Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

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

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Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby rickfm » Sat Jul 09, 2022 7:46 am

...until I lose this gut.

Those words popped into my head about 5 years ago as I was walking through a downtown area and caught a glimpse of my profile in a large store window. I was disgusted with what I saw. That gut... like some kind of grotesque, mutant growth that was leading me around everywhere I went. Bogging me down, sucking the energy out of me.

Image

I wish I could say that was the "before" picture. I wish I could say that reflection in the store window that day was enough to turn me around once and for all. Sadly, I have continued to ride the up and down roller coaster of weight loss insanity since I first joined this forum 13 years ago.

That picture is from 2017 at 260 lbs. That is where I found myself once again last week.

I'm getting too old for this. I want my latter years to be meaningful and enjoyable. I don't want another summer to go by without some significant success. I have not weighed under 200 lbs for the past 27 years.

So I'm back at it. Down 6 lbs in one week. I know what to do. I know how it works if you work it. I've had success in the past. Came within 5 lbs of breaking that 200 lb barrier back in 2013 (yes, I've actually been tracking my weight all these years), but a lifelong struggle with self-defeating behavior, including alcoholism, got the best of me once again. I topped out at 305 lbs in 2018.

So... I'm doing something different this time. Laying it all out here (including the embarrassing truth of that photo) in the hope that some accountability will help make a difference.

Onward and... downward. :D
~Rick

Mmmm.... cabbage!
Keeping it Simple
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby Ruff » Sat Jul 09, 2022 1:54 pm

Hi Rick, I am so glad you are here. I am quite sure we will be seeing a lot less of you soon! :lol: :lol:

I will be 60 years old in October and thanks to this way of eating I am a trail runner, and spend a lot of my time in the mountains. Just yesterday morning I was running on the beach and I stopped at the top of the big dune to take a photo of the sunrise. This dune, less than 1/2 a km from my house, used to be the furthest I could walk when I was obese. Now its just a view point on my morning jog. There is life beyond the weight, its waiting there for you.

I used to say my weight didnt limit me, but I lied. It did. My life used to orientate around food and drink, including the secret variety. Now my life orientates around the beach and the mountains.....and potatoes! The secret weapon of weight loss. When all is going to custard and you want to drown yourself in a vat of doughnuts, say "I'll just eat a baked potato first", and do it. Once you have microwaved that potato and eaten it with whatever compliant sauce you like the urge to stray has gone.

Good luck, you have got this, and the team here has got your back. Just keep posting, even on the bad days.
Katie

My testimonial. viewtopic.php?f=13&t=38433
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby rickfm » Sat Jul 09, 2022 2:06 pm

In the interest of offering something to look at other than my food blister physique...

Breakfast - Microwaved potato with a sprinkle of salt and granulated garlic, raw sweet onion.

Image


Second Breakfast :wink: - Brown rice wrapped in green leaf lettuce, raw carrots.

Image


That's Cholula sauce with the potatoes and Mild Pace Picante sauce on the rice. I'm not a spicy kind of guy and find the Original Cholula to be a great flavor without the burn.

I don't actually abide by the convention of "breakfast, lunch, dinner." I'm a grazer. I found that I'm most successful eating multiple small meals throughout the day. I'm as likely to have a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries as a late night snack as I am for "breakfast."

I also took an interest in simplicity and minimalism around the same time I started looking into the WFPB WOE. I like the idea of simple living and simple eating (see the link in my sig).
~Rick

Mmmm.... cabbage!
Keeping it Simple
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby rickfm » Sat Jul 09, 2022 2:22 pm

I will be 60 years old in October and thanks to this way of eating I am a trail runner, and spend a lot of my time in the mountains.

Thanks for the reply and encouragement, Katie.

I'm originally from California and have always dreamed of hiking the Pacific Crest Trail - all the way from Mexico to Canada. I'm also in my sixties and I think I may still have some time to chase that dream. I've heard of "old folks" completing some of those long treks.

But for now, it's the day to day slog of staying on plan. One bite after the other. :D
~Rick

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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jul 09, 2022 4:49 pm

Hi Rick! :)

Great that you are journaling!! Congrats on your loss this week and your recommitment to McD!!! :D

I just wanted to say that I am convinced that Something Excellent will come of you... you will find many of us here on the Board support you 100% and will help in any way that we can.

You know what to do - you have done it before... Excellent pictures of the food!!!

Love how you decided to do something different this time. Each time we try, we learn something... that we can apply to future --- (Better Every Single Time). I "re-started" last May and I also had that "do something different" thought. For me, it was --- get support!!! This has helped me tremendously to get to my "goal weight" and to just keep going. Your mileage may vary...

The journals are pretty active right now. Beyond accountability to yourself, would encourage you to post if you need a supportive word from folks... Someone will step up!!

Wishing you the best.

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: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby Artista » Sat Jul 09, 2022 10:02 pm

Hi Rick! Welcome back to this way of eating and congratulations on losing 6 lbs. I agree with everything Katie and Stephanie said. Keep journaling, keep following the program, one day at a time, one bite at a time, as you said, and reach out whenever you’re feeling wobbly. In a year, if you catch a glimpse of your reflection in a window, all you’ll feel is gratitude. :nod:
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby rickfm » Sun Jul 10, 2022 6:47 am

Awww... the honeymoon seems to be over. Only had a 0.4 lb loss on my weigh-in this morning.

That 6 lb loss in a week I mentioned originally was wrong. It was actually 8 lbs in 6 days (1.33 lb/day average). I went radical - MWL and calorie restriction, about 800-900 calories per day. Plus walking a mile or two a day. I live a rather sedentary life, so I can get away with it and not feel wiped out.

It's amazing that you can eat 5 or 6 times a day, feel satiated, and consume such a low amount of calories.

That has been my experience through the numerous times of being on and off "the wagon," so to speak. Those first few days of WFPB eating is usually just my body getting rid of all the gunk built up in my system from the previous days/weeks/months of irresponsible overindulgence.

SAD food detox. I also sleep fewer hours and have more vivid, bizarre dreams in the beginning. :shock:

@ Stephanie and Artista, thank you for the warm welcomes. It's good to be back. :)
~Rick

Mmmm.... cabbage!
Keeping it Simple
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby Ejeff » Sun Jul 10, 2022 10:51 am

You got this Rick. We are all here to support you. I’ve done radical before, but try to stick with the primary principles of eating when hungry and stopping when full. In the long run that’s the path to success.

I’m 59 and also sober for 1.5 years so way to go with giving up alcohol also. :-D

Erin
"The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don't swim upstream."
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby squealcat » Sun Jul 10, 2022 11:46 am

Welcome Rick ! As everyone else has said, this is the place to be !! You will find support and ideas (if you need them) for living this way and eating this way.

-squealcat (Marilyn)
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby rickfm » Sun Jul 10, 2022 12:34 pm

I’ve done radical before, but try to stick with the primary principles of eating when hungry and stopping when full. In the long run that’s the path to success.

I agree, Erin. Consistency wins the race. But the weight does come off quicker at the start and I find it encouraging to gain that momentum. I'm approaching it this time with that in mind. Blast off, then settle into orbit.

I'm currently at 254 lbs (was actually at 262 the day I decided to get back into this). I haven't weighed less than 245 for over two and a half years. That's my first goal.

I need a win.

So, yeah... doing radical for another week or so. I'll recalibrate and readjust after that. 8)

And thank you for the kind words, Marilyn. :)
~Rick

Mmmm.... cabbage!
Keeping it Simple
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby Lizzy_F » Sun Jul 10, 2022 4:31 pm

Hi Rick! Thanks for your pos5 in my journal! Congrats on your success thus far! And also congrats on sobriety - what an awesome gift set we are giving ourselves! Sobriety + healthy fuel!

Love your food pics. I too do best when I keep it simple! That big pacific coast hike sounds like an awesome goal. One step at a time will get us all to big things!!!
Beth

"Long-term sustainable change is what we are really after." ~Jeff Novick
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby kirstykay » Sun Jul 10, 2022 5:32 pm

Hi Rick!! I think I remember you from the "old days" on the forum. I first joined back in 2009 and have been up and down since then. I, too, realized recently that I had to do things differently and make some permanent changes, and just re-committed to MWL again. I understand how frustrating this can be, so good for you for coming here and posting and facing it. You've got this! I love your attitude, and I believe there are great things ahead!
"Remember, It's the food." ~Dr. McDougall

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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby Ruff » Mon Jul 11, 2022 1:29 pm

Hi Rick...you could be very useful in these forums....you know how to post pictures. One of my kids did the pictures for my testimonial but they have all left home now.

So please, can we have a tutorial on posting photos for people over 60, who were taken as a child to see a computer that took up the whole floor of the university building and communicated via ticker tape! I expect that computer had less power than my current phone.....( and not just the 'oh I use flicker' variety of tutorial... :lol: :lol: ). what is Flicker anyway????
Katie

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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby rickfm » Mon Jul 11, 2022 5:49 pm

Katie, yeah I like posting images more than listing daily menus. Besides, right now I'm basically just eating microwaved potatoes 5 times a day and nibbling on raw sweet onions and carrots.

Got a little ambitious today and made this (speaking of pictures):

Image

1 cup of brown rice (cooked)
1/3 lb sliced cabbage
1/3 lb mixed frozen veg
2 small leaves of kale (including the stems, of course!)
Salt, pepper, granulated garlic (love that stuff), and some oregano

That's about a pound of food, and cronometer tells me it's a little over 250 calories and a nice hefty 11 grams of fiber.

The pink stuff in the mason jar is a pint of chilled water with a Tbsp of Bragg ACV, a Tbsp of pure crannberry juice and a tsp of pure lemon juice. Cold, tart and refreshing. :unibrow:

You need an image hosting service for posting pictures. I use the free postimages. Upload your pic, click on share, copy the "direct link." When you make a post/reply there's an "Img" button, click on it and paste your link between the brackets.
~Rick

Mmmm.... cabbage!
Keeping it Simple
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Re: Nothing Good Will Come of Me...

Postby rickfm » Tue Jul 12, 2022 11:35 am

Well, crap...

I said I started this journal to have some accountability, so might as well get this over with.

Just got home from eating out for breakfast... old fashioned diner style. Meaning bacon, eggs, and pancakes soaked in butter and syrup. It's a weakness of mine.

Woke up thinking about it, actually. One of those mornings. Feeling a little off. Went for a walk without eating first and, living right on the edge of a large city, near a main street with a lot of good places to get bad food, all of the excuses and justifications went storming through my mind and I just gave in and headed for that particular restaurant.

Now I'm sitting here suffering with the after affects of that gut bomb... physically and mentally. So frustrating how quickly and easily that happens. :x

I will definitely be going for another walk this evening. A long one. Away from downtown.
~Rick

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Keeping it Simple
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