by fruitfulveganmama » Wed Nov 11, 2015 11:37 am
Hi everyone! I'm hoping some of you more seasoned McDougallers can help me with a problem. I eat too much. Seriously, I do. I've been like this for as long as I can remember. I am not a large person, I am 5'1" and right now my current weight is 126 pounds (my highest was 160 about 10 years ago). My lowest weight was 114 pounds, which I managed to get down to while eating a 100% fruit-based raw vegan diet (a la 80-10-10). I know that way of eating is not recommended here, however, I will admit that I love eating that way, and I always feel my best when eating 100% raw...however, it is simply not sustainable for me. The longer that I eat raw, the more fruit I crave, the more expensive it gets, and then we can't afford to do it any longer. The longest I have been raw was five consecutive months, and that's when I got down to 114 pounds.
When I'm not eating raw, I'm eating the regular McDougall diet. I absolutely always gain weight on the regular McDougall plan. Not because the diet doesn't work, but because I am an emotional over-eater. The regular McDougall food tastes so good that I can't stop eating it. So this time, after my last attempt at being 100% raw, I have been eating the MWL McDougall plan. The weight is slowly coming off (for now) but I know that I simply eat too much food and I am just so tired of being unhappy with the extra fat on my body. I want to get down to a slim and trim weight, and finally stop worrying about food and weight and all that mess. But I don't see how it's ever going to happen if I can't stop over eating. Here is a typical day for me:
Meal 1: 2 bananas, 1 cup blueberries
Meal 2: 6 small to medium potatoes and 1 pound cooked kale
Snack: raw cauliflower, baby carrots, cucumber slices, celery and 1/2 cup salsa
Snack: 1 apple, 1 banana, 2 rice cakes dipped in fat free tomato sauce
Meal 3: 2 cups brown rice, 1 medium sweet potato, 1.5 cups sautéed or steamed random veggies (zucchini, yellow squash, bell peppers, onions, broccoli, etc.) or a salad. Sometimes there will be beans in those sautéed veggies, too.
Snack: 1 large bowl popcorn (about 1/2 cup corn kernels) and 1 pear
I'm breastfeeding my 6 month old so I'm hungry all the time. I eat more when I'm stressed. I season all my food with a little bit of salt, nutritional yeast, balsamic vinegar, and Braggs or soy sauce. I understand that this much fruit is not typically on the MWL program, however, I am more following the guidelines that Jeff Novick puts out regarding eating the lower calorie dense foods and when I tried to replace all my fruit with low calorie vegetables, I was almost losing my mind being so ravenous. Please help! What am I doing wrong? Why am I so hungry all the time?
One other thing to mention is that I don't drink enough water. I often forget to drink until I'm eating a meal, then I drink because I am thirsty from the food, but then I get pretty bad acid reflux. I have dealt with acid reflux since I was a baby, and my previous doctors suspected an esophageal hernia. Sometimes I wonder if I'm perceiving thirst as hunger.
Anyway, any advice or suggestions from you long termers would be so appreciated. Thank you in advance!
Ethical vegetarian since October 2003. Vegan since April 2011. Low-fat high-carb fruit n' starch-loving vegan since March 2012. Wife to vegan husband and mama to beautiful & healthy vegan girls aged 3.5 years and 6 months!