Starflower’s Journey to Health

[SilverMtns]

Super curious about what masa bread is. I'll go google it, but if you have a link, that would be awesome. You're doing so great!

[Starflower]

Super curious about what masa bread is. I'll go google it, but if you have a link, that would be awesome. You're doing so great!

Hi Silver!

Thanks! I just make a simple bread with equal parts masa and water mixed thoroughly, and sometimes two teaspoons of baking POWDER if I want to make it lighter. Usually it’s just the masa and water, two cups of each. I bake it in a bread pan at 350F for 40 minutes. That’s for a small convection oven. I’m not sure if you have to adjust it for a big oven. It’s very dense, like a very thick tortilla. You could use a cake pan instead to make it thinner. Onions, garlic, cooked beans, sweet corn, and diced peppers make good stir-in variations. I think most of the online recipes are steamed or boiled in wrappers, like tamales. If you don’t want a crust, cover the pan with foil, but don’t let it touch the dough.

Twenty-four days is great! Wishing you a wonderful week!

EDIT TO CHANGE BAKING SODA TO BAKING POWDER. SORRY FOR THE ERROR!

[Starflower]

Today could have been better. Eating got out of hand because I decided to allow a feast day without setting clear guidelines for myself. It was an all-day celebration, and I ended up eating too much, some of it not compliant. I did manage to keep starch-based and no fake or animal foods. The liquid calories came from half of a beer. I got in about 35-40 minutes of aerobics and stretching.

10-Point Checklist for The McDougall Program (7/10)

1) 70 - 90% minimally processed starches. YES

2) 10 - 30% fruits/non-starchy vegetables. YES

3) Eliminate animal foods. YES

4) Eliminate fake meats and cheeses. YES

5) Eliminate added oil. NO

6) Limit intake of higher-fat plant foods. YES

7) Limit added sugars and salts. YES

8 ) Avoid liquid calories. NO

9) Eat when hungry until comfortably full. NO

10) 30 minutes of moderate exercise. YES

[Starflower]

Today was a little better. Planning is key, but I’m not very good at it yet. I’ll get there. For exercise, I did 30 minutes of aerobics.

10-Point Checklist for The McDougall Program (8/10)

1) 70 - 90% minimally processed starches. YES

2) 10 - 30% fruits/non-starchy vegetables. YES

3) Eliminate animal foods. YES

4) Eliminate fake meats and cheeses. YES

5) Eliminate added oil. NO

6) Limit intake of higher-fat plant foods. YES

7) Limit added sugars and salts. YES

8 ) Avoid liquid calories. YES

9) Eat when hungry until comfortably full. NO

10) 30 minutes of moderate exercise. YES

[Starflower]

Clearly, I need to make some environmental changes to avoid non-compliant foods. I know my family will help me with this. They are very supportive.

10-Point Checklist for The McDougall Program (9/10) (yesterday)

1) 70 - 90% minimally processed starches. YES

2) 10 - 30% fruits/non-starchy vegetables. YES

3) Eliminate animal foods. YES

4) Eliminate fake meats and cheeses. YES

5) Eliminate added oil. NO

6) Limit intake of higher-fat plant foods. YES

7) Limit added sugars and salts. YES

8 ) Avoid liquid calories. YES

9) Eat when hungry until comfortably full. YES

10) 30 minutes of moderate exercise. YES

10-Point Checklist for The McDougall Program (9/10) (today)

1) 70 - 90% minimally processed starches. YES

2) 10 - 30% fruits/non-starchy vegetables. YES

3) Eliminate animal foods. YES

4) Eliminate fake meats and cheeses. YES

5) Eliminate added oil. NO

6) Limit intake of higher-fat plant foods. YES

7) Limit added sugars and salts. YES

8 ) Avoid liquid calories. YES

9) Eat when hungry until comfortably full. YES

10) 30 minutes of moderate exercise. YES

[Starflower]

I didn’t keep a record of my compliance over the last several days. I’m still having some trouble with a few trigger foods, and amounts of higher-fat foods. I may need to cut them out entirely. I’m considering trying MWL again, or at least moving more in that direction.

[Starflower]

Life happened again and I fell off of my exercise and cooking routine. Compliance has been spotty. I tend to need simple routines repeated daily.

10-Point Checklist for The McDougall Program (7/10)

1) 70 - 90% minimally processed starches. YES

2) 10 - 30% fruits/non-starchy vegetables. YES

3) Eliminate animal foods. YES

4) Eliminate fake meats and cheeses. YES

5) Eliminate added oil. YES

6) Limit intake of higher-fat plant foods. NO

7) Limit added sugars and salts. YES

8 ) Avoid liquid calories. NO

9) Eat when hungry until comfortably full. YES

10) 30 minutes of moderate exercise. NO

[Starflower]

After thinking about why I lose track of food, the common factor seems to be that when there are numerous things that need attention, health gets pushed aside. A simple and prepared-ahead meal plan should keep that from happening. Tomorrow morning I’ll make a large batch of mashed potatoes with vegetables for the fridge, and place salt-free canned vegetable soup out on the counter where I can see it. And set a reminder for exercise. No thinking required for the rest of the day!

[Starflower]

My plan worked beautifully! Having the mashed potatoes and vegetables, and canned vegetables and soup, ready to grab was what I needed to make staying on track easy. I’m sure this will work for me long term.

10-Point Checklist for The McDougall Program (10/10)

1) 70 - 90% minimally processed starches. YES

2) 10 - 30% fruits/non-starchy vegetables. YES

3) Eliminate animal foods. YES

4) Eliminate fake meats and cheeses. YES

5) Eliminate added oil. YES

6) Limit intake of higher-fat plant foods. YES

7) Limit added sugars and salts. YES

8 ) Avoid liquid calories. YES

9) Eat when hungry until comfortably full. YES

10) 30 minutes of moderate exercise. YES

[Ejeff]

Glad your plan worked! I used to do that quite often when working prepare food early in the day for later. I always have more energy early. It’s the same with me for exercising if I do it earlier I tend to be more consistent with it.

Erin

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Starflower!!!

Awesome that having simple food ready helped!!!

I love to keep batches of roasted potatoes and veggies or pots of brown rice handy --- so making a meal is quick, easy, and requires no thought!!!

Not sure if this idea would help you, but my buddy has found a ton of success by eating mainly potatoes and veggies (fresh or frozen) and just keeping it super simple.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!!!

Best,
Stephanie

[Starflower]

Glad your plan worked! I used to do that quite often when working prepare food early in the day for later. I always have more energy early. It’s the same with me for exercising if I do it earlier I tend to be more consistent with it.

Erin

Thank you, Erin! The fewer choices I have to make, the better. It’s reassuring to know a similar plan worked for someone who has succeeded long-term!

[Starflower]

Hi Starflower!!!

Awesome that having simple food ready helped!!!

I love to keep batches of roasted potatoes and veggies or pots of brown rice handy --- so making a meal is quick, easy, and requires no thought!!!

Not sure if this idea would help you, but my buddy has found a ton of success by eating mainly potatoes and veggies (fresh or frozen) and just keeping it super simple.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!!!

Best,
Stephanie

Hi Stephanie!

That sounds tasty! Your friend’s plan looks close to what is working for me, just adding some nuts, beans and masa products. That’s a good plan if I need to simplify it more. Thank you!

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, too!

[Starflower]

Today was a successful day. I followed my plan from yesterday, eating mashed potatoes, vegetables, and masa bread and tortillas with some split peas. I decided to limit my higher-fat foods to one serving of walnuts and a little soy. I plan to eliminate rice for now, because I tend to overeat it with toppings, and don’t like it plain.

10-Point Checklist for The McDougall Program (10/10)

1) 70 - 90% minimally processed starches. YES

2) 10 - 30% fruits/non-starchy vegetables. YES

3) Eliminate animal foods. YES

4) Eliminate fake meats and cheeses. YES

5) Eliminate added oil. YES

6) Limit intake of higher-fat plant foods. YES

7) Limit added sugars and salts. YES

8 ) Avoid liquid calories. YES

9) Eat when hungry until comfortably full. YES

10) 30 minutes of moderate exercise. YES

[Starflower]

This is a very helpful post in the Time & Adherence group regarding adherence fatigue. I’m interested to see the responses to Mark’s question. It’s one of my difficulties.

https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=62387&view=unread#p633840