Grit and Determination

[moonlight]

Exercise: 1 1/2 hours hoeing a garden plot.

I want to plant cucumbers, summer squash, zucchini, butter beans, and purple hull peas. It started raining so I moved indoors.

Food Today:
**NOT pizza!!!**
steamed cabbage, mushrooms, celery, carrots, orange bell pepper, and kale with brown rice YUM!
black bean chili with Yukon gold potatoes and green bell pepper
brown rice with steamed veggies

[moonlight]

Yesterday I got a lot done in my garden. I'm still not finished. The rain came again. I got okra, butter beans, cucumbers, and green beans planted. I still want to plant squash and purple hull peas and some more flowers. I really appreciated that I could do physical work for so long. I was hoeing, bending down, squatting, and doing quite a bit of walking. Thanks to McDougalling!!

Food Intake yesterday was MWL compliant, except for WW pita bread, homemade pear butter, and chocolate almond milk last night. I'll keep trying to be MWL 100%.

Exercise: 30 minutes on WaterRower AND 7 mile hike in the mountains

Food Intake for Today:
cooked kale with rice
watermelon
cauliflower, kale, and rice
pumpernickle bread and cucumber, tomatoes
apple
** during the night I could not sleep. My back hurt. I took aspirin, used a heating pad, but I kept waking up. I snacked all night, every time I would wake up. Mostly compliant food, except for the pita chips..and too many almonds...

[bunsofaluminum]

I love reading about your garden! We did flowers this year, with several tomato plants and two cucumbers. But I really want to do a vegetable garden next year. You inspire me! There is something so healing about being outside in the warm sun, with your hands in the earth. Lovely!

[moonlight]

Hi Buns, I agree! Digging in the dirt and being able to eat what you grow is very therapeutic for me. Gardening is also a time to contemplate life. Plenty of time to think - away from TV sounds and usually other people. It can be a little hard on the body with all the bending down. The more active I am the easier the physical demands are. I hope you are able to put in a garden. I really enjoy mixing flowers with vegetables and herbs. I think the bees and butterflies like that, too.

Well, since I have not adhered strictly to the MWL plan this past week, I'm up 1 pound. It seems that I just maintain my weight, or gain then lose the gained weight each week. It seems that maybe one week out of 4 I will lose weight and keep it off. The other weeks I'm gaining a pound or two and then losing it. Frustrating, for sure. All week I've been checking my weight. At the beginning of the week I had a gain from eating too much over the weekend. I've worked all week and yesterday was down within 1 pound of the previous week's weight. I was hoping with all the exercise yesterday that I'd be at least at 170, the starting week's weight. But, with eating all night, I'm sure I didn't drop any weight. The last couple of weeks I've been looking forward to getting into the 160's range. I guess it will have to be yet another week before that happens. I leave tomorrow to go spend time with my mother. She may have surgery and be in the hospital for a few days, in which case I may be living in a hospital or a motel room. Then I will go home with her to help her while she recovers. Hopefully, I'll make good food choices....

[moonlight]

I have taken a break from writing in my journal because I have been helping my mother out while she was in the hospital and now at her apartment. I'm eating really well considering the circumstances. I was at a fairly large hospital and able to find pretty good food - except for the oil... Why do chefs love oil so much!!! It really doesn't taste that great. I've been able to get in a brisk 30 - 45 minute walk in every day. There's a couple of non-compliant foods in my mother's refrigerator that keeps calling my name... I ate the pimento and cheese spread so I don't have to worry about that anymore ,,, and the ice cream only jumped into my mouth one evening for a very short few bites...

[moonlight]

I've been home for a couple of days but I'm returning to my mother's place tomorrow. I'll stay 4-5 more days. I have been working on developing a sense of urgency with regard to my diet and staying on plan. I had that when I started this journey 1 1/2 years ago. I've let it erode. I am too quick to grant myself an exception. Joining the 21-day challenge in the lounge is giving me a boost in re-igniting that urgent feeling of wanting to lose weight. Now, my goal will shift slightly to focusing on good health habits rather than weight loss. I've still got 26 lbs to lose to be at my goal weight but the thinner I get the less the urgency for weight loss specifically. I need to think long-term lifestyle habits.

Food Intake Today:
Soup with WW noodles with chard, mushrooms, onion, and cilantro-white bean pesto YUM!
WW noodles with cilantro pesto YUM!

Exercise: gardening

[moonlight]

Today was a travel day. I ate a “soy burger “ from a restaurant. I think it probably was made with soy isolates and oil. It didn’t seem oily... I’m at my mom’s until Wednesday. I’ve got energy to stay strong. Only eat MWL compliant foods. For dinner I had a baked potato and Brussels sprouts. I’m hungry now. I plan to eat an apple and maybe some ww noodles if I’m still hungry. I really haven’t eaten much today.

[moonlight]

I did pretty good during the night last night. I drank coffee late in the day so I knew to be prepared for waking up. I had MWL food prepared. I ate a little during the night. Today I’ve had sweet potatoes with jalapeños. Yum!

[bunsofaluminum]

Today was a travel day. I ate a “soy burger “ from a restaurant. I think it probably was made with soy isolates and oil. It didn’t seem oily... I’m at my mom’s until Wednesday. I’ve got energy to stay strong. Only eat MWL compliant foods. For dinner I had a baked potato and Brussels sprouts. I’m hungry now. I plan to eat an apple and maybe some ww noodles if I’m still hungry. I really haven’t eaten much today.

Isn't it ironic? We're starting to see "plant based" burgers in all the fast food joints, and they're so high fat! And so highly processed. I want to be thankful for "options" but they turn out not to be options at all. I'm glad your mom is out of the hospital. You take care of yourself, as well. Remember the pop top can trick!

[moonlight]

Hey Buns, yes, the "vegetarian" or "vegan" burger.... and friends who try to be supportive and want to eat at a place that has them. I never really thought about baked potatoes too much before this way of eating. I'm now so surprised at how many mainstream American cuisine restaurants don't have them.

Thanks for the well wishes. My mom is doing so much better. She would have had to go to an acute care facility if we could not have stayed with her. I'm so appreciative of having the time to be able to help her. And, now, she is recovering. Really great.

I go home on Wednesday. At the end of the week, my husband leaves for a 5 week work trip. I am hoping to have full compliance on eating and getting to the 160's range in weight. No distractions or temptations, right?!?

[moonlight]

Today has been a good day for MWL compliance and exercise. The last few days have been tough. It's been a bit unusual for me. I've had 3 non-compliant meals in 4 days. That is starting to get scary! I feel that I'm readjusted now. The 21-day challenge has been good for me even though it may appear not so, since I've had 3 non-compliant days. It's a good reminder to be determined. It's all such a process. I think the stress of taking care of my mother just somehow snowballed into emotional eating a few times. The transition to getting back home, spending time with my husband before he left for his long trip. I just decided to eat off plan. The meals weren't too terribly bad but I indulged in desserts, too. Geez. I'm starting another challenge for myself, with myself, for the month of July. I have 4 goals I want to accomplish every day. Eating and exercise are two of them. I've already accomplished these today. It feels good.

[moonlight]

So, for my own personal July challenge I made another calendar to track my progress.
July Countdown

June 30
July 1 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

Today's Food Adventure:
oven baked sweet potato YUM!
rice salad with fresh basil, garlic scape, onion, and tomato (all veggies from my garden )
chili

[moonlight]

I am procrastinating!!
I need to be working on a paper I'm trying to finish but I keep staying on this website reading stuff... I decided to look at my journal from a year ago. I think I've made some progress. Last year when my husband left town I got carried away eating non-compliant food - mostly crackers and cheese - that I had been resisting. This year I made sure he took all his junk food with him or he hid it where I don't see it. That's been a huge improvement since last year. He keeps his junk food out of sight for me. I also kept a record using the 10 pt checklist for MWL. In an Excel spreadsheet I kept a record of which items on the 10 pt list I most often broke. Eliminating flour products was number one, followed by eliminate all animal products, and 3rd was to make exercise a part of each day. I'm going to use the 10 pt. checklist again this July and compare. I have set up a challenge for myself "The July Countdown". I also looked at how much I weighed last July. While my weight is moving in the right direction, I have only managed to decrease total weight by 5 lbs. this year. I have lost much more than 5 lbs but it is from re-gaining and losing.

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

Eliminate All Animal Foods

Eliminate All Oils

Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods

Eliminate All Flour Products

Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes

Eat Legumes

Make Green & Yellow Vegetables 1/2 to 1/3 of meals

Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)

Restrict Fresh Fruit: 1-2 Ser/day; Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree/Juice

Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Make exercise a part of each day

[moonlight]

Eliminate All Animal Foods

Eliminate All Oils

Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods

Eliminate All Flour Products

Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes

Eat Legumes

Make Green & Yellow Vegetables 1/2 to 1/3 of meals

Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)

Restrict Fresh Fruit: 1-2 Ser/day; Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree/Juice

Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Make exercise a part of each day

July Countdown
July 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

[moonlight]

I am doing well on my July Challenge so far. With my husband out of town and my work schedule being a little slower, I am having an easier time staying focused on my goals. My eating is very simple. Mostly potatoes, rice, raw veggies from the garden, and chili. I'm hiking or rowing for my exercise.

Eliminate All Animal Foods

Eliminate All Oils

Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods

Eliminate All Flour Products

Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes

Eat Legumes

Make Green & Yellow Vegetables 1/2 to 1/3 of meals

Eat Uncooked Foods (Vegetables)

Restrict Fresh Fruit: 1-2 Ser/day; Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree/Juice

Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Make exercise a part of each day

July Countdown
July 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