Adele001's commitment to health.

[Adele001]

Hi all,
I am trying very hard to commit to this program - every day for the last week I have woken up declaring that today will be day one - then by mid-morning I have given in to the biscuit tin.
My meals have been good - it is the snacking that I am having problems with.
Anyway - I think that by posting here daily I will be able to hold myself more accountable and be more committed.

To let you all know more about me:
I am 40 years old, an at-home Mum of 2 pre-schoolers (3 yrs and 4.5 yrs), in a rural area in New Zealand (dairy capital of the world!). I have been vegetarian for 15 years, but despite being a lurker on the McDougall boards 10 years or so ago (in the Vegsource days) I have never been able to stick to a dairy free, low fat diet.. Prior to having kids I had been a stable weight of 70kgs for a long time.

Since having my youngest I have been really struggling physically and mentally. I am tired all the time, I struggle to concentrate, and my brain feels slow and foggy all the time. I have been on anti-depresssants (Citalopram) for 2 1/2 years now; I've tried to take myself off them a couple of times, but I just end up weepy and angry all the time. My weight has increased to 86kgs (mostly abdominal weight). I try to eat well, but get so grumpy and angry with cravings that I give in.

I've spent the last 2 years trying to get myself sorted - have been to 2 dieticians, and personal trainer, a hypnotherapist, Weight Watchers.... predictably the dieticians and the personal trainer advised me to eat more protein and less carbs. I've read a lot of books and about 2 months ago I found one that really struck home for me - Potatoes not Prozac. The symptoms describe me so perfectly. I attempted to follow the diet, but I struggled to eat all the protein required. Then I read the Insulin Resistance diet and tried that for a bit - it required less protein but somehow it still felt wrong. Having read several McDougall books, and also The Food Revolution and The China Study it just went against the grain to be adding so much dairy and fat into my diet.

So, tomorrow is Day One for me. I so want to do this. I feel that it is mostly the brain fog that is stopping me. Hopefully the diet will help to clear that.


Adele

[afreespirit]

Welcome, Adele001! Hope to hear more from you!

[pnwgirl]

Hi Adele,

Have you seen this article on depression in the McDougall newsletter:
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... ession.htm

I also had a lot of trouble getting myself to start the program. I would always find some excuse each day, such as some delicious food in the fridge that I didn't want to waste. Eventually I got to the point that I just couldn't bear being so heavy and made myself stick to the Maximum Weight Loss plan 100%. Once you can do it for a week or so you will probably find you lose your desire for foods such as biscuits/cookies. It is also hard if you are cooking for your family too, which I am. I just make myself very simple meals like a microwaved potato with salsa and coleslaw which only takes a few minutes.

[lydia]

Adele-my first thought when I read your post is that I hope someone has checked your thyroid labs as some of your symptoms could be related.
Otherwise, you have come to the right place for support and guidance. Be sure you eat enough starches to satify your hunger. Focus on getting the right food first for a while, not the amount. You are likely to lose weight but more importantly you will feel better.

I suppose having 2 little ones around makes some challenges but wow what an opportunity to start them out right. There's other young moms on this site sho share their experiences......

Wishing you the best..

[Loveskale]

Hi Adele!

First of all, when I get snack attacks I just ask myself, "Why eat this junk that will cause (this symptom), when there is a perfectly good potato that I can just microwave?" this works every time for me.

Second of all, I too felt tired and my brain was very foggy. I found that even after a couple of days of sticking to this diet, I felt much more alert. I was able to read and not get tired, I also felt up to going to the gym.

I hope these suggestiond help, just stick with the diet and I'm sure you will soon see results!

-LK

[Adele001]

Hi all
Thanks for the welcome! Am very excited as I have had a good day and managed to completely avoid the biscuits/cookies (even though my husband picked today to bake gingerbread men with the kids for the first time ever!)

B - quinoa / lf soymilk / banana
S - apple
L - brown rice / peas and corn / soy sauce
S - apple
D - brown rice / carrots / spinach / soy sauce

lots of water and a couple of herbal teas.

I gave up coffee about a week ago, but am still having cravings for it.
But, not drinking coffee is helping me quit the cookies!

I also managed to get some time to get on the treadmill for 30 mins. That's the first exercise I've done for about 3 weeks and it felt good (it's winter here and the whole family have been full of coughs and colds).

Looking forward to doing well again tomorrow!!

Adele

[Loveskale]

Yay! That's great Adele!

[Adele001]

It's been another good day today.
B - quinoa / soymilk / banana
S - apple
L - potato / veggies
S - apple / carrot
D - baked potato / veggies

I got myself to the pool today. Feel great for it. Did 1.5kms which isn't too bad for my first time back for a while. Swimming is my thing - it energises me, clears my head, restores me.

Feeling great - and proud of myself. I CAN do this!

Adele

[Adele001]

Hi Adele,

Have you seen this article on depression in the McDougall newsletter:
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... ession.htm

Thanks for that link - have just read it now and have a few new ideas to ponder. The sleep deprivation idea is unusual - I thought that sleep deprivation (2 difficult babies) was partly what got me on the drugs! I guess there is a difference between less sleep, and continually broken sleep.

Today was good. Got dinner organised early - even went so far as to use a recipe from here. Lentil curry - was very nice.

B - quinoa / soymilk / blueberries
S - apple / mandarins
L - baked potato / veggies
S - apple
D - rice / lentil curry / veggies

No exercise today - my muscles are a bit sore from the swim yesterday.

[Adele001]

I've been doing well with my food. Lots of brown rice and potatoes, and piles of veggies.
I haven't been doing so well with exercise - have only managed one other 1.5km swim. Have decided to focus mostly on food for this first week or so.

There has been a couple of times that I have struggled to not eat something that my husband or kids have been eating. I've also been struggling with the fact that I am doing this myself, but not including the kids. Unfortunately my husband is not interested in giving up meat, dairy, fat etc - and he also believes that the kids should eat meat until they are old enough to make a choice not to. Along with the majority of New Zealanders he believes that children need to eat meat to grow strong and healthy.
Anyway I have decided to do this for myself initially - and do it well.
That way I can set a great example with my new energy and vitality! In the meantime I will start to slip in the odd McDougall dish and get the kids used to the taste of this food. (They do eat lots of fruit and veggies, but are both big meat eaters and sweet-tooths).

Still feeling very foggy-headed and tired, but it has only been 5 days. Guess it will take a couple of weeks....

[Adele001]

It's been about 5 days since I posted here - 2 of those days 'bad' days, but the last 3 have been 'good'. Am back on plan and committed to staying there.
The thing that knocked me off course was going out for tea with the kids. We chose a family restaurant close by, and I thought there would be at least a salad for me to choose - but there was absolutely nothing McD-friendly. The only vegetarian options were nacho and pizza. I chose nachos. (I know some people would think that having nothing was an option, but I do feel as though I should eat something when out for dinner with the kids). Tried to stay on plan the next day, but was out for the day and wasn't organised enough and made some bad choices.
Anyway, have been back on track since Monday, eating well and exercising.

Short and sweet for me tonight - just wanted to start reporting in again to make myself accountable.
Adele

[Adele001]

Grrrrr – don’t you hate it when you write a long message, then when you post it it mysteriously disappears?!

The gist of it was that I am doing and feeling great. Realised that I have been coping with the kids a lot better, and that my head isn’t quite so foggy.

We have been away at our holiday house (we call it a ‘bach’ here in NZ) for a couple of days. I was a bit worried about going, as it usually is a trigger for me to eat badly. I think because when we go there I feel as though we are on holiday (although as a Mum it is pretty much the same stuff in a different place) – and as such I tend to eat holiday type food – what is a holiday without potato chips and chocolate right?!?
Anyway, this time I made sure I was organized and stocked up heaps on fruit and yummy veggies, and some easy canned beans. I ate potatoes and veggies, fruit for snacks and felt great for it.

I am starting to get that feeling of being really proud of myself – which I know will help me stick to plan the next time. I’m also feeling as though I have lost a little bit of weight. Haven’t weighed myself yet though. How do I go about adding a ticker to my posts/signature?

The day after I wrote my last post I woke up with a stye on my eye, then the next day a cold sore appeared. Has anyone else had symptoms like this when starting this WOE? It was about 2 days after I got back on the wagon….. so not sure if it was brought on by all the good eating – or by the couple of days of rubbish eating.

Todays food:
Quinoa, banana, soymilk, peppermint tea
Apple
Baked potatoes, veggies (bok choy, mushrooms, sugar snaps), black beans in chilli sauce
Apple
Baked potatoes, veggies, kidney beans

[Adele001]

Another great day here. I'm finding that the simpler I keep my meals, the easier it is. Mostly just having baked potatoes with veggies for meals, and quinoa for breakfast.
Eating out is going to be the hard part.

I am managing to exercise a bit more too - did 30 mins on the treadmill the last 2 days.

I haven't really told anyone that I am now not eating dairy or eggs (not that I ate a lot of it before). I know I should as it will help me be more committed. Thinking about it, maybe the reason I haven't told anyone is that I am worried that I am going to fail, and fall off yet another diet. Guess that is a reason I should be telling people.

I've been vegetarian for more than 10 years now, and for that time I have felt ethically supportive of a vegan diet - but just haven't believed that I could manage to do it. It is hard enough getting food in restaurants/cafes etc with no meat - let alone no dairy. And as for no fat!! Nigh on impossible. I am now feeling stronger about it - realised that I will have to start ringing places and making sure that they can accomodate me with something (and perhaps eating something before going out so that if the only thing I can have is a salad then I won't end up too hungry).

Adele

[frozenveg]

Adele, sounds like you are doing great! You have a great attitude, and your planning ahead to have foods at your holiday house is a huge step in guaranteeing your success!

I agree that eating out is the hardest part. I still haven't really mastered it--we just haven't eaten out much, which is a big change for us--it does save money, though!

About the stye and the cold sore--they might not be related at all, just a coincidence, but I know several folks here have mentioned that they have had different levels of detoxing, which gave them unpleasant symptoms. I hope they go away soon for you!

Have a lovely holiday, and keep up your efforts!

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