Idgie's new journal

[Idgie]

Thanks, moonlight! The family member who I'm going up to help has always been there for me, so I wouldn't dream of leaving her to cope on her own.

I haven't read that Roth book, but Breaking Free from Emotional Eating, Feeding the Hungry Heart, and Why Weight (a workbook) I've read over and over. Let me know how it is!

[Idgie]

Okay, off to pack, shop, sleep, and travel. See you next Saturday!

[Mark Cooper]

Have a great trip, Idgie!

[Idgie]

I'm home! The trip wasn't great, but it wasn't terrible, and I'm home now, so yay! I would say I ate about 50% of my meals compliantly, but my snacks were off the chart. Still, it was fine. Gained some weight, survived a stressful time with my family, and my relative's surgery went really well. We'll call that a win, yes?

[Idgie]

Tomorrow, I start a six-week read-through of the Beck book with my SparkPeople group. It's a good time to get my compliance on point. For today, I planned a super-simple menu, and I have to keep to it -- no option not to.

Sometimes, to help me comply with my dietary needs, I look at it this way: I like experimenting, but if I don't stick with the experiment, I won't see if it works. So I want to see how many 100% compliant days I can rack up. It's nerdy fun, but it's fun nonetheless.

Too much food in the house (not complaining -- I am aware this is a huge blessing) so partner and I are going to see how long we can go cooking stuff we already have in the house (with the addition of fresh veggies and other perishables as needed). SO many beans. So many grains. SO SO much stuff in the freezer!!

Also, I've decided to halve my beta blocker, because I saw in the Digestive Tune-Up that it can cause constipation and I was wondering why I suddenly got a little constipated after starting this diet. I think maybe on such a clean diet, and having lost 40+ pounds, the dose is just too high now. My cardiologist does let me adjust the meds as long as I don't just quit them, and as long as I'm willing to take more if my symptoms increase.

Current reward amount: $7.00

Symptoms today: minor pains in my stomach (not digestion issues -- a slight sharp pain in the upper stomach, near my sternum); ocular migraine; ankle RSI pain; a little sore and stiff in general

Drugs today (not counting mandatory thyroid hormone (I don't have a thyroid gland)): 50 metoprolol in the morning; 25 in the evening. Aspirin and caffeine (1 aspirin, 1 glass of iced tea) to fight the ocular migraine in the morning.

[Idgie]

First day back to work. Not a bad day. Excellent food day; basically ate sweet potatoes all day, which is fine with me.

My kid bought me an aeroponic herb-growing garden thingy, and she came over to help me set it up. It's silly but cool.

I am having what may be heart symptoms, which might just be stress, but still, so I'm back up to regular beta blocker dose for now. Will see again how I feel in a week.

For day 1 of the Beck read-through, we had to list our most important advantages to losing weight (or for me, to staying on MWL):

Advantages to losing weight (or for sticking to
my WFBPNO diet)

1) Reverse hypoglycemia
2) Less heart trouble
3) Have more energy
4) Can do more
5) I feel proud of myself
6) My skin will improve
7) I will get sick less often
8) Will fit on planes and rollercoasters
9) Better for the environment
10) Easier to wash dishes
11) Better digestion
12) Less inflammation (and joint pain)

Second day of 100% MWL in a row. Reward total is up to $9.

Symptoms today: Some mild pain and palpitation in my chest and the veins in my neck; a little tightness in my jaw. A little bit of a toothache, but not bad (like my front tooth is sensitive to food). Ankle pain is lower than usual. No headache/migraine.

Drugs today: Regular dose of thyroid (250 mcg 6 days a week). 25 metoprolol in the morning; 50 in the evening. No caffeine. No aspirin.

[Idgie]

I'm in such a groove, food-wise. Ate exactly what I planned to eat, and it was great.

Had a weird pain in my neck today, that felt like it was in my veins, which made me nervous, but it went away after I took an aspirin. I don't like taking anti-inflammatories, but I do it when I can.

A different co-worker asked me a bunch of questions about my diet today. She's trying to eat less meat, and she wanted lots of details about what I do and don't eat. She's tempted to do weight-loss surgery, but she's gonna try diet and exercise first. Fingers crossed.

For day 2 of the Beck read-through, we had to choose 1 healthy diet and 1 backup healthy diet. I of course chose MWL and regular McDougall.

Third day of 100% MWL in a row. Reward total is up to $12.

Symptoms today: Some mild pain in the veins in my neck; no jaw tightness. Ankle pain is lower than usual. Back is slightly stiff. No headache/migraine.

Drugs today: Regular dose of thyroid (250 mcg 6 days a week). 50 metoprolol morning and evening. No caffeine. One 325 mg aspirin.

[choufleur]

Awesome that you're in such a good food groove! I hope to get there soon.

I read the BDS years ago and it's great. So many good ideas to help change those unhelpful thoughts.

Have a great evening!

[Idgie]

I am so lucky. My partner has been poking around the pantry today trying to think of something to make for dinner. I have always said (and continue to say) that whatever's served for dinner, I'll eat it*, because most days, we do our own thing, so if there's a hot dinner waiting for me, I'm gonna go for it. But my partner has been really stepping up the search for stuff to share with me that's on my food plan. Last night, it was vegan oil-free black bean enchiladas verdes, which were SO FREAKING GOOD. Tonight, apparently the choice is between polenta with tomato sauce and jackfruit soft tacos (neither with any added oil). I get home from work at 7pm, so if I make my own dinner, it's usually something quick (cold sweet potato from the fridge, bowl of oatmeal, canned soup, whatever), so it is really nice that my partner has been bending over backwards to make me healthy stuff, and just the other day said to me, "I know I'm not on a diet, but since you started eating this way, I'm feeling better and I think I've lost some weight, too." Part of this is, I'm sure, because I also stopped bringing snack foods into the house.


(*In practice, this usually means I do what I do in restaurants -- eat the healthiest thing available that's set before me -- or I make my own dinner if partner's dinner is pepperoni pizza or something. Fortunately, we don't have any drama around food, so we just roll with it.)

[Idgie]

Not gonna count today as MWL day because I'm sure the restaurant food had some oil, but I ordered the healthiest stuff and it was great. Vegetarian tom yum soup, spicy eggplant, jasmine rice.

For day 3 of the Beck read-through, we had to eat sitting down. That's not much of a problem for me anymore.

No MWL reward today. Reward total is at $12.

Symptoms today: Some mild jaw tightness while walking fast, but I had the energy to walk fast, so that's nice. Ankle pain is almost gone. Back is better. No headache/migraine.

Drugs today: Regular dose of thyroid (250 mcg 6 days a week). 50 metoprolol morning and evening. No caffeine. No aspirin.

[Idgie]

I didn't realize the grain mix I used in breakfast had seeds in it, so I'm glad I only used about 3 tablespoons (because I had less than a cup of oats left). I think I'll put it in the compost, because it's non-MWL, and I really want to stay MWL for the foreseeable future (and my partner doesn't eat hot cereal). Anyway, no MWL day today, but still good food planned.

Woke up with a backache, but lots of energy. Went next-door to mom's and played cards with her for an hour or so. We have such a good time together when our schedules allow it. I don't know how much longer I'll have her, so I am trying to squeeze in as much time with her as I can. I know I'm really fortunate to still have my mom at this age.

[Idgie]

I don't mean to sound overdramatic, but I think the key to my long-lasting success on this plan is going to be my discovery that (gasp!) you can stress-eat on HEALTHY food and it still works!

Mom had to go to the ER today (she's home now and probably fine) and I went right before lunch, so by the time I got to the hospital, I was ravenous. They have a coffee cart out front, so I bought a banana because that's all they had on-plan. When we left a few hours later, I was really really hungry, but I waited to eat until I got home.

Ate on-plan food for lunch.

Still felt stressed.

Grabbed some more on-plan food even though I'm not hungry.

And now the stress is starting to go down.

I don't want to do this every day, but it's better than finding the nearest deep-fried thing to eat, right?


Today for a sugar-buster challenge on SparkPeople, we need to journal what's the hardest thing for us in cutting out sugar. For me, it's prepared food and food other people cook. Mostly I don't use sugar at all, but it seems like everything I don't make myself has sugar in it -- store-bought condiments, food other people cook, etc.

[VegSeekingFit]

I don't mean to sound overdramatic, but I think the key to my long-lasting success on this plan is going to be my discovery that (gasp!) you can stress-eat on HEALTHY food and it still works!

Mom had to go to the ER today (she's home now and probably fine) and I went right before lunch, so by the time I got to the hospital, I was ravenous. They have a coffee cart out front, so I bought a banana because that's all they had on-plan. When we left a few hours later, I was really really hungry, but I waited to eat until I got home.

Way to go, Idgie!! That's awesome!!! ( Not dramatic at all, but very impactful for sure - thanks for the inspiration!!!)

Best wishes to your mom. Hope she is feeling better.

[choufleur]

Sounds like you did great today Idgie! Go You!

I hope your mom is feeling better.

[Idgie]

Thank you both!

Today, I'm feeling so happy and grateful, because my partner has decided to make a project of trying to find more things we both like that are MWL compliant. I've set up a google doc of stuff I know we both like that's compliant, and partner has decided to experiment and find stuff for us to share. Could I be any luckier?