Journal of my journey

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

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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby Morris » Mon Jul 20, 2020 6:16 am

July 20, 2020

Weight 143.2 ~ down just a wee bit, but 2 pounds gone from a month ago.

I still do not have the snacking between meals stopped, but it is being planned and controlled. For me, that is a huge plus.

I have already had 2 huge zucchinis and I am getting bored with it. I added some dehydtrated kale to the mix and it was like eating hay, not that I know what hay tastes like, but it tasted like how hay smells.

I boiled some potatoes for me for today, and I hope hubby does not eat them. i am finding that is one of the reasons why I have such difficulty in meal planning, when I prep ahead for what I want to eat, hubby eats it before meal time.

I have to make this quick today, I want to go for a run, eat breakfast, mow a section of yard, go to town (my dad needs something bought for him) ~~ I have 5 siblings in town and I have to do the running. I live an hour away. We are a dysfunctional family, so I can understand. But, my parents brought it on themselves -- sometimes my mom complains that no one visits her and I just up and not say what I am thinking. There have been a few times when she called me that I had to tell her to change her tone or I would hang up because I do not need to be talked to that way. And she'd change her tone and I think, "she is just trying to start something."

So, one cup of coffee done and I want to get my run completed before the shade is off the road.

Today, I will eat
coffee
zucchini
potaotes

peanut butter sandwich
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby vegyluvver » Thu Jul 23, 2020 8:13 am

Have you tried telling hubby Don't eat he potatoes in the fridge; they're for my dinner?
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby bunsofaluminum » Thu Jul 23, 2020 10:44 am

Morris wrote:July 19, 2020


Last night I heard a vehicle on the road and got up to see what was going on. It appeared that some one was on the ATV trails - not sure why they were out there in the middle of the night. But, while up and awake, I noticed the starry sky -- So I set up a lawn chair and sat outside for some time and just looked up and admired all the stars. When I got up to go inside, I noticed I was looking in the wrong direction. I was looking south, but there was a better show northward. Oh well. I also found the telescope I bought for Christmas is worthless for looking at the stars - my mini binoculars gave me a better view.

My eating plan for today:
coffee
zucchini - (What we are picking appears to be multiplying on the counter -- I cannot eat fast enough)

Baked beans
Potato salad
zucchini

I think I will shred some zucchini and make some zucchini waffles and freeze for a quick snack and/or breakfast meal.

Well, off to go and hack some more weeds on the trail before it gets too hot.


Oh isn't it nice to have stars overhead right in your own yard! I got to live that way for 10 years and loved it. Nowadays I have to drive up the canyon and pull over to get away from city lights. But the stars ARE there! Well done on that lawn clearing, machete hacking, upper body workout! I'm impressed!
JUST DON'T EAT IT

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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby Morris » Sat Jul 25, 2020 9:30 am

July 25, 2020

Weight 142.6 -- a bit of a loss, but it is slow going - but that is all right.

I am going to do the Beck Diet Solution again starting August 1 -- It is cognitive behavior and I have kept all my old advantage cards and realized that this is my 9th time starting this. It is a 42 day program, but I have read that it takes 66 days to establish a new habit.

I made myself a habit tracker and put in the 10 point checklist in my tracker as well as some of the Beck to do list.

I think it all comes down to me planning and preparing as well as taking time and energy for "me" time. I have come to the realization that I often arrange my day and activities around what every one wants me to do and somehow that makes it easier for me to make excuses for not doing what I know I ought to do for the best for me.

So, I am using this time as a transition period to get my mind where it ought to be so I can get on track and stay on track.

We seem to have a lot of zucchini this year -- seeds were mixed up and those squash seeds look so much alike. Yesterday, I made a batch of rice and made a stir fry with onion, zucchini and stir-fry mix vegetables. For flavor, I added a small amount of sesame seed oil and soy sauce.

I have been busy with mowing the yard and weeding the garden. GS1 came for a couple of days to visit, we allowed GS2 to stay also. The boys are about 2 years apart and still have quite a bit in common so they had a good visit. D2 and 1 took them to a splash park so they could be outside and run around.

I am taking some time for myself and am going camping for a few days -- I need to find a good book to read because I am going to relax and not do much of anything.

Well, time to get all my camping gear together -- oh, I found a foldable bike that I can put in my car, so if there are trails nearby I can take a bicycle ride.
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby vegyluvver » Sat Jul 25, 2020 10:29 am

Can you say more about the Beck diet solution? I mean, I can Google it but I'm hoping it's McD friendly.
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby Morris » Wed Jul 29, 2020 8:59 am

July 29, 2020

Weight --? scale not available

Vegyluvver - https://diet.beckinstitute.org/ It is a cognitive therapy and it is more about changing the way you think versus what to eat when dieting. YOU make the choice of the food plan you want to choose to follow. The very first time I did the program, it helped my in dealing with my cravings for food I no longer wanted to eat; dealing with that voice inside my head telling me I just had to have it and my desire to say no to it.

As I read Dr. McDougall's writings, he has a lot of the same thing, but the Beck Diet solution turns it into daily exercises. Choose your WHY - why do you want to change your eating -- Beck calls this Advantage and has you make advantage response cards that you read and reread over and over until it becomes part of your mindset. My problem is I let life get in the way and don't do what I know I ought to be doing and do not take the time to follow through.

_______________
I am back from my "camping" trip". I set up my old tent and it leaked, so no fun. Plus, it was more wild where I was at and night time was a bit nerve wracking. Daytime was great!!! Peaceful and relaxing!. On my way home, I stopped at another State Park and walked some of the trails -- beautiful and I need to check out that park some more. It has a bit more wild life because it is more remote than the other parks I go to.

A couple of the meals I chose to have:
tri-grain flakes with craisens and walnuts
rice and beans
Squash and lentil soup
peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Today, to get my mindset to planning out my day, I am filling out my daily planner sheet that has everything I need to do to make my day a success:
time schedule
Goals
to - do list
meals I plan to eat
water intake
exercise
Notes - how my day went

If I can actually do this and stick with it - I am hoping to break through this plateau and start losing again and most importantly strengthen my resistance muscles (Beck terminology) and say "no" to food-like items that do support my health.
Well, GS1 is coming for the day and I need to get moving...
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby vegyluvver » Wed Jul 29, 2020 3:30 pm

thank you so much. I will check that out.
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby Morris » Wed Aug 05, 2020 6:52 pm

August 5, 2020

Weight is 144 today. I am stuck. Many years ago, I plateaued at 145 and it seems like my body is wanting to hang out here for a bit.

I made a habit tracker spread sheet for the month of august - so far it is pretty empty and I have not been able to fill in a lot of what I wanted to accomplish. BUT, I spent some time reviewing my response cards that I created from previous attempts to get with the program. One thing I am accomplishing is to focus on hunger cues and not drop whatever I am doing whenever I start to feel hungry. That is one of my goals. One of the Beck Diet Solution tasks is to recognize that hunger is not an emergency and I will survive if I wait til the next meal time to eat.

I am not very good at meal planning and sticking with my plan - I can plan the meals I would like to eat, but by the time I walk into the kitchen I have changed my mind. I need to really work on that. And I might as well not even bother trying to schedule my day; I have no sense of time and do not realize how long it takes to do a chore. Plus, I often forget what the other family member has to do when I plan so I end up changing my plans for the day. If I can finish at least one thing on my list, it is a success in my eyes.

I took a couple of fun days and did some mini-golfing -- twice, once with GS2 and the other with GS2, GS1 and D1. It was fun but slow paced. The grandsons had a lot of fun together on the second day. Afterwards we went to a park with a beach, playground and had a picnic with Subway sandwiches. I was able to avoid the animal products but the salt, sugar and fat were my downfall. (had chips)

Meal times -
The other day, I ate leftover mashed potatoes (made without dairy, used the cooking water to mash) and corn. That was good - I like mashed potatoes and corn together. For breakfasts, I had my tri-grain flakes and blueberries and banana.

My exercise has been mowing the yard, mowing the yard and mowing the yard. I am still not done yet. I break it up into sections, the largest sections can take me an hour or more to finish. Bit by bit and it is not too bad.

My mood has been frustration and longing for alone time -- I just do not seem to be getting enough for a restoration. I am actually longing for winter when it will be time to hunker down -- unless, of course I get that trail cleared and I will have a trail to snow shoe -- But i can alway walk the snowmobile trails that are in the area. I miss my walks in the woods -- Did I mention they are logging the woods and are cutting down a lot of the trees? I heard they want to get some more pines to go. I love walking through pines because it smells so good.

We have bunnies in the yard and they ate all our greens. Been seeing some deer in the yard by the apple trees. And last night or early this morning, a bear was in the garbage -- I found three of the bags but I am missing one -- have not yet found where it was dragged off to.
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby Morris » Thu Aug 06, 2020 7:48 am

August 5, 2020
No weight today - decided not to hop on scale just because.

Hubby and I ended eating out yesterday at a Mexican restaraunt - I had the vegetable bowl and somthing in it was SALTY. I have either cut way back on salty foods or someone was heavy-handed when they added the salt.

The eating out was unplanned, hubby gets hungry when we are out and about, being in town seems to be a trigger to eat for him.

Today, GS1 is coming for the day. D1 asked if we could watch him a few weeks ago, now they are asking more frequently. SIL or maybe he is ex-SIL now (now sure if it is finalized or not yet) is dropping him off -- I have a hard time being nice to him after all he put us through so the drop-off and pick-ups are putting stress on me. He is NOT a nice person.

But, I have a craft day planned for GS1 and I and maybe we will go treasure hunting with the metal detector.

What I plan to eat today:
zucchini pancake/waffle (going to make a batch to freeze)

vegetables: zucchini/corn with beans
spaghetti (with blended zucchini in sauce)

Exercise:
I already did the two on the 30 Day challenge app: squats and toned arms (I am on day 6 - hope I can make it through the 30 days -- when I opened the app, I saw I only made it to day 4 the last time I did it.)

Today for the BDS it was to set realistic goal: My goals are:
1. weight 128
2. Eat only when hungry and just until satisfied
3. Exercise daily, planned or spontaneous
4. Controlled snacking: reduce/eliminate junk food
5. Make Starch Solution WOE a lifestyle

I think those are realistic goals. Short-term weight goal is 135 pounds. To accomplish I am going to have to do the 50/50 plate rule. Lately I have been just focusing on the starchy vegetables and my weight is not moving, but Ihave not yet let go of the junk. But, my mindset is getting there. A couple of my cards for BDS are: no excuses and no choice --- just have to make them a part of my thinking. I remember when I first started my weight loss journey and I did so well back then that I am longing for those good 'ol days.

Well, coffee is finished and time to go outside and wait for GS1 to be dropped off. Hubby does not want the encounter so I have to head him off at the pass - so to speak. (lots of bad feelings between us with him, it is hard to let it go.)
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby bunsofaluminum » Thu Aug 06, 2020 4:20 pm

I like this "Hunger is not an emergency" thing. Probably no one is going to perish from not eating RIGHT now, or even missing a meal. Seems the Beck Diet Solution has some good wisdom.

Have fun with your grandson. :) Keep on doing it! you'll get there
JUST DON'T EAT IT

I heart my endothelial lining
by red squirrel

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by f00die

The rest is an industry looking to make a buck off my poor health
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby Morris » Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:28 am

August 7, 2020

no weight today - My meal plan went out the window shortly after I made it, as well as what I was going to do for the day.

The drop off of GS1 was later than planned. I waited an hour down by the road, but used the time wisely and pulled up the sand burr plants before they dropped their seed. Filled a garbage bag. Speaking of garbage bags, I still have not found the one that the bear dragged away. I usually find them in the bushes. Perhaps I'll find the garbage once fall comes and the brush drops the leaves.

Instead of craft day with GS1, I changed my mind and went to get GS2 and GD2 to go to a park and have a picnic lunch. My lunch had carrots, hummus and spinach, and a bit of pasta.

The kids had fun for most of the time. The older grandson (GS!) is a bit arrogant and thinks more highly of himself than he ought and does not hesitate to take jabs at his cousin. GS2 gets irritated and his temper shows. This past month is the most they got together and I am guessing it has been a bit too much for GS2. Plus it was hot and sunny as they played. So, the fun sort of ended on a sour note for the grandsons.

I am going to go camping again for a few days - Guess what?! I have to meal plan or go hungry. So, I will have to see how I do with this. Things I am bringing:
tri-grain flakes with craisens and walnuts
split pea soup
rice and beans
spaghetti with sauce
potatoes with onion and peppers
S'mores for the fire at night
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby deweyswakms » Fri Aug 07, 2020 8:44 am

bunsofaluminum wrote:I like this "Hunger is not an emergency" thing. Probably no one is going to perish from not eating RIGHT now, or even missing a meal.


This is so true! Most of us aren't starving. I often tell myself "You have good food at home; you can wait" instead of giving in to cravings which are not about being hungry but about other things (tired, stressed, cranky).

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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: Journal of my journey

Postby Morris » Tue Aug 18, 2020 9:00 am

Aug 18, 2020

Weight - 143.8 I seem to be stuck here, this means I am going to have to take a serious look at what I am eating and how much I am moving. I have not been compliant as I ought to be and I know better. It occurred to me the other day, I am getting old and I don't have much time left to get it right.

On the positive, I started a couple challenges in the 30 day fit challenge app - I am doing the squat and toned armed challenges and as of today, I am current with that. Albeit, I had to double up a couple of times. But, at least I am sticking with it and hopefully, I can finish the challenges. It is a bit of strength training. The arm challenge is actually helping me with my posture - I am not rounding my shoulders as much as I have in the past.

Exercise, other than the 30 day fit challenges, is lacking. But according to my fitbit it shows I am moving because I am meeting my step goal, just not getting my heart rate up to count for exercise. We have been busy with the grandchildren so that will account for lots of steps but not really any exercise.

I an starting my day with:
coffee
trigrain flakes, banana, blueberries and chia seed.

Breakfast will need to hold me through most of the day. Going to go to town to visit my parents and one of my sisters.

Well, this is just a quick post to let those who follow my posts that I am still here, just working on disconnecting on the electronics a bit so my computer time is less
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby Morris » Wed Aug 19, 2020 6:42 am

August 19, 2020

Weight- still the same

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItaSPyYTASo I don't know why, but this song popped into my head

yesterday went fairly well for my eating. For some reason, I couldn't finish breakfast; it was a texture thing. I went to town to visit my parents and sister. After that I took my mom to the cemetery so she could make arrangements for their final resting place. I was surprised at how well my mom did. I thought she was going to do the feel-sorry-for-me and start crying. But, the lady helping was not going for it, so mom did no game playing and it was actually a pleasant transaction.

But, it took longer than anticipated and I got hungry. Just as we finished up, hubby called and said he wanted me to go to the potato farm and get some reds. So, did the errands with my mom and dropped her back home, then off for a drive with my sister - hubby wanted 2 bags of potatoes - 100 pounds -- we will be doing frozen mashed potatoes session, creamed corn and potato soup, etc. We buy our potatoes there every year and this was a small purchase for us this year. Any potatoes that we do not eat before they sprout are saved to be planted in the spring. I just harvested what we planted this year.

I stopped for gas and bought a snack -- small bag of carrots. At the checkout, the cashier said, "Before we finalize your purchase, can I tempt you with a Krispie treat." My reply, "NO, and you don't know how hard it was for me to pick these carrots instead of a cookie or donut."

Sis and I went to a Chinese restaurant afterward - I had Broccoli in garlic sauce and white rice. There was oil in it but at least it was a lot of broccoli. We did go get an ice cream cone for dessert.

Not sure what today will be like. GS1 is with us for a couple of days and hubby has a doctor appointment. Back to town again and we will be eating out. Need to pick something GS1 can eat because he is dye sensitive and cannot eat anything with artificial coloring.
Speaking of grandsons, just found out that GS2 is allergic to shrimp. Food sensitivities run in the family. I discovered that caramel coloring gives me migraines.

Listening to Rod Stewart in the background -- that guy looks great for an old man :lol:
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Re: Journal of my journey

Postby Morris » Thu Aug 20, 2020 8:27 am

August 20. 2020

Weight -- did not weigh. I don't want to get obsessed with the number on the scale.

I am staying current with my 30 Day Fit Challenge app (squat and toned armed). I have to post this as a reminder to myself that I can stick with something I choose to do. The Beck Diet Solution tip - give yourself credit.

3 weeks before my Superior Hiking Trail adventure -- unless the group I am going with cancels. I purchased a different tent because the one I have is not freestanding and has about 14 tent stakes and could use about 4 more. When I set it up last week, I dropped a tent stake and it disappeared. That makes me nervous. So I am waiting for a different style tent to arrive. I hope it gets here in time for me to test it out before I leave for the trip.

My eating went fairly well yesterday. I ended up eating a couple things off plan in the evening. But breakfast and lunch went well. I had potatoes and peas for breakfast. Lunch was the restaurant meal, we chose to go to a buffet and I started with a huge salad loaded with veggies (beets, peas, cucumber, cabbage etc.). The second plate was corn, carrots and mashed potatoes and gravy. I am giving myself credit for stopping at that. My supper was non compliant. 2 out of 3 meals -- I feel like I am going to be able to get with the plan again.

I think my motivation is I am seeing so many people looking very uncomfortable with their bodies due to health issues and I realize I am getting old and do not have much time to make the corrections in my diet. One of the Beck Diet Solution activities is to take time and energy to plan and prepare for whatever you chose for your plan. I really need to work on that. I have no concept of time and the hours in the day just seem to disappear on me. I do not like to set my alarm to get up early because I do not sleep well the way it is and often my best sleep comes right before dawn and that is what gets me through the day.

Today, I am going to make some mashed potatoes - for eating and freezing
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