Grit and Determination

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

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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby SherryW » Mon Feb 10, 2020 11:30 am

Hi Moonlight,

How do you like the water rower? and what kind do you have?

My husband needs something for when the weather is bad. He has a bad back, so a treadmill or exercise bike doesn't seem like a good idea, so we were thinking rowing machine.

But, they look so funny now with just a cable coming back with a handle instead of the 2 "oars" at the side. I've seen cheaper magnetic ones, something with a fan, and the water rower. What is the water part about?
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Mon Feb 10, 2020 12:18 pm

SherryW wrote:Hi Moonlight,

How do you like the water rower? and what kind do you have?

My husband needs something for when the weather is bad. He has a bad back, so a treadmill or exercise bike doesn't seem like a good idea, so we were thinking rowing machine.

But, they look so funny now with just a cable coming back with a handle instead of the 2 "oars" at the side. I've seen cheaper magnetic ones, something with a fan, and the water rower. What is the water part about?


I'm not sure if this provides the link to the Amazon site page. The name brand is WaterRower. I love my rower! It's hardwood so prettier than most workout equipment. I keep mine in the living room! It stands upright when not in use so you can just roll it up against a wall. The water simulates rowing outside in the water. (it makes a nice swoosh sound.) You adjust the amount of resistance by the amount of water in the tank. I have not adjusted the water since the first week and I've had mine 4 years. I never open the water tank. Very low maintenance! Rowing provides a full body workout. I love the feel of pulling through with my legs, core, then arms.

https://www.amazon.com/WaterRower-A1-Home-Rowing-Machine/dp/B004NNVSUQ/ref=sr_1_15?crid=3DCSDC2K61GHC&dchild=1&keywords=water+rower+machine&qid=1581358164&sprefix=water+rower%2Caps%2C181&sr=8-15
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby SherryW » Mon Feb 10, 2020 1:48 pm

I'm going to check out that link now.

Your description makes me want to get one. I like water sounds - I wasn't expecting that.
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Tue Feb 11, 2020 6:46 am

Good luck, Sherry, with the WaterRower plans. I have had a treadmill and an exercise bike. I like the rower the best, if I only have one piece of equipment. My house is small so I don't have room for anything else.

Today's Plan:

B: oatmeal and banana
L: vegetable soup and Mexican Potato salad
D: salad, sweet potato, and greens
S: blueberries

Exercise: I hope to row today. Yesterday my back was too sore and it was pouring rain so no outside walking.
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby bunsofaluminum » Tue Feb 11, 2020 7:55 am

moonlight wrote:Hi Buns,
I'm still enjoying the ratatouille. I just had the last serving. It made a lot. I really liked it! I think I would like it with a different starch, too. I bet that recipe would be good over noodles.
BTW, I read your comments about getting wigged out from a gain on the scales. I can do the same thing. So crazy. We get upset that we've gained weight and what do we do?!? Stress eat!! Crazy and cruel what our minds do to us sometimes. :)


That's one of the things about ratatouille...well, any that I've ever made...it makes a LOT of food. It may be time to do it again :) been a while.

Oh that STUPID scale. Thankfully my body was feeling good enough, and I've practiced daily weighing enough, to realize that the gain was nothing. Two days didn't turn into a month of nonsense, and I came back stronger and more fully in the game than I was all January.
JUST DON'T EAT IT

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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Tue Feb 11, 2020 8:43 am

bunsofaluminum wrote:Oh that STUPID scale. Thankfully my body was feeling good enough, and I've practiced daily weighing enough, to realize that the gain was nothing. Two days didn't turn into a month of nonsense, and I came back stronger and more fully in the game than I was all January.

I'm going to try recording my weight daily. Maybe seeing the fluctuations over time will reduce the anxiety of seeing it jump up 2-3 lbs in a day, and if I have been eating more than I should it will encourage me to be more careful.
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby deweyswakms » Tue Feb 11, 2020 9:12 am

moonlight wrote:Today I made a good dish. I started with the Tex-Mex Potatoes recipe in the MWL book.


Thanks for the recipe! I love food like this, and will definitely make it.

Marsha
start weight 210 on 7/25/14; MWL recommit 7/2019 weight 197. 6/11/2022 weight 165.0. Height 5'8".
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Tue Feb 11, 2020 10:05 pm

deweyswakms wrote:
moonlight wrote:Today I made a good dish. I started with the Tex-Mex Potatoes recipe in the MWL book.


Thanks for the recipe! I love food like this, and will definitely make it.

Marsha

Hi Marsha, I hope you like it. Today I made a similar version substituting the beans for split peas and the veggie layer with veggies and spices from a soup recipe. It's good, too, but I like the pinto bean one better.

Today I stayed on plan with my food choices. I ate more than I should for an evening snack. I had oatmeal with a banana. I got full before I finished but I ate all of it. I need to make less oatmeal if I want it for an evening snack. I didn't exercise today. I wanted to give my back one more day off. If it feels good tomorrow I will resume rowing for 30 minutes.
Today's Food:
B: nothing
L: potato and split pea casserole and vegetable soup with spinach
D: sweet potato with vegetable soup and spinach
S: banana and oatmeal
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Wed Feb 12, 2020 6:02 am

Today is my long day from home. I've packed a big thermos of Mexican Potato salad. I don't have an appetite this morning so that's all I'm taking. I plan to row for exercise when I get home. I wonder if there is something I can do to "make" myself do that... I'll be tired... I think I'll try setting an alarm on my phone. :D

Today's Food Plan
B: nothing (I ate too much last night. I'm not hungry)
L: Mexican Potato salad
S: celery and carrots
D: vegetable soup and potato split pea casserole
S: blueberries and oatmeal, if hungry (I'm only going to use 1/4 C of oats!!)

I need to do a grocery run for salad fixings!!
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Thu Feb 13, 2020 12:36 pm

I'm feeling a slight subtle shift in my attitude regarding my diet. Again yesterday I was away from home and very hungry with no extra food. I considered all my possibilities and decided to wait until I got home to eat. I stayed within the MWL guidelines again. It feels good to accomplish this since I've been straying lately and struggling with cravings. I'm now craving that deep groove of compliance and healthy lifestyle habits!! :D
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby moonlight » Fri Feb 14, 2020 5:41 am

Well, the deep groove is not within my reach right now,,, My husband brought home my favorite chocolate candy for V-day. I swear it is more for him than me but whatever... there are only 7 pieces so I should be back on plan soon. I wish I could have said I would enjoy watching him eat the candy... He doesn't understand how difficult it is to get back on my eating plan after indulging in a little sweet...
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Re: February 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Thread

Postby Ltldogg » Sat Feb 15, 2020 7:37 am

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=60607&start=120#p612301

moonlight,

I'm sorry you are struggling. Giving up is not the answer and will not get you to a healthy state. If you want to be healthy you have to be healthy. There is no magic that will happen. Find your motivation to follow The McDougall Program 100% and also find your motivation to avoid off-plan foods. I have never had a weight problem so I use Autoimmune Disease pains as motivation.

I suggest you address and attack your health head-on instead of hiding from it. The biggest part of success besides actually following the program is being prepared. You have to have only the allowed foods in your house and nothing else. I'm not aware of your home life situation, but you have to take control because honestly you are in control. If you are slipping it is because you are allowing yourself to. I doubt anyone is force feeding you. So, likewise, remove all off-plan foods. Even if you live with someone who doesn't follow McDougall, you need to come up with an agreement where they remove their foods from your access. Then, you need to have foods prepped and ready to eat. Lastly, you need to stick to a routine.

To speed things up, keep it simple. Come up with a list of 5-10 foods that you can buy, prepare and re-heat and eat them over and over. At least 50% of that by volume should be starches, the rest mostly non-starchy veggies with just 1-2 servings of fruit per day. Also, I suggest you don't go crazy with the spices as I have seen on these forums how even spices can over-complicate and induce people to over-consume. A dash of your favorite spice is enough; learn to love the real taste of food.

You have the control and power to be healthy and The McDougall Program works; so combine the two and you will have success. Follow the program for life, accept that you cannot eat off-plan foods anymore and you will be successful. Remember your motivations whether it be health now, long-life, influencing friends and family you love, no pain, great sleep, energy, activity, etc. It all matters and it is all within you. You just have to be healthy!

Sincerely,
Scott
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Re: February 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Thread

Postby moonlight » Sat Feb 15, 2020 8:14 am

Ltldogg wrote:...

I'm sorry you are struggling. Giving up is not the answer and will not get you to a healthy state. If you want to be healthy you have to be healthy. There is no magic that will happen. Find your motivation to follow The McDougall Program 100% and also find your motivation to avoid off-plan foods. I have never had a weight problem so I use Autoimmune Disease pains as motivation.

I suggest you address and attack your health head-on instead of hiding from it. The biggest part of success besides actually following the program is being prepared. You have to have only the allowed foods in your house and nothing else. I'm not aware of your home life situation, but you have to take control because honestly you are in control. If you are slipping it is because you are allowing yourself to. I doubt anyone is force feeding you. So, likewise, remove all off-plan foods. Even if you live with someone who doesn't follow McDougall, you need to come up with an agreement where they remove their foods from your access. Then, you need to have foods prepped and ready to eat. Lastly, you need to stick to a routine.

To speed things up, keep it simple. Come up with a list of 5-10 foods that you can buy, prepare and re-heat and eat them over and over. At least 50% of that by volume should be starches, the rest mostly non-starchy veggies with just 1-2 servings of fruit per day. Also, I suggest you don't go crazy with the spices as I have seen on these forums how even spices can over-complicate and induce people to over-consume. A dash of your favorite spice is enough; learn to love the real taste of food.

You have the control and power to be healthy and The McDougall Program works; so combine the two and you will have success. Follow the program for life, accept that you cannot eat off-plan foods anymore and you will be successful. Remember your motivations whether it be health now, long-life, influencing friends and family you love, no pain, great sleep, energy, activity, etc. It all matters and it is all within you. You just have to be healthy!

Sincerely,
Scott


Thank you, Scott, for your encouragement. I really appreciate your comments. I wish I had a close friend that was going through this with me. Like it AA people have sponsors and weekly or daily meetings... I know I must get a grip. Stop playing around. Weight and sleep apnea really motivated me for the first year but now the sleep apnea is not an issue and the weight is evidently not enough of a motivating issue. I have just got to get down to business. White knuckle it for a while.

I can't get all non-compliant food out of my house. We have done great on non-perishable items but some things must be kept cold. We've worked out the out-of-sight strategy. There's still this resolve that has to come from within me. I must make the choice myself. Insisting on my husband joining me on this path is not fair to him. I've tried to get him to join me. He has serious health problems (UC for over 20-25 years and uses Humira). BTW, I hope the Humira works for you. I think it has helped with his symptoms but his diet contributes to his issues, I'm sure.

Food planning and preparation has gotten to be more of a lifestyle. I don't feel I must cook fancy complicated meals. I keep it simple. I have succeeded in keeping greatly reducing salt. I don't add it to anything. I don't add sugar to anything either. I have greatly reduced my use of condiments.

I'm making my grocery list now. Starting back on plan today. It feels so right and I stay on plan until I don't. I'm aiming for a nice long streak of compliance. I admire your tenacity. I'm going to use your iron-clad attitude as my motivation. Thank you.
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby Ltldogg » Sat Feb 15, 2020 2:33 pm

moonlight,

That's great to hear! I'm happy for you and know that you can and will be healthy.

I am going to share a bit more of my philosophy that I hope helps motivate you. Most people that come to The McDougall Program have a past of health issues and decades of SAD eating behind us. 100% health recovery is generally not possible with such history so we have to strive to be perfect. Perfection is not possible, but if you strive to be perfect then you are always trying to make the best decision. Where as what I too often see from people on the forums is the opposite. People often allow themselves to stray off program and accept it. The difference is huge. For those of us with health issues, especially digestion issues, any small deviation can cause large ripples and the Pleasure Trap is very intense and addictive. So don't do that to yourself. Strive for perfection, which is to not go out and eat, but instead control all of your food 100% of the time. However, when you do eat out, you have to make the best choice and never give in or let go. I don't like going out to restaurants, but when I do, I get boring plain foods like steamed veggies, brown rice and fruit. I don't get sauces because I know they are high in sodium and oils. But it sucks because I know that there can still be some crap in even the plain foods I order or more importantly, I cannot eat my favorite foods which would be the potatoes, certain veggies and fruits. However, when I walk out of the restaurant I am a little mad that I cannot control the food (and paid way too much) but feel much better about doing the right thing instead of suffering the health consequences from The Pleasure Trap or worse.

So, always shoot for perfection and you will stay the course, which is important to reaching the healthiest you possible! Remember, the program works, you just have to follow it!

Best wishes,
Scott
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Re: Grit and Determination

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Feb 15, 2020 5:26 pm

Hi Moonlight! :)

Just read your post on MWL thread and wanted to send you (and your puppy) a virtual hug.

You've been doing great these past couple of weeks stacking up days with 10 point compliance.

You know what to do -- and you have the grit and determination to do it!!!!

Please pretend like you were your own friend -- and just forgive yourself, dust off, and pick up.

Also, I can't imagine that anyone would think anything but positive things from your posts. You are so friendly, welcoming, upbeat in all of your interactions.

Take care,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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