100 Day, No Stray Summer Challenge

[simoncat]

I did well today and resisted temptation once more...nearly ready to change my ticker...tomorrow maybe? Anyway, I am still tempted, Dr. Essy said it would take 12 weeks for that to go away, so I am waiting and having faith that it will be so. I am having so much pain in my feet and ankles...not sure if it is arthritis or what...it feels better when I put them in cool water. I am tired of the pain!! I did go to the gym today and did some running on the treadmill. I am on my feet alot...probably about 4 hours a day at work, standing and walking, and then the gym, and housework and walking the dog...no wonder my feet hurt I guess. But it does seem like they hurt too much as if something is wrong. Sorry...I needed to whine about it a little...I have not told my family about this pain I've been in for about a year now. I wonder if it is related to diet soda? I keep giving it up and then going back to it...I probably need to give that more of a chance.

Lori, give up the diet soda!! I had troubles with my feet too and I found out it was splenda. All that diet stuff is bad. You might want to try the Good Earth tea that someone mentioned here. You could put ice in it. Go girl and keep on losing!

[LoriJenny]

Simoncat...when you gave up the diet soda did it take a while for the pain to go away or was it immediate?

[carollynne]

Let me chime in for a bit on teh diet products and soda in particular. they are like poison to me, for real. All that sodium in a sweet soda can. My feet would balloon out and so did all of me. But I do have HBP too... My wt soared upward with each and every can of soda too. I always had the HFCS type. but it was truly a poison to me. I had no trouble giving it up, this was a few yrs back, and I never ever touch the stuff at all. M
Actually my feet are looking so good, and just so unpuffy looking. cool beans for me!! All that water retention edema is just heart disease symptoms. Sooooooooooo

and I think it is the McD path, and the WML for me!! since everything I eat is so simply made of real food stuff. Nothing processed, and only the naturally occurring sodium.
Off my soap box for now!! sorry to preach like that to the choir!!
Hey,my little bluebirds have all flown teh nest this am. And the parents did is when I was not outside, for a short time. wow!! I missed it, but then again, the parents were eying us ppl as predators, so they were good parents. Right?
then I picked a few of my first snow peas, hurray, and ate them raw. So cool that way, my first time to grow them too.
Radishes have gone to seed I think, waiting too long. but those I can replant all summer too.
I have put on a pound this week, ate too much I guess, and some whole wt bread, a no- no. Stomach revolted over it too, it must be the processed part of it, my colon was having a few fits! I will learn the hard way in life....
have a good weekend to all.

[LoriJenny]

Thanks for the info on the soda and diet soda...My last one was on Friday...my feet do feel better, but it is weekend, and the real test will be tomorrow. Our temps are supposed to soar up into the 100's this week...ugh...it is the last week of school and we will be outside everyday all day...no gym this week because it is set up for graduation ceremonies.

I spoke with my dad and wished him a happy fathers day...He had an mri recently that showed that one artery...in the throat, the carotid (?) is 50% blocked and that one in his brain is 100% blocked and shut down, the drs said there is nothing they can do about the one that is shut down, he feels it is causing him to feel unbalanced sometimes. My dad is 82, a lover of the SAD diet...this is a turning point for me, I mean these past few months, I am taking this healthier path and I'm so glad I found it. My dad is an amazing man, I love him so much, I hope he will be okay.

As for me and my body...I choose to be a vegan.

[carollynne]

Lori,Congrats to you, for the good news on the last soda, but not for your dad!! I hope he changes his diet now anyway!!I really do believe in miracles, so I know he will be ok.


the SAd is really a killer and no one can really grasp that until it appears to be too late! My DH is like a dinosaur in that regard as well. He keeps announcing that is is going to grill something, like hotdogs,hamburgers, and horrid fat sauages, and expects a round of applause>? oh, pull-ese! The other 2 who live her, me and oldest son, are not going to eat that ______!! But he still figures someone will give in and just do it, to shut him up. No way ! then he feels sick himself, and so bloated and there is no mystery of why that is happening...
I decided a while back to not worry about it,
Did my wii this am for 25 min, and Ds and I went to grill a vegan feast up in the state Park, 5 min away, forgetting that on a Holiday it would be so crowded. Dh wanted a break, he was just beat and wanted to rest alone. So we let him, no problem. Had a lot of fun, ppl watching, and being under an umbrella or a canopy of trees tops and it is only 5 min away. We took a nice walk around and saw a soccer game going on too. a ton of ppl. there and Ds and I had a blast doing stuff , I love that fact that he wanted to do that with me.
I did fix DH a very nice breakfast, all SAD 5 star stuff, and guess waht I had my usual steel cut oatmeal and apples with cinn. I love that stuff.
L was at the park, a nice green salad, a lot from my own green spring mix growing, and some added stuff like toms, cukes, and teh dressing was a mist of bals. vingear too. then it was red potatoes flavored with my rosemary, and basil, and some paprika and the B. vinegar again. It was on teh grill in a basket lined with foil, then a mix of fresh veggies, Eric had picked up and there were great with his special spices too. then he grilled up some egg plant slices on foil with the same B vinegar and some spices too. it was delish, and I usually do not like eggplant at all. Something about being outside and working so hard to get the fire going good, altho really someone had left us the grill lined with foil, since the side was about to give way... and some charcoal still red hot. But Eric has so much fun with the fire, that is was blazing away soon enuff. Soon we discovered we had forgotten a few key things like any pot holder mits, so he devised a few sticks to do the job. I have 2 grilling bowls, or boxes for the veggies stuff. No muscle on our grill. Altho the smell could be inhaled all around. It is cool, that it can smell so good, but not taste that way anymore to me. It was fun adn so much better than doing the grilling on our back porch with our own grill, what can I say, worth the trip of 5 min, and the load up and walk in etc.
got home by 5pm, and Dh was asleep as he gets up so early.. he was just done in this weekend for some reason.
have a good week to you all!

[Christine in Cali]

Hi Everyone.....I'm back. I had a very nice time and for the most part I stayed on plan but did have some chips and a small bite of pound cake. All in all I was OK. I have not put on weight. I went for a nice long walk last night after it kinda cooled down but still real hot today. I may just walk around town tonight.

I have a client who is a Sports Psychologist and he had me make a commitment to get these last eight LBS off in 3 weeks. I first said I could do it by the end of June but he brought me back to reality and said I set me expectations too high....which was true. I know I was doing my best when I was paying attention to my fat consumtion with few processed foods....My goal is to focus on that again. Not what I CAN'T eat, but what I CAN!

Lori I am so worried for your Dad. My Mothers stroke stemmed from her carotid artery being 100% blocked and blood vessels branched out around it to keep the brain fed, then it just couldn't handle it any more. Pieces broke off lodging high in her brain. I hope you can convince your Dad to give up the SAD. My prayers are with you and your family.

Blessings
C

[Christine in Cali]

You are so right Debbie...today is the first day of summer and it feels like it too. It was in the high 90's today.

I don't know what is going to happen now. I suspect for me I will continue on with my MCD plan and maybe join another challenge down the road, but for now I will be content just reading and chiming in from time to time. My own journal has been lacking so I will go back to that and post when needed.

But I am proud to say that since the beginning of this challenge May 15Th to now I have lost 22.5 LBS and I feel that being a part of the challenge played a huge part. I belonged, felt supported and was listened to....in my book that constitutes a success!!

Thanks Lori for starting it and I learned a lot.

C

[circle city vegan]

That's so fantastic. Losing that much weight just before summer. I maintained, but I'm close to goal and that happens from what I'm hearing.

So our totals so far are what? Everyone copy and paste. It would be a great way to end to this thread. Then all the newbies reading up on us can be inspired.

Christi in Cali 22.5

[StarchBeet]

I think I've lost between 12-15 pounds in three months. I'm happy to be getting down into the 150's right now. So now I'm not obese, I'm fat and I've come so far!!! I can continue this but I'm not sure I can make it happen any faster at this point. I will find an ideal weight in the next year, that is certain. I seem to be slow and steady consistently.

[LoriJenny]

Wow Christine and Starchbeet!!!! Congrats on all that weight loss!!! I have basically maintained, having lost about 25 pounds early on. But I feel glad that I have explored new foods, and figured out strategies, and exercised and maintained. I also have given up diet pepsi...and so far my feet feel better but not perfect yet.

What do I really want to do now? I want to press on to some more weight loss again...put it all together...the knowledge of the diet with the exercise and see some progress. I want to press on towards health! It is honestly the perfect season to be a vegan with all the beautiful produce and with the weather being right for outdoor activity and also...at least for me, the heat curbs my appetite and I naturally lose weight due to that every summer.

Anyone up for starting a new thread? A new challenge? Maybe a pick your own goal summer challenge??? Anyone have thoughts or ideas???

[carollynne]

hi to all, congrats on that impressive wt loss. I saw a new # this am, 180! my wt loss has been slow, but steady, but I am truly shaping up, and getting stronger, with more stamina, and the other ladies at the fitness center have been telling me a lot for the last few wks! I just want to get the wt off, but have to remember that muscle out weighs fat a lot, and I have gained a lot of muscle mass.
I love the wii, and have been doing it 30 every morning for a few days, and in the beginning, I could barley do one segment of it.
my goals for the summer, stay on the MWL, McDoughall path, WOE and never stray.
My entire life has changed,a dn I feel a lot better than I ever have too.

blessings to all!

[LoriJenny]

That is so great Carollynne...I have noticed how you keep doing the wii for longer and longer...woo hoo!! That is so great, you are an inspiration!

[Christine in Cali]

My entire life has changed,and I feel a lot better than I ever have too.

Isn't amazing how losing a bit of weight makes ones life seem different and rosie. I see things in a different light and feel like people treat me differently as well. I am no longer invisible and I even turn heads once and awhile....I thought I would never be that way again, cause not only was I fat I was getting old too. Now I'm just old LOL and actually I am still fat just not obese.

I am happy for your Carollynne....it's fun to see you getting healthier and loving it.

[carollynne]

Thanks so much for the kind words, and the super encouragement too, Lori and to Christine! I feel like we are all in this life together, and it sure helps to think I am not alone in this Woe.

I did the wii again, this am, for only 10, and some yoga exercises before I turned the wii on too, since I have done some of them for yrs and yrs, like the warrior stance and the sun salutation! My knees are starting to talk to me and besides that my HBP is still an issue too.
I went outside to look at my broccoli plants, and one was really ready to be cut off. It looks just exactly like the stuff in the produce at the store, So it is now in the kitchen, the center stalk, and I will leave the plant for a bunch of little brocc. single pcs that will grow up eventually as sides!! My cabbage is about ready too, and I do not know why I bought those starter plants, but I figure I can at least blanch is in sections and then freeze it for soups, right? Now when the pots starting to come in, I know how I can use them up right away!
I just ate up too small pots, that I boiled up a few days ago, the last of that batch, and chopped them up, and heated them up in a pan, with nothing but some garlic and paprika powders! no water even, t pots are moist enough after being in the refrig I guess.
So anyway, I need to recharge my AAA batteries for the wii. But I did the adv step 2x and the hula-hoop for the basic 10 min so far. Plus on the wii the platform has my wt at 176, but really I think that is off, my elec scale says 179.4 this am. and that is w/o very little on too. this is exciting to me to finally see a loss, and not feel desperately hungry and ready to eat every single cookie in sight, or whatever I can get my hands on anywhere. Thank you, Dr and Mrs McDougall, for this program and the cookbook.
I am going to get up my nerve and post some pix of myself if I can ever figure that out. You just cannot take from the hard drive, it has to go thru flickr.com or something, please advice anyone if you know, ok? thanks and have a blessed day out there.

oh, yes, Christine, I understand what you mean when you are getting some looks now, and you are still fat, but not obese anymore. That is my experience too, I am not in the lower mid range of being fat / overwt, and the wii tells me that too, with the icon looking so chubby and pumpkin-ish, then she bends over hits the back with her fist for being so old too! jeez it is cute. Today was my 49 day of doing the wii, but a few days not in a row too.
Remember to hold you head up high, we are women, we are stronger, we are the givers and nurturers of life after all, without us, the world would cease to be a community... sorry if that is gender bias to anyone out there...

[LoriJenny]

Yes, I have noticed the "looks" also Last night after a get together with friends a gentleman offered to walk me to my car even And also I have noticed what Christine noticed...as I stick to this woe I feel more positive, I feel happier...and people respond to me more positively. I notice that sometimes I'm just walking around smiling for no reason except that I feel good and honestly it feels sort of like this amazing discovery that I can eat and not feel like I'm starving, have great food, and lose weight. I made up my breakfast today of fruit salad, and blackbean salad (from the Esselstyn book and my oh my it is soooo good) in a 100% whole wheat pita...then I just sat there and admired it, so colorful...then I ate it...so delicious!!

Carollynne...that wii sounds like fun, I have never done it before...is it the game that is called wii fit??? I'm so impressed with your gardening skills...I so want to have a big garden but I sort of have no idea where to start!

Do we want to continue on here??? I was thinking of a thread called "circle of friends" or something like that...or "pressing on with friends" a place of encouragement and sharing....everyone states their own goals and we encourage each other...or we can do another challenge??? What do you all think? I think the beauty of starting anew would be that we might pick up a few more people who dont even open up a thread entitled 100 day challenge. Just thinking...hope everyone has a beautiful summer day!

I started my day with a 2 mile walk with Bear and then a 2 mile bike ride (without Bear!)

Oh...and also, if anyone has luck posting pics let us know how to do it! I have tried also and failed. Hm...but somehow I got the little pic of Bear to work as my avatar (I have lost 25 pounds, and Bear has gained about 50 LOL)