Buns Again

[bunsofaluminum]

rough weekend, in more ways than one. We had a funeral which necessitated traveling out of town all day on Saturday, and out of state all day on Monday. I did well for breakfast on Saturday, but ate funeral food at the reception for my evening meal. This included funeral potatoes, a high fat dish. There were several different versions, and I had a taste of two of them. And salads, with regular vinaigrette, which had oil in it. And I also ate a brownie and a cookie that I KNOW were not on plan.

And on Monday, driving up to Idaho, we left home well before time for breakfast and just stopped on the way. I had pancakes, hashbrowns...with over easy eggs on them and a serving of "seasonal fruit" ...and after the burial, we went out to Chinese, where I know the food was prepared with oils....so Saturday and Monday were stupid eating days. I had only two meals on those days, but ate off plan.

and other than the simple sadness of laying a loved one to rest, there was just so much socializing. It was Wylie's family member who died, and he was seeing and greeting people he hasn't seen in ages while I pretty much knew him and two or three that I've met in the past. Saying hey to long lost cousins interminably, and...Because of who he is, Wylie was helping in any and every way that he could, which meant we stayed late for all the things. The viewing...we stayed until the mortuary was ready to kick our butts out. The funeral...we stayed until the church helpers had to flash the lights off to signal "us" (them, because by then I was sitting out in the foyer with my coat over my lap in an attempt to stay warm.) that we'd been there long enough. The graveside, where thank goodness a little mom with a three week old baby was ready to leave, and Wylie graciously walked her to her vehicle. Well, I took off and grabbed him, to the car before he could head back over to the graveside and start visiting/helping/otherwise hanging out for all time and eternity.

Lunch after the burial, and then because this was where he grew up, Wylie took me to see the various places he had lived, or where his grandparents' homes had been, and so forth. That was pleasant and I enjoyed it, because I lived for a couple of years in the same town, but DANG I was all peopled out and really tired, and COLD by the time we headed home.

today's eating has been 100% compliant. Yay! And more of the same as I'm rebuilding the habit.

[Bronwen]

So sorry to hear/read of your loss.
Don't be too hard to yourself about the weekend, it was an exceptional situation. Sending you a huge hug from Germany!

[bunsofaluminum]

hi Bronwen! yeah, I'm not beating myself up too bad. I mean, it's been a few years since I even tracked my food at home, cooked from scratch, let alone anything I ate while out and about. In time, this will evolve and I'm sure I'll be stricter with choices, or forego until I can get to food that is compliant. I know from experience that I will NOT perish from hunger if I miss a meal. I have plenty of storage and could probably live more than a month off the "fat of the land." But when you're in support mode, helping your mate through the grief, meeting and greeting strangers left and right...well, I am not in a place where I can do THAT on an empty stomach! hahahaha!

This morning I made steel cut oats for brekkie. I soaked them overnight, adding 1TBSP of lemon juice to their soak water. Evidently, the acidity breaks down their something something, which makes their nutrients more bioavailable. I was just hoping for oats that were soft enough to eat with a mere half hour of cook time. When I got up this morning, I drained and rinsed them, then put them in fresh water and set it on medium low, and went away. Sipped my tea; read my book. And because they were on such low heat I didn't need to babysit them much. About a half hour later I went in and they were bubbling gently, and ready to eat. Success! Now let's see if they give my gut grief. Undercooked steel cut oats are harsh!

[Starch Chick]

Welcome back.

Sounds like you are getting started right away with batch cooking and restocking the kitchen with all good stuff

Next thing you'll need is an instant pot for those steel cut oats

Keep up the good work

You got this

[bunsofaluminum]

Hi Beth...thanks for stopping by! Yeah, I'm doing well in the kitchen department. Good foods, good ingredients. It's starting to come around.

~~~

On the menus forum I've been keeping track of my meals every day since Jan 9. I made a little calendar, and post green (for 100% compliance) yellow (for eating something that has fat in the ingredients) or red (for eating off plan, or adding fats/oils to something). I've been coloring each meal by those guidelines, and if I have one meal in a day that is yellow or red, that makes the day yellow or red.

Something I'm gaining from this: I can see at a glance whether I'm being compliant or not, and it's very cool to see lots and lots of green MEALS (though there aren't many green DAYS in a row...yet) Also, it's quite self motivating. I want to see green, so when I'm making food choices, I'm keeping it within McDougall guidelines so I don't lose a green day. Knowing that I'm going to be posting my menus makes me choose better in the moment.

Oh, also...having that in place reminds me that I've only been trying to be compliant for a few weeks, and there is graphic evidence right in front of me that I've flubbed many times since then. If I get 10 green days, or 21...which means full compliance...and haven't seen any physical changes...well, let's just say i don't expect that to happen. If I am fully compliant for three weeks, I will see pounds/jeans sizes/etc drop.

[bunsofaluminum]

I am SO BUMMED. I've been keeping track of my meals over on the menu forum, and this morning I counted everything up and found myself to be only 76% compliant! for petesakes...well and that makes me wonder how horribly foolish my eating has been, if this is an improvement.

Another thing that's got me a bit down is how slow my body has been to respond. No weight loss, and also my elbows still ache, and my knee still hurts. And my gut is still acting a little like IBS. However, if my data are accurate...and they are...then I haven't even given it a solid trial if I'm only 76% compliant.

*sigh*

we have a week left in January, and I think I'll be making a goal of doing 100% compliance, all green meals, all green days, for the four weeks of February. And of course, for what remains of this month. Today is Friday. I have a little mini goal then: 100% green meals for the rest of January, and launching into February with that solid compliance under my belt. Because I'm going to start a cardio regimen in Feb. There's a workout room at my job, and I've got an hour lunch. Well, 20-30 minutes, M-W-F every week on the recumbent bike. I have GOT to get my blood moving. Burn some calories. I want to re-incorporate yoga into my daily life, too. Not as easy, because I live in a very small space with a man and three cats...but SOMETHING. I'm aging fast, thanks to obesity and a sedentary desk job.

Gotta steer it to a better place, starting now.

[roundcoconut]

I don’t know if this is helpful, but proponents of solution focused therapy are fond of asking people about all the things they have done that kept things from getting worse than they got.

This can easily yield a list of things you are already practicing, for real. And you can harness those strategies more — do them more frequently, or more intensively.

For example, it didn’t get worse because you freaking planned. That subway soggy monstrosity, is you doing something that succeeds. You anticipated and freaking planned. And that’s why you got a B-minus rather than a C-plus, and even just that can carry you far, if you are willing to turn up the volume a bit.

And saying no to Chinese, also kept it from being worse. YOU said no. That’s really really smart. You can do that again, because you have that strength — you did it once and you can do it again.

There are far more there, but my point is, don’t you want to build? Success is about building.

I believe in your potential and want this for you!!

[bunsofaluminum]

Wow this is actually so very helpful! Amazing, about the subway sandwich! I never would have considered that little triumph as anything worth thinking about! I’m going to look into this solution focused therapy. I like it! Thank you so much for the encouragement!

[bunsofaluminum]

Just an FYI...Campbell's has a line of soups called Well, Yes! I bought the Black Bean and Quinoa after seeing on the label that it has less than 10% fat, and pronounceable ingredients. Had it for dinner last night and it was GOOD! I haven't bought Campbell's soups in more than a decade, seeing as they are basically chunky salt water, but in the interest of having a pantry with a LITTLE BIT of convenient food, I got me some. Not bad. Not bad at all.

I got through all the huge batch cooking I did a couple of weekends ago, and it's time to cook again. I want to make a big batch of cauliflower taco filling, and a pot of minestrone. Mac n Not Cheese, because my last batch turned out pretty flavorless. It's a very good basic recipe, but I'm going to tweak it, see if I can get it a little yummier.

Want to play with my air fryer. I still have Brussels sprouts, and of course potatoes. I bought two varieties of frozen hash browns: classic shredded and Potatoes O'Brien. Kroger brand are just potatoes and something to stop them from going brown...perfect I want to do the Potatoes O'Brien in the air fryer and see what comes out. Oh! some garbanzo munchy snacks. I did chips in it on Saturday. Found out that regular russets do very well, and yellow potatoes don't. Well, they might, but I don't want to have to stand over it to make sure they're not going black. Russets on the other hand...yummy.

and a nice big batch of my new favorite: Creamy Garlic Alfredo, which is made with pureed white beans as a base, and has loads of garlic in it, along with sun dried tomatoes...and I add mushrooms and spinach. It is SOOOOO GOOD! And it comes together really fast. With a crispy green salad on the side? Mmmmm! yum! And...I just read the thread on The Lounge about adding salt and sugar, to help you eat less junky stuff...but in the middle/end of that thread Congee rice is mentioned...Rice Porridge that looks absolutely delicious. I'm going to give that a try FOR SURE.

Now, my discouragement. I'm trying to remember where I read it, but what I'm keeping in mind... that the body is an odd thing, and someone's story that I read, they ate consistently this way for a couple of months before any weight started coming off, and when it did, it was a flood of weight loss. As if their body hung onto the pounds until one day it just let go and many pounds came off in just a few weeks. I keep thinking that, or something like it, will happen for me. But dang, I'd like it if my elbow would stop hurting! hahahaha Re-reading Cloudy's (frozenveg) story is sanity itself, who went from unable to bend at the knee, with huge difficulty going up or down stairs, in pain and fearing to live as old as her grandparents because who wants 30 years of debilitating pain...

well, that's where I'm at right now. Age has pointed out with brutal clarity that you can't go through your whole adult life with 100 lbs or more on your body and NOT hurt yourself. I had about 10 years where the weight was more like 40 lbs, not 100, but I've never been my "healthy weight" since about age 11 so...my knee collapses? Maybe because it isn't designed to carry this kind of extra weight. My ankle goes super painful once in a while? Well...when you're in the high 200's for 25 years, and you twist your ankle frequently, you must expect there to be some kind of damage and now that you're OLD, you can feel it. And I can't even imagine being this way into old age...longevity is a thing in my family, with everyone living into their late 80's or older. Nope, I do not want 30 years feeling like this. This has got to become my motivation: Living healthy, with less or no pain, and no need for meds, etc. And let's face it...the "occasional meal" with oils or fats is NOT FOLLOWING MCDOUGALL. A feast day a few times a year? Okay. But not even going a full week without eating off plan foods? THAT has got to stop! I just need to be strict and follow the plan 100%.

One last thing: Huge bowl of oatmeal with berries and a banana, at 6:40 and here it is 10:30 and I'm feeling hungry? NO thank you. Going to have to figure out something more rib-sticking for my breakfasts. I know darn good and well that I'm NOT HUNGRY. It's simply my appetite rearing it's stupid ugly head. I can ignore it, and I will, but I'd much rather not have to deal with it at all. Steel cut oats fer now on, I guess. Or maybe oatmeal and hashbrowns. Or oatmeal and toast?

Well anyway, it feels like this has been a somewhat gripey post. Gratitude adjustment. NOW!

[bunsofaluminum]

This morning, when I finished my little plate of gardener's pie...thus finishing all the leftovers from that dish...I knew I was going to need more, so I made a bowl of cooked grape nuts...my Breakfast Dessert It is YUMMY with apple juice, and cooking grape nuts gives them a chewiness that is very satisfying. I was only able to finish less than half of what I prepared, but saved the rest for...dessert after dinner tonight. And not feeling hungry.

and then the COOLEST thing happened while I was waiting for the bus this morning. I've been reading a lot about living centered on God, and one chapter I just finished was about pronouncing blessings on ... everything. Sigh, so nice. And then I picked up another book and was reading it while waiting for the bus when the subject of blessing things came up. Again. In a novel.

So I put the book aside and looked at the sky. I blessed the sky, and the trees across the way. And there was this funny looking cloud that reminded me of a long-legged, long-necked dinosaur, stretching its neck downward. So I blessed it, and just watched it for a minute. It morphed, as clouds do...but what then did it look like? Not a funky upside down dinosaur anymore, but a rose being held out in a vast hand. I am so glad I stopped to look at the sky. What a wonderful little synchronicity.

Plans for today: get up and walk around for a few minutes every hour. This job is stiffening me up and making me old. I already got my 25...wait, 30...pushups out of the way. Yes! I realized 25 isn't fatiguing the muscles anymore so I upped it to 30. Maybe I'll push myself and see if I can do 40, or!!! maybe I'll do 25 in the morning, and 25 after work. Hmmmm.

Bless my co-workers (maybe not out loud) and bless this company, and gratitude for the building and the job itself.

At home: make some big batch food, and play with my air fryer some more. Work on a larger piece in my big sketchbook. Clean the kitchen cupboards? maybe. while Wylie watches the dangblasted stupid stinky news, I'll wipe the shelves and toss the things I'm not using.

[geo]

Thank you and Bless you!

[bunsofaluminum]

HI Geo thanks for stopping by!

~~~

This morning was the Super Blue Blood Moon, with the eclipse happening early in the morning, like 5:00 a.m. So I was awake anyway, and got up, got dressed, slipped on my cute little mules (mistake) and went outside. It was overcast, but there are tall buildings where I live, and the western sky might be a bit clear but I couldn't SEE the western sky with freakin apartment buildings towering all around, so I decided to walk down to a clear spot to find out if I *might* be able to see it. On my way, I stepped half off the sidewalk, which in my regular walking shoes no biggie, but those wimpy little cute mules, my foot turned and I went down. Landed on the outer edge of my left hand, and my right knee. Shattered my favorite mug, because I had it with me, sipping my tea, looking for the moon. Nothing is broken, I'm sure of that because I have full range of motion and there's no swelling or discoloration, but yeah...my entire hand hurts. And yes, if it still hurts in the next day or so, I'll go to the Dr and have it looked at.

In way nicer news, I made a batch of Amazing Vegan Cheese Sauce from the Brand New Vegan that turned out so perfect! The flavor is superb, and even the texture is creamy and kind of gooey like cheese. I think the potato protein must have reacted to being worked in the blender, but at any rate, it is just delicious.

But I didn't have the planned tacos last night, since we ate at my mom's house after puttering around with our "new to us" RV...Wylie's in hog heaven! His big new toy, all the little things that need doing, the fixing and the finagling. He spent the day there, we parked it in my mom's driveway, and then had some things to leave there after he picked me up from work and ended up just having a bite at her place. Baked potato with a salad over it (with the slightest small amount of not-fat-free salad dressing) ... but I'll have those tacos tonight! and maybe I'll go mug shopping! find me a new favorite

[bunsofaluminum]

Happy February!

Not happy with myself for a huge idiocy last night, last thing I did before bedtime...instant mac n cheese single serving, with VELVEETA?I It didn't even taste good, and after I put mustard in it, it didn't taste good, plus mustard. Don't know what got into me. but that's behind me, going forward.

My new month's resolution: adding 25 standing crunches to my 30 countertop push-ups. I do them both while waiting for my tea water to heat up in the morning, right there in the kitchen. The pushups were a little bit rough with my painful hand, but I adapted and got er done.

I also am aiming to get 21 green days in. I would say 28 but 21 seems to be a number that people throw around...building a habit and all, eh? Maybe that's what opened up that ugly door to non-food last night...the diet mentality came along and said "You're going to be 100% good starting tomorrow. Splurge tonight!" and all I can think to say positive is that I did not get into the cookies that Wylie has stashed, nor his chips. Good on me, that my "splurge" was 220 calories of yuck and nothing more.

Today I feel awesome, actually. Considering the aches and pains left over from going down on the sidewalk yesterday, I have energy and my brain is clicking along just nicely. I got off the bus a stop early and added many steps to my total, and the morning air was cold and brisk, and the sky was gray and silver, getting ready for the sunrise. I have a modicum of work waiting for me at my job, enough to keep me busy without overwhelming me, which is very nice and I just feel good, and rested, calm, peaceful, and blessed.

[WeeSpeck]

Oh Heidi!

I feel so bad about your fall and smashing your favorite mug. Thank goodness you were not hurt worse. The super blue blood moon (just fun saying it) was amazing. The fog lifted just long enough for a viewing window here in Sacramento. I never tire of these celestial events. We traveled to Silverton Oregon last August for the total eclipse of the sun. Hands down that was the single most amazing event I have ever witnessed. It was spiritual and emotional. I will be chasing the next total eclipse April 8, 2024 to Texas.

I have to hand it to you and anyone else that follows this healthy eating life style, while a non-compliant significant other shares cupboard space with all their tantalizing goodies. I couldn't do it. I would obsess on the food. It would be on my mind all the time. When we ate SAD, my husband, who is not a food addict at all, would buy a quart of ice cream AND NOT EAT IT. He just liked to have the option to eat it.

I would think about that ice cream night and day. It wouldn’t even be a flavor I liked! Slowly, I would sneak a bite here, a bite there. He never knew, until the last bite was gone and I had to throw away the empty container. Then he would ask where his ice cream was? He just liked having it in the freezer.

How can I get to that mentality? How can I not obsess on food? My only success is to keep it out of my house. And I thank my husband daily that he chooses to follow this lifestyle with me. Seriously, I could feed him kibble and he’d be okay. Food does not excite him. It just fills the hole in his gut. For me? I get up in the morning and get happy if I know I have an especially fun food day planned. Is that pathetic?

Fortunately, I have found that my fun foods now are crispy air fried potatoes and stir-fried vegetables over brown basmati rice slathered in sriracha and a couple of raw cashews sprinkled on the top. But, it took getting all the other stuff out of the house before I could find my new obsessions.

So kudos to you for sticking with it, especially with all the temptations around you. I applaud your efforts and certainly understand your transgressions.

Have a great day!

[bunsofaluminum]

Oh Heidi!

I feel so bad about your fall and smashing your favorite mug. Thank goodness you were not hurt worse. The super blue blood moon (just fun saying it) was amazing. The fog lifted just long enough for a viewing window here in Sacramento. I never tire of these celestial events. We traveled to Silverton Oregon last August for the total eclipse of the sun. Hands down that was the single most amazing event I have ever witnessed. It was spiritual and emotional. I will be chasing the next total eclipse April 8, 2024 to Texas.

I have to hand it to you and anyone else that follows this healthy eating life style, while a non-compliant significant other shares cupboard space with all their tantalizing goodies. I couldn't do it. I would obsess on the food. It would be on my mind all the time. When we ate SAD, my husband, who is not a food addict at all, would buy a quart of ice cream AND NOT EAT IT. He just liked to have the option to eat it.

I would think about that ice cream night and day. It wouldn’t even be a flavor I liked! Slowly, I would sneak a bite here, a bite there. He never knew, until the last bite was gone and I had to throw away the empty container. Then he would ask where his ice cream was? He just liked having it in the freezer.

How can I get to that mentality? How can I not obsess on food? My only success is to keep it out of my house. And I thank my husband daily that he chooses to follow this lifestyle with me. Seriously, I could feed him kibble and he’d be okay. Food does not excite him. It just fills the hole in his gut. For me? I get up in the morning and get happy if I know I have an especially fun food day planned. Is that pathetic?

Fortunately, I have found that my fun foods now are crispy air fried potatoes and stir-fried vegetables over brown basmati rice slathered in sriracha and a couple of raw cashews sprinkled on the top. But, it took getting all the other stuff out of the house before I could find my new obsessions.

So kudos to you for sticking with it, especially with all the temptations around you. I applaud your efforts and certainly understand your transgressions.

Have a great day!

Nancy! I love it when you visit...you always say the coolest things Well, the eclipse then. Though the full eclipse was only about a two hour drive from where I live, it was already crowded a week ahead of the date, so I didn't go. BUT our city is in the 85% or something range, so it was very cool in its own right. My favorite thing by far was all the little curves of sunlight under all the trees. SO cool. But it was also awesome to look at the sun with the eclipse glasses. I agree with you: THE coolest sky event I've ever experienced. The second being viewing Saturn through a telescope. That was even better than the close up pictures sent back by the exploration vessels they send out.

As for not indulging in Wylie's junky treats...when I told him that I want to stay away from that stuff, and be solid with my eating choices, and asked him to give me a nudge if I got into any of his stuff, he said my eating wasn't his responsibility... and he told me "Just Don't Eat It" which is so freaking profound I made it my motto. That plus having a real dedication to the No S mentality: No Sweets, No Snacks, No Seconds except on Special Days. And I allow myself dark chocolate on Saturday and Sunday for Sanity But yeah, he's like your hubby...he stops when he's full. If he isn't hungry, he doesn't eat it EVEN IF IT TASTES GREAT. He generally doesn't eat unless he gets hungry. But...he definitely eats more towards the SAD end of the spectrum.

but I'd like to throw in a shout out for No S, because it is "a diet" that fits in with McDougalling just fine. Though it is a "moderation in all things" type of thing, the basic idea is to eat whatever you want, as long as it is at a meal, and one plate ONLY. And don't eat dessert. Now, part of it does include indulging on "days that start with S" so at first, I went berserk on Saturdays and Sundays, with seconds, and all kinds of snacks, and sweets. But doing that actually taught me SO MUCH about eating. Such as "sometimes seconds are way too much food" and "a whole family sized bag of potato chips is NOT fun to eat, after all" ... well, believe me I was surprised when I found myself having entire hours in a row where I didn't think about food at all. And the utter bemusement to find out that I don't perish from starvation if my stomach gets empty and my mealtime isn't for another 90 minutes. I'll enjoy a mug of green tea with lemon in it...and it tides me over just fine. But the most amazing effect from following this no S discipline happened when my wallet was stolen last summer. While I was shopping for dinner. At the grocery store.

Stressful? Lordy! I was close to tears, my BP was up, and of course I had to deal with pausing my debit card, called the police, asked the manager to look at surveillance video (and where it must have happened, there are no security cameras...natch) and generally dealt with a huge stressor....and when i finally got home it hit me. I mean, it was dinner time, but food, including chocolate, hadn't even entered my mind throughout the WHOLE ENTIRE EPISODE. I ate dinner, and that's all. Food Sanity! Love it! Not getting into Wylie's stash is nothing compared to not trying to smother the emotion of that afternoon under nutella or cheetos.

Anywayzzzz! I went through my "ooh, permission to eat whatever I want" phase with No S, and stopped gaining weight but I knew I had to get back serious with McDougalling if I wanted to start losing again. But I follow McDougall with the No S discipline, and it's wonderful.