10 Day Mary's Mini with Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes

[Chile]

Starting Monday, May 23. Intro here.

[Chile]

I'm not off to a great start and it is entirely due to poor planning. I'd recently purchased a 5 pound bag of organic baking potatoes, as well as sweet potatoes (the white ones inside), and yams. Yesterday, I went and got more potatoes - Yukon golds (which are the best for mashing) and frozen potatoes.

I dumped some Potatoes O'Brien in the George Foreman grill this morning and ate them with just a little ketchup and pepper. It was surprisingly filling and I didn't start getting hungry until a little before 11.

By ten minutes after 11, I was getting more and more hungry and knew I'd better get crackin' on lunch. Oops. No baked potatoes ready to go. I got the potatoes out of the pantry .... and found the entire 5 pound bag was sprouted! The yams were rotted. Several of the sweet potatoes had bad spots.

I cut off the bad spots from the sweet ones and am pressure-cooking them now for lunch within half an hour. I tossed some Yukon golds in the oven to bake for the next few days. (I'll compost the yams and plant the sprouted potatoes.)

Oh, and when I pulled the ketchup bottle out of the fridge this morning, something made me check the label. Could someone please tell how the heck I allowed a product with high fructose corn syrup get in my house?! Luckily, I had a new bottle, sans HFCS, in the cabinet.

Oh, dang. I still need to go rustle up a steamed vegetable side. Sigh. And this was supposed to make my life easier...

[nancyo]

Had to take a look at Mary's Mini again to refresh my memory...

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/june/marys.htm

I baked a glass pie plate full of red and yukon potatoes today and then enjoyed a few 'baked potato style' with some of that 'Pacific Vegetable Broth' over the top...really good! I also sliced up some tomatoes with just a little salt. Plenty of food for lunch today.

Tonight maybe a saute of mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini and spinach in the veg broth, with more potatoes...and some fruit for dessert. Starting in late Spring means we'll have plenty of fresh fruits & veggies over the summer! . . . and iced tea . . .it's gotta be 90 degrees here in GA today.

Keeping it simple on day 1.

[peach1]

I'm varying my starches but really trying to stick with the no salt, sugar, oil:

B-Oat groats with cherries, blueberries a little flax. Banana.

L-Yukon gold potatoes, homemade no salt black beans, kale, 1/2 apple

D-Corn, more black beans, steamed vegetable mix, collards; smoothie for dessert--banana, apple, cranberry, cherry, blueberry and strawberry

[Chile]

1st day down:

Breakfast: plate of "potatoes O'Brien" - spuds with green peppers & onions - cooked fatfree in George Foreman grill; topped with pepper & a little ketchup; glass of sparkling water with lime juice & tiny bit of light orange syrup

Lunch: mashed yams (the ones that are white inside) with blanched beet greens tossed in watered down Goddess Dressing and seasoned rice vinegar

Snack: small bowl of mashed sweet potatoes with Pickapeppa sauce

Dinner: big salad with tiny bit of Goddess Dressing; Jamaican Three-Potato Curry

Yes, the dressing does have some oil in it. I simply did not have time today to make dressing from scratch, nor did I have the energy. This dressing was ready to go so I used it.

[nancyo]

Confession for Day 1:

Got lazy by dinner time. Ate lots of potatoes again but skipped the veggies I was going to make and opted for 'sweet' instead. Made a strawberry/banana smoothie and ate it all.

It's going to take better resolve and planning to get thru the whole day on the Mini but I need to do this. I need a fresh start.

Today (day 2) will be better. I have to be away most the day (work) so I'll prep ahead before I go so by evening when I'm hungry I won't fall apart and eat whatever.

Enjoyed your food pix Chile.

[djunamod]

Hi Chile,
Pictures look good . I'm starting Mary's Mini tomorrow (5/25) and I plan on going until June 5. I hope that this will get my taste buds in order. I'm nervous about it because I know that sugar is going to be a huge issue for me. I like fruit, but "dessert" usually doesn't mean fruit for me. I'm planning on doing brown rice and prepared a lot of stuff so that I'm all ready to go tomorrow.

Djuna

[Chile]

Preparation is definitely the key to success with this ... and with the McDougall Program. I think that's partly why I got so off-track in the past year. Our stress levels were high, we were busy, and we were tired. Taking the time to cook some healthy food from scratch just seemed like too much work when the nearest grocery store has a little Chinese food take-out place handy. We substituted food made by others to save time and then we got hooked on the fat, sugar, and salt.

I remember always having snacks available when I successfully McDougalled, planning meals in advance (and making sure they got cooked), and not putting myself in temptation's way. Ten days of doing the potato mini will hopefully put me right back on that path...and the rest of you, too!

[RAS]

Hi all,count me in too.Will start again on 5/25. I will NOT buy any more clothes in larger sizes! Will stick to rice and potatoes,salad.tea and water. RAS

[Chile]

I will NOT buy any more clothes in larger sizes!

Oh, how many times I said that! And then I had to because I couldn't get my ..... together. Well, I finally am and you can, too.

Here are my meals from today:

Breakfast: plate of "potatoes O'Brien" - spuds with green peppers & onions - cooked fatfree in George Foreman grill; topped with pepper & a little ketchup; herb tea

Snack: about 20 raspberries

Lunch: small bowl of leftover Jamaican Potato Curry; plate of leftover salad with 2 tsp dressing

Dinner: 2 baked Yukon gold potatoes topped with non-dairy mushroom & onion gravy; blanched radish leaves; sauteed sliced radishes


I ate lunch pretty late because I simply was not hungry. Almost felt a little bloated but see that has occasionally happened to other people doing MM. My only concern is that if my calorie intake is too low, my body might decide I'm trying to starve it. I'm not trying to keep calories super-low but I don't want to eat if I'm not hungry. At this point, I'm trying to trust my hunger drive.

[RAS]

Yes I know we can do this.I am tired of losing the same 3-4lbs. over and over. Todays menu so far..
Birds Eye frozen rice/grain & veggie.
Baked Sweet Potatoe will post more later.have a healthy day,everyone. RAS
Snap with rice.
water tea. Day # 1 Good

[Chile]

I don't know if this is normal, but I am flabbergasted at the weight loss I am experiencing with this potato diet. Yes, I've McDougalled before and lost weight. When I was really strict about it, and exercising, I could lose up to 1/2 pound per day.

In two days doing this, I've dropped 4 1/2 pounds! And, just to make it stranger, this is the time of month when I usually gain a pound or two...

Now, while I'm thrilled to see the scale moving, I worry that if this keeps up I'll have the loose skin issue that other rapid losers have talked about. I don't think that would happen with doing this just 10 days, but oh, man, is it tempting to just stick to this way of eating for much longer!

Have others experienced this type of weight loss on the MM?

[Chile]

Hey, if you want to do the mini with a different starch, that's fine by me. As I just told someone this morning who was trying to argue about The China Study with me, I no longer try to convince anyone to change their diet. This works for me and if you are interested, I can direct you to resources you can read and study yourself. But will I try to convert you? Will I argue with you? Will I defend what I believe? Nope. I used to but the end result was generally that everyone retired firmly to their own camps ... and since I've read more on cognitive dissonance, that's not surprising!

In other words, have fun with your rice!

[burgh_grl]

I don't know if this is normal, but I am flabbergasted at the weight loss I am experiencing with this potato diet. Yes, I've McDougalled before and lost weight. When I was really strict about it, and exercising, I could lose up to 1/2 pound per day. AWE -SOME girl!!!

In two days doing this, I've dropped 4 1/2 pounds! And, just to make it stranger, this is the time of month when I usually gain a pound or two... HOLY CATS...i'm just STUNNED. omg, omg, omg...I WANT TO DO THT!!! i'm not getting anywhere. before i forget...i spent a Ridiculous amount of time today reading your FASCINATING blog...all. the. info. was . INCREDIBLE. THANK YOU!!! whew!! ok. wht...are you doing? wht...must I do to get these results?? can ya help me out here...w a daily food run down? WOW. I'm just blown AWAY. WOW. GO GIRL,..and do not stop!! for a couple days yet anyway... MAJOR big hugs!!

Now, while I'm thrilled to see the scale moving, I worry that if this keeps up I'll have the loose skin issue that other rapid losers have talked about. I don't think that would happen with doing this just 10 days, but oh, man, is it tempting to just stick to this way of eating for much longer!

Have others experienced this type of weight loss on the MM?

[Chile]

Aw shucks, thanks!

I am not trying to eat low calorie on this, but I'm not particularly hungry. Well, this morning I was. Then it seemed to pass, about when I was outside in the heat for a bit and got a little too warm. When I got home, all I wanted was ice water, and I didn't end up eating lunch until 2 pm!

Much of the reason I'm doing this is to deal with cravings and habits. Ten days, I have to do this. Bad cheating is not an option. Getting a frappucino is NOT an option....even though they are going to be having them half price (half price - what a bargain!) over the holiday weekend at the store right across from the gym.

I will NOT get a half-price (cheap!) frappucino because if I do so, I give more power to that craving the next time. And, I guarantee you, it would stop this weightloss cold. Plus, what am I gonna do? Drink a frap before an hour walk on a treadmill? *snort* Get it afterwards and have my DH know I cheated? Nope. Ain't gonna happen, folks. Show's over, move on out.