Tilda's Journal

[Tilda]

Hello,

I'm back - after half a year of trial and error...

I started every day planning to stay on the wagon, yet I always never made it through the day...,

...it took me very long to figure out what I was doing wrong.

Now, I know that sounds really simple minded, ..., but one simple change did the trick for me: i stopped focusing on weight and started imaging how good this way of eating would be for my body. As the most important consequence for me I stopped trying to avoid calorie rich foods that are bad for quick weight loss results but otherwise really okay or even healthe like nuts, nut butter, avocados, coconut milk etc...., and BREAD.

I started induldging in self-made whole wheat bread, soups and stews made with coconut milk, banana-peanut butter- ice cream, avocado spreads etc..... And the funny thing was: once I was "officially" allowed to enjoy those things I acually didn't want them so much anymore... - so for roughly one week I had a lot of delicious "non-weight-loss-but-still-healthy-food", and then I started to crave fresh stuff like bell peppers or cucumber more...

I'm very curious where this experiment ist going, but in those last two weeks I have lost almosst 5kg (appr. 10 lbs) and I feel great.

Also, I made some conscious exceptioins from the plan when I had a piece of cake at a birthday party and a cappucino with a friend in a Café..., but I did not beat myself up..... That's such a new experience for me...

Could it be that I always restricted too much and therefore never succeeded.......? Could it be that simple...?

Curious if anyone else has thought on that!

Kind regards to all of you! Tilda

[Tilda]

Hey, it's me again - another six months have passed since my last post.

I have to admit, it's still difficult for me to let got of the weight loss idea...

My weight is still at almost the highest it's ever been..., but for almost 3 weeks (19 days to be exact) I am right now fully plant based...

Since I still had serious problems with binge eating over the past months, I did not start out for weight loss this time but rather because my fasting blood glucose levels were unhealthily high. I noticed it at the end of january and changed my eating right away and for good..., so far...

In the first week I lost some weight (I started out with 96kg, a BMI of 32,5), and I lost a little over 2 kg. But for the past two weeks my weight has been stable between 93.4 and 93.8kg - no downwards movement whatsoever... - really frustrating, but my blood sugars have improved immediately and have remained below 100 since the third day - so I kept going...

I know that there are several tipps for weight loss out there - but I'm anxious to restrict because I'm afraid I will go back to bingeing right away...

I enjoy bread a lot, and it really helped me to get through those past 19 days without having the urge to binge... Right now I feel no drive to binge AT ALL..., and I also can't remember a time in the past 25 years when my weight has been within a 1 pound range for two weeks... Coming to think of it, that's really awsome...

Still: I think I need to lose at least a tiny little bit each week...., otherwise I'm probably going to fail anytime soon... - I'm obese, that's a fact and it can't be healthy...

If anyone has some advice for me - I'ld really appreciate it ... I don't want to restrict my food choice too much though because this will trigger bingeing right away

Thanks in advance - Tilda!

[Starch Chick]

Try to watch some videos on calorie density until it really sinks in

You need to have 100% focus if you are going to be successful

Find some recipes that you really like that fill you up and are tasty.

Too much variety can be a problem. .. "make your food boring and your life interesting" - Andrew “Spudfit” Taylor

Make sure your starches are the less calorie dense ones. Potatoes, squash... Whole grain bread is super healthy but it is much more calorie dense than potatoes, squash, brown rice, and beans. If you don't want to give up bread completely, then promise yourself you will eat your potatoes or whatever first then have bread after. Maybe you will be too full to reach for it.

I wish you every success. You CAN do this
You are not "going to fail"

[Starch Chick]

Links to videos:

Jeff Novick Calorie density:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CdwWliv7Hg&t=1759s

Dr Lim (Medical Director Dr McDougall's Health and Medical Center) Calorie Density

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJXca-iECEI&t=912s

Dr Lisle (works with Dr McDougall and at True North Health Center) on weighing and measuring your food:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_x_c-p ... e=youtu.be

Hope this is helpful

[Tilda]

Hey Starch Chick, thanks so much for your quick reply! And all the helpful links!

I think you're right - I'll try to focus on calory density starting today... - maybe after three weeks of starch based nutrition I will not feel too restricted when for a couple of days trying to leave out high fat and processed grain food...

Since this is a journal, I should start posting my daily meals..., maybe you can comment if you notice anything "wrong"...

So for today, I started with:

1. Oats with rice milk, cinnamon, and banana
2. Baked potatoes with ratatouille (freshly made from onions, egg plant, summer squash, and tomatoes)

Let's see, where this goes...

I'm so curious to see if it does something to my weight (this morning 94.0kg, ) and also to my energy levels which have unfortunately not been great despite the dietary changes of the past three weeks...

Bye for now, Tilda

[Starch Chick]

Sounds like a great start for the day

[Tilda]

And meal number 3 for today: spinach/summer squash soup with rosemary potatoe wedges (oil free from the oven)

I feel great today - much less brain fog... - I know, this is either coincidence or imagination or whatever, but it's nice...

[Tilda]

Hello!

So, today the scale finally showed some movement...:

93.3kg - -700g...,

For Breakfast I just had a big bowl of oats with mango and rice milk.

Today is day 21 of changing to starched based WFPB eating...,

[Tilda]

So, here's the rest of my day so far:

Lunch: Steamed potatoes with ratatouille
Dinner: Steamed potatoes with red lentil curry
Snack: 1 pear, one bite of a slice of whole wheat vegan lemon cake

I feel great today - not much brain fog, more energy..., still coincidence...?

[Starch Chick]

Congrats on the downward movement of the scale

[Tilda]

Good Morning,

thanks, starch chick! How are you doing?

I can report: one more pound gone this morning......., that's really strange - two weeks with no movement at all, and now I'm suddenly at 92.8...! So, 3.2kg in three weeks in total..., I guess, that's a pretty good result, right? I cut out bread and high-fat plant foods (mainly avocado, nut butter, and olives) for two days and 1.2kg gone....., still coincidence...? I'll keep you posted..!

My meals today so far:

B: Oats with rice milk, cinnamon and mango
L: red lentil curry (very simple; made from fresh onions, tomatoes, red lentils, bell pepper, and curry powder), steamed potatoes

I just tried a salad dressing I read on a WFPB blog and changed it a little bit - it turned out delicious!! It's made with chia seeds to render it a little creamier and it contains chives which makes it look like a pretty green smoothie..., , I was looking for a nice simle oil-free, nut-free dressing for some while and i'm really happy with this...! Now I have to have salad for dinner, I guess....

[Tilda]

Hey there, the rest of the day consited of lettuce and tomatoes with my newly invented salad dressing and another bigh bowl of tomatoes with red lentil curry (there's still some left, ).

I feel pretty good - third day in a row... - very curious how it will continue...

I'll keep you posted - bye, Tilda

[Starch Chick]

Wow, good for you, things are moving in the right direction...

Your meals sound good, especially the salad dressing recipe with the chia seeds..

I've had a good week.. just keeping on

[Tilda]

Hi,

it's day 23 of my plant based journey...

Today was a day of indulgence..., it started with oatmeal with cinnamon and banana..., it already felt a little boring, but I couldn't figure out what I really wanted instead. And when I went to the bakery an hour later I stumbled over fresh whole wheat rye bread - my favorite bread of all times...

So I decided to allow myself a bread and nuts day.. - and except for a salad with beans and corn for lunch I had many slices of rye bread with peanut butter and bananas.

It was delicous..., and I'm happy.

Let's see what tomorrow brings.

[Tilda]

Hello, it's so busy these days..., so just some quick lines:

I'm finishing my fourth week of plant based eating on saturday..., and this week I don't struggle AT ALL with leaving out animal products, that's really a great experience - I don't crave anything not vegan..., so something must have happend over the past weeks..., nevertheless I struggle - with BREAD ..., again...

My fasting blood sugars remain below 100, that's fantastic..., but the weight just doesn't go down..., after eating bread again, my weight went up to 93.x again..., and stays there..., and stays there, and stays there, and stays there... - and that's a bmi of over 30...

I have to admit, I'm a little frustrated...,