lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

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

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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby proverbs31woman » Tue Aug 03, 2010 6:52 pm

lfwfv wrote:Wow, I am overwhelmed by the support from all of you. Thank you :) I had a meltdown on Tuesday night and I've been a bit down now and then over the past few days, but overall i feel pretty hopeful and ok. I am so glad that my sister loved Jesus and that I know I will see her again soon. I think I would have committed suicide years ago if I didn't have that hope.


I'm glad to hear that you are feeling better, and even happier to hear that your sister was saved. Losing a family member is already difficult without having to think of them being in a place where no one wants to be. Although she didn't live long enough to experience some of the things that you have experienced, I believe that when the two of you reunite, it will be as if you are picking up right where you left off.

Before I go, I must give you a ((((Big Hug)))). Take care.
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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby lfwfv » Thu Aug 05, 2010 5:19 pm

Thanks Proverbs31 and Debbie. I'm doing pretty well. The grief is just momentary now and I am, overall, up and happy again.

I was finding that eating too much grain definitely is causing inflammation issues again. I stopped the ED several weeks back and resumed eating a very simple MWL diet (essentially no spices, lots of fruit and veggies, lots of yams). I also decided to eat nuts, rice, quinoa, millet, and popcorn freely and see what happened.

I quickly re-disovered that, as previously suspected, nuts and popcorn definitely cause my skin to flare up badly! I ate them long enough to put some weight back on, but I stopped eating them once I saw the reactions (I also did not want to be eating nuts long-term, it was primarily a decision I made in order to gain weight). Then i noticed the same inflammation happening with rice and millet, but to a lesser extent. It seems I tolerate rice and millet occasionally without major repercussions in my skin and intestinal tract, but if i eat it several times in a week, i see flare-ups. Even quinoa is still suspect to me, so i am including it no more than once a day.

So, it is back to unlimited amounts of my 'safe' foods:

veggies
fruits
yams (or sweet potatoes, or potatoes)
seaweed

My rules are:
1) Wait for true hunger before eating.
2) Eat only MWL, non-inflammatory foods.
3) Eat until satisfied.

I have not weighed in two weeks. I will continue to eat this way and just try not to stress too much about my weight.

I do feel fat some days and I am tending to waddle around in baggy clothes during my month off now (tight clothes make me feel very conscious of my body).

i am really enjoying the time off of teaching this month. Plenty of hours to practice, cook for my husband, go to our local farmer's market, visit with friends, run/walk, call my family back in Canada, and do lots of reading and posting on the board.

Take care
lfwfv
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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby Loveskale » Fri Aug 06, 2010 3:30 pm

Glad you are feeling better :)
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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby lfwfv » Sat Aug 07, 2010 5:49 pm

Hi everyone,

Continuing to do alright. I still feel like I eat way too much food at times and I seem to need to eat enormous meals before I am satisfied and can forget about food.

I am eating large amounts of fruits these days (taking advantage of the great, fresh, summer fruits here).

These are the foods I eat basically every day (my 'meals' are incredibly simple--no cooking involved except to nuke a yam).

romaine lettuce
carrots
green beans
celery
seaweed (nori)
yams
apples
peaches
melons (currently cantaloupe)
bananas
blueberries (frozen, I eat these every few days)
grapes (occasionally)

I am running/walking (depends on the weather and my energy level) somewhere around 15 miles per week and I usually practice violin for about 3 hours each day (I'm prepping for a fall recital). Besides that, i am spending my time off from teaching cleaning the house, cooking, going to the farmer's market, visiting with friends, and occasionally lounging beside our neighborhood pool. Of course, in the evenings I spend time with my wonderful husband :-D

Since I severely limited the grains I was eating again (quinoa, millet, brown rice), my eczema is much much better, and my acne is almost gone!! I think the acne I had was also still a product of the gluten intoxication I had many months ago. I really think it takes a very long time to completely detoxify from my system and for my body to heal itself again.

I'm hoping the acne stays away for good if I am able to stick to mainly yams, raw veggies, and fruit. The issue is always whether or not the diet is satisfying enough in the long term. I tend to need to eat huge volumes of this food in order to satisfy my hunger and that gets tiresome after a while (and causes me to have a very distended stomach after eating--which i hate!). I feel best when I eat these simple foods though (energy- and inflammation-wise).

Well, off to nuke some yams for tomorrow.

Have a rest of the weekend everyone
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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby Loveskale » Sun Aug 08, 2010 6:46 pm

Glad to hear you are doing well. It is interesting to hear that cutting out grains is clearing up your acne, I will consider giving it a try.
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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby lfwfv » Sun Aug 15, 2010 12:38 pm

Nothing much new here. Seems this journal might be outliving it's usefulness and I find myself not inclined to post much anymore.

I am eating mostly fruits and veggies with yams. I have not had any grain since August 5th and my acne is almost completely gone (?!)

I will continue to allow myself grains occasionally, but for now, as long as I'm not missing them, i will avoid them.

I am enjoying my month off but it's going by too quickly! I already have to start planning for September.

We are travelling to visit my in-laws in a few weeks. I will bring all my own food. My husband will bring some but will likely eat a bit of meat while there. Luckily his family is healthy SAD so they always have plenty of fruits and veggies. They are also currently reading the China Study and Esselstyn's book so we should have some good conversations while we are there.

My husband has to go on a two-week long business trip in September. He rarely travels. I am dreading this as I will miss him a lot.

I am also so worried about the food issue. He eats almost entirely unprocessed food right now, all vegan, no oil. He looks terrific and lean and feels great. I provide all the food for him. I make him hot dinners, pack his lunch, and have taught him how to make his oatmeal in the morning.

I am going to compile a little packet of info for him...what he can order in restaurants, what to get at the grocery store (i'm really hoping he can get a fridge and microwave in his room), and a list of really easy meals and snacks to prepare. I know it won't be perfect, but I really want to make it easy for him to eat very healthy. He is very cheap, and very efficient. If I make things easy and cost-effective for him, he will have no trouble following a plan.

I am going to start working on this project a bit in the next week or so.

Take care
lfwfv
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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby Loveskale » Tue Aug 17, 2010 6:47 pm

Glad to hear things are going well!
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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby Mayhem » Sun Apr 24, 2011 10:03 pm

lfwfv:

I've really enjoyed reading through this thread and I resonate with lots of what you shared here.

How are you doing today? I would love to see an update =)
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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby VanillaSpice » Tue Nov 08, 2011 7:56 am

Hi lfwfv

I've been reading your thread because of your struggles with digestive issues and over/ under-eating and have been very moved by your determination in the face of so much difficulty. Some of us truly have a very different, less-straightforward journey aroung food!

Anyway, I don't know if you'll even see this, I just noticed that you still eat nuts and dried fruit from time to time to get enough calories, even though they can trigger unpleasant reactions for you. I wondered if including avocados and coconut might be good alternatives. Both of these are actually fruits, not nuts/ veggies and typically do not cause intolerance symptoms. I know that Burgess's blog says he includes some avo every day so that he gets enough calories and is still very lean. Just an idea!

Thanks for sharing your journey, it's an inspiration :-)

Best wishes

Helena
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Re: lfwfv's journey: MWL, GF

Postby Rosey » Tue Nov 08, 2011 11:11 am

you said you eat seaweed regularly. what brand did you find that doesn't have a little wheat in it. every brand I've found so far does.
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