Vintagesan - One month on MWL

[Vintagesan]

Comments and Feedback

Hi Ejeff. I know I can make my own fries, but for now they are...or seemed to be...a kind of trigger food to me. That's why I try to avoid such things in the beginning of my MWL journey.

You use ketchup and mustard, Rosey? Think I never tried that combo on fries, but I will keep it mind and give it a try.

That's so kind of you, Idgie. But that's just my husband...He is like that.


Hello self-confidence my old friend - 07/07/18

Although I have lost only 5.5 pounds that week something bigger changed than just my weight.
I used to never wear something that shows my legs or too much of my arms outside. Beside the fact that I am overweight I felt ugly for both. I had strong calves as long as I can remember and the skin on my arms has never been smooth. People used to tell me that this would bother nobody but my usual summer outfit was a long jeans and a tshirt with a slightly longer arm for the past...well, 20 years?

When we had a really hot summer during that 20 years I simply didn't leave the house. I also planned my yearly vacation from work around that time, so that I didn't have to go outside. While writing this, this sounds so ridiculous to myself but yes that's how I spent the last 20 summers in my life. Yesterday I have worn a size 12-14 shorts at home. That was a mispurchase from weeks ago, when I wanted to grab just another colour but also bought a smaller size. I couldn't change it because I bought it on a weekend trip. I tried the shorts and was surprised they fit.

Later that day my husband asked me if we could drive to an outlet center. I looked down at myself and asked him if I could go out like this. "Of course you can! It looks great." So I left the house in jeans shorts for the first time of my life - and I didn't feel uncomfortable. We visited a quite crowded spot but the first time in my life I didn't had the feeling everybody is looking at me or judging. It was a nice day and I rewarded myself with a new pair of Nike shoes.

[Vintagesan]

When you are losing weight and feeling great but then you are told you are doing it wrong - 07/08/18

Okay, I am a bit confused today.
I am losing weight, I am feeling great and full of energy and now I am told I am doing it wrong.

I didn't know that beans should be limited and ate almost 2 cups daily. My meals were filling and I was never hungry, but now I've learned that only 1 cup per day is recommended. I usually cook a great amount of stew or soup which include most of the beans. Of course I added vegetables and not only had my starch and beans. In the evenings I had a big mixed salad with many delicious raw things and baked potatoes afterwards.

I felt I could go on for always like this and now I am totally confused what to eat instead.
Guess this will make things more complicated again. Damn.

Do you know if there is good overview here in the forum?
I'm not looking for recipes, just for a useful list that mentions most of the starches, the starchy vegetables and non-starchy vegetables.

[JeffN]

I have organized a thread on the best information on how to begin the McDougall program here

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=58221

Remember, the McDougall Program is more of a therapeutic program and has successfully been implemented for over 40 years. The article linked to your question in the Lounge provided McDougalls reasoning

The most important issue is to get the bigger picture down first (starch based, no oils, no animals) and then fine tune as time passes as best you can.

If you have any specific immediate health concerns, you can usually find them addressed along with any recommended modifications, under the “hot topics” and “common health concerns” under the “education” tab.

In Health
Jeff

[Vintagesan]

Thank you, Jeff.
I've spent the whole evening reading and watching yesterday and I really do feel better now. Afterwards I also finally understood what went wrong for me during my months of Starch Solution before. It's somehow interesting because I knew most of these information. I've read or watched it now and then - but never in a row. This really makes a difference.

Your 10-point-list (short MWL) is very useful and your video about Calorie Density was an eye-opener to me.

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Now I will continue fangirling because you visited my journal

[Lyndzie]

Vintagesan - I also eat more than one cup of beans per day. What I love about this diet is the flexibility. Yes, there are guidelines, but there also is room to customize it to your tastes and needs. You are doing awesome, keep it up!

[Vintagesan]

Comments and Feedback

Hi Lyndzie. Nice to know here are some other bean lovers as well. I used to binge eat before and I really do believe beans helped me to overcome this. Nevertheless, I will try to cut back a bit and see what happens...


When you can wear a smaller size than before on your current weight - 07/09/18

Is it just me or are we losing weight in a different way than before this diet?
I'm able to wear a size 14/16 at the moment, but on the same weight I had to wear a 20 before.
It's very interesting how my whole body changes currently and I'm quite fascinated I can see a difference day by day.

Today, when I wanted to put some make up on, I was really impressed how much my face changed the last days. Saves me a lot of time because I do not need to do excessive contouring anymore lol Also my belly seems to disappear, my arms and upper legs get visibly tighter...I don't need to mention how motivating this is for me, do I?

I'm quite excited about how I will look like after my month of MWL.
It's the first ever I realize that nothing is just about a number on a scale. Because like I mentioned before the last time on that weight I looked totally different and even had to wear a bigger size. Maybe this MWL experiences helps me more than just losing some weight...

[Vintagesan]

Still alive...though everybody is getting sick - 07/10/18

I tried several times to write a post here yesterday.
Unfortunately my son is not feeling so well and it's the first ever he is somehow sick. So someone needs his mama now.
I don't know if I am just spared or have better body defenses since eating much healthier, but everyone around me gets this heavy virus infection and I am not affected so far.

It may started with my sister in law.
She woke up with a temperature and had to puke all day three weeks ago. From then on everybody around me got this infection. Some even heavier than her. Currently my husband and my son don't feel well, so I spend a lot of time with caring ....and cleaning.

Just wanted to let you know I am still on track.

[Rosey]

Comments and Feedback

Is it just me or are we losing weight in a different way than before this diet?
I'm able to wear a size 14/16 at the moment, but on the same weight I had to wear a 20 before.
It's very interesting how my whole body changes currently and I'm quite fascinated I can see a difference day by day.

I think our bodies are doing different but I also know they changed the sizing to vanity sizing a few years back.

[Vintagesan]

Comments and Feedback

Rosey, I know they did this years ago. Still own a "slim jeans" from 1999. But I am talking about weight and size only months ago...I just checked the outfit I have worn at my sister in law's wedding at the beginning of the year. My weight was 205 lbs that time and I had to wear a size 20. And believe me I was pleased when I could undress at the end of the day.


All aboard. Emotional rollercoaster is about to take the next ride - 07/11/18

When I decided to stop taking the pill last year it was quite a revelation.
As a teenager I was told to take the pill because I had a slightly blemished skin. The doctor told me it would redound to the benefit of making my menstruation less painfull. Nothing changed over the years and I was given one brand after another. Last year I suffered from so many side effects that I decided to stop the intake and guess what? My skin started to become normal and my menstruation pain is gone completely. I felt betrayed!

I often read about how bad food choices deaden our feelings but I couldn't really imagine this is true. Until now.
After some days of the Starch Solution I recognized some strange things which I wasn't used to - my feelings. Gosh, you cannot even imagine what kind of thoughts crossed my mind. It was both, exciting and scaring at the same time. It was also an eye-opener to me, because suddenly I understood why I used to eat when I was in a bad mood. It was not to make me feel better...it was to kill these feelings. I didn't want to make myself vulnerable to others.

To understand why this is important to me I need to tell something from the past.
When I was younger I always wanted to become a writer. I started to write my first kinds of novel at the age of 7. I found out that I am able to empathize with my characters when I brought myself to their mood. Usually I listened to music (-and that's why I love so many different styles ) and switched my mood from happy to sad, from mortal fear to euphoria and so on. At school I used this for my language school subjects by only thinking of a special song or listening to it just right before a test.

When I grew older I often regret that I stopped writing with supposedly no reason.
Now I understand what happened. And to sum it up I will try to use it. I'm planning to write again. Writing always helped me and also others - so I'd like to try it once again. Maybe I won't become a best-selling author but I will be able to write again. I know it.

In my opinion feelings are necessary.
Not only for things like writing. They help us to heal, to grow, to interact...They remind us of important things in our lives. They may seem as a weakness to some but for me it's one of the most powerful abilities we have.


(Gosh, always when I write something like this I am scared to press the Submit button. IT#s not so easy to express that kind of feelings and thoughts when you are not writing in your own language. But I hope it's still comprehensible? )

[Idgie]

I am so glad to see you are back in touch with your feelings and back to writing! I recommend the book "The Right to Write" by Julia Cameron for giving you even more inspiration to strengthen your writing muscle.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi! What a great place to be in - getting in touch with your feelings, listening to music, loving to write. Glad that you hit the "submit" button. Your writing is engaging and "real". You go, girl!!!

[Vintagesan]

Comments and Feedback

Thank you for the book recommendation, Idgie. I also found a German version of this book and will order it.

Thank you, Stephanie.


The Hash Brown Dilemma - 07/12/18

Usually I'm not into trying out different recipes. Or let's say I'm still a bit afraid of it.
I have the feeling I've found some meals which I could stay with the rest of my life - they are filling, they are tasty and I even lose weight with them. So why shall I change a running system?

For some reason I was in the mood for hash browns.
First of all I'd like to say that I never ever really enjoyed hash browns - although I live in Germany.
I'm more into something which is translated as "potato pancake / potato fritter". Since this seems to be an impossible dish on the program - - I consider hash browns as a reasonable compromise.

So I was looking for MWL friendly recipes. Here in the forum and of course through the interwebs.
I found quite a lot ideas. Some sounded good, but contained flour. And for all recipes without flour I start to get frustrated. I cannot count how many versions I've tried now. Some in a pan, some in my waffle iron, some at the oven, some in my air fryer.
I don't know if it's the authors of the recipes or me - but no recipe really pleased me. And to be honest: The kitchen was the room which needed to be cleaned up more than ever after some of these recipes.

I will continue lookig for anything that works, but at the moment it seems I'm not ale to create a hash brown that sticks together AND taste.

[Vintagesan]

Plans for the following week - 07/13/18

This week I lost 3 pounds. Not so much than the week before, but I am still very happy with my result.
Though a part was probably water intake in week 1, I want to make a closer look at both weeks.

In week 1 I ate quite simple things. Stews or soups which contained a lot of beans and vegetables. I did all recipes with potatoes. In the evening I had a big salad every day and baked or pan-fried potatoes. The first week was so perfect for myself. I didn't have to prepare and cook all the time, I always had something which I could take with me to work as well. But then I found out that I probably eat too many beans and wanted to cut a bit back on week2.

In week 2 I tried not to use as many beans anymore. It sounded so easy, but it became more difficult than expected. I still prepared a big amount of food in one cooking session, so I could take from it whenever I feel hungry and of course so that I could still take something with me to work. Anyway, I found my meals not so filling anymore. It was the first time I became hungry quite early after a meal. Because of that I also ate "more" because I used to eat whenever I was hungry. While in week one my stews/soups got me through the whole day, in week two the same amount of food lasted till the early afternoon. So I definitively had to cook "more". In the evenings I sometimes was so hungry that I had problems to get tired. Nevertheless I tried to finish this weeks experiment for myself.

For week 3 I'm planning to increase the amount of beans again.
I will try to compromise a solution between my amount of week 1 and the amount recommended on this program.

[Idgie]

It's normal to lose an exceptional amount in your first week, a lot of which is water. You're doing great!

[Vintagesan]

When others try to make you down ... - 07/14/18

I'd like to tell you it doesn't bother me when someone around me says I should try this or that diet, or how I would lose more weight in less time. Unfortunately, it makes me sad...really sad. But maybe not in a way you may think of...

I do not feel unhappy about MWL.
Actually I lost more weight in just 2 weeks than expected and -beside the bean issue - I feel good with this program. So what I am worrying about? All these sideswipes show me how other people see me or, to say the least, how they see me not.

For others I MUST be unsatisfied and unhappy. I MUST feel miserable and be sad all the time. I MUST feel unattractive, ugly, unloved. If I appear otherwise than supposed to them, they seem to feel the need of reminding me of these things. I don't understand why people do so but it really happens to me most of the time. Even with family and friends and not just only with the media.

It's difficult enough that media shows us how a "perfect woman" has to look like.
Funny or sad side note: One of my co-workers told another colleague and me about his 12 year old son. His son and some other boys were catched at watching a porn movie on one the boys' cellphone at school. He told us about his wife who pleased him to talk about "that issue" with their son and he unavoidably he had to think about his first porn experience. He told us that as a boy he believed all beautiful women live only in the US. Because he never saw a girl like those girl in his movies around. He admit he had these thought until his late (!!) teenager years and so all girls and women he ver met untill then were ugly for him. He even felt ashamed for his mother and couldn't understand why his father could love such an ugly woman. No need to tell that I was completely shocked after he told us this. I asked how he found out he was wrong all the time. He explained he did an exchange year at school and went to the US when he finally realized all girls and women there looked like the girls and women in Germany as well. On the one hand he was sad because he always wanted to have such a girlfriend ( ) but on the other hand he felt relieved, because he wasn't sure if a man like him could get a girl like them. So I asked him "Do you feel wiser now? " but I got an answer I wasn't expecting. "Maybe. But I am more shocked why not all women want to look like this. It's possible to look like this - the ladies in the movies show this as well as models. If all people would do a bit more for their appearance we wouldn't have to look at fat and ugly females."

I wasn't able to reply to this. I was shocked too much.
Yes, this is only ONE opinion from one stupid man, but sometimes I feel everybody is looking at me with exact that kind of thought. Instead of being delighted for me that I lost weight my mother just used to tell my sister lost more weight in less time. Instead of attenting to his own affairs one of my husand's friends enjoys to tell me "a normal man" couldn't love a woman like me. He also is the one who usually asks me things like "Are you really happy looking LIKE THIS?" or "What will you do when a beautiful woman crosses his way?". Not more beautiful than me. Just beautiful. Which makes clear how ugly I am for him.

Honestly, I would like to be able to ignore such things, but I can't. And I really think it's unfair. There is so much hatred and lack of understanding when it comes to overweight people. Sometimes I believe that this kind of being-perfect-pressure we are all exposed to needs to be released from time to time. In simple words: Some people may just do this to other people because in that moments they feel better. Or not so imperfect anymore. Maybe dissing other people makes these people feel they belong to the "better ones".

Actually I don't know.
I am overweight and I know how it feels. I feel no need to give another person that kind of feeling I have to handle 95% of a day. 5% is dreaming about not to feel like this anymore or being tired enough to not think about it for a short time. I think it is both, difficult to explain as well as to understand. People simply cannot imagine how it feels when they have never been there. It's not only about feeling uncomfortable from time to time. It's not just being natures chubby mistake. It's like being a monster - a kind of creature other find disgusting and are afraid of. It's like you can achieve anything in your life - but you stay a ugly creature. And you are "forced" to be normal, while normal means nothing else than being perfect.

And I'm so fed up with this.
It was me who made the wrong food choices before. I am responsible for how I look today.
So why is my appearance, my weight, ad so on f***ing everybody's business?!
Will I be like that when I am -maybe- lean one day? Will I just go around and make other people feel sad?

I am glad there are such people as plus size models.
Overweight people who look fabulous and show the word their self-confidence - and who are as succesful as their lean colleagues. Nevertheless I sometimes feel it gives the wrong message. I know they want to appear and make sure "Hey, the cool items are for us as well". But when I look at the ordinary catalogue all plus size items are presented as control-jeans, shaping-trousers, lose shirts, wide pullovers... it gives me the messag "It's okay you are not perfect, but please let us help you to make you look a bit more perfect than now." Why do I always need to cloak myself? Although I wouldn't have the self-confidence to wear it, why isn't it normal to sell miniskirts and minidresses for overweight people as well? Why is everything forming, hiding and shaping?
I'm so fed up with this.

And what I hate the most is the irony.
When a lean girl loses weight everybody is blaming the the model agencies for giving a young girl weird expectations of being perfect. When a girl is fat then model size is the standard.

Wow...seems I needed to let of steam.
Sorry for this clutter of post but I feel somehow better afterwards now.