Caroveggie's Training Journal

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

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no running

Postby Caroveggie » Wed Nov 16, 2011 1:04 pm

:?

Well, I went to bed early and still felt too comfy and tired this morning to get up and give it a go. Jogging will have to wait.

I brought my farro to work for lunch. I'll have it with frozen collard greens, seasoned diced tomatoes, and whatever else I have in the fridge. I think there's an onion still.

I've figured out how to cook steel cut oats in the microwave for my breakfast so I can have them at work without getting up super early or planning ahead the night before. (I'm still enjoying the rest of the soyogurt with it. And cinnamon, and berries. Missing one ingredient ruins the whole meal.) Here's how you do it:

You need a large (microwave-safe) bowl
in which you pour the dry steel cut oats (get them bulk, it's much cheaper)
Fill with water to cover, maybe 1/2" - 1" over

Microwave on high for 4 minutes. Stir. Microwave on high another 3 minutes. Stir. Microwave on high another 3 minutes. Stir, check consistency. Microwave additional minute or 2 if needed to thicken/as preferred.

I prefer steel cut so much more to regular oats. I can't even eat regular oats anymore. They taste so processed and mushy. They taste like they don't have any fiber. I've gotten used to brown rice also and now when I have white rice it tastes so empty. I prefer the more filling texture of brown rice, farro, steel cut oats, etc.

The 1 cup of farro goes far. I didn't even finish my portion of it last night. I think I like farro even more than I like brown rice. Recommend.

I might try a light jog this evening. :oops: <--that would be me exercising
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Sat Nov 19, 2011 9:28 pm

I didn't end up jogging and I still haven't even though I keep telling myself to get out there. It's cold out now. This morning I should've gone but instead I took a shower. That was a mistake. Shoulda just gone. Anyway, I'll try to get started soon. I miss my regular route, feeling energized, and I really really really miss being able to wear most of my clothes.

Today I went shopping at Whole Foods with a gift card. I wanted to get farro but I didn't find any in bulk. I got barley instead. I haven't really made barley but since I like farro so much, maybe I'll like barley too? I also got a special kind of brown rice (forgot the name), lentils, and split green peas. And some veggies to bake. I should have some pretty yummy meals this week.

Today I also found shoes for the dress I got last week for my friends' wedding. The dress I found at Ross ~ only $30!! Totally looks like it's worth many times that. It's a black shimmery gown with the side swayed up a little and pretty rhinestones at the sleeves. Then I also got this really cute black over-thing that looks like it's just made for the dress. You know the dress is the one when a complete stranger compliments you in it (which happened. :) ) So I happily bought the $30 deal-of-the-year along with the little covering and the only thing is I needed heels because it's long. I found the perfect shoes today at Payless ~ very pretty black lacy heels and only about $30 also. They were the first pair I tried on and (for heels) they're comfortable. I hardly ever wear heels or girly shoes since I like to be comfy.

So this isn't exactly about important diet stuff but I'm looking forward to dressing up and having a good time. I'm going to be extra good with diet and exercise from this point on so that I'll look as good as possible. ;-)

For me this means I'm going to resume early morning jogs (taking it easy) and stick like glue to MWL'ing.

I will dutifully try to imagine I am doing all this for the sake of my invisible arteries and veins too. :lol:

Just kidding. I am.
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby onceagain » Sun Nov 20, 2011 4:17 pm

Hey Caro!

You know the clothes I have in my closet from the last time I did the MWL are a big motivator to me too.

I walk in the morning, don't think I could do the jogging thing so hats off to you. :) Maybe if you are having a hard time getting out there to jog, you could walk instead. But I love the cold weather so this is my perfect exercise season.

I am sure your invisible arteries are thanking you. :P
"I would call you a genius, but I am in the room." - The Doctor
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Tue Nov 29, 2011 9:45 pm

Today I had 2 small yams for lunch and now I'm having brussel sprouts, a little brown rice, a little barley, curry lentils, and a salad with mushrooms and onion (little of the tahini dressing).

It's pretty good. Been busy and my sleep schedule is not the best for early morning exercise. I walked today at least.

My Thanksgiving was pretty good. We ate at my sister's inlaws and they had plenty of food, enough sides to make eating veg easy. I did have some dairy though and pumpkin pie with canned whip. :?

I have put all my bags of beans and grains into clear glass tupperware which has really organized my shelf in the kitchen well. Now I can see clearly what I have and how much. I have plenty of healthy foods stocked up to get through, which I intend to, because I'm still on the I'm-very-broke plan right now. I found out it's probably a good idea for me to get 2 tooth implants, instead of one. That would mean a tooth extraction also, and more xrays, maybe longer time with the braces. (I lucky enough to never have 2 adult teeth underneath.) So, :? ... lots of money.

I'll be doing lots of home cooking to save money.
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Wed Nov 30, 2011 10:09 am

This morning I was thinking that if I like the lemon taste from the (watered-down) lemon tahini dressing I made, why not just use lemon?

So that was my big thought of the morning. I tend to eat my salad with other things like lentils, barley, sweet potato, rice with soy sauce, etc. anyway... I think I only want that lemon taste, and I can eschew the added fat from the tahini then.

I'll be moving toward this in the future. I think I'll (slowly) finish off the tahini dressing I've made and give the rest of my tahini to my roommate.

I took a big sweet potato for lunch. I had all these grains and lentils and salad ready in the kitchen but I was up too late last night, so I just grabbed a sweet potato. At lunch I'm not usually super picky about my meals so I think I'll be fine.

I also want to reinstate the grapefruit every morning tradition. Possibly, if I'm hungry for it. I haven't bought them but I've been thinking about them for a while.

Yesterday I spent a total of "0" cents. :)
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:25 pm

I went out for a couple slow jogs recently. Not very far, but it's better than nothing. It's so cold these days and I'm out of shape. But I want to get in shape and I was thinking (just thinking for now) that it would be fun to do a small, scaled down triathlon.

I've been liking lentils a lot. I found out some new, simple ways to cook and eat them:

lentils cooked in
veggie broth with
"Better than Bouillon" veggie stuff
onions, garlic, carrots

then I eat it with a sweet potato and/or a little brown rice. Yum!

I want to get grapefruits for breakfasts again but haven't bought them yet.

Having a very busy December. Happy holidays and McDougalling everyone :)
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby nicoles » Tue Dec 13, 2011 3:36 pm

Caroveggie wrote:Yesterday I spent a total of "0" cents. :)


Cool!

{Reading your training journal makes me miss San Francisco... used to live there, may have to again some day!}
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Read the results of my journey here: Nicole S. O'Shea vs. Psoriatic Arthritis

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New Year's Resolution Time

Postby Caroveggie » Wed Dec 21, 2011 11:37 am

Yes, I love SF too.

Well it's that time of year again. I've been thinking of new year's resolutions because there are a lot of things I'd like to start up or change. Here are some of the ones I think about often:

learn guitar
learn French
be a very good McDougall vegan (no dairy, oil, too much processed food cheats at all, cut out sweets, and no more artificial stuff like aspartame, etc.)
emphasize more veggies, fruit, greens, and salads
pay off all my debt
save up enough to buy myself an abode
become "time-free" as I call it ~ enough assets to support myself doing whatever I'd like

I think having a definite training goal (as in exercise) would probably really help me keep super healthy with the eating (I tend to be that way)... just don't really have one. Because I'm trying to pay off debt (and pay for a tooth implant and orthodontry...eck) I don't really want to invest even $35 into a race of some sort. So when I think of some way around that ~ some nice good exercise goal that will help motivate me to be healthy and yet costs nothing ~ I'll let ya know.

I have invested in Assimil (French), which I think is the best way to learn a language. I wrote an article about it here: http://carozy.hubpages.com/_carozyfriend/hub/The-Best-Way-to-Learn-a-Language

I'm waiting for the Assimil I ordered to come. I'm pretty impatient. I only have to wait 4-5 days and I'm on day 2 but I'm really excited to get it! I plan on starting as soon as I get it. Assimil's website is www.assimil.com by the way. My article explains why I think Assimil is the best way to go about learning and becoming fluent in a foreign language.

I also want to bike more next year. I tend to walk to work and back but I want to try biking around the city more. This cold weather has been keeping me in. I think having something to train for would help me get more biking in. Since SF is pretty hilly, I'm sure it'll be good exercise.

So there you have it. Hope everyone has happy holidays and happy McDougalling! :nod:
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Sat Dec 24, 2011 5:14 pm

Here I am in Sausalito today. Sausalito is a pretty little town right after you cross the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco. I biked over here today, battling the wind on the beautiful red bridge. I am so out of shape I was the slowest bike on the bridge. Practically everyone else was in spandex. My bike is also a bit heavier hybrid bike, not one of those thin, light road bikes.

I went to Starbucks where I'm going over French with a soy chai. My Assimil "New French with Ease" arrived yesterday (I jumped up and down I was so excited).

Now I'm taking a break, enjoying the atmosphere and tending to my sniffles with a box of Kleenex I brought. :) I have a head cold and was sent home yesterday, which was fine by me because my throat hurt and I was able to get a lot done and free up today for lounging..

I'm really loving learning French with Assimil and http://www.lingq.com. Lingq website was created by The Linguist (http://www.thelinguist.com) who has taught himself to be fluent in 10 languages! So I recommend these two resources for language learners. I also plan on joining Alliance Francaise in 2012, when my budget allows.

So back to food matters.

My New Year's resolution for 2012 is to get my cholesterol as low as I can make it McDougalling (mostly MWL'ing). Well, that is my food resolution.

I also have a related resolution ~ which is to try and get exercise everyday. I like that one. I think it will help keep me in a chipper mood. :)

My other resolution is to work on French everyday. Like that one too.

And my final resolution is to buy a good quality beginner's guitar (when the budget allows) and take a guitar class (when budget allows).

There's one more ~ keep working on my screenplay. So far it's only 8 pages, but I got good feedback last week at the screenwriters' meeting. I'm going to have one of the characters dealing with heart disease (you can guess where that storyline is headed.) It is not the main storyline but I think it will give the audience something to relate to, and of course an opportunity to educate and spread the word about the dangers of the Western way of eating.

Well that is the latest in my world. Now I will enjoy my Sausalito day and make sure that the remainder of it is 100% McDougalling. My cell phone is dying. More French awaits. Over and out.
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Christmas

Postby Caroveggie » Mon Dec 26, 2011 10:30 am

We spent Christmas at the inlaw's house since my parent's kitchen flooded a month ago and the insurance has torn up their kitchen and packed away their food lives for a while.

I confess I succumbed to the siren call of the sweets and my brother in-law's famous spinach dressing, which has sour cream in it. This, and I have a bad cold right now too. :roll: Sigh...

However, it's a new day and I'm starting my "get low cholesterol" New Year's resolution early -- today! I'm going to work harder to cut out oils, sweets, processed foods, dairy, hidden eggs, etc. and become one of those stringent vegan McDougallers that the rest of the world can't understand. The reason I'm going to become so firm about it is because I know it works for me! If I allow myself a little of this, next thing I know, I'm allowing myself a little of that, and it snowballs into a very regretful etc. So no more of that. Also, by starting my New Year's resolution early I'll have a few more days practice in it.

So next time I go to a cafe to study French (maybe today actually) ~ no more soy chai (has a little oil in the soy and a sugar hit in the chai even though I get it with less chai) ~ instead, it'll just be a simple green tea.

I bought a white sweet potato at Safeway yesterday and I'm looking forward to having that soon. Maybe tomorrow. I have veggie soup at home that I want to finish up.

I certainly made out with the Christmas loot. Bunch of great sweaters that I could really use; a Razor scooter (for the swimming trip, remember? ~ and to cut my commute a bit around town); a Kindle! Which I'm very excited to start using (once I can) to learn French. It's a Kindle Touch which means it has audio so I can put French audiobooks on it. I'm really looking forward to the day that I can understand French audiobooks. I also got a giftcard for Walmart so I'm going to stock up on saline solution.

Anyway, there are a ton of processed foods here and no kitchen or sink thanks to a little mouse that nibbled the water line to my parent's fridge. So I best be moving on to the world of easily-available healthy eating...

Have fun fighting the crowds today!
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby Adrienne » Mon Dec 26, 2011 4:37 pm

Bonne chance avec le francais! :)
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Tue Dec 27, 2011 10:50 pm

Merci Adrienne. :)

I read f1jim's post in the journal section and I think it is just what I needed to hear. I had already been thinking occasionally about a good point he brings up. What I mean is I know when I tell people about my diet I often explain it as "following the Dr. McDougall program" to differentiate it from vegan, and it give it the whole "doctor" legitimacy. And yet, my friends and family know that I'm not 100% all the time. I think it will help my legitimacy to get myself to 100%. I know I can do this because I've done it for long periods of time in the past, and enjoyed it. Being very strict about McDougalling makes me a strict McDougaller. :cool:

F1jim's post gave me an idea. Since so many people struggle around the holidays, I think that's when they could use the most support. I think we should create a thread somewhere along the theme of a Holiday McDougalling Pact, where the posters make a pact with the other posters in that thread to stick to McDougalling during the holiday season.

I think taking it especially serious like this would work. I work with a woman who's in OA (Overeater's Annonymous). They have to call each other in the morning and tell the other person exactly what they'll be eating that day. And then report everything that night.

She does not eat McDougall or vegan, but I have never seen this woman eat anything other than her own food that she brings. The structure and commitment keep her stuck to her goals.

I think something similar would help McDougallers who truly want to live totally 100%, as a lifestyle, as f1jim says. I do. (I mean, don't we all?)

Now that the holidays are over.. hm.. I'm thinking of starting a New Year's Resolution Lifestyle McDougalling Pact thread, where the posters commit to using this year to McDougalling 100% of the time.

Not sure where I should put the thread or how exactly it would work. But I think I'll start my own New Year's Resolution Journal here...

(coming soon.. have to create it..)
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New Year's Resolution

Postby Caroveggie » Mon Jan 02, 2012 11:30 am

I'm starting my health new year's resolution today, when I first post it.

I want:

1. My cholesterol to be the lowest it can be through McDougalling

2. Get regular exercise

3. Fit my old clothes

These should be easy to track. The last time my cholesterol was checked was at a McDougall Advanced Study Weekend, and it was 132. I think it probably has gone up since I've had dairy, oil, and treats (maybe with eggs) since then. :oops: I know with time and McDougalling the number will go down, so I'm going to be rigid about McDougalling and that should bring the number down.

I'm not going to make a commitment to "run every day" although I'd like to be able to do that. I know from the past that some days I just need rest between the runs. I'm going to try jogging/running in the morning again the 3-4 miles along Lake St. that I used to do. It was a very good habit that I've gotten out of. So I'm going to try to get up to being able to do that regularly again.

As for my clothes, that would be the real test. Once I can fit my smaller clothes, I'll know for sure I've stuck to my resolution. Also it'll be nice to get wear out of them instead of seeing most of my closet unused.

~ * ~ * ~

This morning I was too tired to get up early to run. I'm going to have to find something healthy at lunch. I'm out of oatmeal and forgot my banana.. A good sleep schedule really helps me stay healthy.

I'll probably pick up a potato or yam at Clement for lunch. Maybe a bag of grapefruit.
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Re: Caroveggie's Training Journal

Postby Caroveggie » Wed Jan 04, 2012 4:48 pm

Grapefruit is delicious.

Haven't run once any of these mornings. Just too much of a sleepyhead. My sleep-clock is out of wonk. I'll try again tomorrow. It would be nice to get a little jog in, just something to start up again.

I got a Razor scooter for Christmas and I love it. It's a bit fast so I have to be careful but I love zipping by walkers and getting where I'm trying to go a bit faster. It's saving me a lot of time and it's lightweight and not cumbersome to bring on buses. The wheels also light up. :)

You would not believe what a little workout you can get on one of those things. I get too warm for my coat, gloves, and hat, and start breathing heavy. My leg muscles start burning. Probably because SF has so many inclines. Even little ones. You're not supposed to ride the Razor on an incline but what can I do? I just try to go slower rather than faster and avoid the bumps and pocks on the sidewalk.

But eh.. I'm still out of shape. :( For now.
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NY Resolution; Progress :)

Postby Caroveggie » Sat Jan 07, 2012 1:12 pm

Yes, indeed, I have progress to report. Not much, but it's a start.

I jogged this morning about 1/4-1/2 a mile, down to about 16th Street on Clement. Then I walked all the way to Arguello and back. Nice morning and lots of exercisers with their doggies out. I'm glad I went. I used to be able to jog/run the whole thing (about 3-4 miles) but I'm out of shape. So I'm giving myself a :thumbsup: for starting up again.

Today for breakfast I'm having my last grapefruit. Then for lunch I'm probably having pasta and broccoli:

Pasta
Broccoli (steam in bag in microwave, very quick)
heirloom tomatoes, chopped
honey
nutritional yeast

This mix is surprisingly very tasty and filling.

Tonight I'm going to the East Bay because my friend's mom wants to cook for us. Not sure what's on the menu but she knows I'm vegan. Unfortunately, she doesn't know I'm no oil also. I will make do this time and find a time to get it across to all my friends that I'm serious about McDougalling as opposed to just being vegan, and that means no oil, etc. So this should be the last time. I'll see what she cooks though. She's Mandarin/Taiwanese.

I'll stay in the East Bay 'cuz tomorrow is my friend's bowling birthday party. I should be able to navigate through suburbia OK, even without my parent's kitchen to rely on. I'm sure Sunday will be 100% McDougall. I know a lot of recipes/meals now that I can put together quickly and easily to making eating this way yummy...even without a sink or stove! Kudos pour moi.

I'll try to McDougall 100% today also. I'm kicking myself for not explaining the no oil thing to my friends more. Problem is on special occasions I allow myself treats ~ and that's usually when I'm with them.. then other times I have a feeling they see me as a fussy vegan but don't really understand that means no oil. So I'll see what her mom cooks..

Anyway, I'm glad I got a little bit of exercise, even if it's far behind where I once was. Jogging every morning really helps me stay on track.

I'm off the return the classical guitar I bought. I love it but I wanna get an acoustic one so I can learn Brandi Carlile songs. I'll wait, save up, and try to find a cheap used one.
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