Buns Again

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

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, carolve, Heather McDougall

Re: Buns Again

Postby earthmonkey » Mon Oct 26, 2020 6:49 pm

Buns!

I am so excited for you. Yes, BASICALLY you are doing the MWL with no added salt, and measuring out portions. Yes, I experienced that 750-1000 healthy calories/day as the key to getting that weight loss jump started. Again, I hope nobody gives you a hard time because A) people should mind their own business until they get context and permission to be otherwise. And B).... two words Mary's Mini....which calorie wise ends up probably being the same as 750-1000 simply because if one adhered to the ONE starch and no add ins like nooch sauce which i see everyone doing, the weight would also come off. AND, Dr. McDougall even has written that the inspiration for the Mary's Mini is exactly based upon her own eating habits long ago.

Anyway, I disagree with the people who say just follow the MWL list, because as you are seeing and as I too have experienced, some people need less moderation for awhile and more structure for the weight loss part.

Congratulations~

Tina
Image

5'5" starting 207 Oct 27, 2020 :: Soft Goal 125
Looking for local encouragement buddies
User avatar
earthmonkey
 
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Sebastopol, CA

Re: Buns Again

Postby bunsofaluminum » Tue Oct 27, 2020 7:33 am

VivianS wrote:VivianS October w6, 2020
Read that 10 item checklist everyday and stick to it. You will have success.


Hi VivianS...

I used that checklist for a while, but my heart wasn't in it. I needed an attitude adjustment, big time. A HUGE step in that direction came when my sister was diagnosed with heart disease, having Familial Hypercholesterolemia, which is hereditary. That news made me sit up and take notice and start being serious about it. I did a little over a month of strict MWL and lost four lbs. And then the scale stuck, and my heart wasn't in it, and I had rich treats here and there and just this meh attitude about it.

All along, it's been a struggle getting my mind in the game, plain and simple. I've eaten about 80-85% compliant, and the other 15-20% has been horrendous. The 10 guidelines are wonderful. I love the idea of a 50/50 plate, and in fact have known people on this forum who maintain by doing that 50/50 thing, and also eat the green veg first, then the starches to finish up. My problem was, that 50/50 plate was too big, and the food was too much and the scale was not moving.

I know measuring our food isn't a McDougall thing but I'm an old pro at the McDougall Plan. I followed it in 1995 for about 9 months, then picked it up again in the fall of 2009, got to 180 (my lowest weight as an adult) and kept it off for four years, and haven't ever gone back to SAD since then. My weight gain came when I stopped being careful with added fats. Came back to these forums as a regular in 2018 and that whole time has been me wondering what I have to do to jump back in with both feet.

Portion control is a hallmark of diets where you eat whatever, as long as the serving sizes are reasonable. I figure, this modification for MWL foods is legit. I'm eating the foods, and being extremely conscious of how much I put on my plate. One day per week of really low calories, and the rest of the week more moderate but still pretty low cal at about 1,000...and it's working. My portions are satisfying me, I get hungry about 45 minutes before the next meal. And frankly, I have a desk job, my favorite hobbies involve sitting quietly with a blanky over my lap. With my energy up, and my aches and pains down, I am more active, but really I am overall sedentary and 1,000 calories a day is probably enough, you know?
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
User avatar
bunsofaluminum
 
Posts: 6551
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:17 pm
Location: Ogden Utah

Re: Buns Again

Postby bunsofaluminum » Tue Oct 27, 2020 9:19 am

earthmonkey wrote:Buns!

I am so excited for you. Yes, BASICALLY you are doing the MWL with no added salt, and measuring out portions. Yes, I experienced that 750-1000 healthy calories/day as the key to getting that weight loss jump started. Again, I hope nobody gives you a hard time because A) people should mind their own business until they get context and permission to be otherwise. And B).... two words Mary's Mini....which calorie wise ends up probably being the same as 750-1000 simply because if one adhered to the ONE starch and no add ins like nooch sauce which i see everyone doing, the weight would also come off. AND, Dr. McDougall even has written that the inspiration for the Mary's Mini is exactly based upon her own eating habits long ago.

Anyway, I disagree with the people who say just follow the MWL list, because as you are seeing and as I too have experienced, some people need less moderation for awhile and more structure for the weight loss part.

Congratulations~

Tina


Hi Tina,

Mary's Mini, then. Back when I was losing steadily I tried MM with rice and spinach being the only meal I ate for the entire 10 days, and I didn't lose a drop. I was putting tamarind paste on it, or garlic sauce. It wasn't just rice and spinach, so I was eating too much. I was eating a plateful of food, three times a day and seriously the scale never budged. But that is sort of what this is. The idea being to bring all these exciting enhancements away, and eat food as it is without seasoning. Make it a sustenance thing, rather than a pleasure trap thing.

As for following MWL...back in the day, there was a challenge here on the forums for eating zero processed (MWL) and FINALLY the scale went below 190 lbs for me. I'd been at it for a while, had lost 45 lbs, and then stuck in the 190's...after a 30 day Zero Processed challenge, FINALLY my weight went below 190. So the MWL plan does work, but you have to do it. And for me, it just never got me charged up this time around. But Rice Diet seems to have done it :nod:

Freaking UTI. I give. Going to get an antibiotic, as I'm beginning to feel the slightest tinge in my lower back. :(
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
User avatar
bunsofaluminum
 
Posts: 6551
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:17 pm
Location: Ogden Utah

Re: Buns Again

Postby VivianS » Tue Oct 27, 2020 6:24 pm

VivianS October 27, 2020 Tuesday
Dear Buns, you are wise to take care of that UTI. I hope you will be feeling better soon.
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Buns Again

Postby earthmonkey » Tue Oct 27, 2020 9:32 pm

Hi Heidi,

Yes, sustenance over pleasure trap. I have found this difficult myself, and also inspirational. Due to other life growing in my life I have been having a theme 'what is essential?' and when it comes to my body, health is essential, and so, when addressing eating, I have been reframing my thoughts and feelings around food as fuel, not as entertainment. I thought last year when I hit 191, that I would not in a million years go higher, but here at 207, the disappointing reality, however, buoyed by the inspiration of many FOK and McDougall success stories. I really like that Dr. McDougall has said in many of his talks, that he is not a moderate guy. He is all or nothing. So I find myself, at the moment, the same, and which is why if I can stay with the RD SOLUTION, it can be my way back to the healthier me.

here are the links to the RDS I found, they are all on MCD site:

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... rice-diet/
https://youtu.be/YzazcQxU5nA (kitty rosati --better speaker than robert below)
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... rt-rosati/


~T
Image

5'5" starting 207 Oct 27, 2020 :: Soft Goal 125
Looking for local encouragement buddies
User avatar
earthmonkey
 
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Sebastopol, CA

Re: Buns Again

Postby bunsofaluminum » Wed Oct 28, 2020 7:47 am

VivianS wrote:Dear Buns, you are wise to take care of that UTI. I hope you will be feeling better soon.


Hi Vivian

Yeah, I was fighting it hard, but it was winning so I decided to get to the Dr. I've used oregano oil many times to defeat cellulitis, and twice for UTI's but this time it wasn't responding, and feeling that little nudge in my lower back set off an alarm. Kidney infection? No thanks. But the anti-bi is already working. Hopefully I don't get a yeast imbalance from it.

Hi Tina,

This website is where I first heard of the Rice Diet. Dr. M modelled his plan after Dr. Kempner to a certain extent, and usually touts it as something for people who are really ill, or obese. Well, I'm not really ill but I'm obese so...In fact I've looked into the Kempner diet very briefly a time or two, especially after I considered that my weight was the same as one of the patients mentioned in Kempner's brief on the topic. SMH. And I'm not the fattest person I know, either. It's alarming how much fatter everyone has gotten in the past generation. But I know what you mean about "how did I get this fat" only in my case, add the word "again" to that, because in 2009-ish, when I set aside my size 22 jeans because they were too big, I said I'd never again wear that size...yet here I am, wearing 22's :( Can't even believe myself. I saw that the weight was climbing, and I did nothing...

Well thank goodness there's a way to do it that doesn't involve pills or surgery, eh?

Thanks for the links. I'm especially interested in the Rosati one.

~~~
One of the suggested menus in the Rice Diet Program is rice with stewed prunes for Breakfast and I sorta chuckled, then said "yuck" and "not going to follow THAT menu"... but this morning I realized it's been about three days since I had a normal BM. I'm accustomed to BIG POO, first thing in the morning, and I usually have two or three a day. These past few days I've been gassy, and the poop is little and takes some pushing. It feels like my gut isn't getting emptied out. :| me no likey. And now I know why prunes are a suggested menu item. It could be that there's less, just because I'm eating less, but it shouldn't go all solid and dry. I'm eating pretty much the same foods, just smaller amounts. Hmmmm also not eating sugar, which can cause dumps...hmmmm... And yes, I'm going to get some prunes. Not going to eat them with rice though. I'll grab those during my lunch break today.

Scale up .5 lb. Probably because I'm not voiding my bowels.
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
User avatar
bunsofaluminum
 
Posts: 6551
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:17 pm
Location: Ogden Utah

Re: Buns Again

Postby earthmonkey » Wed Oct 28, 2020 8:31 am

I hear you on the BM front Heidi. Since I tend to drink coffee, I usually drink a small cup (black) when I get up and that seems to do the trick. However, I also use Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera juice which I finds helps immensely, i drink maybe 1/4 cup in water, it has a metallic taste but I think I'd rather have a moment of that than prunes!

I am down 2.4 in a day, after my reboot and have a journal in hand to daily keep to program.

T
Image

5'5" starting 207 Oct 27, 2020 :: Soft Goal 125
Looking for local encouragement buddies
User avatar
earthmonkey
 
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Sebastopol, CA

Re: Buns Again

Postby VivianS » Wed Oct 28, 2020 11:35 pm

VivianS October 29, 2020 Thursday
Dear Buns,
If ASL is your heart language, you may already know that DeafMissions.Com has completed the translation of the Bible into American Sign Language on video. Fasting is a topic in the Bible. You may enjoy seeing it for yourself.
Dr. MCDOUGALL has said it is OK to be hungry for a while. It is acceptable to avoid foods not on the Maximum Weight Loss program until you can eat the correct foods. Being prepared with foods that are acceptable is what we are asked to do. At the same time, you are a free person and you may fast if you choose to do so.
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

Re: Buns Again

Postby bunsofaluminum » Thu Oct 29, 2020 6:59 am

earthmonkey wrote:I hear you on the BM front Heidi. Since I tend to drink coffee, I usually drink a small cup (black) when I get up and that seems to do the trick. However, I also use Lily of the Desert Aloe Vera juice which I finds helps immensely, i drink maybe 1/4 cup in water, it has a metallic taste but I think I'd rather have a moment of that than prunes!

I am down 2.4 in a day, after my reboot and have a journal in hand to daily keep to program.

T


Well done on the 2.4 lb loss :)

Everything seems to have cleared, in the digestive front. I was able to evacuate my bowels yesterday. Two decent BM's and no prunes yet. We'll see if I have another three day slow down. I don't mind prunes, but danged if I'll eat them with a starch...??? ew.
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
User avatar
bunsofaluminum
 
Posts: 6551
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:17 pm
Location: Ogden Utah

Re: Buns Again

Postby earthmonkey » Thu Oct 29, 2020 8:56 pm

Haha no prunes with starch!

So, recently I have found an analogy that i think will help me make it to my goal. In spring of 2001from May to June I walked 500 miles in Spain along the now famous Camino de Comostela de Santiago. It took exactly on month. I was 32 and in good shape, still, walking day after day (one three day hiatus in the middle-ish after getting sunstroke), for 30 days for 500 miles isn't easy. I've been talking with my spiritual director about other things in my life (getting out of debt/having to stay at current job) and I recalled the Camino, the pilgrimage. She said consider now, you are in the smack middle (where I complained 'why did i do this!? why am I here?! wtf!!!) of a pilgrimage now (toward getting out of debt). That helped. And today I have been thinking about applying the pilgrimage metaphor to my weight loss, and achieving my goal weight. It seems to really fit and really help me keep my mind on target. I am writing about it here rather than my own journal because I thought you might like the idea too!

Also, I received in the mail today Kitty Rosati's book The Rice Diet Renewal. I bought it because it sounded like it is a 30 co-guide to the dieta. Will let you know what I think!

t
Image

5'5" starting 207 Oct 27, 2020 :: Soft Goal 125
Looking for local encouragement buddies
User avatar
earthmonkey
 
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Sebastopol, CA

Re: Buns Again

Postby bunsofaluminum » Fri Oct 30, 2020 7:36 am

earthmonkey wrote:Haha no prunes with starch!

So, recently I have found an analogy that i think will help me make it to my goal. In spring of 2001from May to June I walked 500 miles in Spain along the now famous Camino de Comostela de Santiago. It took exactly on month. I was 32 and in good shape, still, walking day after day (one three day hiatus in the middle-ish after getting sunstroke), for 30 days for 500 miles isn't easy. I've been talking with my spiritual director about other things in my life (getting out of debt/having to stay at current job) and I recalled the Camino, the pilgrimage. She said consider now, you are in the smack middle (where I complained 'why did i do this!? why am I here?! wtf!!!) of a pilgrimage now (toward getting out of debt). That helped. And today I have been thinking about applying the pilgrimage metaphor to my weight loss, and achieving my goal weight. It seems to really fit and really help me keep my mind on target. I am writing about it here rather than my own journal because I thought you might like the idea too!

Also, I received in the mail today Kitty Rosati's book The Rice Diet Renewal. I bought it because it sounded like it is a 30 co-guide to the dieta. Will let you know what I think!

t


Pilgrimage! this is just what I needed today, since the scale is stuck (of course. Didn't really expect otherwise) and hasn't gone down this week at all. :| Also, diarrhea from the anti-bi's. Wonderful.

I find myself in the danger zone of being "diet mode" where I don't want to go. "Eat teeny tiny and whip those pounds off, six every week and then quit the diet and gain everything back because we're not dieting anymore" or "I've been SO SO SOOOO good and NOT A POUND since yesterday!" *eats all the things* *finds chocolate* *stuffs chocolate in mouth*

Do not want to go there.

so. Pilgrimage. I'll have to think about what I've started, found extremely difficult, and pushed through to the finish. Heh. I taught myself to play the Maple Leaf Rag on piano, and that meant hours of practice every day. But I didn't stop until I had it down. There was some great difficulty in my early 20's as a single mom who didn't own a car...hmmm...I'll think it through. The piano thing was based on a passion. Learning that piece became almost the only thing I was interested in, the only thing I wanted to do and kinda the only thing I did in my spare time.

Meanwhile, back to default "The scale is not moving, and I love the energy, the feeling light and painless so I'll keep going" Ugh. Stupid scale.
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
User avatar
bunsofaluminum
 
Posts: 6551
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:17 pm
Location: Ogden Utah

Re: Buns Again

Postby earthmonkey » Fri Oct 30, 2020 7:59 am

You CAN and you ARE doing it Buns!! Keep at it. You have done difficult things before that required tenacity, this does too. One day at a time. Once choice at a time (of what to put in mouth).

There were many different terrains when I walked across Spain, mountains, meadows, cities, acres of vineyards, dry lush, forested, bare. I am thinking the same way about my weight, for instance I wrote this morning about having a couple days left in the 200s landscape and will enter the terrain of the 190s....somehow in my mind's eye this helps.

I do know from this RD SOLUTION that the sodium in foods is a big element. I know you have some fav foods (like spinach) that have higher than usual sodium content. I don't know if those kinds of things are adding up, but it does make a difference, so maybe that's a culprit. Also, any physical exercise does help.

keep up the dedication to yourself Buns, you are worth it!!

t
Image

5'5" starting 207 Oct 27, 2020 :: Soft Goal 125
Looking for local encouragement buddies
User avatar
earthmonkey
 
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Sebastopol, CA

Re: Buns Again

Postby bunsofaluminum » Mon Nov 02, 2020 10:49 am

Feeling grateful for a warm house with hot and cold running water; loving husband, warm friendly family in my life. Loving the bright blue sky and yellow leaves of the Fall this year, and enjoying my own kids and their kids. Thankful to have a job where I can work from home with no disruption in my income.


VivianS wrote:VivianS October 29, 2020 Thursday
Dear Buns,
If ASL is your heart language, you may already know that DeafMissions.Com has completed the translation of the Bible into American Sign Language on video. Fasting is a topic in the Bible. You may enjoy seeing it for yourself.
Dr. MCDOUGALL has said it is OK to be hungry for a while. It is acceptable to avoid foods not on the Maximum Weight Loss program until you can eat the correct foods. Being prepared with foods that are acceptable is what we are asked to do. At the same time, you are a free person and you may fast if you choose to do so.


Hi VivianS,

I love ASL and have taken classes in it, but I'm not fluent at all. My PT job is captioning telephone conversations for hard of hearing folks, and I used to work there full time until I got a job paying a lot more. I guess you must've read in my old journals about that :)

Being hungry, then. Used to be, when I was younger, my stomach really did rule me. The times I tried fasting in my early 20's were unsuccessful. I either broke my fast before it had a chance, or the times I did make it through 24 hours, I actually stayed up until midnight so that I could eat something as soon as the 24 hours were over. Or I'd eat something heavy and give myself gut ache putting heavy food on a very empty stomach. And because they were religious fasts, there was some shame involved in breaking my fasts early.

Since then, especially in my 40's, I've done probably six or seven three day fasts, and one 10 day fast in my lifetime. The 10 day, I enjoyed the sense of not having to use any time whatsoever in food shopping or food preparation. But my fasting never busted through my obsession with food. When I wasn't eating, I was thinking what I would fix for my next meal. At the tiniest grumble of my stomach, I would find something to eat. Bored? I'd open the fridge. Upset? I'd reach for the Nutella.

Nowadays, I'm finding it very easy these days to stop at the point of satiation, and in fact finding that the measured portions in Rice Diet Solution are actually satisfying and the hunger pangs between meals are no big deal at all. Thanks for the insights!

~~~~~

Okay I did a weird thing on Saturday night. On my way home from my PT job, I had to stop for a few things. Since it's a Kroger store, there is a fresh sushi case, and I usually cruise past just to look and keep going, but this time I saw some with roe on it! I love sushi roe...so I bought my "little snack" (which was really a full sized meal AND had fish) and ate it all as luxuriously as I could, in my car in a quiet section of the parking lot, looking at the full moon and listening to a podcast. What a treat, eh? It was late evening, like 8:30 ish, and it WAS quite a bit of food.

And the next day, I was up 3 lbs :roll: I think that "treat" was not worth the calories or sodium or late evening eating.

But back on course again yesterday, and dropped a pound.

Today is a low cal day. Rice and fruit. I'm thinking about doing two low cal days this week. Maybe today and tomorrow? We'll see. Also observing my own body. Because of the anti-bi's I'm back to regular again and because of this high fiber diet, it isn't brutal diarrhea but good bulky poo's. And even with that divergence on Saturday night, I'm feeling light today. My gut feels active and relaxed, and I am as clear headed as can be expected after the time change.

Today is my last day of anti-biotics. My side effects have been leg cramps and diarrhea. No yeast infection. Again...healthy gut=healthy immune system=healthy biomes in all the systems. Right?
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
User avatar
bunsofaluminum
 
Posts: 6551
Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2009 8:17 pm
Location: Ogden Utah

Re: Buns Again

Postby earthmonkey » Mon Nov 02, 2020 8:03 pm

keep up the good work Buns!

yesterday I felt a pang for something more flavorful than my extended version of phase 1 grains and fruit. So I made some quinoa, had a cup of that with half a cup of store made kimchi. I tell ya it was like a treat. The kimchi of course has salt in it, so it was easy to see how my taste buds said oh more please more. But I stuck with my portion. so that was my detour. I am grateful that I slipped back under 200 as of this morning. The reframe of this as a pilgrimage has been helping.

Yay you! Keep the faith!
t
Image

5'5" starting 207 Oct 27, 2020 :: Soft Goal 125
Looking for local encouragement buddies
User avatar
earthmonkey
 
Posts: 39
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 4:51 pm
Location: Sebastopol, CA

Re: Buns Again

Postby VivianS » Tue Nov 03, 2020 4:02 am

VivianS November 3, 2020
Right! Being clear minded after time change is a victory! I'm glad the UTI is nearly over. Stay with the whole food plant based way of eating as you have done for years. That is where you will find continued success. Your guts will thank you! Fiber feeds the friendly bacteria that live there. After an antibiotic I take a few days of probiotics. It may not be necessary, but I like to get myself any help I can get.
For your information, I found out about your old job working with hearing impaired people when I tapped on "buns of aluminum" and I read your profile. Tapping on my name gives very little information. I don't know how it got on there. I'm in favor of privacy. I am delighted that you have served hearing impaired people with captioning.
We are only temporarily able bodied. Usually most people go through a time of being impaired by things such as injury, surgery or aging. Thank you for giving Deaf and hard of hearing people equal access to the use of phones. I know hearing people who could not talk that used the captioning service. It is a great thing that only costs each phone user 20 cents a month. That is the best money I've ever spent.
I'm glad for you that you found a better job. You served your country. Thank you!
VivianS
VivianS
 
Posts: 126
Joined: Fri Jul 03, 2020 3:38 pm

PreviousNext

Return to My Daily Menus & Journals

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 7 guests



Welcome!

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