Birdy Takes Flight

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Fri Feb 17, 2012 11:12 am

I'm making slow progress. I just read Lani Muelrath's post on the Lounge and find it very inspirational. If she could try and fail many times over a number of years yet finally succeed in such a big way, then there's hope for me! She really looks great. Her skinny legs in the photo on a mountain top are what I envision for myself when I reach my weight loss goal. :-P I also would very much like to be fit again for hiking and bicycling, and have more energy in general. I wonder how old Lani is?

Today's exercise: strength training and 30 minute walk.

Food: I already blew it at breakfast because I had toast with about 2 teaspoons of vegan margarine (gotta get rid of that stuff); coffee with tsp. sugar & soy creamer (not ready to get rid of coffee and fixings yet, but may have to change to drinking black tea without the creamer since I can't stand black coffee).

Lunch: Brown rice & vegies.
Snacks: Fruit; black tea
Dinner: Spaghetti with nonfat marinara; green salad with seasoned rice vinegar.

Have a joyous weekend!
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Sat Mar 03, 2012 11:15 am

I just posted on LauraA's journal who wrote that there's a strong tendency to feel unworthy and to not post when one doesn't make progress. Just exactly the opposite of what we need to do. So here I am.

If you haven't viewed Dr. McD's video about Steve Jobs, it's very good.

I need to adjust my ticker because my weight is up two pounds. However, I've eaten more salt than usual lately and it's likely water weight so I'll leave it until early next week.

Breakfast today: coffee and vegie links (after watching the video mentioned above, I'm not eating anymore of these).
Snack: orange
Lunch: homemade fat-free vegetable udon soup
Snack: banana
Dinner: brown rice with roasted vegetables in coconut sauce (leftovers from eating out last night).

Exercise: 40 minute walk; yoga

So my goal this coming week (starting tomorrow) is to eat completely plant based, no added oils, no isolated soy proteins. For once I want to experience a clear shot at doing this right and enjoying the results.
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Tue Mar 06, 2012 11:19 am

Just a quick check-in before work.

I'm glad I left the ticker alone because that two pound gain has already come off. It's probably just water weight due to eating too many salty foods.

Exercise today: 30 to 40 minute walk and yoga at home

Breakfast: oatmeal with banana; coffee
Lunch: udon noodles with vegetables
Snack: orange
Dinner: AJ's vegan lasagna made with no boil wheat noodles instead of rice noodles

We got an inch of snow overnight here which was a big surprise to wake up to! It will melt during the day, but is just beautiful right now. Have a great day :)
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby LauraA » Tue Mar 06, 2012 1:12 pm

Hi Birdy - It's nice to visit your journal. I'm glad that you read my post in my journal about not posting when we don't feel worthy. I'm finding that it is important to keep posting, and I think that is really helping me to stay on track. It looks like your exercise is going great! Take care, LauraA
Take care, LauraA

"ON PLAN, AND PLANNING TO STAY THAT WAY!"
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Anna Green » Tue Mar 06, 2012 8:38 pm

Hi! Came to see how you are doing. Snow! Nice. Seems exotic to me these days. You sound good. I think you can do your goal just like you did the vegan goal.

Food looks good. Salt does that to me too. Takes a few days for it to come off sometimes. Also, if I sit alot at work it seems I'll retain more water and of course if I'm in a car or plane for a long time.

You have a great week!
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Fri Mar 09, 2012 11:35 am

This has been a rough week. One of my three children is having serious problems and I've been very upset. It's clear to me that I eat emotionally because that's what I've done this week. But yesterday I did go for a 45 minute walk by myself and it was beautiful out. I saw a flowering pink cherry tree in a deep green meadow and walked along a beautiful wide creek in our neighborhood.

Today, I'm having oatmeal with cinnamon and banana for breakfast, coffee with soy creamer and a tsp. sugar.
Lunch: soba noodles with vegetables in broth
Snack: orange
Dinner will be out with my DH and I'll try to go as low fat as possible on the vegan choices.

Exercise today will be another walk, maybe with a friend if I can find someone who's free. Haven't really gotten going with the yoga, but I still intend to.

Laura I think I'm going to weigh once a week also and Tuesday's are my weigh-in day. You're so right about posting. But sometimes I am discouraged and then I just don't post. There is so much inspiration on this website. Yesterday I viewed a woman's testimonial about curing psoriasis with the McDougall diet. (It's on the home page in the lower center if you haven't seen it).

Anna! It's so great to read your post. I've thought about you. Hope you're doing great. It must be warming up down in New Orleans!

Wishing everyone a good weekend.
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Mon Mar 12, 2012 10:02 pm

Well, I lost another pound this week. Goody. However, I want to do better. My goals for the coming week are:
1. Eat whole grains and/or legumes at every meal (per Dr. McD's starch based solution).
2. Avoid oils and other added fats.
3. Eat less salt/salty food.
4. Stay with vegan foods only (no nibbles of cheese or chicken or fish when I'm cooking for my family). In fact I have to put my foot down and just stop buying and preparing these foods for DH and DD. It's just asking too much of myself to not succumb to temptation. Same thing with sweets.
5. Walk each day.

I feel so much better eating plant based, have more energy, am less congested, and am calmer. I'm really enjoying walking again too since my knee is no longer bothersome.

Breakfast tomorrow: oatmeal with banana and cinnamon; coffee
Lunch: brown rice & vegetable salad with seasoned rice vinegar
Snack: orange; tea
Dinner: Quinoa chowder (from McDougall Made Irresitible)
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Thu Mar 22, 2012 6:57 pm

Well, darn I'm up a pound this week. But I've been walking more and, as of Tuesday, I'm sticking to the vegan diet 100%. The first day of spring seemed like a great day to renew and start fresh.

I had a horrible headache recently which was due to eating some cheese. Serves me right. I told my DH this morning, eating animal foods is just not worth it. That's the first headache I can remember having in months, if not a year. I had noticed that I was no longer getting several headaches a month after switching to a plant based diet.

Our family just planned a reunion in California (my husband's side) in late June. This is good motivation to lose weight and look better for the beach (or as good as a 62 year old can look). I could lose as much as 25 pounds between now and then theoretically (at a rate of 2 pounds per week). But I would be happy to lose a pound a week. So I have a spring challenge going on with the scale.

As I've stated before, what I know works for me is having one guideline: eat vegan. That's both my goal and my weight loss strategy (along with walking). I'll do that as low fat and oil free as possible, but vegan is the operative word.

I'm reading two interesting books right now. Neal Barnard's Foods that Fight Pain (1998) and The Science of Yoga (2012). The yoga book explains why I've gotten hurt every time I've tried yoga (low back). I'm just getting to the section of the book that explains its beneficial aspects, e.g. lowering blood pressure, among others. Neil Barnard's book explains why low back problems develop in the first place - poor circulation from SAD and a sedentary lifestyle.

Tonight I'm making a "What's in the Refrigerator/Cupboards" soup. I've created some doozies cooking that way, but most often it turns out well. This weekend I'm making a vegan chili for 40 people for a sporting event my youngest daughter takes part in. I've never cooked for this many people before - wish me luck!!!
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Rosey » Fri Mar 23, 2012 11:40 am

Birdy wrote:Tonight I'm making a "What's in the Refrigerator/Cupboards" soup. I've created some doozies cooking that way, but most often it turns out well.


I've always called that everything but the kitchen sink soup and I make everything but the kitchen sink salad too.
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Anna Green » Sun Mar 25, 2012 1:13 pm

Hi! How'd the chili go? How are you doing? I hear you about the reunion. It can be motivating to have a goal like that but try to do it mostly for your own pleasure. You deserve to feel good and will function better. This is what I've been telling myself anyway.

I have made chili for about 60. I had toppings like cornbread, gr onion, cilantro, baked chips, avocado, etc and it was a hit.
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:03 pm

Hey Rosie and Anna. Well, the chili for 40 was a humungus amount of work. Gads of beans. But it tasted good and there were leftovers (two people had made meat chili so that was preferred of course by most people). I froze the leftovers for another regatta that's happening in two weeks.

It sounds to me like you're both doing well. I often read journals and other posts even though I don't log in and comment. Both of you have progress that is so wonderful and inspiring :)

Speaking of which, I've read a few of frozenveg's recent posts about how she's a process-oriented rather than a goal-oriented person and that things like challenges and goal setting lead to self-sabotage for her. That's an insight I can use because I'm certainly the same way. I'll have to consider the implications of this and how it might help me progress.

Tomorrow is my weigh-in day. My pants feel a little looser around the waist but will see what the scale says in the morning.

Today I overate and didn't make good food choices or exercise. My life has been filled with stress and I self-sabotage with food. This is certainly not news.

So in the spirit of "pick yourself up and dust yourself off," tomorrow I'm eating:
Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon (wish I had a banana); coffee
Lunch: Sandwich made with fresh bread, tomato and hummous
Snack: fresh fruit; cup of tea
Dinner: boiled Yukon Gold potatoes, steamed broccoli, Amy's organic vegie burger for me, and salmon for DH and DD (there I am doing what I said I wouldn't which is buying and preparing animal foods for the family. Hmm.)

It's not quite McDougall, but as mentioned before, I'm really trying to stick with 100% vegan and that's hard enough for me right now.

Will check in again fairly soon with the weigh-in.

Exercise for tomorrow: WALK!
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:36 pm

One pound lost this week. Yay. Still falling down on the exercise. My excuse is that it's been absolutely pouring rain, but that's a lame excuse. I did walk around town for about an hour doing errands but it's not aerobic.

I read today that walking an hour a day cuts your risk of being overweight by 50% and that for each 2 hours of television watched your weight increases. Who needs a study to tell you that, right?

I've been thinking about frozenveg's idea of people being goal-oriented vs. process-oriented. I'm not exactly sure which I am, or if there are other styles as well. If I'm process-oriented then I may need to lose the weight loss ticker which indicates a goal. I kinda like the ticker - it's cute and colorful. But, come to think of it, confining myself to one dietary guideline of being vegan does work for me when nothing else has, and that falls into the process-oriented approach. It's a way of being rather than a number on the scale or a clothing size, or my lab numbers. I'm starting to "get" this idea. Feels good.

I'm keeping the ticker unless it starts to feel less of a tool and more of a hindrance. Tomorrow I'm going for a real walk!

Food today:
Breakfast - leftover pasta & vegies; an orange; coffee
Snack - small coffee at work
Lunch - ate out with a friend & had two corn tortillas with chili beans, and a side salad; water
Snack - black bean chips; celery with hummus
Dinner - tofu "fried" rice with carrots & peas; vegan hot & sour soup; 1 ounce dark chocolate; lemon herb tea
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Anna Green » Tue Apr 03, 2012 3:29 am

Hey! Yay for the losing! Do you feel better? When I lose weight through eating well and exercise I get this "go go" feeling like I want to move and if feels good. Kinda of like those automated walking belts at the airport where it's just so easy to gain ground w/ little effort.

Is your walk route full of hills? I remember walking in Seattle and it wasn't just a little stroll because of the hills.

I hope you had a good weekend and things are going well.
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:17 am

Hi Anna, yeah it feels so good to be going in the right direction. I would feel better but right now I have the flu. My husband got it last week and is still recovering.

Today I weighed in and have lost 1.5 pounds which is surprising because I didn't get enough exercise and wasn't as good about food last week as I could have been.

Last night the only thing that sounded good for dinner was soup so I made Mary McDougall's Quinoa Stew which was so good. Didn't have spinach or jalapenos, so I threw in cabbage and dry red chili flakes. That's my lunch today also. Breakfast is coffee (yes, even with the flu I'm still drinking coffee) and dry toast. Dinner will be spaghetti with marinara and maybe a salad if my husband will grocery shop. Exercise will be minimal - just throwing the ball a couple of times today for our three dogs. I don't have energy for much else. Naps are on the schedule.

Best to all. As Garrison Keillor says, "Be well. Do good work." I love that.
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:20 am

I'm still sick with the flu :duh:
It's cramping my style and wouldn't you know we're getting a stretch of beautiful sunny weather, though it's still chilly. I don't have the energy to do much except stare out the window at it. There's a lot of gardening I'd like to do and baby lambs about a mile from here that I'm yearning to walk over and look at. They're so cute, but I'm a little worried about their fate.

I made a large pot of lentils with sweet potato and kale which I served over rice last night with a simple salad. There's enough to last today and tomorrow for lunch. It was interesting to note that while I was preparing the lentil stew, a dialogue was going on in my head about sauteing the onion and garlic in oil or just throwing these ingredients in the pot and cooking it all in water (which is what I did). The dialogue went something like, "Oh these lentils aren't going to taste good if I don't use some oil to give them flavor. But wait, I've made this before with water and no oil and it tasted great. Yeah it'll taste okay. No oil? Nope." It's strange how we make choices based so strongly on unquestioned assumptions and/or just plain old habit. I like Dr. Michael Greger's website http://www.nutritionfacts.org which has a segment on using a slice of avocado or a small amount of walnuts, etc. to get the fats needed for absorbing licopene and other nutrients. I'm working on shifting my mindset to embrace this approach and eliminate oil altogether. It's kind of like the distinction Dr. McDougall is trying to educate people about when choosing between refined carbohydrates and starches, i.e., always go for the whole unprocessed foods.

I haven't bought Dr. McD's new Starch Solution book yet, but I do plan to. It's remarkable how he continually keeps the information fresh. Later today, I plan to watch some of the DVDs I've bought from the McDougall store. Even though I've seen these before, I usually learn or re-learn something.

Happy Easter weekend!
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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