Annette's Journal

[Zoey]

Oh my gosh, my mouth is watering!

[AnnetteW]

it was just a test photo of my meal at the Cheesecake Factory last week, I guess it didn't go into my post properly on the "food" board.

Today has been a weird day. I ate breakfast and about 1 hour later ate another breakfast of the same. I was so hungry. I'm starting to think about lunch now. I don't like hungry days.

[AnnetteW]

I swear, all I did was eat yesterday....but it was all on the plan.

Of course my weight doesn't budge. Drop drop drop, make me happy! LOL

Today I'll meet a friend out at a coffee shop (I'll have some tea, I can't drink coffee later in the day) because I just need to get out of the house for a bit.

And I have absolutely no clue what is on my meal plan for today so far. I need to make an Instant Pot of my mixed grain cereals. I want to avoid oats for a week just so I can test them. I'll probably make a pot of wheat/rye/quinoa/brownrice. I use 1/4 c of each grain and 3 cups of water total, cook on the mixed grain setting and it turns out perfectly.

Tomorrow my son and friend are coming over for dinner and I guess they are grilling salmon. What I'm pleased about at this point is that I can just choose to eat whatever I like, especially as it's in my own home. And by now the kids are all used to it and no one questions me anymore.

Plan for today:

Breakfast - coffee, mixed whole grain cereal, frozen blueberries

Lunch - large salad, potatoes

Snack - mango

Dinner - perhaps steamed cabbage with a dal

Exercise - walk, yoga, possibly weights

[JeffN]

And I have absolutely no clue what is on my meal plan for today so far.

I had a client I first met in 1995. May have been one of the worst cases I had ever seen. Over the course of time, lost 290 lbs, got off all his medications, no longer needed a walker or an oxgen tank and became a long distance bicyclist.

We became good friends and he would tell his story at some of the programs. One time someone asked, “if you can just give me one piece of advice that was the most helpful for you, what would it be?”

He said, “If I go to bed at night and do not know what I am having for my food tomorrow, I am screwed! I have to make sure I have planned and prepared ahead because if not, the day will always get in the way of my success.“

I want to avoid oats for a week just so I can test them. I'll probably make a pot of wheat/rye/quinoa/brownrice. I use 1/4 c of each grain and 3 cups of water total, cook on the mixed grain setting and it turns out perfectly.

FYI, while there can be other issues that creat reactions, one of the main issues with oats is gluten. Wheat and Rye are two of the major sources of gluten in the diet.

In Health
Jeff

[AnnetteW]

Jeff, I don't think I have a gluten issue. I've tested gluten over and over and it doesn't seem to bother me (though I tend to have tested due to eczema and other skin issues.) I am just questioning if the oats "blow me up" in the belly. I know I can be imagining it, but I'm starting to feel suspicious.

Yes, food planning is a drag for me. I do always have things to fall back on, namely a dal or bean dish, veggies, a grain. I did decide that today would be a simple dal and lots of cauliflower.

I'll try taking it to heart a bit, and thinking about tomorrow, today, instead of today, this morning...lol.

And I do have tomorrow planned as we have company, and I'll eat my own thing, probably just a salad with stuff added to it.

Oh, and in case anyone was concerned, I didn't eat all that grains cereal for one breakfast, that's a good 3-4 days of breakfast.

[AnnetteW]

I slept so poorly last night, went to bed with a headache, not sure what's up with that. Woke stuffed up, headache all night. I'm clearing as I'm upright, so I'm pretty sure it's allergies, my husband was feeling it the other day too. And the headache is right between my eyes and I'm also sensitive to sinus issues.

Busy day ahead with gutters being installed and the AC being repaired. I'm in cleaning mode as a bunch of company is descending at one time.

My body is tired, my legs are tired, I'm going to skip the morning walk but will do yoga and will plan to do some weights and also a longer dog walk this evening.

It just doesn't feel like a good start to my day, feeling quite draggy.

Once again the focus continues to be on good eating. I have my tentative plan in my mind.

Plan for today:

Breakfast - coffee, 4-grain cereal, blueberries

Lunch - cooked kale, potatoes, dal (try to keep the quantity a bit lower, see how I do)

Snack - no fruit in the house so I either go shopping, or I munch on veggies, ( have tons of carrots)

Dinner - salad, legumes of some sort (need to cook some up today), some other cooked grain (yet to cook up)

Exercise - yoga, weights, dog-walking, lots of housework (up and down stairs all day long)

[AnnetteW]

June start weight - 156
June 12 - 154 (down 2 lbs)
June 19 - 153 (down 1 lb)
Jun 26 - 151.4 (down 1.6 lbs)


1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes, except breakfast or if I eat a salad as a meal

2. 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 for dessert. Yes, except for breakfast which is 50% fruit

3. 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. No added sugars, a bit of salt, though I'm working on that too

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Check!!!

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).None at all this week, check!!!

6. Eliminate any added oil.Check !!!!

7. 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. None at all this week, check!!!

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).Check, no alcohol!!!

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.Really focusing on this, check!!!

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).Walking, yoga and weights, and the occasional day to rest when I work my butt off doing housework, and go up and down a zillion stairs all day.

Thoughts regarding last week - I stuck to the plan, worked on being a bit tighter. I'm feeling good, a bit tired, summer heat zaps me. Gut is feeling pretty good, but I still get terribly gassy.

[AnnetteW]

I should be happy with a 1.5 lb loss, but the weight seems to go off so slowly. Heck, I can step on the scale tomorrow and it will be up that 1.5 lbs. I still don't feel like I've seen a real loss yet. I'm starting to be frustrated with myself that I went off the rails when this darn Covid crap started and seriously gained 13 lbs back. I don't even know how that's possible, but my body sure was ready to gain it back.

I'm extremely pleased with myself that the weight gain and subsequent "back on plan" got me off alcohol. Wine is really crappy, feels good at the time, but truly does nothing good for the body or mind. It's not even an issue or thought at this time, it's gone. I just have to remember that 1 year down the road. That's when it doesn't seem to be a problem so I have one glass and then boom, it becomes a daily bad habit again. Been there, done that, I know the drill.

My skin is flaring something rotten right now. I think I'm the only person whose skin has NOT cleared up on this diet. If it's related to food and my cobalt allergy, I really don't know what to do. My skin hurting all the time is stressful too.

My WHY, I think about it a lot...I'm vain and want to be slim and trim and gorgeous. I'm not crazy about this whole aging thing, but it's something I obviously have to learn to live with.

I occasionally pass a lady when I'm out walking, she's probably in her 80's and has a wonderfully fit body. She wears shorts so I can see the shape of her legs and the muscles in them. Her skin is loose, but that's age. Her back muscles are defined, she's not skinny, she's well muscled, and she stands so erect. She does not walk like most old people. That's my WHY, I want to be like that when I grow up. I'm scared of thin frailty. Even though I want to be slim, I do not want to be thin and weak looking, I want to look strong. I don't know if I have that body type though and I don't know if I would ever work out hard enough.

My Dad's alzheimers scares me like nothing else. I'm not so afraid of heart disease, no one seems to have that in my family, but alzheimers is horrifying. And even with such advanced stages his cholesterol numbers are low and blood pressure good.

So my WHYS are vanity and health....seems normal enough to me.

Plan for today -

Breakfast - hot cereal, blueberries, coffee

Lunch out - Mexican restaurant, black beans, corn tortillas, lettuce, tomato (DO NOT EAT ANY CHIPS!!!!)

Snack - still no fruit in the house, either go to the store and get some or munch on carrots

Dinner - uh oh, I haven't thought that far yet, Use up veggies, make a rice pilaf perhaps

[AnnetteW]

I have a new plan, I will make up my plan for today and alter it as the day goes, rather than reposting.

Plan for today / Completed Day!!!:

Breakfast - coffee, steamed kale/collards with splash of balsamic, oatmeal, blueberries

Lunch - Lots of steamed beet greens, brown rice, garbanzo/carrot/onion/jalapeno curry from last night

Snack - lots of cherries (one of my weaknesses)

Dinner - Salad, sweet potato,

Exercise - walk

except for lots of cherries, I did FANTASTIC. I do have a weakness for cherries and enjoyed every last one.

Yesterday was fine. I had no chips at the Mexican restaurant, specifically asked about the black beans (only beans, water, some salt) and had the beans with steamed tortilla and a bit of lettuce and salsa. Anytime I can eat out and keep it in check will be a major success for me. I will admit I get tired of my friends saying I'm being so "good" when I turn down wine or a margarita, or order my "special" meal. JUST LEAVE ME ALONE.

Oh, I am really super duper going to focus on the MWL guidelines this week. Each week I feel like I get better and better. Perhaps others can jump in 100% with both feet and never look back, but that's not me. For the most part, I can start a meal with veggies, generally a salad, but breakfast has had me stumped. So yesterday and today I have sucked it up and made steamed kale (today was kale and collards) with a splash of balsamic and ate it before my breakfast. My goal is to do it everyday this week.

And of course continue to focus on the other guidelines, but that will be my primary focus. Once that is accomplished, I will focus on the next guideline that gives me the most problems (and I'll wait and see what that one might be, probably making sure I'm truly hungry, or not overeating at a meal.)

On to the day.

[AnnetteW]

Totally forgot that I was going to eat greens before breakfast until halfway through my morning cereal and then decided "blah....I don't want greens anyway." So out that goes already.

Plan for today:
Breakfast - coffee, grain cereal (half brown rice), blueberries, some rice milk made with leftover brown rice

Lunch - good sized salad with some garbanzos, whole wheat pasta, marinara sauce

Snack - watermeloen

Dinner - corn tortillas, taco filling out of potatoes and mushrooms

Snack - chocolate nice cream (I had the munchies)

Exercise - upper body weights and yoga


I'm feeling slimmer, my stomach is definitely starting to go down. That's all good.

[AnnetteW]

Up early and baking bread for the hoard of company I'm expecting later this week. I will be doing lots of bread baking as they expect it from me, lots of yummy homemade sourdough, divine. Now I just have to not eat it, ha ha, I'll do my best.

The heat is becoming a bit much and I'm not sure I'll be walking today, maybe after all the bread is baked, we'll see. But I will do weights and yoga again.

Weight was up a lb this morning, hate that....ugh.

Plan for today:

Breakfast - coffee, multigrain cereal, strawberries, rice milk (homemade

Lunch - salad, garbanzos (or make it into hummus),

Snack - frozen watermelon

Dinner - want to cook up a pot of beans, steamed veggies like carrots/cauliflower, sweet potato

Exercise - hopefully I'll walk, lower body weights, yoga

[AnnetteW]

I was totally wrong about having willpower around my own freshly baked sourdough bread. I might just have to accept that I'll be eating some these next two weeks. Luckily I'm totally content with bread without butter. I actually don't like the flavor of butter anymore. Over the holidays I had a butter cookie and to me the taste was strong. It reminded me of trying something like a goat milk in the past, I could taste the strong animal part of it. Nope, no more for me.

Today I am going to see a new doctor, a nurse practitioner actually (my current primary care physician is also a NP). He is certified in Life Style Medicine and big into veganism and such. I'll post back how it goes. My current issues are small, though my fasting blood glucose is still running higher than I'd like, and I haven't had blood work in over a year, so I'm curious how things are moving along.

Plan for today:

Breakfast - oats, strawberries, rice milk
Lunch - salad, garbanzos
Snack - watermelon
Dinner - we talked about Indian tonight I think
Exercise - yoga, maybe a walk depending on the temp, no weights today

[AnnetteW]

The two week hoard of company starts later today. I still have a bunch of housework and tidying up to do. I'm going to skip exercising today unless I'm totally free and then will do something, but I'm not going to stress over it. My exercise plan will lighten up a bit, just not fade away, and then I'll hit it harder once everyone is gone.

My food plan is forming in my head. I just need to remember what my food is, and eat it, and eat my potatoes and such...lots of salads and lots of fruit. I'll keep things like hummus prepped and cut veggies and eat them.

My doctor appointment went well the other day, we chatted a lot about my goals, and in a few weeks I'll have my follow up appointment and also go through my labs and see specifics to focus on. My blood pressure was high and my appt was in the morning following a few cups of coffee...bingo. And it was still elevated when I was home. Later in the afternoon after yoga it was very low. I'm going to spend this coming week dropping my coffee slowly. Today I had one cup of coffee, and also made a pot of green tea and will have a cup, and then will be able to have some iced in the afternoon, that will be nice. I like green tea, I just like coffee too. But this will be a good time to get it out in the 1 week period, two weeks without, then test again.

Now to just follow my plan...

Plan for today:
Breakfast - oats, blueberries, rice milk (homemade)
Lunch - whole wheat pasta, marinara, apple
Snack - mango, beet juice (lots of beet juice)
Dinner - Dal, poha, mushroom fry, beet salad
Exercise - none

[AnnetteW]

Happy 4th of July to everyone!!!

Yesterday's weekly weigh-in was 151 on the dot, and this morning it was almost 1 lb lower. Yea! It's nice seeming the downward trek, though it still is so incredibly slow. Once I get comfortably back into the 140's I'll feel a lot better and stronger. Of course then I'll be stressing out about how hard it is to drop down into the 130's. It still seems like such a far distance to go.

The eating is going okay with my first round of company, I just eat my food and try not to worry about it, but I do get questioned.

I think for the next two weeks I'm not going to worry about posting my "plan of the day" as it will probably change quite a bit and I'm sure I won't be posting daily either. I'll just set forward to eat an appropriate meal and then move on to the next. It will actually be nice to take food out of the forefront of my mind a bit and see how it goes.

Obviously if I feel I'm slacking I'll get back on track with my posting.

There has been a ton of alcohol in my house and I'm happy to say I've avoided it totally. It will also be gone after company round 1, as I don't think company round 2 drinks...lol. But it did make me think of my old bad drinking habit and how I really do not want that back in my life.

Also, I can tell my stomach is starting to flatten out. I do think it's the visceral fat going away, just like they say. The subcutaneous takes a lot longer, and now I can pinch it and wiggle it around, where before it was just a harder mass. My skin feels loose all over. Time to drop some weight. I still think about it all the time, being slim and fit....gosh I really want to get there. I will definitely be working on the weights.

[squealcat]

It sounds like you have a good plan with your company around this month. You are doing a great job Annette !

Just wanted you to know I made polenta today. It was so easy, just the polenta-type cornmeal and water. I made it in my instant pot. I had a serving this morning with strawberries.

I understand your feeling of wanting to just get it all done. My journey has been a slow one and that has been my fault. I just have to realize that I have learned so much on the way and once I get there I will stay there because of all i learned.

Have a great 4th !

-squealcat