Yomom & VegSeekingFit, I really appreciate your kind words. I really like having a journal here, and I actually miss it in some very real ways!
I am a firm and passionate believer that if we are to get better and better with how and what we eat, we have to internalize some ideas that are different from mainstream society’s ideas. This is the work of having a journal! Internalize, internalize, internalize.
Also, I strongly believe that it is not just about reading the right pamphlets by the right doctors, but working those ideas into your life. Personalize, personalize, personalize. — It is almost like kneading yeast into the dough, over a period of months, and then letting the dough rise, over a period of years. And then making another loaf and another loaf, of good food choices, and even better food choices. (Not bread, silly!)
Like, Dr McDougall may say, “Here are my recommendations. Go forth and do compliance!”, but Mary McDougall is not there to stock my fridge with good foods, and to quickly catch any junk food that comes into the house (gifts, free samples, stuff that hopped into your grocery cart when you weren’t looking), and get it OUT of your house before it gets INTO your mouth.
So we are the ones who get to work out what compliance is actually going to LOOK like in our own lives. This takes a good deal of time and attention to the matter, which is another way journaling comes into play.
So for all those reasons, I miss journaling here. It has always been an excellent place to get my own head in the game. I have used these boards as a tool for five and a half years now, to get my head in the game or to keep my head in the game.
And I’ve never climbed even close to my SAD weight (which was around 138), and truthfully I started to get really alarmed when my weight even climbed to 115 over this spring (when I changed jobs and moved to a different state). Was able to get my eating back in line, with the help of journaling, and also dropping the calorie density of my food.
I’ve noticed, however, that there’s such an emphasis on these boards, of thinking ONLY what dr mcdougall thinks, and doing ONLY what dr mcdougall has given his blessings on, that there isn’t always enough “space” to work things out for oneself, and find your own way forward with this way of eating.
Like, I made a post about an app I like, (whereby instead of using Cronometer to get an overview of what you ate in a meal, or in a day, you take pictures and load them into a montage), and that post got quickly “removed” to the recipes thread. (Because dr mcdougall himself never said, “Take a pic! That might help you with your compliance”.) — ?
I also made a post about cultures of accountability, which quickly got “removed” to the journaling thread. (Because I am thinking for myself, and no authority figure told me to post that??) — ?
So, it became more difficult for me to use these boards as a way for me to “internalize, internalize, internalize” and “personalize, personalize, personalize”.
I’m pretty resilient, and don’t mind a ton, but I DID make the move to not share my journaling here, for those reasons. A few too many “removed” posts for my liking!