JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Jan 25, 2020 4:33 am

Lindsey - 2 boxes was 18 Sumos in total, so they should last about 9 days. Hopefully, they will still be for sale when I run out. I haven't tried grapefruit since I started this way of eating, but now you have me thinking it is worth revisiting! Isn't it fascinating how the various mechanisms in our brains can take every little thing (like not having batteries in the scale) and start to use that to creep around our defenses and try to steer us off track? Mashed potatoes and cabbage sound fabulous. Best of luck "facing the music" (I'm sure it won't be too cacophonous). :)
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Ejeff » Sat Jan 25, 2020 8:58 am

Goose and Lindsey the falafel recipe I have used is this one, and the sauce is very good with it:

https://keepinitkind.com/falafel-tacos- ... ini-sauce/

From what I recall very easy to make this recipe which is a bonus.

The pesto recipe is: (originally posted by moonlight back in June)
1.5 c white beans drained well
2-3 cups cilantro
2 TBS nooch
2 TBS lemon juice
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic
Blend well in processor.

I love grapefruit also. I was just given several right from the trees here in the RV park. How lucky am I. 8)
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby wildgoose » Sat Jan 25, 2020 9:10 am

Lindsey, I’m also in the Midwest. Right in the middle of Illinois. If you’re in Indianapolis, I’m about 175 miles due west of you.

I’ve seen the Sumo oranges around here, but rarely. They don’t show up every year. My friend who gets them from her sister in Florida doesn’t really care for them. Her loss, my gain! But she’s off to sunnier climes this year, so no Sumos heading this way from that source at least. I’ll have to corner the produce manager at the local Kroger and ask if he’s planning on getting any.

The WYW Asian sauce is good. It’s tangy, and not overly sweet (sweet things trigger me too, so I have to be careful there). I don’t use it on vegetables and rice like I thought I would. What I do, strangely enough, is dip my Hannah yams in it! One of my favorite meals is Hannah yam and broccoli, and I put a little of the sauce on the side. I’m sure that wasn’t what Dillon at WYW had in mind, but that’s what I do. :eek:

I'm a total scale monkey, so I’d never last without batteries. I know everybody says not to weigh every day, but I do it anyway. Like you, I need that feedback. Still, your body will tell you when it’s on track, like it did with those mashed potatoes and cabbage (which sounds wonderful, BTW, on this damp, dreary day).

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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby wildgoose » Sat Jan 25, 2020 9:33 am

Erin, thank you for the falafel recipe. It looks pretty easy, so I may try it this weekend.

The sauce looks good too, though I might sub parsley for at least some of the cilantro.

Another thing I was thinking of having with the falafel is a chopped relish, sort of a non-Mexican pico de gallo, that I often make to have alongside Jeffburgers. I peel and seed an English cucumber, chop it fine in my pull chopper, dump it in a bowl. Then seed and de-juice 4-5 Roma tomatoes, chop and dump in the bowl. Then fill the chopper bowl with baby spinach, chop fine, dump it in the bowl. Then some red onion, about 1/4 of a large one, chop and dump. Stir well, add some garlic powder to taste (I’ve used garlic and herb Mrs. Dash as well). I eat this combo a lot, with several variations.

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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Lyndzie » Sat Jan 25, 2020 9:44 am

Wildgoose, that relish is a good idea!

Thanks for the recipe links, Erin. I’m going to put the falafel on this week’s menu plan. I found the pesto recipe in an old newsletter. It looks like a winner.

Mark, that’s a lot of sumos!
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Ejeff » Sun Jan 26, 2020 8:53 am

Lindsey, thanks for that pesto recipe, I will try both out and do a taste test. Forgot to say, I’ve been using Brand New Vegans tuno salad recipe, but it’s very similar to FOK.
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Mark Cooper » Fri Jan 31, 2020 6:42 pm

I'm holding steady this week, which is no surprise considering that I still continue to follow the MWL 10-Point Checklist. My CRPS was well-managed throughout the week with only moderate pain the majority of the time. Lindsey, your post got me thinking about grapefruit, so I tried including it in my salads (in place of oranges), it turns out I quite like it! It is, however, a bit of a hassle to prepare, so I'll switch back to oranges soon. Nice to know that I enjoy the grapefruit, and can include it now and then to mix things up.
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Ejeff » Sat Feb 01, 2020 8:34 am

Grapefruit is so tasty. I was given several from the trees right here in the RV park. I just slice them up into quarters and eat as a snack. But good idea to put in salad I will try that out. Mark glad your week was good. I really enjoyed the cilantro pesto will definitely make it again. It’s a good recipe if you are trying to avoid nuts. Pretty soon I will make the one with walnuts also. Down half a pound this week which is surprising as I ate a lot of avacado and some cashews also. Made another loaf of bread yesterday really enjoying that with the tuno salad. Haven’t figured out what I will make this week, likely some sweet potato fries. Something with lentils sounds good too. My one month challenge was successfully completed. It is nice to think that I didn’t put oil, sugar or alcohol into me lol. I suppose these are things I should never have, but never ever seems hard :eek:

Wishing you all a happy week.
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby wildgoose » Sat Feb 01, 2020 9:45 am

Erin, the idea of fresh grapefruit right off the tree sounds fabulous, especially here in the dreary Midwest where we've been having nothing but clouds lately. Good job on a month with no sugar, oil, or alcohol. Never is just a string of abstinent months put together, so I guess focus on the months, not the never. Dr. Doug Lisle says focus on the process, not the outcome. I keep telling myself that. It sometimes works. :lol:

Mark, happy to hear about good pain management. My pain isn’t nearly as severe as yours, but I know from experience that even minor pain, if it’s constant, is wearing on a person. I hear you on grapefruit being a hassle to prepare, but if you can get good grapefruit, it could be worth it occasionally!

I’ve been doing my condiment experiment with some success. Drizzles of flavored balsamic over broccoli and rice. Some WYW Asian sauce to dip Hannah or Japanese sweet potatoes in. I’m mindful of Jeff's calling those reduced, flavored balsamics "balsamic crack," and I’m watching the amounts so they don’t creep up. A tablespoon or less, total, drizzled over a mixing bowl full (50/50 veggies or more) of broccoli and brown rice. So far, it adds some flavor without tripping my sugar trigger (which for me is an easy trigger to trip) or affecting my weight.

Same with fruit. I’m eating quite a bit more fruit than MWL guidelines, especially since I’ve been at my goal weight. In fact, I stabilized at almost 10 pounds below my ultimate goal weight and haven’t really budged from that since Thanksgiving. I’ve been eating 5-6 servings of fruit a day. Sam’s Club has had wonderful black grapes, which I’ve been putting into salads or just eating from a bowl as dessert. When I get my triglycerides checked, I may have to rethink all that fruit, but for now I’m enjoying it.

No progress on exercise. I think I just have the bleak mid-winter blahs. I’m ready for spring! Not ready for summer (really hate heat and humidity), but I’d love temps in the 60s for a good stretch.

So in the damp cold, the Gander and I have been eating a lot of soup. His favorite these days is the lentil chili that I make in the Instant Pot. That’s on the list for today — he ate the last of it yesterday and has been hinting strongly that it’s time to make more. Fine with me — it’s the easiest of my soups to make, and it tastes really good in this weather.

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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Lyndzie » Sat Feb 01, 2020 2:18 pm

Mark, I’m glad to hear you are enjoying the grapefruit! It’s true that they do require a bit more work to eat. We finally got to try one of those cosmic apples. They are quite good, but I’m not sure if they are worth the price tag. With the new apples on the scene, the honeycrisps were at an all time low, but they are so large it’s enough for two people.

Erin, did you use the cilantro pesto on pasta? I made the McDougall basil pesto and tossed it on cavatappi pasta. It darkened pretty quickly, so I threw some spinach in the food processor as well to help the color, and added 1 tbsp miso paste for umami, and served the dish with cannelini beans and sautéed zucchini. No one else liked it but I thought the dish was awesome. The Brand New Vegan chickpea salad looks good, thanks for the recommendation.

WildGoose, gosh, I am over this dreariness, too. It’s been just hovering around freezing here, but not quite cold enough to snow. That is amazing that you are even lower than your anticipated end weight. How did you come up with a number? I’m making a batch of chili tomorrow as well, it’s perfect this time of year.

Well, the batteries have been replaced and unfortunately I am outside my comfort zone. Just to have a written record, I topped out at 117.8, and my ceiling is 115. Fortunately, I am being very mindful about my choices and already am at 116, dropping 1.8 in five days. Tomorrow is the Super Bowl, and I am making buffalo cauliflower with tahini dipping sauce, guac and baked chips, and a big batch of Grandma Judy’s Three Bean Chili To take to a neighbor’s house.
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby wildgoose » Sat Feb 01, 2020 7:19 pm

Lyndzie wrote:WildGoose, gosh, I am over this dreariness, too. It’s been just hovering around freezing here, but not quite cold enough to snow. That is amazing that you are even lower than your anticipated end weight. How did you come up with a number? I’m making a batch of chili tomorrow as well, it’s perfect this time of year.

Lindsey, it was 40 degrees here today (a veritable heat wave), so the Gander and I, silly geese that we are, went out and washed the car. Believe me, the hot chili that was waiting for us tasted great after that!

How I came up with the end weight number was really a combination of things. I started my latest round of MWL at 190 (last March). My previous low was 160, so I was sort of aiming for that. I got there, but the clothes I used to wear at 160 didn’t quite fit (last time I was 160 was 12 years ago, and age makes a big difference in how the weight comes off the body), so now what? I thought gee, I was 150 when I started grad school, and I felt really good, so maybe I should just keep going and aim for 150. But my last time at 150 was in 1985 — could I do it again?

Yes. I got to 150. That was really great, and I wouldn’t have cared if I’d stayed there. But I also thought about what my mother used to always say was her goal weight (she was the same height as I was) — 145. I’d never been 145 in my adult life. 145 was the ultimate goal in the back of my mind. No way was I going to get to 145.

But I did. I wasn’t even trying, and I hit 145. I just kept eating the way I’d been eating all along. I still couldn’t wear all my "thin clothes" — but this time it was because they were too big!

Dr. Doug Lisle talks about equilibrium. He says you don’t hit a plateau, you’re just in equilibrium between the way you’re eating and what you weigh. I wondered what my point of equilibrium would be if I didn’t change how I was eating. And I think I’ve found out. About 136 or 137. Occasionally 135. Rarely 138. But that’s where I’ve been since Thanksgiving. I didn’t plan it that way, it just happened.

Am I too thin? Some people say I am, but I don’t think so. I’m 5’ 10.5”, so at 136, that puts me at a BMI of 19.2. I’m OK with that. So is the Gander. He's naturally very lean, so we now match! I don’t have the courage to post before and after pictures like Mark did over on the MWL forum (congrats, Mark, you look fabulous!), but people can tell I’ve lost weight.

I went back and looked at the records from the major diet I did to get to 160 the first time. My highest, and it was my heaviest weight ever, was 237, in 2005. So I can actually say that, 14 years later and many ups and downs in between, I have lost 100 pounds.

Long answer to a short question, Lindsey, but there it is.

And well done on starting to drop that extra weight that snuck back on when your scale batteries died!

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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Lyndzie » Sat Feb 01, 2020 10:00 pm

The February Thread is up!
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Suey51 » Sun Feb 02, 2020 4:41 am

Lindsey - I'm posting here instead of the Feb thread is it a belated Friday check-in - hope that's OK!

After gaining a pound the previous week my weight has now gone down by a pound – yay!

The January MWL 10 point checklist experiment was helpful as it enabled me to focus in on the various aspects in a way I hadn’t done in a long while, and with the benefit of 2.5 years McD experience. I learned a lot from doing it and reminded myself of the steps I can take anytime I want to lose a little more weight :) For February I’m going to use the 10 point checklist for the regular program which is what I aim to follow in maintenance.

The exercise experiment was also useful. Knowing I was tracking it encouraged me to be a little more active than I might otherwise have been. Average daily steps and calories in January were c. 10% higher than the April to December averages. I didn’t try any totally new exercises but tried a ‘new to me’ yoga class and continued to play padel which I had tried in December. I’m going to continue tracking exercise during February and look our for new activities to try.

My weight was the same at the end of January as it was at the start which I’m happy with as I find it easy to gain weight during the winter months. BMI at this weight is 21.3 so I’m sure I could get my weight a little lower but not sure that I want to give up some of the more calorie dense items to get there.

Like you Mark I recently tried grapefruit for the first time in ages! Erin – how lovely to have one straight from the tree! I chopped up grapefruit with orange, apple and mandarin for my porridge. We have bought another so I may try that in a salad.

Goose – thanks for sharing more about your weight loss and current weight; you've given me some food for thought! And wow! 100 pounds lost is a massive achievement :D

Best wishes to all x
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Lyndzie » Sun Feb 02, 2020 7:32 am

Good to hear from you, Sue! Sounds like you’ve had an excellent start to the year. I was not familiar with padel (or, as I’ve learned, “paddle tennis” on this side of the pond). It looks like a fun way to get some fresh air, sunshine and movement.
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Re: JANUARY 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Ejeff » Sun Feb 02, 2020 8:44 am

Yes Lindsey I had the pesto with pasta. Good idea to add some miso and beans. Your super bowl food sounds so yummy, wish I was coming to your party.
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