Holly’s Journal

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

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Holly’s Journal

Postby Hjklost55 » Wed Nov 02, 2022 10:00 pm

Committed today to following MWL. Thank you Stephanie and Beth for the encouragement. Took the 12-day McDougall class in November 2021. Followed the 10-pt checklist today. Need to tweak a few things…. But moving forward. :)
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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby Lizzy_F » Thu Nov 03, 2022 2:09 pm

Hello Holly!!! I'm so glad to see you here! Sounds like you had an awesome day with the 10-point check list! I look forward to sharing more of our journies together through the Journals!
Beth

"Long-term sustainable change is what we are really after." ~Jeff Novick
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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby VegSeekingFit » Thu Nov 03, 2022 7:15 pm

Hi Holly!!! :D :) :-D

Awesome that you are here!!!

You CAN do it!!! So, keep posting in whatever way you want on your journal...

You are already super successful and an inspiration...

Cheers,
Stephanie

P.S. You, Beth, Me... OMG... we would be a crazy group of ladies, yeah??? :lol:
"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: Holly’s Journal

Postby Hjklost55 » Fri Nov 04, 2022 3:39 pm

Stephanie and Beth…. YES!!! We could be dangerous together!! :-D Thank you for the kind words. You have NO idea how much I appreciate your support and encouragement. I have had some GREAT successes over the years, but need to continue this journey to fine tune it now.

My biggest challenge, as I have mentioned, is the volume eating. But I am very aware of it, and will focus on it at every meal!

Food for Friday
Snack before Pickleball: Banana
Breakfast: bowl of vegetable soup; air fried potatoes; frozen grapes
Lunch: bowl of Vegetable soup with rice; bowl of vegetable soup with cut up potatoes; bottle of Kombucha
Dinner: haven’t had yet. Haha


“At any given moment you have the power to say: this is not how the story is going to end” Ritu Ghatourney
So I keep trying again!

Have a great weekend everyone.

Take Care,
Holly
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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby Lizzy_F » Fri Nov 04, 2022 4:12 pm

Hi Holly! I am a fellow volume eater for sure!!! It is SO easy for me to be in calorie excess rather than calorie deficit. So I can absolutely understand where you come from! What are some of your favorite strategies to achieve the volume of food that you find satisfying, yet allows you to achieve your weight goals? I'm still a work in progress, but it seems I do best when I am VERY mindful of points 1, 2, 9 and 7 on the check list. I don't struggle to avoid the items in 4, 5 and 6. I'm just curious if we are similar or different on these points.

Just wanted to say hi and let you know that your delicious sounding food is making me hungry! :D :D :D So I better go rustle up some taters!
Beth

"Long-term sustainable change is what we are really after." ~Jeff Novick
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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby Lizzy_F » Mon Nov 07, 2022 11:48 am

Hi there Holly! Hope you had a good weekend!

This sure is a journey of learning, isn't it? Always learning more about the McDougall path to excellent health, and also learning more about myself - what works, what doesn't, etc. If the "Starch Solution" is a nice wide highway, and "Maximum Weight Loss" is the median in the center, I am finding more and more that I have to HUG THE MEDIAN. There are others who can successfully ride along close to the outer lines, but I too easily fall into the Pleasure Trap ditch. So this week, I'm hugging the center line!
Beth

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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby Hjklost55 » Wed Nov 09, 2022 3:03 pm

Hey Beth…. It was good to see you today on the call. I’m so with you on the “roadway” scenario. I had ONE fortune cookie yesterday and that ALMOST derailed me. But I hung on for dear life and survived! We have so many similarities, it’s like you explain something and I’m going YES YES THATS IT!!! :-P :-P

I started an exercise journal like you were showing and I am liking that a lot. It is fun to see the pattern. So far I am 9 days in a row of continuous exercise!!!. Don’t want to break that pattern!!

Can you share with me any of your “tricks” for a sweet tooth? I just mostly eat a few frozen grapes, or a banana nice cream for my desserts, but was curious what you do.

Hope you are having a great week…. It is cold and snowy here in Idaho right now, so I am kinda housebound for the afternoon. A little bored, but staying out of the kitchen. Haha

Take Care,
Holly
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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Nov 11, 2022 8:48 pm

HOLLY!!! :D :-D :)

You are doing great and so super glad you are here!!!

https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/viewt ... 43#p631407

Check out this post on how to post pictures --- I use same internet hosting site that Rick refers to. Try to post your awesome pics!!!

Hope you have an awesome weekend!!

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: Holly’s Journal

Postby Lizzy_F » Sat Nov 12, 2022 3:10 pm

Hi Holly!! GOOD GOING on that exercise! The more I get to know you the more I see that we are sisters from other mothers, or however that saying goes! :D Kindred spirits!

I have discovered that my best friend when it comes to SWEET stuff, or FATTY stuff, is TIME. With enough time away from processed sweets and/or high fat foods (in combination with sugar, or on it's own i.e. nuts/nut butters), I stop craving them. It's like there is a monster (The Cookie Monster!) living inside of me, and it only takes "one" to wake up the beast! Then I will be craving sugary fatty foods like I never stopped eating them. I'm dealing with that feeling right now after the almond butter escapade.
I eat a lot of fruit, and that doesn't seem to wake up the monster. But high fat food and processed sugary food is just a RAPID slippery slope. TIME will get me out of this hole, and for me, it seems to take some will power to get that time under my belt. Plenty of starch seems to help - making sure I am NOT hungry right now so I can get back on track. At least that's what I think is going on with me!!

There is a thread in the MWL section that you have probably already read. The title is something like "Can you really eat as much as you want." I LOVE that thread - lot's of wisdom from Jeff about calorie density, how the program recommendations can get misinterpreted and taken out of context, and how the "margin for error" gets narrower in terms of our energy balance as we lose more weight. I don't know if any of this is relevant for you right now, but I have been dealing with some mental barriers and that thread is really speaking to me right now. When my perception (even subconsciously) is that things are working right, I LIVE for the "effit" moment where I throw in the towel and eat whatever. Now that my BMI is getting close to a good spot, I have less margin for error. So the scale doesn't always seem to be moving. (at least not down, LOL!) And my pea brain LOVES to say "effit" when I am in this place. So I have to continually remind myself that this program IS working for me. In fact, it's working REALLY WELL for me. Just because the scale doesn't go down every time I step on it doesn't mean the sky is falling!

Sorry to ramble on in a stream of consciousness in your journal! I should be doing this in my own journal! Anyway, can you see how my head is really quite a dangerous place? There is an entire committee in there discussing this stuff, and I don't think they are well qualified! :D :D :D

Anyway, I just had steamed cabbage, split pea soup loaded with potatoes, and fruit salad (banana, strawberries, grapes) for lunch. The committe is still thinking about that almond butter. But they are not getting any. Not today. :D
Beth

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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby Hjklost55 » Wed Nov 16, 2022 2:19 pm

Hello Beth,
Thank you for the recommendation of the thread “can you really eat as much as you want”. I need to reread multiple times until it sinks in. My go to right now, is my pot of veggie soup. I tell ya, I have been eating a TON of that. So when I think I am still hungry I eat MORE of that. Right now, it is satisfying me.

I’m also starting to understand the Pleasure Trap more and more, and how that ONE bite can derail me. It is still difficult, but maybe a tiny bit easier than it used to be. I seem to recover quicker if I do derail….. my goal…. Keep extending the time between those crashes!! I appreciate all of your input. Your truly are a “Star McDougaller”.

Holidays are here, got to stay focused and keep my head down. Don’t want to start the new year with any regrets from my bad choices over the holidays.



Take care,
Holly K

“It does not matter how slowly you go, so long as you do not stop”
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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby VegSeekingFit » Wed Nov 16, 2022 6:41 pm

Hi Holly!!! :) :-D

Love your quotes here!!! I know you are keeping going!!! :D

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: Holly’s Journal

Postby Hjklost55 » Sun Nov 20, 2022 8:49 am

Good morning Journal. Thinking ahead and preparing for a successful Thanksgiving day at our friends house. They always have a ton of temptations. But my goal is to stay compliant this year. I know I can do it. I am stronger now. And more aware of my triggers. Hope everyone has a great week.

In health,
Holly


“Giving up on your goal because of one setback, it’s like slashing your other three tires because you got one flat. Never give up!” Chris Garner
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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby Lizzy_F » Tue Nov 22, 2022 7:46 pm

Hi Holly!!! I am SO open to talking about volume eater strategery!!!! :D Here are a few things off the top of my head that have become habit and/or I have learned work well for me:

* Pre-load, pre-load and pre-load. Veg soup always as first course for dinner, then cooked veg, then starch is the way I do it. If I want more starch, I also eat more non-starchy veg. Tiffany has me working on taking smaller platefuls, and just guaging whether I am really still hungry before I get another starch/veg plate. I struggle with that one.

* For me, I feel better when I eat larger meals, and don't snack in between. I'm not depriving or going hungry - for this to work for me I have to make sure I am truly satiated (not stuffed - just good and satisfied!) with my meals. If I am, then I really don't get hungry in between and do well with either 2 or 3 meals per day. If I am hungry in the morning I eat breakfast, but often I am not hungry in the morning and if I'm not hungry, I just wait until lunch. (I have not always been hungry in the morning since childhood - I seem to be wired that way, and everyone is not...) If I start in snacking - even on something like potatoes - my eating just doesn't stop. If I'm hungry, I need to make a proper meal including starting out with soup or veg for a pre-load.

* I cannot eat just one of Pleasure Trap foods. I kicked that door open just a crack lately, and WHAT A MISTAKE!! I do best when I keep my food selection and my meal prep really simple. I'm in "back to basics" mode right now.

I eat a LOT of food. So I have to be super mindful about the calorie density overall. There is truly no danger of me not getting enough starch LOL!

I don't know if any of that helps. Wishing you a nice Thanksgiving and many luscious POTATOES! :D
Beth

"Long-term sustainable change is what we are really after." ~Jeff Novick
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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby Hjklost55 » Sun Nov 27, 2022 11:17 am

Hello Journal…..

I can’t believe November is coming to an end. I’m so excited that I haven’t had a binge since October 31st! Started up here on November 1, and WON’T look back. I made it through Thanksgiving, and also Gingerbread building with the grand kids. Bit of a challenge to NOT lick the frosting off my fingers, but I did it. Caught myself a couple times, but easily said DON’T DO IT HOLLY!!! :lol: We had tons of candy, but I stayed out of it. Another BIG accomplishment for me. Headed to Las Vegas on Tuesday, so will have another few days of temptation. But am feeling stronger every day. Going to go to a Miranda Lambert concert and staying with a girlfriend. I am flying, but plan on hitting the grocery store when I get there. Buy some frozen veggies and a bag of potatoes. I will make me a pot of soup and cook the potatoes as soon as I get there. Will also take some oatmeal and rice just in case! As I mentioned before, I want to hit the New Year in a better place with no regrets like I have in years past!

Thank you again to Beth and Stephanie, for all your input and encouragement this last month. You guys are my ROCK!!!!

To a strong December,
Take Care,
Holly
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Re: Holly’s Journal

Postby Lizzy_F » Tue Nov 29, 2022 6:22 pm

CONGRATULATIONS HOLLY!! Wow - so many accomplishments! A completely binge-free month! Getting through events involving food temptations! Making an AWESOME food plan for your girl trip - which sounds SO FUN by the way. I love Miranda Lambert so please do tell us all about the concert when you get home!!!

YOU GO GIRL! You are ROCKING THIS!
Beth

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