Grit and Determination

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

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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Tue Oct 27, 2020 6:40 am

I found a podcast on YouTube about binge eating that I think is going to help me get past the urge to binge eat. It's called Brain Over Binge. The hosts have a couple of books but me being cheap, I looked for something free on the web. :D

Their approach is about addressing binge eating from the perspective that the survival mechanisms in the brain are involved rather than some deep psychological issue (which may be true for some people, just not me). Their approach reminds me of Dr. Lisle's The Pleasure Trap concept.

I've had trouble with binge eating for many years. Sometimes more trouble than at other times. For about the last year I feel like I have had trouble with it. I think restricting my food choices, which I desperately want to do, has brought this behavior back up for me. I overeat at night, in the evenings. I am eating mostly cookies and corn chips but I can binge on pasta. If I can force myself to only eat MWL plan approved food I don't binge, or very seldom binge. I'm having trouble getting back to that place where I can say no to unapproved foods. I have gained almost 10 lbs. in the last 6 months or so. I feel out of control. I am hoping this podcast might be the trick my brain needs to get me back on track. The caution about the "one bite can't hurt" attitude is so true for me. When I make the decision that I can just eat one cookie then I'm in trouble.
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Sat Oct 31, 2020 3:44 pm

Kind words from Mark in the MWL check-in today:
I definitely believe you are capable of making your way out of the Pleasure Trap! Is there a variety of cookie that your husband likes, but you don't? Could he switch that up to possibly make things a little less tempting? Continuing to eat the recommended foods when faced with cravings, and knowing that (sooner or later) they will go away seems like the surest way to proceed, given that the troublesome foods are a presence in the environment.


I had a talk with my husband this morning about the cookies. It's the second conversation we've had recently about the foods that trigger me to go off the MWL plan. Today I asked him to be very discrete about eating the treats. Put them in a bowl, don't eat out of the bag. He will comply because he is very kind. :) Now, it is up to me to not ask him if I can have some because he will comply with that, too. :D

I appreciate Mark Cooper reminding me to keep trying to eat the approved foods first. Just because I failed at this for 4 out of 7 days isn't an indication that it didn't work. I'll keep reaching for those apples. The longer I can go without tasting the cookies, the easier it will be to give them up again.

I really liked the Brain Over Binge podcast episode 64. What I focused on in the talk was the notion of trusting oneself. I remember this recommendation from some other lecture. It is really important to keep this in mind. Do I trust that I can continue losing weight? Also, why do I want to lose weight. Being mindful of these two concepts seems to give me strength.
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby Zoey » Sun Nov 01, 2020 5:51 am

Hey moonlight! I saw you post about this on the October boards, and thought I'd head over here. That podcast really helped me a few months back, too. It's the first practical approach I've ever heard. I don't have any childhood traumas or deep emotional issues to deal with. I just like to eat! And I did it for so many reasons... actual hunger, pleasure, habit, stress, boredom, etc. Something about her approach really clicked with me, and I'm glad to see it's helping you, too.

Here's to a successful and peaceful November!
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Sun Nov 01, 2020 7:11 am

Day 1 of 21-day Challenge
180 lbs.

Zoey wrote:Hey moonlight! I saw you post about this on the October boards, and thought I'd head over here. That podcast really helped me a few months back, too. It's the first practical approach I've ever heard. I don't have any childhood traumas or deep emotional issues to deal with. I just like to eat! And I did it for so many reasons... actual hunger, pleasure, habit, stress, boredom, etc. Something about her approach really clicked with me, and I'm glad to see it's helping you, too.

Here's to a successful and peaceful November!


Hi Zoey,

Thanks for stopping by! I like the approach in the BOB series, too. Like you, luckily, I don't have deep-seeded traumas either. I am really struggling, though, with the pleasure trap... I have regained 10 pounds. Did I really put that in writing?!? I'm not going to focus on that, other than to know it can happen so easily for me. Chin up Forward motion!! Speaking of motion, daily exercise is creeping back into my habits. I feel so good about finally doing that. I am hoping the energy and good feelings from adding exercise back into daily routine will help carry me over at night when I can start munching... Congrats to you for your success!!! Cheers to a successful November - which is my birthday month. Hopefully, I'll honor myself with a good MWL report!!

I have decided to do a 21-day challenge for November! I did this in 2018 and lost 10 lbs. I have started getting a little bored with my meal choices so I think it is time. I'll make meals from the MWL book 21-day menu plan. Oh, and today is November 1st! A good day to start!

Day 1 of 21-day Challenge
Weight: 180

Today's Food Intake
B: veggie broth, potato hash (w/ Japanese sweet potatoes) YUM!
L: barley mushroom soup, rice, and spinach
D: Texan Casserole
Snacks:
Exercise: yoga and water rower

    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).
Gratitude Thought for this WOE:
Positive contribution to improving the environment. :)
Last edited by moonlight on Sun Nov 08, 2020 6:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby bunsofaluminum » Thu Nov 05, 2020 9:12 am

Your sweet husband, willing to tweak his snack style for you...lovely! And then of course, you still have the responsibility of "Just Don't Eat It" which is what MY hubby said to ME when I asked him not to bring junky stuff in the house. :lol:

Glad that you found some help in that podcast. Keep it up, girl.
JUST DON'T EAT IT

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simple, humble food
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Sun Nov 08, 2020 7:11 am

bunsofaluminum wrote:Your sweet husband, willing to tweak his snack style for you...lovely! And then of course, you still have the responsibility of "Just Don't Eat It" which is what MY hubby said to ME when I asked him not to bring junky stuff in the house. :lol:

Glad that you found some help in that podcast. Keep it up, girl.


Hi Buns,
Yes, I'm definitely on my own for the "Just don't eat it" approach. I haven't asked my husband to NOT bring certain food into the house. I'm not doing well with my willpower.... Every night I break from my plan.... I'm not bingeing. I think the podcast has helped me get the serving size down to manageable - just a serving size. I have got to break through this. I am determined. I am planning to make some banana and oatmeal cookies. It's only those two ingredients. Maybe that would work. I get the sweet cravings....

I did well on the daytime eating last week. I thought I would record a daily record but that did not happen. I was busy this last week. I hiked 3 days, worked 2 days, had company one day. It's surprising to feel like I've been busy during this pandemic. My life is so different than before.

For eating on my challenge, I made Texan casserole which was good but I added jalapenos and it was too hot. I made a big batch of mashed potatoes to mix in and ate that all week. I also made barley mushroom soup that lasted all week. Today I plan to make garbanzo stew and something else for the 21-day challenge. I think I'll start over counting the challenge. My birthday was this past week and I ate cake 3 nights.

I did lose a pound. Back to 179. I think it was from all the hiking. :D
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Wed Nov 11, 2020 10:17 am

I thought I would check in here. I'm having a good week! I am enjoying the cream of spinach soup (except I used kale), the garbanzo stew and shredded salad from the MWL book. I think the recipes are also on this website under the MWL recipes. Today I plan to make the curried eggplant. I made a big pot of Basmati brown rice. It had been delicious with the garbanzo stew. I think it will pair nicely with the curried eggplant, as well.
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby bunsofaluminum » Wed Nov 11, 2020 3:41 pm

oooooh Mushroom Barley Soup! It's one of my faves from SS. And!!! I bought dried oyster and dried cloud ear mushrooms at the Asian market....ohhhh man that's gonna taste good. !

Keep it up with your choices on a daily basis. I know you can break through that nighttime eating.
JUST DON'T EAT IT

I heart my endothelial lining
by red squirrel

simple, humble food
by f00die

The rest is an industry looking to make a buck off my poor health
by Pamela, a FB user
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:39 am

I have plans to join the MWL group for February. Since I quit this summer, I've steadily gained weight. I have added more fat to my diet. I've been eating bread, cheese, and occasionally some meat. It's not how I want to eat. I know the long term effects.

I felt like I was binge eating because I craved so much food that I didn't want to eat. I thought easing those restrictions would help with the binge eating. It did to a large extent. However, my weight is going up rather than down. I'm going to try again. If I can stay on plan until Friday, I'll join the MWL group. If I can't stay reasonably on plan, I don't want to struggle so much with what I'm eating. I'll just continue with the 80% is better than nothing attitude.

I appreciate Dr. McDougal and his team for providing this website. Any thoughts or advice greatly appreciated!
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby Daydream » Mon Feb 01, 2021 12:30 pm

Hi Moonlight, I would call Dr. Lisle for a phone consultation. I'm sure he would give you great advice!
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Tue Feb 02, 2021 8:50 am

Thank you, Daydream, for the Dr. Lisle recommendation. He is great. I communicated with him once before about making an appointment but never followed through with doing so. His appointments are available about a month or so out. By then I will have some good questions, I'm sure! I listened to several videos of him and Dr. Howk, his partner. I got several good pieces of advice.
    1. I'll need to "white knuckle it" for a week or so, maybe two weeks.
    2. I need to focus on plenty of starches during this "extinction" period. Don't go hungry.
    3. Control my environment during this time. I could even go rent a cabin just to get through the initial phase.
    4. Plan ahead and have prepared food ready to eat.

I think the most important reminder was the white knuckle concept. I need to be prepared to tough it out. I vaguely remember this from before. Rather than having a wait and see attitude, I need to have the attitude this will be hard and I'll need to fight. Plan for activities to keep me busy, good food prep, and a good attitude.
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby Daydream » Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:25 pm

Moonlight, I like your plan--it sounds great. I think you might benefit from having a couple people as your accountability partner for the times when you are feeling the urge to binge. You could call them at those fragile times for a pep talk, for a distraction and you might get some helpful tips. Even a couple of your trusted friends might be helpful during those moments of weakness. Let us know how it goes! I wish you all the best!
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby squealcat » Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:38 pm

Moonlight, I believe it was you that posted the poem on the MWL February board. Thank you for that. I copied it so I can read it often. It speaks to me !

-squealcat
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Sat Feb 13, 2021 7:00 pm

squealcat wrote:Moonlight, I believe it was you that posted the poem on the MWL February board. Thank you for that. I copied it so I can read it often. It speaks to me !

-squealcat

I’m glad you liked it. It really resonated with me, too!
I hope you have a good week!
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby Suey51 » Sun Feb 28, 2021 3:10 am

Hi Moonlight! Just checking in after seeing your posts in the February MWL thread - well done on your progress this month! *applause emoji here!*
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