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Day 31 ( Sun 17 June) - Weight 73.5 kg
Exercises : 5 km run, 45 min swim, 15 min BodyAttack

B - medium size sweet potato
L - potato salad (grilled white potato, tomato, cucumber, salt, pepper, 100 fat free French salad dressing)
D - potatoe salad
S - grilled sweet potatoe

1. This is my first journal entry here. I used to journal in the newbie section under Frustrated.
Yes, I am frustrated for not losing a gram in 31 days. I have come a long way to adjust to the new lifestyle since I started but without results. The one crucial thing that i have failed to achieve is my intake. I have been overeating. Or rather binging on all the healthy foods.
I just need to get over this hurdle. It is all about net calories.
I do not feel good. I feel bloated and discomforted.
I just need to eat less and less every day.
Just say NO to overeating. Just stop eating when hunger is tamed. Stop thinking about food. I just have enough.

2. I did not prepare my overnight cereal as I wanted to live on potato salad today. I am taking one day at a time for now.

11h09 am
So far so good. Potatoes for breakfast and lunch. As I prepared Vegies and baked potatoes, I could not resist the temptation to have early potato salad lunch. As I finished my salad bowl, I thought of making another one. Then, I said, NO no more or now. Unless hunger strikes, my next food intake is after 16h00.
I have some questions around potatoes which I will pose in a different thread - are there any daily restrictions for eating sweet potato? For me, grilled sweet potato is as sweet as a banana. So if fruit name should be limited to 2 serving per day, why not sweet tomatoes ? Is it ok to eat the skin of the grilled potatoes?

21h12 Hurray ! my first day on potato. Potatoes for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. I still ate a lot of potatoes - maybe 8 to 10.
The temptation was high to eat bulgur but I did not. I still got bulgur with tomatoe purée in the fridge and vegetables Tabouleh (bulgur salad) and I wonder whether I should eat them or throw them away and stick to potatoes until I get my weight moving downwards.
Alternatibely, I could have potatoes for another 2 days and then bulgur for 2 days and then back potato diet only. This way, I would have set myself on mono diet journey. I wonder what others recommend.

Day 32 (Mon 18 Jun) - 73 kg
Exercises: 5 km run, 25 min swim

B - 1 x small golden sweet potatoe and a potato salad ( griled white potato and stir fried yellow cupsicum - stir fry with water ( no oil whatsoever))

L - potatoes and Vegies

D - potatoes and Vegies

5:05 AM
Today is my second day on mono diet - just potato & steamed vegies and raw salad. Today I am going for a dental implant.
Just realised that yesterday I missed taking my B12. Now off to swimming and on the way back home I will stop to buy some sweet potatoes to grill for breakfast.

8:39 AM
The golden sweet potato of this morning did not taste as sweet as the pink sweet potato of yesterday. Nevertheless, I grilled 2 kg of golden potatoe and 2 kg of white potatoes. More than plenty. This morning I do not fee as hungry as yesterday and this is good. There might be a sliver light on the horizon.

Yesterday I became of aware of this new phenomenon : in the afternoon, I could sense the secretion of saliva in my mouth, yet I also sensed a full tummy. How can this be ? If I sense fullness, how come my glands are still on their own mission secreting saliva.

3:21 PM
Earlier today I went for a periodontal implant. I did not take pain killers nor antibiotics. I am in pain. I hope it gets better soon.

20:05 PM
Today was easier than yesterday. I am loving this mono potato diet. At this easy rate, I will stick it for a week before I evaluate further. I am willing to stick to it for a week before re evaluating.
Actually, today I managed to consume some 2 kg of white potatoe and one piece of sweet potato.

Something that I forgot to mention with morning entry is that I had 3 bowel movement within an hour since I woke up. This is a good sign that my body is responding to this mono starch diet.

My periodontist advised me today that I should be not swimming for 24 hours. That means that will be missing my swim tomorrow. I will be using this time to go for a run before my morning piano practice session.
Today

Day 33 (Tue June 19 ) - weight 72.2 kg

Exercises : 5 km run


B - 2 small golden sweet potatoes

L - Vegies and potatoes

D - green salad, Vegies and potaoes

5:07 AM
It seems to be working. I lost more weight the last 2 days since I went on Mary's Mini-McDougall diet than the past 30 days. And I can easily sustain it.

8:58 AM
Did not swim this morning on the periodontal's advise following yesterday's implant.
Did not feel hungry this morning. I could have easily skipped breakfast. It is my third day and I feel full all the time, no longer bloated. I guess that either Bulgur or oats or both that caused my bloating.
I am looking foward to break my 70 kg line, hopefully in days and not weeks.

20h30 PM
Tonight I got home hungry. By the time, I had salad and Vegies. I was full. I still had a couple of small potatoes 3-4. But it was unnecessary. I feel I stuffed myself.

Good Job...

Day 34 (Wed 20 Jun) - Weight 72.3 kg
Exercises: none

B - Potatoes and vegies

S - Vegies soup (zucchini, eggplant, tomato juice, onion and condiments)

L - Vegies: Potatoes 2:1

D - Salad (tomato, cucumber, cupsicum), Vegies:Potaoes 2:1

Condiments used: Herbamare original (versatile fresh herb sea-salt), Edmonds French (100% Fat Free blended vinaigrette with fresh garlic and chopped parsley), Whole Black Pepper Corns (grinder) and dried herbs.

Vegies: yellow capsicum, green beans.

Food Preparation Method: Last week, I stir fried the vegies in water. Today I am reverting back to bamboo steaming.



7:49 AM
This morning my face is swollen following my tooth implant on Monday. I did not take pain killer neither antibiotics in spite of throbbing pain on Monday and current swollen. Today I will be resting to expedite the recovery. I will use this time to watch McDougallMedia.

This morning, I am steaming broccoli, zucchini and bitter melon (aka bitter squash) to add to my prepared food. Later I will grill more potatoes. Having prepared food works for me.

21:39 PM
Today I got good replies and suggestions on this forum. I will definitely act on them.

I noticed today that I am getting full just eating vegies and I still proceed to eat potatoes.

I weighted myself during the day at 72.4 kg, yet I still feel big and rounded.

Today is my 4th day on this mini diet and I feel I can go on for ever. There are some many potato recepies that I want to try.

I really want to recover from the implant and revert back to my routine - swimming and running and rowing. I did not exercise today wishing for a quiker recovery. I am not sure. This evening I am as swollen as in the morning. Let us see what tomorrow brings. The only advantage of being at home is having the time to spend on the piano. Today though I struggled to remain focused.

Thanks for the encouragement PotatoHead !

Are you avoiding painkillers because you're concerned they're bad for your health? I rarely take painkillers for common maladies myself, preferring rest and peppermint tea rather than aspirin for a headache, etc. But when I had a root canal I was more than happy to take the 600mg ibuprofen tablets my endodontist provided. I also would not try to eat much in the way of solid foods if I had tooth pain and swelling; pureed soups and fruits would be a good way to go...

Thanks for the suggestion for puréed soup funcrunch. Good thinking. I will need to find a potato soup as I want to stick to my Mary Mini-McDougall Diet ( potatoes and vegies and condiments only - if I understood it correctly ???).

Yes, on the first day following the implant, I did not take the painkiller as I wanted to do without, no (processed and engineered) chemicals to swallow. Yesterday morning, pain was gone and I felt great. So I went for a 5 km run as I was advised not to swim for 24 hours. Then, in the evening when I got home, I realised that the implant side of my face is swollen. This morning, the swellling is still there but seems to have moved dowards. I decided to rest in bed as it is inappropriate to be in the office so that I recover naturally without antibiotics.

Have you contacted the Periodontist who placed the implant? He might want to know about the swelling. We had a lot of patients who had implants done & only a few had swelling. Most had a marginal amount of pain afterwards, I think that is pretty common.

Swelling indicates infection, you don't want to get something that gets out of hand & ends up destroying the bone around the implant.

Doesn't hurt to at least let him know, see what he suggests. Sometimes antibiotics are indicated.

I contacted the periodontist. She strongly recommended that I take the antibiotics. She said I could expect swelling for 3 days because of bone augmentation. I gave in and I got myselfy antibiotics. I am not sure how this wil impact my diet. It is common knowledge that antibiotics trigger a chain reaction and kill the good bacterias.

I took advantage of my visit to the GP to ask for blood test to chek for B12 and cholesterol levels.


It is now over 30 days since I gave up all vegetable and olive oils and any other form of fats. Can I expect improvement in my cholesterol levels ? I wonder.

Take some good quality probiotics after you're done with your course of antibiotics. The capsule kind that needs to be refrigerated. The one I take is Ultimate Flora Adult Formula by Renew Life. Vegetable capsules, dairy and gluten free, 15 billion live cultures per capsule (they make even higher amounts but that gets really pricey).

And you can always have mashed potatoes! Try mashing with diluted vegetable broth if you're not using soy or nut-based milks right now. Nutritional yeast adds a nice cheesy flavor also.

Good suggestion. Thank you.

Day 35 ( Thu 21 Jun ) - weight 71.9 kg
Exercises : none ( I am still swollen)

B Potatoes and Vegies and Salad

L Potatoes and Broccoli soup

D Salad, colourful mash potato (potatoes & carrots) topped with Vegies

5:09 AM
I am relatively happy with the weightloss progress when I take the long term view. They are sustainable baby steps. Amazing how we adapt relatively easy. Last Sunday, when I started on this mini mono diet, it felt different and strange. Now it feels all normal.

This morning, I am still swollen and this time the swell seems to be broader but less pronounced. I will be resting further today. I will be going for blood test.

12:26 AM
Recovering in bed. I downloaded and watched Lifestyle Medicine presentation by Dr McDougall. It was refreshing and reassuring.

I uploaded most of the old McDougall DVD 's that I purchased 10 years ago to my iPad. Over the next few days, I will watch them again. Now that this diet is part of me, I have more time to look at the bigger issues.

In my humble opinion, Dr McDougall should be nominated and awarded Nobel price for his contributions to society.

Today I wanted to make colourful potato mash and ended it up as soup. Not a bad outcome in cold and rainy Melbourne.

19:33 PM
Watching Australia master chef and wondering whether we will ever see a vegan master chef TV programme in TV in my lifetime. I guess not.

I feel round and big again today. I outsize my winter pyjama and I wonder when ever I am going to melt all the fat.

Day 36 (Fri 22 Jun) - Weight 71.4 kg
Exercises : 5 km run


B - 2 small sweet potaoes

L - colourful mash potatoes and carrots and some vegies

S - 2 medium size tomatoes

D - grilled potatoes and one cucumber.

5:18 AM
I have lost 2 kg since Sunday and this is good. I am looking forward to break the 70 kg line. Psychologically, being in the 60 kg range zone is much more rewarding.

I can easily sustain the current eating plan as I enjoy thoroughly what I am eating, I am always full and I am losing weight. My sense of fullness is happening now after less food intake and I mut just stop eating. I still feel that I am eating too much.

7:41 AM
My swell has subsided and I am back to the office today. Rather be in the office than lying in bed. I decided not to swim this morning so that I do not expose my stitched gum to chlorine water. I really miss my swimming and I will be reverting to my active routine as of tomorrow.
After the run this morning, and before the shower I weighted myself naked. To my delight, I weighed 70.90 kg. This is closer to the my next intermediate target - below 70 kg.
I still see a lot of mid section fat. I need to start doing some abs workout in addition to my target daily routine - swimming, running, cycling and rowing. Somehow, I ought to be practicing 2-3 hours piano daily and not my current slackness of 30 min. Over the next 2 weeks, it is school holiday and I might be able to get away with it with no expectations to assist my kids with their homework.

For breakfast and lunch today, I packed mashed potatoes and vegies (all left overs) and 2 small sweet potatoes. This is more than enough. In case not, I will be buying tomato cherries.

17:19PM
Hurray. It is Friday and I am on my way to my weekly piano lesson. I asked the wife to grill white potatoes for dinner. On the way, I will buy some salad to accompany it.
This is my 5th day on this mono diet and it feels good. I am looking forward for the weekend for more exercises after 2 days bed-ridden.

Great sometimes we just need a "jump start" to get going again....I am glad you found what works for you...Keep going