Discussion Board

I am the same way. I do so much better when I stay MWL way of eating as well. I find I have some food addictions to bread type products. If I am sticking to MWL I do so much better. I know you can do this and you will get the victory. Keep on plugging along.
Kathy

Hi all, I've gotten more inspiration from Kkrichar's journal. I agree with a lot of her comments about comparing overeating to other addictions. As I said, I have a son 5 years in recovery from alcoholism, and I learned so much about myself from going to family meetings with him. I seemed to identify more with those meetings than with OA , which I've also attended a few times. Also, I liked her topic of moderation. I think that works better for non addicts. I am so much better, and happier , without a single bite of foods that I can overdo on.
So, this is day 11 of 100% compliance for me, and I feel great! I leave in early June for Tanzania, and I will have no say at all about the food. I work in an orphanage that is really in the middle of nowhere, and very beautiful. There are no stores nearby, and no special food requests. Luckily, all food is whole and natural, and there is very little meat. I easily stick with the veggies, but can't control the oil. Other years I have eaten bread and peanut butter along with the oatmeal that I take with me. This time, I'll be staying away from all bread. It is freshly baked thee, but it is not food to me anymore, thanks Cloudy! Take care all, LauraA

Safe travel's Laura..you will be fine on the program...I have a Coke(soft drink) addiction...always have... always will...I can not touch the stuff, or I lose it and drink one after the other so I can relate to what you are saying. Just focus on the important stuff...the food issues will work out

Jambo Laura. I wish I was going to Tanzania with you. I can't wait to hear all about it when you get back. I'm glad the food will be mostly McD while you're there. It makes sense.

Kwaheri!
Kelly

Potatohead me too, but it was Diet Coke, and probably mostly for the caffeine, since I never drank coffee or blank tea.
Kkrichar Asante sana!! Swahili? Great!! Where did you learn that?
To both of you-Thanks so much for stopping by. I love company! Take care, LauraA

Laura,

It's great to have you back. Sounds like you have your tripped food thought out. Keep it up!

Laura, me too! You should take us too. I'm curious. What is different about food for you and how you think about it while you are there? Is it harder to overeat? How do they see us and our obesity or is it even on the radar?

I went to Saltillo, Mexico as a teenager and then college student. We gave out beans in the rural areas. I cried almost around the clock for 2 days- horrible culture shock and the hunger wasn't near what it is in other parts of the world. I still remember an elderly lady picking through the dirt to get every bean that had fallen to the ground during distribution. She has stayed with me all these years. I wonder what she would think about my gluttony. And then I think about all the people who have come here from other countries and have joined us in our obesity and I realize we are just human. In need of change but human.

I hope you have a good trip and too look forward to hearing about your time.

Hi Laura, Kiswahili was my foreign language when I was an undergrad. At the time I was planning to go to graduate school in anthropology and expected to live for one year with another culture. Most of the cultures we studied were African so I took an African language. It was super fun. I had studied Spanish before that and there was a huge difference in knowledge coming in. Some people could already speak it and others sounded like idiots with their pronunciation. It made it more intimidating. In Swahili everyone was at the same level. We all sounded like idiots putting letters together that "don't go together." Like mbwa (dog) and ngombe (cow). We always laughed. I took 4 semesters and I think, in the end, I was at the level of a 2nd grader. I barely remember the vocabulary now but I remember a lot about the rules of the language structure. I think if I brushed up on my vocab and went to Tanzania I could pick it up. My Swahili teacher has a house in Tanzania. She and her husband spend their summers there (they both teach at the University of Iowa) and many of her former students have visited her there. I really really really want to go someday. In fact, Blandina has an organization now that helps increase tourism or something like that. Let me Google it. Ahh, here's an article I found. Blandina is in a pic toward the bottom. I love her.

You know, I should just make it happen. You are inspiring me on many levels.

Hmmm, it looks like it didn't let me include the link.

http://www.blueplanetgreenliving.com/20 ... -tanzania/

Her organization is called "Travel for Change."

Hi all - I'm glad that you all stopped by - I love company!!
Boots -
I'm usually around a little (at least in the Lounge), but I am back to journaling now. It's great to hear from you!
Anna-
In Tanzania they eat a plant based diet with very little meat. Nothing is processed, and the food is pretty healthy. They do use oil, and make a lot of bread. I eat with a whole group of volunteers and employees, and we are all at one big table. There is no chance for snacks or food between meals, unless it is brought there from the states or from the city . I take oatmeal and herbal tea with me, and flax seed. We are no where near a store. Most of the volunteers are in their 20's, and I'm 65, so I'm sort of the Grandma of the place. Also, most of the volunteers are quite slim, or average. I don't even want to overeat at the big table (I've always been a sneaky eater, but not so much lately). In Tanzania, extra weight is a sign of good health and longevity. It means that you have a better chance of living through an illness of poverty. It is a complement to be called heavy or old, so I sort of have it made. The men in Tanzania are very slim, and many of the women seem a little heavier, but the weight is in the hips and legs, not as much belly fat. I never have gained weight there ( I often stay a month per year) but I have, in the past, had a hard time staying away from fresh baked bread, and peanut butter that is always there for anyone who doesn't like the meal. There is only meat once or twice per week, so , of course, I'm fine with that.
kkrichar-
What an interesting website - how fascinating! You would love it there. I certainly do. I would stay much longer if it weren't for my husband, children and grandchildren. It is a beautiful place with wonderful people - and I'd say that most people who live there, even in mud huts, seem happier than many Americans.
Here's where I work: http://www.tanzanianchildrensfund.org/
If you look at the website, go to "news and media" section, look under "videos" and look at the first video, " A Day in the Life". I produced it, and took all of the still photos at the end!
Take care all, LauraA
DAY 12- 100% MWL

Hi all - This is day 13, and things are going well. I hope that everyone else is doing well. I should be busy getting ready to go to Tanzania, but instead we have a son and three friends visiting, a friend coming to visit in a couple of days, and a book club here on Friday night. My son the chef is cooking veggie lasagna for the main course for the book club, and others are bringing stuff. I suggested that someone bring a fruit salad, because I was pretty sure that there wasn't much way to mess that up with cheese, dressing, etc. My son's recipe is great - we usually have it at Christmas and Thanksgiving. The "noodles" are made out of eggplant strips, and there are so many veggies and such great tomato sauce.

Day 14 of very strict MWL, and I'm feeling great. I had a dentist appointment today, and had a hygienist that I had never seen before. She was in her mid fifties. She asked if I had anything new in my medical history, and I said, "no". She was amazed that I was 65 and take no medication. She said that she doesn't have any other patients my age who don't take something. She then said that she takes blood pressure med and cholesterol lowering meds. She again said that she was amazed, and also commented about how great my gums were. I then told her a little about how I eat. She was interested, but said that she could never do that. She did keep asking me questions, though. I think it is so sad that basically everyone over 60 in my little town is on medication!! My regular Dr says the same thing!

Laura, you sound great!

It is ridiculous and sad the amount of meds people I know take. The most ridiculous it seems to me are the constipation ones. Even when eating some SAD I still managed to eat enough fiber to avoid that fate. I want to yell, "eat a bean!" And I know if I don't keep eating well I'll be funding the pharmaceutical companies too.

Your life seems so full of wonderful people.

Thanks, Anna, and thanks for stopping by! My life is indeed filled with many wonderful people, and most of them are related to me.
Today is DAY 15 of strict MWL, and I'm feeling great and doing great. Tonight is book club at my house, and my son, Chef Paul fixed my favorite veggie lasagna. I can't wait!

DAY 16 MWL, and I'm beginning to get ready for my annual trip to Tanzania. I'm so excited. I'm also happy and proud of my 16 days of MWL- that's half a month!! I'm no longer saying "100 %" or even "strict", because I'm sure that when I eat out or don't have complete control, there is always a little oil or something. I feel great, though, and I'm really feeling so good about not overeating at all. I'm actually thinking about food very little, except to be sure that I have food on hand and prepared. We have a nice little farmer's market here, so that really helps with the great fresh veggies. My snack of choice lately is corn from the farmer's market - it is so good! I hope that everyone is doing well .
PS I realized as I wrote this post, that about a half hour ago, as I cleaned the kitchen, I put an ear of corn in the microwave to have as a snack. I forgot all about it! For me, that is very un-obsessed with food!!