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 AnnetteW » Thu Jun 18, 2020 5:57 am

Plan for today:

Breakfast - coffee, oatmeal, strawberries
Lunch - salad, potatoes
Snack - watermelon
Dinner - Spanish rice, black beans, cooked veggies
Exercise - 3 mile walk, possibly weights

Our house is being reroofed today, it was a rude awakening at 5:50 AM when the crew showed up. The temps are well over 90 degrees so they are trying to work in the cooler part of the day I guess.

I think I'll do some sewing, I'll need to keep distracted from the noise. Luckily I don't have to cook today since we have leftovers from yesterday.

I keep thinking of all the women over 50 who say they've lost so much weight on this plan (or similar) and that it can be done, and that I have to believe....have faith that I can do it too.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby Ejeff » Thu Jun 18, 2020 7:11 am

Yes Annette, you can and you will do it! I was 52 when I learned about this way of eating about 5.5 years ago. At first I made it very complicated following all kinds of recipes. It was new and exciting, but also pretty time consuming.

I’m not great at planning meals now, but I just make sure to have my fridge and pantry stocked with starches and veggies. So for example when it’s time for lunch I can just open the fridge and make a big rice bowl or have potatoes.

I also struggle with late afternoon eating quite often. I just eat if I’m hungry and then I might eat a smaller dinner. And I’m quite likely not all that hungry it’s probably more boredom for me to. Maybe we need to figure that out together? I think many people struggle with eating for many reasons other than hunger.

Like you, I used to drink wine sometimes and I very rarely have it now. I don’t want it because it affects my sleep and I really love when I can sleep a solid 7 or 8 hours.

I think that what keeps me focused on eating this way is in my brain I have a strong vision of myself staying healthy, playing sports, hiking with my kids (and hopefully grandkids one day). This vision is what also makes me stick to my exercise goals. I do a bit of weights and a bit of cardio right now. I do the weights because I’ve watched a few seniors get too weak or inflexible to pick up groceries or brush the back of their hair. I want to be able to do these things forever. Have you written down why you want to be a successful McDougaller? Keeping the “why” you are doing this in focus can make a difference, at least it seems to help me.

If you feel like you think about food too much (I sometimes feel like that also as I do all the cooking for my hubby also right now), one simple thing you could do is eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch everyday. Or if that seems too boring perhaps you have just 2 lunch options. Even for a month or 2 until you are in a good groove. Just a thought.

Anyway, I just wanted to encourage you as I am also in my 50s, female, and came from a SAD eating background. Quite often my hubby likes to tease me how much I used to like steak and ice cream. I don’t even see these things as food anymore. I do have vegan ice cream from time to time, but I enjoy nice cream just as much now. The point is the longer you stick with McDougall the easier it gets. So be confident that this is the right path to get and stay healthy.

Erin
"The more disciplined your environment is, the less disciplined you need to be. Don't swim upstream."
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:03 pm

I do have my reasons to lose weight and be healthy, number one is vanity, this getting old stuff is not fun. I don't like not recognizing my face in the mirror, and the saggy skin and such, yes, it gets to me, I won't deny it. My father is dying a slow death from Alzheimers, a nuclear engineer who designed subs for the Navy, is now nothing. Watching his deterioration is extremely scary. And my father in law's decline, also with some dementia, though he is 92 years old, still is difficult.

I don't want to be that person...I don't want to be the old frail woman, one who can barely walk, and is all stooped over.

Yes, I can ramble on about it, but it's more important for me to find strength in it, and I'll have the strength, then throw it all away. I don't know why I'm not stronger, but I do keep trying.

Today was fine. My walk was shorter, my legs have been tired and my feet hurt. So I've been walking a bit shorter distance to help them strengthen up.

Breakfast - coffee, oatmeal, strawberries
Snack - Watermelon
Lunch - potatoes and okra
Snack - Watermelon
Dinner - salad, black beans, rice, pico

I had more fruit than necessary, but the heat makes it so hard and the watermelon is so terribly refreshing.

I'm sure my weight will be the same as last week's weigh -in, I'm not feeling terribly hopeful at this time. I think my body loves to eat at maintenance, and I gravitate towards maintenance/equilibrium.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Thu Jun 18, 2020 6:55 pm

I had wanted to add that our luncheon out tomorrow is at The Cheesecake Factory, and if you have ever looked at their nutritional information, you might wonder how it is even possible to create food with a fat gram count as high as their items.

I have made myself a nice note for my salad and other items they have to put on top.

I'll be able to do it.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby jan_npr » Fri Jun 19, 2020 5:35 am

Would love to hear what you managed to have at Cheesecake Factory. We sometimes go there (well it's been a long time) and I get Sheila's salad without the meat. Dressing certainly not compliant with the oil. It tastes pretty light though.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:15 am

jan_npr wrote:Would love to hear what you managed to have at Cheesecake Factory. We sometimes go there (well it's been a long time) and I get Sheila's salad without the meat. Dressing certainly not compliant with the oil. It tastes pretty light though.


I will definitely report back and perhaps try to remember to take a photo. Their menu might be horrific but they are also quite accommodating. That is one advantage of a restaurant that has a large menu, they have lots of individual items. I've definitely gotten better asking for what I want on a salad. I don't ask for a salad from the menu, I just ask them to make me a nice dinner salad and then what to put on it.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:15 am

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


1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. still plating my food, though if I have a salad I eat it first, no soup in the summer

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. doing well with this, except for breakfast I have some berries or 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. I've greatly reduced the salt, but not eliminated it, I can't imagine eating beans with no salt, but I'm using much less

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).I continue to work on this. I did rebel one afternoon and eat a bunch of almonds. But I've stopped the soymilk. We had a small amount of tofu in a stirfry one night, but it really was used as a condiment. Oh and some avocado in homemade sushi. Um...this is still my most difficult area to deal with.

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. Pretty good, but did have dates on the day of the almond binge

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).Doing fine with this and have continued to have 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.I still feel like I overeat.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).I have continued to walk daily, though some are shorter walks, as my feet will hurt (due to a foot surgery I had), I'm doing some weights too

I'm definitely eating a few too many fruits, but summertime fruits are so yummy. Mentally I become a bit of a basketcase, wanting to throw in the towel, but then I have a talk with myself and pull myself back up. My belly definitely feels flatter. I know I struggle with weightloss, I do no like the little bit of discomfort it gives me. It's like my body can feel when it is in a deficit and does everything it can to make me eat something. It's not a belly feeling. Sometimes I really get tired of thinking "oh, I need to add a vegetable to this dish"...and I enjoy eating my veggies.

On to next week.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Fri Jun 19, 2020 7:18 am

So it's another week in the MWL world, I did my weigh in this morning, I had hoped for more but also wasn't expecting more. My body is not giving up the weight easily. I will continue to plug away at it.

Plan for today:

Breakfast - coffee, oatmeal, fruit

Lunch - salad at the Cheesecake Factory

Snack - will need real food after my lunch, probably some potatoes and fruit too

Dinner - haven't thought this far

Exercise - heading out on a walk, weights this afternoon
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Sat Jun 20, 2020 8:00 am

Another day....blah blah blah

We'll run a few errands, pick up a few things.

Weight was down 1/2 a lb this morning, ha, that makes me happy. I saw a 152 on the scale. The 140's are closing in and that will make me feel so much better.

I did a yoga workout yesterday for the first time since the whole "pandemic" thing started. I started a 30 day routine on youtube and will make that a goal. I really miss yoga, but can't afford to go to a studio, and my gym isn't reopening to normal classes, so I want to just figure out the home workout thing.

Food plan for today:

Breakfast - coffee, oats, strawberries

Lunch - rice and beans (still left over from the other day) and a nice salad

Snack - fruit

Dinner - Indian feast, having a few of the kids over, so I will eat dal and rice and a veggie dish, all ones I prepare oil free

Exercise - yoga, I really need to do weights and walk too, but the motivation is lacking
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Sun Jun 21, 2020 7:35 am

My blood sugar was up this morning, 108, yesterday was 92, still not in a "safe" range. I don't think I do well with rice. It's one of those foods I always consider suspicious, and then I forget about it. I had about a cup of white basmati with my dinner last night of dal and indian style cabbage/carrots, no oils in anything. I think this is something I need to pay attention to.

My fruit in the house has dropped to a more manageable quantity, so I'll also try cutting down a bit. If I don't buy a watermelon, I can't eat it all up....yum yum yum. I'll try to stick to a few more berries instead.

I'm mentally feeling strong, physically feeling well. I'm still gassy and bloated by the evening, but it's so difficult to drop the food quantity. And perhaps something I eat regularly is causing issues. Heck, it could be something like oats and I just don't know it, or potatoes. Eliminating and experimenting is quite difficult. To be honest, I do think some of it is quantity, and that could be anything or everything. I would like to be stronger in that regards, but mentally it's difficult for me.

My focus for today (and perhaps for the next few days) is to attempt to drop my food quantity down a bit, just a small amount, not enough to stress me mentally, but enough for my stomach and gut to have a little less to deal with.

Plan for today:

Breakfast - hot cereal of some sort, nectarines

Lunch - mixed greens salad (I have a lot to use up), potato, legume of some sort

Snack - a few apricots

Dinner - dal, cabbage, something other than rice, or possibly no grain at all, maybe another veggie, what a concept

Exercise - 3 mile walk, yoga, and I really need to do weights again
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Mon Jun 22, 2020 5:53 am

One thing I'm always reassured of is that my skin will clear up on a "healthy" diet. Nope...it sure hasn't. I still don't know what I react to, it's so totally random. Last night after dinner, after a dinner of what I very regularly and normally eat, I started to itch. I had a bit of a scratch fest during the night, and some new water blisters on my hands this morning.

I did have apricots yesterday, that's not my norm. And I know I can be a bit sensitive to peaches. So googling I came up with this:

Instead they often have allergy to peach. These individuals develop adverse reactions to apricot because of the similarity between the allergens in peach and apricot. Symptoms are more severe including generalised urticaria...


I think I will take stone fruits out of my general diet, or keep them in a very small quantity. Oh yea, and I had a nectarine with my breakfast, and 4 of the apricots for the afternoon snack.

I try not to find things to be reactive too, but I know I am reactive/sensitive.

My husband bought a couple more nectarines yesterday, I'll make sure to eat them in a small quantity only.

Today I spend the morning babysitting (not my idea of a good day) for my step-daughter going through chemo. I will give my body a rest from the walk, basically give my feet a rest, my legs are doing great and feeling nice and firm. Later when I'm home I'll do my Day 4 yoga workout which I'm so happy to be back doing.

Plan for Today (so totally up in the air):

Breakfast - coffee, 4-grain cereal, fresh blueberries

Lunch - Dal, potato, veggies

Snack - fruit of some sort

Dinner - haven't thought that far yet

Exercise - Yoga, dog walk in the evening
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Mon Jun 22, 2020 5:53 pm

Decided to skip yoga today, and we'll take the dogs out for a walk in a bit, so I'll get a little movement. I needed the break.

Dinner was great, we did our potato/onion/mushroom taco filling, with pico and shredded cabbage. My husband had some avocado on his, I just said no. We grill our corn tortillas on the gas stove, and I ate 4 of them and they were divine.

An afternoon snack of a mango and a nectarine were yummy too.

So far so good today, and I don't feel all bloated. Okay, just throwing this out there as a reminder to myself, but I wonder if oats bloat me????? I might avoid them for a few days and then have them and see what happens.
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Tue Jun 23, 2020 6:37 am

It sure would be nice to see my weight drop on the scale. Currently holding at 152.4. I'd love to see a 151 for Friday's weigh-in, I need to see it move to keep my motivation high.

Not sure yet what my plan for the day is. The weather is a bit cooler so I'm not rushing to get out on my walk. Or I might give my feet another day off. Even if I don't do my longer morning walk, we still always walk with the dogs later, so it's not like I'm on my butt the entire day. Though I do have to get back to my weights...no clue why that is so difficult. It's just fitting all the stuff into my day, and being a bum too that is so difficult.

I'm not having any cheats on my MWL plan, so that seems to be going well. I don't know if I'm still just eating too much food quantitywise or what. At some point it will "release" I guess, and I'll have a whoosh and feel good until the next week.

Plan for today:

Breakfast - coffee, 4-grain cereal with blueberries

Lunch - salad, potatoes and leftover dal (gotta use it up

Snack - mango/strawberries

Dinner - pasta, sauce, veggies (just thinking of ideas at this point)

Exercise - yoga, walk, weights
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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby AnnetteW » Tue Jun 23, 2020 8:13 am

Do you see a photo?


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Re: Annette's Journal

Postby Mark Cooper » Tue Jun 23, 2020 9:21 am

I see the photo - looks delicious!!! :D
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