Idgie's new journal

[Idgie]

It has been pointed out that since I occasionally eat air-popped popcorn, I'm not really following MWL, so I'm starting a new journal without "MWL" in the title. Most of my meals are MWL-compliant, but not all of them, so that seems reasonable to me. I will keep the same food log, and all MWL-compliant meals will have on them.

[Idgie]

Pretty good day today, but more processed food than I'd really want to eat on a regular basis. (Some sauce with sugar in it; some chickpea flour, a couple corn tortillas.) Did steam some potatoes and taro, though, and there are purple sweet potatoes in the fridge, as well. I am really starting to enjoy the food, now that I've gotten over the initial sense of deprivation.

[Idgie]

From my food log today:

Today's food was a disaster. I could blame the guy who kept bugging me to eat the chocolate at work, but he didn't put the chocolate in my mouth. Or the rest of the junk I ate all day. Oh, well, back to my plan. I could feel myself able to stop eating junk, and I could feel myself deciding to just go for it. I'm usually kinder to myself.

Speaking of being kind to myself, my good choices start again right now. One off day doesn't have to turn to two, and I have the willingness to stop being mean to myself by eating junk that doesn't keep me well.

[Idgie]

So grateful for a decent hospital cafeteria today. They had made-to-order salads, and they were willing to put pico de gallo on mine instead of dressing. Then I took 1 bite of the veg minestrone, and because it had enough oil in it that it actually tasted oily, I tossed the rest. But still, a big salad and some crudites was a really nice meal that kept me satisfied until dinner. I am so grateful that having a rough food day yesterday didn't derail me completely.

[Idgie]

I had one of those silly revelatory moments today. Partner wanted a burger on my way home from work, and I was thinking, gosh, I was planning to eat potatoes, but I guess I can get the brown rice bowl, and then it dawned on me -- I can buy partner a burger meal, and then EAT MY POTATOES when I get home. Like, duh.

[VegSeekingFit]

Great thought!!

[Idgie]

I know a lot of folks on the board are trying to reduce condiment use (to reduce salt/sugar/calories -- totally reasonable goals) but today, I was so happy I have so many delicious fat-free condiments available to me, because while some days I am fine with just eating cold boiled potatoes with nothing on them, sometimes I want a gourmet experience -- it's part of who I am -- and today, when I was eating purple sweet potato surrounded by several different bold flavored side items, I felt such richness and abundance, and the flavors were so interesting and fun, that I really felt like I will never need to drench something in rich sauce again in order to feel indulged.

There were two kinds of kimchi, the slaw my partner makes, and some spicy Mexican carrots on my plate, and I had some cut-up ripe mango, too, and it was just delightful. I could have just eaten the starch by itself, but the sides really added interest for me, and that kind of meal once in a while makes it fun for me to eat this way.

Lots of times, I just have a plate of starch with maybe some salt and pepper, but I'm also really grateful that I have a fridge full of interesting stuff to add to the meal in case I want things spiked up a little bit.

[keithswife]

I like to have a variety, too. In my younger days I worked in the food industry helping out at catering events. I love the look of a beautifully presented plate filled with many colors and flavors, perhaps different dishes served in courses. A nice table setting adds the final touch, and maybe some flowers if I really feel like making an effort. Then, I feel like I've had a dining experience. Do, I always go to this effort? No, but it does keep things from getting too boring.

[Idgie]

Same here; sometimes, I just shovel some healthy food in my mouth and call it a day, but I do try to do something special sometimes.

Today was stressful for a lot of reasons, but I didn't go off plan. What I did do, though, is not eat enough, which caused my blood sugar to crash a little -- not dangerously, but 77 is too low, so I need to be better about eating often even on stressy days.

I just now realized the 10-point checklist has 11 points

A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL) (I’ve made a couple minor personalizations -- I get a thumbs up if I choose nothing for dessert instead of fruit; and I am working myself up to 30 minutes of exercise daily, so for now, I get my thumbs up for 15+ minutes, and I’ll increase it next month. I also changed the “i.e.” to “e.g.” in the last item because I’m a pedant.)

Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
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 (or nothing) for dessert.
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.
Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Eliminate any added oil. (I think there was some oil in the soup, though not much)
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.
Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 15 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (e.g., brisk walking). Did 12 minutes on the exercise bike.

Today's score:

[Mark Cooper]

I just now realized the 10-point checklist has 11 points

I saw that as well - I think fruit for dessert is actually meant to be part of #2, but is important enough to be empahsized?

( I also changed the “i.e.” to “e.g.” in the last item because I’m a pedant.)

Today's score:

Awesome start!!!!!

[Idgie]

Thanks, Mark! I'm gonna leave it at 11, because I figure that makes getting an average of 9 easier. As my mom always says, "If you can't win when you're keeping score, you don't deserve to play."

The first time I was McDougalling, the year was 1983 and I was 16 years old. I have to say it is SO MUCH EASIER to do now. Sure, some things are harder, but when I was a kid, doing this way of eating meant always having to cook, and almost no prepared foods were compliant. Now there is SO much pre-cooked food that works for my diet. I have a bum ankle that's acting up this week, and it's been such a blessing to have a pantry full of compliant soups, cooked grains, etc.

Twelve weeks (and 35.6 pounds) ago today, I decided to work on my health by starting to eat intuitively. As it happened, I lost a lot of weight in that first 10 days (from 330 on 6/10 to 322.6 on 6/20), but on June 20th I had a dangerous blood sugar crash and decided that just eating less and losing weight wasn't enough -- I needed to eat BETTER, not just less.

First, I read Dr. Barnard's Reversing Diabetes, and started WFPB on 6/22. Then I remembered that Dr. McD's program also reverses blood sugar problems, so after a few days on Barnard's low-GI plan, I switched to McDougalling, and then on July 8, to MWL. July 8th is 8 weeks ago, and I've lost almost 25 more pounds since then, 3 pounds a week on average. But even better, I rarely get blood sugar issues unless I forget to eat -- and can I say how WEIRD it is for a lifelong volume eater to forget to eat?

I count my blessings every day. This forum is one of them. Healthy prepared foods are another. And a family who support me no matter what I am eating or doing that week. I feel really lucky.

[Idgie]

Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
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 (or nothing) for dessert.
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. I'm still using salt, but I have never been much on sugar.
Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Eliminate any added oil.
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.
Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 15 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (e.g., brisk walking).

Today's score:



Day 1: 8
Day 2: 10 (avg. 9)

[Idgie]

My mom bought us a stationary bike at a yard sale, and it's a pretty good one, but I may have to replace the seat with one that's more comfortable. I've worked my way up so far from 12 minutes on the first day to 16 today, and I plan to keep increasing by 2 minutes a day until I'm at 2 hours. I watch videos while I ride. I'll need to add more McDougall-friendly videos to my YouTube feed.

I ate an apple just now, and after a few months of not eating sweet stuff, it literally tasted like candy -- like it had been dipped in sugar or something. Almost too sweet for me. Our tastebuds really do adjust!

We had mashed potatoes with dinner last night, and we traditionally have fried potato patties the next day, so I made some for my partner, but just had mine as plain mashed potatoes. I caught myself taking a little bite of my partner's fried one, and I immediately spit it out. I was just on auto-pilot!

Later, though, I can''t blame autopilot. My mom bought me some cookies, and instead of refusing them as usual, I took them. And ate them. With tea and sugar. And then ate a non-veg sandwich. Ate to overfullness for the first time in a long time. Bleah. Not gonna spiral or anything, but it's disappointing.

Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
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 (or nothing) for dessert.
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.
Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Eliminate any added oil.
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.
Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 15 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (e.g., brisk walking) 15 minutes on the stationary bike

Score for today:



Average: 7

[VegSeekingFit]

My mom bought us a stationary bike at a yard sale, and it's a pretty good one, but I may have to replace the seat with one that's more comfortable. I've worked my way up so far from 12 minutes on the first day to 16 today, and I plan to keep increasing by 2 minutes a day until I'm at 2 hours. I watch videos while I ride. I'll need to add more McDougall-friendly videos to my YouTube feed.

I ate an apple just now, and after a few months of not eating sweet stuff, it literally tasted like candy -- like it had been dipped in sugar or something. Almost too sweet for me. Our tastebuds really do adjust!

Hi Idgie!

Awesome one the stationary bike - your exercise progression and your plan!! Great exercise and so practical when you can do something else too - like watch videos!! Makes it fun instead of feeling like a chore...

I agree with you so much on how tastebuds adjust. Amazing!!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[Idgie]

Yesterday was a terribly off-plan day, and I was feeling a bit like a failure about it, but then I read a success story, which I do every morning, and it encouraged me to just keep going and consider it a learning experience. Not saying 100% compliance isn't better than days like yesterday, but it's not completely valueless to have a day when your body says "Hey, why the heck did you do that to me???" Bleah. Back on track this morning.