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Yesterday's walk was not very long, but it incorporated a couple of hills, as I hoofed it up to my bank which is only four blocks away, and got out some cash. The great thing about this neighborhood is, whatever direction I go, I will go down a hill and up a hill, both outbound and coming back.

So, getting to the ATM meant going down a hill and a STIFF uphill at the end, and getting home meant using my quads to go back down that steep incline, and of course up the hill to my street. It was a very good walk for cardio 30 min. and my heart rate was UP and normal, UP and normal a few times. they say that's a really good way to do cardio. Intervals? anyway...

I ended up chowing down on the bottom half of a bag of tortilla chips at the end of the day. Ingredients: corn, oil, and salt. So...vegan, but not McDougall! hahaha! and i refuse to kick myself EVER over my food choices. One thing I know about myself is, I will get "hyperfocused" to the point of obsession and adopt an "all or nothing" attitude. If I let myself go there, I will be proud and consider myself amazing for "obeying" the "diet" and if I slip up, I will hate myself and wonder "what is WRONG with me?" for not sticking to it. You know, feeling shame for eating is NEVER healthy...and of course, messing up once, when in THAT mode, will mean abandoning the new way of eating/living altogether.

That is so unhealthy, and I never want to go there again. I decided quite awhile ago (before re-starting McDougall) that I will not make myself follow a whole lot of rules about food. Don't want to get obsessed with food, you know? Huh, that's already sort of an issue for me, anyway. I'd like to get to where I don't think about it so much. Food. don't want to consider myself "good" if I follow the rules, and "bad" if I "break the rules". ugh. I want food to take its proper place in my life...and I still have some thinking to do about that.

And that's why I laugh at my own tortilla chip binge yesterday. I did it mindfully, chewing every bite and relishing the crunch and saltiness, but I certainly did DO it.

Other than tortilla chips, I ate

B: seven grain hot cereal by Bob's Mills w berries; coffee
L: baked potato w/lentil stew topper, and a bowl of steamed red cabbage
S: sugar pea pods
D: great big green salad w/321 dressing and linguine noodles w/plain Classico spaghetti sauce (Classico has no added sweetener WHATSOEVER and is just tomatoes and spices...and YUMMY)
S: tortilla chips ha!

Also, at work I played I LOVE my job! (I work with disabled adults) we went to the park yesterday for lunch. Ate some, played some Frisbee, ran around w/Mr M...pushed him on the swings...and then some other clients got in the game...I spent a half hour or more being quite active...felt good. Mr M wants to always "go FASTER!" so I ran around with him a lot...it feels good to have energy for this kind of thing.

Today is going to be on the road. I'll eat B at home and pack a lunch, but Dinner will be boughten, so I have to think where I'll get my food. We'll be in SLC which has a broad selection of veggie restaurants...Indian? Vietnamese? Thai?

the food plan then

B: baked sweet potato; LO seven grain cereal; (mmm, think I'll put the cereal on the sweet potato and sprinkle some salt, garlic powder, and curry over it all...yum!) coffee
L: veggie sticks (carrot, celery, orange pepper, cauliflower) and almonds
D: somewhere with good vegan selections. It's got to include a salad. hm.

Hi Bunsofaluminum,
I also find it helpful to do weekly menu plans and shopping lists. The Ogden River Walkway sounds wonderful. To put a photo in a thread you first download it to your computer. Then you have to upload it to an image host. Currently I’m using www.tinypic.com . It’s free, easy, and you don’t even have to register. Then copy and paste the code they give you into the thread. Do a preview to make sure it looks right and if it does you post it. Easy breezy.
Letha

Oh, thanks Letha. I thought i'd seen you post those instructions on pics somewhere. I'll be checking it out. There are so many walking options in my town, and Ogden River walkway is one of the best. It's a paved trail that goes through a lovely botanical garden (or you can start there) and up some hills if you want a good cardio push, or just along a level incline if not. Some of it follows the river which I love.

There's another walkway in town, along the Weber River, and that's a nice one, too. More wild. And of course, the foothills. Good town for walking!

Okay, Day 7 was Saturday.

For brekkie I had that sweet potato with 7 grain hot cereal over the top, and some salt, garlic powder, curry and cilantro leaves. YUM!

Lunch was on the road: veggie stix and almonds. By dinnertime I was hungry, and it turned out I was at my bro's house by then. My sweet sis in law was reheating some chili mac/goulash type stuff and I said "I'm eating vegan" and she said "well,there's meat in this.??" and so I told her "do you have any potatoes?"

and this is what I made: two baked potatoes, and for the topper I sauted crook necked squash and zucchini with some onion, garlic salt, parsley and a splash of red wine vinegar. I spooned the saute out over the potatoes, and then poured the juice over everything and it was SO GOOD! I gonna put red wine vinegar on everything! LOL

exercise: mild two block walk.

energy level: way good! I tackled my sil's kitchen sink while I was there. They ain't gonna know what to do with me...Heidi, with energy? really? hahaha! and it feels like my head is clearer than usual, too. Thank you, McDougall!

oh, I had a couple of handfuls of swiss trail mix for a snack at about 10:00, on the way back home.

that's all for now. I think visiting the journals is going to help me stay on track...

What i ate today:

brekkie: LO seven grain cereal w/one TBSP pnut butter and some honey on it
S: corn tortillas and fresh made pico di gallo
Lunch: Two Annie's Indian Samosa Wraps with LO curried lentil stew topper
Dinner: Brazilian Black Beans and Marinated Tomatoes; a pile of greens with caulifllower florets; 1 TBSP of Brianna's honey mustard dressing (I put that on the salad before realizing HELLO? I can make a 321 dressing in no time flat..but what's done is done...added oil...oops)
S: seconds on dinner

I can hardly wait until payday (tuesday)...got my shopping list going, and looking at recipes. I want to do something with eggplant for sure, and am getting tofu FOR SURE. But I'm not doing too bad for having begun this right after paying rent, with zero money for the grocery store. The fridge looked sort of empty, until I made all that rice...oh:

Cooked up a whole bunch of brown rice, for my Foundational Starch of the Week and plan on making a recipe I found at Jeff's forum for the majority of my meals...and always, every day, a big green salad...

so, the fridge looks full again, with two gallons of cooked rice in there, just waiting for a soup or some sauted veggies over the top...mmm...

exercise today...30 minutes, no excuses. Gonna digest for a bit before going, though.

Your doing great. Love your mentality, we think alike. Keep on keepin on

Monday. One week into things. I let myself get too tired over the past three or four days (a good book, couldn't put it down, plus a sleepover that kept me up...ugh) I need to guard my sleep better than I do. When I'm that tired, I don't move my body. So, no exercise to speak of on Sunday. Didn't even get busy in teh garden or the house...just slacked.

Today's eating plan:

B: two baked potatoes w/refried beans and vegan spaghetti sauce
L: vegetable samwich on whole wheat toast, no a whole wheat tortilla...hm, roasted red pepper and tomato slices, with a pile of lettuce on top? hm...veggie stix on the side?
D: LO's from last night's dinner and a big green salad

I will make a big pot of split pea soup to go with the two gallons of brown rice in my fridge that I cooked yesterday, plus I'm going to eat the SNAP food that Jeff recommends over the week

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=10519

and one of my tasks this afternoon is going to be writing menus for the week, so I can shop tomorrow, yay!

exercise: walking with my client today, at his Domino's job putting flyers on doorknobs: up and down LOTS of stairs, and probably up hills, etc. and a 30 min walk this evening.

that's the plan.

Sounds like you're doing great! I love your attitude and the way you handled dinner at your bro's house. Your job sounds like fun, and a good way to get some movement in your day!

Your doing great. Don't let that sleep get in your way, I'm always sleepy but I always get exercise in. Keep on keepin on

not feeling too good. All of my joints ache and I'm so tired.

I went for a nice 30 minute walk in the foothills today, on a broad level path, no heavy ups and downs. Walked briskly, felt pretty good, but was limping by the time I got back to the trailhead. My ankles and knees especially are in a lot of pain. My knees have been hurting since I started up with the exercise again, and today my feet hurt, too.

what gives?

Seriously, I'm wondering if it's a cleanse or something. I shouldn't feel this sleepy so much...last night I went to bed by 9:00 ish and awake at 5:00 am, my usual time. And no, I'm not getting too much sleep. On Friday night I stayed up until about midnight and awake at 6:00ish; Saturday I sat up until about the same time and woke up at 7:00.

Wonder if I could be coming down with something...*sigh* Please, not depression again! Ate lunch, and don't feel quite as drowsy, so that feels like a blood sugar thing, you know? why should I feel drowsy as I get near a meal...complex carbs are supposed to regulate blood sugar.

again, I have to wonder about it being a cleanse. It has a cleansey feel to it, the groggy, and achey feeling.

blch. Gonna try a power nap...thank you Lord for a guest bedroom upstairs...don't have to creak down a flight of steps to get some zzzz's.

It can take time to adjust.

Get some rest

Extra sleep

Take days off and don't exercising every day. Maybe your working out too hard.

It took me a while to adjust too. Keep on keepin on

and the low pressure weather explains a LOT of my tiredness and the aches and pains, too. It's something I've noticed all my adult life: when the weather is in low pressure, I'm a zombie. Love the thunder, and I do love a summer rain storm, but it makes me drowsy, no lie.

so I turned on some "Star McDougallers" videos, and drifted for a half hour or so. It's good.

Now, the task at hand is planning my menus for the week. I want my kids to join me in this (my 15 year old girl is heavier than me) but even if they don't, I think I can cook enough for all three of us, and throw some chicken breast chunks on it, for them. They'll still be eating healthier, if they will eat food I fix. (pretty independent, and their dad buys them pizza or does a big scramble/breakfast burrito type thing for their dinners at his place)...

I'm out of leafy greens, and low on potatoes, but tomorrow is payday, so I'll make my menus and shopping list for the week. I have rice galore, so that will be my foundation starch.

Some things I know I want: eggplant for baba ganoush (no tahini); tofu for a variety of recipes; root veggies for stews; spinach, broccoli, spring greens salad mix and every kind of salad veggie they have on hand; lots of cauliflower my fave veggie right now; bananas, apples, whatever local fruit is on hand (produce stand right around the corner from me), berries for sure (want to eat berries every day possible)...also need red wine vinegar and whole wheat wraps.

time to pack dinner and head to my evening client. yay. *yawn* wishing I could sleep.

I'm really sorry to hear you had a couple of rough days there with aches and pains, bunsofaluminum. As long as you get better and can get back on track after a little while, that's all that matters in the end.

Funny you should mention being tired and out of energy when the barometer is low. I'm the same way when it's hot. I guess much of that is due to my size right now, but I have to admit this summer was very tough to cope with being as our air conditioning wasn't working well for most of the time.

Your shopping ideas sound great! Isn't it nice to have a decent produce shop right next door just about? I really hope the newest Fresh & Easy coming to our general area opens soon. That will make shopping a whole lot easier for Jeanette.

Keep up the good work and the awesome eating!

Hi skamboots (can I call you that? )

Your advice on taking it easy is good. My usual trick of going all out with a "new diet" is back firing on me. I need to let it come naturally. Eat this way for awhile, and let the energy bring me into the exercise. More activity generally is what I'm aiming for anyway. Gardening, housework, projects around the house, hanging and playing with my kids, etc...I know I'll get to a place wher eI'm busting with energy and can do it all! LOL

Kirk, thanks for dropping by. Eventually I'll get to a place where I can walk to the produce stand and back home again. I thought I'd do it this time, but not if I'm still aching like this. Ugh! but I goin to bed early and zonking out right away, I'm sure.

bless you!

Heidi

slept like a rock from 9:00 until 4:00 when my cat woke me up, and then drifted until my alarm went off at 5:00...and woke up still aching. And GASSY! wow!

When I think "Gee, it would be nice to meet a sweet man who would love me and spend his life with me" all it takes is a morning like today, with the covers floating over my bloated body from the methane buildup, to think "No. Way. Nope. Sorry, guys. You don't WANT to be here with me"

I thought "If I step on the scale now, I'll be 10 pounds lighter, because all the hot air will be lifting me slightly from the gravitational pull of the earth." That, and the sore right knee and ache in my shoulders...I'm going to take it real easy today. Get groceries for sure, I want big green salads again, but otherwise low key. Watch a movie and get the house straightened up. Not feeling very energetic...the weather is still "low" and I'm just matching it, as usual. Low pressure front=low Heidi.

(also thinking this is a cleanse of sorts, because my tongue was so coated last night when I brushed my teeth...groggy, achey, coated tongue...hm)

You had me laughing. Gas is a sign of health, just ask Jeff...lol

Your doing great. Keep on keepin on