Coming out from lurkdom

[Bri]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to post a quick introduction as I've been an on-going lurker for about nine months. You have all been a lifesaver for me with your experiences in McDougalling, even those problem days falling off the wagon.

I am 36 years old and am currently 36 weeks pregnant with my first child. I have a 5 year old stepson and husband both of whom are SAD eaters. In fact, my DH is a meat and potato type of guy who dislikes many veggies and most "healthful" versions of food. I am on my own with this way of eating and in the past I haven't managed to stick with it.

I started McDougalling for health reasons as well as weight loss. The only time in my life where I lost weight effortlessly was in college when I existed mostly on steam-fry (no oil) with rice, with occasional mac & cheese, cheese sandwhiches and pizza once a month for variety. I didn't know about McDougalling back then, but it made sense to me once I started reading his books.

I struggled for years with an unknown dairy allergy - thank goodness for no more sinus problems! I also suspect I have issues with gluten so I try to use gluten free products. I also started having problems with hives and serious itching. My PMS is pretty much gone and my cycles are no longer so flipping painful. I feel so much better eating this way.

I had started getting serious with McDougalling and my exercise just before I got pregnant. I had problems with nausea until 24 weeks, then I started gagging on healthful foods, weird aftertastes, was able to only eat a few foods such as PB & jelly or PB & banana sandwhich-go figure that one out. So, my McDougall plans got put on serious hold and I was not a happy person about as my husband can attest to. Despite all the problems I've had with food during this pregnancy, I've only gained about 20 lbs.

So, to help me deal with my frustration, I started evaluting where I got into trouble in the past with sticking to the program and coming up with strategies. I began planning my meals out much better, making a restaurant list of where and what I would eat that would be McDougall friendly and dealing with some mental habits and re-reading my books.

Somewhere about 32 weeks, discovered that I can eat most of my McDougall meals again. I'm still hesistant with spicy stuff, vinegars and citrus are still an unknown - those made me so sick before I think I'm going to avoid them for a little longer, and a few other items, but I can eat McDougal very well now.

Exercise is out of the question as I have had 24/7 pelvic pain since I was about 27 weeks. Moving and sitting is extremely painful on most days if done for any length of time. Every time, I think the pain is going to go away it comes back. I am sleeping in a recliner now as laying down flat causes too much pelvic pain due apparently to how low I'm carrying this little one. I just got lucky with this symptom. So, I plan to start exercising after the little one is born.

I'm pretty much following the Regular plan, but keeping a my breads and pasta's on the lower end. As, instead of fixing something to eat, I'll munch on a bagel instead. I am relearning that I can fix a quick meal with ingredients on hand, which is how I originally learned to cook. Along with making soups and rice to have on hand to help keep me on track.

I am 5' 10 inches tall and I have a minimum of 75 lbs to loose most likely more, but I don't know what my lowest weight was. My sister is the same height and small boned, while I'm large boned and I could never get close to her scale wise. I figure this will be a journey and my body will know where it wants to stay at naturally when I get there.

I figure I need to start jumping in and holding myself accountable so I don't feel all alone in this SAD world and using that as an excuse to "fall off" the wagon so to speak.

[Sunny]

Welcome to the board and congratulations on your pregnancy. It is nice to know that you have a place to come to, with like minded people.

[noodle]

Welcome Bri! And congratulations on "being with child." I hope that you'll stick with the McD. way of life. I'm sure you'll feel better as time goes on and you'll have a healthy little one.

I'm new here too but have been made to feel like a part of the gang already.

Take Care.

Noodles

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

This link is the closest thing I can find online to the thing I used when I was experiencing my first full term pregnancy. It helped a LOT and I owned two even though they were expensive because I never wanted to be without it when laundering the thing.

http://babyhugger.com/puton.html

I was 37 when my first son was born and 38.5 when the second one was born. I wish I had known about McDougalling then, I probably would have been a lot healthier.

[PattyC]

Welcome Bri. Congratulations on the new baby coming. I love new babies.

These people on this board are wonderful and I know we can do this together, one meal and one snack at a time.

[Malva]

Glad to have you here with us!

SAD eaters are not bad people, they just don't know any better, and assume that they are doing the best they can from the great
nutritional data they get from the Cattleman's Association, the Dairy Council, and the informative TV commercials from KentuckyMcBurgerQueenTime.

Be an example and an inspiration to those around you. If they have eyes to see, they won't miss the fact that your healthy eating results in your good looks AND good health.

Knock their socks off!

[Chrmann]

I'm 56 years old. When I was 19 years old, I ate a vegan diet. I did this for a few years. My husband was a farmer and we raised hogs. So, the SAD diet was eaten every day for 10 years. Then, I found out that I had Lupus. I got in bad shape. I got pregnant and spent 9 months almost losing the baby. I ended up with a heart problem towards the end of my pregnancy. This child is now 22 years old and I'm 56 years old. By the time this child was 5 years old, I was in bad shape. The Dr. thought I was having mini strokes because that happens with Lupus. I had a migraine headache that had lasted over 5 years and my sinuses were a mess. The Dr. did an MRI and didn't find I was having mini strokes. I asked her if I was having a sinus headache and she said there was no such thing. Well, I knew better. So, I started going to an allergy Dr that happened to be a holistic Dr. Within a week, I no longer had headaches. So, I knew that I had done the right thing. He put me on the McDougall diet and told me no dairy or animal products. When I was a child, I was always sick. My dad had allergy tests run and found out that I was allergic to everything. So, he let me eat those things. I was sick with food allergies all the time. I cannot remember many days without me having to take allergy medicine. Anyway, this Dr. saved my life. Or, I should say Dr. McDougall's diet saved my life. I've not had any symptoms of Lupus in many years. I found out that I'm allergic to corn, dairy, yeast, eggs. I cannot eat meat or any animal products because they eat corn. Also, I'm allergic to penicillin. Chicken and eggs are dipped in penicillin to keep bacteria down. Most people don't know that. Also, most animals today are fed penicillin. Living on a farm, I found out almost everything we ate, I was allergic to. I cannot eat anything that is fermented because of the yeast problem. Salt has corn added in either one of two ways...dextrose or polysorbate. And, salt is added to almost everything. I canned with it for years. I'm alot healthier for eating the McDougall way. You will be glad that you decided to do this.

[BUNBUNLVR]

Glad to have you here with us!

SAD eaters are not bad people, they just don't know any better, and assume that they are doing the best they can from the great
nutritional data they get from the Cattleman's Association, the Dairy Council, and the informative TV commercials from KentuckyMcBurgerQueenTime.

Be an example and an inspiration to those around you. If they have eyes to see, they won't miss the fact that your healthy eating results in your good looks AND good health.

Knock their socks off!

Welcome Bri! I too have done mostly lurking for the past 3 years or so. I have posted occationally though. I'm really enjoying this new board and intend to post much more often now.

I second what Malva said above!

[harmony_55805]

I started McDougalling in 2005 and I loved it. I lost weight easily and felt wonderful. But that November I got pregnant and unfortunately, between the fatigue and the food aversions (oatmeal, soy, beans all made me sick) I fell off the wagon big time. The fact that I can eat anything I want to and not gain extra weight when I am pregnant didn't help either, plus the cravings for processed cheese and beef - yuck! Anyway, my little girl is now 2 months old and I suspect she is sensitive to something in my milk. The good thing about this is it's a kick in the butt to get back to eating right since the most common problem in babies (colic, exzema, etc) stems from a sensitivity to the proteins in cow's milk. I often wonder if I could have saved my girl from two months of unnecessary suffering if I would have stuck with the program. Keep with it.

I don't know if I misunderstood about the hives, but some common McDougall foods that may cause allergic reactions may be corn, soy, and tomatoes. I didn't realize how big an allergen soy was until I read that 50% of babies sensitive to dairy are also sensitive to soy as well.

Anyway, I wish you a quick and safe delivery.

[Bri]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I'm still doing well with eating this way and really working on bypassig those SAD options. It's a mental decision I need to make for myself. I'm sorry I didn't write down everyone's name, but to touch base on a few other things here is an update:

The little one has moved to center and head down so the pain is improved despite it being there. Now, I want and feel the need to walk it out where as before I wouldn't move. Everything else is fine, except my midwife is nervous about my due date - apparently my cycle dates, ultrasounds etc. don't all add up to the same day. He mentioned stripping my membranes in two weeks because of a concern of scar tissue preventing me from dilating due to past surgery. I'm freaked about that option due to hearing bad experiences. So, I'm going to have consider this one.

I'm going to try a taco salad tonight. So, I'm hoping I can eat the lettuce with no problem since I'm doing fine with other veggies.

I don't believe my hives were caused by an allergy to food. I didn't test out with any originally, despite having on-going sinus problems so I'm not sure how good of a test it was. I have an unknown version of urticaria that seems to be heat triggered (meaning I develop hives) through exercise or when it gets hot. I notice though that I don't develop the hives when I eat McDougall meals and I'm not on allergy medication for them anymore. I really hate taking meds. So, while I still pink up in the shower or while exercising it is no where near the level I used to when I ate SAD food. I find this fascinating, and I hope eventually I won't have the problem anymore.

I'm definitely concerned about my little one too as my experience with allergies, and my husband and I both have neices that are showing serious eczema and skin problems. Neither of their parents are interested in alterning their daughters diets to see if it improves. I also remember serious, chronic sore throats and ear infections as a child and I've wondered how much was contributed to by dairy. I still remember the pain. So, I have this incentive as well to keep me on track.