Trudging the Road of Happy Destiny

[JohnLarson]

BS: 202
Wt: 240.5

E: gym closed

Yesterday's food:

L: cauliflower, spicy brown rice
D: cauliflower, broccoli brown rice
D: large salad

Still following Mary's Mini. Today is the start of a 10 day Facebook challenge, I fear participation will be low. I am also part of a small serious MWL group that is doing a month long challenge. I think that will go well.

My morning weight isn't always my lowest. It takes a bit before I go to the bathroom. I am just going to weigh once and that will have to do. It will all catch up.

I am going to eat breakfast even though I am not hungry yet. I am going for a motorcycle ride with some other riders this morning. The plan is to ride for about an hour to a restaurant and have the traditional New Years Day meal. I am just going to have an ice tea. You hear bikers say Ride to Live, Live to Ride, but it should be Ride to Eat, Eat to Ride. Most rides include food. Inwas planning on eating the blackeyed peas and greens, but I know they will have some sort of bacon or fatback in it. I will enjoy the ride.

[JohnLarson]

BS: 198
Wt: 240.1

E: 1 hr treadmill, over 3.5 miles

Yesterday's food:

B: broccoli brown rice
L: broccoli brown rice
D: salad, spicy brown rice

Did I mention I had brown rice? I survived the motorcycle brunch. I just drank unsweetened tea. I just told them I had a big breakfast. I wonder if any of them had a New Year resolution to diet, if they did it didn't last. I am glad I started in November and didn't wait until the first of the year. My Mary's Mini seems to be doing well. I have lost count of how many days. I know I will do something different on January 11th. That Friday is my birthday (53) and I think I will have a potato or pasta. On Saturday we will have a taco bar with friends over. There will be a cake. I won't be eating any, not even one bite. Until I am at or below 178, I will not even be considering any SAD items. I haven't shared my goal weight with my wife. She knows I want to get under 200. Right now that is the "big" goal. Really my goal right now is to get to 233. I plan on being there by my birthday. We shall see. I have been stuck in the 240's for a while. I feel great and can tell I am not as big.

I am reading MWL for the first time. Dr. McDougall wrote something to the affect that we should think of ourselves as what want to be or something like that. I have been visualizing myself as fit, trim, and healthy. When I see myself in the mirror I compliment myself on looking good and sticking to it. I learned positive affirmations in recovery. I have also been thanking God at the end of the day and starting off with a prayer for help, then a second prayer when I am on the scale.

Back to work today. The person I share an office with knows I am trying something. Another co-worker has lost weight and has been a motivator, he started working out and stopped eating fast food. Another co-worker was doing some sort of keo plan. I can't wait for him to ask me what I am doing, he knows I am doing something, just doesn't know what. I feel like I am just coming out of a pretty dark place of lost hope. Last night I went for a motorcycle ride. I had dug out some long sleeve shirts. I had one from a 5k in November of 2015, a Turkey trot. It was an XL and fit okay. I am looking forward to running again.

[JohnLarson]

BS: 198
Wt: 238.2

E: 1 hr treadmill

Yesterday's food:

L: Spicy rice
D: Salad, broccoli rice

My portions have definitely gotten smaller. I won't need to cook up any rice today or tomorrow. I haven't really wanted to snack. I don't find myself in the kitchen trying to figure out what to eat. I have very limited choices, salad stuff or brown rice (spicy or broccoli). This Mary's Mini is going well. I like the limited choices. My wife was meal prepping for a bit. I did it also, but got bored with it. I might do it again.

I was surprised at the scale this morning, I need to keep in mind it could go up tomorrow and most likely will. Whatever the numbers say, I need to stay on plan. This is the first time I have done a real Mary's Mini and really the first time I have been in "diet" mode, which sort of goes against the main principles of the McDougall program. It has gotten me super focused about this way of eating and way of life.

Someone at work mentioned that it looks like I was losing weight and then it was pointed out that my wife tagged me on Facebook at the gym that morning. I really didn't say anything
They haven't seen anything yet. Not even close. I look forward to being an example of this program on action.

Besides the food and physical activity, prayer has helped me lots. I start my morning asking God to help me eat on plan today. I say a quick prayer when tempted by food throughout the day and at the end of the day I thank him for helping me stay on track. I don't think I ever did this before. When I had success before, my prayer life wasn't as active as it is now.

I have lost count on what day I am on with the Mary's Mini. I know on the 11th I will be done. It has gotten easier. I might do it again after the weekend. It is definitely cheaper and easier. We shall see.

[bunsofaluminum]

Hi John,

I really like what you are doing mentally, as well as physically, to help yourself. Both visualization and prayer are SO IMPORTANT, but your dedication throughout the day, asking God to help you when you're tempted...that is awesome! Imagining yourself as already thin, and loving your body NOW...powerful! It's a huge help toward reaching your goals!

[JohnLarson]

Hi John,

I really like what you are doing mentally, as well as physically, to help yourself. Both visualization and prayer are SO IMPORTANT, but your dedication throughout the day, asking God to help you when you're tempted...that is awesome! Imagining yourself as already thin, and loving your body NOW...powerful! It's a huge help toward reaching your goals!

Thanks. Reading MWL has been a great help.

[JohnLarson]

BS: 202
Wt: 237.7

E: 1 hr treadmill (3.73 miles)

Yesterday's food:

L: spicy brown rice, broccoli brown rice
D: salad

I am chewing more and eating slower. While eating my salad I noticed I wasn't hungry and had to force myself to finish my salad. I told myself I could always eat later if hungry. I also have not been eating past dinner, roughly 7pm. One of my issues is late night snacking. I committed to not eating in the evening and if I went to bed hungry, I wouldn't die of hunger in my sleep. I could just eat in the morning. I am not normally hungry first thing in the morning, seems when I force myself to eat breakfast I am more hungry at lunch. Lunchtime is my breakfast. Now with going to the gym in the morning, food is the last thing on my mind.

I went to the gym by myself this morning. My wife goes regularly and I have been going as her guest. Today I used a free pass and went alone. I could have used it as an excuse to sleep in. I am pretty proud of myself. I want to go tomorrow, a Saturday, and my wife rarely goes on a Saturday unless it is to meet someone there. I am most likely going have to sign up myself. Soon I hope to start running outside and working out with weights at the gym. We shall see. One day at a time.

[JohnLarson]

BS: 212
Wt: 237.1

E: none yet, slept in

Yesterday's food:

L: spicy brown rice, broccoli brown rice
D: salad
D2: spicy brown rice

My sugar went low (68) last night, so I had some rice. My wife voiced some concerns about me not taking insulin all the time like I am supposed to, so I checked my sugar, it was 240 so I took a shot. I should have taken less or ate more. Didn't work out well. My wife is concerned about my lack of eating breakfast. I am not hungry in the morning. If I force myself to eat it just makes more hungry later. I might eat a small serving of rice to appease her. She is a little concerned about my health and this whole Mary's Mini diet. She is convinced the potato thing is okay after it working 6 years ago, but rice is different. My next Mary's Mini will be potatoes.

[JohnLarson]

BS: 159
Wt: 237.1

E: none

Yesterday's food:

L: broccoli brown rice
D: salad, broccoli brown rice

I haven't exercised this weekend. I doubt if I will do much of anything today. Might get out and about, but will mostly be at the house watching football.

I finished off my batch of broccoli brown rice and made a batch of okra brown rice. It came out real good. I will make another batch of spicy brown rice toddy and will eat them and salads the rest of the week. My Mary's Mini is getting easier.

I have decided to eat brown rice during the week days and will be doing basically a Mary's Mini. I will prep two batches and that will be my choices, I might mix some corn in my brown rice dishes. It makes life much easier having limited choices and having food ready. On weekends I will eat fruit, beans, and potatoes and have some variety. It will still be MWL, except no pasta. Once I am no longer obese, I will bring pasta and corn tortillas in. Breads will wait.

So I didn't lose any weight in the last 24 hours. I am not concerned. I stayed on plan. It could be water. I am not going to let the numbers get to me. My blood sugar is doing better. I took a shot at lunch. I expect in a month to be closer 100 and not needing insulin. I just need to keep monitoring it and following this way of eating.

[JohnLarson]

BS: 173
Wt: 238.1

E: 1 hr treadmill

Yesterday's food:

L: spicy rice
D: Salad, French Fries!

I am up a little, I am sure it is just water as my clothes are fitting great. Went of my Mary's Mini for the day to enjoy new air-fryer french fries. Will update more later. Busy day at work.

[JohnLarson]

I have been journaling first thing in the morning, but this morning I went to have my drivers license renewed at 7 am. All went well.

I have not let the scale get to me today. I know I am going in the right direction. I had to use a fresh new belt hole on my brown dress belt for work. I feel fantastic. I had no problem getting up to go the gym, even though we skipped the last two days. I am going to have to come up with a plan B for when my wife doesn't want to go to the gym. Part of me doesn't want to pay, even though it is not expensive. I think I will have to just go outside and walk/run for an hour.

I have not been taking my insulin on a regular basis. Which was true before I returned to this WOE. I am checking it in the morning, but really not checking it again, unless my wife says something. I have not had that insane thirst and having to go to the bathroom like most times my blood sugar is high. I don't see my doctor again until May. My last visit he said to adjust as needed. My a1c was high. I don't remember (or want to remember) how high it was. I can look it up. It is easy to be in denial about being a type 2 diabetic. Most of the ones I know eat more sweets than ever before. Something about being told what not to do makes us want to do it more. My wife is concerned because of all the rice I am eating. Last time it was potatoes and she was not sold until I got results, but this is different to her because it is rice, not potatoes. She is starting to see the results. I think maybe I should have done a Mary's Mini with potatoes.

My plan moving forward is to eat rice and veggies during the work week and follow MWL on weekends, allowing limited fruit, other starches, and more variety filled meals. I am not going to eat pasta or corn tortillas until I get below 220 (overweight, but not obese). Even then, it will be a treat. Bread will have to wait until I am at least under 200 or even better at my goal weight. I have been thinking about my goal weight of 178. That would still have me at the high end of BMI for my height. I hope I am running as a hobby by then and have some muscle tone. It might be possible to even be in the 160's. I try not to think about this too much, but I have been reading Dr. McDougall's books and in one of them he states normal weight, with clothes on for a 6 ft tall male is 160. So it got me thinking. I am glad I have a bunch of small goals. I should have put 240 as a goal. My next goal is 233. It would be a great birthday gift to myself to get there Friday. I haven't set any time lines, except to be at my goal by the end of May. That will be less than 10 pounds a month. I am six weeks in and have lost around 15, with a rough first two weeks.

I want to be sure to come here and post. It helps me to read my old posts. It all helps make some of this stuff seem real when I write it out. I haven't ventured into the other areas of the forums much. I just don't want to argue. I am trying to be helpful on Facebook and even that can be a challenge at times.

[JohnLarson]

BS: 198
Wt: 236.1

E: none, wife not feeling well. I slept in

Yesterdays food:

L: raw veggies, spicy brown rice
D: raw veggies, big salad, steamed veggies.
S: raw veggies during football game.

I am back on my Mary's Mini. I have lots of rice made up. I might need to freeze some. I am not sure. I almost broke down and made some french fries last night during the game. I had some veggies instead. I bought some celery, which I have never been a fan of, but it is tasting good. I have carrots and radishes. I also have some pickled okra. I normally just eat a few so they last. I don't think I was really hungry, but just used to snacking while watching football, even though I haven't been eating on the other days when watching football.

When I bought a copy of MWL, I also bought the original The McDougall Plan and 12 Days to Dynamic Health books. Half-way through MWL I decided that I would reread The Starch Solution. I discovered that I no longer had it. I know I have loaned it out a few times. It has always came back, unread. I am not sure who has it. I ordered another used copy. I attempted to read The McDougall Plan. I didn't make it very far in it. I started reading 12 Days to Dynamic Health yesterday. I am going to read a chapter (or less) at a time and not hurry through the book. If someone shows interest in what I am doing, I am going to give them the pdf Color Book. It is simple to read.

I am glad the scale went down. I would have been concerned if it was still up. I am 3.1 pounds away from my first goal. I can really tell how my clothes are fitting. Last night while watching football, I noticed my jeans were bunched up on my legs. Normally, they would be tight. I think I am still a ways from my next size of jeans. Once I get to my first goal, I will try some dress pants that I used to wear. They might even fit now, but I will wait. It will be like a reward. Hopefully I can wear them Monday to work.

[bunsofaluminum]

John, that's great about your jeans being bunchy on your legs! It's the greatest feeling in the world to be able to put on clothes that didn't used to fit...you are doing fantastic! Good going on that mini.

[JohnLarson]

John, that's great about your jeans being bunchy on your legs! It's the greatest feeling in the world to be able to put on clothes that didn't used to fit...you are doing fantastic! Good going on that mini.

I think fitting into clothing is the biggest motivator of this WOE. The Mary's Mini has gone well. I had always wanted to do it my way before. Really, I have always had my own "tweaks" with the McDougall Program by allowing SAD items and just doing it my way. Which got me right back to where I was. As long as I am overweight, 100% is the best option.

[JohnLarson]

BS: 204
Wt; 234.7

E: none, wife not feeling well and I have not joined the gym, I slept in.

Yesterday's food:

L: Salad, okra brown rice
D: Salad, spicy brown rice

I didn't want to get on the scale this morning and knew that it was going to go up from yesterday. I said a little prayer and asked God to help me accept whatever the number was and to help me carry on, knowing that I am on the right path. I fully expected to see the number go up from yesterday. I was surprised it went down. I am still in a little shock. At one point I was hoping to be under 233 on January 11th (my Birthday), but had already gave up. I have not put dates with my goals, but I have thought about it. I would like to be below 225 by the end of January. I really just need to keep things a day at a time and just be 100%.

I need to figure out what I am going to do about exercise. I am reluctant to join the gym is the only time I go is when my wife goes, then I can go as her guest. If she doesn't go tomorrow, I am going to go and join. There, I said it. It isn't very expensive.

I have a pair of dress pants that I really want to wear. There is really two pair that I miss wearing. I put them on last night and they are still a little tight on my thighs, the waist fits just fine. I am thinking in a week I should be wearing them. I really have four pairs that are tight in the thighs that will have a small window of when I can wear them, because I should be going to the next waist size, which I have four or six pairs. Then I have more the next waist size. I think I got rid of some of them because they were a little short on the length, I can't remember. I recently went through my clothes in storage and brought out the different sizes. I am currently a 38" waist classic fit and have some 38" waist slim fit pants that are tight in the thighs, then I have some 36" waist classic fit pants, then I have some 34" waist classic and some 34" waist slim fit. The 34" slim fit pants were even a little loose when I bought them after being on this WOE for a year. I have some 33" cargo shorts somewhere. I have not brought them out. My jeans are Levi 501's 36" waist that have grown with me, that until recently fit really tight. There was a bit where I wasn't able to fit into them, but that was short lived. I have some 501's 34" waist that I am looking forward to wearing. At one point, over 5 years ago, they were loose fitting. I fully expect to one day needing to buy 32" waist 501's.

Enough about pants! Today is a good day. I have two bowls of each rice left, and I am sure I will run out of at least one of them today, so I will need to make up some rice. I really like the spicy rice. I might make up some spicy broccoli rice of all things. I am sure I will figure it out. One of the great things about being on a Mary's Mini is you don't really need to think about what you are going to eat. The meal prepping helps with that also. I am going to continue eating brown rice dishes during the week, especially for lunch. I do want to have some more french fries!

[Michele613]

Well happy early birthday! Give yourself a present of a compliant day. You can reach your goal by month's end without birthday cake.
May this year f life be filled with greater health, joy and family.