Grit and Determination

[sirdle]

I don't want to jinx you, but it looks like you may have turned a corner.

Well done!

Cheers,

[moonlight]

Thanks, Sirdle. I'm being very careful, making an effort to not make any exceptions. Reading Wildgoose's comments about her journey on the MWL diet has helped me stay focused. I realized I'm good at maintaining weight loss. I just need to white knuckle it for a few months and get the rest of the weight off. I've started back on regular exercise and sitting meditation. These things make me feel good. I eat when I'm depressed so it's much better if I'm feeling good.

Exercise today is a hike - fingers crossed. My husband and I have a plan but it depends on his health

Food Plan
B: steel cut oats
L: bulgur salad with garbanzo beans, cucumbers, onion, tomato, and carrots
D: vegetable soup, roasted sweet potato and veggies
Snacks: orange, blueberries, maybe some red potatoes

September 29 30

[deweyswakms]

You have made me curious about bulgur now as I haven't really tried it. And, YES to exercise. No matter what I try to do something nearly every day. Going out for a walk now before more rain moves in. For me, I am 'solar powered' so I must get some light. Enjoy your hike. Marsha

[moonlight]

Thanks, Marsha, for stopping by. I love bulgur but I can only find it at our food cooperative and the alternative big stores, like Earth Fare and Whole Foods. It cooks really fast and keeps well.

Today I'm hoping to do some cooking. Writing down a planned menu for the day is helping me stay on track.

Exercise Plan: rowing
Food Plan:
B: roasted sweet potato and veggies
L: veggie soup and bulgur salad with pico de gallo
D: if cooking gets done: Cathy Fishers' Curry Rice Casserole (if not, I'll finish off the brown rice and turnip greens or have buckwheat pasta and marinara sauce w/ broccoli)
Snack: blueberries and banana

September 30

[moonlight]

September

So my month long attempt at staying within the MWL guidelines and getting some exercise paid off. I met both goals 9 out of 30 days. I met at least one of those goals 20 out of 30 times. I weigh about the same as when I started, maybe down a pound. If I could boost the 9 to 15 I would be very pleased. Maybe October will be the month I do that. It's a lovely month. Nice time to be outdoors for exercise.

Today I hiked 3 miles (7,370 steps). Before the end of the day I would like to row for 20-30 minutes
Food Plan
B: oatmeal
L: bulgur salad OFF plan: veggie burger and sweet potato fries
D: curry rice casserole with dal
Snacks: blueberries and banana
October 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
is earned when I meet both goals (stay on MWL and exercise)
= one goal (either stay on MWL or exercise)

[sirdle]

Well done, Moonlight!

You finished off the month very nicely!

How did you like the curry rice casserole? (I haven't made it yet, but it looks good!)

Cheers,

[moonlight]

Hi Sirdle, the curry rice casserole was beautiful. I love all the ingredients. The ratio of vegetables to rice is about 50-50. For me, it was lacking in taste. That said, I should note that I changed the recipe to accommodate the MWL plan. I didn't use cashews in the sauce. I used vegetable broth. Luckily, I made some dal to go with the casserole. There was a lot more spices in the dal recipe so it evened out the bland taste of the curried rice dish. I mixed the two together and now have 3 quarts of curried rice-dal casserole. Great for freezing some for later. I'm working to reduce my salt intake. Normally I would have doused the casserole in salt and happily enjoyed it but trying to refrain from salt leaves me lacking. It was a pleasant surprise to realize that curry spices for the dal actually satisfied my taste requirement, without added salt.

October 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Exercise: rowing and weight training (3 sets of bicep curls with 8 lb weights)
I'm interested in adding weight training to my exercise routine. For the last several years I've wasted money for gym memberships. I'm going to try incorporating some weight training at home.

Food Plan:
B: salad with WW bread
L: veggie soup with buckwheat pasta
D: curry rice-dal casserole
Snacks: carrots, blueberries, banana

[moonlight]

Today's Plan
Exercise: Rowing no

B: Steel cut oats
L: salad, potato
D: potato and greens
Snacks: blueberries and banana
two beers, hummus and bread, candied popcorn
October 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

[sirdle]

Sounds like a good plan! What kind of rowing machine do you have?

[moonlight]

Hey, Sirdle. I have a WaterRower. https://www.waterrower.com/ I love it for home exercise equipment. I feel like it gives a full body workout.

[moonlight]

I need to hold it together. Yesterday was tough. I met a friend for a beer. I was already hungry and I thought the beer would fill me up. Then I ate a hummus sandwich when I got home and candied popcorn. Argh.

Today we're leaving for a couple nights in the mountains. We've got a cabin. So, whatever I take to eat will be all that I can eat. This is good. I'm going to aim for 10,000 steps a day for the next 3 days.

Food Plan
Car Food: raw carrots, bulgur salad, apple
Cabin Food: dal rice casserole, vegetable soup, potatoes, frozen Brussel sprouts and carrots, steel cut oats, pasta w/ marinara and frozen spinach, apples, bananas, oranges, canned garbanzo beans, Maple Grove salad dressing. For hiking: bulgur salad, orange, apple

October 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

[sirdle]

Never used a water rower, but I've heard good things about them!

A couple of nights in a cabin sounds wonderful! Hope you get a lot of walking in.

Cheers,

[moonlight]

October 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

Today's Plan

Exercise: gutter cleaning and leaf raking

Food Plan
B: nothing
L: bulgur and veggie salad
D: dal and rice curry casserole
Snacks: veggie soup, apple, blueberries

This weekend I had moderate success with my diet goals. I exercised enough to get smiley faces but each day I ate something off plan, thus, no green smiley faces. Friday and Sunday I ate meals that I'm sure were high in fat. I think the curry I ate Friday had a base of coconut milk. My husband ordered it for me while I stayed in the car with our dog. I asked for no meat or tofu, just vegetables with curry. We stopped at a restaurant on the way to the mountains because my husband wanted to try Laotian food. We don't have a Lao restaurant near us. He liked it so much he wanted to stop on the way back home on Sunday. It was very good, though. Sunday I had vegetable Pad Thai, which I'm sure had a little oil. On Saturday evening I had some homemade zucchini bread. My husband has been making this for awhile now. I wish he would stop or I wish I would stop having a piece now and then!! I weigh the same as I did last Thursday so at least I didn't gain weight. But that isn't my goal, is it?!?

[moonlight]

Yesterday morning I was kind of depressed, dreading to step on the scale after a weekend of eating meals that were off plan. I assumed a weight gain. When I realized I hadn't gained any weight my mood lifted and I was so very happy. That gave me energy. It's scary how connected my mood is to my goal of losing weight. My inner voice is so connected to this goal. Hopefully, I can stay focused and lose the rest of this weight, then my inner voice can concentrate on something else!

Exercise: Rowing

Food Plan
B: potatoes, onion, peppers stir-fry
L: salad, dal rice curry casserole
D: salad, sweet potatoes and greens
Snacks: blueberries, apple


October 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

[moonlight]

Yesterday I ate well. I didn't get in as much exercise as I planned. Instead of rowing I used a leaf blower on the leaves. I only got in 5,360 steps. Not worthy of a green smiley face. Today's will be different. I hiked 8 miles; 24,047 steps. Hopefully, I won't blow it by eating too much food for dinner.

Exercise: Hiking

Food Plan:
B: steel cut oats
L: bulgur and veggie salad
D: dal and rice casserole, salad, veggie soup
Snacks: orange, apple

October 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31