Discussion Board

I'm returning to McDougalling after a long absence and decided to keep a journal here so I can track what's working and what's not working. I also just want to get back in the habit of writing down everything I eat, because I know that helps me.

I have some events coming up in July 2013 that I'd like to be in better shape for, so I'm setting an initial goal of being a good McDougall-er for the next 38 weeks. I don't know why, but to me that sounds more manageable than 9 months. Of course what I really intend is to do this for life, but I want to set a more specific initial commitment so I have something concrete to work toward.

I currently have no health issues - my blood pressure and cholesterol are excellent - but I am overweight. So my main reason for doing this is to lose weight (probably about 60-70 pounds) and feel more confident about myself.

To help me make the 38 weeks more successful, I plan to choose one new thing to focus on each week so I can continue forming positive habits.

Goals:
Week 1: eat McDougall-friendly foods for all meals.
Week 2: journal everything on the same day I eat it.
Week 3: include more green + yellow vegetables in each meal

Goal for week 1: eat McDougall-friendly foods for all meals.

Saturday, October 13
breakfast: hash browns with no oil; applesauce
lunch: brown rice with spinach, black beans and salsa
dinner: baked potato and salad with fresh salsa
dessert: fresh fruit sorbet (frozen banana and pineapple pieces, processed in the food processor, nothing else added)

Sunday, October 14
leaving for a business trip today - Wednesday
breakfast: potatoes and cauliflower with salsa
lunch: brown rice with spinach, black beans and salsa
snack: air-popped popcorn with Braggs*; grapes
dinner: brown rice with spinach, black beans, McDougall lentil soup and salsa
* I won't eat this too regularly but it helped me stay awake during a long car trip

Monday, October 15
breakfast: figs and grapes
lunch: large salad topped with grains and tofu
dinner: brown rice with spinach, some black beans, and McDougall butternut soup

Tuesday, October 16
breakfast: oatmeal, a small glass of OJ
lunch: business lunch at an Indian restaurant. I'm sure it had some oil in it, but I at least stuck to rice and chickpea / lentil dishes, and I didn't eat very much.
dinner: rice, beans, lettuce and salsa
dessert: grapes

Wednesday, October 17
breakfast: oatmeal
lunch: rice, beans, lettuce, salsa
snack: grapes, carrots, a few pretzels
dinner: wild rice, lentils and McDougall butternut soup

Thursday, October 18
breakfast: potato w/ ketchup
lunch: wild rice w/ McDougall split pea soup
dinner: whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce + vegetables

Friday, October 19
breakfast: oatmeal
lunch: hash browns with applesauce
dinner: steamed vegetables, tofu and brown rice

Congrats on the new start!

Congrats and welcome. I am always curious when someone says they are back after a long absence. Had the program worked for you before? Did you just slip away over time? What specifically convinced you to try this program again?
Looks like you have a good start and have thought it out well in advance.
f1jim

Thanks for the welcome!

Jim, I'll be sure to pop back in and answer your questions when I have a bit more time. Those are things I should think about and document here anyway so I appreciate your asking

WEEK 2
Weight: 203

Goal for this week: journal everything on the same day I eat it.
I noticed that toward the end of the week I got lazy in my food journaling, and I don't want to let that slip because I know it helps keep me on track. So for this week, I want to journal everything on the same day I eat it. I didn't do this yesterday (Saturday) but want to make a concerted effort to journal every day from now through Friday.

Saturday, October 20
breakfast: sweet potato and banana
lunch: hash browns with applesauce
dinner: corn tortillas, brown rice, tomatoes, corn and black beans

Sunday, October 21
breakfast: hash browns and applesauce
lunch: corn tortillas, brown rice, tomatoes, corn and black beans
snack: fingerling potatoes with bean cheese sauce
dinner: couscous with nutritional yeast
dessert: grapes
confession: had a glass of red wine while up late working

Monday, October 22
breakfast: fingerling potatoes with bean cheese sauce
lunch: corn, bean, brown rice and onion burritos with lettuce and salsa
dinner: another burrito bowl
snack: grapes; air-popped popcorn with Braggs
... and another glass of red wine. Apparently this is how I deal with work stress. I know it's not the worst thing I could do, but I'm sure it will not help with weight loss. I should probably cut this out entirely for a while.

Tuesday, October 23
traveling for work for the next 3 days
breakfast: grapes
lunch: big salad topped with grains and tofu
dinner: rice and beans

Wednesday, October 24
breakfast: rice and beans
snack: grapes
lunch: salad topped with grains, tofu and a little tempeh
dinner: grilled vegetables on flatbread; side salad

Thursday, October 25
breakfast: rice and beans
lunch: fresh vegetables on flatbread
snack: a few sweet potato chips; a few triscuits with bean cheese sauce
Long day today and not the best food available - I had to work in DC for 6 hours, then drive for 6 hours, then attend grad school for 3 hours then work 3 more hours with no time to rest or prepare meals - everything was down to the wire today. Tomorrow should be better... though I'm going to spend it preparing for a hurricane!

Friday, October 26
breakfast: hash browns with bean cheese sauce
lunch: brown rice with black beans and salsa

Jim,

Last time I did McDougall, I felt fine but didn't experience the weight loss I was hoping for. I was following the MWL program but just didn't seem to get the results that I saw other people getting. I travel constantly for work and it's very challenging to stick to this program, so yeah, over time I just started eating what was more convenient because I didn't seem to be losing weight with McD and that was my main goal anyway.

I think I may have made 2 mistakes: one was not giving it long enough to work (I was on the program for a few months, and maybe if I had persisted longer I would have started seeing results) and the other was focusing a lot on the low-calorie veggies and not eating as much starch. In retrospect I think I may not have been eating enough, and I think I need to do something to kick-start my metabolism into realizing it's okay to drop some pounds. It's just a theory, but worth testing, I think.

This time I am easing back in by not being as strict with the MWL foods at first. Over time I'm sure I will need to adjust, but I'm hoping perhaps having plenty of starch will get me started in the right direction.

As for why I re-started, there are a few small annoyances that I experience when eating a non-McD diet (which for me is vegetarian but not strictly vegan): things like heartburn, headaches, some digestive issues, etc. I noticed these coming back more and more over the past few weeks and I know for sure that McDougall will eliminate those problems, so it seemed like a good time to give this another try. I have already seen those symptoms vanish after less than a week of being on plan, so now I just need to figure out the weight loss part and I'll be thrilled.

The first week went well - I just need to repeat it 37 more times and see where that gets me!

I bet you do great! I'll be watching and hoping it delivers your expectations.
f1jim

WEEK 3
Weight: 202

Goal for this week: start adding more green + yellow veggies to my meals.

This week is getting a late start thanks to Hurricane Sandy. I was reasonably successful at sticking to McD during the storm, apart from a few glasses of wine while the house was shaking violently. I'm going to forgive myself for those. I didn't journal during the weekend. Starting back on that today.

Tuesday, October 30
breakfast: beans, corn and tomatoes over brown rice and spinach with salsa and corn tortillas
lunch: lentil and potato cakes with arugula