I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

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

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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby donaldpetemc » Wed Jan 04, 2017 9:25 pm

Thanks for the pep talk. I'm four days into this and still okay. Congratulations on the wonderful success you've had.
Anne

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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Thu Jan 05, 2017 10:47 pm

I have not been having a great deal of success in following the MWL plan over the past few holiday weeks. We have entertained or been out a great deal and I have ended up cooking/baking or ordering things that I think others would enjoy in order to have positive feedback about how tasty or appealing that eating this way can be. I recognize how this must sound.
Our holidays will end after this weekend, so my intention is to get back to a more calorie dilute version of this eating plan then.

More positively (and to temper Tuesday's less than positive spin on how I have been doing), I am overall quite satisfied with how I have eaten over this holiday season. I think it was a great attempt at avoiding off plan foods in the face of constant temptation and opportunity. I have boxes of chocolate sitting in my home that I have not touched. I have off plan snack foods that I have also not touched (all will be gone tomorrow evening, thankfully). I went to the movie theatre and did not eat the popcorn. I ate out quite often and most restaurants accommodated quite well. I am proud of those choices.

Well, I am off to tuck in a whole bunch of my kids and their cousins. Sleepover night at our house!
Good night all.

Thursday's Food:
ImageImageImage
ImageImageImage
ImageImageImage
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Pictured here:
1) Oatmeal, cinnamon, brown sugar
2) Red pepper
3) Celery
4) Raw cucumber, carrot, sugar snap peas, whole wheat pita chips, homemade avocado corn salsa
5) More pita chips and avocado salsa
6) Moroccan Red lentil soup and plain shredded kale salad with pepitas and dried cranberries
7) Frozen corn and broccoli, tofu veggie stir fry with low sodium soya sauce
8 ) Mary McDougalls banana bread
9) More banana bread
10) Sliced apples
Not pictured:
2 pots of green tea
2 more slices of banana bread

Recipes:

Banana Bread: http://www.nealhendrickson.com/McDougall/030700purecipes.htm

Moroccan Red Lentil Soup: https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/recipes/featured-recipes/moroccan-red-lentil-soup/

Pita Chips: I cut and bake whole wheat oil-free pitas into triangles. Spread open on a cookie sheet and bake for 12-13 minutes at 300F.

Avocado Corn Salsa: Mix green onions, corn, red peppers, and 1 diced avocado with 1/2 juice of a lime and some salt to taste. (This was adapted from a recipe at one point a few years ago, I just cannot remember which one)
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Sat Jan 07, 2017 9:19 pm

I've been having a lovely holiday with my family. When all of the children are home, the house is full of music and laughter and conversation and games (and disagreements and mess and noise - the Marches, we are not!). It's fun and hectic and always passes too quickly. But, the wonderful holidays make it wonderfully difficult to keep to a routine. Without mine, I tend to drift towards less than optimal choices.

These choices had almost led me to stop posting in the photo journal today. To be consistently saying one thing and doing another, like promoting eating the MWL version of this program while eating the regular version makes for some feelings of disappointment in myself. And then to continue to display my inability to get it right is quite a difficult thing to force oneself to do. I keep hoping the embarrassment that it makes me feel will help me hasten the process of adopting the MWL program. Many diet programs suggest doing something similar when starting a new plan, such as to tell your friends and family about your new diet, that way you will feel accountable not just to yourself.
This strategy doesn't seem to be working for me. Other than making me feel bad.
I'd better just get back to gritting my way through a tough 3-4 days of very simple eating until my rational self has a bit more control over my impulsive (or maybe more correctly instinctual?) self.

I'm going to need to bake some potatoes!

Friday's food:
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ImageImageImage
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Not pictured:
3-4 more pieces of the banana cake (yep, I ate it all)
1 pot of green tea

Saturday's food:
ImageImageImage
Not pictured:
1 more bowl of brown rice and 3 bean chili
2 pots of green tea
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby roundcoconut » Sat Jan 07, 2017 10:19 pm

amandamechele, i just want to pop in and comment that when I look at your journal here (because that is how I "read" -- I look at the pictures!), I am just seeing smart choices upon smart choices. If there were some mediocre choices in there for a few days or even every day for a full week (and thank you for not honoring the rich crap with a photo!), well, there is still this overall process of elite-level health and total sexiness, taking place here.

I mean, that IS how this storyline goes, right?

Much love to you! I DO think that's how this storyline goes for you, as long as you hold the same vision and can look at your outer world, and pull THAT into alignment with your vision.

You're doing so well! The big picture says that you're doing SO so well! :)
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby Yomom » Sat Jan 07, 2017 11:15 pm

Amy
Please do not be so down on yourself. As a young mother of four, over a busy and joyful holiday season, you have held the course remarkably well. You are an inspiration to the rest of us. We so appreciate your leadership over at the MWL weekly weighins. It is so great to have a leader who actively participates in the challenge.
Kathy
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby GlennR » Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:10 pm

Yomom wrote:Amy
... We so appreciate your leadership over at the MWL weekly weighins. It is so great to have a leader who actively participates in the challenge.
Kathy


Seconded!
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby roundcoconut » Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:20 pm

Yomom wrote:Amy
... We so appreciate your leadership over at the MWL weekly weighins. It is so great to have a leader who actively participates in the challenge.


Yes! Ditto this.

It is interesting how many people have gotten a negative impression of these boards, or the McD facebook group, just based on one or two people being vocally nasty, scoldy and harsh. So it is a ray of sunshine to have people who GET what we're doing here, but are nice about it.

It helps people a lot -- even when they have horrible nutritional information when they arrive here -- to receive warmth and encouragement from people like you! :)
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Mon Jan 09, 2017 8:44 pm

Thank you Kathy and Traci and Glenn! I appreciate each of your kind words, sometimes I let the details get in the way of the bigger picture.
Traci - You are always there for people on these forums, with knowledge and a gentle perspective. I am in awe of your ability to get your thoughts across so clearly and in such detail. (PS. I noticed some changes on one of the Facebook pages, do you know what happened? The algorithm that Facebook uses to tailor my newsfeed's information seems to think I am inordinately fond of babies and cats and obesity research, so unless I go looking in my Facebook groups, I never know what's going on)

Today's food:
ImageImageImage
Pictured here:
1) Kid's uneaten plain oatmeal
2) brown rice, 3 bean Chili, broccoli sprouts and raw green beans, blueberries
3) pomelo (the size of 3 oranges, at least)
Not pictured:
2 pots of green tea

Yesterday's food:
ImageImage
Pictured here:
1)Kinsley Restaurant: white rice, tea, steamed veggies and steamed bean sprouts and tofu in soy sauce (sprouts had small amount of oil - I had been very hopeful that this restaurant could accommodate the no-oil, they feel they did, but the proof is in the picture)
2) pomelo (the size of 2 oranges, maybe)
Not pictured:
2 pots of green tea
930 calories of whole wheat crackers and dark chocolate (The kids forgot a bag of their fundraiser chocolate at home and I discovered it...poor decisions prevailed.)


I am calm and at peace today (how I'd actually say it if asked - I'm all good here). Tone can sometimes be difficult to discern from a typed page. These notes and additional notes below are just me reflecting and trying to learn why I behave the way I do, in order to develop prevention strategies.

Notes:
Since starting the photo journal I have included every single food I have eaten in it. Most of the time via a photo, but when I have forgotten to take one I have added it to the bottom in the Not Pictured section (if there is no verbal description on a particular day, the only thing not accounted for is the green tea).
Roundcoconut made a good suggestion to not include the off plan food photos. It's unfair to others doing so well.
I actually did photograph yesterday's binge, hoping that would stop it in it's tracks...but it didn't...but maybe it was lessened, that I cannot know. What has made today not feel as bad as expected are all of the encouraging words from everyone. I'll pick myself up and get back on track now, thank you.

Additional notes:
Have I put myself into the Ego trap? Were my previous few weeks choices not that bad? I'm not sure. They weren't perfect, as in 100% MWL compliant. Did my need for "perfection" lead to last night's binge? Did my embarrassment about posting about it exacerbate an otherwise "okay" week? I have a feeling I am wrong when I said the other day that displaying my poor choices via photographs is only making me feel bad but not affecting those choices (or is not a good strategy). Dr. Lisle has talked about this in a few of his recent McDougall webinars. I mean, I haven't disappeared down a binge induced rabbit hole again today, and that's progress based on my history.
So, now let's just repeat that tomorrow and the next day, and then reassess how I am feeling about myself.
Alright, I'd better get to bed before this devolves into total word salad.
Have a wonderful evening all! I'm about to delve into a gripping Dr Seuss story with my youngest, who cannot sleep.
Last edited by amandamechele on Wed Jan 11, 2017 9:52 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby Yomom » Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:36 pm

Ha ha. Enjoy reading Dr. Seuss! Our youngest just turned 24 years old, and my husband and I can still recite "The Cat in the Hat" from memory.
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby sirdle » Mon Jan 09, 2017 9:44 pm

Oh! Are we talking Dr Seuss?

DR. SEUSS EXPLAINS WHY COMPUTERS SOMETIMES CRASH
(Best if read out loud.)

If a packet hits a pocket
on a socket on a port,
and the bus is interrupted
at a very last resort,

and the access of the memory
makes your floppy disk abort.
Then the socket packet pocket
has an error to report.

If your cursor finds a menu item
followed by a dash,
and the double-clicking icon
puts your window in the trash;

and your data is corrupted
cuz the index doesn't hash,
then the situation's hopeless
and your system's gonna crash.

If the label on the cable
at your house,
says the network is connected to
the button on your mouse,

but your packets want to
tunnel to another protocol,
that's repeatedly rejected
by the printer down the hall,

and your screen is all distorted
by the side effects of gauss,
so your icons in the window
are as wavy as a souse;

then you may as well reboot
and go out with a bang,
cuz sure as I'm a poet,
the sucker's gonna hang !

When the copy of your floppy's
getting sloppy in the disc
and the microcode instructions
cause unnecessary risk,

then you'll have to flash the memory
and you'll want to RAM your ROM.
Quickly turn off the computer
and be sure to tell your Mom!
"Before Enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment chop wood, carry water." -- Zen proverb
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby glo » Tue Jan 10, 2017 9:58 am

Hi Amandamechele,
Trying to settle in again after the long trip to see my sister. Thank you for your kind post.
I'd like to read your entire journal. Amazing, and I love the photos. Also the Dr. Seuss poem! - "and the access of the memory
makes your floppy disk abort." THAT's ME! :) - glo
Always learning! — glo
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby roundcoconut » Wed Jan 11, 2017 11:45 am

amandamechele, here's my perspective, and TOTALLY take it for what it's worth.

(I'll tell you just as a point of hilariousness, that I am a self-appointed expert on how to think. Some people feel that sloppy thinking is perfectly OK and won't hurt them any, but in my self-appointed role, I'll smack you on the nose with a newspaper for any nonsense that doesn't help you toward your goals!)

When you start going off-plan on a regular basis, the best thing to do is to acknowledge that and start putting it behind you. Go past tense on EVERYTHING that you did that wasn't your best move ever.

You don't want to start excusing and rationalizing, because that works against your goals. When people start consoling you that your indiscretions "weren't that bad" and "dont' feel bad about going off plan", or you start consoling yourself by minimizing sloppy eating, understand that this is not helpful or useful to you. This is enabling.

So, the perspective, "I just ate some vegan cake. But it was vegan! And the pieces weren't that big!" -- is not so helpful, because you are practicing making excuses for behaviors that run counter to your goals. What you practice you get good at, right? So NO NEED to practice making excuses or rationalizations for bad behaviors, because YOU DON"T WANT TO GET GOOD AT DOING THAT!

Am I making sense?

However, the "looking backward" approach of dweling on errors, kinda blows, because you can't build on failure. If we say, "I had ten SAD meals last month", there is no encouragement in that. So maybe you quickly acknowledge that you've made some imperfect choices in the past, but I want you to quickly move on to the things you are doing well at, or ready to do well at. Even if you are only remnding yourself that you had a cup of tea this morning (good!) and that you've got all the ingredients for a healthy soup in your fridge.

So yes! Have good discernment, and be someone who can tell the difference between good behaviors and bad behaviors, and speak positively only about the good behaviors. But do not dwell on what you've done wrong, because you need a basis from which to push onward.

Got it??

Rooting for you always! Good vibes to you for the next week or so, as you pul things back to the high levels you like to be at....
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Wed Jan 11, 2017 7:28 pm

Hi Kathy - I enjoy Dr Seuss more now as an adult than I ever did as a child.

Sirdle - Is that really by Dr Seuss? It's very clever, thank you for the smile.

Glo - I'm glad your sister is doing better and that you are still here on the forums plugging away after such a stressful period.

Traci - Thank you for rooting for me and sending the good vibes. I will take that encouragement and run with it. :-D What you say does make sense.

Tuesday's food:
ImageImageImage
ImageImage
Pictured here:
1) Grocery store pre cut mixed fruit bowl
2) Raw green beans, broccoli sprouts, a potato and mustard, brown rice, 3 bean Chili
3) Green grapes, blueberries
4) Sugar snap peas, raw carrots, more microwaved potatoes and mustard, bowl of Portuguese potato squash soup
5) 2 pears
Not pictured:
2 pots of green tea

Wednesday' food (today):
ImageImage
ImageImage
Pictured here:
1) Brown rice, instant pot lentils and leeks, raw carrots and green beans
2) pomelo
3) oatmeal, cinnamon, brown sugar
4) bowl of Portuguese potato squash soup
Not pictured:
2 pots of green tea

Recipes:
Portuguese Squash Soup: From a MWL contributor named Anne:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=54072&start=75#p551252

3 Bean Chili: This is my super-secret recipe for the Chili that I eat every day (don't tell anyone...hee hee):
Some people find it quite hot!
1 chopped onion,
3 cloves of garlic
Sodium free cans of:
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can chickpeas
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp cumin
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 can Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. (I chop these into smaller pieces and use all of the sauce in the can)
1 to 2 cups of frozen corn
Sauté onions and garlic until soft, add cumin, add tomatoes and tomato paste.
Now add the baking soda (this will foam a bit so wait a minute or two before adding the other ingredients)
Add all other ingredients and simmer for 45 mins or longer.
This recipes contains 250-350 mg of added sodium per serving (depending on if it's 8 or 10 servings). To lower the sodium with a similar flavour omit the baking soda as it represents approx 60-85 mg per serving.
ImageImageImage
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95182338@N07/with/27302768932/

Instant Pot Lentils and Leeks - I just made this out of stuff in the fridge and don't think it really deserves a recipe. It is good, but not that good. Spices are cardamom pods, smoked paprika and Mrs Dash and a bay leaf.
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Thu Jan 12, 2017 8:26 pm

Thursday's food:
ImageImageImage
ImageImage
Pictured here:
1) Brown rice, green onions, lentil leek stew, 3 clementines
2) 1/2 small pineapple
3) Raw carrots and green beans, green grapes, an apple
4) Portugese Squash soup , broccoli sprouts, twice baked potato (1 large russet)
5) 1 more potato (1/2 large russet)
Not pictured:
1 pot of green tea
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Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Fri Jan 13, 2017 10:27 pm

Friday's Food:
ImageImageImage
ImageImageImage
Pictured here:
1) Cup of fruit, Green tea
2) Raw red pepper, salad greens, twice baked potato (1 large russet)
3) Banana
4) Oyshi Sushi: Miso soup, edamame, green tea, kappa maki, Veggie Futo Maki
5) Blueberries, carrots, homemade hummus, sparkling water
6) More blueberries
Not pictured:
1 pot of green tea, plus 2 cups
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