15 day Mary's mini--Nov.1-Nov. 15

[ef78]

Debbie,

I just fry style cut my raw potatoes, shake them in a bag of garlic powder and old bay and lay them flat on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 30-40 mins. They are soooooo good! You can actually eat about 4 potatoes at a sitting when you do this tho. lol.

[ef78]

Debbie,

I just fry style cut my raw potatoes, shake them in a bag of garlic powder and old bay and lay them flat on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 for about 30-40 mins. They are soooooo good! You can actually eat about 4 potatoes at a sitting when you do this tho. lol.

[Bambie113]

Hello all,
I guess dark chocolate chips, loads of air popped popcorn and pretzels aren't apart of marys mini.. That was last night.. I was a little stressed. lol. Imagine what happens when Im a lot stressed! j/k. Today has been a better day so far! Thanks for being here!

[MaryW]

debbie--I have found something in the grocery store called Simply Potatoes. They are in the refrigerated section, usually near the eggs or coffee creamer. I have seen hash browns (cubes), hash brown shreds, slices and wedges. The slices and wedges bake up great! I don't think any of them have any fat, but some of them are salted.

[Della Street]

I had a successful week. Since last Thursday's weigh, I am down 3 lbs. Today I start Day 12.

This simple eating plan has given me a noticeable change in energy. When I get tired at night, I starting yawning and know it's time to hit the hay. It's not the "I've run out of steam, my body feels so tired, I just wanna flop" kind of tired. The thing I want to work on is drinking more water. Simple thing to do, but think I can remember to do it?

[MaryW]

I decided to add some beans into the mix yesterday. I made my favorite baked bean recipe from How it All Vegan. I had hash browns with mustard and black pepper for breakfast, baked beans and baked potato for lunch, and baked beans with tortillas for dinner. not exactly Mary's Mini (or even MWL) but I felt satisfied with what i ate. So I guess whatever keeps me McDougalling is a good thing. It has been more than a week since I've eaten beans. I usually eat a lot of beans, maybe more than Dr McD recommends. So when I ate the baked beans yesterday, I was very gassy.

So far today I've had hash browns with mustard. Dijon mustard is good on everything! : ) I'm going to keep going with the potatoes. I'm thinking about making some soup. it's a cold and rainy day here. I have potatoes, carrots, celery, green and red peppers, garlic and onions. Oh, and I have some frozen veggies too. So I'll put all of that in a pot, maybe with some dried black eyed peas. Sounds good!

[sksamboots]

Mary: I think your right. Whatever keeps you on plan. Then do it!

Deb: I feel your frustration. I honestly stepped on the scale after 14 days of doing Mary's Mini and was not impressed at all. I have the same mentality as you. But that's what I call my "inner brat" talking. So I just had to remind myself that I'm doing this for adherance and health. It's not always easy. I also was going to start exercising more but I'm not becasue I know if I do more than I already am that I won't keep up with it. So for now it's 30 minutes a day. It will work out for us eventually. I believe that. It just may take time. I think it's important for us to remember that maybe Dr. Mcdougall's statement about weightloss being effortless is not the same for us all. We are all not the same and it's not a One Size Fits All. We all have different metabolisms and what not. So I say just keep chugging along and eventually something just has to happen. I believe that.

I'm good today folks. Feeling skinny in some jeans I put on that used to be tight but today I'm wearing them with a belt. Today is Day 16 of me being 100%. I'm glad everyone is still here

[MaryW]

sksamboots--congrats on 16 days! That is fabulous. Keep up the great work.

[FaithLady09]

Sksamboots,

Thank you for what you wrote to Deb and Mary. When I was on mcDougall's before I tried MM and after I did the 10 days I had only loss 2lbs., but in my mind I felt that I should have loss more, so I became discouraged and that is what is keeping me from not doing it this time. Is that crazy or what? I applaud you for 30 minutes of exercise each day, because I'm so hard on me if I don't do or can't do my 5 mile workout with Leslie Sansone then I don't do anything and I need encouragement to change that aspect of my life and be able to see some is better than none.

Thank you,
FaithLady09

[sksamboots]

Faithlady: Hope to see you around more.

Today is Day 17, I'm staying far away from the scale. Focusing on health and adherence to the Mcdougall program. I feel good and I'm enjoying my potatoes. I have a busy day ahead of me, i'll pop in later. Keep on keepin on

[kirstykay]

When I decided to start doing MM, it too was out of frustrtation as I wasnt losing. And when I have only lost what I had originally gained it gets a little tiring. I know eventually something has to give.
Deb

Deb- I can understand your discouragement! I think that one thing-discouragement- has kept me so overweight for so long! I know it's frustrating, but just keep making sure you're eating whenever you're hungry, and maybe try to exercise if you can. Sometimes our metabolisms need a little kick, and exercise can do the trick. I know it's really hard when you have little ones! I wish I had known about McD when my babies were little! I could have spared so much unhealthy eating over the years. Now, with teenagers, it's a lot harder to change the way they've been taught to eat. So, I guess I'm just trying to encourage you to keep up the great work and not get too discouraged! I know the scales will show it soon!!!!

Also, for what it's worth, I could never lose weight when I was nursing my babies! (I think in a different post you said you're still breastfeeding.) I know everyone says that the weight falls off when you breastfeed, but the opposite was true for me! I've never seen it written down anywhere, but that was my experience. I don't know if my body was trying to conserve for the baby, or what, but I breastfed each of my three children for anywhere from 6-13 months ( I let them wean when they were ready) and I had much more successs with weightloss after I stopped. So, hang in there!

[CraftyeLadye]

Well it's day 12 for me. Although I was sick from Thursday through Sunday of last week and ate only rice cakes, mushroom broth and ginger ale and water for those 4 days. I have stuck to my plan using fruit, veggies and rice or potatoes as my only source of foods. I drink water, water, water all day long and always have so that wasn't so hard. Once in awhile though I need something different to drink and wonder what all of you drink when you are tired of water.

I walked 4 laps on the track on Wednesday that equals 1mile. Today I will walk again and hope to eventually increase it to 2 miles at least 5 days a week.

I will be the first to admit that I absolutely despise exercise, but I really want to eventually be fit enough to try the "couch to 5k" running plan. I obviously can't do it now, but figure once I have lost another 50 pounds I can try it out.

I am debating on whether to buy a scale today because I have no idea what I weigh right now. Although I measured myself the day I started MM. I measured my thighs, calves, hips, waist, bust, and upper arms.

Should I buy a scale or go by measurements, which do you think would be better???

[Della Street]

Today I start Day 13. There will be one deviation from Mary's Mni this evening. We were invited to an event planning session and I was asked if I could provide them with a vegetarian chili recipe. I just happened to have a wonderful vegan recipe by Bryanna Clark Grogan that has yet to fail me. So I offered to make the chili. My dinner will still be a McDougall meal, just not Mary's Mini.

I'm sure the beer and wine will be flowing. I will bring myself a bottle of sparkling water and forego the wine. I've been on track and have felt so good these last two weeks that I just don't feel like straying.

[sksamboots]

Today is Day 18 of doing Mary's Mini for me. I'm going strong and feeling positive. Everyone is doing great! Keep on keepin on

[MaryW]

Scales can be tricky. Some people find that they jump off and on too many times and become very discouraged if the number doesn't go down each time they get on. Sometimes I weigh myself several times a day and sometimes I go a day or two without weighing. I have found that my weight can fluctuate 5 pounds or more over the course of a week. So I might weigh frequently, but I only count it on Thursdays (weigh in day).

Also, measuring yourself is a fine way to gauge weight loss. Personally, I do both. I have my official weigh in once a week and I measure about once a month. I think they are a good compliment to each other. You might be having a slow weight loss month, but the tape measure is going down (and vice versa). It also helps to have a smaller outfit (jeans are good) to try on as you are losing. Maybe the scale isn't budging and the tape measure is creeping, but you can button that shirt that you haven't worn in 2 years. Whatever keeps you motivated is good!

As far as water, I have recently discovered those powdered drinks you add to water (like Crystal Light). I'm sure everyone here will be horrified cuz they are full of artificial sweeteners, flavors, and colors. But they are so tasty! Usually though, I just drink my water plain. I prefer distilled water.

I mentioned those Simply Potatoes before. Tonight I made that casserole with layers of potatoes, spinach and spaghetti sauce. I used the Simply Potato slices and it was so easy! Not that slicing potatoes is all that hard, but you know what I mean. It was quick to put together (though I cooked it in the over for over an hour). Very tasty!