Discussion Board

Hi Cloudy

We all know your real life name now you are a STAR! Great video and just like your write up before the video, I learned lots and got even more jazzed about this WOE.

I am currently suffering with knee pain that's keeping me awake - that's so far behind you that you probably only have enough recollection of it to mention it in passing in the video. I loved to hear that you are bounding up the steps these days and feel like you're in your 30's or 40's. Gosh, you're probably far better than you were then -- in so many ways.

Another thing you said that really helped me - is that your weight loss was in the area of about 5 pounds a month. I have been a bit discouraged recently because there are some really big weekly/monthly losers posting and I am nowhere near those tallies.

I think maybe it's because I too am of an age - I'll be 60 this summer. So, even though I am eating on MWL and exercising - I have a feeling that if I have held on to this weight to this stage of my life, well, it may be a slower shedding than many others.

In my case though it didn't go on until my 50's. It hurts that I have friends that remember me as so thin for most of my years they thought at one point I might be anorexic - seriously! Then I let it get all the way to 250 before I got completely committed to figuring out how to reverse both the weight and other health trends.

But I am where I am now ( down at least to 206.5 today) and I thank my lucky stars that you are here and have, yet again, given me new hope and determination. More than enough to get through this recent period of stagnation. Gosh, that's exactly what you Star McDougaller's do so well.

Thanks for sharing and for looking so vibrant, happy and healthy while doing so!

All the best to you - Michelle

Michelle, thank you! I have been barely lurking here the past few days, and life has been quite busy, but I wanted to thank you so much for the kind words!

You just keep plugging along with your plan, and never mind what you read that others are doing! It isn't all about losing weight anyway, it's about learning a new way of eating that you are going to keep with you the rest of your life! And your life will be longer because of the way of eating!

I actually can closely remember the knee pain, because I hurt my knee in January and it is still bothering me. I think it's because we joined a gym and I was so excited they had yoga classes free with membership. I wen to the first yoga class I had been to since 1977 (I do my own at home with a video, regularly), followed along as it got more and more challenging, and then 3 days later--bam! my shoulder and knee were killing me. I still cannot do child's pose (i.e., sitting on my heels), and getting into a kneeling position is a slow, careful process. It hurt even in bed for about 3-4 weeks, and now it's very slowly getting better. I haven't let it ground me, though, and I can still run up those stairs! God, that feels so good to do! (I haven't gone back to the gym, though--I don't know how people do it, all those hours!? I only get the 24 each day...)

I can't imagine what it would have been like to be perpetually thin as you described and then have the weight come on--that has to be really distressing! However, you were once thin, and that is your birthright! You can reclaim it, and you can do it a pound at a time. It doesn't matter how long it takes. The process is what matters--what's happening to you every day, now, today!

It only takes a few days not working out to get out of shape...it only takes a few bites of this and that to encourage a bad habit...it only takes a few indulgences to gain a pound or two...

To that end, I am going to log food and activity for a while, to get accountable to myself. I'm putting it out here, too, so I feel accountable to others as well. My apologies to those who find the lists a snooze-fest!

I am, at this point, trying to make things that have flavor for DH who is still eating this way, albeit NOT MWL, and also he's eatin some stuff with oil in it...I am not nagging at every step, and I turn away if I think he already knows there is oil in something. (I doubt he will ever eat my corn chips made from corn tortillas--even I think they are only marginally edible!)

Over the weekend I tried a couple of new recipes. One was from Happy Herbivore, the Hippie Loaf. What a failure. it didn't "loaf up," and it had almost no flavor. I felt nostalgic for the old meatless loaves we used to make...although they were all made with cheese and/or ground walnuts, which may be one reason! I can see now that I should just take any of the bean burger recipes and make them into a loaf shape! I will try that next weekend, maybe. The other recipe I tried after going to the Vegetarian Society of Alaska meeting on Saturday night--a delicious mushroon gravy that has no oil, no nutritional yeast...I loved it! It does, however, have cashews, so I need to (1) watch it! and (2) try it once for myself without the cashews. It was a huge hit with DH, and I wonder if DD would love it, too....

However, new recipes are not necessarily a good thing for me. I really need to watch it when trying to entice DH's appetite, and I don't want to entice my own, which I had so successfully changed. Hence the logging.

It was also hard to exercize over the weekend, which is nutty, since I have more time. But we were up late Thursday night for the fundraising event, so I was in the mode of staying up late, and that meant getting up late, hence no exercize on Friday, Sat. or Sun. I could really feel it today--totally out of shape after 3 days!

OK, so:
April 2 exercise: 20 minutes, 1 mile indoor walk
April 2 food: Oatmeal, cherries, cinnamon, 1t. cocoa powder, almond extract; 3 cups tea (Bonkers, Good Earth, Ginger) with 3 drops stevia; sugar snap peas, baby carrots, grape tomatoes (3 c. total); 2 slices hippie loaf with mushroom gravy & ketchup (Yikes--at 1 pm I am so full!); (edited to add) a cup of broccoli-cauliflower soup (LED), and my yam-refried bean-spinach dish, and later as a snack (with DH) homemade hummus (about 2T) and Mary's Gone Crackers (about 10). Nothing else.

I personally dislike food journals that put in what was planned and then the next day the person says they never made up their mind for dinner. So I will come back, edit my day to add actual foods eaten, and then start a new day.

(Edited for grammar and typing mistakes, too.)

On a different subject, I really did have a great time at the Vegetarian Society of Alaska meeting Saturday! It is truly amazing to find that all along these folks have been right here under my nose, in my town! Of course, I had my worries--first of all, in my mind "vegetarians" eat cheese and eggs and all, and secondly, they eat lots of oil. But no! Turns out they are hip to the latest, and they are really heading down the no-oil path! They offer books by Drs. McDougall, Esselstyn, and Fuhrman; I bought the Engine 2 cookbook from them last week. They actually began more vegan for animal rights, and I am still not interested in that area, so that part we don't have in common, but overall, they are so spot-on!

They've been around for 10 years, they have monthly potlucks and monthly movie nights (so 2 meetings a month), they have a lending library as well as the current books for sale--lost of stuff! Last week they gave a presentation on sprouting seeds--and it's not like I'm inexperienced at that, but I got a lot of new insights. I had a good time. DH went with me last month, but it will probably be just me most of the time. I'm glad I found it!

And I found it because of the other couple from Anchorage who came to the Advanced Study Weekend! What a great time that was!

April 3rd exercise: yoga, standing poses: tree & 2 triangle moves (20 m.)
April 3rd food: oatmeal & cherries, cinnamon and almond extract, 1 cup Bonkers tea with 3 drops stevia; a cup of Good Earth tea w/ 3 drops stevia, and then lots of hot water; a cup or so of "Barbequed Bean Sauce" (free program recipe) and a small potato, a gigantic salad 1/2 head romaine, huge handful of spinach, grape tomatoes) with about 1T of my balsamic dressing, 1 pear. (ETA) later, I had a small amount of the yam, spinach, refried bean dinner and a (Costco) bowl of brown rice. At home I had 3 Yukon gold potatoes (DH came home early and baked them! He looked it up on the internet, to learn how to bake potatoes! ) with a dab of Grey Poupon mustard. That is all!

April 4 exercise: 1.5 miles indoor walking with the Leslie Sansone DVD! That was a workout, so I can really see I got out of shape pretty quickly!!!

I must say that knowing I am going to put every bite I eat (and drink) in this journal has a tendency to make me want to forego the nibbles. I have not, for instance, opened the container of my homemade granola (made for DH and containing cashews, sesame seeds, raisins and dried cranberries), which I have started to do of an evening. I don't usually get impluses to eat anymore, but yesterday, I actually had an episode in which my mind strayed to the point of wondering what stale sweet rolls they had in the downstairs break room (we put out some of our donated stuff for our volunteers). I was so surprised by that thought! I haven't even thought about that in such a long time, even when I'm sitting at the table with it all, in meetings! But it's why I ate the emergency bowl of rice (the stuff that you can microwave in 90 seconds). What a lifesaver to have that around! I wish Costco carried it year-round in Alaska...

On to food: April 4 food: oatmeal and blueberries, almond extract and cinnamon, Bonkers tea and 4 drops Stevia; a banana; a large bowl of LED soup, a big salad (romaine, spinach, onions, mushroom, grape tomatoes, 1/2 oz. walnuts, and my no-oil balsamic dressing), and an apple;

Edited at bedtime to add: another big salad of romaine, etc., including the other 1/2 oz of walnuts; 3 Yukon Gold potatoes; and, dang the man, DH just handed me a piece of dark chocolate with orange. 1 section. Drat. See y'all tomorrow. Headed for bed.

I loved my yoga this morning! My knee pain is nearly gone--just barely there when I try to do child's pose (there was none in today's routine). I am very happy to see that is is very slowly getting better, not just randomly coming and going. It shows it was an injury from the too-ambitious pose I got in at the gym in January. If I find the time to start going to the sessions at the gym, I will be much more protective and slow with myself.

Apr 5 exercise: 30 minutes of yoga for beginners with Barbara Benagh tape
Apr 5 food: oatmeal and blueberries, cinnamon, Bonkers tea, 3 drops stevia; 1 cup broccoli-cauliflower (LED) soup, 2 slices whole wheat toast, raw broccoli (whine), sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes; 1 piece chocolate at work (no more. Larry will no longer get me to eat chocolate.); (Edited to add) baby carrots and grape tomatoes, an apple, another piece of toast. Lots of water at karaoke!

Man, I hate eating cold, raw broccoli! What was I thinking? I bought it to cook, and it was delicious--I should save the rest to cook as well. I can eat raw cabbage--love the stuff--but the other brassicas, including cauliflower, are not useful to me raw. There. That's my whine for the day.

Karaoke tonight! Looking forward to it...

Hi frozenveg,
I don't like raw brassicas either except chopped up and thrown in salads. With the lettuce and other salad ingredients the brassicas are good raw.

I just finished reading a book called The Science of Yoga that explains how easy it is to get hurt doing yoga. I've always had a problem injuring my back in yoga and yet was told over many years, "Yoga is good for your back." Well, it turns out the lower back is a common area for injury while doing yoga. There's a great book called Yoga Over 50 by Mary Stewart which is a complete progressive program to do at home. You're less likely to injure yourself in a home practice going at your own pace.

Your posts remind me that even once the weight is off, the ongoing work of maintenance happens. So I find your posts very helpful in understanding that, as you say, it's not about the goal but about the ongoing process.

Happy Easter!

Birdy, it feels good to have my caution about yoga validated. I absolutely love yoga, and practicing at home. I have overcome so much pain by the gentle practice of yoga. I thought I had gotten pretty limber and strong, so I know I pushed myself too hard at the gym. I was taken by surpise at some of the postures, and the one in which we bent one leg under the body with the other leg extended behind and then laid the torso over the front leg and stayed there for what seemed like a very long time, was the one that did me in.

And thanks for the book recommendations. I've added it to my cart!

Yes, maintenance. It's something I'm studying. Being mindful, remaining mindful, is a practice, not a place!

That's called the pigeon post, Cloudy. It's a very deep stretch.

One thing to remember about yoga, is that you can come out of the pose or modify it. It's up to you to let the instructor know if something hurts or is not right. They can help you adjust your body. Never push into something that does not feel right.

A very nice yoga session is called release and restore. It's a very gentle practice. DH and I go together once a week. It barely feels like "yoga" as we imagine it, but you will feel wonderful after the class ends. Nothing strenuous about it.

The pigeon post...interesting! It felt pretty good while I was doing it, at first, but I think pride kept me from getting up out of it when it started to feel like a strain. My calf/knee area didn't hurt until about 2 days later, so I didn't gunderstand why for a while, but I know that had to be it. My shoulder was also hurt that day, and it's also gradually recovering. I think I've learned a lesson--the sessions at the health club are not so much classes with an instructor, as they are regularly-recurring drop-in sessions with a leader. I will be taking it carefully from now on! I don't have much time to travel to a class or anything, anyway, so I will probably not go back to the club for their sessions. But if I do, I will be mindful of my body's signals!

Back to my boring log (I'm going to keep boringly logging until I'm back to NOT accepting candy from strange gentlemen [like DH and my coworkers]:

Exercise: 1 mile indoor walking with Leslie Sansone

Food: oatmeal, cherries, cinnamon, Bonkers tea with 4 drops stevia, Good Earth tea with 3 drops stevia, another huge salad: romaine, spinach, alfalfa sprouts (my own!), tomatoes, mushroom, onion, 1 oz walnuts, balsamic dressing, huge bowl of LED soup; apple; 4 chocolate-covered pretzel balls (!); w/w pasta with no-oil sauce (but too much sodium!), 1 glass of wine.