MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

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

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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Thu Nov 17, 2011 2:15 am

So far, so good. I'm still enjoying lots of healthy food and actually having a much easier time with treats since telling myself I don't have to follow any plan, and no food is forbidden.

I realized I was really missing fresh fruits and veggies, having been relying so much on SNAP meals or hash browns and not really paying much attention to what I was craving (out of fear that what I was craving would be a lot of junk, so why bother to tune into it?). I enjoyed an organic honeycrisp apple, some raspberries, and pineapple added to my rice-n-veggies.

Also realizing there's a reason to get hungry other than self-deprivation for weight loss... it makes food taste better! I was grazing a bit all day to avoid hunger (again out of fear I'd go nuts with off plan treats if I got too hungry). So far so good, I skipped my end of day snack and saved my appetite for dinner. Made a little appetizer plate while cooking (fat free cornbread, rasperries, olives) and was very satisfied with that.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Mon Nov 21, 2011 3:10 am

Thanks buns & jan for your comments.

I'm still exploring the new attitude and having richer foods in the house. I bought a Kashi frozen pizza and where normally I'd be cooking that as soon as I got it home, I realized it's not the last pizza in the world, so I can save it for a time when I'm really, really wanting some heavier food. Also stocked up on veggies, hoping to offset some of the heavier food and keep the calorie density down.

I kind of struck a deal with myself today where I had a substantial non-MWL snack in the afternoon, and agreed I'd have a simple rice & veggies dinner with no after-dinner snacks. That worked out, and I enjoyed both the snack and the dinner. Some after dinner cravings still came up but I was able to stick to my bargain. That felt a lot better than sticking to healthy food all day then going into unplanned munching mode after dinner.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:03 am

Well I'm pretty excited that this seems to be working. When I ask myself what I truly, truly want to eat, what really sounds good, it turns out it's mostly good foods (whole plant foods, low calorie density), and smaller and less frequent amounts of richer foods and treats. I'm still engaging my brain and trying to steer myself gently toward maximizing the good stuff, but it doesn't feel like such a battle. It feels like I'm really on board with eating mostly healthy stuff, with both my head and my appetite.

Plus, somehow I've been able to keep some treats in the house and not go on repeated unplanned mini-binges. I've never been able to do that in my life.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Thu Nov 24, 2011 1:54 am

I had a little emotional eating setback yesterday. Next time I get that urge I'm going to do a 10 minute delay tactic, just sit with those feelings and then reassess what I really need.

I figured out my plan for tomorrow's feast. I'll do mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy, sweet potatoes, mixed veggies as the main meal. I have fresh apples, raspberries and dates for fruit options. For indulgences I have olives, multigrain crackers with spread, and french bread. Perrier to drink, plus I plan on having a cocktail (black russian).

There's no pie or pie making ingredients in the house. I don't want to risk it, plus I realized I'd really rather have savory treats and a cocktail than a rich dessert.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Mon Nov 28, 2011 10:51 pm

Well I have a new burst of motivation to try to simplify my diet. Do I *really* need anything but whole plant food? Why? Can I really not tolerate that sense of "but I want it"? Does my body *really* need other stuff to be well? How would I feel without it? Would I shed even more of the last bits of flab? I'm curious!

The last bits of not-whole-plant-food that I have in the house are lasting a looong time and I think I can reduce the consumption even further.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Thu Dec 01, 2011 12:36 pm

Hey, I realized I've been doing this six months now. :) :)

I'm having a good week. It feels like something has shifted for me lately. Choosing the good foods is feeling more like something I want to do and less like something I have to do. I sure hope this continues.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby Rosey » Thu Dec 01, 2011 1:24 pm

MmmCarbs wrote:Hey, I realized I've been doing this six months now. :) :)

I'm having a good week. It feels like something has shifted for me lately. Choosing the good foods is feeling more like something I want to do and less like something I have to do. I sure hope this continues.


I'm sure it will continue. Once you hit that point it's because your mind knows it's good for you too.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Fri Dec 02, 2011 3:59 am

Thanks Rosey!
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Fri Dec 02, 2011 4:16 am

Boy, I put a bit too much garlic powder on my veggies tonight. I don't like that oozing garlic smell feeling :(

I had a good food day
B: oatmeal, cherries
L: rice, veggies
S: banana
D: ww pasta, veggies, greens, garlic powder

Except for
"wasabi mix" from vending machine (190 cals, 11 grams fat), plus a handful of miscellaneous crunchy/salty junk from the open bowl.

I was hungry but not that hungry, in fact I had an extra sweet potato in my bag I hadn't finished. The wasabi mix was actually very stale! Here I had the first vending machine "treat" in weeks and it wasn't even good. Should tell me something huh?

Even at dinner, I have plenty of potatoes and rice in the house, I didn't really need to be choosing pasta over whole food.

I notice what happens when I get in these "forget about my healthy eating plan" moments is really frustration, anger & discouragement. There's a lot of that at my job. It almost feels like I'm punishing myself for not being able to get what I need there (which would be a feeling of accomplishment, being heard, being valued), so I sort of throw in the towel on my self-care plan. What the heck? Is it like I'm telling myself I don't deserve nutritious truly tasty food?

Just this morning that salty crunchy mix was sitting there, I walked past it thinking what poor food that is. Without all the salt and artificial flavors they use on it, it would be nothing but flour and oil. It really is fake food. Yet end of the day comes, I'm ground down emotionally, and I finished the dregs of the bowl. Fortunately it was nearly empty.

Oh well stuff to think about. I think the compassionate thing would be to notice & acknowledge my real feelings. Eating bad food truly is a distraction and a poor strategy for coping.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby Broadbean » Fri Dec 02, 2011 8:05 am

MmmCarbs wrote:I notice what happens when I get in these "forget about my healthy eating plan" moments is really frustration, anger & discouragement. There's a lot of that at my job. It almost feels like I'm punishing myself for not being able to get what I need there (which would be a feeling of accomplishment, being heard, being valued), so I sort of throw in the towel on my self-care plan. What the heck? Is it like I'm telling myself I don't deserve nutritious truly tasty food?


Wow! I think this is really significant.

I think the proliferation of junk food at work places in recent years is an attempt to make up for the lack of "a feeling of accomplishment, being heard, being valued" in so many jobs.

I had a job where I was completely uncredited for my labor -- I would pass on my work to a higher up person. If it wasn't up to snuff, you could be sure I'd get grief for it. But if it was good, the higher up person took credit and I'd never hear about it again. Maybe a few months later I'd get, "Oh, that project? They really loved it. They're giving us Such and Such project. Oh, by the way, where's the blah de blah de blah? I thought you were going to finish that last week!"

Oh, workplace misery.

I know for me, maybe there'd be a bowl of those hershey kisses with the almonds in them or something, and if I'd just been criticized my stupid reptile brain would be all like, Hey, TREAT! That'll make me feel better! And for a very few moments it would work.

And the larger scheme of it would be exactly as you say -- it would be easy for me to give up on my commitment to myself to eat better because I felt undeserving of that commitment.

I think you're right that acknowledging your feelings is what you need to do. But I think it's also important to find other ways of feeling good about yourself.

Do you do any kind of crafty or creative things? Of course, having a job that makes you happy is the best thing, but if you can't, having a really fun outside activity can really help. I got through a bad time doing a craft and selling it online (I should do it again). I discovered that I NEED to feel like I'm accomplished and that people appreciate my work. If I wasn't getting it at work, I had to get it somewhere else.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Mon Dec 05, 2011 1:19 am

Hi Broadbean,
Yes I think the junk food reward thing has become a trend in the workplace. I remember some years ago one of the major employers in my field started having a free soda machine. Then my company followed suit. The machine dispensed a big cup with a little bit of crushed ice, so probably 12-16 oz. Wasn't long before my "lunch" consisted of free soda and a bag of cheetos, and I probably had another soda later. Those were some dark times in my eating. :( Once I got tired of having multiple cavities at every dentist visit I managed to kick that habit. They eventually removed the machine, I assume due to cost.

It's neat that you reacted to the lack of validation by finding it in your hobby. That's a good tactic. I've dabbled in various crafty things and musical instruments but I never want to make them into a 2nd job, so it's mostly just a personal satisfaction thing for me.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Mon Dec 05, 2011 1:54 am

Well I'm not sure how well the stricter eating is working yet. It's a struggle but it's a bit different than the last round, so I guess that's progress for me.

I'm getting better able to delay or ignore the cravings. Was out shopping, got cranky-spacey hungry feeling, considered an unplanned restaurant meal or even buying a candy bar, but I decided I could probably survive until stopping at the store and eating at home as planned. The cranky-spacey feeling passed on its own without food, and I was fine for the 45 minutes or so until getting my real dinner.

The most difficult part is the late evenings where I just want to do some mindless treat munching. Real food doesn't sound appealing at all at those times, so that tells me I'm either not hungry at all, or only very slightly hungry. This hits me pretty regularly Sunday nights. I generally have some combo of bad feelings about the upcoming work week, plus some bad feelings about how the weekend went (even when it was a good weekend).

It's absolutely true that these feelings are not due to insufficient junk food intake, so it makes no sense to treat them with a food reward. It's remarkable that food actually does seem to blunt emotional distress temporarily! So if I say "no" to these impulses, right now I'm sort of left not knowing what to do with the feelings. It's a vague ball of stuff, I don't really want to dive into it because I know there's no way to solve any of it late at night, and I tend to make problems bigger than they are when I ruminate on them at night. I just need some kind of better response than eating, or making a drama out of the food struggle.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Tue Dec 06, 2011 12:13 am

Well today was free of blatant off-plan treats:

B: oatmeal, cherries
L: Subway veggie delite
S: banana
D1: rice/veggies/beans/sweet potato
S2: banana
D2: hash browns

The subway was all veggies, no avo, no cheese, no sauce, but of course the bread has HFCS and oil and barely any whole wheat flour (I can't even spot it in the ingredients list).

Unfortunately it seems I've let my coffee consumption go up. I normally limit to 3 per day, but a couple times lately I've had 4. I think I'm rationalizing it since I don't get food treats.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Thu Dec 08, 2011 1:44 am

Yesterday was all real food except for one mini-Mounds bar. Today was all real food:

B: oatmeal, cherries
L: rice, veggie/bean mix
S: banana
D: hash browns
S2: 1 Medjool date

Didn't exceed my normal coffee quota either.

I've started drinking hot water at work, using the hot water spout on the coffee machine. I thought of it yesterday because my office is freezing in the evening. It's a nice pseudo-treat with no caffeine or sugar. It would be nice to be able to add some lemon.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Fri Dec 09, 2011 2:16 am

Today I wasn't too happy with my food. Part of it is that I bit the inside of my lip last weekend and it's ulcerated and painful, so that it hurt to eat all day. Also for some reason I really didn't enjoy my rice/veggies/greens lunch today. It's the same dish I've eaten day after day and enjoyed, so I'm not sure what happened. I think maybe I overdid the quantity of greens a bit, and I wished it had some pineapple in it or some salt or something. The only part that seemed tasty was the lima beans.

I had a restaurant meal with a friend for dinner. I ate a nuked potato prior to going so I wouldn't be ravenous. It was a Thai restaurant and I noticed I actually could have stayed MWL, since they had steamed rice (even brown) and steamed veggies on the side dish menu. However I went a bit more indulgent and got mixed vegetable entree with white rice. The menu said oyster sauce so I was expecting a white sauce, but it was brown and from my thirst later I can tell it was high sodium. It was also very strongly garlicky and sweet and overall just a bit too intense. The veggies were all nice and fresh tasting though from what I could tell through the strongly flavored sauce.

I also ordered a Thai iced tea which is loaded with sugar and cream. That was a pretty big indulgence. I only ate half the meal and saved half for later. A piece of peppermint hard candy came with the bill and I ate that. When I got home my tummy was all bloated, not from volume of food, but from whatever it is that causes bloating for me. I've never been able to figure out the exact triggers, I even get it at times with MWL food. I'm also kind of reeking garlic from the sauce. So in retrospect I wish I'd had the brown rice and steamed veggies. I don't need an indulgent entree plus an indulgent beverage. Well really I didn't need either-- I enjoyed the company and conversation, which was the real purpose!

So I need to remember that even the most innocent sounding dish on the menu (mixed vegetables!) is going to be way stronger flavored, oilier, and higher sodium than what agrees with me any more. I'm still burping it all 2 hours later.
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