Ex-Carbcutter and Chef - difficult beginning - help!?

[Dayajina]

Hi,
my name is Dayajina, I live in Norwich, England in a Buddhist seminarhouse, I'm German, an ordained Buddhist, 51 years old and work as the chef, cooking for a lot of people coming on retreat here.

After discovering that my high bloodpressure is rising again and I'm putting weight on -250 lbs- I decided to give up my beliefs in low carb- high protein diets. It's just not working for me.
I felt quite frustrated (still do) - I'm on the usual diet-rollercoaster more or less since my 17. lifeyear and I'm so fed up with it .....

The Maximum Weight Loss Programm has been on my shelf for quite a while, now I decided to give it a go....

My first 3 days experiences:
a) getting really hungry, because I don't take no Proteinpowder anymore

b)getting anxious - is it really ok to eat till I'm satisfied?
So it's said to have kind of half starches and half green and yellow vegs - does that mean the same weight or what?

c)getting anxious about too less protein - decided therefore to eat beans....

d)getting worried about Caloriecounting - I know it's said to drop that, but I just want to get the quantities halfway right.
So in the last days I'm having round 1800 cal per day, ca. ~21 g fat (from beans,oats), ~290g carbs, 50g of protein.... Is this kind of correct?/normal?

e) Today I started really hungry, although I had 480g of chickpeas mashed with a banana and some stevia powder, after two hours I was hungry again, than I ate some small pieces of raw carrot and the hunger was gone.

f) I've slept much better, without waking up in the middle of the night. That's really great!

g)Working as the chef, cooking 'traditionally' (vegan but with oil, saladdressing, cake etc.) is challenging, because of testing the food and not swallowing it , so I spit it out today....

h) Yesterday I just didn't prepare veg for myself, again, i was hungry all the time, so i had a lot of rice- and corn cakes and beans.. probably the veg is providing me with lots of fibres etc. that gives together with the starches the comfortable fealing of being not hungry ....

i) I have to take care about drinking, didn't feel thirsty

j) apart from some really nagging hunger periods esp. the last two days I'm feeling quite well. Still doubting the weightloss with this system but I'm really happy to continue. Don't have to loose anything, apart from weight....

commends and advise are welcomed.
thanks for reading
love
Dayajina

[frozenveg]

Welcome, Dayajina! You have set yourself quite the challenge, cooking for people every day! But be proud of yourself--you really have found the right way to get your body healthy, and on the way, lose weight.

First off, I want you to congratulate yourself on deciding to take really good care of yourself! And to tell you that although you have challenges ahead, you have no need to feel anxious! When you have the chance, do lots of reading on this site, all of which is provided for free--especially Dr. McDougall's newsletter articles, and Jeff Novick's nutritional advice.

Your first worry--"enough protein." Here is a link to one article that is my favorite about protein, and how much people need.

http://www.nealhendrickson.com/mcdougal ... rotein.htm

The World Health Organization says 37 grams a day is more than enough. Too much protein can be harmful to a body, if for no other reason than that it is very hard on our kidneys to process. It's actually pretty important to limit your beans--to an average of about a cup per day--so you are not getting too much protein.

I don't want to insult you about your comment about being hungry and not having protein powder. However, protein, and certainly a powdered anything, is not the thing that will make you feel less hungry. Starches are. I will send you a few links later, when I can, but just explore Dr. M's work on this website for info on that. And re-read the MWL book! It's the starch that provides fullness and satisfaction!

It is OK, actually very essential, to eat until you are satisfied! Just make sure that what you are doing is eating until satisfied, not until stuffed. Some people, me included, don't really have a good sense of what is "enough." But don't go hungry! Make sure you are eating plenty of good, whole potatoes, grains, and vegetables!

As you go along, you might want to look at the concept of Calorie Density, which Jeff Novick explains very clearly:
viewtopic.php?t=6032

It sounds a s though you have made a good start!! Keep us posted, and come back here often!

[viv]

Hi Dayajina!

It's great that you have found your way here. Your life will change in wondrous ways, at last you can relax in knowing that at last you have found the key to good health, ideal weight and looking good! I know it's kinda scary at first because this way of eating is so contrary to much of the info and advice that's out there right now. Especially in the UK because they have been on the low carb thing for a while, popularized by Kate Middleton and her Dukan diet. (I'm from the UK originally, now living in the U.S.)

Just relax and trust the process. Make sure you are eating enough starch, especially....potatoes!! Yeah, who knew you could eat potatoes and lose weight? I love them and eat them every day as my main starch. I eat very simply, however some posters eat fancy gourmet meals. McDougall has wonderful recipes on these boards.

A typical day for me is
B: Bowl of porridge (oatmeal) with teaspoon of ground flax and drizzle of honey and banana
L: Two medium new potatoes cooked in microwave for about 5 mins and chopped up over a bowl of steamed veggies or salad etc, as much as I want with salsa or ketchup or no oil salad dressing and some fruit for afters.
D: More potatoes with some beans, veggies, salad etc. (Tonight I had a big plate of crispy oven fries, NO OIL!! with ketchup for dipping and broccoli--yum yum. Apple for dessert.
If I am hungry throughout the day I have cut up carrots/fruit/microwaved popcorn etc. etc. I also drink tea with a bit of almond milk.

I have been McDougalling for nearly a year and I have lost weight and feel great. I am just so relieved that at last I know what the best answer is for me to live a long healthy life. There are many wonderful, expert people on these boards who have lost tremendous amounts of weight and got their life and health back. We all support you and look forward to hearing more from you!

[JulieS]

Hi! I'm so glad you started this way of eating! After almost a year (next month) I can say that I love it and can't see ever eating animal products and oil again!!

Be sure you read the Star McDougaller success stories here: http://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educa ... ars-video/

Post to tells how your doing!

[Dayajina]

Dear Viv, JulieS and Frozenveg,
many thanks for all your lovely replies! They've been really helpful and I followed some of the links you've sent!
It's fun to flip a bit through this forum!
I'm still in the exploring mode, lost indeed 3 pounds (yehaaa!), feeling good with it but also starving a little bit
in between.
Working as a chef it's really hard testing the food and not gulping it down. Hard to explain to friends why I'm spitting
it into the bin
Thanks a lot
love
Dayajina

[viv]

Good job losing 3lbs already! If you are starving don't starve--eat a potato! Just grab and go! Grab a potato, wash it clean, and zap in the microwave. Eat it like an apple, put it in your pocket, do whatever and eat it as you are doing other things. When you have to taste the food, nothing wrong with spitting it out--spit away! What's hard is having your chest split open to repair a blocked valve, explaining to your friends that the reason you are spitting out the food is that you are not allowed animal foods due to having to lower your cholesterol, (or whatever) is easy.

I made a one year commitment to myself. I said "I will stay on the McDougall diet for one year and at the end of that year I will reassess and give myself permission to do something else if I want." Well that one year is just about up and it went so FAST! I have lost nearly 30 lbs (some people lose 100 lbs in a year!) I regained my health, I feel great. I am in this for life. YOU CAN DO IT!

Viv