Grit and Determination

[bunsofaluminum]

I'm loving the template, too! I post on the Menus forum, but it's helping me so much. Especially on adding potatoes (back) into my meal plans, and yesterday, for the first time in ages, NO FLOUR PRODUCTS! woot!

As for this 3:00 AM wake-up-and-eat cycle. I've had to deal with inappropriate appetite surges, myself, and middle of the night eating is REALLY not needed. You've got your appetite sort of trained to expect food at that hour...so, what I did, what you might have to do is just not do it for a few days. Possibly a week, and your appetite will get the signal, and maybe stop waking you up in the early hours. If you do wake up, have a nice cup of tea...Tension Tamer by Celestial Seasonings is my favorite nighttime tea...Chamomile is lovely, too. Put a tsp of honey in it, and sip it. That puts something in your grumpy tummy without a lot of chewing nor is it filling, per se. But it gives that ole appetite something to quiet it down and you can go back to sleep without putting food in your stomach.

And you can TANGLE while you sip! yay!

[moonlight]

Hi Buns,
Thanks for the advice on the night time eating habit. I like the idea of drinking tea but I doubt I would heat up water in the wee hours of the morning. I will keep that in mind, though. I've been thinking about the habitual part of it, thinking that my body is trained to wake up and expect food. I'm considering fasting for 24 hours but I hate being hungry so don't know if I can do it. I have a prescription for Xanax. I take it occasionally for anxiety. I've thought about taking it nightly for a week or so. I usually sleep through the night when I take it. I'm just not sure I want to take that med on a regular basis. I would rather overcome this night time eating thing without taking a drug to help me sleep. I think, like changing my diet, I just need to keep thinking about it and trying different things until I get past the habit. Grit and determination! I apologize for all my whining! I just need to keep venting until something clicks. Cheers to midnight tangling!!!

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

1. Eliminate All Animal Foods
CHEESE in the early morning hours...
2. Eliminate All Oils

3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods: Nuts, Nut Butters, Seeds, Seed Butters, Avocados, Coconut, & Olives.
olives in the early morning hours..
4. Eliminate All Flour Products
RICE CRACKERS in the early morning hours...
5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
lunch - potatoes; dinner - potatoes
6. Eat Legumes
garbanzos
7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal
lunch 1/2 veggies; dinner - 1/3 veggies
8. Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)
gazpacho, sweet peppers
9. Restrict Fresh Fruit to No More Than Two Servings a Day, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice

10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Dr. McDougall says, "Make exercise a part of each day".
30 minutes on WaterRower

[Idgie]

Wow, good job!

[moonlight]

Thanks, Idgie. This template is really working for me. If I think about eating a starch, I immediately think about what vegetable to pair with it.

I managed to sleep through the night. No night time eating. I'm encouraged but I'll have to wake up during the night and NOT eat to be on the road to recovery.

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

1. Eliminate All Animal Foods
some feta cheese
2. Eliminate All Oils

3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods: Nuts, Nut Butters, Seeds, Seed Butters, Avocados, Coconut, & Olives.


4. Eliminate All Flour Products
a couple waffles
5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
Breakfast - millet; Lunch - rice; Dinner - potatoes
6. Eat Legumes
Garbanzos
7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal
Breakfast - 1/2 veggies, Lunch, 1/3 veggies; Dinner - 1/3 veggies
8. Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)
Dinner - big kale salad
9. Restrict Fresh Fruit to No More Than Two Servings a Day, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice

10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Dr. McDougall says, "Make exercise a part of each day".
only, but at least, 15 minutes on WaterRower

[moonlight]

My weight is at 178 lbs. I am so happy to be getting back to a normal size. I love my clothes fitting loosely. When I started gaining weight I bought clothes that just barely fit. I never wanted to wear the size I needed. I kept thinking I would lose weight. It feels nice to go around in pants that are not tight in the waist.

Two nights without getting up during the night and eating. Last night I woke up and colored for a while then went back to sleep.

I tallied the results of staying on the MWL guidelines for the last week and compared it to the previous week. I had 2 days of 100% compliance compared to 1 the week before. The guideline I struggled with the most stayed the same - eliminate all flour products. The second guideline I struggle with was exercise. These two continue to be areas that need my attention. The guideline I improved on the most was increasing vegetables in my diet. For 7 days I have had 1/2 to 1/3 of my meal in vegetables. I followed 5 guidelines 100% this week compared to only 4 last week. I think overall I am making some improvements. If I can hold onto my new behavior change of eating more vegetables and improve on 1 or 2 more guidelines, I'll be satisfied. This week my husband has been out of town. I thought that would be positive because I wouldn't be tempted to eat 'his' food. A surprising outcome was that I had no one in the house to hold me accountable! My husband doesn't scrutinize my diet but he would notice if I was eating crackers and cheese, I think. I have a harder time going off my diet if he is there. That is really crazy!! Maybe this is just another hurdle I have to learn to cross on my own. I have eaten all the crackers he left in the house. There's the cheese, though. I opened a block of feta cheese this week. It doesn't even taste good. I'm not sure why I eat it. I haven't binged on it, just eaten about an ounce on 3 separate days, always late in the evening. I'm going to throw the rest of the open package in the garbage and not open another package. There are several different packages of cheese in my refrigerator. I thought about throwing it all away but I think I need to overcome the temptation. This is another issue I need to overcome to truly have a new lifestyle of leaving animal products behind.

So, my goals this week are to increase exercise and eliminate all animal foods.

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

1. Eliminate All Animal Foods

2. Eliminate All Oils

3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods: Nuts, Nut Butters, Seeds, Seed Butters, Avocados, Coconut, & Olives.


4. Eliminate All Flour Products

5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
Breakfast - potato; Lunch - potato; Dinner - millet
6. Eat Legumes
purple hull peas
7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal
Breakfast - 1/2 squash and zucchini; Lunch - 1/2 tomato soup, zucchini; Dinner - 1/2 kale salad
8. Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)
sweet peppers, kale salad
9. Restrict Fresh Fruit to No More Than Two Servings a Day, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice

10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Dr. McDougall says, "Make exercise a part of each day".
2.5 hours gardening

[Idgie]

You got up and didn't eat??? You're a rockstar!!!

congratulations by Sean MacEntee, on Flickr

[moonlight]

Thanks, Idgie! It feels like a BIG accomplishment right now. I love the picture. Thanks, so much for your support.

[Idgie]

It's definitely a big accomplishment. You inspire me.

[Suey51]

Woohoo!!! You're making great progress with compliance to the McD Program and on the night-time eating - well done moonlight!! Keep fine tuning things, the closer you get to 100% compliance, the better the results!

Re: husband being away and crackers disappearing. I've had similar experiences, well identical in fact! He's about to go away for 6 days so I'll have plenty of opportunity to practice staying on track. Luckily there are no crackers in the house this time. When he's away I often stay up watching TV much later than I would if he was here, no idea why! So this time I plan to go to bed at my usual time, or a little earlier if I'm tempted to hunt for the wrong snacks. A bath followed by a good book, camomile tea and if I struggle to nod off, I'll listen to a meditation or relaxation track.

Keep up the good work, you've got this.

Best wishes, Sue xx

[moonlight]

Hi Sue,
Thanks for checking in with me. That's funny you have had the same experience with being alone in the house late at night and looking for the crackers! I've been watching more TV than I normally do. I'm staying up way too late and that is when my daytime willpower is all used up. I like your routine of a nice warm bath and tea. I've been thinking I need to break the routine I've been in for the last week. I've got 4 more weeks before he comes home. I think everything I'd want to eat is gone - except for the cheese. I'm going to use it as a gauge to see how I'm doing with this as a long-term lifestyle change. If I start munching through his cheese stash, I'll throw it all away. Using this template has really helped me get back on track. Now when I want to eat off plan I think about having to record it on my template. It's also been easy to assess my progress over several days. I've got a spreadsheet where I can transfer my daily progress for each guideline. Very good for seeing patterns.

I made it through another night without eating. I woke up a couple of times but just walked around the room, drank some water, then went back to sleep. That's 3 nights without eating during the night. I've realized one thing that wakes me up is sore muscles. I need to get stronger so that when I garden I'm not straining my back. It's mostly my right hip and lower side of my back that hurts. A few months ago I was exercising every day. I noticed it helped with the soreness. Hopefully I'll get a routine going on the WaterRower soon. I also want to start training with weights.

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

1. Eliminate All Animal Foods
CHEESE
2. Eliminate All Oils

3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods

4. Eliminate All Flour Products

5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
Rice
6. Eat Legumes
purple hull peas
7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal

8. Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)

9. Restrict Fresh Fruit To Two Servings a Day, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice

10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Dr. McDougall says, "Make exercise a part of each day".

[bunsofaluminum]

Two nights without getting up during the night and eating. Last night I woke up and colored for a while then went back to sleep.

Yay YOU!~!!!!! Well done!

Keep that action up, honey! it'll do you a world of good!

[VegSeekingFit]

So impressed with how you are using the template - seeing progress and learning trouble spots and considering approaches.. Woot!

[moonlight]

Well, I feel that I'm winning some battles but then losing other battles that I thought I was finished battling. I've got a late night cheese thing going on... or, just late night eating off plan. It's before I go to bed, now. I've been successful at not eating during the night for 5 nights. That's a real accomplishment. Now, if I could just stop eating the cheese... Also, I'm not making any progress on increasing exercise. Those are my challenges for now. I was hoping for a good week.... Yesterday was a real disaster for following MWL program. Today I got back on track.

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

1. Eliminate All Animal Foods

2. Eliminate All Oils

3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods

4. Eliminate All Flour Products

5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
breakfast - rice; Lunch - potatoes; Dinner -rice
6. Eat Legumes
purple hull peas
7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal
breakfast - kale, cabbage, zucchini, carrots; lunch - big kale salad; Dinner - eggplant, tomatoes, jalapeno YUM!
8. Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)
kale salad
9. Restrict Fresh Fruit, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice

10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Make exercise a part of each day
not much exercise, a little gardening and housework

TUESDAY

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

1. Eliminate All Animal Foods
cheese
2. Eliminate All Oils

3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods: Nuts, Nut Butters, Seeds, Seed Butters, Avocados, Coconut, & Olives.
almonds
4. Eliminate All Flour Products
roll
5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
rice and millet
6. Eat Legumes

7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal
all meals 1/2 veggies
8. Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)
big kale salad
9. Restrict Fresh Fruit to No More Than Two Servings a Day, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice

10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Dr. McDougall says, "Make exercise a part of each day".

[moonlight]

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

Eliminate All Animal Foods
cheese
Eliminate All Oils

Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods

Eliminate All Flour Products
sprouted wheat bread for breakfast and evening snack
Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
sweet potato, rice, potato
Eat Legumes
purple hull peas
Make Green & Yellow Vegetables 1/2 to 1/3 of meals
kale, cabbage, carrot, & zucchini with rice, kale salad
Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)
kale salad
Restrict Fresh Fruit: 1-2 Ser/day; Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree/Juice
raspberries and blueberries
Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Make exercise a part of each day
gardening and 15 minutes on WaterRower

[moonlight]

This morning I threw away the second package of cheese I've opened since my husband's been away. This behavior of mine is so surprising. I thought it would be a perfect MWL time, no temptations from my significant other. I think I've had one of the worse weeks since I started MWL for going off plan. When my husband is here I have some accountability. This is somewhat disappointing to realize I am struggling to do this on my own. It is just another hurdle, though. It will build character! Grit and determination will get it done! Out with the cheese!!

A positive behavior this week has been my increase in veggie eating with every meal. This is made lots easier because I have lots of produce from the garden sitting on my kitchen table. I always struggle with grocery shopping and keeping good food handy. So, I've gotten into the habit of shredding/chopping/spiralizing cabbage, kale, carrots, zucchini, and onion. These are all in separate containers in the fridge. I also save cooking liquid from beans and I have container(s) of starch, i.e., rice, millet, bulgur, potatoes. I can quickly sauté a few veggies in the bean juice, add the starch and I have a nice meal in less than 10 minutes. (So why would I want cheese in my diet?!?)

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

Eliminate All Animal Foods

Eliminate All Oils

Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods

Eliminate All Flour Products
two slices of sprouted wheat bread
Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
potatoes and rice and corn
Eat Legumes
white beans
Make Green & Yellow Vegetables 1/2 to 1/3 of meals
breakfast - rice and kale, cabbage, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, and white beans
Lunch - about the same as breakfast only raw veggies in a rice salad with dressing
Dinner - a repeat of lunch because it was so good and filling
Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)

Restrict Fresh Fruit: 1-2 Ser/day; Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree/Juice

Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Make exercise a part of each day
30 minutes on WaterRower