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Hey ya'll

Life has been busy, stressful, fun, celebratory, crazy, and all the above. I have been just going on this journey of life and enjoying it, learning a lot about myself.

I come here with honesty. High fat vegan food did get me for a while and I did gain 20 pounds. I went up and down for a couple months but now feel like I have control. I now realize I can't even have a little bit of high fat vegan food or it puts me in a tailspin.

I'm still around my 85 pound loss. I just need to lose more. I'm going this weekend to hear Dr. Goldhamer and Dr. Lisle speak in person. I'm really excited about this. It's always good to hear the message over and over.

I'm not upset about my journey and I don't regret anything. For some of us, it take a transition. It's a journey--and I'm enjoying my journey and I have accepted. It may not work for some but it works for me. I exercise 5 days a week. I enjoy my food. Life is okay. I'm okay.

Todays Menu:
Exercise:45 minutes
Lunch: huge salad with black beans, pico de gallo, salad dressing, pineapples, avocado, romaine lettuce all mixed together. It was yummy. I found a new salad dressing where I mix 2 cups of soy milk, 2 tablespoons chia seeds, 2 tablespoons lime juice, 1 clove garlic, Mrs. Dash extra spicy seasoning and other herbs to taste all mixed in a blender until smooth. It is so good and has helped me up my greens.

Whelp, I just wanted to check in. I'm still around lurking. I'll post every once in a while when it hits me

HI!! love this WOE myself. and do not regret my switch. have a good St Paddy's Day to!

Hello out there

I got to hear Dr. Goldhamer from True North speak over the weekend. He said a lot of information that I already knew. He believes in the SOS diet: Salt, Oil and sugar free. He said that research states it takes 30 days to get used to no salt, 90 days to get used to an oil free diet, and well the sugar craving will always be there. He was very blunt and to the point. I really loved his style

I then got to hear Dr. Lisle. He is such a great speaker and really made me understand how this psychologically works. He said that if you are struggling on this program then you are NORMAL. We are biological designed to want higher calorie dense food and as you all know when we are losing weight we are supposed to have more of the lower calorie dense food and we struggle with that—and this is normal. He talked about fat receptors and satiety receptors--all great information. The key to the program is to eat eat eat until you feel satisfied, that is what makes this different than any other program—you don’t have to be hungry. He said a lot of other great things but these were the important pieces to me. I highly recommend his books or DVD. He also gave food a letter from A to D. A is what we should all strive for (whole foods plant based diet) and if we occasionally have some C and D (meat, dairy, oil, sugar) that is okay as long as the majority is an A diet. I loved this way of thinking—no good or bad food---just give it a letter 

Hope all is well

That sounds like it was a really helpful program! Thanks for sharing what you learned.

Hey, Boots!
It's great to see you back here! Thanks for sharing about the lecture. I recently saw a Youtube video of Dr. Goldhammer, and loved the things he had to say. He said that most Americans, and especially restaraunts see food as a delivery system for Salt, Oil, and Sugar, and that the only reason we refuse to give them up is because we want to continue feeding our addiction to them...powerful stuff...you're right-he says it like it is!

I love your attitude, and so happy that things are going so well for you!

Good attitude, boots, get back on that horsey.

It's good to know you're still hanging in there in spite of your full plate. Keep moving!

Hey you, how are things going?

Hey ,

Things are going okay. I went to see Julieanna Hever and Chef A.J. speak in person over the weekend. They were both really great.

This coming Sunday I'm going to hear Dr. Mcdougall speak in person for only $15 and I'm so excited for this opportunity.

I keep trying to hear the message over and over hope something will click. I've been 100% compliant for over 2 months now but I have been heavy on the starches and need to up the veggies and follow more MWL for weight loss--sometimes I struggle with that--I really love my starches.

I'm always lurking. Keep on keeping on

that is way cool I've seen Chef AJ in person but not the others. I'd love that. HUGS!!! Enjoy it for me too.

Meeting Dr. M sounds really great, tell us how it goes!

And hey, go easy on yourself and enjoy the journey!

So great to see your post, Boots! Glad you're still hanging in there and "keepin on keepin on!" You rock!!

It's so exciting that you get to see so many great speakers! Let us know the highlights!

I got to hear Dr. Mcdougall in person today. He is a great speaker and really tells it like it is. No sugar coating. He spoke about older populations and what their diet was--which we already all know about STARCH. He promoted his book and I'm really excited to get it but need to wait until it's cheaper. It was nice to hear it from him. He got me started on plant based journey after all in 2008 when I was at my wits end and 85 pounds heavier.....

We then got to hear Dr. Klaper, who is a really good speaker too. I would recommend seeing him as well.

Great day in all. I'm focusing on MWL and doing good with my 1 week trial. I just keep on keepin on. One day I will get there--all these little steps just keep adding up

I'm reading people's journals and hearing how people are struggling . It is so hard to watch people struggle and to know that a couple of months ago, I was right there with you. It's hard sometimes to analyze one's own behavior to see what baby steps were taken to get to almost 3 1/2 months of compliance with the program. Compliance wasn't something that happened over night, it was a succession of steps I took that all added up until one day, I looked back and realized I was finally on plan and where I needed to be. Here are some of the baby steps I took..My hope is someone may gain some insight and help them in their journey, to take that one step that may lead to longterm success...
#1) I got on program. I had been playing with fire and having high fat vegan food off and on. So I decided to follow the regular Mcdougall program and allow myself to eat anything thing and everything on program
2) I went to hear 5 speakers (look back in my journal) talk about the importance of eating this way. It was so important for me to hear from Dr. Lisle that me craving calorie dense food is normal. It helps me every time I reach for high calorie dense food. Yes it is normal, but it doesn't mean I have to have it. Wouldn't I rather have a huge salad, steamed greens, and a plate of starch instead of that one Larabara. The answer is always yes. How much bang can I get for my buck? If you are not able to hear the speakers in person, I have come to the conclusion that a person must flood their mind with this knowledge even if you think you know it and have heard it all. Something about hearing on it on a daily basis, is very powerful. There is no way I could ignore the message any longer.
3) I allowed myself to let dried fruits and nuts provide me with sweets, whenever I had a sweet tooth or needed something a little extra. I also had tofu.
4) I slowly transitioned into eating MWL. I make sure I follow the principles that Dr. Mcdougall has laid out. I eat raw veggies first, then steamed greens and my starch last. I crave this every day. I look forward to it. I can't believe I know eat vegetables for breakfast. I never thought I would see the day and used to laugh at people on this board and shake my head when I read this but it has helped calm my cravings like no other.
5) I eat the same meals Monday-Friday, same spices same everything and my taste buds crave it--I love what I eat everyday and don't tire of it. I really believe the simpler I keep it the longer I stay successfully on plan. I think so many choices can set certain people up for failure and I could be in that category myself.
5) I realize that each meal is a chance to eat something different, so just because I had something that wasn't the best for lunch, doesn't mean I have to let dinner and snack go down hill from there.
6) I'm human, I've been on this journey since 2008. I learned that each time I go off plan and come back on, the better I get. The more I learn. The healthier I am--I mean I'm eating vegetables for breakfast!!!
7) I exercised first thing in the morning. Something about exercising makes me want to make sure I use my body correctly and fuel it properly during the day.
I avoided restaurants for the most part. If I did or do go out to restaurants I call ahead or I order something I know I can have. I have ordered fruit bowls and salads while others around me have high fat SAD food. It works for me. I no longer eat for others and I can take the comments about what I'm eating, I'm used to it. It's part of my life now.

I'm sure there are many other things that can be added here. I hope someone finds these helpful. I know we are all different and these may not help at all but just maybe so. I've lost a good bit of weight since these steps have added up. My clothes are super loose on my body. I'm smaller than I have ever been. I stay away from the scale for now because we haven't had a good history together but I know things have aligned.

Keep on keepin on

That's great Boots! Always good to hear suggestions from someone who has been so successful! I will for sure try those tips!