What I'm Eating - MWL

[Qwerty988]

Thursday 7/25/17:

B: steel-cut oats w banana, blueberries & flax
L: big salad w rice
D: oven fries
S: veggie curry & rice

Exercise:

WOOO HOOOO down a pound to 163.0!!!!!! FINALLY breaking through that up and down plateau!!!!!!

I credit the hiking. Can't really call it walking as where I live it's so mountainous that I'm either going up a huge hill or down one. To get to the bottom of my particular hill and then all the way back up again takes me just over 45 minutes.

[Qwerty988]

Friday 7/28/17:

B: steel-cut oats w blueberries, spinach & banana
L: canned toms + kale + zucchini + mushrooms + frozen mixed veggies + potatoes + brown rice
D: The rest of this ^
S: oven fries

Exercise: spin class

Well, I fell asleep too early for yoga last night, but made it to spin class this morning. It was great! I'm going to try and do them every week, along with the yoga. They have free weights class, too, so I'll be checking those out as well. I still might try hot yoga, there's a beginner class tomorrow. We'll see....

[Qwerty988]

Saturday 7/29/17:

B: steel-cut oats w blueberries, spinach, banana & flax
L: broccoli, brussel sprouts, sweet potato & rice
D: salad w rice
S: cold potatoes w mustard

Exercise: None today

Sunday 7/30/17:

B: steel-cut oats w blueberries, spinach, bananas & flax
L: veggie beefless stew w rice
D: broccoli & sweet potato
S:

Exercise: whew, nothing again! Literally working non-stop. I'll try and get to a class tomorrow.

Monday 7/31/17:

B: steel-cut oats w blueberries, spinach, bananas & flax
L: veggie beefless stew w rice
D: oven fries
S:

Exercise: None! Crazy deadline.

Tuesday 7/30/17:

B: steel-cut oats w blueberries, spinach, bananas & flax
L: Hannah sweet potato (so good!)
D: salad w brown rice
S: veggie stew w rice

Exercise: Fingers crossed for today..... Nope! Not happening.

Wednesday 8/20/17:

B: steel-cut oats w blueberries, spinach, bananas & flax
L: Hannah sweet potato & big salad w rice
D: oven fries
S:

Exercise: Elliptical (woooo hoooo!! Made it back to the gym )

[Qwerty988]

Thursday 8/3/17:

B: steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberries & flax
L: kale + tomatoes + zucchini + frozen veg + rice
D: Enchilada chili & rice
S:

Exercise: Elliptical

Friday 8/4/17:

B: steel-cut oats w banana, spinach & blueberries
L: kale, toms, zucchini, mushrooms, frozen veg + rice
D: oven fries
S:

Exercise: Spin class, wooo hoooo!

It's a challenge being back in a gym, but I'm daring to be lousy


Saturday 8/5/17:

B: steel-cut oats w banana, spinach & blueberries
L: enchilada chili & rice
D: brussel sprouts & corn on the cob
S: 2 bananas

Exercise: none today

Sunday 8/5/17:

B: steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberries & flax
L: enchilada chili & rice
D: broccoli & sweet potato
S:

Exercise: Hike + Weights

Monday 8/7/17:

B: steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberries & flax
L: big salad w cold red potato
D: cold potatoes w mustard
S: Hannah sweet potato

Exercise: None today planned (crazy work day)

[Qwerty988]

8/8/2017 Tuesday:

B: steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberries & flax
L: kale, canned toms, zucchini, eggplant, frozen veg & rice
D:
S: cold potatoes w mustard

Exercise:

Full disclosure: last night after I finished working, I had a glass of wine to celebrate meeting my deadline. So sue me! It was much enjoyed. I do expect this will undermine any weight loss for the week, though.

To get myself into the 150's, I'm seriously considering a potato cleanse or a Mary's Mini. (I have a fridge full of food, so I'll be clearing that out first.) But I think it would be fun to crank it up a notch food-wise and get some faster results.

8/9/2017 Wednesday:

B: steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberries & flax
L: sweet potato + broccoli
D: corn on the cob + big salad w cold potatoes
S:

Exercise: Aggghhhh! Nothing.

8/10/2017 Thursday:

B: Steel-cut oats w banana, blueberries & flax
L: big salad w cold sweet potato
D: veggie beefless stew w rice
S:

Exercise: Woohoooo -- I did it! Took a big hike this morning and even cut 8 mins off my time.

Okay, I'm getting pulled into crazy work days.... I need to fit in some kind of exercise even when I'm pulling crazy hours. I'll work on taking an hour off in the morning to do this. An hour isn't such a big deal and I have so many resources! A great gym, equipment at home -- and a killer hill to hike, right outside my front door.

[Qwerty988]

Friday 8/11/2017:

B: Steel-cut oats w banana, blueberry & flax
L: veggie beefless stew w rice
D: cold potatoes w mustard
S:

Exercise: Elliptical + weights

Woo hooo -- weigh-in day and I'm down -0.2 pounds!

That might not seem like much, but it brings me past the 163 barrier to a new low: 162.8.

I'm so psyched!!!

Saturday 8/12/2017:

B: Steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberry & flax
L: veggie beefless stew w rice
D: big salad w cold potatoes & rice
S:

Exercise: None today


Sunday 8/13/2017:

B: Steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberry & flax
L: veggie beefless stew w rice
D: big salad w cold rice
S: cantalope

Exercise: Killer Hike

Since I started MWL on January 12th, I've now lost 4 inches off my waist and hips. I'm half-way to my final goal, but already feeling so much better. Ramping up the exercise has really made a big difference, too. I feel like I've turned a corner in some undefinable way.


Monday 8/14/2017:

B: Steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberry & flax
L: oven fries
D: smoky pinto beans & rice
S: honeydew

Exercise: spin class

Tuesday 8/15/2017:

B: Steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberry & flax
L: smoky pinto beans & rice
D: SNAP meal -- canned toms, kale, zucchini, mushrooms, frozen veg, potatoes & rice
S:
Exercise: None today

Wednesday 8/16/17

B: steel-cut oats w banana, spinach, blueberry & flax
L: veg soup, oven fries
D:
S:

Exercise: Blecchhh, sore throat and sneezing and fighting a cold.

No exercising for now. Made a big pot of veggie soup and will eat that today.

[Qwerty988]

Thursday 8/17/17:

B: steel-cut oats w spinach, banana, blueberries & flax
L: smokey pinto beans & rice
D: veggie soup
S: cold potatoes w mustard

Exercise: The Big Hike

Feeling much better today, will try to take a hike for exercise. There's that evening yoga class at my gym tonight, which I'd LOVE to start doing, but my schedule is such that I go to sleep too early most nights to make it. Feeling very rested today, so we'll see!

Friday 8/18/17:

B: steel-cut oats w spinach, banana, blueberries & flax
L: veggie curry w rice
D:
S: cold potatoes w mustard

Exercise: NordicTrack + Weights

Friday, weigh-in day -- no weight loss showing up on the scale! Frustrating, but I can tell I'm shrinking.

Saturday 8/19/17:

B: steel-cut oats w spinach, banana, blueberries & flax
L: veggie curry w rice
D:
S:

Exercise: The Big Hike

Gearing up to do something drastic to jump down to the 150s.... I'm thinking of a month-long potato marathon. I need to go super simple and I'm thinking this is the way. Potato-broccoli soup.... mashed potatoes & cabbage.... cold potatoes w mustard.... and sweet potatoes as needed so I don't go completely insane.

My food supply is low, except I did just stock up on cantalopes this week and I'm going to eat them when they're ripe.

So, with the exception of some cantalope in a few days, I'm in for 30 days on potatoes, starting tomorrow!


Sunday 8/20/17:

B: oven fries
L: Hannah sweet potato, big salad (w flax!)
D: oven fries & brussel sprouts
S: sweeet potato

Exercise: None today

Enjoying the potatoes, but realizing I need to be strategizing to get other veggies in. And salads. And flax!

I really want to keep it simple, though. Too many flavors -- too much variety -- that's not a good thing for me lately.

Monday 8/21/17:

B: oven fries
L: big salad w sweet potato & flax
D: the rest of the oven fries
S:

Exercise: spin class

All stocked up on potatoes, sweet potatoes and salad greens. Feels like a good plan for the week.

[Qwerty988]

Tuesday 8/22/17:

B: oven fries (shocker!)
L: big salad w cold sweet potato & flax
D: broccoli & sweet potato
S:

Exercise: Free weights (upper body)

I woke up this morning very sore from spinning yesterday. I need to get myself to that yoga class tonight! I can barely move.

Wednesday 8/23/17:

B: oven fries
L: big salad w cold sweet potato & flax
D: potato broccoli soup
S: cantalope, oven fries

Exercise: Big Hike + Weights (lower body)

Arrgghh -- another yoga class fail last night! Try as I might, I'm a morning exerciser and these night classes are just the last thing I want to do.

I really do think if I can force myself to go to one class, that'll be enough to get me going twice a week. I just need to make it to one! Oh well, I'll try again Thursday.

Thursday 8/24/17:

B: oven fries
L: big salad w cold sweet potato & flax
D: more oven fries
S:

Exercise: None today

Friday 8/25/17:

B: a beautiful Hannah sweet potato
L: big salad w cold sweet potato & flax
D: Hannah sweet potato
S: cantalope

Exercise: Elliptical

[Qwerty988]

Saturday 8/26/17:

B: cantalope, potato-broc knishes
L: oven fries
D: more oven fries!
S:

Exercise: Big Hike & yoga video

Sunday 8/27/17 :

B: big salad w cold sweet potato & flax
L: curly fries
D: sweet potato & broccoli
S:

Exercise: None

I'm so sore I can barely move.

In all honesty, I feel like doing an all-potato diet for a while -- just whites and sweets. I'm just feeling the urge to go super simple and recipe-free for a while. I don't know how long this will last -- a few days or weeks or months. But I do know that isn't MWL anymore.

So I'm going to take a PAUSE in posting here -- but will be back as soon as I return to MWL!

[Qwerty988]

Friday 9/8.2017
Friday weigh-in: 162.0

So, I'm still doing potatoes/sweet potatoes/non-starchy veggies exclusively. But while I thought I might possibly be doing *all* or mostly potatoes, I've actually been still doing the MWL program because 1/3 to 1/2 of most of my plates have been non-starchy veggies! So, I figured I'd still post my daily menus since I'm not really breaking any MWL rules and having good results.

Also, I just kind of miss posting.

This first weigh-in showed a loss of 0.8 pounds! That's A LOT for me.

B: salad w sweet potato & flax; oven fries
L: mashed cabbage-potatoes; stir-fry veggies
D: more mashed cabbage & potatoes
S:

Exercise: Walk

Lately I've been using Mary McDougall's 3-2-1 salad dressing and really enjoying it.

Also, I'm using salt-free mustard in the dressing.

Cutting back on condiments, generally. Instead of having oven fries with ketchup and hot sauce, I've been eating them plain by using this recipe:

Sour Cream & Onion Oven Fries

1. Dredge pre-baked oven wedges in apple cider vinegar
2. Sprinkle heavily w onion powder and dill
3. Bake 40 mins to 1 hour at 400.

Good enough to eat without ketchup! (To me, anyway)

[Qwerty988]

Saturday 9/9/17:

B: oven fries, stir-fry veggies
L: mashed potatoes & cabbage w stir-fry veggies
D: more mashed & stir-fry
S:

Exercise: None today

Sunday 9/10/17:

B: green salad w flax; oven fries
L: mashed potatoes & cabbage w stir-fry veggies
D: more mashed, more stir-fry
S:

Exercise: None, under the weather today. Took a nap instead.

Monday 9/11/2017

B: green salad w flax; oven fries
L: mashed potatoes & cabbage w stir-fry veggies
D: more mashed & stir-fry
S:

Exercise: spin class

Tuesday 9/12/2017:

B: Leftover mashed potatoes & stir-fry veggies
L: mashed potatoes & brussel sprouts
D: potato waffles & stir-fry veggies
S:

Exercise: Weights

Wednesday 9/13/2017:

B: oven fries & salad w flax
L: potato waffles & stir-fry veggies
D: potato-veggie stew
S:

Exercise: spin class

Thursday 9/14/17:

B: oven fries & salad w flax
L: leftover potato-veggie stew
D: Cheat meal!
S:

Exercise: None today

Hahaha -- my bad! I let my groceries get too low. I don't want to say what I ate because I don't want to trigger any cravings in case someone is reading this, but will say it was oil-free and vegan. So, McDougall compliant, but not potatoes or MWL. I'll try and get to the market today (Friday)!

[Qwerty988]

Friday 9/15/17:

B: oven fries & green salad w flax
L: mashed potatoes & cabbage; stir-fry veggies
D: more mashed & stir-fry veg
S:

Exercise: None today

Okay, stocked up on potatoes and veggies again. I'm finding the simpler I make my meals, the more I like them and the better the results.

I'm boiling unpeeled russets with chopped up cabbage til tender, then mashing with just some of the cooking water, some salt-free mustard, pepper and a little nutritional yeast. Then I top that with an equal amount of water-stir-fry veggies (cabbage, broccoli, mushrooms, kale) to which I've added a little soy sauce, rice vinegar and ginger powder. Really simple, but really satisfying!



Saturday 9/16/17:

B: oven fries & green salad w flax
L: mash potato pancake
D: mash potato pancake & stir-fry veggies
S: celery sticks

Exercise: spin class

Sunday 9/17/17:

B: oven fries & green salad w flax
L: potato cake & sitr-fry veggies
D:
S: cantalope

Exercise: None!

Monday 9/18/17:

B: oven fries & green salad w flax
L: potato cake
D: Too busy
S:

Exercise: Nothing, nada, zip

Agghh, getting overwhelmed with work again and slacking on the exercise. Oh well, I'll do my best to get something in this week!

Tuesday 9/19/17:

B: potato cake & green salad w flax
L: mashed potatoes & brussel sprouts
D: potato-veggie stew
S:

Exercise: NordicTrack

Wednesday 9/20/17:

B: oven fries & green salad w flax
L: sweet potato & steamed broccoli w lemon juice
D: potato cake & potato-veg stew
S:

Exercise: Nothing today, just sleep!

I'm getting nice and bored with my food lately. I love eating so that's quite a feat! Looking for that delicate balance between making meals that are good enough to eat, but not so good that I really enjoy them hahaha!

Thursday 9/21/17:

B: oven fries & green salad w flax
L: sweet potato & steamed broccoli
D: potato cake w applesauce
S:

Exercise:

Finallly somewhat rested again after making my deadline. I'll try and get to the gym -- or do something active today

[Qwerty988]

Friday 9/22/17:

B: oven fries & green salad w flax
L: potato cake w applesauce
D:
S:

Exercise: spin class

Friday weigh-in and I've lost 4.4 pounds these past two weeks! WOO HOO!!! 157.6 That makes 26 pounds lost so far this year on MWL

I'm getting closer and closer to that normal BMI

I'd be way more excited but I'm having a sleep crisis again -- the night flashes are back, waking me up 10+ times a night. I look like a regular functioning human being but really I'm a stumbling zombie of exhaustion.

[Qwerty988]

Saturday 9/23/17:

B: oven fries & green salad w flax
L: potato cake w applesauce
D: sweet potato & broccoli
S:

Exercise:

Well, yesterday it finally happened: I actually got so bored with my food that I just didn't feel like eating dinner. I wasn't actually hungry -- my stomach wasn't growling or anything -- and while I felt a little empty, it wasn't anything urgent. I just felt like "meh" about eating and went to bed without bothering. Potatoes are magic!

It's been a month and I'm going to keep on with this potato-veggies only strategy until I either stop losing or it stops being something I enjoy.

My goal weight is still pretty far away, but for now my first goal is to get back down to a healthy BMI. Ten pounds to go!

******************************************************

So I never forget, here's what's been working for me:

* eating potatoes, sweet potatoes and non-starchy veggies only
* making non-starchy veggies 50% of my plate for 2-3 meals a day
* a green salad every day
* no condiments other than vinegar, salt-free mustard, herbs. Maple syrup or agave in salad dressing only. Limited hot sauce.
* 45 mins of spinning or some kind of high intensity exercise 2 or 3 times a week

[Qwerty988]

Sunday 9/24/17:

B: potato cake & salad w flax
L: oven fries
D: mashed potato & stir-fry veggies
S:

Exercise:

Supplements are helping with sleeping better.

Potato cakes are interesting. I got the idea from SpudFit, who famously ate only potatoes for a year. They're just plain mashed potatoes squashed flat and cooked on both sides in a dry pan, so it comes out looking like a giant pancake. What's great about them is (for me) they seem to perfectly strike the balance between tasty and boring while being hugely satiating. I've started sprinkling a little garlic salt on top and eating them with unsweetened applesauce.

Here SpudFit demonstrates his masterful technique: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nHZo4NQBHdU&t=363s