saturday evening obviously didn't happen, though I have thought about doing so multiple times each day.  So it's not been for lack of memory or interest, just lack of time.

Thankfully it hasn't been so hot or humid + I haven't been sweating out buckets the last several days!

Last night was a great night in terms of my being able to take 1 of the longest walks I've been able to since I got started. :-D. The pain + discomfort I did still feel were bearable.  Then a bit later, I walked into a grocery store, got a shopping cart (instead of the electric cart to ride), + was in the produce section quite awhile getting all sorts of great, regionally grown finds.  I got a few cans of NSA beans on the way to checkout, too.

The night before was a different story.  The discomfort + pain were so intense that I was concerned I wouldn't be able to sleep.  Thankfully I was able to get a fairly decent night of sleep, so that was a real blessing!

I do not dwell on it, but have at times still been trying to figure out why that cake roll pops in my head.  I honestly have no taste for it or any other sweet.  And when I tear it all apart mentally--the ingredients + "nutrition" label--it only solidifies my really having no interest in it.

So maybe it's a physiological thing?  :?: Tuesday was 7 solid weeks of being on-plan.  I love all the food I've eaten, especially since I'm now able to be on my feet a little more, I've been able to branch out from just having Bob's Red Mill Potato Flakes made with boiling water, etc.. :lol:

As I've mentioned previously (in my MWL posts +/or this journal), I do not mean to be preachy at all, but my faith in God + relationship with Him is part of who I am + my every day life.  I truly believe the problems I've had with food basically since my early teen years has been my "thorn in the flesh".  It is the area in my life that, as a Believer in Jesus, has been where the enemy of my soul attacks me the most. 

If I am not doing well with my eating, my physical health fails.  When my physical health fails, I cannot possibly be as effective in my daily responsibilities--I'm tired + have no real pep in my step, + if I do it's only from a sugar high or other dopamine hit like from potato chips or cheese.  And then the downward spiral of eating bad "foods" would just continue + it truly affected every area of my life, + not positively.  And I was on the brink of a major, major health crisis (overdue, actually!!!!).  So, all this to say that whether this stupid cake roll thing is from a physiological +/or other thing, I am confident that it has also been a spiritual attack.

Thankfully, I have not succumbed!  And I am at the point of finding it actually comical, because the fairly often thoughts of the cake roll have only confirmed that 1)  I have no taste for it + am completely satisfied with all the healthy foods I've been eating, and 2)  Even if I did have a taste for it, just looking at the ingredients label alone would dissuade me from buying or having it because I have absolutely no interest in consuming sugar, oils, eggs, etc.--yuck!!

Okay, enough about all of that!  Well, as the saying goes..."When it rains, it pours.".  So I've gone from really not writing much in my journal to now posting a very long entry. :)

Speaking of rain pouring, I sincerely hope that any of you affected by Hurricane Ida are okay.  And at the opposite end of the spectrum, that those of you affected by wildfires, that you are staying safe, your homes haven't gotten burned, + that you are able to breath okay.
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Fri Sep 03, 2021 2:05 pm

My latest MWL post from Friday, September 3, 2021-----Just realized that when I copy + paste it over here it doesn't show the underlined, italicized, or bold text.:

Weight change +/- in lbs: -4 (262.40 to 258.40)

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.----Ugh. This is the point with which I'm still struggling the most.

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 dessert.----Yes, pretty much each + every meal.

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.----Yes.

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

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).----Had 1 serving of commercially bought "Ranch" Kale Chips. No oil, but had ground up sunflower seeds + tahini, 9g of fat. :? The good thing is that they were too bitter from the tahini + I really didn't care for the fatty feel on my tongue. The best thing is I didn't "beat myself up" for having such a high fat item, "only" had 1 serving, + it didn't lead to eating more non-MWL compliant items. So at least it was an isolated incident.

6. Eliminate any added oil.----Yes.

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.----Had some no oil, very low salt hard pretzels 1 time.

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).----Yes, did not have.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.----2 times I got too hungry. 1st time was when I went to get my bowl of oatmeal, saw a small bug swimming in the water :shock: , threw it out, wasn't all that hungry, + decided to wait for lunch. Well, I did get hungry + that's when I decided to try those kale chips. The other time was yesterday. Didn't have enough lunch, so ate the pretzels in the car while away from home. Didn't have as much dinner then, though.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).----Yay! The last 2 nights I was able to walk the longest I have since I got started + was debilitated by the pain. Am still experiencing discomfort + pain, especially 3 days ago, but thankfully seem to be gradually on the mend. So excited + grateful!!! :-D

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

----The heat + humidity broke this week so I wasn't perspiring buckets.

----I know I shouldn't weigh every day + plan to stop soon + only go to 1x/week, but I have to admit it is nice to see the progress since I've still been losing more per week than I thought I would at this point. #'s are funny, though. It was looking that I'd maybe have a 2 # loss + maybe not even make it to the 250's, but then voila, the pounds came off! But all this clearly confirmed what I already know...the scale is a gauge but not as accurate as the positive health + behavioral changes. (Mark, just saw you included the link to Jeff's excellent post about weighing + I will definitely re-read it this weekend; thanks!)

----I talked about this further in my journal yesterday, but that cake roll pops in my head too frequently. And I do not even have a taste for it!!! And when I think of the ingredients in it, it makes it even less appealing than it already is.

I decided to flesh this all out mentally, though, + think, "What's so special about the cake roll? If I were to buy + eat it, then what about potato chips or ?? !" Giving in just to try to get this monkey off my back would probably just open a flood gate!

Again, the very good thing is that I really do not have a taste for it + find the ingredients appalling. But I sure would like for the thoughts of it to stop or at least become waaay less frequent. Any suggestions would really be appreciated--thank you! :nod:

----Happy Labor Day, everyone! :) Wishing you all a very safe, exuberant, + MWL (or at least McDougall) compliant celebration. Thank you, again, Mark, Jeff, + everyone else for all the laboring you do for us. Your great efforts are not in vain.
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby deweyswakms » Sun Sep 05, 2021 12:11 pm

You are certainly working the program and your results are proof. I too need to get real about MWL guideline #1 by adding a salad or soup with my morning fruit + morning meal.

Maybe you are craving that sweet roll because it represents something you can't have, maybe never have again. Consider writing it a letter and say a gentle 'goodbye' to it. You are no longer a person who eats cake rolls. For some reason, I can have 1 slice of pickle and it kills any sweet cravings.

Keep going! 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: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Thu Sep 16, 2021 2:19 pm

Thank you, Marsha! You always have great ideas + I so appreciate them + your encouragement! :nod: I've gotten off track, but I'll post more in the next day or so to flesh it all out. Hoping you are doing great!!!! :)
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Sat Sep 18, 2021 9:22 am

Howdy! In the coming days I'll be adding to my journal. Unfortunately I really am starting out basically from square one again. Thank God I'm not up to 302, but in terms of behaviors, the 10 point MWL checklist. I will be eliminating/editing the signature I have because it's no longer up to date, but I wanted to have it here for posterity. :)

All time high = 315
Starting weight 7/13/21 = 302
Current Weight (as of weekly MWL weigh-in, 9/3/21) = 258.40
Goal weight = 155 but may be less when finally get down in that range?

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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:35 pm

Good Sunday Afternoon! :-D

In keeping with having this be a journal of my health (or unhealth :-( ) journey, I am going to now post some things that have been written elsewhere so that my journey is much more able to understand + to see the time line. And, I'm hoping eventually I'll be able to see patterns of good + bad that I can learn from + make positive changes.

From the September 2021 MWL thread:

---Saturday, September 11, 2021

Hello Mark + everyone else,

Just a quick post to say I won't be participating this week. Was hoping to write more to explain but don't have time now, so will do so ASAP.

Hoping everyone is well! :)

P.S. Hadn't signed in for 8 days, yet had to login twice + rearrange the non + acceptable foods. Said I attempted too many logins. :roll: :lol:

From Mark Cooper:
Health 1st - Thank you for letting us know; I hope you are doing well, and wish you the best. :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
----Thursday, September 16, 2021

Hello Mark,

Thank you for your well wishes! :)

For as long as I remember, any time I've lost weight in the past 30+ years (from Weight Watchers + Jenny Craig to McDougalling, etc.), the weighing in has always been a problem for me. Years ago, if I lost a lot, I tended to reward myself with, you guessed it: an off-plan "treat". If I didn't lose, or just a tiny bit, I'd figure, "I might as well have x, y, z.".

But, I am very, very happy to say that I did not feel this way at all in my recent weight loss journey with MWL! :-D I think a lot of it is because of the checklist, the support from you + others, + I was ready to put my "Health 1st".

However, the last few weeks posting to the MWL Group, as hard as I tried, the #'s on the scale were becoming too important to me. Admittedly, I believe my weighing daily did me no favors. And the "funny" thing is that, except for the sweaty/hardly ate anything week, I was super shocked to lose so much each week. I never thought it would continue for so long!

So there's that whole weight thing, and then the other big thing is that my already very busy life has just ramped up all the more. I'm consistently not getting to bed until 3am or later, + surviving on little sleep.

During the Labor Day weekend I started analyzing all of this, including that each week I was doing less + less of #1 from the checklist + frankly realistically don't see myself improving a lot on that one right now with my crazy schedule + still dealing with some physical limitations from the pain + discomfort.

So then I thought, maybe I need to take a break from the MWL Group, but still try to keep up MWL on my own except for "worrying" about #1. Also, I was hoping to finally treat my family to McDougall compliant cornbread, fat-free black bean brownies, + fat-free apple cider "doughnuts". When I'd actually find time to make these is anyone's guess, but I figured if I made them, I could have a serving + not be off-plan if I'm not MWL.

But I have so enjoyed being a part of the Group! Knowing there are others out there doing this with me, us checking in, + you wisely commenting is such a blessing! Unfortunately, with everything going on, I did derail. At 1st it was "just" a vegan BOCA burger + some Lay's Potato Chips on Labor Day + then I got right back on MWL. So, I was very excited about the strides/behavioral improvements!!! :nod:

But about half a week later, with everything going on (+ me still weighing daily--duh! :roll: ), I got off plan + now am in the weeds...tall weeds. I am up in weight, + most importantly, I have already seen my health digress. So I'm thinking maybe I should try the MWL Group again, only weigh every Friday morning, + try my hardest to not let whatever the # is phase me.

But what if I'm not doing #1 with any consistency? What if I do have a McDougall (but not MWL) approved piece of cornbread, brownie, or even a sandwich on no salt added Ezekiel bread? In my mind, I should keep getting better + better on each of the 10 of the checklist, but this would be back tracking once in awhile. ...maybe this is me focusing on perfection rather than direction...?

Please give me your honest thoughts. I don't want you to feel obligated to say it's okay for me to be in the MWL Group, + I do believe with my recent successes that I can pull it off on my own--+ check in with my journal/post there.

I just want to clarify: I do not have any immediate plans to eat anything non MWL + I'm going to strive to do MWL, but maybe as we get closer to the Holidays--1 bean/banana (no oil, dairy, eggs, or sugar) brownie for Thanksgiving.

If it's okay for me to stay on, can I post a weight this Friday or would it just be a zero?

Thank you for all your time + wisdom! I'm sorry I didn't write days earlier, as I had planned. Looking forward to your response.

From Mark Cooper:
Health 1st - Everyone stumbles sometimes, and one purpose of this group is to aid participants in "picking themselves back up."
Health 1st wrote:
I just want to clarify: I do not have any immediate plans to eat anything non MWL + I'm going to strive to do MWL

This is what is important; we don't expect perfection, just that everyone tries to do their best. We recognize that these are hard changes to make, especially within the context of the broader food/cultural/societal dynamic. I think this post will help to answer all your questions, and offer some food for thought. Please feel free to report & weigh-in on Friday, if you feel that participating in the group serves your goals.
Health 1st wrote:
So I'm thinking maybe I should try the MWL Group again, only weigh every Friday morning, + try my hardest to not let whatever the # is phase me.

I certainly would encourage you to do this, for all the reasons Jeff discusses in To Weigh or Not to Weigh. (I'm sorry. When copying + pasting, the links are not linking.)


From me:
Thanks so much, Mark!

Yes, I am ready to recommit + will post tomorrow. I just read the link from Jeff about weighing. I've read it in the past, but it's always a great read! I will definitely only weigh once a week--lol--I had enough of that daily weighing!

Looking forward to reading the 1st link tonight.

I know my weight tomorrow will be demoralizing, but my main concern truly is putting my health 1st, + I know it'll go down. I'm also hoping I can be an example of what not to do so that others maybe can learn from my experiences rather than them doing the damage to their health.

"See" you tomorrow; and thank you, again! :)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
----From Saturday, September 18, 2021

Hello Mark + everyone!

I was going to do the checklist for this week, but the more I thought of it, it doesn't really make a lot of sense as I can unfortunately honestly say that the last week + a half, I have not focused on any of the points except for #10, + #10 (slow walking) has been just for movement + enjoyment, no thoughts of it helping me lose weight.

I have not been on track at all + really am starting from ground zero again. So please put me down as a 0, like a new member.

Thank you!

----From Mark Cooper:
Health 1st - I know starting over from the ground up often isn't an easy thing, with respect to both the actual effort involved, and the potential burden from self-recrimination. Take a moment to acknowledge that making these changes is hard, treat yourself with kindness, and concentrate on the things that you will do to enable yourself to return to the recommended pattern of behavior in the present. Given that self-assessment with the checklist is one of the specific requirements for the group, I'll exclude you from this week's compilation, so as to be fair to all the participants. If you are facing specific challenges in getting back on track, and you'd like some support, feel free to share that here - collectively, the group might have some useful thoughts to offer.

From me:
Thank you for your advice + encouragement, Mark! I apologize as I forgot that the checklist is a requirement---I'll be sure to fulfill this requirement for next week. :)

Thankfully, my recent successes are still helping me in that instead of mentally beating myself up (I did a little), my main focus has been on why + how I fell off the wagon to the extent I have. I plan to type out these realizations. Should I just post them in my journal or maybe here, too...in this month's Weigh-In thread or make a new subject under the MWL category? If someone can glean from my experiences, then that would help this fall from not being so much in vain. :-D

Even though I've kind of been M.I.A. the last 2 weeks, know that all your effort helps us so much, because without you + the Group, I do not think I would be feeling as hopeful as I do that my full return to healthy eating/MWL is imminent + that I will continue to keep heading in the right direction for the rest of my life. :nod:
Last edited by Health 1st on Sun Sep 19, 2021 1:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Sun Sep 19, 2021 12:48 pm

I definitely have more to say (as if that's a surprise--lol :lol: ), but don't have time right now. But quickly, my biggest problem right now is getting back on. I know I just have do it right now, but I've gone back to my old pattern of behavior where I want to have a great start instead of just adding in more good + diminishing the bad. Last night I bought all sorts of wonderful produce with the intent to start this morning. But, even though it's only a little, it got too late for me to finish the off-plan stuff. So I didn't start this morning...again.... :roll:

So, I am aiming to start either tomorrow or the next day. Again, I should just start now--argh. One thing I certainly did not miss when I was successfully on MWL was this tension of knowing what I should + really do want to do + yet not doing it. :duh: And the "crazy" thing is that I can honestly say that the good, healthy MWL food tastes just as good, if not better(!) than the bad "foods". It's "just" this stupid perfection mentality that I need to get rid of before I succumb to a negative health consequence from not being on MWL.
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby ComfyDiet » Mon Sep 20, 2021 2:32 pm

Hi, Health 1st! I really enjoyed reading your journal and I feel inspired by your success so far. I’m excited for you to restart so I can read more about your food and thoughts. You make me want to do a journal too! What’s your favorite MWL meal?
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby deweyswakms » Fri Sep 24, 2021 8:50 am

Health 1st wrote:And the "crazy" thing is that I can honestly say that the good, healthy MWL food tastes just as good, if not better(!) than the bad "foods". It's "just" this stupid perfection mentality that I need to get rid of before I succumb to a negative health consequence from not being on MWL.


Using the journal is such a smart thing to do. It helps our brain bubble up what the REAL ISSUE is, and you nailed it. I like this quote from Winston Churchill: "Perfection(ism) – is the enemy of progress." When we decide to try something new, the opportunity and fear of failure and rejection come knocking.

I battle this every day as I try to paint. The vision I have of what I want to produce too often doesn't match what I actually produce. Then I think 'why bother, I'm no good' etc. Yet I know I am. So I try to reframe the dumb perfection thoughts into positive ones: I do have some talent; I am willing to explore and play with this; I am willing to learn something new. I am not 'wasting' paper or supplies; it's ONLY paper! I won't let the fear of failure take over. I recognize it, 'oh hi, you are back again, but I don't listen to you now.'

My suggestions? do journal every day, just short ones because you are time crunched; set your intention for the day. "Today I will steam broccoli and eat a salad." Simple steps. End of the day, tell yourself I had a good eating day. Tomorrow I will do it again. PUT YOURSELF FIRST in your busy life.

Good luck, you can do it. 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: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Sat Sep 25, 2021 2:00 pm

Hi, ComfyDiet + Marsha!

Just came to my journal + saw your posts. I'm sorry for not seeing them sooner! :? Thank you! I will reply soon...hopefully by tomorrow. :-D
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Re: Finally ready to conquer for good!

Postby Health 1st » Sat Sep 25, 2021 2:03 pm

My MWL entry for the week of 9/24/21:

Hello Mark + Everyone,

You'll see that I definitely still haven't had my act together, but then again that's what this Group is all about...the journey, not perfectionism; if we had our acts together all the time, we wouldn't need it! I just wanted to be upfront that I still wasn't always fully committed to MWL like I was in the past, should be, + will be within the next day.

Weight change +/- in lbs: Not sure how this will be tabulated, but here are my stats:
Last MWL Entry 9/3/21: 258.40
Highest weight since then, 9/17/21: 278.90 :shock: :cry:
Weight yesterday, 9/24/21: 271.10

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.----No.
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) th minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.----About 60% of my meals this week were 50/50. About 90% of me meals included vegetables.
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.----Since I obviously was totally off MWL, even McDougall, for some weeks, this week I have reduced sugar + salt consumption compared to those totally off weeks. But will improve!
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).---Again, improved from last couple weeks, but still did have some dairy + items that included egg whites. Have not eaten any kind of meat for decades.
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).----Did have avocados once + fake meat that contained soy once.
6. Eliminate any added oil.----Again, much more improved this week, but definitely room for improvement.
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.----Same reply as to #6.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).---One time had a small juice box of 100% juice lemonade. Otherwise no calories from drinks.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.----Got too hungry a few times because of a very busy week. Over-ate 1 time. Otherwise doing good with this #.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).----7/7! "Lol", the only # I did 100%. I'm still experiencing some pain + discomfort, so I sometimes only get about 25 minutes in + I cannot walk briskly yet but have increased the speed as lack of pain allows.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Well, I am definitely not the poster child of success! And this really all has been a mind game. I don't necessarily feel a physical pull towards eating non MWL items. I think it's the inner spoiled child wanting that supposed freedom to be able to eat a few potato chips or a cookie. But I have learned a lot + even though my weight has gone up + my health has declined (absolute worst part), I feel like I am better off now than I was all the years I succeeded but then failed for months + months on end. I'd write more but I have 2 minutes to post this. Not proofread. I truly plan to get 100% back in the game within the next day. It's like I'm clawing my way back. Thank you for your patience + understanding!!!
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