Discussion Board

I just ate a delicious, satisfying breakfast of veggies and pasta and then I looked at this post. I have lost my cravings for ice cream and other sweet killers! I now think of pasta and rice as my "desserts"! I think many here would say the same thing. With compliance and time, as you said, many here have obtained excellent results! Perhaps in a few months, KC will be able to say the same thing!

Good Morning,

I have had a bad week with food. I would start out doing fine, but then by about 2:00PM, I started craving the wrong foods. For the most part I stayed vegetarian except for the two days I decided to do Atkins. I had lost 60lbs on it about 8 years ago and decided I would go back to it (a bad idea for someone who doesn't really like meat, eggs and cheese) Anyway, I got sick on a piece of fish and that was the end of Atkins.

I know one of my main problems is that I tell myself "I will eat today and start back on my diet tomorrow" I have said that for about five years now and I have gained about 100lbs during that time.

Well, today I am making a commitment to God no more of this cheating. He has showed me three times that He wants me to diet the McDougall way and I have been like Jonah running the opposite direction.

Please pray that I will be faithful to Him in this area.

Thanks,
Cathy

Sylvia - welcome, nice to have you join us. Are you totally new to this way of eating? How are you finding the transition?

luvoatmeal - your lifestyle doesn't sound boring to me, it's sounds like you have a close and loving family, that truly is a blessing!

catmatt - oh, the A word - no more of that! May I suggest planning, planning and more planning. It takes a while and some struggles to implement this plan sometimes just cause it's different than what you are used to. Then one day you'll be asking, why did I find this so hard? .

Mrs. D - "Life without the treats you THINK you need is so much better!" - truer words cannot be spoken! And to hear them come from you warms my heart .

pinkrose - thank you for all your posts in this section and the others - I always enjoy reading them.

Hi to everyone else too!

God Bless,
Donna

Are you looking for reasons to follow the good guidance here and succeed or are you looking for excuses to misbehave and fail?

Please add this to your other good mottoes:

NO EXCUSES!

Today I will not look for, acknowledge, consider, think about or use excuses for failing. Instead I will use my mental energy to focus on becoming the person God wants me to become. I will think about how to succeed in everything that is good and right, including taking care of my body.

Please do not give us your excuses for failing. Tell us about your reasons to succeed!

May Father help each of us here to live intentionally, mindfully, deliberately. Do you think you can get to heaven--or accomplish less important goals without discipline?

Please kick out the excuses! Look up! Ask for His help and use the good mind He has given you to win your battles.

"24Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it. 25Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. 26So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; 27but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified." (1 Corinthians 9, NRSV)

I thought it might help to post here what we eat in a day. I'll start!
Sunday
breakfast: rolled oats (about one cup) cooked in microwave with one teaspoon almond extract, then dump in frozen tart cherries (about one cup) to cool it down to eat, and 2 Tablespoons flax seed, not ground. I might start grinding my flax seed, but think I read here that they serve it whole at the 10 day program?
lunch: mashed potatoes (potatoes mashed with garlic powder and miso) with salad greens and red wine vinegar
supper: baked potatoes with a little ketchup, bananas and one apple
about 2 cups of mixed vegetables (broccoli, lima beans, corn and Italian green beans) with a little Bragg's.
snack: another serving of oats but not quite as much, needed something sweet and this worked. Also had another banana.

Monday
breakfast: same as yesterday
lunch: hash browns made with the baked potatoes from yesterday fried dry with onions, ketchup
supper: baked potatoes topped with baked beans
snack: carrots, banana chocolate ice cream (3 frozen bananas, one T. Wonderslim cocoa, 1 T vanilla extract and two cups spinach with water to blend - shared with the boys)
also will snack on potatoes as necessary

Good Morning Friends,

Blessings to all of you!
catmatt - I have missed you and am so glad that you posted to let us know how things are going. I'm glad that you are getting back in the saddle and I pray that you will have a good week!

kc - please know that we all care about you very much, and I pray that you will stick with it and heed the good advice you have been given. Stick to simple things like sweet potatoes, veggies, maybe limit your fruit to one or two pieces, and load up on simple soups, brown rice, oatmeal. Like others have said, trash the vegan junk foods. Perhaps you could look at Jeff's snap meals for some ideas.

Good idea Mrs. Doodlepunk, so here is my day food wise. Yesterday was my birthday and I had my usual fruit and oatmeal with pumpkin mixed in. Lunch was a big salad, and I had a slice of sugarless pumpkin bread that our pastor's wife gave us. Delicious - I'm going to get the recipe. I didn't feel hungry for dinner because we had such a late lunch so that was it for the day.

Today is a pear, apple and plain oatmeal with 4 prunes in it. I ran out of pumpkin
Lunch is going to be a baked potato and steamed kale plus some corn.
Dinner is going to be a big salad and some oven baked potato fries.

Here are some excerpts from a daily devotional I read every morning. These are by Pastor Tim Luchon.

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." IICor. 3:18.

"All believers who study the Word of God should be able to look back at their lives and, with honest evaluation, see that they have been....changed... to be a little more like Jesus Christ.

"Our attitudes should change. Our habits should change. Our outward appearance should change. How we treat others should change."

"The only way saved people are changed is by truth. Proper change will take place as long as we do not attempt to change the truth to suit ourselves!"

"What is it that you know as not been changed yet? What are you struggling to change for your Saviour? Simply find the Scripture verses that deal with that subject, memorize them, purposely plan to follow them, and soon you will look back and see that you are "changed."

I think we can all see the application here

Blessings to you all -
luvoatmeal

All of you guys are awesome! I had a meltdown Saturday and went out to eat. I won't tell you what. But the bottom line is that I went to bed glad to go on McDougall.

Now, I will say one thing, I think I have had a lot of steering to this food or that. And I know that everyone is different. And I do have health issues. But I thought I was suppose to/or allowed to eat breads/bagels/ tofu/ blah, blah, blah. I really did. And that food led me to worse foods.

But you know what? I woke up Sunday morning and was glad to have this program. I am going to keep it extremely simple. No concoctions. (fruit in my oatmeal/ hummus dips/ blah, blah)

Just for today, I'm gonna eat salads/ veggies and beans/ Maybe, maybe I will encorporate a soup which I enjoy but that's it. I'm gonna try to eat my foods whole.

This morning I made oatmeal and was gonna throw in the dried fruit my little one loves. I made mine with cinnamon and that's it. My sugars were 123 after two hours. That's a HUGE improvement for me.

So, Breakfast is oatmeal 1 cup
Lunch is garden salad with kidney and garbonzo beans
Dinner is garden salad with some warm pinto beans with cumin spice/fresh onions
I'm gonna plan on a apple for snack.

Thanks for putting up with me. i'm sorry for being such a complaining pain in the arse. You guys are too cool. kc
(I told you I'd wake up and apologize)

Way to go kc - and I forgot to mention beans ! And I don't think you are a complaining pain in the you know what!

You're on a roll, so keep it going!

luvoatmeal - I made your cheesy artichoke dip and LOVED it! Also, no one else here liked it so I got to eat it all myself! It was good on baked potatoes.

kc, you are NOT a big pain in the arse. Just a little one. JUST KIDDING! It is exciting to know that you are on the way to getting healthier every day. This program works, you will see.

I'm glad you're back! Your food sounds great, as long as there are no hidden dressings or other things in there that have high fructose corn syrup or oil. What do you put on your salads? Once I got used to it, I love green salad with onions and orange slices and cucumber, radish, tomatoes, with balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I do capers, green beans and baked potatoes that are still warm, and onions that have been broiled until they are brown and limp with tomatoes and vinegar. Oh, that is so good.

In fact, I love to use onions in almost everything. One really delicious way to fix them is either dry fry in a non stick pan until they are browned, or put them in a casserole, whole or halved, and bake covered for an hour or so until they are soft and browned. This is so good on a salad or on a baked potato or rice. I suppose you could put garlic in too, but I never have. Yet.

Remember that the A1c test shows what your sugars have been for the past 3 months. So, if your sugars are above normal right now, there is a chance you could have an A1c that is a tad high next time. But wait and see. I think that if you have a good A1c now you should be fine as long as you don't keep going out to eat. From what I have seen others post, it takes time to get more stable, and until now you have not been following the guidelines well enough to have good control.

But that was then, this is now!

I forgot to add in what I ate yesterday, a whole batch of cheesy artichoke dip over the past two days! It was good on my potatoes! Thanks again, luvoatmeal!

You're welcome!!

I am grateful your are with us, you are learning and you have resolved to succeed, KC!

If you are cooking for yourself, I think you will find that keeping it simple really helps! Something that is even simpler that the above is to throw a package of frozen greens (10-16 ounces) into a steamer or a pan with water, cook them a bit and then add some beans and seasoning (Mrs. Dash, red pepper, a dash of salt etc.).

I hope you will soon feel that you can add the good starches with the expectation that as you lose fat and are able to exercise a bit more your BG readings will fall. Perhaps a cup of brown rice with a half a cup of beans and a pound of boiled greens would be a good filling lunch that would not drive your BG too high. I think you know that you must figure out these details for yourself.

May Father bless you as you take care of your health and make good decisions!

Thank you Lord for luvoatmeal and for the friendship and love she has brought into my life.

I love birthdays and birthday prayers!

Hope you had a wonderful one.

God Bless,
Donna

Somehow I missed it was your birthday luvoatmeal.

It must have been when I was crying on my pittypotparty. Eegads I do carry on, don't I?

Well, as I already posted, my blood sugar after dinner was 108!!!!!!!!!

Do you believe it? I am just tickled pink. Thank you all for supporting me.

And for my salad dressing, I am using fresh lime juice and balsalmic vinegar. Just a little cause it's kinda strong on my throat but a tiny bit is sweet.

I love the onion idea. I luuuuuv onions. Please keep the MWL ideas for meals coming. I am cooking for a man, an 11 and 6 year old.
Dad eats beef,chicken, pork and pork and pork. So does the 11 year old
The six year old i the only sane man in the house. He prefers to eat oatmeal morning, noon, and night
That is why I didn all the package tofu, boca burgers because I am cooking two different ways. Sometimes I make a Vegan meal for them but I am not into hearing their, "where's the beef?"

And I don't care. So I am making my life simpler buy having a huge garde salad already prepared in the fridge and beans on the side. That is for now. When I get some time under my belt, I'm sure things will get easier for me. Hey, i've been eating crap for 55 years. Have mercy on me!
Gotta go, I'm tired, kc

Favorite meal at our house: Make your own burritos. Big bowl of mashed potatoes (5 pound bag boiled potatoes, sprinkle of garlic powder, tablespoon of miso), bowl of heated up fat free refried beans, bowls of chopped onion, salsa, frozen but heated up corn, olives for the boys only (!) and tortillas. To stay MWL, you take the potatoes and put some on your plate, then some beans, then top with the toppings you like and eat. I did this last night after eating two small corn tortilla burritos. I was pretty full.

Another one is baked potatoes, same idea. Bowls of toppings like chili beans (read the label, some have bacon or oil in them) or baked beans, tomatoes, salsa, barbecue sauce, hummus with no tahini, basically anything you like. Coleslaw is good on potatoes.

Brown rice, bowls of toppings like tomatoes, salsa, green onions, corn, red peppers. Then after the meal put everything together in a bowl, mix and put in the fridge for lunch the next day.

Any of these are easy to make acceptable to Meat Eaters, if you really need to do that. With burritos, make some taco meat and have some grated cheese. Just don't sample it, one taste and you will set off cravings! With the other stuff, maybe sliced chicken or pork chops. But maybe it would be good if you could talk with him and let him know how difficult this is for you and show him how good your sugars are eating this way. That is how I got my husband on board with this, he went along just to help me and then started feeling so good he couldn't believe it. Lost 25 pounds, took his belt in a notch than ANOTHER notch, and was able to quit taking Zantac and enjoy a beer once in a while without having his stomach burn and hurt for days afterward. So he's a true believer now, even though he still loves his meat and eats it occasionally.

If you DO end up still needing to cook SAD, remember that you don't taste any more. If it's not in your mouth, it can't tempt you. One taste might be all it takes to set off cravings again. Also, remember that it won't hurt any SAD eaters in your house to have a meal or two or three per week without meat or cheese!

BEST OF ALL - check Jeff's SNAP recipes at the top of his forum page! -----------> viewtopic.php?t=10519 Be warned, these recipes make a big vat of food so have something ready to put it in. But, it will keep you eating well for days but this is good. The secret to doing well is having big vats of stuff that you like, ready to eat. Also NEVER leave the house without something to eat. For now, even if you run to the drugstore for a quick trip, take along a bag of baby carrots to munch on so that when you see the rice cakes, you think "ha, I don't need THOSE, I have carrots!" Check the calorie density for carrots vs. rice cakes and you will really be amazed!

Good morning, or rather afternoon almost!

When I was at the park last friday, my friend brought a bag of carrots. They saved me. I should have thought of that.

Thank goodness I've never eaten much meat. My issues are southern style cooking. It's what goes on the meat, potato, rice,. . .

I am about sauces, dips, dressings, that goes on meat. The fattening stuff.

I quit frying years ago, but the sauces, mayo, that junk is new to get rid of. I can say one thing, I have already lost most of my cravings. It's weird, but as soon as I gave up the fat, most of my sugar cravings left too. How come, I wonder?

The 'man' eats everything with salsa. But of course that's on meat. he doesn't eat casseroles, sauces, gravies. So that's good for me.

Well, gotta go do some laundry. I still don't see where a person sets up a journal? Bless you all. kc