Discussion Board

Today is my Birthday. Congratulations are not in order, as, yet again I've not met the goals I set last Birthday. I've been dieting or binging for 25 years and am hoping that the Mcdougall plan may be my solution. Today I ate many unhealthy foods in far too large portions and now feel full, uncomfortable, ready for bed and sick of being here again. On the good side I went shopping today and bought in lots of Mcdougall friendly foods and hope to get my head round the plan tomorrow. I wish the new book was out tomorrow, instead of next week, but I can wait and stumble through the first week. I'll keep my progress updated here and would welcome any advice or pointers.

May this be the year that you get healthy and find peace with food. I wish you the best on your journey.

I disagree! No matter how bad you feel like this year has been, YOU are worht celebrating! And now you are being given a beautiful opportunity to make a new start and makebthe choice to have this be your best year yet! So
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!

Happy Birthday Purplerain!

It took me all of 2011 experimenting with the McDougall WOE to get me here today. I am certainly not 100% compliant 100% of the time, maybe 90% the times I am completely on, but I am human and I do forgive myself.

So, my advice to you.

Take it one meal at a time. If you eat off plate, simply forgive yourself and focus on your next meal. You can’t anything about something once it’s behind you, but you can do everything for what’s ahead.

Always have good food on hand. I’m still working on this when I’m not at home or my desk, I am getting better. Speaking of my desk, you would think I was going to open a farmer’s market in my cube based on the amount of fruits and veggies around me.

Eat well. For lunch today I had veggie sushi and these yummy, crunchy spring rolls I got at our local grocery store. I never thought I would enjoy vegetables SO MUCH.

Go do something you love and thank yourself for treating YOU so well. I do yoga 4 – 5 times a week. It’s my chocolate, my glass of white wine and my pedicure all wrapped into one yummy treat. It keeps the good feeling momentum I have about myself ongoing.

Keep on keepin on!

HBTY HBTY HBDP HBTY

Much luck on your path to health!
f1jim

Thank you for so much encouragement and advice. I weighed in at 151 lbs, which is 31 lbs down from my heaviest weight, but I had lost more and was on a "putting it back on phase" when I joined. I had my first day all planned out and then friends and unforseen circumstances messed it all up. I kept to my foods, but it let me know that I need to have food prepared to just grab if I need it.
Breakfast, smoothie made from bananas, dates and raspberries.
Dinner, wholemeal pita stuffed with a blended tin of chick peas.
Snack, some sweetcorn.
Tea, New potatoes, Mushy peas and salad.
Stubby bottle of beer.
First problem was the chick peas. I'm used to making hummus with lots of olive oil and tahini and without any fat to stick it all together it was more of a crumbly affair which wouldn't stay in the pita. Perhaps if I'd cooked fresh ones till they were more mushy than using tinned. Need to think about that. Also, didn't have any salad dressing ideas, as I usually use a cashew cream cheesy sauce. So I just had it plain. All in all, a very successful day.

For the hummus, I use a small amount of tahini (say 1 tablespoon for 2 cups of chick peas), then add some water and blend for a long time to make it creamy. Try adding some chick pea cooking liquid next time.

Here's an idea for dressing from a former poster that had lots of good recipes:


Here's an idea for fat free hummus that is very good from a Star McDougaller who still posts frequently:


Note: some people who tried this substuted fresh garlic cloves for the garlic powder. Someone added cumin, and one person added a roasted red pepper (the kind found in water-not oil, of course).
Have fun experimenting!

Thanks for the hummus and salad dressing advice, I can see how the cannalini beans would stick everything together as they're much softer and the dressing sounds delicious!

Yesterday I was quite ill. I think it was a huge caffeine withdrawl. I felt so groggy when I woke up and felt half asleep and unable to concentrate on anything all day.
Went to the gym for an hour, with a 20 minute walk there and back, also walked the dog for an hour in the afternoon. I certainly felt like I overate, but decided just to stick to McDougall foods and not worry about amounts.
Breakfast, smoothie from bananas, dates and strawberries.
Dinner, New potatoes and sweetcorn.
Snacked on about 6 pieces of fresh dry bread.
Tea, home made curry and wholemeal pasta.
Stubby bottle of beer in the evening.
I felt very pleased with myself for not delving into the peanut butter or defrosting veggie burgers and sausages, but I don't think I'll lose weight with all that bread. It was the best I could manage today.

I admit, I almost threw the towel in this morning. Was still feeling groggy and as I was approaching the scales I was thinking I'd maybe forget this weekend and start again on Monday. An unexpected half pound loss changed my mind.
Went to Manchester shopping with my friend for the day and we covered some miles walking.
Porridge for breakfast made with water and a little salt.
Plain Panini mid morning.
Subway wholewheat roll with plain salad veg and water for dinner
Hubby met me off the train and we went to the chipshop, but I turned it all down and had a baked potato and some left over fat-free curry instead.
Supper, some wholemeal bread with sundried tomatoes in, fatt-free, of course.
A small stubby beer before bed.
Feeling a bit better by the end of the day and was glad that I stayed on plan after all.

Today was the opposite of yesterday. I jumped on the scales to see what I'd lost and had put on 2 lbs. I was quite shocked, as I felt like I had done well yesterday. So, I'm now 1 1/3 lb heavier than when I started. I'm not feeling discouraged though, maybe it's one of those plans that goes up and down on the scales with a general downward trend, which would be fine or maybe I will have to adjust the amount I eat, as I do have a huge appetite.
Breakfast, banana, raspberry and date smoothie.
Dinner, 2 pieces wholemeal toast with a spoonful of left-over veggies on.
Afternoon snack, salad sandwich on wholemeal plain bread.
Tea, roasted veggies and mushrooms with mashed potatoes, all fat free.
Small stubby bottle of beer.
I can't weight to get the new book on Tuesday now, perhaps it will give some updated info. I have the 12 steps book, which is what I'm working from.
Otherwise, I may have to look at the maximum weight loss book or count calories or something.

Today, I am very unhappy. Yesterday I got on the scales to find a 3/4 lb gain. I was a bit down about that and I was very hungry all day too.
Breakfast, 2 pieces wholemeal toast with sugar-free jam on.
10.30 porridge made with water and some sweetcorn.
Dinner, brown rice with chopped up salad veg, some soy sauce and vinegar.
4.30, Thick piece wholemeal toast with some mashed potatoes on from last night.
Tea, home made chips with just a couple of sprays of fry-light, a home made burger and baked beans.
I always walk the dog for an hour every day.
I spent my spare time yesterday reading journals on this forum and also watching videos on the McDougall Youtube channel. I did note that one bloke who had attended the McDougall weekend said that he had put on weight to start with and Dr MCD said that people went to the center and were given gourmet meals 4 times a day and could eat what they liked. I really haven't eaten any fat the last few days and I'm piling on the pounds and I can't believe that I could be the only one that can eat that much.
This morning I weighed myself and another 2 lbs have gone on. I feel really fat and bloated and very down. I'm now 4 1/2 lbs up from when I started 6 days ago. I should have known. I tried Slimming World once and their green plan was similar to this one, eat as much of the starches as you like with veg and fruit and I never lost anything there even though I stuck to the plan.
1. To face facts, I can't stand to get up one more morning and have gained on the scales.
2. I obviously can't eat as many starches as I want and lose weight, even if everyone else seems to be able to.
3. I want to stay on this plan and so am going to have to change things to restrict calories and food volume.
I read the journals of successful McDougallers and noted 3 things. They stick to 3 regular meals a day, sometimes with planned snacks. They eat much less flour products and eat a lot less than me in general. So, I can try that, but I will certainly be on a restrictive diet plan then, but I think I'm kidding myself to think that I can carry on eating the volume of any food I want and lose weight, even if it's fat free.
Tomorrow night I'm going to a concert, I should be looking forward to it, but I don't think I have anything I can squeeze into, certainly not the top I bought specifically at Christmas and I'll be the only fat person in our party. Now I'm completely dreading the whole event. I just can't let this happen again.
So, I'm going to try these regular meals and snacks, count calories and find something that works. This morning I bought 2 books the McDougall 15 minutes cookbook and glancing through it I am glad it has serving suggestions and they are a hell of a lot smaller than I would have served myself. So I can use that as a guide. Also I bought the Starch Solution and had to laugh at the first few lines which said something about picking up the book because what I'm doing at the minute isn't working, when what I'm doing is the instructions from the 12 steps plan.
I am sorry I sound so grumpy today, but I am feeling bad and am struggling to get motivated for the day ahead and the prospect of restriction seems to fill me with panic before I've even got going. This is my own fault, when the doc said "eat as much as you like" he's probably never met anyone as greedy as me.

This is just a suggestion, but maybe you should cut out the bread and the beer. I have completely stopped eating bread, and don't drink at all, and I think that helps. As far as the caffiene - maybe try a mix of 1/2 caffenated coffee and 1/2 decaf, and see if that helps. Then after you get used to that, you should be able to switch to decaf without any major side effects. (Or if it is tea you are used to drinking in the morning, do the same thing).

Also, it is really important to drink lots of water - I drink at least 64 oz. every day (8-8 oz cups), and I think it makes a huge difference.

I know it is frustrating to see a gain on the scales, but really your eating seems to be spot on except for the small suggestions that I made. I hope that you are able to figure it out, and that you are feeliing better and losing weight soon!

I think if you have been losing weight or been dieting a while, then the regular program probably won't work very quickly. You might want to try MWL, which doesn't allow bread. I know I for one can't lose weight if I include bread -- doesn't seem fair, but that's the way it is.

You could even kick-off with a Mary's Mini: 10 days eating only one type of starch (brown rice or potatoes or oatmeal) and lots and lots of vegetables.

I know it seems kind of rigid and miserable at first, but you'd be surprised at how quickly a limited diet turns delicious.