Good Friday Food Diary

[talkingmountain]

Today I have eaten:

Breakfast (at coffee shop) - the usual (1 banana covered w/plain oatmeal, topped w/raisins & cinnamon, covered w/plain unsweetened almond milk).

Irish breakfast tea w/1/2 tsp sugar & some vanilla soy milk. (weaning myself off coffee)

10am-ish snack - Baked corn chips (Doritos scoops baked) & salsa (ChiChi's travel cup), 2 Wasa fiber rye & 3 prunes

11-ish snack - Wasa fiber rye & rest of salsa cup, radishes, & spinach-artichoke hummos (not fat free but low in fat).

11:30 ok I give up, I'm hungry! Lunch: burrito made w/eziekel burrito shell, ff beans, chi chi's salsa, & rest of spinach hummos. The hummos made a nice substitute for guacamole!

(fyi note: Chi Chi's salsa cups are very high in sodium. I keep them at work for lunches because of the convenience of the individual serving cups, and can "afford" to do so because I have good BP and don't get "addicted" to salty foods. But they may not be a good choice for many other people)

[McManiac]

Talking Mountain--keep talking!! You're meals are great, tasty and give us ALL good ideas! You're doing super and I love reading your progress! Keep 'em comin' and journalling!

[talkingmountain]

Well I survived the Easter feasts, which comes after the 40 days of Lent. During lent I gave up (or tried, anyway) chocolate. I figured it was the hardest thing for me to do, so would be the biggest offering I could make. Yet there was a selfish underpinning... it would have a positive outcome on me since I do have an addictive relationship with chocolate. It has definitely helped, as chocolate now tastes too "waxy" for me unless I continue eating it for a few minutes (then the addictive effect seems to kick in).

During the Easter feast at my Mom's I discovered that either cottonseed or corn oil SEVERELY triggers my GERD. Fats in general seem to be a trigger, but one of these two fats is the super-duper-trigger. Yet another reason to stay totally McDougall-compliant... no added oils means no cottonseed or corn oil!!

As planned, I ate some baked ham at the main family gathering but otherwise stayed vegan and mostly McDougall. It is becoming less of an issue with my Mom, thank goodness. After Christmas dinner I think she realized that I'm not out to convert her, and also that she doesn't need to worry about making "special" food for me. At 71 yrs old, I certainly don't want to cause her any undue stress.

Good news; through no prodding of my own, my hubbie has decided to eliminate dairy from his diet, except for sheep's cheese on his pasta (not ready to give up the old pecorino romano yet)!

He's had severe Acne Vulgaris on his upper back since he was a teen. His skin hasn't looked this good since he used to take tetracycline about 10 yrs ago (but he stopped because he thought it unhealthy to take daily antibiotics). I haven't said anything to him yet because it could just be a change in soap or something. We'll see....

[talkingmountain]

Trying to honor the Spring & Easter rebirths by renewing myself through journaling more often (I tend to underestimate how much refined/fatty snacks I eat, so journaling helps keep me "honest").

So here is food for today:

8 am Breakfast (at home) - 2 small bowls bran flakes w/1 banana, handful of raw pecans, topped w/plain unsweetened almond milk.

Plain iced tea (at work). Finally, the lethargy & morning brain fog from giving up caffeinated coffee seem to be over!!

2:30 Lunch (not real hungry today but I was getting dizzy):

- Leftover Pita Pizza ("Fast Pizza" adapted fm McDougall 12-Day Plan). 1 med whole-wheat pita topped w/tomato sauce, onions, peppers, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, radish sprouts. Heat in toaster oven till crispy.

The Pita Pizza was a hit with the family last night, but it needs to cook either longer or at a higher temp than stated in the McDougall book. My daughter of course just wanted cheese on hers. This is something we could make to use up leftover bits of veggies.

- Leftover Sunshine Fruit Salad (adapted fm McDougall 12-Day Plan). Fresh pineapple, blueberries, banana, & strawberries, tossed w/2 Tbsp orange juice concentrate & 1/4 tsp ea cardamom & nutmeg.

This fruit salad was also a hit with the family last night. I added cardamom to the recipe, as we all like the taste. This is something I could easily make with whatever fresh fruits we have on hand.

About 2 hrs later and GERD is kicking up. Absolutely no oils in what I ate so I'm not sure what is the cause.

Planned Supper:
- Eating alone so will probably have a mishmash of leftovers.

Planned Snacks:
Wasa crackers, Cherry-essence dried plums, grapefruit, ... But haven't needed any so far.

Also, I wrote up a menu for the week so as to help keep to the shopping list and reduce supper-making stress. My goal is to come up with about 20 easy-to-make family favorites & then create a 4-week rotating menu w/shopping list, before Sept when I start grad school

Anyway, I'll check back later to see how reality matches up with the plan for today!

[McManiac]

Way to go! Great planning for success--and doing what you need to do for YOU at family gatherings!

[talkingmountain]

Thanks mcmaniac! Planning takes effort that i'm quick to put into other things. What sorts of things do you do to stay motivated?

[McManiac]

for me, I love also to plan...write it all down and search out new and fun recipes to make. Sunday's I usually take the time to cook stuff for the week; not only does it make choices a "no brainer" but gives me time to talk to the kids and be in the center of the hubbub and where they are. I also love to cruise the forums and read success stories...and am a personal trainer so LOVE to exercise and study up on that and weight lifting exercises to do and teach. The exercise is fun for me--but I understand how hard it can be for those who work full-time or even part time; it IS my job...so I kind of have to show up whether I feel like it or not! The toughest part of living and eating healthy is definitely outside influences and schedules. I would rather eat at home every meal...but have to be sensitive for my husbands desire to go out 2 or so times/week...and thankfully can eat McDougall at every single place in town...except maybe Weinerschnitzel...but why would I want to go there? Keep up the great work...and oh--btw...I never weigh myself...I go only by how my clothes fit, as for YEARS I was a slave to the scale...if it was up I was sad (and wanted to eat out of frustration); if it showed a loss I would find my joy in that rather than in more important things, etc. Each person is different and is motivated differently--and once in a while a new outfit in a smaller size or one you have as a "goal outfit" is just the motivation a lady needs!

[Letha.]

Cardamom in a fruit salad. That sounds very interesting. I’m gonna have to try that. Hope you are having a great weekend.
Letha

[talkingmountain]

As of today I've lost 42 lbs in a year (the first 8-10 lbs was on Wt Watchers)!

Just this week I'm down 6 lbs so far... finally moving down from the plateau I've been at for several months. It is really helping to write down what I eat. I don't weight or measure or anything, just write it down.

YESTERDAY:

Breakfast - The Usual (banana, thick oats, almond milk, raisins, cinnamon)

Lunch - 1/2 can diet coke (ick, but I was desperate for caffeine), McDougall 12-Day Rice & Corn salad w/2 cups added Barilla Plus penne. CRAVED oranges but none around. Resorted to 1/2 regular coke instead of succumbing to freshly-baked cookies at the office.

Supper - Finally, an orange! Also baked potato covered w/Bush's fat-free veggie baked beans, Birds' Eye Asian Green beans & Cashews w/oil wiped off. Tiny handful of Annies Bunnies plus more orange slices.

OMG THE WHOLE FAMILY LIKED THIS!!! I can't believe we had a meal without ANY whining.

Exercise: Brisk walk 45 mins plus 5 mins of strength exercises.

TODAY:

Breakfast - Juice-packed peaches, thick oats, almond milk, raisins, cinnamon, & chickpeas. Yum. Definitely better than using applesauce, but I still prefer bananas (out of them right now).

Lunch - Leftover bp w/baked beans, leftover steamed broccoli w/lemon, leftover sliced orange.

Supper {estimated for now} - American Vegetable Stew from McDougall 12-Day book is cooking in the crockpot. Plan to serve it w/local bakery whole-grain bread, or rice. Probably home-made sorbet for dessert.

DD WAS STEALING POTATOES FROM THE CROCKPOT while they were heating last night w/onions & garlic in some apple juice...this is giving me some ideas!!!

[Letha.]

Talkingmountain, 42 Pounds!!! That's Fabulous. I’m so happy for you. Sounds like you are really getting the hang of this.
Letha

[pinemeadows]

Congratulations! Wow - you're losing weight and you're stickin' to it - good for you!

[talkingmountain]

Today the reflux is so bad I can hardly stand it, and I've taken extra reflux medicine!

Why? Well, it might have something to do with the 4 pieces of cake (SAD cake) that I ate.

I've been so sloppy lately, and it's showing. Don't know what's gotten in to me. I'm just b-o-r-e-d with the food for some reason, and totally sick and tired of cooking. And craving chocolate chip cookies (whole wheat, oil & egg free, but still, I can't seem to have just one or two) and cereal (whole grain but it sure does taste good).

Every time I take my meds I'm embarrassed that a woman my age takes such a cornucopia of pills. I want to be OFF of them! Yet not enough, apparently, to actually DO what I need to.

So I'm here whining. Sorry 'bout that. But I just needed to put down how disgusted with myself I am. At least I'm here, and facing it.

Any ideas on how to get re-motivated? (Uh oh, I can hear Sactobob's tough -love reply coming... but hey, I'm askin' for it!).

[talkingmountain]

It's kind of scary to do this publicly, and definitely humiliating, but I'm going to write down everything I ate today. I need to be honest with myself about how off-plan I've gotten in these past couple of weeks! Perhaps that will help me snap out of it.

Breakfast - Cream of Rice & canned, juice-pack peaches.

2 vegan dark chocolate truffles
2 cups coffee w/soy milk & 1 tsp sugar (at least I'm doing w/lots less sugar in the coffee now!)
Mid-morning -- A few carrots w/store-bought hummos (not fat free). Then boss arrived for my annual performance review so I didn't get to finish them.

Lunch - (ravenous & wound up from performance review) Vegan appetizer at restaurant (black beans & veggies rolled into burrito shell & baked, w/marinara & asian dipping sauces. Chocolate cake at the restaurant. The real, gooey thing, not vegan. Unsweetened iced tea.

Late afternoon -- finally gave into the yellow pineapple cake they baked at work (my office looks into the kitchen), once no one was around to see. It didn't taste as good as it had smelled baking all morning, but still I went back for 3 more pieces. It's like I'd given up on myself!

Supper -- Not very hungry (well duh!), had very small cup of whole-grain pasta with a bit of margarine and...ahem....parmesan reggiano cheese. not much cheese, but if I get hooked back on that stuff, oh no! And 2 glasses of chocolate almond milk. Just tired & lazy... if there'd been good food ready that took no prep, I'd have eaten it.

Ok, so there is the true confession. No trouble seeing that I'm not even close to McDing! The question is, how to get back on track?!

[SactoBob]

I say it can be a step forward because you are looking the problem in the face instead of denying it. You aren't complaining that you are mostly McDougall and just not getting results, and so you are out of denial.

You are just in the Pleasure Trap, and probably have yet to break out of it. I recommend a paper and pencil and write down the reasons you want to do the plan, what it can mean, and be just as honest about why you think you failed and how you might avoid a similar failure again.

If you learn from the experience, you can turn it from a minus to a plus. So find out why you did that and try a plan to avoid failing in the same way again. You'll get lots of support here, but the bottom line is that only you can decide to adopt a healthy life style.

[talkingmountain]

Thank you, Bob for reminding me that some good can come of this, if I can choose to work it that way. I like your idea of writing things down.

TAke care & have a great weekend.