Adele001's commitment to health.

[Adele001]

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!

Thanks Frozenveg. Wow - you have come a long way on your journey - congrats on the huge amount of weight you have lost on the way!

Another good day here. Ate a bit too much bread. I had to go to the city so went to the wholefood shop while I was there. Bought a brick of wholemeal bread and had 4 slices of it toasted with jam (oops - and cashew nut butter).
Also ate a lot of fresh pineapple. Am having trouble sticking to just 2 pieces of fruit a day. But I am trying to change my focus from diet/weight loss to being about health and ethical reasons- so am not really trying to do MWL anymore. But I will try to eat as little bread as possible - it's a bit of a trigger food for me.

No exercise today - but will get to my Body Balance (yoga/tai chi/pilates blend) class tomorrow.

Thinking about buying "This Crazy Vegan Life" by Christina Pirello. Has anyone read this?

Adele

[Adele001]

Well, today didn't go exactly as planned. My TOM arrived (4 days early) and I was craving comfort food all day.

Quinoa / lf soymilk / banana
Oven baked potato chips / veggies
2 slices wholewheat bread / jam
4 slices wholewheat bread / jam

Way too much bread, but didn't reach for the biscuit tin or for a packet of chips (or for a hot chocolate drink which I was craving all day) - so minimal damage.

Been curled up on the couch all evening - didn't make it to my class tonight, so another day with no exercise. Feeling pretty blah tonight but have probably had less PMT in the last couple of days than I would normally have had.

[Adele001]

Another frosty but sunny winters day Down Under. It is a glorious day outside.

Took the kids into town to a mall yesterday (there was a little show of Ice Age 3 on with Sid and Scrat - and my two kids love that squirrel!).

Anyway for lunch I had vegetarian sushi - thinking that it wouldn't hurt too much to have white rice just the once. Only when I was halfway through a slice did I realise that there was cream cheese in it too! I ate it, as I was hungry and it was still the best option around.
It kinda reminded me of when I first became vegetarian 15 years ago. I was out late in town with a friend (drinking and dancing....) and come 2am we went to KFC. I was halfway through my chicken burger when I remembered I'd decided not too eat meat anymore!! I put the burger down and haven't eaten any meat since. I guess not eating dairy will become just as automatic soon..... but for a while I will just have to think twice before choosing something when I am out.

I have told my husband that I am not eating dairy products anymore - and he didn't get as annoyed as I thought he would. And now that I have told him I feel more determined to stick to it no matter what.

Have done 30 minutes on the treadmill today..... hope to get swimming tomorrow night.

Today:
Quinoa, l/f soy milk, banana
Apple
Reheated baked potatoes, broccoli, carrots,corn
Apple
- plan to have brown rice and lots of veggies for dinner.

I am heading away for a few days next week (doing Landmark Education Advanced course - has anyone else done any Landmark courses??) - and am starting to get a bit nervous about how I am going to manage food-wise. I don't arrive to my hotel till about 10pm the night before the course starts - and the course runs 9am-10pm for 3 days. Will try to take as much as I can on the plane with me..... and try to find a supermarket close by to pick up fresh veggies etc.

Gotta go pick up my kids from daycare. I do love my 2 days a week that I get of peace and quiet!!

[Adele001]

It's been an OK couple of days since my last post. Haven't eaten anything off plan - but have had a bit too much bread.

Mananged to get some time today (doesn't usually happen on a Saturday) to get to the pool. Swam 1.75 kms (just over 1 mile), took about 45 minutes.

I have realised that I have managed to escape my usual diet mentality with this WOE. Normally I get quite obsessed about doing enough exercise - and if I don't managed to fit exercise in then I lose the plot with my eating too..... and once I lose the plot there I lose motivation with exercising......
In the last week I wasn't able to get to the pool at all (until today), but I stayed on plan with my food. I think it is because I whole-heartedly believe that this is the right way of eating for me and if I can't fit any exercise in it then it is not enough to thow me off track.
When I tried the Potatoes not Prozac plan I was doing it because I thought it was the right thing (so many professionals had told me I needed to eat more protein!) - but I didn't have the underlying belief in it. So whenever I hit a hurdle, I stumbled.
I guess it helps that I have been vegetarian for so long already - and have for a long time wanted to be vegan (but didn't think I could completely give up dairy).

According to the scale this morning I have lost nearly 3 kgs in the last 3 weeks (it's 3 weeks tomorrow since I started). I have a long way to go yet, but am feeling confident that I will get there.

[Adele001]

Feeling proud of myself today. We were out visiting family for lunch and even though my thoughtful brother-in-law had bought me a cheese and spinach roll, I stuck to plan and had brown rice and salad. And for afternoon tea I turned down coffee and homemade cookies and instead had a herbal tea and an apple. And then hubby and the kids had fish and chips for dinner and I had wholemeal pasta with veggies.

I haven't told many people about my new eating lifestyle as yet. It's very hard to know what to tell them. I don't want to describe this as a diet..... as that would make them think it is just a temporary thing..... but I am also reluctant to use the term vegan. For a start, I'm not sure that I am strictly a vegan (I still wear leather, wool etc) and also because it would freak people out a bit. Most people I know have a hard time understanding that I can live healthily without meat...... let alone without dairy.
But I do need to let them know something as I hate turning down vegetarian food that someone has prepared especially for me...
I guess I'll come up with something....

[Adele001]

Still going well with my McDougalling..... having a bit too much bread, but all wholegrain stuff so technically legal. I need to stop buying it as I find it hard to ignore if it is in the bread bin!

I have realised that although the internet can be a great source of information it can also be a bit harmful to read too much.
Was reading another thread about a woman who has blogged some pretty convincing analysis of The China Study data - and her results showed that the book was quite misleading with the results that it printed..... spent a bit of time reading her blog, and the posts from lots of her supporters.... and came away doubting myself and my giving up all animal products in my diet. Everyone here is very passionate about this being the most most healthy diet around - but everyone on her blog was equally convinced it was healthier to include more animal products.
I guess what it comes down to is having your own beliefs and sticking to them. Over the last 2 years I've been to a couple of dieticians and a personal trainer in my attempts to lose weight - and they all told me to eat more protein, that it woud be great if I would just eat eggs (never been a big fan of eggs!). I nodded at them and went away trying to follow their advice, but deep down I didn't believe them so of course I was never going to succeed. The same when trying to follow Potatoes not Prozac.
I do believe that this WOE is right for me- but I don't necessarily believe that it is best for everyone. As Dr McDougall has said somewhere - this is a great plan for people of excess - people for whom eating 'everything in moderation' just doesn't work. I am one of those people. It has always been all or nothing for me - in food, exercise, and other parts of my life too.

So for me, the simpler I keep things the better. Spuds and veggies, rice and veggies..... and the same breakfast of quinoa every day.

Hmmm, I'd best get the spuds on for dinner then.

[Adele001]

Had a hungry day today. I just felt like eating all day long. Managed to stay on plan - except for some bread with cashew nut butter. And had a few too many wholegrain crackers. And no exercise.
Am heading away for six nights tomorrow and I know I will not be getting much exercise while I am away. Instead of this making me more keen to exercise now, somehow it makes me feel like I might as well wait till I get back. This is my old 'all or nothing' mentality and I need to get on top of it.
It will be a big thing for me to be away and stay on track. I am planning to take food with me and to try to find healthy options when I have to eat out. Will resort to vegetarian sushi if I have to - a little bit of white rice won't do too much damage.
I have just realised what my eating was about today. It was nervous tension/excitement about going away on this course. Normally this would have sent me into the biscuit tin all day - but managed to make reasonably good choices today.

[afreespirit]

Hi Adele, I too have a little trouble with bread---have been finding that substituting oatmeal or potatoes helps, as I need to cut out the bread! I also am an "all-or-nothing' type person, always have been! And I too have at times found the "evidence" presented by the low-carb crowd to be a bit disconcerting at times. However as I kept reading what they had to say as well as kept examining the evidence for McDougall et.al., it gradually clarified in my mind what the real facts were, and I am no longer troubled by the claims of the "other camp". I do not have my thoughts organized well enough at this time to make an articulate presentation of how I have come to this conclusion, but it basically comes down to the preponderance of credible evidence.

Anyway I found it interesting that we (and of course many others here) share some of the the same struggles! Carry on!

[Adele001]

However as I kept reading what they had to say as well as kept examining the evidence for McDougall et.al., it gradually clarified in my mind what the real facts were, and I am no longer troubled by the claims of the "other camp". I do not have my thoughts organized well enough at this time to make an articulate presentation of how I have come to this conclusion, but it basically comes down to the preponderance of credible evidence.

Anyway I found it interesting that we (and of course many others here) share some of the the same struggles! Carry on!

Thanks afreespirit. For me it has come down to my inner beliefs. Once I got those clear in my head and grabbed hold of them has been easier to stop swaying in the winds of doubts....... Not to say that I am not open-minded..... but I truly believe this is the best way for ME to eat and live my life.

I had a great trip away - got so much out of the course that can help me with my struggle with food/weight etc. I have now got rid of that kind of panicky feeling inside about 'needing' to lose weight and have developed a peaceful feeling. This is a healthy, environmentally and animal friendly way of eating that I choose for myself. I know I will lose weight eating this way - but am not in a huge hurry anymore to do that. It will just happen.

I did really well while I was away - stocked up on fruit, veggies and rice and ate that whenever possible. When we went out for meals I made the best choice available and asked for no oil to be used.
I have been really tired the last couple of days and have just felt like eating everything in sight. Have made a couple of high fat choices which I regret (dark chocolate and some potato chips) - but am just putting those behind me and carrying on.

6 weeks today since I commited to McDougalling..... planning to do it for the rest of my life!!!


Adele

[Adele001]

""6 weeks today since I commited to McDougalling..... planning to do it for the rest of my life!!!""

Hmmm- famous last words!
Fell off the wagon - but am hauling myself back on. I found this journal helpful last time, so will commit to writing in it daily again.
Have mostly regained the weight that I had lost (the same 3 or 4 kgs that I have lost and regained about 8 times over the last 2 years!)

Will go and read a few other journals to get myself motivated.

[Adele001]

Had a good day yesterday - ate well (lots, but all legal).
No exercise yesterday, but made it along to the pool today - swam 1.5 kms.
Have eaten well today, apart from a few jellybeans when I was struggling to find something to eat at afternoon tea time.
Quinoa, soy milk, banana for breakfast
Apple after swim
Another apple an hour later as was still hungry
Rice and veggies for lunch
Jellybeans
Crackers

- Potatoes and veggies + kidney beans for tea.

I have decided I want to join in one of the challenges for October - I think I'd like to do MWL for a while.........

[Adele001]

Ok. Fell completely off the wagon, but here I am back again!
Can't believe it has been 7 months since my last post. Feels like just a couple of months ago.

So, have been dealing with a few personal issues. Partly around my reasons for wanting to be vegan, and partly around my valuing myself highly enough to do this for myself to make myself healthy. I realised that I would do this in a heartbeat if my Mum decided to do it and wanted some help.... but somehow couldn't manage to do it for ME!!

Have spent the last 3 days detoxing from coffee and sugar. I now realise how hard it must be for smokers to give up! I have only been a coffee drinker for about 4 years (since my son was born and my sleep hours went way down!), but I am really struggling. I wanted a coffee SO much today..... I so nearly gave in. And the sugar cravings too. Sheesh!!!

Will start McDougalling proper tomorrow... and report in.

Adele

[Adele001]

Well, I have had a good day. Not 100% McDougall, but a lot better than I have been doing lately.

Quinoa+soymilk+banana
Too many rice crackers; orange
Leftover pasta & veggies
2 apples, 2 carrots
Bread
Oven wedges + veggies

Took the dog for a 25 minute walk. It's school holidays here, so have struggled to get time for exercise in the last 2 weeks. But, have arranged to get some time for a swim tomorrow. I need to plan more.

"Success breeds success and failure promotes failure. It seems to me the trick is to have a period of time in which you have an unbroken stretch of accomplishment."

"What can one do to insure a transition period of significant success over the next 30-60 days? What can be done to reinforce the positive events like strong, long term weight loss? Look at your daily routine, see what might be contributing to a break down in following the program. What steps might work to heading those things off in advance? Getting through the tough part of this lifestyle program requires planning, planning, and planning. "

A couple of quotes from f1jim's post on Mary's journal. I wanted to post them here so I see them all the time!

I think the brainfog is starting to clear a bit. If it doesn't get better soon I will go gluten free for a while to see if that helps.

Feeling good and positive tonight.

[Adele001]

Had a good day today. Pretty busy, and not home alot which makes it easier. Boredom not driving me to the biscuits and the coffee.

Quinoa + soy milk + banana
Apple
Swim - 1.25kms
Apple
Leftover oven wedges + veggies
Apple

Am about to have a couple of crackers with peanut butter.... and get dinner started. Planning veggie stir-fry on baked potato.

Exercise really does make or break it for me. After going for a swim today, I just felt leaner and healthier and more determined to lose this weight and eat healthily.

I haven't weighed myself for a couple of months. We are in the middle of house renovations and all our stuff is packed away - and I have no idea where my scales are. Might have to see if I can find some cheap ones to buy - would be nice to know what my starting point is.

The improvements that I want to see the most from this WOE are: bad skin (hormonal), irritability, fatigue and foggy headedness.

Best go get the veggies cut up.

[MaryW]

Hey Adele, thanks for stopping by my blog. It's nice to know that other people are out there struggling to change their lifestyle.

Isn't it frustrating when the people around us try to sabotage us! My friends don't even pay attention to what they eat or what they offer to me. They can't understand when I refuse. And my family openly tries to get me to eat unhealthy things. "Oh a little won't hurt you." Well, obviously a little HAS hurt me over and over again!

I hope you are doing well. And I hope things are going well with your friends and family.