Discussion Board

Okay, I'm taking a deep breath here and am starting a journal too. I've been blown away by how wonderful some of your journals are and am a little intimidated to start my own, but here goes!

First some background. I'm 59 and am at least 30 pounds overweight which is as much of a drag for me I think as being 100 pounds overweight is for another person. I've been carrying around this extra weight for about 15 years and in that whole time I've known about Dr. McDougall and have posted on his boards. Why am I still here? Well, I'm like the caterpillar who, as the limmerick goes, was happy until a toad in fun said, "Pray, tell, which leg follows which?" After which, the caterpillar fell in a ditch, unable quite to run. Translation: once I began reading about nutrition and weight loss back in about 1993, I got so confused about what was true and who was right that I didn't know what to do and have just continued to gradually gain weight and develop other signs of ill health. BUT, I keep circling back to McDougall because I know deep down that it's the truth. Also, I'm moved to be a vegan by concerns about animals and the environment.

Okay so what are my stats?
5'6"
small frame
starting weight 163 lbs.
current weight 159 lbs.
waist measurement 37" (!) very apple-shaped
cholesterol over 200
triglycerides about 180
blood sugar too high
blood pressure as of yesterday 149/92 (I take it at home)
resting pulse rate 98
arthritis
rosacea
anxiety
chronic sinus infection
chronic yeast infection
chronic herpes infections

The herpes infections have been one of my greatest obstacles in staying with the McDougall diet because virtually every time I start the diet, within a few days to a few weeks, I get an outbreak. This is due to the relatively high arginine/low lysine balance of the McDougall diet. At this point however, I'm going to try taking a Lysine supplement at the first hint of an outbreak and see if I can't stick with McDougalling.

My goals are to lose weight, gain energy and stamina, improve my health and lab results, and to enter old age gracefully. I have two grown children, one still at home, and one young grandson. Like so many others, I want to be around for them and my husband in good shape so we can all enjoy each other. I'm still working part time and want to continue working. I've even thought about taking a class in art or horticulture or some other field to explore new things.

I enjoy gardening and have a big vegie and flower garden going. I love to walk but haven't done that on a consistent basis. My goal is to start walking at least 30 minutes every morning with my dog, a 4 year old yellow lab, who is the most enthusiastic walking companion one could hope for.

I love to read, have kept a personal journal for 40 years (which has helped me through a lot of difficulties), and I play the piano, knit, and love to cook.

I've been married to a wonderful guy for 28 years and I hope that by changing my diet, not only will my health improve but he will also lose some weight. His health is good, but he's gained at least 60 pounds since we first met and he wasn't skinny then! It's unlikely that he'll actually join me in this diet, but he eats what I cook so at least his dinners will be McDougall style. I've tried and failed to cook McDougall for myself with additions of meat or other non-McDougall foods for the family. I just end up eating the same thing everybody else does which gets me nowhere!

Well, I've rambled on long enough.

Power to the McDougallers!

Welcome to the journal forum, Birdy! I'm a knitter too, and I have diabetes. I also had high cholesterol and high blood pressure -- not anymore! You are going to see great improvements if you are able to stick with the plan. I hope the lysine supplement helps. I've seen "high lysine cornmeal" at Whole Foods but I have no idea whether there's enough lysine in it to make a difference.

You're off to a great start! Yay!

You are both knitters too?? Did I already know that?

See, that is what I love about my journal. I can write things in it and then read it later and it remembers it for me.

Birdy, are you the same Birdy that was around on the old board, too?

I have been doing the same thing as you, considering myself to be on the program and even had some health benefits, but never have lost the weight before. I hope to be able to be a real loser soon.

If you do it, they will follow.

Hi Birdy,
Welcome to the Journal forum. I'm just starting here too, so we can hopefully help each other. I play the piano too - what do you enjoy playing and how many years have you been playing? I also have been married 28 years! So we have a few things in common!

I will be rooting for you and look forward to reading more about your interests and progress!

Thanks to all of you for your warm responses. Toadfood, thanks for the tip on high lysine cornmeal. I'll look for that. And Mrs. Doodlepunk, yes I am the same Birdy from the old board! I've often wondered about a few of the posters from that board who no longer post. Remember Uncle Buck? Luvoatmeal, I've played piano since I was 6 so that's (yikes!) 53 years. I only play for my own pleasure but enjoy everything from classical - especially the Baroque period - to folk and recently jazz. I'm interested now in learning to play jazz and improv. Knitting is a balm for the soul isn't it? I'm not good at it or accomplished. So far I've only made hats and scarves. Making a sweater is still somewhat intimidating. I need to sit with a group of more skilled knitters to start a sweater. What kinds of knitting projects are each of you working on? Toadfood, I just noticed that we have the same turtle ticker. We can all support each other in our changes. Thanks again for your encouragement.

I play the piano too!! Have you all ever tried playing the organ? I took lessons a few years ago and it has been the most difficult thing I ever took up. Once I got past the pedals it was a lot easier! It's so hard to get used to playing notes with my feet, but it's actually a lot like dancing.

Come to think of it though, I am a lousy dancer.

I am currently knitting the Sally's Favorite sweater from The Knit Stitch by Sally Melville. It is a summer sweater and oversized and I'm using cotton/linen blend which is really weird, I usually work with wool. I usually don't knit things in pieces that get sewn together, I prefer Elizabeth Zimmerman designs. But, this book is all garter stitch and I love garter lately. I also have a garter stitch cardigan on needles that I started three years ago. It will get finished some day, but come to think of it, it's way too large for the size I plan on being in another year. Oh dear. Oh, and I also have started the scarf from the Melville book in yarn that coordinates with the linen sweater.

I have a local knit shop that has a Knit Night and I love to go there for that. Well, I did love it until my sister started going. But that's a whole nuther story. It is really helpful to have a group to meet with. Most yarn stores have similar groups and if they don't, they should!

Yesterday I received a big bag of yarn from a friend from Knit Night. She remembers that I told her about a year ago when I didn't have anything to knit that I would make her one of the Adult Surprise sweaters of EZ design. So now I have a project to finish before my own nice summer sweater. Sigh.

Yes, I remember Uncle Buck! I wonder what happened to him. He wasn't posting there so much when I was there. It is hard to remember exactly who was there. I remember John C, was it? I wonder what happened with him. He had lost a whole bunch of weight, got married, then gained it all back and was in the process of losing it again.

Okay, so today is Saturday and I'm getting organized to start McDougalling. Someone once said that the key to success on this diet, or likely on any diet for that matter, is planning. I'm not great at that, but can see the importance of it at least until this way of eating becomes second nature. So I'm going to make a list of 10 dinners as Dr. McD suggested, and plan on eating oatmeal for breakfast, leftovers or sandwiches for lunch, and fruit for snacks. I don't want to try the more restrictive MWL plan because that would be too much of a challenge for me to start with. So maybe my start date will be tomorrow. I just have to go through the McD cookbooks, make a grocery list and shop, and then START! Feels a little like striking out to walk the Pacific Crest Trail (which I've never done).

Today is Sunday, June 7th and I am pigging out on non-McDougall foods like eggs & toast with margarine for breakfast, then potato chips with a few slices of cheese and a cup of non-fat yogurt for lunch. All vegetarian but not vegan and certainly not McDougall foods. However, for dinner we're having spaghetti with marinara (no meat) and a salad which I plan to have with only a little fresh lemon as a dressing. I bought a big bag of oatmeal today, so I have breakfast all taken care of for quite a while. I still need to make a list of 10 McD recipes for dinners. I've done some gardening this weekend and feel pretty good. Gotta run the vacuum cleaner right now because I can see massive fur bunnies from our two dogs floating around the living room floor as I type! Hope you're all having a very relaxing, pleasant weekend!

Hi Birdy - I remember you from the old board! Nice to see you start a journal and a renewed commitment to health. I hope to read lots from you.

Thanks to each of you who've posted with your encouragement, questions and shared interests. Today is Monday 6/8 and I'm starting the McDougall Plan. It seems like this journal may be very helpful. So today I've had two pieces of whole grain bread dry with tea for breakfast, a banana for a morning snack, and potato-garlic soup for lunch with another cup of tea. I made a list of 10 dinners and have a grocery list ready. It was hard to choose just 10 recipes because so many sound good!

My weight this morning was down from 158 to 156.5 for some reason. I suspect this is just a fluke although it may be due to getting more exercise as I garden. Anyway, I'm feeling very positive about changing the way I eat and am feeling like I CAN be successful. For inspiration this morning, I watched two segments of "Dr. McDougall's Advanced Study Program" DVD; I watched one of Howard Lyman's lectures and one of T. Colin Campbell's lectures. Both are so interesting and informative. If you don't already have this series, it's well worth the price. Does anyone else have DVDs you would recommend? I also have the McDougall Made Easy DVD with Mary McDougall's excellent cooking demonstrations. Hmm...I just noticed that on my updated ticker, the BMI is 1 point lower with only a few pounds of weight lost. Hurray. Now if I can only get my 37" waist measurement reduced! Have a great day everyone.

Hey Birdy, you go, girl!

It gets easier every day.

That's great Birdy - you are already flying!! So glad you have a plan and are watching the DVD's for ideas and encouragement - they are great.

Take care and keep posting!
luvoatmeal

It's now Saturday June 13th and I'm not making any progress whatsoever. I'm starting to think I'm just one of those people who cannot diet...cannot do a diet of any persuasion. I couldn't believe in the McDougall diet any more strongly than I do, but I just cannot get going with it. Baby steps?

On a more positive note, I had a wonderful salad yesterday that was very unusual. It's called the Emerald Green salad, after "the Emerald City" which is Seattle's nickname. It's made with very finely chopped organic rainbow swiss chard and organic kale, scallions, cooked wild rice, fennel, and red and yellow peppers with a light lemon and olive oil dressing (I know olive oil is not McDougall so it could be made without that and by substituting a nonfat dressing). Really good.

By the way Mrs. Doodlepunk, I read your posts about Mexican food and saw that someone posted Mary McD's Enchilada sauce. It really is good. I want to suggest that you try making her enchiladas with her homemade enchilada sauce. Everyone at my house loves it although I'm the only person here who even tries to McDougall.

Not much energy today. Think I'll take a nap!
Have a good weekend everyone. I'm off to a volleyball tournament with my youngest D tomorrow at 6:00 a.m. (the tournament is far from where we live).

Hi Birdy,
One thing that might help is to not think of this as a diet. Think of it as a lifestyle change. And changing your life is not an overnight thing for many folks. So don't get discouraged - do the best you can everyday, and take it one day at a time.

The emerald green salad sounds really good. I'm a salad lover, so this might be something I could try. The 3-2-1 dressing from "Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease" would be a good choice for a dressing.

Take care and don't throw in the towel! You can do this.

LuvOatmeal, you are really kind. Glad you like the Emerald Green Salad recipe. I was just rereading a post on another thread by PamM regarding shame as it relates to weight and dieting. For me, there's a variation on "shame" that's acting as a block to my being successful with McDougalling - it's lack of self-worth stemming from the way my mother treated/treats me and also from mistakes I've made with my own children. I feel unworthy of good things like being attractive or healthier. The extra weight makes me feel ugly outside which matches my feeling ugly inside. Shame is very much a part of it. Instead of cloaking and protecting myself with extra weight as some people apparently feel they're doing, I feel that I'm covering myself with unworthiness and worthlessness. This is a weird thing to post, but it's true. And I'm trying to get everything out in the open in the context of this relatively anonymous board in order to heal and get on with my life. I don't want to be stuck in this negative pattern any longer, either psychologically or physically. Okay that's my rant for today. Thanks again for your encouragement. I believe you're right that I can do this. What success have you had so far?