Discussion Board

Well, here I go. I think it's time to try out this journal thing. First off, a little of my history. I was raised on the standard American diet loaded with lots of meat, dairy, and sugary treats. I was always a normal sized cute kid...until I hit my teens. Then everything started to fall apart for me. I gained alot of weight fairly quickly and got a very severe case of acne. (I wish someone had told me about dairy when I was younger as it would have saved me a load of heartache!!) So of course along with that came the self-esteem issues and depression, and I turned into a home-body. Anyway, through high school I squeezed into a size 13 and was about 165 pounds and of course was not very active at all. In my 20's I tried a few diets but always gave up after a week or too. My mid 20's was different though. I found a group of friends that were fairly active. We would go walking, hiking, rollar-blading together several times a week. We even joined YMCA and would meet up there after work. I was in the best shape of my life, but I was still overweight (about 170 at that time) because my diet was still really bad. I then got married at 27 years old and we moved away. So I lost that group of friends and I went back to my old habits and the weight started to come back on. I should mention that I got down to 150 for my wedding which barely put me in the "normal" weight range for my height of 5'6". At about 30 years old I was horrified to see that my weight had jumped up to 200 pounds! So I joined Weight Watchers and over about a year I got down to about 165 again. I started feeling comfortable at that weight, quit going to the WW meetings and gradually started to gain the weight back. A few years later I was back up to 200 pounds again. This time I decided to try Jenny Craig. Got down to about 165 again after about 6 months and then decided it was too expensive to keep up with it, plus the food was not very good at all. My first bite of "real" food again was like turning back on the switch of my old unhealthy habits. So you guessed it, I gradually gained to weight back.
So this gets me up to date and last year (Sept 2011) I stepped on the scale to find that I was 215 and size 18! But I decided I had enough with diets and wanted to find the proper healthy way to lose weight, get rid of my depression, headaches, skin issues, etc for good. I came across Mark Hyman and he opened my eyes about dairy. I kept doing some research and then came across a documentary called "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" all about juicing. Then somehow I came across the "30 Bananas a Day" website and I finally thought I had found my answer. Low fat raw vegan - Fruit! So Sept through Nov 2011 I had lost 25 pounds! I was thrilled! But then after that my weight had totally stopped. I was stuck at 180 for months, but I stuck with the fruit because I was feeling really good. My skin looked alot better, my mood has greatly improved, the headaches aren't as frequent. Were as, with any other diet I've tried I never felt any improvement like that, so I knew I must be on the right path. Anyway, May 2012 I noticed that I was starting to gain some weight back and it was getting harder to stick with the fruit. I was getting alot of cravings for other foods. People at 30 BaD often mention Dr McDougall and several of the other plant based diets like Engine 2 or China Study so I decided to look into it. All of them are based on high carbs so I decided to give it a try.
I was elated to make my first big pot of vegetable soup!! Just to be able to cook something again was amazing to me! Such a treat! So these past couple of weeks I've been experimenting with still eating alot of fruit, but also adding in some cooked vegetables, rice, potatoes, etc. I'm still feeling pretty good so I'm going to stick with this and see how it goes. I am finding though, that I miss my fruit if I try to go all McDougall. So it's been interesting trying to find a balance between both programs.
I really need to lose the weight though so from now on I'm going to try to simplify and go with the Maximum Weight Loss McDougall program. I am currently reading the book. I've lost 2 pounds this past week so I'd say I'm off to a good start. I'm still eating more than 2 pieces of fruit a day though and I've noticed the scale hasn't moved for a few days now. So this peach and banana smoothie in my hand with be my last smoothie for a while (it's so good though!!) Starting tomorrow I will stick to the 2 pieces of fruit rule and see how that goes. I'm hoping to stick to MWL for at least this summer and then we'll see about going to the regular McDougall program for more variety. Well, that's all for now. I'm about to go out for a walk and I will try to write more tomorrow....

Back from my walk...about 15 min around the block. Was going to go longer but it HOT out there! Excuses...I know...

I was curious how many calories are in my huge bowl of food I have for lunch. So I measured everything out and added it up in cronometer. Here's what I came up with...
1 cup brown rice (pre-cooked)
1/2 cup pinto beans (pre-cooked)
1/3 cup chopped frozen spinach
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/3 cup salsa
mixed everything together, with just a little bit of water and cooked in microwave. (I haven't eaten it yet, trying to wait until I'm actually hungry - the peach banana smoothie really filled me up this morning, which is unusual for me.)
The whole thing came out to about 450 calories. I'm planning on having the same thing for dinner except potatoes instead of the rice.
Is that a well balanced meal for MWL or should I change anything? More veggies maybe?

Yesterday went well! I stuck to my plan and felt full and satisfied all day. I did get a little "munchy" late in the evening, but I don't like to eat right before bed so I didn't have anything.
So far so good today. Had a big bowl of oatmeal with a few raisins, a banana, and pumpkin pie spice.
For lunch I am planning on brown rice and veggies. I know I have some broccoli and some kale that need to be used up. Not sure about dinner yet - maybe something similar to what I had yesterday. Also for a snack I will have an orange sometime today.
Exercise for today and tomorrow will be painting! I checked the weather and it will get pretty hot again later this week so these are the only two days that I'll be able to have the windows open for ventilation. I finished painting the living room a few weeks ago, so it will be nice to finally get the hallway and entryway finished as well!

Yesterday went just as planned. I love that I am finally feeling full and satisfied with the amount of food I am eating. The first week I was kind of struggling with transitioning from fruit to starch. One thing I've noticed though is my sleeping has changed. With 80/10/10 they encouraged everyone to get as much sleep as possible...and I did! My husband would leave for work and I'd go back to sleep for another hour or two and then I'd wake up feeling refreshed and ready to go. But now it seems I just can't sleep as much. I've been getting up when my husband leaves for work now since I can't get back to sleep. It takes me a while to fully be awake though. I'm hoping I'll eventually adjust and just be ready to start my day earlier than what I'm used to. So I wonder what the difference is? Both diets are very similar in that they both are based on high amounts of carbs and low fat. Yet one says sleep alot and ones says sleep less. Cooked vs. raw maybe? Or something with the sugar in the fruit? Anyway, I'm still undecided as to which of the 2 diets I will stick to long term. But I know for sure that plant based vegan is the way to go - whether it's cooked and starchy, or raw and fruity - I'm in this for life!

Things didn't go quite as planned yesterday, but I made it through the day. First off, I was out of oatmeal. Wasn't sure quite what to do so I used some brown rice instead. Didn't taste as good, but it filled me up for the morning at least. Then for lunch, I had used up the last of the prepared brown rice for breakfast and was too lazy to make another batch - and hungry and didn't want to wait for it to cook. (haha!) So I tried to use corn as my starch along with broccoli, kale, and some beans. That didn't satisfy me, like potatoes or brown rice would have. But I learned from it and I'll always be prepared from now on and I'll be going to the store today to pick up more oatmeal. Also, since I wasn't really satisfied at lunch I was more hungry at dinner. I had a decent dinner with potatoes and veggies. But I was still hungry afterwards so I had a pita with hummus (no oil) and tomatoes. Then later I also had some air-popped popcorn. Finally after the popcorn I felt satisfied. So overall, it was an ok day and I stuck to all McDougall foods. But of course now I see how the proper starches are more filling and keep me full and satisfied longer.
I did finish my painting (hallway and entryway) yesterday as well! It's good to have that done and it looks so much better. Next up is the stairwell. I'm a little nervous about that project though as I don't want to fall off the ladder as I'm painting over the stairs! I'm going to have to figure out a safe way to do it. Anyway, it was just nice to be busy all day for a couple of days and get something done!

For those "just ran out of brown rice and don't want to wait for more to cook" times, it's handy to keep some instant brown rice on hand. Jeff Novick uses the Success brand, I think, but any of them are fine. Some stores also sell frozen cooked brown rice and Costco sells shelf-stable cooked brown rice. Those are all handy to have in your pantry for easy and fast meals.

Other fast starch alternatives are potatoes (microwave them), frozen hashbrowns, whole wheat couscous, and quinoa (the fastest cooking whole grain).

Chile, thanks so much for your suggestions! I did pick up some Success brown rice and also some frozen potatoes at the store yesterday. For now I still prefer to prepare fresh meals (enjoying the farmer's markets right now!) but I do love the idea of throwing together a meal in 10 minutes - Jeff Novick style!

Stopped in at the farmer's market yesterday for their strawberries. Wow, they are so good! Enjoying some in my oatmeal this morning. While I was there I also picked up a bunch of plants for the yard. I got a few planted last night and hope to get the rest done today and tomorrow. So, another project to keep me busy. No actual exercise so far this week...just painting and planting. But I'd rather have things like that to do than some boring work out video! I don't get my heart rate up as much, but considering I am doing them for several hours at a time instead of just 20-30 min I think it's probably even better.

Today was weigh in day! I've joined in the MWL challenge group so I'll post here every week as well. I'm pleased to report that I am down 3 pounds this week! I weighed myself a few days ago and my weight was still the same so I got a little worried that I was doing something wrong. So this really put my mind at ease today! I really love this simple way of eating and knowing that I'm not clogging up my body with all the junk that I used to eat.

Just a quick note today. Went to the farmer's market today and got a bunch of veggies! Tried some rainbow collards for lunch for the first time. They are pretty potent, but not bad mixed in with other things.

My husband seems a little more interested. He said he'd try one new recipe a week with me and knows that he need to be eating healthier, so that is a good start! Now to dig through all the recipes and try to find ones he may like...

That is great news that your husband is interested in this WOE!!

My DH is not at all intrigued by this way of eating...and of course he is one of those seemingly "healthy" SAD eaters so I've had a hard time giving him reason to change. It is somewhat challenging to create meals that are good for me and add something that he wants as well. That and trying to avoid the occasional "cravings" food for me that he has all over the kitchen.

Sounds like you're making some great food choices. It really is one meal at a time until you get used to it. Good luck to you on your journey!

Hi...you're doing just great! I've been McDougalling for 18 months and have lost almost 90 pounds.

Wow Gypsy that is so cool...For someone starting out 18 months might seem like a long time but I bet it flew by...and now you are 90 lbs lighter.....OM goodness i amire you so much!!

Thanks Lexus! I don't know if I'll ever get him to fully convert to this way of eating, but it's a start anyway! I'm trying to just set a good example for him and not pressure him too much...although that is hard since I believe in this so much and I just want him to be healthy. Hopefully your DH will see the light eventually as well!

Gypsy, Wow! I ditto all that Don said as well! I really look forward to seeing the new me in 18 months - but just taking this one day at a time!

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there! I'll be going to visit mine this afternoon.

Well, I have a belly full of oatmeal. Going to snack on some grapes a little later. Potatoes and veggies for lunch...not sure about dinner yet but I'll figure something out! Have a great day everyone!

Happy Birthday to Me!! I'm 38 years young today! No big plans for the day. In fact I'll be home alone most of the day. I plan to go on a nice long walk and maybe some extra fruit for a treat. Other than that, it should be a nice normal day for me.

I'll have oatmeal and fruit for breakfast (got some really good organic black grapes!) Brown rice and veggies for lunch, and probably potatoes and veggies for dinner. Nice and simple!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151037436118377&set=a.424803913376.188119.53778923376&type=1&ref=nf

Just had to share this picture of a watermelon car! Too cute!

Well, it's weigh in day and nothing to report. My weight stayed the same this week. The last couple of days I've been feeling a little puffy - like I am retaining water. So I'll just keep going and see what happens for next week.