Grit and Determination

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, carolve, Heather McDougall

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Thu Jan 02, 2020 8:15 am

I made it through January 1st staying within the MWL food plan. Last night was a struggle - as anticipated. My mind is such a tricky sly thing trying to get what it wants!! Trying to convince me that I'm hungry or that one little bite won't hurt or there's always tomorrow. Well, I'm ready for the challenge! Taming the mind. Teaching it that junk food, processed bread, cheese, and nuts are out! In Buddhist teachings it is recommended to welcome the challenges in our lives. That is when we grow the most. I'm welcoming the challenge! I'll be the MWL warrior!

#9 and #10 of the checklist need my attention today! Also, I noticed last night that the snack I made (roasted petite potatoes with garlic powder eaten with ketchup) triggered me to want to eat more. It was too tasty. My evening snack needs to be more bland. :D

Today's Food Plan:
B: mixed grains and Jicama salad
L: sweet potato, peas and greens
D: sweet and sour vegetables from MWL book with rice, shredded salad from the book, too.
S: frozen blueberries, potatoes or oatmeal if needed

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).
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Thu Jan 02, 2020 6:24 pm

I've really enjoyed the black-eyes peas and collards. I added celery, pimentos, onion, and garlic. It is very soupy. Great with the left over mixed grains. I made Sweet and sour vegetables from the MWL book. I really like the recipe. Not too sweet or sour. (I added a little apple cider vinegar to my bowl). The sauce didn't thicken up for me but I don't mind it being soupy. More liquid, less dense.
I've got at least two more meals of each of the two dishes I had today. I'm meal rich. :D

This is what I've eaten today.
B: oatmeal and banana
L: black-eyed peas, collards, mixed grains YUM!
D: Sweet and sour vegetables with brown rice
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Thu Jan 02, 2020 8:28 pm

I just finished making the Summer Potato Salad from the MWL book. It is a good recipe, too! I'm baking eggplant to make the Eggplant Dip recipe. I made this a couple of years ago and my notes said it was good. I hope so! It's to be eaten cold with raw veggies. I now have a salad, two entrées, and soon to have a dip for veggies. The menu is looking good. :)
Summer Potato Salad
Black-eyed Peas and Greens
Sweet and Sour vegetables with brown rice
Eggplant Dip and veggies
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Fri Jan 03, 2020 8:28 am

Last night after dinner I was still hungry. I decided to try oatmeal with my fruit. It was a great filling snack. Yummy for evening - almost like having some bread. :) I'm planning to make Barley Mushroom soup and Shredded Salad today. I think I am obligated to go out to dinner tonight with friends from out of town. They usually like Indian food. I've never found anything at an Indian restaurant that didn't have oil... I guess I could eat rice and chutney, but I think the rice would have oil. I'll deal. It's just one meal. I knew starting back on the MWL plan there would be exceptions for eating out.

I will row on my water rower for 30 minutes today!
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby Shmookitty » Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:03 pm

Just enjoy your meal. Don't even worry about it. One meal is not going to make you fat or make you fall off the program completely. Indian is my favorite and I only have it in a restaurant two or three times a year, so it is a treat. I eat McDougall about 95% of the time, and I am fine with that. Sometimes life just happens!

Hope you have a great time! :-D
My name is Renee, McDougalling starting October 5, 2019
User avatar
Shmookitty
 
Posts: 154
Joined: Wed Oct 16, 2019 2:28 pm
Location: Virginia

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:11 pm

Thanks, Renee, for that reminder. I guess since I'm just now trying to get back on track I'd like to have a few days of compliance. I do love the people I'm meeting so I will enjoy their company and try not to overeat. We've decided on a restaurant so I was able to go online and decide what I want to order. That way I'm not panicked at the restaurant thinking I have no options.

I just finished making two more recipes from the MWL book. They are both great. I've made the Barley and Mushroom soup before. It's a favorite. I also made the Shredded Salad. I like it, too. It's very pretty. :)
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Sat Jan 04, 2020 9:49 am

Yesterday's Food Adventures
B: Japanese sweet potato
L: Shredded Salad, spinach soup, barley mushroom soup
D: Mexican restaurant fare... nachos with beans and cheese, 2 margaritas :confused:

I had plans to go to an Indian restaurant last night. At the last minute our plans changed to the Mexican restaurant. I didn't make a good choice....

Today's Plan
B: oatmeal with apple
L: shredded salad, barley mushroom soup, sweet and sour vegetables w/ rice
D: shredded salad, black-eyed peas and greens, potatoes
S: blueberries, maybe some oatmeal

I pray to the exercise gods to convince me to exercise on my water rower today since it is raining outside.
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Sun Jan 05, 2020 7:51 am

    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).

I am focusing on principals 9 and 10. Those are the ones I fall short on the most. I'm getting in the groove for having compliant food ready to eat. Not just compliant food but a stash of dishes that create a balanced diet - a couple of salads, soups, and mains that have 50/50 veggies to starch. Keeping that ready plus mastering #9 and 10 will get me to where I want to be. :)

I rowed on my water rower for 30 minutes yesterday. :D

Yesterday's Food Intake
B: oatmeal with apple
L: shredded salad, sweet and sour vegetables w/ rice
D: shredded salad, sweet and sour vegetables w/ rice
S: blueberries and oatmeal

Today's Food Plan
B: new potatoes and Japanese sweet potato
L: shredded salad, barley mushroom soup
D: shredded salad, Texan Vegetable Casserole from MWL book
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby Mark Cooper » Sun Jan 05, 2020 7:57 am

moonlight wrote:I'm getting in the groove for having compliant food ready to eat. Not just compliant food but a stash of dishes that create a balanced diet - a couple of salads, soups, and mains that have 50/50 veggies to starch. Keeping that ready plus mastering #9 and 10 will get me to where I want to be. :)


:D Planning for success! :thumbsup:
User avatar
Mark Cooper
 
Posts: 2191
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:17 am
Location: Princeton, NJ 08540

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Sun Jan 05, 2020 8:04 am

Thanks, Mark! I feel that things are working for me right now. I struggled all last year trying to stay compliant and steady with this WOE. I succeeded in not gaining weight, other than losing the same 2-3 lbs., but I didn't succeed at being consistent. The learning curve is long for me but I'm not giving up. :D
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Mon Jan 06, 2020 1:49 pm

I'm feeling confident about sticking with my eating plan. I'm not having many attacks of cravings, so far. :)

I bought too many groceries a few days ago. I planned to make recipes from the MWL 21-day sample menu plan for just two days but it's more food than I can eat in a week, I think. I'm enjoying having the food on hand but my refrigerator is crammed. I hope the fresh produce doesn't go bad before I get to eat it. Lesson learned! Way too much food. I noticed that the Texan Potato Casserole recipe indicates it is enough for 11 servings! I will probably freeze some of it. The salads won't freeze, though. It's pushing me to eat more raw veggies, which is not bad at all. :)
Yesterday's Report
Rowing 10 minutes Outside Landscaping: 1 hour
B: A few new potatoes and a Japanese sweet potato and a banana
L: Shredded salad, Summer Potato salad, and Barley Mushroom soup
Afternoon snack: black-eyed peas, greens, and barley mushroom soup
D: Shredded Salad, black-eyed peas, greens, and barley mushroom soup
S: blueberries and oatmeal

Today's Plan
B: Summer Potato Salad
L: Shredded Salad with brown rice
D: Shredded Salad, Texan Potato Casserole from MWL book
S: blueberries and oatmeal
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Thu Jan 09, 2020 11:41 pm

I've been very busy the last few days but I've managed to keep MWL compliant food ready. The cravings haven't been too bad. Cheesecake Tuesday night was a poor decision. Thank goodness it is no longer in the house. I asked my husband to not eat any in front of me and to please keep it out of my sight in the refrigerator. I do okay with watching him eat things most of the time. I need to get stronger about that. It was helpful reading what Cloudy Rockwell said about thinking of non-compliant food as being non-food. I'm going to focus on that.

Friday's Plan
Exercise: water rower 30 minutes
B: Japanese sweet potato and banana
L: shredded salad and Garbanzo stew
S: carrots and eggplant dip
D: Spinach salad from MWL book and Texan Vegetable Casserole
S: blueberries and maybe oatmeal

Thursday
No exercise...
B: oatmeal and banana
L: Shredded salad and Texan Vegetable Casserole
S: carrots and eggplant dip from MWL book
D: Garbanzo Stew from MWL book
S: oatmeal and blueberries

Wednesday
Exercise: 3 mile brisk walk
B: nothing
L: salad and baked potato
S: sweet potato and shredded salad
D: shredded salad and Texan Vegetable Casserole from MWL book
S: corn

Tuesday
Exercise: 8 mile hike
B: nothing
L: potato salad
D: Rice, broccoli, spinach and mushrooms, salad
S: cheesecake :eek:

Monday's Report
Exercise: 45 minutes water rower and brisk walk
B: Summer Potato Salad
L: Shredded Salad with brown rice
D: Shredded Salad, barley mushroom soup with black-eyed peas and greens
D2: baked new potatoes with ketchup
S: air-popped popcorn
Middle of the night: cornbread and soymilk

For some reason I could not sleep ( I think it might be related to some medicine issues,,,) I ate some of my husband's cornbread. :(
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Sat Jan 11, 2020 8:15 am

Friday's Adventures
Exercise: brisk 30 minute walk
B: Japanese sweet potato and banana
L: shredded salad and Garbanzo stew
S: carrots and eggplant dip
S: two small potatoes microwaved, with Heinz 57
D: Spinach salad from MWL book and Texan Vegetable Casserole
S: pasta and brussel sprouts
S: air-popped popcorn

I needed more starchy foods to keep me satisfied yesterday. The Garbanzo stew needs to have another starchy food to go with it. The Texan Vegetable Casserole really has more vegetables than potatoes in it so I need to supplement it as well. I like both of those recipes from the MWL book. It was the second time I've made the Texan Casserole. I tweaked it a bit for my tastes and really like it.

Today's food plan:
B: oatmeal and apple
L: Corn salad (from MWL book)
D: Spinach salad, garbanzo stew, and brown rice
S: eggplant dip with carrots and celery
Exercise: I'm not sure yet.
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby AnnetteW » Sat Jan 11, 2020 9:08 am

Did you make your own eggplant dip? I bought 2 eggplants yesterday at Sprouts. I have made baba ganoush before and that was my plan again with one of them.
User avatar
AnnetteW
 
Posts: 630
Joined: Fri Jul 05, 2019 8:05 am
Location: Kansas

Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Sat Jan 11, 2020 11:00 am

Yes, I made the dip. I love Baba Ganoush! I used the recipe in the MWL book. It has spices that I wouldn't normally use in eggplant dip. It's okay but I prefer baba ganoush. I leave out the tahini when I make it, though.
moonlight
 
Posts: 1525
Joined: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:23 pm

PreviousNext

Return to My Daily Menus & Journals

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 44 guests



Welcome!

Sign up to receive our regular articles, recipes, and news about upcoming events.