The Journey of Hasani's Mom

[proverbs31woman]

Thanks for the comment, Letha! Yesterday I went to a Valentine's Day party at a friend's house. I knew that most of the food wouldn't be for me, so I stuffed myself with baked potato fries and veggies before leaving home. When I got there, there were fresh strawberries available, but they weren't sweet enough. I ate a few of those though as well as a few things that I shouldn't have. Overall, I'm not mad at myself because there are so many goodies that I resisted as well. I danced for a little while so hopefully that helped make up for the extra calories.

Anyway, today has been okay so far. While I was in the store earlier, I wanted to get some powdered doughnuts, and my initial thought was "Since I cheated yesterday I might as well have these too," then I corrected that thought with a "It's not worth it" thought. I passed on the doughnuts (Thank God), and ate some rice cakes when I got in my car. I'm proud of myself for doing that.

[safords]

Good for you!

I think you are doing great and I like the way you don't get down on yourself but realize how far you have come.

I just wanted to share something that I just found out myself about gatorade. Look up brominated vegetable oil on wikipedia. I was really not to pleased to find this information since we always used gatorade on our hikes, but I can't give it to my kids anymore. I will give them emergen-C packets for their water instead. It tastes good and has nutrients. I also just started taking iodine since I am learning that the average person falls far short of the bodie's requirements. And for some people a lack of iodine is a cause for inability to lose weight.

blessings,

[proverbs31woman]

Hello Safords,

I did look up the information on BVO, and found out something very interesting about Gatorade and other citrus drinks. Of course, to SAD eaters, Gatorade seems innocuous, but I knew that something had to be wrong with it. I just thought it was limited to the high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors and flavors. Needless to say, I now have another reason to stay away from those drinks.

Today went pretty well. There was a dinner at our church where they served fried and baked chicken, baked beans with ground beef in it, potato salad, coleslaw, and cake. I brought my own meal of baked fries and veggies with me. My meal seemed far more appealing, but I did end up eating a slice of the chocolate cake.

Next time I'll have to bring some type of McDougall-legal brownie with me to ensure that I don't end up eating the SAD cake.

[proverbs31woman]

I'm on plan and planning to stay that way!

I was tempted to eat some chocolate (my weakness) that my coworker had on his desk for everyone, but after really struggling with it and seeing my other coworker enjoy a few pieces, I walked away. I mostly ate potatoes and raw baby carrots yesterday, and I found it to be a delicious, simple meal. I may do the same again today. It helps me eat more raw veggies, so I'm glad about that too. However, I do find myself endulging in oatmeal with rice milk and sugar at night. Last night I cheated a little and had some Cheerios on top of it as well. That really took it over the top. Hopefully, I'll be able to limit my oatmeal to once a day because it think it may be too much sugar.

Anyway, I haven't made it to the gym yet this week, but I plan to go on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in order to get my three days in. My period has gone off, so hopefully I'll have better numbers this week as far as my weight is concerned. Last week I gained 1.5 pounds, but I dismissed it because my period was on.

I really want to be able to report some type of weight loss to the MWL on Thursday morning.

[Letha]

Sounds like you’ve made a lot of good choices this week. You passed on the powdered doughnuts, the fried and baked chicken, the baked beans with ground beef, the potato salad, & the chocolate on the co-worker’s desk. I’m so happy for you. Every time you say no you are strengthening your ability to say no. Well Done!
Letha

[proverbs31woman]

Letha,

You are soooo right! Every time I say "no," I feel so empowered. I had more temptations today...cookies and French fries. My coworker was eating some fries, and he offered me some. I immediately said "no, thank you." Then another one of my coworkers put out cookies for everyone. I looked at them, and thought, "Well, you've gotta have a few. You've been doing well, so they won't hurt." I'm not sure what I told myself to get over that, but I didn't eat any of the cookies, and I feel so much better for it now. I know I would've regretted it if I would've fallen into temptation.

It feels good to be back on track.

[safords]

You are doing great! Thank you for the kind words.

It's exciting to be able to pass on the junk food without sweating so much, isn't it!

[proverbs31woman]

You're welcome, safords.

Today has been another day of avoiding temptations, but I feel sooo much stronger now. I passed by a Krispy Kreme shop today and I looked at it, feeling proud that although I am aware their doughnuts are delicious, I can drive by it without struggling.

I went to the gym this morning, and I had a great workout. It was a combination of running, step aerobics, and toal body weight-lifting in my Body Works class. There were a lot of new people in the class today, which made it even more interesting than normal. I like the way it feels being in better condition than the newcomers, and I like seeing them become inspired to keep coming for the challenging workout.

Sweat was dripping down from my chin today, and my muscles were burning at times, but I didn't give up. When it was over, I took my shower, went to work, and I've been having a good day ever since.

I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's weigh-in.

[proverbs31woman]

I'm glad to report that I've lost 3.25 lbs. this week. After yesterday's weigh-in I treated myself to a veggie footlong from Subway along with baked barbeque chips and juice. I know that most of that is not MWL, but I felt that deserved a treat that was still McDougall-legal (minus the barbeque chips) and tasty.

Today I went to the gym in the morning and had a good workout although it took me quite a while to convince myself to get out of bed and go. I'm glad that I did go rather than wait until Saturday to try to make-up for it. I would've missed hanging out with the rest of my aerobics class. There are about six of us who've become regulars now, so it's good to have some kind of consistency.

Today I ate pretty well. I had oatmeal for breakfast; baked fries and raw baby carrots for lunch; a sweet potato, cooked mixed veggies, and baked beans for dinner; and rice cakes for a snack. No cheats that I can remember; just a whole lot of good eating.

[Letha]

3.25 Pound! Super Duper!! I’m so happy for you. Good food and exercise. You’re on a roll now.
Letha

[proverbs31woman]

This weekend I've been eating some regular McDougall and a little SAD. Saturday morning my husband and I cooked a big breakfast of sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, grits, and juice. I had the pancakes, eggs, grits, and juice. I wanted to just have the pancakes and juice, but by the time I ate, I was ravenous. I felt a little bad about it because the eggs and grits had cheese in them and they weren't even worth the extra calories because they weren't really that good. I ended up having pancakes and a very little eggs, mixed veggies, and oatmeal for breakfast this morning. I'm now back on track and I'm hoping that those impurities will pass through and not affect my weight.

Lately I've been chewing a lot of gum. Although it's sugar-free I'm not liking this new habit because I know that "sugar-free" means that it has some type of chemical in it to make it taste sweet.

[proverbs31woman]

Today was okay. I had a good workout in the morning, and since I was unprepared as far as food is concerned, I bought some canned soups from Wal-Mart and ate that all day. Then when I got home at night, I had a sweet potato and cooked veggies. Later that night, I had a bowl of Cheerios and rice milk.

Throughout the day I had some a fellow coworker and some students, which made the day seem like a day of misunderstandings, but after praying and speaking with my sister about it, I now feel a lot better. I understand that I cannot change the way people view me or certain situations, but I can do my part in humbling myself and explaining my point of view and letting God work out the rest.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that today is my 8-month McDougall anniversary. I really would have liked to stay home and try some new McDougall recipes.

[Letha.]

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that today is my 8-month McDougall anniversary. I really would have liked to stay home and try some new McDougall recipes.

Congratulations on your 8 months! I think I just passed the 5 month mark myself. I remember the first year after I quit smoking I could almost give you the number of hours since my last cigarette but now, I’m starting to lose track of how many years it’s been. Do you think we’ll ever get to the point where eating any other way is just some vague distant memory? Hope you’re having a good week.
Letha

[proverbs31woman]

The longer I stay away from eating SAD foods, the easier it will be a vague distant memory to me. I can't wait until I get to the point where I have no desire for SAD foods. I've gotten to that point with most meats, but I still have a taste for cheese, ice cream, and chocolate.

I'm really looking forward to my one-year McDougall anniversary in June. I wish that I could go to a 10-day or weekend McDougall event to celebrate, but instead, I may just cook a lot of new recipes and share them with my family.

[proverbs31woman]

This is my last post in this journal. I'm going to start a new one since this one has far too many pages.

Letha, if you read this, just know that I got the idea from you, so like your new journal, mine will be a spring journal, and then I'll start one for the next season as well. I hate to bite off of your ideas, but you are so innovative. It's hard not to.