I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

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

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, carolve, Heather McDougall

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Wed May 03, 2017 6:47 pm

Jeff the Chef wrote:Wow! Amazing journal! This is the 3rd time I've attempted this way of eating, beginning Mary's Mini-McD Diet tomorrow. I wish they had a True North Health Center in Tokyo. You've seem to have made a lot of progress. Good luck!

Btw, you mentioned that you take synthroid for TSH. So do I. Has your following the McDougall Diet helped you with your LDL and triglycerides? Apparently we naturally have higher LDL and triglycerides prior to getting synthyroid.


Thanks Chef Jeff! Good luck with starting your new plan tomorrow. With regards to my LDL and triglycerides: Yes the diet has helped. I don't have the paperwork here with me to break out exact numbers between HDL and LDL, but when I went to a McDougall 10-day program my total cholesterol dropped something like 55 points, from the 160's to 109, I think. (In the past couple of years it has been in the 130's - and that includes short times of compliance failures and all). My triglycerides have been in the normal range, so I haven't paid attention to any numbers...but they didn't go up when changing to eating this way, even with my thyroid disease. I hope that helps. One additional benefit is that I have managed to lower my dose of thyroid medication by half.

Amy
User avatar
amandamechele
 
Posts: 1523
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:13 pm

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby Jeff the Chef » Wed May 03, 2017 7:55 pm

amandamechele wrote:
Jeff the Chef wrote:Wow! Amazing journal! This is the 3rd time I've attempted this way of eating, beginning Mary's Mini-McD Diet tomorrow. I wish they had a True North Health Center in Tokyo. You've seem to have made a lot of progress. Good luck!

Btw, you mentioned that you take synthroid for TSH. So do I. Has your following the McDougall Diet helped you with your LDL and triglycerides? Apparently we naturally have higher LDL and triglycerides prior to getting synthyroid.


Thanks Chef Jeff! Good luck with starting your new plan tomorrow. With regards to my LDL and triglycerides: Yes the diet has helped. I don't have the paperwork here with me to break out exact numbers between HDL and LDL, but when I went to a McDougall 10-day program my total cholesterol dropped something like 55 points, from the 160's to 109, I think. (In the past couple of years it has been in the 130's - and that includes short times of compliance failures and all). My triglycerides have been in the normal range, so I haven't paid attention to any numbers...but they didn't go up when changing to eating this way, even with my thyroid disease. I hope that helps. One additional benefit is that I have managed to lower my dose of thyroid medication by half.

Amy


Great! Wow! If your blood panel is that good and you aren't at your ideal
Weight, I can only imagine how good they'll be once you've reached your goal. I hope I can get to my target weight and get my cholesterol and triglycerides where they need to be.

On the PCRM 21-Day Vegan Kickstart Discussion Forum there's a thread on soy and thyroid. Do you eat soy? Or, if not, after you've reached your weight, will you go from the MWL to the normal McDougall Diet and include soy? Do you think soy negatively impacts your thyroid?
Image
Jeff the Chef
 
Posts: 152
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 6:59 am

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Thu May 04, 2017 6:31 pm

Jeff the Chef wrote:Great! Wow! If your blood panel is that good and you aren't at your ideal
Weight, I can only imagine how good they'll be once you've reached your goal. I hope I can get to my target weight and get my cholesterol and triglycerides where they need to be.

On the PCRM 21-Day Vegan Kickstart Discussion Forum there's a thread on soy and thyroid. Do you eat soy? Or, if not, after you've reached your weight, will you go from the MWL to the normal McDougall Diet and include soy? Do you think soy negatively impacts your thyroid?


Hi Jeff,
I sometimes do eat soy including tofu and edamame.
Here are some website resources on Soy and the Thyroid:
Dr McDougall's article on soy from his April 2005 Newsletter
Here is what Jeff Novick advises when asked about it: Thyroid Foods

I wish you all the best and have no doubt with some effort and perseverance you can reach a healthy weight and potentially meet those biomarker goals! It may take longer than you expect...that's my little pearl of wisdom...LOL...as you have read here it hasn't been a swift process for me.
Amy :)
User avatar
amandamechele
 
Posts: 1523
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:13 pm

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby Jeff the Chef » Fri May 05, 2017 12:25 am

amandamechele wrote:
Jeff the Chef wrote:Great! Wow! If your blood panel is that good and you aren't at your ideal
Weight, I can only imagine how good they'll be once you've reached your goal. I hope I can get to my target weight and get my cholesterol and triglycerides where they need to be.

On the PCRM 21-Day Vegan Kickstart Discussion Forum there's a thread on soy and thyroid. Do you eat soy? Or, if not, after you've reached your weight, will you go from the MWL to the normal McDougall Diet and include soy? Do you think soy negatively impacts your thyroid?


Hi Jeff,
I sometimes do eat soy including tofu and edamame.
Here are some website resources on Soy and the Thyroid:
Dr McDougall's article on soy from his April 2005 Newsletter
Here is what Jeff Novick advises when asked about it: Thyroid Foods

I wish you all the best and have no doubt with some effort and perseverance you can reach a healthy weight and potentially meet those biomarker goals! It may take longer than you expect...that's my little pearl of wisdom...LOL...as you have read here it hasn't been a swift process for me.
Amy :)


Thanks for your reply and pointing me to the articles.

Here's another.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2005nl ... hyroid.htm

I'm eating broccoli now. I love it. And it another cruciferous vegetables help prevent thyroid cancer. I guess I need to be more careful about iodine intake. We hav plenty of seaweed in Japan and it seems our old friend the potato has iodine.
Image
Jeff the Chef
 
Posts: 152
Joined: Mon Feb 23, 2015 6:59 am

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Sun Oct 01, 2017 7:59 pm

(Edited to add:) I challenged myself to follow the MWL McDougall Program for the month of October and to photograph everything that I ate.

Day 1 Amy's October MWL Challenge:
Image
Image
Image

I was out most of the day so I packed and brought my food with me. I tend to eat more than this, but it was a really busy day.
I ate Tarrazon Soup (sweet potato and split peas), quinoa and bean mix, salad, potatoes, watermelon, sparkling water and green tea.


These are all large plates and a double size bowl.
Comments and suggestions welcome. :)

(Edited due to an autocorrect error)
Last edited by amandamechele on Sat Jan 06, 2018 1:06 am, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
amandamechele
 
Posts: 1523
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:13 pm

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby sirdle » Sun Oct 01, 2017 8:58 pm

You're off to a very good start!

That soup looks very yummy!

Cheers, :-P
"Before Enlightenment chop wood, carry water. After Enlightenment chop wood, carry water." -- Zen proverb
User avatar
sirdle
 
Posts: 811
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2016 9:16 am

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby talita8 » Mon Oct 02, 2017 12:14 pm

Amy, Thanks for your ongoing support and inspiration. I had a cram day yesterday. Good to refocus. Talita.
talita8
 
Posts: 30
Joined: Tue Nov 25, 2014 7:56 pm

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Mon Oct 02, 2017 7:58 pm

Sirdle - Thank you. The soup recipe comes from The Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook.

Talita - Its my pleasure to help. I completely understand a cram day, they happen, and you are correct to refocus right away. I have faith in you Talita, you are very close to reaching your goal, but there's no need to put any pressure on yourself for a timeline; Continue to do your very best and you will get there. XO

Day 2 Amy's October MWL Challenge:

Image
Image
Image
Image

Today I ate oatmeal, more sweet potato/split pea soup, salad greens, baby potatoes and mustard, chili and brown rice, carrots and blueberries.
I walked about 10 kms, including a path through Toronto's Ireland Park (seen above), which commemorates the large influx of Irish immigrants to Toronto during the Great Famine of the mid nineteenth century.
User avatar
amandamechele
 
Posts: 1523
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:13 pm

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby Yomom » Mon Oct 02, 2017 8:38 pm

Love it! Notice you posed one meal on a moving box. Best of luck with the move, and with MWL eating through the disruption. I look forward to your posts.
Kathy
Yomom
 
Posts: 981
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2009 10:22 pm
Location: Colorado

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:37 pm

Kathy - Thanks Kathy! The move is about a week away and finding a clear spot to eat a meal has become a challenge (albeit a very small one)...lol. I'm sure you remember what this was like. :)

Day 3 Amy's October MWL Challenge:

Image
Image
Image

Today I ate oatmeal, green tea, chili, brown rice, baby kale, melon, celery, cucumber, broccoli, grapes, quinoa and bean mix. I also walked about 11 km.

How am I feeling about the challenge so far?
- the extra accountability has kept me motivated to stay on track through the first few days, which tend to be the most difficult for me when making any adjustments to the way I eat.
- I tend to eat way more fruit and less veggies than this. This will take some getting used to, but totally doable.
- I'm trying to keep it very simple because I have a number of social challenges and pattern changes to get through over the next few weeks. Plain and repetitive (as the guidelines recommend) is the plan this month...and I'm the only one that wants to eat that gigantic batch of quinoa bean mix...lol.
User avatar
amandamechele
 
Posts: 1523
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:13 pm

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby Suey51 » Wed Oct 04, 2017 1:24 am

Your food looks great Amy! You've made a great start to your October experiment :-) Look forward to seeing the rest of the pics and hearing how it goes.

Good luck with the move xx
User avatar
Suey51
 
Posts: 433
Joined: Mon May 08, 2017 11:21 am
Location: UK

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby Pippi Lemon » Wed Oct 04, 2017 11:46 am

Amy, your food looks great.

I love seeing what other people post with their food, I find it inspiring. Accountability also really helps don’t you think.

You mentioned at the end of your post that you usually eat way more fruit and less veggies, I’m with you on this. I was eating a predominantly fruit and veggie diet with a lot less starches. I’ve noticed I’m craving more fruit and I’m sticking to two portions a day, which is unheard of for me. I’ve been down the whole Raw till 4 and 80/10/10 route which is predominately fruit based, but I want to know if it the fruit that is keeping me from dropping that extra 10lbs (actually I would be happy with 4-5lbs)

Keep up the good work!

Pippi Lemon xxx
Pippi Lemon
 
Posts: 18
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2017 10:22 am

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Wed Oct 04, 2017 10:19 pm

Thanks Sue and Pippi Lemon. :)

Pippi Lemon - Yes accountability can be so helpful. Let's figure out this fruit thing together this month. :nod:

Day 4 Amy's October MWL Challenge:

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

It's too late for comments. XO

(Edited to add a missed photo)
Last edited by amandamechele on Thu Oct 05, 2017 8:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
amandamechele
 
Posts: 1523
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:13 pm

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Thu Oct 05, 2017 8:05 pm

Day 5 Amy's October MWL Challenge:

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

My sister is having a baby in slow motion this week; I've pulled the kids out of school twice to make the long drive out to see her, only for her to be told today is not the day each time she has ended up at the hospital. Poor her, she is past her due date and ready to have that baby :). Yesterday I was on the road for about 8 hours (between construction and an accident on the highway) so some of those pictures are in my car. I also missed putting in the photo of my oatmeal, I'll edit the post to add it in.

Today I walked for 7.2 km (yesterday I only got 5 km in).

Tonight I was re-reading the January 2005 newsletter and noticed that I'm not following the refinement eat slowly and frequently. I'm just eating at my normal speed and actually eating less often in order to keep the photographs to a minimum and to control my grazing. I'm just mentioning it because I'm now cognizant of that fact. I'm not sure that I'm going to worry about it too much though. I did stumble a bit tonight and don't think that was related or a cause, but who knows.

The Stumble:
Tonight my daughter had a friend over for a goodbye get-together; after I fed them dinner I made a fruit sorbet for dessert. Bananas, frozen pineapple and frozen strawberries. Very delicious and easy to overeat...and overeat it, I did. I didn't actually intend on having any, but that's not how things went down. I had a cup and quarter, so once you include my blueberries from lunch that equals more than 2 servings of fruit.
Lesson learned; eat fruit whole and maybe don't make the sorbet while doing this challenge. I definitely would have eaten twice (to three times) that amount if I wasn't documenting everything that's going into my mouth. Glad to have noticed this.

The food I'm eating (and will be for the next few days) is leftovers and frozen items from the freezer. I can't take this stuff with me, so its going to get very repetitive. I have a bunch of quinoa stuffed peppers in the freezer; hopefully my husband and the boys will want some once they arrive for Thanksgiving weekend.

G'Night!
Amy
User avatar
amandamechele
 
Posts: 1523
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:13 pm

Re: I've lost count of how many times I have restarted....

Postby amandamechele » Fri Oct 06, 2017 9:56 pm

Day 6 Amy's October MWL Challenge:

Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Today's Challenge:
We went out for drinks with friends this evening to the lounge in our building. Octoberfest was being celebrated with a typical meal and drinks and an accordion player. It was quite amusing to watch. I am happy to say that I stuck to soda water and ate upstairs beforehand. Tomorrow's challenge will be a wedding we are attending. The invitations didn't give the usual choice between a regular meal and a vegetarian one, so it will be interesting to see what comes out of the kitchen. I am hopeful because we are good friends with the bride and groom that something is being worked on behind the scenes. She always makes something that I am able to eat when we get together, but I won't think any less of her if that isn't the case this time. :-P This is her wedding day...lol...I'm not that big of a narcissist...hee hee. I'll just be sure to pack some food.

PS. I think that baby, that I mentioned yesterday, is being born as I write this.

Have a lovely weekend all, and Happy Holiday weekend to any Canadians.

Amy
User avatar
amandamechele
 
Posts: 1523
Joined: Fri Sep 14, 2012 9:13 pm

PreviousNext

Return to My Daily Menus & Journals

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 23 guests



Welcome!

Sign up to receive our regular articles, recipes, and news about upcoming events.