Discussion Board

Thanks! Back atcha!

Another triumph: I made chocolate peppermint fudge to give as gifts (vegan, but loaded with sugar and fat) and didn't eat any. Didn't even want it. Wow.

Happy New Year, everyone! I did pretty well with eating over the holidays, but I did eat some richer foods that have put me in the pleasure trap. I'm really trying to clean up my eating for the month of January so I can get past the cravings and back to a comfortable place.

Lately I've been measuring my food, not necessarily as a way to limit intake, but as a tool of awareness. Well, I've been playing around with the CRON-o-meter and of course that has me wondering whether I should be limiting my portions of starches. I know Jeff says not to do this, just focus on the principles of calorie density, but Jeff is not necessarily speaking to the compulsive overeater.

I came up with a daily plan that is similar to what I've been eating, and gives me over 100% of every nutrient on the CRON-o-meter, with the exception of vitamins D and B12:

Breakfast: oatmeal or oat bran cereal cooked from 1 cup dry, 1 cup fresh or frozen fruit, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, 1 oz sunflower seeds [I haven't been eating sunflower seeds, but this is the best way I found to get my Vitamin E intake into the right range, so I'm considering it]
Lunch: 2 cups cooked starch, 1 lb green vegetables, optional fruit
Dinner: 2 cups cooked starch, 1 lb green vegetables, optional fruit

For me, the 2 cups of cooked starch would usually be one cup of beans and one cup of brown rice or other whole grain. I know that's more beans than Dr. McD recommends, but I find that I feel better when I eat more beans, and I don't have kidney disease, so I'm not worrying about it.

I'm trying the plan out for today, and I guess I'll see how I feel. Here's today's menu:

B: oat bran cereal from 1 cup dry, 1 cup frozen cherries and mixed berries, 1 T ground flaxseed
L: 1 c brown rice, 1 c curried blackeyed peas with spinach, 2 c curried cabbage, carrots, and peas, 1 clementine
D: 1 c brown rice, 1 c black beans, fresh salsa, 1 lb green beans with sesame salt, 1 clementine

I'll report back tomorrow.

I see you have your black eyed peas and cabbage! Isn't it something that what brings us luck and money are plants not animal? I think it must be true.

Food looks good. Attagirl!

I think you're right, Anna -- beans and greens will keep us happy and healthy!

Yesterday went well. It's really cold here, so I had a cup of hot cider when I got home, and then skipped my fruit with dinner. Otherwise stuck to the plan.

Today I am working late, so I brought both lunch and dinner to work with me. I'll be here until about 8:30 p.m.

Breakfast: oatmeal from 1 cup rolled oats, 1 T ground flaxseed, 1 cup frozen mixed berries, 1 oz raw sunflower seeds
Lunch: 2 c curried cabbage-carrots-peas, 1 c brown rice, 1 c curried blackeyed peas with spinach, 1 clementine
Dinner: same as lunch

Hi Toadfood- I relate to the "pleasure trapped out" feeling. I ate my oatmeal with no sweetener today. I had bought some of that soy chocolate/peppermint drink and would have a small bit through the weeks. I definitely feel bigger. So I'm focusing on greens as much as possible. I am also trying to remember how to make meal time slow and pleasurable, again, so that I have time to feel full.

I hope you have a successful New Year. And wow it was cold the last few nights. Now it looks like we'll warm up for the weekend.

Be well!

Hi StarchBeet! I love your new avatar.

The good news is, the pleasure trapped feeling seems to be gone for now. Clementines are tasting really, really good to me, as are veggies and beans.

The big news today is my weight: 199.2. MY WEIGHT STARTS WITH A ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The last time my weight started with a one, I was 26 years old (I'm 41 now). I have had to move my engagement ring to my middle finger because I was afraid it would fall off my ring finger and be lost (my plan is to wait until my weight stabilizes before getting it sized). Go me! Go veggies! Go starch!

Hi Toadfood!

I new-ish here and just skimmed your journal. Congrats on the 1-number!! That's fantastic!

I had that wedding ring experience last year and still haven't had it re-sized, since I'm trying to lose a bit more weight.

Woo! Welcome to One-der land!

Thank you, Keri and nomikins! One-der-land is a happy place to be. I like it here!

Congratulations you must really feel good.I am so happy for you.You go girl!!! RAS

Yea!.....well done and keep going......I fell off for the Holiday..sounds like you did much better....I am back on track though....

Thanks for the encouragement! Since my weight loss has slowed down, I'm trying to stay off the scale for a while. That way I have a better shot at seeing a significantly lower number when I do get on.
My goal is to stay off the scale until the beginning of February; I'll see how that goes. In the meantime, my clothes seem to be getting bigger again. Yesterday I wore a dress I bought just a couple of months ago, and I could really see the difference.

If you are on Facebook and are not already following Jeff Novick, I encourage you to do so. He puts up lots of pictures of food, and sometimes recipes. I bookmarked a Moroccan-style dish I think I am going to make this weekend -- carrots, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and chick peas, served over quinoa. Yum. I have some whole wheat Israeli couscous around somewhere, so maybe I'll make that to go with it instead of quinoa. I'll see what develops.

Well, I never did make the Jeff Novick tagine, but I cooked a bunch of other stuff. I have three different kinds of bean soup in the fridge right now.

I didn't keep my promise to stay off the scale until February, but I have been getting on it less frequently. All I'll say for now is, the number is still going down.

People are starting to comment on my weight loss. It's weird, because these are people I see regularly, around once every week or two, and all of a sudden they're saying "You look like you've lost weight!" I've been saying "Yes, I have, but not so much since the last time I saw you." I guess I've passed some threshold where people are noticing I look different.

I've noticed something really cool in the past week or so: I no longer get out of breath when I run to catch a bus! This is in spite of the fact that I do no formal exercise other than some stretching for my back. Today I ran about one and a half blocks to catch a bus. It felt easy -- maybe even fun! -- and I wasn't out of breath at the end. 50 pounds ago I would have been gasping, with chest pain. Not having that weight to lug around makes a big difference!

Hey. Awesome about the weight loss but I really love the running for the bus story. Your body is just working better and isn't that wonderful? So pleased for you.