Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny

[JohnLarson]

I have not posted here in a while. Since we got back from the funeral I haven't been to the gym, but I have eaten 100% MWL. I weighed in today at 229.5. A little short of my goal, but considering the SAD meals back in Nebraska, I am quite happy. I am not going to get on the scale until February 15th. Besides the Super Bowl, my meals will be real simple. I am doing a 13 Day Mary's Mini challenge, starting today. My meals will be large salad, bowl of steamed vegetables, and brown rice casserole., eaten in that order.

I signed up to run in a 5k on February 23rd. I have about 3 weeks to get ready for it. I will be walking and running on this one. I am not sure when I will make it to the gym again. Things are a little hectic. For the Super Bowl I will be making a meatless chili with black and white beans. It will be very spicy. We have sort of a chili cook off going on. Mine will have the fake nest crumbles in it. I won't tell anyone it is meatless, until after the voting.

I needed a pair of black dress pants. My current dress pants were too big and my next set of pants didn't have any black ones. It was nice buying 36" pants. I got a pair on clearance. I thought for a second about rewarding myself with a more expensive pair, then reminded myself that in less than six months, they will be too big. I do have some real nice 34" dress pants from when I first got my job in sales 5 and half years ago. When I start wearing them, I might buy some more pants. They are like new. I started in September and by December I needed looser fitting pants. Then in about 10 months I had to go up a size. I really don't like most of my 36" pants. I got them on sale and they aren't the brand I normally buy. They also aren't wrinkle-free, which makes more work. I am going to do my best to get back into the 34" pants quickly. The pants and jeans are real motivational. Plus Alphonso and Josh are looking trim and fit. They are great motivation.

[Wild4Stars]

Good JOB! Having nice clothes you want to get into can be a real motivator.

[Anna Green]

John, great to see you are doing so well! Let us know about the chili cookoff. I vote for you already!

[JohnLarson]

Good JOB! Having nice clothes you want to get into can be a real motivator.

The clothes thing is a big deal. I am not allowed to donate my old clothes, yet. They are going into a storage bin soon. So far I have a stack of 6 or 7 pairs of dress pants that need to be stored and a belt.

[JohnLarson]

John, great to see you are doing so well! Let us know about the chili cookoff. I vote for you already!

The chili came out great, it was vegan, not 100% McDougall, but my next batch will be. I did give the dogs the leftovers because I am doing another brown rice Mary's Mini until Valentine's Day (if not longer) I was tied for second. I only told a few people about the meatless vegan beef crumbles. Mine got plenty of compliments.

[JohnLarson]

I went to the gym today! First time since I was in Nebraska. I just walked fast on the treadmill for an hour. I am signed up for a 5k on the 23rd of this month. So I am going to focus on running.

I had a little bit of SAD food yesterday, but I didn't have corn chips, pretzels, dips, salsa or many of the normal football fair. I did sample some of the other chili, but it didn't throw me into a complete relapse. I am going to stay off the scale until the 15th and whatever damage I did on Sunday I am not going to beat myself up over. I am okay with what I ate and proud of myself for not saying "F it". I even just drank water and no sodas or tea.

My clothes are fitting better. I am going to look at my old journal to see where I was six years ago, an old Facebook post came up this weekend where I did a before and after photo from August to February and I remember being real happy with the results. I am not sure if I am at the same weight now or not. I feel like I have a long way to go and really focusing on one day at a time.

I don't have many food challenges coming up. There might be something with the motorcycle riders on Saturday, but so far I have just drank tea and said I had already ate. It hasn't been an issue, but I am new and once they get to know me better I am sure someone will ask or say something. I did volunteer to work the grill in April. I have no issue with cooking meat and I am certainly not an ethical vegan. I will have to make sure I have a great breakfast and bring something to munch on as it will be over 5 hours.

I want to get back to posting here daily. I also have some Facebook groups I am attempting to post in on a regular basis, the accountability helps. I might have to let some of them go. I feel like I am spreading myself too thin (nice word) and I am also finding myself becoming bothered by some of the misinformation in some of the Facebook groups. I have had to backspace quite a few comments. There is all sorts of bad advice out there. I feel for those that try to explain the program and have to battle with those that want to do it there own way. I have been on both sides of this. I am so glad that Dr. McDougall has so much information available and is also willing to answer emails. I also agree with him when he says, "People want good news about their bad habits".

I will do better making posting here a top priority. I can always copy and paste stuff from here on Facebook.

I stocked up on lettuce and frozen vegetables. My meals for the near future are pretty much the same: big salad, big serving of steamed veggies, baseball size serving of brown rice casserole. I am putting the serving size in this description, the amount of brown rice I have been eating has greatly reduced. I am more or less doing the "Hasty MWL" plan. If I am still hungry at a meal, I will repeat the steamed veggies first and then another serving of brown rice. I also have pickled okra and carrot chips to snack on if needed. Today I put three pieces of okra in my salad.

[Wild4Stars]

You've got things going in the right direction. I think your attitude is better and your commitment stronger this time. I truly believe what I say all the time, "The longer you're compliant, the stronger you're compliant." Vikki

[JohnLarson]

:thumbsup:
You've got things going in the right direction. I think your attitude is better and your commitment stronger this time. I truly believe what I say all the time, "The longer you're compliant, the stronger you're compliant." Vikki

I was looking back through my first journal and my first six months on plan. I also ran across a few of my posts when I had "returned" to this WOE. One I even mentioned how it had become a joke to my friends and family, because I was always going back. Today I am not even talking to them about it, except for my wife. I think getting a solid 100% ten days in was key, maybe even a good solid seven days. I could go about four days and then start feeling deprived or not getting results quick enough. It took me six years to put this weight back on, it will take at least six months to a year to take it off. It will not happen overnight.

Today I understand the hardcore 100%ers. I also know that I don't have to give up anything "forever". One day I might eat some ribs or chicken wings. Maybe a banana split. Who knows. But just for today, I will follow a program to get me to my optimum health. Dr. McDougall writes in MWL a couple of times about "feast meals" or "festival foods". I just don't need to worry about all of that right now. On Super Bowl Sunday I sampled some SAD chili, it was good. I also had some vegan chili and filled up on that. I also avoided the corn chips. A few bites of SAD food did not cause me to go into full SAD mode. In the past it would have. I still need to be mindful of the little tastes and samples. I don't need to do it on a regular basis. I also don't need to make a big deal about any of it, one way or another. I can eat on plan and not wish to eat SAD food. I don't have to be all depressed because I "can't" eat some buffalo chicken chili. I had a taste. I am sure I can make some similar at another time. I do like buffalo wing sauce on top of a potato. I can eat whatever I want, but today I want to follow this way of eating. It is much easier to stay on track than to get back on track.

[bunsofaluminum]

John, I love the pants thing! It's the best feeling in the world for your clothes to fit loose! ha! you're doing it! and an inspiration for me, when I get ready to dive into a Mary's Mini. For now, keeping added fats out is my only goal. And like you, Super Bowl time was a teeny tiny bit of off plan wandering and YES keep off the scale for a couple of weeks!

Keep going! you're doing it. Keep us posted on the 5K!

[JohnLarson]

John, I love the pants thing! It's the best feeling in the world for your clothes to fit loose! ha! you're doing it! and an inspiration for me, when I get ready to dive into a Mary's Mini. For now, keeping added fats out is my only goal. And like you, Super Bowl time was a teeny tiny bit of off plan wandering and YES keep off the scale for a couple of weeks!

Keep going! you're doing it. Keep us posted on the 5K!

The keeping away from the scale is hard. I looked at some old posts and this has been a struggle for me. I have done pretty good this week.

[JohnLarson]

Slept in and didn't go to the gym.

Keeping my food real simple. I forgot to buy some Mrs. Dash lemon pepper, so I am almost out. I do have some other Mrs. Dash, so I will be using them. I really like the Mrs. Dash. My servings of my starch aren't nearly as big as they used to be. That part of my Mary's Mini is going great. I haven't missed fruit, which is weird. I have wanted to eat more air fryer french fries, but I committed to do a Mary's Mini in a facebook group that I don't think people are really active in. So who knows, I might just do this Mary's Mini thing on weekdays and eat MWL on weekends, which was my plan.

L: salad, steamed veggies, spicy brown rice
D: salad, spicy brown rice

I will need to make another batch of rice up. I bought some sort of mixed wild rice that I might make. I was thinking about adding mushrooms to it. Maybe some onions and peppers. I will share what I come up with. I also ran across my "starch soup" meal that was diced potatoes, rice, and corn with vegetables. I might make that also. I think that had peas and carrots in it and I don't have them on hand.

It has been odd, I just haven't been hungry lately.

[JohnLarson]

Slept in, actually overslept.

No exercise today.

I already posted yesterday's food, last night. Nothing real to add since last night, but want to post here earlier in the day.

I am at work and they have some box lunches from Honey Baked hams. I will be going home to eat. Life is good.

[JohnLarson]

I really was planning on going to the gym this morning, just didn't make it. There has been just too much going on.

I am going to start doing push ups and sit ups at home in the morning. Even if I don't go to the gym.

Yesterday's food:

L: salad, steamed veggies, spicy brown rice
D: salad, steamed veggies, mushroom wild rice

I really liked the mushroom wild rice, I only made a small batch, but will be making a larger batch this weekend. I am eating just rice as my starch until the 13th. It might be until the 15th. So this weekend I will stick to my Mary's Mini. I have stayed off of the scale and will wait until the 15th. I really like having rice on hand to eat. I also like having meals prepped in advance. After this "challenge", that maybe 5 people are doing, I will be do my mini Mary's Mini during workweek and on weekends (and maybe Friday nights) eating MWL. I think that is a great plan. I know I am eating much less in the evenings when it is the same food as from lunch, but even yesterday, when it was a different rice dish, I wasn't super hungry after my vegetables. I am making a pretty big serving of vegetables.

I have also decided to wait until the scale shows under 220 to try on my next set of dress pants and jeans. I am close, but it is frustrating. Some of the jeans sort of fit, but some just are too tight to button. I want to be able to wear them comfortably. I am able to wear some clothes I haven't felt comfortable in for quite a bit. Today i am wearing a polo shirt that hasn't been worn in five years.

[JohnLarson]

It was a busy weekend. Not much exercise and I didn't go to the gym this morning. I also didn't start my sit ups and push ups.

I did cheat this weekend on my Mary's Mini. I had some air fry french fries on Saturday and on Sunday morning I made some hash browns in the air fryer. Besides that I had brown rice. Moving forward, I will eat brown rice during the week and have other starches on the weekends.

The french fries came out really great. My wife was cooking some chicken wings in the fryer, which at first smelled awful. I cut up some potatoes with the think cut french fry blade, microwaved them for 5 minutes, then coated them in mild wing sauce and some hot sauce, then put them in the air fryer. I made them extra cooked, so the sauce also browned up. My wife even ate some.

I made a batch of my spicy brown rice. I put it in smaller containers as I am not eating as much as I was. My wife tried it, she said it was too spicy. It is very spicy.

Yesterday's food:

B: Hashbrowns
L: Salad, steamed veggies, spicy brown rice
D: steamed veggies, spicy brown rice

[JohnLarson]

No exercise again today.

Yesterday's food:

L: salad, steamed veggies, spicy brown rice
D: salad, steamed veggies, AF french fries

I cheated on my Mary's Mine with some french fries. This time I added BBQ sauce to the wing sauce, they came out great. Life is good.