Discussion Board

So I have been a McDougall fan (not necessarily a follower) since the forum was on Vegsource. I have never bothered with a journal because at first I wasn't truly following the plan, & then when I was, it was almost effortless. The last time I was compliant was my mid-20s. I lived in a very rural area, so I had little access to VAD treats. That first time around, I lost about 15 lbs, going from 130 to 115 (which is a lot considering I'm just under 5ft. tall).

After that success, I was dx'd with fibromyalgia, misdx'd with a bone disease & then dx'd with a nerve disease (small fiber neuropathy). I moved three states away to be with family & await surgery. It was all too much for me & I threw in the towel. I have been a vegetarian since my teens, so minimal dairy & massive oil crept back in. I'm almost 31 now, taking stock of my life...I am very grateful that I have never had to deal with the lifestyle diseases that typically bring people to this program. I already have enough on my plate medically that I can't take the chance of getting anything else. In addition to ^^(in the 1st sentence above), I also have an eye disease that drastically increases my risks of developing macular degeneration & glaucoma. Out of the blue, I also ended up with gastroparesis (delayed stomach emptying) about two years ago. Between the extreme nausea & stomach pain, I lost about 25 lbs. You know that chart where you check to see if you have lost too much weight? I was ~3 lbs from that low. Yeah. I wanted to get back on the plan last year, but I was really afraid of what it (the fiber) would do to my stomach. FYI--a low fiber, low fat diet leaves almost nothing to eat, especially if you are already a veg*n. The gastroparesis has really messed up my senses of fullness, satiety, hunger & some other things as well.

So I'm back to McD'ing and trying to reduce my sugar intake in the process. Right now I like the food, but am hoping to get back to loving it like I used to. If I am going to be successful, I have to cook most meals for the week on the weekend. I only have time to warm things up for lunch & am much too tired to cook dinner after work (b/c of work & illness-related fatigue). I am hoping to gain more energy & mental clarity to power through this next phase in my life. I hope to return to school in the near future (& a few other things I'm not ready to deal with right now) & it feels very now or never. If I don't start (& continue!) McD'ing, I won't do it. I really won't.

I will log my food & exercise here. This month I am eliminating added sugars with no restrictions on fruits (but not fruit juices). So far I have done really well...no dairy, oil or added sugar except for one meal out where I chose the lowest fat veg*n item. No stomach pains after, so I know the meal was low fat. I will reevaluate in November. Any questions, feel free to ask!

eri -

Glad your back at it. You're too young to be suffering so much. I'm glad you're liking your food. I know what you mean when you say you want to love it again. Takes a while for those little taste buds to get back in the game.

Looking forward to hearing more from you and watching your progress.

Donna

Thanks for reading dlb! Hopefully I will get back into the swing of things sooner rather than later.

Earlier this week I made jambalaya from vegweb & have been eating it all week. I ditched the fake meat & added three carrots, three celery stalks, a zucchini, two summer squashes (all shredded) & a can of chickpeas. I also used brown rice & a 28oz. can of tomatoes instead of 14. I need to plan something for next week, though. For three days this week I got up at the (butt) crack of dawn to do a yoga DVD, so I'm really proud of that. I used to do yoga & a walking DVD at least 5x/week the last time I McD'd...now it is all I can do to make it through a regular day. This week has also been a real exercise in resistance...resisting the chips, candy & chocolate covered pretzels my mother insists on buying. I really haven't wanted them, except for a passing thought on the candy.

6 Oct
exercise: 1 hr yoga DVD before the kids arrived.
breakfast mushroom veggie congee, apple
lunch veggie jambalaya over brown rice
snack mary's gone crackers, green tea w/ frozen strawberry for a hint of sweetness. it really was only a hint. LOL
dinner same as lunch

7 Oct
exercise none...took a rest day.
breakfast part of a banana ice cream i made kiddie 1 after she threw up. ate a few mgc after I put kiddie 2 down for a nap.
lunch steamed veggies & a bit of steamed tofu (broccoli, celery, mushrooms, carrots, bamboo shoots) over white rice. a raw carrot.
dinner more veggie jambalaya, brown rice.
snack another banana ice cream if i have one.

he weekend was good in some ways & not so good in others. Foodwise I stayed on plan. Yay me! No real exercise to speak of. It's been raining on & off since Friday and my knees & back are really hurting.

Sunday we had to take my dog to vet b/c he was limping. I was afraid his leg was broken, but it was sprained with some arthritis as well. Great, a $300 vet bill...just what I needed. After the vet, we went to a family dinner & walked in on a huge brawl. Ugh. The devil is really busy right about now.

Yesterday I made SusanV's succotash soup. I left out the potato b/c my soup mix already had potatoes. I also added half a bag of okra & used all crushed tomatoes. It was really good & now I have lunch all week. I also baked a few sweet potatoes, mixed them with a can of crushed pineapple & some cinnamon. I wanted to add some sugar so freaking bad. But I didn't. The resulting "pudding" was a little sweet & just going to have to be good enough. I'll update this afternoon with my food for the day.

breakfast tiny bowl of rice & beans, apple
snack steamed spring mix, rice, garlic, Bragg's, drop of sesame oil
lunch succotash soup over rice
snack pineapple sweet potato pudding
dinner same as lunch, plus some sauteed cabbage

Welcome back. Many of us have been on and off this forum for awhile. Sometimes life just throws us curves, but glad to see you are trying to eat healthy again. We are all here to support and encourage one another. Good luck to you!!

Thanks so much for the well wishes GJ! Good luck to you too with your MWL challenge.

Today my food has tasted really good. I'm glad...it feels like a step in the right direction. Only about 15 mins of walking today with the dog...he is supposed to stay off that leg anyway.
breakfast did I even eat? I have no idea.
lunch succotash soup over rice, sauteed cabbage
snack tangerine zinger tea, unsweetened applesauce while feeding kiddie 1
dinner same as lunch
snack banana strawberry ice cream while TV watching

Hi eri! Glad you're re-adapting to the food and starting to enjoy it.

That soup sounds tasty. I had to look up "succotash" to see what it is though I had it confused with hominy.

Thanks carbs!! here is susan's recipe...super easy & tasty.http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2010/03/ridiculously-easy-southern-succotash.html

today was quiet so i had a chance to rest some & research possible fall classes. hopefully they will pan out.

breakfast last bit of cabbage, sweet potato-pineapple pudding
snack 5 tamari seaweed crackers. kiddie 1 was eating kiddie shortbread cookies & i was trying not to cave. baby steps...
lunch last of the succotash stew over barley. YUCK!!! i don't think i like barley at all.
snack baby carrots, baked okra
dinner stir fried veggies over rice. it will be a while before i experiment with barley again.

breakfast two handfuls baby carrots
lunch stir fried veggies ( broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, peppers, carrots, green beans) over rice
snack crackers tea
dinner baked okra

Yesterday was a good day. I ate well, wasn't really hungry & got in a few micro walks throughout the day. I also tried Dr. M's sleep restriction therapy last night. I think it may have worked! Today I am going to lunch with my sis. I never go out this much but it seems like I have been in a restaurant once a week. Next week I have a birthday party at another restaurant. Ugh! I'm trying to stay on plan here!! LOL

I am tired. Ugh. This morning I hung out with my sister, went to lunch & came home to cook. I just finished baking a pot pie type thing. I was going to make Bryanna's drop biscuits, but I didn't have enough flour. I probably didn't need them, anyway. I am also baking some sweet potatoes for "pudding" this week & have SusanV's New Orleans' style white beans on the stove. They are barely soft, but I guess it doesn't matter since I'm staying up late. Please, please let me make it til 11 p.m. LOL Or fall asleep at 10 & wake rested at 4ish.

breakfast wasn't hungry so I skipped it. Plus the only legal things I saw in my sister's house were bananas, which I hate fresh.
lunch sushi! half a veggie roll (asparagus, Japanese pickle, cucumber, mushrooms), tofu roll, small bowl of rice, two bowls of mushroom soup.
dinner I am so not hungry. I almost skipped dinner too, but I can't eat just one time. So I had half an apple (shared the other half with my dog) & a very small bowl of stir fry/brown rice. I feel like I should eat something else if I am going to take a pain pill. But what? ETA--small bowl of cheerios with unsweetened almond milk.

Hi eri,

TY for the link to Doc McD's Insonmia article. I will read pronto, especially if I have another night like the last few. I literally was up straight thru 6 AM earlier this week.

I read your entire journal and just feel so bad that at your age you been confronted with all this illness. I pretty much just have fibro, some osteoarthritis and a wacked thyroid. I am 59 now and come to think of it my probs started at your age with me getting chronic fatigue.

Still I truly believe that food is the best medicine and want to be exercising and eating the program here.

Couple of things I am noticing just being two days on this, but vegan for 6 months. I was eating a lot of fruit before and on this weight loss program here I am restricted to two fruits - it seems to be making a big difference already sleep wise as is daily exercise.

I really crave sweets and I have heard people with fibro don't metabolize sugars the way normal folks do. Also read here that putting the potatoes, rice, corn whatever as main ingredient makes a big difference on the sugar cravings.

Anyway, I'll be paying attention to that as I progress and maybe that will help you out too. Now I am going to look up that article and hope for some good zzzzzzz's tonight.

Take Care Now

Thanks for dropping by LM! It encourages me to know that others are doing well & being helped with similar problems.

That is a very interesting observation about the fruit. So you think reducing your fruit has reduced your pain levels? How was your diet before McDing?

Re: sugar, that is my main problem. I crave sweets all the time. But sometimes those cravings are just bad habits. I have been eating a moderate amount of fruit to help with sugar cravings. I haven't gone crazy though b/c nothing at the market has looked great to me. Maybe I will try some tangerines this week.