Telephonoscope's Journal

[Telephonoscope]

This is the fifth day that I've been eating McDougall style, not that that was a super huge leap from my previously vegan (but not so healthy) lifestyle. Wait, let me correct that: It's a HUGE change. No oil? No sugar? No pasta or bread? I'm in hell.

Previously nearly everything I ate I made from scratch, but it's not like I was trying to avoid any of the "good stuff". Extra virgin olive oil, agave, and me were best friends, y'know? The trio of delight.

Due to the fact that I was born with a rare disease with the super descriptive name Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (Hypermobility Type), I've had difficulty my entire life with exercising. I was the chubby kid that walked "the mile" at school when we were supposed to run it. I was also the kid with dark circles under her eyes. I'll admit that I didn't sleep like I should have back then, but a diagnoses of EDS would have clarified a hell of a lot.

Now, here I am. Nearly 27 years old; diseased, obese, and grouchy. Doctor's orders are that other than light housework with constant rest, I can't exercise. Why you may ask? Because my joints spontaneously dislocate! YAY! Because not only do I have fibromyalgia AND arthritis, I also have myaglia and arthralgia and the pain from my dislocating joints. YAY! Basically I'm in constant pain every moment of my life and also always teetering on the edge of having to go to the hospital if I take a step wrong or lift something just a little too heavy 10 pounds is my limit, folks, and you can forget repetition. I developed tennis elbow after one week of doing push-ups against the wall!

In the past year and a half I have quit: meat, dairy, eggs,other countless animal bi-products, and nicotine. I went from 290 lbs to 240 and hopefully dropping. My acid reflux, IBS, and asthma have calmed down considerably, and the GERD only flares up when I haven't eaten for too long. Too bad my diet doesn't seem to have fixed my mental issues or my stretchy skin. I'll probably be able to fly with my new wings if I lose any more weight.

In the past five days I've experienced fatigue, nightmares, sleep issues, headaches, weakness, and hardcore cravings. I had those problems before though, so I have no clue if it's diet related or not. I've also drank enough water to float a boat. The first three days I dropped five pounds, and then I gained back one.

I'm not really struggling with eating the food, what I'm struggling with is eating enough food. I have consistently hovered around 1000 calories each day and there is no way I could have eaten another bite as I'm fit to explode with all the food in my stomach. I'm worried about the lack of calories, but other than breaking my diet, I have no idea how to get the calories I'm missing.

If you just read all that, congratulations! If you know how I can up my calories, please do tell. Inquiring minds need to know so they don't pass out.

*edit: I should mention that the main reason I'm starting this diet is because my doctor is putting me on Cymbalta for my fibromyalgia and depression. From past experience, Cymbalta causes me to gain mass amounts of weight and cholesterol.

[Telephonoscope]

What I've eaten today so far:

-waterwaterwaterwater
- 1 cup dry oatmeal soaked in 1/4 c soy milk, water, cinnamon, and a tiny bit of vanilla, raisins, and agave (I allowed the soy milk and agave because I was hoping they would up my calories)
- Corn on the Cob, grilled plain
- Shredded hashbrowns "fried" in pan with NO OIL. (I'm going to die, people.)
- 1 cup spinach w/ a serving of Aldi's Fit & Active Light Italian Dressing
- A 32 oz Light Rooster Booster because I could barely walk this morning I was so tired.

That totals 589 calories according to my calculations. What to do?

[f1jim]

The McDougall plan provides for eating so many different things I don't know where to begin. I would go back and look at the available categories of things allowable. Every manner of fruits, vegetables, beans and other legumes, but in summary the diet is based around starches with fruits and vegetables filling out the balance. So things like brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and any other starchy vegetables should be your base. There are plenty of calorie dense choices to take you to most any level of calories you need.
I have no idea and I am almost afraid to ask what a rooster booster is!!!
Give us your starting weight and height. There may be little we can do to help with your mental/emotional issues but we can try with suggesting about food.
Good luck
f1jim

[Chumly]

Telephonoscope,

Welcome to the program. Another member named Burgess has had a lot of trouble with arthritis and other inflammatory issues. You may want to read what he has done to alleviate the symptoms. Here is his blog:

http://anti-itisdiet.blogspot.com/

You mind some useful information.

Michael

[Telephonoscope]

Thank you for your replies. I'm 5' 4". As of a couple of days ago I was at 236.

I've had a potato or sweet potato in one form or another with every meal along with at least two other veg if not more (usually more).

I haven't had any brown rice yet, but I was hoping to have some tonight.

I don't really like fruit all that much, but I have made a smoothie of bananas and strawberries a couple of mornings.

A Rooster Booster is an energy type drink. I haven't had any caffeine since I started, but today I had to go to the doctor and had to wake up early. I was all fuzzy and I was stumbling a lot, so I thought it would be better to be safe driving than not.

I think one of my big problems is that I get full super easily. Before I went vegan I could eat two huge plates of food without any problem. Since then I can barely eat a small plate of food without getting stuffed. A single large potato fills me up until the next meal, so sometimes I've had to eat just a part of a potato so that I can make sure I'm eating other veg and getting enough nutrients beyond starch.

Everything I've read keeps saying eat until you're full, but when I do, I'm coming in at 900 to 1100 calories. The other day I even ate a serving of peanut butter just to get an extra 200 calories before I went to bed. I was still so full from supper that I couldn't have eaten much more than that.

Also, thank you for the link! I'll check it out as soon as I've hit "submit".

[f1jim]

This is a journal for those listing their food consumption. If you had eaten a potato or sweet potato why didn't you list them? What else didn't you include in your items that you have consumed? Are you journaling or not? If you don't include items everyone perusing your journal can't be helpful to you.
f1jim

[Telephonoscope]

I did include the potato? The hashbrowns? I'm sorry if there was any confusion. I actually didn't have a potato with breakfast this morning because I had forgotten to prepare one the night before, but I did have potatoes at lunch.

[f1jim]

Other than the Rooster Booster it looks like a good start. Not sure what you plan for dinner but the potatoes are a good base for a meal. If losing weight is a goal then the sweeteners might need to be evaluated. Looks like for someone just beginning you could do a lot worse. You shouldn't have any problems meeting your goals eating similar things down the road. If you visit our Food & Recipes forum there will be lot's of things to expand your choices should you desire.
Good luck
f1jim

[Vegankit]

Hi Telephonoscope. I put my fibromyalgia and arthritis and other chronic diseases into remission by following the Maximum Weight Loss Plan - I also lost 200 pounds in 1.5 years. X-rays still show the damage in my joints but I don't experience any pain in my joints, even when I fell right on my knee very hard. Right now I'm struggling with a flare up of autoimmune disease but it's so mild compared to how functionally hindered I used to be. I mention this because hopefully you'll find definite improvement in all your health issues which will allow you to be more mobile and comfortable.

What I've eaten today so far:

-waterwaterwaterwater
- 1 cup dry oatmeal soaked in 1/4 c soy milk, water, cinnamon, and a tiny bit of vanilla, raisins, and agave (I allowed the soy milk and agave because I was hoping they would up my calories)
- Corn on the Cob, grilled plain
- Shredded hashbrowns "fried" in pan with NO OIL. (I'm going to die, people.)
- 1 cup spinach w/ a serving of Aldi's Fit & Active Light Italian Dressing
- A 32 oz Light Rooster Booster because I could barely walk this morning I was so tired.

That totals 589 calories according to my calculations. What to do?

I cook my steel cut oatmeal - 4 parts water to 1 part oatmeal - I make a large batch so I can quickly warm breakfast in the microwave. I don't use vegan milks as they add more calories without adding much flavor. I use fresh or frozen fruit - because of calorie density (Jeff Novick has a fantastic DVD on calorie density which really helps you understand how to lose weight). Instead of agave I use stevia or sometimes maple syrup. Lani has a post right now explaining why we shouldn't use agave - there are better, relatively healthier choices than agave.

I love corn on the cob - microwave it in the husk for 4 minutes and it's ready to eat- DH and I have it for breakfast when it's fresh.

I would never drink calories or chose Rooster Booster - hopefully you'll find a healthier alternative or will quickly find eating this way means you don't need a booster.

Good luck and keep it up - you're going to feel so much better soon. Some health issues seem to resolve quickly and others do take time. Stick with it.

[Telephonoscope]

Thank you for the replies! I'm still figuring out how to get all the calories I need. If you aren't supposed to add oil, or nuts, or sugars, etc to your diet, how do you get enough calories when you simply don't have the room to eat enough? I've lost about a pound a day since I've started and that can't be healthy. I want to do this right, and not make myself sick.

Today's food:

Breakfast
- 1 large cubed and baked potato
- A serving of Heinz Organic ketchup (Not the best, but the potato was flavorless.)
- 1 banana

Lunch
I was still full at lunch

Snack
- 1 banana

Supper
- Soup: Homemade (oil-less) veg broth, carrots, white beans, and spinach
- Potato salad: potato, pinto beans, spinach, and Fit&Active Light Italian Dressing

Aprox 1043 calories and I'm very full :(. I basically ate my breakfast all morning and my supper all evening. Little bites here and there until the food was gone.

--

The Cymbalta made me completely nauseous and sleepy yesterday so supper ended up being a bag of no fat popcorn as it was the only thing I could stomach. I'm going to try taking my pill tonight right before I go to bed and hopefully it wont interfere quite so badly tomorrow.

[f1jim]

I am not sure why so little food is filling you up unless you are just so used to calorie dense food you are having trouble with the quantities during the transition. But you are not eating much and I am not sure why your appetite has left you after so little food. For someone 5'4" and 226 you seem to have had a pretty good apetite previously. I would avoid the ketchup and ranch dressings and have more real food. Use those toppings very sparingly. It doesn't make sense that a single potato and banana would hold you over till dinner.
f1jim

[Telephonoscope]

I would understand that entirely if the ketchup and Italian dressing hadn't been used sparingly, but I mainly used them just as a seasoning. 1 tablespoon of ketchup with the potato, and a tablespoon of Italian dressing for I would say a cup and a half of potato/bean salad.

I ate a lot two years ago, but after I went vegan I started to eat less and less. Not intentionally, it just happened naturally as I cooked healthier meals. Within a year of going vegan I was basically eating the equivalent of one meal and one or two snacks a day. I found it odd and I even joked about my changing eating habits, so it's not just you that's confused by how quickly I get full. I went on this diet expecting to want to eat massive quantities! That's why I joined the forum actually, to get support and figure out why I can't eat enough.

If it helps, before I started McDougall and was just vegan, I made 95% of my food from scratch. I ate a lot of whole wheat bread, whole wheat pasta with from scratch sauces, potatoes, brown rice, and veg. I did use oil and sugars, but not to the extent that some others I know do, but definitely more than I do now (which is zero). I maybe made one dessert a month, and usually I replaced the oil with applesauce, etc.

Thank you for your help.

[Telephonoscope]

I just did some research, and apparently gastroparesis in Ehlers-Danlos patients is not uncommon. I'm going to keep on trucking while I wait for an appointment to get checked out.

[f1jim]

What you are describing as your previous eating, that is, one meal and a few snacks, isn't going to get you to 226lbs. There is more to this story than I can figure out. Ultimately, it's calories in vs calories burned and clearly you have been taking in more than you burn off. As you have noticed recently your body is doing what it should do on so few calories, lose weight. So that leaves the only question of why so little food is making you full. It might be time to talk to a doctor about that condition. Perhaps something in your digestive tract is amiss to create this fullness after so little content. We may not have an answer for you. The good news is this should be a condition that would respond to this type of diet. Anyone else with ideas?
f1jim