Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

Hi SilverMtns! I've enjoyed reading your journal. It's amazing to me how many things so many of us have in common! I too am in a mixed food plan household/marriage. I too have struggled and struggled to get solidly on this plan, and stay there! You described your inner kid who doesn't like being told what to do / what to eat - your innter child and my inner child must be sisters! I've read almost every book Dr. McD has written over several years (since 2014 I think???) and am JUST NOW achieving what finally feels like a sustainable journey "McDougalling!" (love that word!) Anyway, all that to say that I completely agree that the struggle is real!

You mentioned so many things that are important in my journey too. First and foremost, having cooked starches ready to heat and eat (or eat cold LOL!) in the fridge at all times. I too love snacking on oatmeal with fruit! I've yet to the try the refrigerator oats - love what Ruff had to offer about those!

I'm reaching out my virtual hand for you to grab - come on back to McDougalling Highway! You are so right that self punishment doesn't work. (been there done that X 1000000) Potatoes do! Looking forward to sharing this journey!

Lizzy_F wrote:Hi SilverMtns! I've enjoyed reading your journal. It's amazing to me how many things so many of us have in common! ...I'm reaching out my virtual hand for you to grab - come on back to McDougalling Highway! You are so right that self punishment doesn't work. (been there done that X 1000000) Potatoes do! Looking forward to sharing this journey!

Oh, my goodness, this is EXACTLY what I needed today. Thank you for taking the time to post it and to care about a stranger on the internet. Gonna keep pushing on, and allowing myself to be imperfect. I'm noticing that even when I go off track, most of the day is on track, and that's GOT to be better for me than the way I used to eat, right?

Today's food

• tea with sugar and soymilk
• off-plan breakfast

SilverMtns wrote:

Lizzy_F wrote:Hi SilverMtns! I've enjoyed reading your journal. It's amazing to me how many things so many of us have in common! ...I'm reaching out my virtual hand for you to grab - come on back to McDougalling Highway! You are so right that self punishment doesn't work. (been there done that X 1000000) Potatoes do! Looking forward to sharing this journey!

Oh, my goodness, this is EXACTLY what I needed today. Thank you for taking the time to post it and to care about a stranger on the internet. Gonna keep pushing on, and allowing myself to be imperfect. I'm noticing that even when I go off track, most of the day is on track, and that's GOT to be better for me than the way I used to eat, right?

Today's food

• tea with sugar and soymilk
• off-plan breakfast

80% on plan is way way better than 80% off plan! The perfectionist in us is what derails everything. Dr Mcd said do 80% of the plan and get 80% of the results. well thats way better than 0% of the results if you ask me! I hear you, we all eat so much better than the standard SAD, even when we are off plan, so we are all doing great. yes we want Jeff Novicks maximum health plan because who doesn't want maximum health?! But perfectionism just leads to us going 'see I KNEW I wouldn't be able to do it' after one Starbucks coffee (or whatever)...and suddenly we are off plan altogether. One coffee, or even 1 bad day does not a disaster make! It up to us to make it into one.

You have got this, I think the most important thing is to keep posting, keep checking in. I could not have done this 10 years ago without the forums. We had a group posting back then like we do now, and checking in, even when things were less than perfect, helped me get back on the wagon before it had gone out of sight! In ultra running they say 'relentless forward progress. If you cant run, walk, if you cant walk, crawl, but just keep moving forward.' This way of life is like an ultra race, an ultra takes months and months of preparation, even before you get to the race. If you throw the towel in because you missed one day of training, or even 1 week, you would never get there. You learn to roll with the punches, re group, re asses, adapt the plan accordingly and keep moving forward.

Ruff wrote:80% on plan is way way better than 80% off plan! The perfectionist in us is what derails everything. ...

You have got this, I think the most important thing is to keep posting, keep checking in. I could not have done this 10 years ago without the forums. We had a group posting back then like we do now, and checking in, even when things were less than perfect, helped me get back on the wagon before it had gone out of sight! ...

You learn to roll with the punches, re group, re asses, adapt the plan accordingly and keep moving forward.

Hi Silver,

Agree 100% with what Katie said above.

Some folks are calling off-plan eating "going in the ditch". It's a great concept. Just get yourself back on the path as quickly as possible and keep going...Above all, don't feel bad about going in the ditch. Just keep trying -- and try to make your next bite is "compliant".

YES, 80% will definitely provide health benefits. You have still achieved something!!! Feel good about that.

Doug Lisle has a lecture (maybe The Slow Fast Way??) where he has starch goal, salad goal, fruit goal, exercise goal. It demonstrates a kind way to give yourself grace when you aren't 100%... (and he demonstrates how to do this)...

Wishing you the best,
Stephanie

Thank you both so much, Katie and Stephanie. Just gonna keep on keeping on. I have some cooked potatoes and broccoli in the fridge for snacks today and I'm going to try some Forks Meal Planner recipes if I can get my kitchen back together after my husband did some work in there yesterday. One thing I'm finding is that I'm embarrassed to go back ON the plan once I've gone off because I think my husband will think I'm being flighty or something. He's awesome and would totally support me no matter what, so I'm not sure what my damage is there (and the second I said that I remembered my mother mocking me for being fat and then mocking whatever diet I went on. Love my mom but wow, moms can really give bad messages sometimes, huh?)

Today's food

husband made us a non-compliant breakfast and I accepted it without saying anything. I'm a coward sometimes. I will explain to him what's going on and I know he'll make sure to only offer me McDougally stuff from now on

Right Silver, sit down with the husband and say what you are doing and why. I spent 20 years trying different diets before I found Starch Solution, and it didnt go smoothly at first. It took time for this to be routine. I tried different variations, like junk food vegan (please please can I eat oils!!! I am sure I can get away with it!!) and my husband got quite confused. Eventually I said we are doing Starch Solution and if I say anything different just keep muttering Starch Solution at me until I regain my senses!

There is wonderful Philip Larkin poem that starts "They f**k you up/Your mum and dad/They may not mean to/But they do) It goes on to say we will mess up our own kids, and our parents were messed up in their turn. It was this poem that finally made me put behind me all the things my parents and school teachers and grandparents said, and get on with my own life.

Yes, like you, my mum pops into my head from time to time, but I can laugh at it now and move on, so I am very grateful to Phillip Larkin.

Onwards!

Katie, I used you as a model today! I told my husband that he has a new job. When I go to eat junk, his job is just to say "McDougall, McDougall, McDougall," and he laughed and agreed. About an hour later I was looking for something to eat and he said, "We've got some bologna -- I mean, McDougall, McDougall, McDougall!" And it worked! This will help a lot.

Today's food

• off-plan breakfast
• salad
• pasta with eggplant and tomatoes and capers
• chili (threw the following into the pressure cooker for 10 minutes with natural release: canned pinto and kidney beans, onions, green peppers, garlic, corn, a jar of salsa, and some spices, plus a little water for minimum pressure cooker moisture
• salmas with avocado salsa
• piece of candy

Took the java walk yesterday but was so busy all day I didn't post. Told my husband today to remember his job: "McDougall, McDougall, McDougall!" He laughed and said okay. Since I kind of made it a joke, he's willing to help -- he's normally not the sort of person to tell me what to do in any way (or me him), and we like it like that.

Today's food

• tea with soymilk and sugar
• sourdough toast with jam
• leftover bean-and-corn chili with Salmas
• VeganBurger with ketchup and mustard
• piece of candy
• blue slushy (hush; it's like a bazillion degrees here.
• raw red bell pepper

Body stuff
FBG: 110
Yesterday was a low-pain day and the java walk was easy and fun, even up the hill. Husband even noticed I was going faster than usual.
Might sound crazy, but I think my breath is smelling better. Not that it was terrible before, but... Maybe I'm imagining it.

Okay, I petered out in July but haven't been doing too badly. Walking almost every day, planning meals with McDougalling in mind but not being super strict about it. Down about 10 pounds since July and my blood sugar at waking is between 90 and 105 almost every day. So I'm doing okay, but I want to take it to the next level. I don't want to wait until Monday or the New Year; I just want to start now. I have some symptoms I don't love and some meds I'd love to be off, and in my experience, eating better takes care of that stuff without any other real effort. So here we go again; I don't mind starting over when I need to start over. Beginner Mind and all that, right?

One thing I want to do is to do this cheaply; we're recently retired and I want to stretch our small income. So I may start noting our grocery bills or the cost of food or something (don't mind me; making things a number game works well for me).

Breakfast is over and wasn't too bad, but here's the plan for the rest of the day:

Lunch: bean chili
Dinner: veggie shepherd's pie (mashed potatoes, Well Your World mushroom gravy, veggies)
Snacks: I have a bunch of blueberries that were on sale. Saving some for a FoK recipe for tomorrow, but I'll snack on some of those and some air-popped popcorn if I get hungry

Weight: 305
FBG: 90
Days in current McDougalling streak: 0

Happy new year, all. Blueberry oatmeal for breakfast, soup for lunch, will nibble something small for dinner. Not very hungry today. Hope everyone's day was great!

Wt: 305
Streak: 2 days

Hi Silver!!

Happy New Year!!! Your meals sound great!!!

Best,
Stephanie

Blueberry oatmeal for breakfast.


Fasting blood sugar: 99

Had a little heart issue today that scared me. I'm fine, and I know fear isn't the best motivator, but I feel motivated right now to step up my game.

Fasting blood sugar was 99. Breakfast was non-compliant (like, don't even ask. Ouch). After heart thing, lunch was one vegan taco with mostly veggies, and a cucumber salad; snack was half a small microwaved potato with a little balsamic vinegar on it. I'm baking potatoes right now and we can put stuff on them -- I'll stick with veggies and my partner can have the rest of the taco stuff, and some cheese if he wants.

I had veggies on a baked potato for dinner. Later, was hungry again, so I ate some tomato soup and two bananas.

Okay, I need to start planning the day ahead so I can make a market run in the morning if necessary, and stick to my plan. I buy the food, I cook the food, I have no excuse not to be eating whatever will make my body happy. Right? Right.

Plan for tomorrow, Wednesday, 1/4/23

Breakfast: Oatmeal, grapes
Lunch: chickpea curry, boiled potatoes, chutney
Dinner: Veggie sandwich with hummus instead of mayo
Snacks: fruit, veggies, air-popped popcorn, cold cooked potatoes

Need to buy: veggies for sandwich (tomato, sprouts or lettuce, red onion -- already have roasted red pepper in the fridge)

Today went well. If I can do this for one day, I can do it for another.

Fasting blood sugar: 106
$ spent on food: 28.67

Plan for tomorrow needs to account for family dinner, which will have meat, so I need to have a lot of acceptable sides available.

Breakfast: toast and hummus and fruit
Lunch: leftover curry and potatoes
Dinner: family is having pork chops. Sides will be noodles, applesauce, steamed veggies. I'll fill up on those.
Snacks: fruit, veggies, boiled potatoes, air-popped popcorn, dry roasted faves and lentils

Went to the store. Wasn't hungry for breakfast, so I just had some soymilk, and then later some air-popped popcorn.

Plan for today (changes in red]

Breakfast: Oatmeal, grapes [steamed soymilk]
Lunch: chickpea curry, boiled potatoes, chutney
Dinner: Veggie sandwich with hummus instead of mayo
Snacks: fruit, veggies, air-popped popcorn, cold cooked potatoes