Discussion Board

You go girl!!! Woo Hoo!!! You're doing great! Good luck resisting the treats at work! You can do it!!!

thanks kirsty I wasn't that successful. It was Reese's peanut butter bars...I had two!

and I ate popcorn last night...with butter...sheesh, I hate writing that.

It was downright nasty, btw. Greasy and not worth it.

Otherwise, yesterday's foods were good. I had half a pom for brekkie, a color bowl for lunch, and two slices of wh wh toast w/refritos, minced white onion, and tomato.

TODAY'S FOODS:
B: cheezy steel cut oats. I added pomegranate seeds
L: same
D: Oooh! i know! Kale miso soup! yum. with rice

eating pomegranate every day. Going to the chiropractor today because my shoulder still hurts, I can feel crepitation under my shoulder blade, and my neck is stiff. Headache.

dude. But the chiro will help, i'm sure. It's been about a year since I've been. Hope so. I'm tired of it.

So the chiropractor helped a lot. I need another treatment, but cannot afford it. However, my shoulder felt better immediately and sleeping is no longer painful.

Food choices have been good, but I ate popcorn again last night. I guess it's better than potato chips, but I wish I didn't have this munchy thing going on.

It seems like I had something off plan yesterday, but I can't remember...Maybe I didn't! ha!

TODAY'S PLAN:
B: three sisters soup and pomegranate
L: color bowl
D: who knows.

I want to do a deep clean on my guest bedroom today and tomorrow. I hope my shoulder doesn't pain me too much. Putting the tree and some lights up sometime this week, and a feast with my family St Nick's Day! woot! that's a week from today, and I want the house sparkling and the tree up with lights by then.

To tell the truth, if I didn't have kids, I would SO not do it this year. I might put a little tree up, for cheering my own heart. I think Christmas trees are so pretty and their lights really do make it bright and pretty in a dark room in the middle of winter. And I would want to hang with family, because my family is a load of fun to be with but what I really REALLY want to do as far as my house goes, is just get it sparkling clean in all corners, upstairs and downstairs, and not worry about a lot of decorating.

And guess what: the belt on my vacuum is broken! and my shoulder hurts if I use it...well it won't take much to fix the vacuum, but the shoulder? I"m supposed to use it LESS, not more.

well anyway, this is turning into a pity party. I'm off to work now. Yay.

HUGS!!! give the shoulder rest and love it needs sweetie. when we don't give our bodies the love it needs it just gives us more issues.

thanks Rosey. The hug was sweet

I've made it through a big Christmas party at church last night. I had the aloo gobi that I brought, plus a delicious vegan curried sweet potato soup that a friend brought (she is mindful of always bringing something vegan and low fat, even before she knew me...and she is not a vegetarian or anything...she just always fixes something along those lines, knowing she'll be the only one ...) Delicious soup, and she asked me to take home the leftovers My plate also had veggie sticks without the creamy dip and a small serving of some veggie spaghetti. Not whole grain noodles, though.

I also had one cookie treat and some caramel corn, and that was it for any kind of SAD...and I had the time of my life. The White Elephant gift exchange was a total hoot. Laughed my head off at the creepy little ballerina in fishnet stockings, and the buff Santa pumping...well not iron, but these peppermint lozenges...that was hilarious, as the ballerina stared creepily at the working out Santa while he jiggled and flexed.

Today I've been busy too. Church and then youth group (my daughter wanted to meet the teens at the Episcopal church where I've been attending for communion this past year) and then to SLC to visit my family. I took my grandkids out for a romp. We went to Barnes & Noble and played with the Legos and some hand puppets. We went up on the escalator and down in the elevator. My little two year old, as fiercely independent and energetic as any two year old, bounced around the place, ran here and there, didn't want to hold hands, wanted to get this book off the shelf and walk around with a puppet hedgehog. On our way out of the kids' area, we found various books and other stuff on the floor...Ooh, the kid has been here!

And here I sit, after an hour of running around and playing with grandkids, feeling terrific! The energy is back, and I love it.

TODAY'S FOOD:
B: aloo gobi
L: two baked potatoes
D: prolly some curried sweet potato soup over rice; saute'd garlic kale;
S: pomegranate?

I'm glad to hear you are so happy and enjoying life! And what a great friend you have at church!

Well, I'm super exhausted again. Eating okay, though I had some candy yesterday.

But I feel pain in all the following places: shoulder, left foot from the ankle to the sole, and starting last night, my calf muscle feels like it's constantly going into a charlie horse (that just made me laugh...what next?)...my head hurts, slight earache, a bit of sore throat possibly. I fall asleep as soon as I sit with my feet up, go to bed by nineish, awake at fiveish feeling like I should sleep another two hours...so, yeah. Physically I'm not doing that great.

I wonder what gives. I've been taking the oregano oil every day, just a small dose...well, the last two days, i've been taking five drops, twice a day...and I feel like death warmed over. Is it possible that I'm detoxing, after two years of eating this way? I'm not losing weight, not gaining.

still enjoying the McD foods more than any other choices...so i guess I'll keep eating this way, even though I don't feel very healthy right now.

I've been meaning to mention, I had my BP taken the other day...my ex has this thing that goes on your wrist and I tried it. I was sitting at ease in my chair with two cats and a blanket on my lap, so yeah I was VERY calm...but my Blood Pressure was

95/59 I laughed. I'll have to sneak in and get a reading at Walmart on their free thingy and see what it looks like while I'm up and about.

*wondering what a low BP reading is*

I hope you feel better soon!

thanks Toadfood. I'm actually pretty weary of it. I'm wondering if I have mono or fibromyalgia or something, because I spend so much time feeling horrible. The physical stuff starts (or continues unabated) and it soon gets to me emotionally so I am feeling sorry for myself and miserable emotionally, and absent of joy and hope. Not a good place to be.

It could be the season, and where I live has perpetually the worst air in the nation (seriously. The Wasatch Front makes it into the top five WORST air areas in the whole USofA every winter) but I have beeen both physically and emotionally down these past few weeks.

Eating...okay. Meh. I've been eating peanut butter and pickle samwiches after work almost every day this past week. I hope to do better this upcoming week.

I haven't posted here very often, since my ex got back and we returned his computer...no internet at home, limited at work...but I'm doing the best I can. I've kept the Christmas treats to a minimum which is wonderful considering the level of temptation that is out there every day. But pnut butter and pickle samwiches are NOT on my diet!

TODAY SO FAR:
B: rice, tomatoes, black beans, mushrooms, and sweet onion
S: pretzels, frosted animal crackers
L: ??? might not have lunch
D: moroccan sweet potato stew

Buns Said: Eating...okay. Meh. I've been eating peanut butter and pickle samwiches after work almost every day this past week. I hope to do better this upcoming week.

Oh, my gosh, are you sure you are not pregnant? Ha,ha, this just made me laugh.

Really, I hope you feel better soon, Buns, but peanut butter & pickle samwiches??? I am trying to imagine what they might taste like, but so far no luck.

Oh, well, thanks for a good laugh, I needed it.

I know, huh Jan? sheesh! For some reason, I just wanted to try it the other day, and it tasted so good, I had seconds, and except for yesterday I've had some every day after work. And I had to lie down to zip my size 14's today

I'm not being too strict with myself right now, but I'm doing okay as far as not gorging on anything, not breaking free of the basics of McDougall but having treats in between. The usual song and dance.

Aches and pains continue as usual, too. Wish I knew what the heck was up with that. Hmmm...it's been a little while since I was really super strict 100% MWL or even McDougall with zero SAD nibbles. It would be very good to get with the program just to test out whether the aches and pains would subside...who knows. When I started two plus years ago, I didn't have all kinds of aches and pains. I was just low on energy and a bit foggy minded. Now I feel like I"m falling apart.

Hey buns, I sure hope you can figure it out- about the aches and pains that is. Want to see you feeling good! Is it arthritis?

1) McDougall's Revenge. At work for the client party, the boss cooked a turkey. Since she was out when the bird was done cooking, I carved it...and nibbled probably a samwich's worth of meat. I also ate some potato salad that I know is loaded with fat. Yesterday I was fine. Today, however, I am very uncomfortable. Ugh.

2) the pain. Right now, the shoulder hurts only moderately, which is better than it was. My knees are iffy, but they've been weak and painful for a long time. It's my skin right now! It feels "sunburny" or "rashy" but there is no discoloration or swelling. it just stings, non-stop. Looking up the symptoms on the internet, I found a discussion where someone's dr had told her it is an inflammation of the nerve endings that is caused by the chicken pox virus. Thus, it is similar to shingles, but not as serious...it sure hurts, though. I feel like Job!

3) eating today has been good. No fatty, no sweet, no salty...oops. Potato chips.

TODAY'S FOOD:
B: baked potato w/mustard and ketchup
S: potato chips
L: cheezy steel cut oats
D: ??? baked sweet potato? ooh! stir fry over rice sounds good.

This is what I want: I want to get good, rich, McDougall friendly recipes for treats, meals, and feast dishes for this time of year. There is so much REALLY TASTY and REALLY BAD FOR YOU food all over the place right now. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have some healthy treats, that actually do taste good, for both my own feasting and to share with people?

After my Halloween candy freak out, I was determined in my own mind to keep it simple and "clean" on MWL, until Christmas day, and let my feasting be on pistachios, dates, and dark chocolate. My first Christmas Party of the season was on Dec 10, where I allowed myself a piece of pecan pie. I have actually done pretty well overall, considering the quantity all around me, and lately the treats available have been much more...special...than usual. Cheesecake and red velvet cake, candied pecans, etc. are all superior to m&m's or snicker fun size treats, right? Meals are more extravagant, too. Meat, pasta, rich oily sauces, hard rolls and butter...etc...are all offered at parties and potlucks and frankly taste better than greens saute'd with garlic or squash and baked potato. But I do love my greens and taters...

so anyway, I haven't eaten EVERY treat that has been available, but I've definitely eaten much more richly the past week or so, and I can feel it in my body.

Part of my problem is that the simple foods I enjoy every day are just not anything special. I'd love to find recipes...something to work on and perfect before Thanksgiving...so I will have treats to enjoy that won't fry me the way the rich SAD holiday stuff has been doing to me.

And another thing: after Christmas, I'm doing a detox juice fast like kirsty did earlier. I have got to get to the bottom of this physical misery. I am tired and sore...but I am almost sure it started when I did the popcorn binge...a big bowl every day for more than a week...and corn being highly inflammatory? yeah, I think I set myself up and it's just carrying over with the richer foods I've been eating.

I'm sure that will turn things around. Sure hope so. The weather here turned around and I have been soaking up sunshine today. Aaaah, vitamin D!