Discussion Board

Hey Amy,

Congratulations on your success!!

While I have never had a soda problem, I have heard that you can start diluting the soda with carbonated water. Depending on your "addiction" I guess, would be how much you dilute it to start with. But maybe 1/4 carbonated water to the soda to start. It would be a good start, pretty soon you would be down to 1/2, then 3/4's, then nothing.

I found while getting adjusted to McDougall foods, it was easier to leave my coffee habit alone. But I finally quit. Actually I probably quit it about 4 times before I really quit. Now when I think about coffee, it is just nah, I dont want it. I dont want to go back to drinking it. About 3 months ago or so, I did buy a cup of coffee on one of those really cold am's, when I had to be out really early. It tasted horrible. My tastebuds have definitely changed for coffee. Still working on other stuff but it does get easier & it will for you, too.

Good luck with this. Dont be too hard on yourself if you make a mistake & yeah, I agree with Norm. Eat until you are not hungry anymore, even if you think it is too much food. Dont stress about the quantity now.

Thanks Jan, Norm & everyone else who visited my journal!

Sorry I dropped off the boards - really don't have a good reason other than laziness.

I am so unhappy with my self due to my weight being at the highest point ever I am actually having a hard time finding the will to believe that change & weight loss is truly possible. After much soul searching analyzing and reading lots and lost here, I know I can do it.

I don't want to be stuck in this fat suit anymore. All of my pants feel like I am a stuffed sausage and I refuse to go buy bigger pants.

That said - my true dream is to dance again. I grew up from age 3 and on as a dancer. I honestly thought I was going to go to that high school from the tv show FAME. What a bummer when I found out it wasn't real. But seriously, dance and me were one. I was never amazing, but I was really good especially at tap dance. I've kept up with some tap here and there over the years but I wanted to wait to go back until I lost weight, like a hundred + pounds. I considered going back to aid in my weight loss (tried that before too) but an ankle injury and current aches and pains are just making it feel really really far away from a possibility.

Lately, regardless of wearing really expensive 'comfort' shoe brands like: Dansko, Chaco, Earth, Birkenstock, etc. My feet hurt all the time. Like literally any amount of standing is too much. This has never been the case and my weight has been this high before. BUT, I'm not so far in denial as to realize that at being almost 300 lbs can not be helping the issue.

So, I started today - 'Norm Style' - a little bit here and there eating the McD way. I need to go grocery shopping, but that will happen.

Thank you all for being here - for being real - and for being an inspiration to me. It means the world!

Norm Style! Yay!

I've been doing a lot of thought lately on just what defines my approach to this way of eating. After all... I am 100% McDougall compliant about 95% of the time. What makes my approach different than other people's approach?

I set out from the very start knowing that changing my diet was a HUGE undertaking. I knew it'd take incredible effort. I knew I'd have to give up foods I loved my entire life. And I knew I couldn't do it all at once.

But most importantly, I saw that I had lifelong relationships with food that were just as dear to me as relationships Ive had with people. I've known from past experience that it is not easy to break off relationships with people I've known and loved for long periods of time, no matter how unhealthy those relationships had become. There had to be a grieving process involved in getting over those relationships before I could move on.

So it is with food. It's not always just as easy as one day changing our diets completely and never looking back. I know some here have done just that, and I admire them. I couldn't. I have been here long enough to see people come here all fired up, change EVERYTHING about their diet and lifestyle, report how great they feel about it, only to be gone in 2-3 weeks. I have been here long enough to see people who've been struggling with this for years, who repeatedly jump on the 100% compliance bandwagon, struggle, and eventually fall off. Repeatedly.

I honestly believe that many of these people could benefit from a slower transition into this lifestyle. One which not only allowed for time to say goodbye and grieve the ending of unhealthy relationships with food, but which actively focused on doing just that.

It was a process, but one which I knew I had to go through. And looking back, it didn't take all that long. Within a few short months I was well on my way. I've had 68 weeks of continuous weight loss at an average of 2.6 pounds per week. There has to be something to my approach.

You can do this! If jumping in head first doesn't work for you, then the "Norm Style" just might be your pathway to McDougall Bliss.

-Norm

Thanks Norm. You make me smile at the computer screen. Thanks for being so real, honest and giving of yourself. I love reading your detailed posts.

Hi Amy,

Just dropping to say you can do this!!

I am following the regular plan, I love and enjoy my bread and pasta, and I wont even consider MWL yet! Realizing that I can follow the regular plan and still lose weight is very motivating for me. I have tried and failed more than a few times for a year but this time, so far, so good. Just keep trying to incorporate McD foods like your doing.

Looking forward to your progress!

Thanks so much BeansNRice for the kind words and encouragement!! I so want to be a success.

Here's the update for today...

I tried weighing myself for a starting weight and I can't get a number from my scale. This has never happened before - hubby confirmed it's working for him (i.e. not the battery) so that means either I am too close to the max (which I believe is 300) or over the max. Last time I weighed in at 291. SO...just more proof that what I have been doing (which is eating junk/fast food/restaurant 3x per day) isn't working. Duh...knew that - but painful to have it confirmed in that way.

Trying not to stress about choices right now - focusing on more good carbs and low fat options.

I also ordered the Starch solution book, the Pleasure trap book & both of Jeff's Fast Food DVD's. Can't wait to get them - should arrive on Monday. I'll be out of town for a few days for training, but I'll forward to them upon my return.

Have a great weekend everyone!!

So - not sure why I didn't make a go of things in March - but here I am again. Kind of excited that no one will see my journal, I'm sure.

Getting recommitted and excited...

I'm pretty close to nailing down plains to attend the 5 day program in the end of November 2012. This has given me new drive and motivation.

More soon - just wanted to find my journal and say SOMETHING!

Good for you for not giving up and just starting over
How exciting you are going to the 5 day program

Welcome back Amy!!!

-Norm

I am so very inspired by so many folks on the board. Of course - there's the Star McDougaller's, just can't get enough of those. But also others who are just living this way and reaping the rewards and trucking along (like Norm and Moonwalker) I just can't get enough of your words of wisdom and sharing about your daily successes.

I've pretty much been limping along with my efforts. Doing some McDougall when it was easy and other times just not even trying.

I was inspired last week by a japanese yam. I bought it on an impulse buy at the store and roasted it (plain of course) and could not get over how delicious and sweet the flavor was. That's the kind of food that keeps me interested in this WOE for a lifetime.

Also, I have been talking to my hubby about attending the 5 day program in November. He's on board but I do feel like it's a lot of pressure. Pressure in a good way and pressure that I need to really put up or shut up. I wish he could come learn too, but he's really not all that interested. I booked my flight to San Francisco last night and I will hopefully be reserving my spot in the 5 day today. I'm nervous, excited, scared and overwhelmed at the thought.

I think a big part of my issues is the fact that our house has not been in what I consider to be user friendly condition. I joke that pretty soon we're going to need to be on hoarders. Way to much clutter and we were living around it. This caused me to be very unmotivated to clean and pick up because there is SO much to do. Well, we are finally making some progress there. It's all linked to my food choices in a way because if the sink is full of dishes or the counters are messy its just not fun to go into the kitchen and cook. We are turning over a new leaf at home and it feels so good. I guess that's proof positive that its never too late for a fresh beginning.

I am going to take the same approach with my eating. I am cutting out meat and dairy first. Will focus on 100% no oil next. I am keeping oil in play so that eating out is still an option for the next few weeks. Places like Chiptole is McDougall friendly on the surface but I've read that there is oil in the rice and veggies (BIG bummer there).

I am SO excited to think about the new me - I feel like knowing that I am going to the program is going to help me take things much more serious. In a weird way, I think it's much easier to commit and get over the hump of beginning and what you can't have when you have been somewhat forced to try this WOE by a health crisis. I haven't really had that - I'm just plain old fat and starting to feel the effects more and more so I am ready to get it done.

I was also pleased by my bosses reaction to my request for time off for the 5 day. She couldn't have been more positive in her response. I started a new job 2 months ago and they are wellness focused, one of the reasons I joined was so that I would be surrounded by healthy people making good choices. I do feel like I don't fit in when I am not doing that - but again I think it's good positive peer pressure. No one is really into McDougall that I have found (yet) but I did send a co-worker one of the recent emails from McDougall, she was very interested.

Thanks for reading - talk to you all soon!

Hi Amy!

I am so excited that you are going to go to the five day event in November!! I would LOVE to be able to do something like that! I hope it helps motivate you to stick with this lifestyle!

But I'm sorry you're "limping along in your efforts". That is not good. I know you've had reservations about your ability to jump in head first and go 100% McDougall full bore. That is why I've suggested you transition to this way of eating like I did. But the "Norm Way" isn't about limping along... it's about finding changes you can live with for the rest of your life, then running with those changes. As an example, when I first started out I didn't think I could give up meat. But I could add in whole grains and eat oats for breakfast. That was a baby step toward this way of living, but I took it and I stuck with it, consistently. In time I worked up to the next baby step, and then I committed to it.
Some things, like Dairy, I didn't know if I could give up "for the rest of my life", so my baby step in that area was to try giving it up for 30 days. I did, and then decided I could do it forever.
One thing I knew from the start of my "transition" was that it is possible to use a "transition" as a forever excuse to never quite get where you want to go, and so I paid due diligence to make sure that I saw measurable progress towards my goals as time went on.

You can do this, Amy! But you have to make decisions you can live with, and then run with them! Whether the decisions you make are 100% from the start or to transition, you're still going to have to make a decision and follow through!

Keep us updated!

-Norm

Norm! Please don't think I was intending to imply that 'limping along' is doing anything close to the 'Norm Way'.

No, no, no, no - you are much smarter and WAY more awesome than that!!!!!!

I agree with you - what I have been doing is NOT GOOD. I am using all caps to reprimand myself. I haven't really being doing it or really been trying. I relying on eating out for almost 100% of my meals and sadly this has been the case for a long time. I am trying to change that, I honestly think its my number one issue in regards to food, but I need to do slow things that aren't too radical.

So here's my list of priorities and planned progression:
1. No Meat - this is easy for me in terms of entrees but more difficult in terms of garnish. 100% is the only thing acceptable to me on this one.

2. No Dairy - right now this is no added dairy, if I need to use a milk like product I am choosing an alternative like almond milk. No cheese, no yogurt, no ice cream (certainly the hardest for me right now)

3. No added Oil - Allowing some when eating out in veggies, etc. Trying to change to not eating out

4. Caffeine - allowed right now - Intake is much less important than stressing about it all day. I want to make the diet changes first then worry about caffeine. Definitely not a fan, nor do I think its good for me - but taking it one day at a time.

Going back and reading my posts the same hurdles do still exist for me. I'm still not a fan of breakfast foods or at least the reliable oats for breakfast unfortunately, so this always makes me feel like something is wrong with me. I want to focus more on potatoes as my chosen starch, including sweet potatoes. Also, brown rice and maybe use brown rice as my breakfast food.

In general I'm trying to be much less dogmatic. Eat when I'm hungry, not eat because it's a certain time of day and at least within the confines of the regular McDougall program. I want to move towards MWL once I make some progress and have some success.

Tried to weigh myself this morning but still getting an error on my scale at home. I will assume I'm somewhere around 315 and go from there.

Again - Norm, thanks for being such a loyal reader - please be assured that your points are well taken indeed!

Nothing is wrong with you. "Breakfast foods" are just cultural conditioning. After all, "breakfast" in Japan often consists of a bowl of rice, a small piece of fish, and some pickled vegetables.

If you don't like oatmeal, don't force yourself to eat it. I think oatmeal is pretty awful personally. Sometimes I can get in a groove of eating steel-cut oats for a while, but it is never my first choice. I'd rather have fatfree hashbrowns, a baked potato, or even dinner leftovers. Heck, yesterday I had a small amount of rice mixed with salsa, topped with a huge salad ... for breakfast. Today I had leftover brown rice and MooShu vegetables from lunch yesterday.

Eat the healthy foods you LIKE when you want. If you want a sweet potato for breakfast, go for it!

Thanks Chile - that's awesome advice and just what I needed to hear! I LOVE hashbrowns, so I think you are onto something there.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your words of wisdom!!

Amy, I recently tired of my usual oatmeal breakfast. I happened to have a Japanese sweet potato leftover in the fridge (I bake them for the best taste/texture). I sliced it up, zapped it for a minute, and topped it with a sliced banana. It was so delicious and has become my new favorite morning food. Unfortunately, I'm paying 2.49 a pound for these right now.