Birdy Takes Flight

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

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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Anna Green » Tue Jun 12, 2012 12:04 pm

Birdy, I'm guessing that those eating the bread had a lot to lose and it was a major improvement over the SAD they were eating. You don't have a lot of weight to lose I'm guessing so I wonder if it's just harder.

You have a blast!
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Wed Jun 13, 2012 11:29 pm

Yep we leave a week from today and I think it'll be a good vacation.

More on the bread thing. If I ate bread at every meal and then some, it would one, upset my digestive system, two, cause bloating, and generally just be too much wheat. Someone recently pointed out to me that wheat has been genetically modified since the 1950s or 1960s and that, even if it's organic it's still GM. Same is true for dairy (which we don't have to deal with), corn and soy.

On a positive food note, I read today that more research is showing tea (Darjeehling, oolong and regular black teas) to be protective against the pathogen that causes ulcers, high blood pressure and dementias including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. It's hard to stick to tea over coffee (for a confirmed coffee drinker of 40 years), but tea is so much more beneficial. After having been "off" coffee for about two weeks now, I also noticed that the lumpy breast tenderness I've had for many years disappeared completely. Yay.

Not much exercise today. Tomorrow, strength train and walk at least 40 minutes.

Tomorrow I plan to have oatmeal and banana for breakfast, with tea (of course). Lunch: vegie sandwich; carrots. Snack: fresh fruit. Dinner: Mary McDougall's Enchiladas (was going to have that tonight but plans changed and I had a homemade vegie burger and green salad).
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Anna Green » Wed Jun 20, 2012 9:57 am

Hey, wow about the gone breast tenderness. What a benefit! Especially when you are exercising.

Did you make the potato enchiladas? I have and they were good. Also, I've been trying veggie burger recipes. If you like yours will you share?
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Sun Jul 01, 2012 11:52 am

We really enjoyed the warmth and lots of outdoor activity in sunny Santa Cruz. Walking along the ocean and around town felt great. The ocean was too cold to swim in without a wet suit, but it was just so nice to see and listen to the waves. Now we're back to cool rainy Seattle. Oh well. It's nice to be home and summer is bound to arrive sometime soon. I shouldn't complain considering the 100 degree weather on the East coast. Yikes.

While on vacation I ended up eating a lot of fish and some dairy and eggs. Even so I lost a slight amount of weight. I think being so much more active resulted in the weight loss (rather than gaining) on vacation. One thing you can't help noticing when you travel is how completely pervasive the SAD is. I'm glad to get back to my vegan ways now that we're home again. Fall off the wagon, get back on.

Anna, I didn't like the potato enchilada recipe. It just didn't have a good taste to me for some reason. I will definitely share a vegie burger recipe with you once I make one that's good. So far I haven't come up with one that I like!

Today, I'm gardening and going for a walk and/or a bicycle ride. I got a cushy seat cover which should make it more comfortable. Need to get back to strength training too which was disrupted by vacation.

Today's food:
B: two plain flaxseed waffles; coffee with soy creamer & tsp. sugar
L: sandwich with hummus and tomato; coleslaw made with tahini dressing
Snack: orange; iced tea
D: lentils served over brown rice; green salad
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Anna Green » Wed Jul 04, 2012 8:10 am

Birdy, glad you enjoyed vacation. One thing I like about vacation is I always get a lot of exercise. I come back tired but still feeling good.

That's what we do- we get back on it.
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby ShevaunB » Thu Jul 05, 2012 7:54 am

Birdy wrote:One thing you can't help noticing when you travel is how completely pervasive the SAD is. I'm glad to get back to my vegan ways now that we're home again.


That is sooo true. All vegans need a SAD shield IMO :wink: I've been reading and enjoying your journal. I'm a knitter as well, just learned last year. Have a good day!
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Sat Jul 07, 2012 9:25 pm

Hi Shevaun, thanks for posting. And I'm glad you enjoy my journal :) I haven't knitted for a while but just yesterday was looking at sites for knitting for charity. There are so many possibilities.

Hi Anna. Unfortunately, I've been more off than on the "wagon," with the fourth of July and other celebrations. Someone posted in The Lounge how easy this way of eating is. They must live on another planet from me.

But I'm still picking myself up outta the dirt and dusting myself off. I read the other day that people who try to quit smoking repeatedly should just keep trying because their likelihood of success increases with every attempt to quit. So I draw a parallel with quitting smoking (thank God I don't have that to contend with) and quitting unhealthy eating habits. It can be done!

I was really proud of myself on the fourth because I made three new dishes to take to a potluck and all three were vegan. I made a wild rice/mushroom casserole (a very small amount of fat), a baked peach and blueberry cobbler without a crust (fat free), and tofu/vegetable kabobs from The Vegan Dad website. It was all delicious but I had dabs of dishes other people brought so I didn't do as well as I could have. Yadda yadda.

Tomorrow I plan to have oatmeal with banana for breakfast, a vegie burger with tomato and red onion on whole grain bread for lunch, and a spaghetti with fat free marinara and a green salad for dinner. Snacks will be fruit. Cherries are so delicious right now. I'm also enjoying sweet decaf iced tea with lemon in the afternoons.

We bought a microwave this past week and it's the first time in my life I've owned one. Already it's pretty handy.

Tomorrow weights and walking.

Peace to you all and happy McDougalling!
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Sun Jul 08, 2012 3:44 pm

One thing I've realized is that I've got to start writing out a meal plan for each day because, one, it's hard for me to plan each day's food and, two, it's hard for me to stick to a daily meal plan even if it's written out. But I'm really getting that the discipline needed to eat according to the McDougall Plan involves planning and having the discipline to follow the plan each meal. I know this sounds obvious to most of you reading this because you've long since mastered this aspect of eating this way. However, I haven't and I've realized that until I do master it, it's unlikely that I'll experience success. So I'm going to try a system of writing each day's plan on an index card that I can then reuse for another day(s) to try to develop the habit of this way of eating.

This morning I got up early and went outside and gardened. What an absolutely beautiful time of day that is and how right to start a day gardening. Later I planted a hosta which I hope will grow ok in a somewhat shady/somewhat sunny location. It's 88 degrees here now, but when it cools off I'm going for a walk. Also plan to do strength training this afternoon.
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Tue Jul 10, 2012 11:03 pm

I've been walking more lately and that feels really good. Tomorrow morning I'm going to ride (and walk) my bike to work which is only three miles one way, but the first mile is straight uphill, hence I'll be partially riding and partially walking. I would love to get in the habit of riding my bike to work and home each weekday.

Still haven't gotten back into strength training! Hopefully tomorrow I'll have the discipline to do that (it's almost 10 p.m. now and too late for exercise).

Food for tomorrow: Breakfast - tofu with vegetables and potatoes; coffee. Lunch: vegan sushi and an orange. Dinner: Corn on the cob, lentil soup with kale and sweet potatoes, cold cooked beet salad with tarragon and lemon.

My day will start early with watering the garden, a bike ride, breakfast with a friend (per the meal mentioned above), then work until late afternoon. Busy, busy. I love summer!
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Sun Jul 15, 2012 3:53 pm

Ok, so I fell off the wagon (as mentioned in a previous post) during our vacation and have struggled to stabilize. In just two weeks I gained 7 pounds! I didn't even know I could gain that much in such a short time. So this last week I managed to stick to a vegan diet and have already lost 2 of the 7 pounds I gained. I haven't changed the ticker because I stubbornly want to get back to the "mark" on it and then move it down as I go along. My blood pressure has also risen along with the poor food choices I've made and I'm realizing yet again that I simply can't eat SAD and get away with it.

There are a couple of great posts on the Testimonials thread if you haven't already seen them - Fran's and Josh's.

We're having strange windy, cool, thunder and lightning storm weather here in mid-July. I've enjoyed it and have been gardening every day. Early this morning I planted a Shasta daisy and a new dahlia tuber that a friend gave me which is called Wicked Willie. Funny.

Exercise today: Strength train. Go for a walk.

Food today: slice of bread, coffee.
Lunch: Cold Asian noodle salad with cashews; two apricots
Snack: small coffee; homemade banana bread
Dinner: Thai vegetable/tofu soup served with brown rice.

The index card thing isn't working for me because I keep changing it up. Spontaneity seems to be a better fit for me, but it presents something of a puzzle because menu planning seems to be very important to success with McDougalling. As I've written about previously, the one guideline that truly has worked for me is being vegan. Since I don't tend to be a junk food vegan, I do gradually lose weight eating vegan and my bp comes down. The trick, of course, is sticking with it. I do plan to work on eating oatmeal with fruit for breakfast as a habit. If I can establish that pattern, it may help "anchor" meals for each day. Certainly it would be starting each day off right.

I'm reading an entertaining book titled WILD by Cheryl Strayed. It's not for the prim and proper. That said, it's a great vicarious read about one woman's solo hike of part of the Pacific Crest Trail. I think it's still in hardcover so I put it on hold in our local library and waited a couple months to get it.

That's all for now! :-)
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Anna Green » Tue Jul 17, 2012 11:27 am

Birdy, you have done well when eating vegan.

I'm very impulsive sometimes so it helps me to have stuff cooked in the fridge. I cook most Sundays enough for the week. Sometimes I cook complete meals and then sometimes just some basics like potatoes, br rice so I can do some variety if I want like stir fry over rice one night and nuked spinach and nut yeast w/a little braggs over rice the next. The good thing is that after work and often exercise, I don't want to cook and if the fridge is full of prepared stuff I'll eat it. Also, I've gotten in the habit of buying "toppings" like oil free garlicky hummus or chow chow to put on top of dishes and give them a bit extra. This works for me because sometimes my food needs something (not a good cook). Now you know this all can go to hell in a hand basket but I do believe that I'm much less likely to eat poorly if prepped.

Thanks for telling us about the book. I plan to get it.
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Wed Jul 25, 2012 8:46 am

Anna I hope you enjoy the book. I'm almost finished with it. It's hard to imagine a woman hiking the PCT alone as Cheryl Strayed did. She's a very strong woman, physically and mentally.


I've lost one more pound of the seven I packed on by not eating well. Have been more active during the day with gardening, working around our house and walking. Still haven't gotten back to strength training yet : (

My foot is not much better. I got orthotic shoe inserts which kind of help but hurt more than helped last night when I went for a walk. I guess you have to get used to them. Although swimming and/or bicycling would be better exercise than walking on the foot, I like walking best.

Today after work I'm taking one of our dogs for a walk on the beach and to just sit and ponder for a while. For a long time there has been a lot of very stressful stuff in my life and it's all settling down or completely resolving this summer. Which is so good. However, I don't feel any sense of relief or joy yet. The positive changes need to sink in. Time to move forward.

Food for today:
Breakfast - toast with Earth Balance (I know); coffee with sugar and soy creamer
Lunch - vegan sushi; 2 spring vegetable rolls; tea with sugar and lemon
Snack - small handful of almonds; fresh fruit
Dinner - spaghetti with ff marinara; salad

Exercise:
Walk on beach
Gardening
Strength training if I can get motivated!

Have a good day...
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Fri Jul 27, 2012 9:42 am

This morning I read a line from one of Grandma Ginger's posts: "I've learned to be quiet about the whole thing and let my health speak for me." That makes a lot of sense.

Today's food:
Breakfast: oatmeal with banana and splash almond milk (I find having a microwave for the first time in my life is very handy). Coffee with soy cream and tsp. sugar.
Lunch: cold lentil salad; orange; tea
Dinner: Mexican "lasagna" from Robin Robertson cookbook; green salad (I found a delicious pear vinegar made by Spectrum Organics that makes a great salad dressing).

Exercise: yoga; 1 mile walk

My foot isn't getting better yet. I'm doing the stretching exercises and limiting the walking as the physical therapist said to do. Also, icing it. But I got the orthotic shoe inserts she prescribed and found that those things made my foot really hurt even though I took time to slowly increase the amount of time I walked in them over a four day period. What a nuisance this is. Does anyone have experience with plantar fasciitis? If so, what helped?

TGIF! Have a wonderful weekend. 8)
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Chile » Fri Jul 27, 2012 10:07 am

Birdy wrote: Exercise: yoga; 1 mile walk

My foot isn't getting better yet. I'm doing the stretching exercises and limiting the walking as the physical therapist said to do. Also, icing it. But I got the orthotic shoe inserts she prescribed and found that those things made my foot really hurt even though I took time to slowly increase the amount of time I walked in them over a four day period. What a nuisance this is. Does anyone have experience with plantar fasciitis? If so, what helped?


For me, cutting out dairy completely was the biggest single thing I did to help minimize the plantar fasciitis pain. The second biggest was to realize that I have to stretch religiously. If I go for a half mile walk, I have to stretch afterwards. My muscles and ligaments just seem to be wound tighter than they should be. It's ridiculous but sometimes I feel like I spend longer stretching than I did doing the actual exercise!

My stretch routine includes stretching the quadriceps, the hamstrings, the calves, and the piriformes in that order. I hold stretches 30-60 seconds each.
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Re: Birdy Takes Flight

Postby Birdy » Fri Aug 10, 2012 9:21 pm

Hi Chile. Thanks for the feedback. My foot is so weird. Some days it bothers me and some days not. But it'd definitely made it impossible to go for long walks. I've been pretty good about avoiding dairy, but will experiment with strictly avoiding it for a few weeks and see if it does make a difference.

My computer is broken (I'm using my husband's right now) so I haven't been posting much and probably won't again until I get my computer fixed or have to buy another one (ugh).

I tried Mary McDougall's baked bean recipe from the most recent newsletter and it was delicious.

Not much news really. I've lost all but two pounds of the weight I'd gained earlier this summer, despite not being able to walk more than an mile and a half each day. I've been gardening and that keeps me active.

I'll post again when I can.
"The program is essentially cost and risk free." ~ Dr. John McDougall
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