Latgerda - every day a little better

[Latgerda]

Hello,

I want to use this thread to track my journey. But first some background:

I am 34, female and have been overweight all my life. In fact, the first record of my weight problems is from when I was a toddler and the doctor wrote "morbidly obese" in my baby health journal. There isn't much I haven't tried, from fat camp in my teens to South Beach, Weight Watchers, several doctor supervised formula diets, psycho therapy and so on.
Binge eating is my best friend when things get tough, or uncomfortable, or stressful. I started doing it in my childhood when I used to hide stashes of food in my room, and today not much is different just that I have a kitchen to hide it in now.

Christmas 2011 I read The China Study and decided to give this vegan thing a shot. It was difficult for various reasons: I live in Iceland, where selection in fresh fruit and vegetable is limited, not to mention trying to get vegan friendly food at work or when eating out. I also felt that it takes too much effort when it comes to shopping, preparing meals and planning. I lost around 30 lbs and felt a lot better but eventually the pizzas and cheese sandwiches started to creep in.

However, one thing I dropped for good was meat and fish. I realized I don't miss it one bit and I think that my two cats are keeping me motivated there. Looking at their cute faces makes me unable to disconnect the slab of flesh from the live animal. So I decided to give myself a break (I can be extremely self-critical) and be happy I managed to get at least that far.

All those months I knew though that I really don't want to eat dairy anymore, but convenience and the love for dairy prevented me from cutting it out again. But the more I read and watched documentaries about animal rights, the effect on the environment and our health, about the results people get on programs like 80/10/10 the more I knew that I really should find a motivator. It is hard to describe, but I feel that knowing it in my head isn't enough - I need to know it in my belly. Like seeing a steak gives me this knot in my stomach, I needed a knot for dairy. Then I watched this video by Dr. McDougall: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKu2n4dMMCM - and I have been thoroughly disgusted by the thought of eating cheese ever since. So I think (hope) I may have found that knot in my stomach

From there it was only a short step to reading The Starch Solution, devouring all the videos on Dr McDougall's youtube channel, and also this video which I have found extremely helpful: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAdqLB6bTuQ - so I will be reading Dr Lisle's book next.

Enough history, here some data:

Highest weight recorded (Christmas 2011): 324 lbs
Weight pre-McDougalling (March 13th 2013): 306 lbs

My last check-up was 2011 and there I got a clean bill of health in terms of cholesterol, blood pressure etc. My blood sugar was a bit elevated, and I was Iron deficient but it seems so far I have been very fortunate in that my body has managed to forgive me the mistreatment, but I notice it is getting harder. I have been feeling very sluggish and low on energy, I have serious hirsutism and PCOS, and my joints are starting to hurt more often. So better do something!

[Latgerda]

Right, so in terms of progress so far.

Weight today: 303 lbs

I feel I have a lot more energy, my migraines have cleared up (they always hit me hard when I eat dairy and disappear completely when I don't), and I feel less foggy in my mind.

The first day was tough - I ate way too little starch during the day as I discovered in hindsight and ended up destroying half a bag of cashews in the middle of the night. I have realized that it will be tough for me to snap out of the mentality of having to restrict myself as much as possible, so I am now tracking my food intake on Sparkpeople for a while to get a better feel for how much I am eating and what my body needs. Things are getting better though and I am loving the fact that this program feels so sane compared to what I have done so far. Sure, I can go all out and make an elaborate dish with 10 ingredients if I wish (and I love cooking so I do sometimes), but I can also just boil some potatoes, steam broccoli, drizzle some 3-2-1 on top and call it dinner, and that is just great!

[yarnpetter]

Hi and welcome. It looks like you and I are starting at about the same place (I am a little higher in weight) medically at about the same time. Looking forward to watching your journey.

[Latgerda]

Hi and welcome. It looks like you and I are starting at about the same place (I am a little higher in weight) medically at about the same time. Looking forward to watching your journey.

Thank you - it is nice to meet you! I have started reading the other journals on here, will go and seek yours out next.

[PineappleTraci]

Hi Latgerda,

Glad you're here!

You are young and are free of all irreversible problems, so wow -- you are in such a great position here! Lucky, lucky you.

You also have found a great place to get support, advice, inspiration and education when needed -- we are always a click away!

Since you mention having watched and read things that have helped you on this way of eating (or "WOE" as we seem to say around here), I wonder if you are looking for even more resources to give you tools and guidance? If yes, just ask and you will have mountains of suggestions!

Also, I am inclined to say that you have a leg up in your weight loss journey, simply by virtue of being from anywhere that is *not* the most obese nation in the world. (Quick note to Americans who are sure that *we're* the heaviest -- some statistics show that Australians actually have us beat! But let's not fight over *that* title.)

While you may have less access to cheap produce than we do here, you likely have positives that we don't have -- maybe a more pedestrian-friendly environment, for example. I *do* remember a friend of mine saying that dairy is full-fat in Iceland and people eat lots of it, but with any luck, you will break free and not have to care.

[Latgerda]

Thank you for the welcome, Pineappletraci. It is great to see such a supportive community and to know where to ask if questions come up
You are right, here it is quite pedestrian friendly. In fact I have never owned a car in my life regardless of where I lived but that was always in Europe. Produce - it's not even a cost issue (I am going by the mantra "this is not a discount body" these days. Saw it in a documentary and loved it) but just that there are things not available at all. But it's all good - I'll just eat what is there and yeah they do like their full fat dairy, meat and fish here but that doesn't concern me anymore.

---------------------------------------------------
Weight today: 302 lbs

I was very "good" this weekend which is a bit funny. It used to be that weekends were for feasting and I would go and buy a lot of greasy food on Friday. This Friday I went to the store thinking "excellent, finally I can eat all whole foods for two days". The challenge will be finding a routine so I can eat at the cantina without falling off the wagon and I also need to get in a position where I am not obsessing over weight loss and food.

I cleaned out the pantry and tossed the last dairy product I had (butter) along with a bunch of hyper processed, fatty vegan food. Having trouble sleeping but that always happens when I change something with my body. January I quit smoking and hardly slept for three weeks.

[Latgerda]

Weight today: 303 lbs

... And boy do I feel heavy. Yesterday started fine with oatmeal and a pear but then at work they served hashed fish and potatoes and apart from the salad bar the only thing to eat was the traditional bread the have with that which is malted rye and sickeningly sweet (I am not a picky eater as far as my taste buds are concerned but that bread is just wrong).

So I ate a big salad, a slice of that bread and 1/4 cup of chickpeas from the salad bar which had oil on them and a glass of O J for no reason other than I was not thinking

Got home and was starving. Had the dinner I had ready in my fridge (Cajun spiced cabbage and bean burritos) and was still hungry so I ate a pound or so of Brussels sprouts.

So yeah, not a very successful day. Also feeling really bloated and stuffed as a consequence. Found out two good side effects of this WOE though:

1 - my cats leave me alone while I am eating or cooking. They used to try and eat my meat and when I gave that up went for the dairy. Now they sniff at my food once, give me their "you gotta be kidding" look and leave me to eat in peace

2 - you know that look big people get at the grocery store? The one that says "missy, you really should be eating nothing at all until you conform to my perception of adequate weight"? Well people don't do that when you heap a basket full of veggies on the belt but it does stump the cashier ("do you know what this is?" "Sorry, I can tell you in three languages but Icelandic isn't one of them at this point")

[yarnpetter]

1 - my cats leave me alone while I am eating or cooking. They used to try and eat my meat and when I gave that up went for the dairy. Now they sniff at my food once, give me their "you gotta be kidding" look and leave me to eat in peace

Boy do I know that look! Cats can really put you in your place.

[Latgerda]

Weight today: 303 lbs

I feel really constipated, which is weird since I haven't had issues with that in the past. Trying to drink more water and hoping that this is why I haven't dropped more weight.

Food wise, yesterday was so-so. Ate way too much bread compared to unrefined starches, but at least no major slip ups.

Not sure, but I feel like my hair is getting less greasy though. I have to wash it every morning and have had to do that for the past 20 or so years, but the past two days I have been looking at it in the morning and felt like it was nearly ok to not wash it. Will give it a shot at the weekend to see whether it lasts longer than it used to without washing - not having to wash it every day would be huge!

[Latgerda]

Weigh today: 302.5 lbs

Still feeling really heavy and sluggish. I'm also a bit frustrated because I am used to dropping weight really quickly in the initial weeks of a diet change so I am wondering if I am doing it wrong or if I am just not losing water like I usually would. I suspect I am eating too many refined carbs so will work on that.

[Latgerda]

Weight today: 301 lbs

Starting to feel better but still not like I used to. Yesterday I managed to keep mostly bread free with the exception of a piece for lunch. Also no sugar - oatmeal is actually not bad sugar free so I think I will stick to that.

So anyway, 5 lbs lost in the first week. I hope it's not all water. I'm looking forward to the weekend so I can eat simpler and at my own pace. Got guest coming on Sunday - I already warned them dinner will be different

[Latgerda]

Weight today: 298

I am going to stop hopping on the scales every day and instead making Saturday my weigh-in day. Will continue to track my food on Sparkpeople for a while longer for peace of mind.

[Latgerda]

Today I hosted a dinner for my three closest friends here in Iceland. I had told them in advance it would be different but was still a bit nervous whether they would hate it. I got rave reviews and they all went for seconds so I don't think they were just being polite. Admittedly I cheated a bit though by having fairly health conscious and open minded friends

So this was the menu:
Bavarian potato salad
Grain based burgers
Cucumber relish
Tofu mayo
Salad of Chinese cabbage and red peppers with orange, oregano, green pepper dressing
Mixed salad with 3-2-1 dressing
Mushrooms and beets sautéed with lots of dill and lemon
Tofu raspberry cheesecake with pineapple and mint on the side

I made everything myself except the relish so it was definitely vegan without nuts, seeds or oil added. There was quite a bit of sugar though and also tofu so definitely not every day fare but still I am happy I pulled off a meal people liked and that was still all "permitted" food although on the rich side. Good thing next weigh in is nearly a week away so back to broccoli and potatoes tomorrow

[Latgerda]

Today I got the traditional "Páskaegg" from work. It is a huge chocolate egg, filled with more chocolate. I would say it weighs at least a pound, if not 1.5 pounds. Below a picture of my tripping stone:



I have decided to not even let it into my house because there is no way I won't eat it all by the weekend (if it lasts that long) - it does raise the question though what to do with it. My first impulse is to find a colleague with kids and give it to them, but if I am convinced that eating dairy-based chocolate (especially in those quantities) is bad for the human body, should I really be giving it to someone's children?

Philosophical waxing aside, a mini-update: I have learned that I am allergic to pineapple. At least if I eat a whole one by myself within two days and then share another one with friends the next day Guess there is too much of a good thing in the end.

My body seems to be getting used to this WOE more, at least I am not feeling bloated and constipated anymore. I have been slacking on tracking my food intake on Sparkpeople though and not going on the scales, so Saturday will be exciting. I think I am doing ok though. For example, yesterday I had:

Breakfast:
1 banana
Coffee (yes, still hooked on that )

Snack:
Whole-wheat cracker

Lunch:
Huge pile of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, peppers and alfalfa sprouts without dressing
6 thin slices of baguette bread

Dinner:
2.5 cups of whole-wheat rice with teriyaki sauce
Leftover salad and veggies from Sunday. It was a whole rainbow, with some no-fat dressings inside.

Snack:
2 pears, a nibble from the left-over pineapple but I have decided that the itching is not worth it so the pineapple will have to go

I don't like that I am eating so much bread for lunch even if they are only baguette-sized slices. Need to get myself to eat more breakfast so I am not starving by lunch and even more so by dinner. But I think as far as permitted food is concerned, I am doing ok, just not in a MWL sense (not following MWL but trying to lean in that direction).

[Latgerda]

Weight today: 300 lbs

This is actually a bit frustrating - I feel like I should get a reward for passing up that chocolate egg, as well as all the other temptations this week. I will say though that there is probably still too much bread in my life and that the Sunday feast probably bumped me up a bit. Also, back to being constipated and bloated. So I am hoping that I will start losing again soon.

All in all, this is getting easier. I am still measuring and recording what I am eating and it seems like my body is getting used to this WOE slowly but steadily. I used to be hungry again within an hour of eating brown rice, for example and that is getting better. Also, until today I had been 2 weeks without actually falling off the wagon, which I am quite proud of but today I ate out (day trip with my book club to the very western edge of Iceland where we went Whale watching) and it was a plate of onion soup. The waitress claimed that it had no animal products and no oil, but when I tasted it I could tell it was way too rich for that. I actually suspect it had butter, if not even some sort of meat based broth. I ate about half the plate because I felt it would be insulting to reject it before I came to the conclusion that I was not even enjoying it because I felt guilty and that it was hence not worth it at all. So I asked them to warm up the rice I had packed instead, but I do wish I had done that right from the start.

Anyway, hope this week will have better results than the last! Sort of entertaining the idea of exercising ...