Mary's Mini with beans

[kittyadventures]

I am starting a Mary's Mini with beans.. If any one else would like to join in I would love to share the journey with you.
Or if you want to start with a different starch it is fine by me.
so here is what is planned and has been eaten so far

B. 1 cup of cooked oatmeal for breakfast
1/4 cup of pinto beans (canned low sodium rinsed).

L. 1/2 c Pi9nto beans, 1 cup of steamed mixed veggetables (broccoli,cauliflower carrots green beans, red peppers). at least a cup of green salad with cuccumbers and radishes sliced up in it.

D. the same as lunch for dinner.

I will also be eating a bosc pear at some point today. Possibly two small apricots for a bedtime snack.



I have a couple of issues I am addressing well teh weight for one but also I need to get my blood sugar down a bit more and my cholesterol I am trying to get to the magic 150.

I have a plan of eating a small to medium/Large salad with each meal and some cooked veggies and the beans of course. I hope it works... I am trying to get below my regular place on teh scale where I stall. Also I will be sure to eat more beans if I need to.
I am sure it is all mental but well there you go it still happens.


Also I try to schedule when I eat at least for now because once I get past hungry I always end up scarfing down a bunch of non complaint easty to feed my face stuff that then I regret... so at least for this I will be eating by 9AM, then noon, then 5... and then 9 or ten a small snack if I need it.

[simoncat]

Hi, K.A. Thanks for letting me join. I hope this works. I want to shock my doctor by getting my cholesterol to 150. It was at 250 last year a little after I became a vegan. However, right before I became a vegan, I was eating a lot of coconut milk and I think that along with dairy and all made it high. I am not sure of this though.

I haven't read Mary's mini yet, but I will after this. Anyway, yesterday I gardened all day practically and took a small walk with my hubby and I had oatmeal with prunes for b-fast; a salad with beans & salsa for lunch and a yam and salad for dinner and an orange for snack. Anyway, I lost 1 pound since yesterday!! I am kind of skeptical. Could this be true??? I hope so and I hope by saying this I didn't just jinx it!! Usually for me to lose anything, I have to exert myself to death (run 6 miles or something ). Well, today here's what I have had and what I plan to have for dinner:

B-fast: yam with some maple syrup on it

Lunch: baked potato with ketchup and salad with asparagus, onion, lettuce, carrots

Dinner: baked potato with split pea soup and salad.

Snack: banana

Hey, K.A. do you like John Robbins? I have just gotten into some of his books lately. I made his split pea soup awhile back and decided to make it today as it is really good. Do you have a lot of weight to lose? Have you lost a lot already?

[VeggieSue]

I am starting a Mary's Mini with beans..

Remember that Dr. McDougall limits beans to no more than 1 cup a day because of the high protein content.

[burgh_grl]

I am starting a Mary's Mini with beans..

Remember that Dr. McDougall limits beans to no more than 1 cup a day because of the high protein content.

Thank you for that...I wasnt aware...

[kittyadventures]

I am starting a Mary's Mini with beans..

Remember that Dr. McDougall limits beans to no more than 1 cup a day because of the high protein content.

Thank you for that...I wasnt aware...

Hi every body Yay!

as to the one cup a day of beans, think of it as a guidline and keep yourself as close to it as possible but if occasionally you eat a bit more you are fine unless you have kidney issues.


I have lost about 16 lbs so far and have a long way to go... mostly because I have frittered around doing this and going back and forth on it and I never gave up my cheese like an idiot, and or sweet things.... and well now I am really getting on board and forging ahead.

My goal is to lose 40 more pounds but right now the big focus at least for the next ten days is to get down below my own personal nemisis which is the doggone 170 pound barrier.. I usually get right there and then my weight goes up, I lose heart and then go back to eating crap again. Currently I am stuck at 176 to 178 with it going all the way up to 180 if I eat something too salty.

I have a host of issues I am dealing with that make losing the weight very difficult even Mcdougalling.

i am in Menopaus, have pre diabetus, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.. and I was never really committed to this way of eating till recently so well here I am with a new committment and a new out look on what exactly I need to do. Also some of the people who have been here a while and started when i did and stayed true to the diet have gone on to steadily lose their weight so it made me realise seeing them that I need to really just commit and quite screwing around.

Any way I have been being pretty strict since i came back on board a couple of months ago and have lost back down to where I was when i started here in the begining... I keep losing the same 16 lbs but so far so good and onward and down ward hopefully.

I decided to do the beans because Of some comments from Geoffrey Levins as he is also dealing with diabetus and that is how he got his a1c down the rest of the way.

I am hoping that it helps.. I love eating the potatoes but was having an issue with neropathy or the begginings of it eating all those potatoes so i thought i would see if I switched to teh beans if it would help me.

Keep in mind I am not against the potatoes, I love them and can eat vast quantities, but at this point I am concentrating on my A1c and my weight etc,

I am hoping that as my weight drops it will get easier to lose the weight as i am still courting the stupid 50 lbs over weight line where you are not just fat but now obese.

[kittyadventures]

Okay For anybody who needs it here is the link to Mary's Mini

Simoncat I love teh picture of your kitty.

as to John Robbins... I have never read his books.. I think I am gong to have to read them. Of course i do know who he is, I remember how much flack he caught because of his stance in light of his families business. Gosh i had forgotten all about that till you mentioned him and I looked him up.

Vegetarianism was not well known when he took his stand at least among the general population.

I come to all this late in life with a solid background of eating meat.. My youngest daughter takes most of the credit for really getting me to consider changing my life. She came to it all when she was in middle school. I have been making a slow transition to it, while trying to figure out how to deal with my issues with out medication.
I first went the 2,2,2 route 2 days chicken 2 days fish 2 days vegetarian and one day beef or pork. Which didn't work and then back to low carbing which sent my cholesterol even higher not to mention my weight which is funny as you are supposed to lose weight on it. then slowly transitioning to pescadarian with a bit of fish occasionally and cheese and milk then giving up my milk and finally the fish and cheese and oil..

Cheese weirdly enough has been the hardest thing to give up.


As to the pea soup thing well honestly I always make my mom's pea soup which I love and have never found anyone else making, It is probably some kind of southern recipe. But I am always open to trying new recipes.

any way hers has the peas and onions(yellow) and carrots, celery and her secret or not so secret ingredient, potatoes, along with several bay leaves to give it that total yum flavor.

[kittyadventures]

Okay Today so Far... woo hooo I am hovering between 175 and 176 this morning on the scale. How I feel: really good right now, my tummy feels full not stuffed but okay and it has been several hours since I ate.

So that is great.

I decided to post food after I ate it rather than what the plan is becuase my plans went a bit awry yesterday as I had 10 oz of potato in the afternoon..

anyway so far today..
Breakfast was 1/3 cup of beans and some pomegranite herb tea.

[VeggieSue]

as to the one cup a day of beans, think of it as a guidline and keep yourself as close to it as possible but if occasionally you eat a bit more you are fine unless you have kidney issues.[/quote]


He quite plainly makes it a *rule* and not a guideline in his books. Here's a quote from The McDougall Plan which sums it up nicely:

"Vegetable products are usually lower in protein content than are animal products. The most important exceptions are the legumes, which include beans, peas, and lentils. These foods can be consumed easily in amounts large enough to yield a diet containing excessive protein. If you are in good health, legumes should be used in no more than one meal per day. The amount should not exceed one cup of cooked legumes per meal."

From The New McDougall Cookbook:
"In general, consumption of legumes should be limited to one cooked cupful a day. Some sensitive people may have to restrict their intake even further and take stricter measures to avoid excess protein."

Also:
Hearty Heart page 83
McDougall Medicine page 84
Health Supporting cookbooks Vol 1 and Vol 2 page 1


The only time he mentions eating more than one cup a day is in this newsletter post on kidney function:
http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... rotein.htm

"In general, I recommend that a healthy person limit these to, on average, one cup of cooked legumes a day (for example, one day you may have three cups and none for the next two
days). People with loss of kidney function must restrict these legumes even more. "

[kittyadventures]

It is a guide line and a recommendation.

and if that magic number of protein is such an issue, then you also would need to keep your potatoes to four small ones per day to keep below the 15 grams of protein in 1 cup of beans.

becasue 170 grams of pinto beans = 15 grams of protein
170 grams of potato (red with skin on baked) = 4 grams of protein times 4 potatoes = 16 grams of protein.

which by the way if you go weigh your potato is one small potato.

per the cron-o-meter.

I understansd that I would need to keep my beans to as close to a cup a day as I can.

I do understand that the beans can be an issue for some people as they are acidic and some people have an allergy to leguemes but that is not the case for me.

As I am keeping my consumption to about a cup a day and consuming plenty of other vegetables with it I am pretty sure i am okay.

[kittyadventures]

Lunch 1/3 cup of beans 1 large dinner salad (lettuce, cuccumbers, radishes tomatoes), steamed mixed vegetables.

[simoncat]

Remember that Dr. McDougall limits beans to no more than 1 cup a day because of the high protein content.

VeggieSue, you might want to read the Mary' Mini if you haven't. As I read it, it is different than MWL . Mary states that it is. I know that having a potato at every meal is not MWL either but on Mary's Mini, it's what you are told to do. You choose one starch, either beans, rice or potatoes and you focus on that as your main meal for each meal. Thus, KittyAdventures, I'd have a cup of beans at each meal. Read what Mary says. It's different than MWL.

I am not sure how it works, but it's working for me!!! I stepped on the scales today and now weigh 152 lbs. That is 1.5 lbs than yesterday! I walked for 1 1/2 hours and went up a real steep hill, so I think that probably helped. Wow! I guess having a banana as a snack instead of a potato was okay and unless I find that having a fruit as a snack conflicts with this and makes my weight go up, I'm going to do it. Anyway, here's my menu that I had and am having today:

B-fast: potato with baked apple mashed in and a little maple syrup

Lunch: b. Potato with salsa and salad - didn't feel like finishing small salad

Snack: banana

Dinner: Potato split pea soup and a small salad

KittyAdventures, I know what you mean about cheese. I think that is the hardest thing to give up, but you can do it. I use psychology on myself. You know when you used to drink milk and the film that milk leaves on the glass. Well, think of that and think that cheese probably leaves that same film but probably thicker on your arteries and clogs them up. Anyway, that helps me.

I have autoimmune problems and have had to stop eating any gluten, soy and other things. It's hard and sometimes my scalp still burns. I have been taking probiotics because I have a feeling it is a gut flora problem. We'll see. However, so far I am not losing my hair anymore!!

[kittyadventures]

Thanks Simoncat.

i have gluten intolerance too.. it makes it hard sometimes, hang in there your skin will feel better soon.


Dinner 1/3 cup pinto beans mixed steamed veggies.

[simoncat]

I had to take my daughter somewhere, so I didn't finish posting. I hope I didn't sound too bossy or "know it allish" about the Mary's Mini. But, as I understand it, you choose one starch, be it potatoes, beans or rice and that is your main meal for each meal along with a salad or other green/yellow veggies and you eat only that starch for 10 days. Thus, theoretically, you could do 10 days potatoes and then do 10 days beans and then 10 days rice!! That's not too bad!

Anyway, KittyAdventures, the picture is not of my cat but looks like my Simon. I have to get my daughter to put his picture here. He just turned 19!! He's the most loving cat I've ever had and I am crazy about him as well as my other cats. Is that your cat in the picture?

Well, it is great your daughter encouraged you to do this. My daughter is 14 and eats horribly. I am having a hard time getting her to eat anything green. She loves cheese and junk food and after awhile I get tired of arguing with her or trying to coax her to eat well. My hubby doesn't help with this. I hope some day she'll come around. Sometimes she'll drink smoothies and I sneak greens in them, but it's not very frequent. Drives me nuts. It also drives me crazy that she is so skinny (size 0) and isn't as active as I am!! What gives?? I never remember being a size 0 and I never ate like her. I think it was because I breast fed her!! I wonder if it doesn't help one's metabolism. (I was given formula when I was a baby). She doesn't drink milk though (one good thing).

Anyway, it sounds like you are doing well. Do you do any exercise? I like to go on walks and that really helps me. I went on a 2 hour walk tonight. I also have a mini-trampoline that I sometimes do and watch tv. You don't have to go fast and I think the weight comes off quicker.

Well, I'll be glad when my clothes are looser. Even though I've lost a few lbs, my waistbands are still kind of tight I really can hardly wait to get back into my old clothes. Can't really afford new ones and really want to make some new ones from some material I bought a long time ago.

Sooo, let's keep plugging along. I am now 152 lbs. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

[kittyadventures]

EEEK I had a long post all written and it disappeared. Stupid computer.

Simoncat hang in there with your daughter it gets better. they really change when they go off to college.

My picture is of one of my cats Magneato (said like the x-men villain, on of my daughters named her)
She passed away last summer but I really like that picture
I have two other kitties Lilac and little one. They are awesome . Unless they are waking me up at 3 am for food LOL.

I too am looking forward to loose clothes.
I do do exercise I walk, jog and swim not all on the same day.

and not consistently for a while because of a knee injury last summer. it is finally all healed but i am chicken to push too hard as I don't want to re injure it. I am hoping to get more consistent with this Mary's Mini. I am kind of using it to really launch myself back into my good behaviors.

Any way have a great evening see you tomorrow

[Rosey]

[quote="simoncat"]It also drives me crazy that she is so skinny (size 0) and isn't as active as I am!! What gives?? I never /quote]

If you compare the pants now days with our old sizes they aren't the same as they used to be. Our old 14's are same size as like size 10 now.