Grit and Determination

[moonlight]

The slippery slope is a scary place, DON'T GO THERE....COME BACK TO US!!!! Seriously, just get back to your daily journal. Whether you are 100% compliant or not isn't as important as being here for a check in.

I totally understand though. I can not say that I dislike meat or cheese. I was making taco filling for family yesterday and in the past I would have eaten a bunch of the cooking ground beef. I leaned my head over it as it was cooking (before seasoning it) and was trying to get a "yucky" smell in my nose. It did smell a little bit gamey to me, so perhaps my nose IS changing. I've been good about totally avoiding cheese, minus feta cheese in the occasional Greek salad (and obviously then oil).

But my favorite Natural Grocers is right next to McDonalds, and yes, it still smells good to me. I wish it didn't.

So I hope you come back to daily, or most daily posting, and let us help keep you on the straight and narrow.

Hi Annette,

Thank you for your comments. I think the accountability from the group here is so helpful. I got tired of failing to meet up to my intentions. I thought if I reduced that stress it would be easier to incorporate the WFPB diet into my lifestyle and maybe get some sense of renewal. I've had a little break so it is time to get back in the groove. My slip-ups were mainly from not having food prepared and feeling bored. I don't crave meat and cheese anymore. I'm happier with good tasting vegetables, starches, and fruit. The expression 'you can run but you can't hide" comes to mind. I have to address my weight issue if I want to be healthy. I'm halfway there.
Your suggestion to come back to the support of others really resonated with me this morning. I just finished reading a chapter from Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone. It was describing ways to rethink the concept of power. Rather than think about power as being a position of dominance (a win-lose model), try the concept of power-with where power is rooted in insights and practices, in strengths and relationships, in compassion and connection. It goes on to suggest 3 ways to open ourselves to this concept: 1) hear our own inner call to action and choose to answer it, 2) understand power as a verb (more like empower), and 3) draw on the strengths of others. I'm going to use this power-with concept and embrace the support of others and take on the challenge to keep losing weight. However slow it may be, I'll be headed in the right direction, not trying to run and hide.

XO

[moonlight]

I feel good about yesterday except for the pistachios because I ate too many. Next time I will measure out how many I want to eat and leave the bag somewhere else!
Friday’s Food Adventures
B: ww couscous with oranges (from MWL cookbook)
L: Festive Condiment soup (MWL cookbook) tomato based soup w/fresh bell pepper, cucumber, scallions, and garbanzo beans
Late Afternoon: veggie burger on ww bread
D: couscous and Brussels sprouts with spaghetti sauce
S: Pistachios, Apple, soy milk with cocoa and sugar

[AnnetteW]

Glad you are back

[moonlight]

Glad you are back

Thank you, Annette. I'm glad to be back. I'm hoping to have some success losing weight again but not get too stressed out at the slow process. Maybe, somehow, I'll find a path to increasing my weight loss. I know all the paths, just convincing myself to make the extra effort...

I watched a video from Well Your World (I think that's the title) about making variations on a cheese sauce. He was talking about putting it on everything, that it makes a quick easy meal. I decided to make my own version yesterday. I used a baked potato, sautéed onions, garlic, and a can of green chilis. I added cumin, black pepper, and a little nutritional yeast (maybe a tablespoon). I used liquid from home cooked garbanzo beans for the liquid. It's good!

Recipes from MWL to make today:
Souper Salad
Curried Rice and Broccoli Salad

Food Adventures
B: mixed grains (red wheat berry and kamut) with orange, cinnamon, honey
L: baked potato with green chili cream sauce
Late Afternoon: veggie burger
D: corn tortillas, rice, black beans, Brussels sprouts
S: cornbread, soymilk with cocoa powder and sugar

[deweyswakms]

The slippery slope is a scary place, DON'T GO THERE....COME BACK TO US!!!!

Thank you for your comments. I think the accountability from the group here is so helpful. I got tired of failing to meet up to my intentions. I thought if I reduced that stress it would be easier to incorporate the WFPB diet into my lifestyle and maybe get some sense of renewal. I've had a little break so it is time to get back in the groove. My slip-ups were mainly from not having food prepared and feeling bored. I don't crave meat and cheese anymore. I'm happier with good tasting vegetables, starches, and fruit. The expression 'you can run but you can't hide" comes to mind. I have to address my weight issue if I want to be healthy. I'm halfway there.
Your suggestion to come back to the support of others really resonated with me this morning. I just finished reading a chapter from Active Hope by Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone. It was describing ways to rethink the concept of power. Rather than think about power as being a position of dominance (a win-lose model), try the concept of power-with where power is rooted in insights and practices, in strengths and relationships, in compassion and connection. It goes on to suggest 3 ways to open ourselves to this concept: 1) hear our own inner call to action and choose to answer it, 2) understand power as a verb (more like empower), and 3) draw on the strengths of others. I'm going to use this power-with concept and embrace the support of others and take on the challenge to keep losing weight. However slow it may be, I'll be headed in the right direction, not trying to run and hide.

XO

I really like the 'concept of power', thanks. 1) answering the inner call is exactly why I 'had' to start painting a few years ago. I have denied that urge for years and years. I decided I had to explore whatever this was.

I wish we all could just tell that 'critical judge' voice in our heads "thanks but I don't listen to you anymore." Be gentle and forgiving with yourself. And yes, do acknowledge that YOU have this power.

good luck, Marsha

[moonlight]

Two things I’ve realized about the recipes in MWL cookbook. Most main dishes are 50-50 vegetable to starch. Two, the recipes are low in sodium. When I was trying recipes in this book previously, I often had a note indicating that a recipe needed salt. Now that I’ve gotten accustom to a lower salt diet, I don’t have that opinion. I’m satisfied with the recipes as written.

I'm so glad I have these two new dishes ready to go. I'm painting today and want to just grab anything to eat but I stopped and had soup and rice and broccoli. Very nice.

Sunday’s Food Adventures
B: Curried Rice and Broccoli salad from MWL cookbook Yum!
L: Souper Salad from MWL cookbook. Very good. It's really like Gazpacho.
D: Mexican - chips, spinach enchiladas, and beer
Middle of the night snack attack: crackers...

[moonlight]

I have been struggling with overeating and eating off plan. Yesterday was a good day.
Still painting so no exercise

Monday's Food Adventures
B: nothing
L: curried rice and broccoli; souper salad
Afternoon: WWpasta, veggie balls, broccoli, spaghetti sauce
D: sweet potato and lima beans
S: popcorn, banana w/ ww bread

[moonlight]

I'm doing the one day good eating, one day not so good,,,, I'm painting, though, which makes me grumpy and tired. I'm not taking time to cook but that's not a good reason. Nuking potatoes doesn't take any effort,,, Last night we had Thai takeout and I had fried tofu in Pad Thai noodles. I'm sure there was too much oil. Later in the evening I ate homemade zucchini bread. My husband has been making it. I successfully stopped eating it a couple of weeks ago by figuring the calories per slice but last night succumbed right at bedtime,,,,

Tuesday's Eating Adventures
B: mixed grains with orange and cinnamon
L: Souper salad and Curried rice and broccoli
D: Pad Thai w/ tofu
S: Zucchini bread

Today's plan:
B: homemade veggie sausage patties and sautéed peppers, onions, and potatoes
L: Souper salad and Curried rice and broccoli
D: Rice and black bean casserole and collards
S: Banana and WW cinnamon bread

[moonlight]

I'll finish painting today and hopefully get back to a normal routine. Usually my husband has a snack in the evening. I'm usually sitting across the room from him. I ignore that he is eating because it is cookies, cake, or ice cream. Last night because we have been painting our living room, we were sitting on the sofa together. He brought in cookies to eat - right from the package. I just reached over and started eating cookies... I felt terrible about this later but it provoked the munchies the rest of the night. I ate popcorn, then during the night I ate green beans. My eating yesterday was good until the cookies came out. I'll be glad when I get back my determination to stay on the MWL diet plan.

Yesterday's Eating Adventures
B; nothing
L: home cooked beans, Souper salad
D: rice and bean casserole w/ corn tortillas
S: 6-7 cookies, air-popped popcorn
3:30 AM: green beans

Today's Food Plan:
B: oatmeal and blueberries
L: Souper salad, mixed grains, and beans
D: One sweet potato and one white potato and broccoli
S: cooked apple w/ cinnamon

[moonlight]

My painting job is finished! Hopefully, I will get back to a good routine. It's time to do some cooking! I want to make a meatless bean loaf today and cook some collards. I've still got greens growing in the garden.

Thursday's Eating Adventure
B: nothing
L: enchiladas w/ rice, beans, greens, and chili cream sauce; Souper Salad
D: sweet potato and lima beans, Souper salad
Snacks: tortilla chips, salsa, ww cinnamon bread and banana
2:00 AM: 1/2 ww pita bread and baba ganoush

Planned Menu for Today
B: sweet potato and banana
L: Souper salad and potato salad
D: Enchiladas, beans, bulgur or mixed grains, collards, Souper salad

[moonlight]

Thanks, Serene! Painting a room always looks like it won't be that much work. I don't know if being older was a factor but I was worn out. The only reason it got finished is because it is my living room and all the furniture was in the middle of the room covered with drop cloth. We paint the outside of our house ourselves. It's an old house with wood lap siding. I love it but it takes a lot of work. At least on the outside we can take a day or two off when needed. I appreciate being physically able to do those kinds of chores. However, I had the thought that I would probably not paint my living room again myself.

I made Grandpa's Meatless Loaf and the Creamy Spinach Soup from MWL book yesterday. I plan to make the Jicama salad today to use up the rest of the jicama I bought for another recipe. I have lots of yummy food to keep me on track. I realized that I need some cooked potatoes in the refrigerator for a quick snack. Yesterday I didn't eat enough starch. I know I will have to struggle through the cravings at night. My husband's birthday is tomorrow so I know I'll eat more cake but after his birthday I will stop with the sweets and suffer through the withdrawals.

Friday's Eating Adventures
B:nothing
L: Festive Condiment Soup, sweet potato, meatless loaf, Souper Salad
D: too many peanuts, Enchilada bake w/ refried fat free beans, creamy chili sauce
S: husband's birthday cake
1;30AM: WW cinnamon toast w/ homemade pear jam

Today's Food Plan:
B: apple and sweet potato
L: Jicama salad, spinach-potato soup, bulgur w/ broccoli
D: veggie and bean loaf, Souper salad, baked potato
S: raw veggies

[moonlight]

Today is my husband's birthday. The reason we've had cake in the house. It was a small cake and it is gone now. We will get him a small cheesecake today. I'm not tempted to eat cheesecake so hopefully I will leave it all for him. We also plan to hike.

I need to start a regular exercise routine. I admire people who accomplish this. When I was younger it was so easy.

Saturday’s Actual Eats
B: cooked apple and sweet potato
L: enchiladas and a few potato chips (my husband was eating them )
S: peanuts, Souper salad
D: veggie loaf, potatoes, spinach soup
S: small piece of cake, hot chocolate, WW cinnamon toast

[moonlight]

I cooked a large amount of mixed grains - red wheat berries, Eichhorn wheat berries, and spelt berries. I froze it in a thin layer on a baking sheet then transferred it to a bag. I won't have to plan ahead (1-2 hours) before preparing grains for a while. BTW, I soaked the grains for 24 hours before I cooked them. The texture is so much softer than when I cooked them without soaking.

I've really enjoyed the Souper Salad recipe from the MWL book. It's like a gazpacho soup with a lot of raw veggies. It's been easy for me to get the raw vegetables into my daily routine. I made the Jicama salad from the MWL book yesterday. It tastes good. Hopefully I will enjoy it for a few days. So, I've recently made 3 new recipes from the book and liked them all. The curried rice and broccoli recipe was really good, too.

Sunday's Eating Adventure
B: oatmeal and apple
L: Souper salad, spinach soup, refried beans and salsa
D: veggie loaf, potatoes, and cauliflower
S: peanuts, zucchini bread and cookies

Today's Plan:
B: oatmeal and banana
L: Jicama salad, spinach soup, veggie loaf
D: Sweet and Sour vegetables over mixed grains (recipe from MWL book)
S: FRUIT!!

[moonlight]

This was my plan yesterday:
B: oatmeal and banana
L: Jicama salad, spinach soup, veggie loaf
D: Sweet and Sour vegetables over mixed grains (recipe from MWL book)
S: FRUIT!!
I got the first two meals on plan but then I went out for dinner. I had bean nachos with a little cheese and sour cream, a margarita, and then had a small piece of cheesecake (my husband's) when I got home. I'm getting a little anxious about going through the extinction curve from being in the Pleasure trap.
Today's Plan
B: homemade sausage patties, potato hash w/ peppers, onions, and garlic
L: Jicama salad, spinach soup, veggie loaf
D: Sweet and sour vegetables over mixed grains
S: blueberries and maybe oatmeal, if hungry

[moonlight]

So, the day is finally here where I go back on the MWL plan, striving to be as close to 100% that I can. Such a relief to get past the bad decisions! I look forward to the challenge. I have groceries and menus planned for the week, really, thinking the week starts this weekend. Today's food plan includes black-eyed peas and greens. I'll have a sweet potato with that, while hubby eats cornbread.

Tuesday's Adventure in eating
B: homemade sausage patties, potato hash w/ peppers, onions, and garlic YUM!
L: Jicama salad, spinach soup, veggie loaf YUM!
D: Did not eat planned dinner even though I had the ingredients! I had curried vegetables and steamed rice from a restaurant. I'm sure there was added fat.
S: Then my husband whips out ice cream for celebration... I had about 3/4 cup.

Today's Food Plan:
B: potato hash browns
L: Jicama salad, veggie loaf, sweet potato
D:Jicama salad, black-eyed peas, collard greens, sweet potato
S: Blueberries, and oatmeal, if I get hungry

10 Point Checklist

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).

6. Eliminate any added oil.

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.

8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).