Annette's Journal

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

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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby Shmookitty » Fri Dec 06, 2019 8:52 am

mmmmmmmm...barley! My favorite!

I also find that when I'm out of the house and focused on something else, I don't get the same level of hunger. I am home so much while looking for a job, I tend to think about food too much. When I'm out at my volunteer job, I have to check the time to see if it's time for lunch. As long as I am focused on something else, food takes a back seat.

Thanks for sharing Dr. McDougall's comments, especially the one about hunger meaning we need more starch. I need to find the link with that interview and give it a listen. I think I saw it in the Lounge section a couple of days ago.

Your food for today sounds yummy!
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Fri Dec 06, 2019 12:27 pm

Shmookitty wrote:
Thanks for sharing Dr. McDougall's comments, especially the one about hunger meaning we need more starch. I need to find the link with that interview and give it a listen. I think I saw it in the Lounge section a couple of days ago.



There reference to hunger meaning we need more starch was in MWL book.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby Shmookitty » Fri Dec 06, 2019 3:31 pm

Ah okay, I have only read Starch Solution, not MWL (I am not doing the MWL program). Maybe it is also in SS and it slipped my remembering. That's always possible! :nod:

I did find the link in the Lounge and listen to the interview. So much good information in only an hour!
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Fri Dec 06, 2019 6:29 pm

Well I did it, ate my lunch and about 2 hours later when I started to feel just a bit munchy, I ate the last of the barley (1.5 cups cooked) and 1 apple, both cooked together in the microwave with a bit more water, and a dash of stevia powder.

I really wasn't hungry or munchy the rest of the afternoon, but I ate my dinner early so I'd not be hungry later this evening or during my hula hoop class. I had cooked butternut squash with black beans cooked with onions/peppers/corn/spices on top, and a few tiny slivers of avocado. Dinner isn't usually the problem, it's that lunch to late afternoon time period.

Tomorrow night we are going to a potluck party. My husband is making his sausage balls, which I obviously won't be eating. I told him I didn't know what to bring and that I'd just be a martyr instead. He told me to make my own food and bring it along and not worry about the potluck. I'm glad he was being supportive like that. So that's what I'll do, make a nice salad add some beans and a starch and just bring it along and eat it, and do my best not to feel "embarrassed".

I have a luncheon out with my girlfriends tomorrow at a Chinese restaurant, but I've already checked the menu and they actually have under "lighter fare" a plate of steamed veggies and brown rice. Boom, that was easy, I don't even need to ask for anything special. I will confirm that nothing is added to the veggies.

Sunday we are going to our favorite Indian restaurants and bringing a daughter and her boyfriend, so that will be a treat/meal out that I'll allow myself to enjoy. I'll just try my best like usual not to eat too much, and I tend to have a light veggie/salad dinner that evening.

If I can get through the weekend, which is always the hardest time for me, I'll be fine come Monday.

I would really like to see a drop on the scale, and the only way that will happen is with no cheating (yes, Sunday will be a cheat), so little cheating.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby Shmookitty » Fri Dec 06, 2019 7:21 pm

You shouldn't feel embarrassed to bring your own food to a potluck. That's what I will do when I start working again when faced with that possibility. Your husband is making a contribution so you're fine.

Speaking of working while vegan, it came out in my recent third job interview that I am vegan. They said they eat all the time and am I okay with that. Not wanting to explain McDougall to them, I just said I am vegan. I can't help but wonder if that was one of the reasons I didn't get picked. Both the Accounting Manager and Controller were very obese. I honestly don't think it's a coincidence that the interview was going great before that, and then I didn't get the job. Maybe I am just being paranoid.

I googled my favorite Chinese restaurant by my mom's place, and they have a "dieter's menu" that includes steamed bean curd with veggies. I was so excited! I can still eat at Foody Goody! :-D

My rescheduled birthday dinner will be at an Indian restaurant, and will probably include some oil. I am otherwise compliant all the time, so I am not going to worry about one meal. Enjoy yourself and your family and then get right back on track. It's all good.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Sat Dec 07, 2019 8:52 am

Shmookitty wrote:You shouldn't feel embarrassed to bring your own food to a potluck. That's what I will do when I start working again when faced with that possibility. Your husband is making a contribution so you're fine.

Speaking of working while vegan, it came out in my recent third job interview that I am vegan. They said they eat all the time and am I okay with that. Not wanting to explain McDougall to them, I just said I am vegan. I can't help but wonder if that was one of the reasons I didn't get picked. Both the Accounting Manager and Controller were very obese. I honestly don't think it's a coincidence that the interview was going great before that, and then I didn't get the job. Maybe I am just being paranoid.

I googled my favorite Chinese restaurant by my mom's place, and they have a "dieter's menu" that includes steamed bean curd with veggies. I was so excited! I can still eat at Foody Goody! :-D

My rescheduled birthday dinner will be at an Indian restaurant, and will probably include some oil. I am otherwise compliant all the time, so I am not going to worry about one meal. Enjoy yourself and your family and then get right back on track. It's all good.


I do think it's best to not comment about food/diet in a situation like that. I'm sorry you didn't get the position, but it was not meant to be. You would have been in a position that isn't best for your current health, and I know a better offer is out there for you. I freely admit we eat regularly (1-3x a month) at a favorite Indian restaurant. The buffet is amazing, the food fantastic, and I will not give it up. The first half of the buffet is all vegetarian, much of it is vegan, I've even spoken with the owner. I just do my best to not OVEREAT. We cook lots of Indian food at home too, and then I can make it oil free.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Plan for Today~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Breakfast - oats, blueberries, stevia, less salt than yesterday
Lunch - eating out at a Chinese restaurant, aiming for brown rice and steamed veggies
Snack - same as breakfast but with an apple
Dinner - Potluck Christmas Party, I'm bringing a bowl of salad/potatoes/garbanzo beans. I will do my best to stay away from the munchies, unless it's a celery stick, and also try to avoid booze (but I'm not sure how well I'll do that, but it's my goal at least)
Fitness - none planned
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Mon Dec 09, 2019 9:14 am

I'm taking the day off today....from going to the gym. I'm still recovering from a sinus infection and I just want a day to sew and play around the house. I need to sew up some new exercise tops too.

I know we don't count calories, but I have a little thought in my mind to keep from overeating at any individual meal. I usually eat 300-400 calories at a meal, unless it's non-compliant (oils, nuts/seeds, etc) so trying to do the 4 meals a day at that range should easily keep me in a weight loss mode. And I'm not counting it, just thinking about what's in a meal as I prepare it. Dinner will be more lax, not necessarily caloriewise, just it might be more or less depending on the meal and/or how hungry I might be.

Plan for the day (let's see if I stick to it)

Breakfast - oats and blueberries

Lunch - salad with garbanzo beans and cooked potato

Snack - oatmeal and apple (I'm aiming for the 4 meal deal, it seems to work for me and keeps me from munching all afternoon)

Dinner - dal, brown rice, a veggie dish yet to be decided upon
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby bunsofaluminum » Mon Dec 09, 2019 11:22 am

So that's what I'm going to do. In fact I will try a larger breakfast, instead of 1/2 cup of oats (before cooking) I'll increase to 3/4 cup for instance. And I will eat whatever I choose as my lunch, but be prepared to eat a large bowl of oats or such the moment I get my carb craving. We'll see what happens, if I can stop this cycle.


This worked for me when I started, only I kept baked potatoes around all the time. Oatmeal has never stuck to my ribs worth a darn, but I'm finding grits are good until about 45 minutes before lunchtime. Perfect!

But "stop this cycle"...that's what catches my eye. I've been spiraling myself, and maybe getting enough starches will help with breaking away from the Pleasure Trap. Hmmmm....
JUST DON'T EAT IT

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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby Shmookitty » Mon Dec 09, 2019 12:07 pm

Did I miss something in your journal about eating four meals a day instead of the traditional three?

I ask because I just posted on Sparkpeople this morning that I am finding I do a lot better with four smaller meals than three larger ones. I basically eat at 8:30, 12, 3:30 and 6. 3:30 used to be a small snack under 80 calories or so, but I have changed it to something more substantial, and then I naturally eat a smaller dinner because I had more food at 3:30. If I'm hungry, I eat, and I do naturally get hungry around 3:30, so I started making that a mini-meal instead of just a snack. (Today it will be steamed acorn squash, YAY!)

Do you know if Dr. McDougall advocates eating more smaller meals? Or is it just assumed when he says to eat when hungry and until full? Or was that your idea for yourself and you and I are just going through similar realizations?
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:08 am

Shmookitty wrote:Do you know if Dr. McDougall advocates eating more smaller meals? Or is it just assumed when he says to eat when hungry and until full? Or was that your idea for yourself and you and I are just going through similar realizations?

In the books he advocates "grazing" so yes, smaller meals are a good thing. I don't have any problem with smaller meals myself, it's just when I fall off track, off plan, that's what causes the problems for me. And then I don't care.

I changed my mind about a salad yesterday, I just am not in the mood for a salad, and had pasta with sauce instead. The sauce was in the fridge already, needed to be used up. A bit later I was back in the kitchen for a glass of water and no crap, there was a bag of German Christmas cookies in the cupboard, a glass cupboard to I couldn't help but see them. I'm not going to even admit to how many I ate, and we're talking bowls, not individual cookies. Well crap.....I didn't even realize my husband had bought them. Why did I eat them, I ate them without even thinking.

I ate my yummy Indian food for dinner, but because I had eaten garbage already earlier I allowed myself to eat the store bought naan and also the store bought pakoras that have lots of oil in them.

I keep meaning to make my own pakoras, perhaps I need to figure that out today, make that a goal.

And I'm not feeling in the mood to exercise either. Perhaps I'm in a bit of a funk, who knows.

Stepping on the scale this morning was a mistake.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:12 am

bunsofaluminum wrote:This worked for me when I started, only I kept baked potatoes around all the time. Oatmeal has never stuck to my ribs worth a darn, but I'm finding grits are good until about 45 minutes before lunchtime. Perfect!

But "stop this cycle"...that's what catches my eye. I've been spiraling myself, and maybe getting enough starches will help with breaking away from the Pleasure Trap. Hmmmm....


I have a big bag of potatoes so I think baking a bunch would be a great idea. Plus it's super cold here so having the oven on wouldn't hurt anything. I do fine with oatmeal, in the past I would not have agreed with that, but now it's fine.

Actually I have no troubles with breakfast, lunch, or dinner (for the most part), it's that time period shortly after lunch till around 4 pm.

There is still a certain amount of willpower needed to get over these bad spots, I don't seem to be able to find mine right now.

I just need to remember each day is its own separate day, same as each meal. Yesterday I put two bad meals together, that was my mistake, I should know better. I can accept that I will never have a perfect diet, but I need to not do it multiple meals in a row.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Tue Dec 10, 2019 8:17 am

Now from quickly posting the two posts above, my mind is in thinking mode again. That's always a good place for me, I do well when I talk or write out my problems, and then I can start to see past them.

I think I'll play in the kitchen today, something I've been avoiding lately. At first it was exciting to try new recipes and such, but I've gotten bored with it. But today I will see if I can make my own oil free pakoras. I will also bake up a bunch of potatoes, I think I have one sweet potato, and I might even have a butternut squash hanging out....not sure, but I'll bake them all.

My pantry, which is one very small closet, also could use some organizing. I really need more pantry space and am not sure the best way to find it. I have a closet in the basement I use, and might just have to move more items down there. I will think on this, but the pantry will also be a plan of action for today.

Plan for today:

Breakfast - 7 grain cereal, apple

Lunch - SALAD (or it will go bad), baked potato, bowl of dal

Snack - another potato or two

Dinner - perhaps more dal, heck, I have no clue, and steamed veggies

Fitness - hoop a bit, feeling lazy
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Tue Dec 10, 2019 9:23 am

decided to stop my complaining, cooked up some breakfast, took a shower and put on my gym clothes. I'll go and do a super good hard workout!!!!!
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby bunsofaluminum » Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:08 am

AnnetteW wrote:decided to stop my complaining, cooked up some breakfast, took a shower and put on my gym clothes. I'll go and do a super good hard workout!!!!!



That's the spirit! Go, grrrrl!
JUST DON'T EAT IT

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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Wed Dec 11, 2019 8:10 am

Back in October was the first time I saw 147.2, then in November I saw a 147.1, today I saw a 147.0. Geez, this has been a long trek. But my chart does appear to be heading downwards again, if I can just keep strong and keep at it.

Image

I started reading Dr. Gregor's new book "How Not to Diet" and there is a lot of good information in there. I haven't gotten far into the book, did do a little skimming through the whole thing, to see what catches my eye. I will definitely try some of the idea. Adding spices that are anti-inflammatory is an easy idea I can start on right away as I have all of what he mentions due to our Indian cooking, but I can add more. I'll report with new things if I try them.

Tomorrow's the official weekly weigh-in and I really want to see a 146 on that scale, but whether it happens or not, I can't say. I can eat really carefully, but if my body holds on to something, I can't really control that. But I do want to keep on track.

Plan for today (also thinking of trying the 2t of vinegar before meals)

Breakfast - Trying that amaranth, it's cooking right now. Adding 2T ground chia seeds, blueberries, stevia, and a bit of soy milk

Lunch - potato, sweet potato, dal,

Snack - hot cereal if needed

Dinner - not sure yet, salad and a soup perhaps

Exercise - yoga class, fitness class, weights, hula hoop class
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