MENA diet/exercise thread

[Nasturtium 500]

I'm going back to the McDougall diet. It's no meat or dairy or oil. Also walking M-F with my cousin for an hour and working out 3-5 days a week with my gf Erin. I had about 20 days of vacation and it was a beautiful and relaxing break I needed.

edited to say: About these pix they're from 2003. I'd been skinny all my life until the unraveling of my engagment a few months before these pix. After the break up I was so broken I ran off the Europe for three months to travel around and cry my heart out around ppl that don't know us. Getting out of the city wasn't good enough I had to leave the country. lol

When the break up occured I gained 30lbs. in one month! The weight kept coming on. When I went to Europe and these pix were taken I weighed 160 and was a size 14 and I thought I was so fat. Even though the broken heart is obvious on my face in one of these pix I look back now and I can see I still looked good. Hindsight is 20/20. lol

So, you gotta be doing a bean and rice thing for protien, right? And chickpeas? Soy? Or do you get to have eggs? The no oil thing is confusing to me because many things have to have an oil or fat base for proper cooking, even if you're using broth as your cooking base (it still contains an oil/fat, just a lot less). How much weight had you initially lost? I thought you were on a 60lb goal or something similar. Having a workout buddy opr 2 is great! It's hard to motivate alone. I'm not sure what I should set my 2 month goal to be. i want to lose 30-40lbs-- 30 is my first goal. 30 strikes me as hard to do in 2 months if you go by the 2lbs/week as the best ammount. That makes only 17.6lbs in 2 months.

Isn't hindsight funny? I looked at my honeymoon pics recently and realized although I thought I looked like a cow in them, I wasn't that bad.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I'm going back to the McDougall diet. It's no meat or dairy or oil. Also walking M-F with my cousin for an hour and working out 3-5 days a week with my gf Erin. I had about 20 days of vacation and it was a beautiful and relaxing break I needed.

edited to say: About these pix they're from 2003. I'd been skinny all my life until the unraveling of my engagment a few months before these pix. After the break up I was so broken I ran off the Europe for three months to travel around and cry my heart out around ppl that don't know us. Getting out of the city wasn't good enough I had to leave the country. lol

When the break up occured I gained 30lbs. in one month! The weight kept coming on. When I went to Europe and these pix were taken I weighed 160 and was a size 14 and I thought I was so fat. Even though the broken heart is obvious on my face in one of these pix I look back now and I can see I still looked good. Hindsight is 20/20. lol

So, you gotta be doing a bean and rice thing for protien, right? And chickpeas? Soy? Or do you get to have eggs? The no oil thing is confusing to me because many things have to have an oil or fat base for proper cooking, even if you're using broth as your cooking base (it still contains an oil/fat, just a lot less). How much weight had you initially lost? I thought you were on a 60lb goal or something similar. Having a workout buddy opr 2 is great! It's hard to motivate alone. I'm not sure what I should set my 2 month goal to be. i want to lose 30-40lbs-- 30 is my first goal. 30 strikes me as hard to do in 2 months if you go by the 2lbs/week as the best ammount. That makes only 17.6lbs in 2 months.

Isn't hindsight funny? I looked at my honeymoon pics recently and realized although I thought I looked like a cow in them, I wasn't that bad.

Dr. McDougall can explain it much better than I but I cook with water and non-stick pans mostly. I do eat beans and rice but no eggs. It's kind of vegan. I don't like eggs anyways. In the first week I lost 5 lbs but I was also exercising and gaining muscle so from about June something when I started to July something when I left on vacation I had only gotten to between 5-10lbs loss with work outs and walking and not so strict on the dieting but in the learning process of it. My vegitarian friend recommended vitamin supplements and so I got some with her.

I just weighed myself and I'm at 196 so my goal now is to lose 46 lbs to get to 150 so that I am at the tip of my healthy BMI. My ideal weight is between 120-130. I would be happy and healthy at 130 so over all my goal is now a 66lbs weight loss but first I need to tackle getting back into the healthy range. There are so many advantages to being healthy again vs. staying over weight for another 5 yrs.

I know personally for myself that rigiorus activity such as cardio/running is the best way my body melts the fat. I've yoyo dieted for the past 5 yrs. I read that at 24 the average womans body stops growing in her development and her metabolism slows down. When I learned that it was like a light went on . For me that is about when the weight started coming on.

So for me I recognize that this is a life style change. Yeah hindsight is funny. I just wish I appriciated my womanly beauty more looking back so I'm taking the oppurtunity to recognize all my beauty now and the beauty in others.

Edited July 20, 2008 by Olivia*

[Nasturtium 500]

Dr. McDougall can explain it much better than I but I cook with water and non-stick pans mostly. I do eat beans and rice but no eggs. It's kind of vegan. I don't like eggs anyways. In the first week I lost 5 lbs but I was also exercising and gaining muscle so from about June something when I started to July something when I left on vacation I had only gotten to between 5-10lbs loss with work outs and walking and not so strict on the dieting but in the learning process of it. My vegitarian friend recommended vitamin supplements and so I got some with her.

I just weighed myself and I'm at 196 so my goal now is to lose 46 lbs to get to 150 so that I am at the tip of my healthy BMI. My ideal weight is between 120-130. I would be happy and healthy at 130 so over all my goal is now a 66lbs weight loss but first I need to tackle getting back into the healthy range. There are so many advantages to being healthy again vs. staying over weight for another 5 yrs.

I know personally for myself that rigiorus activity such as cardio/running is the best way my body melts the fat. I've yoyo dieted for the past 5 yrs. I read that at 24 the average womans body stops growing in her development and her metabolism slows down. When I learned that it was like a light went on . For me that is about when the weight started coming on.

So for me I recognize that this is a life style change. Yeah hindsight is funny. I just wish I appriciated my womanly beauty more looking back so I'm taking the oppurtunity to recognize all my beauty now and the beauty in others.

Nuts is another one.. but that has oil in it. That's what I was curious about-- how you're getting any protien, as you gotta have it every day especially if you're trying to lean up and do workouts. A handful of almonds and an egg are often good for that, but I'm not sure what you've got going on there with your protiens. i got the thinnest when I was pisco-ovo vegetarian. Maybe once every 2 weeks I'd have a piece fo fish or something... and i ate the occasional egg... but mostly I was eating tofu and cheese (not together, gross lol). I would have a salad with some low-fat feta on it or eat a stirfry with a bit of tofu.

I weighed myself 3 days ago-- 151. Sigh. 110-120 is my goal, so I'm doing 120 first. I think I'm shorter than you, so I think we're actually aiming for the same goal. I know at 127 I'll be able to fit into my pants I have at the very least.

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

I forget about tofu but I can eat that too & I actually like that. I haven't learned how to cook that yet. It's a learn as I go process. I should read the book again. I've read it twice and watched the 10 disc CD's once through but I'm not an expert on it. I just know it works from the people around me doing it and the testimonials on the website and the yahoo mcdougall groups.

I don't plan a menu instead I pick recipes from the book that look easy to make and I go to the store and get the ingredients that day and make it. Mom does it with me so that's nice. He says that most people usually eat the same five things all the time once they find them. I don't know if that's true yet but I am still searching for those 5 things.

btw I'm 5'6. There yah go now you have everything that's on my government issued ID. lol

[Nasturtium 500]

I forget about tofu but I can eat that too & I actually like that. I haven't learned how to cook that yet. It's a learn as I go process. I should read the book again. I've read it twice and watched the 10 disc CD's once through but I'm not an expert on it. I just know it works from the people around me doing it and the testimonials on the website and the yahoo mcdougall groups.

I don't plan a menu instead I pick recipes from the book that look easy to make and I go to the store and get the ingredients that day and make it. Mom does it with me so that's nice. He says that most people usually eat the same five things all the time once they find them. I don't know if that's true yet but I am still searching for those 5 things.

btw I'm 5'6. There yah go now you have everything that's on my government issued ID. lol

LOL! You know when we went to set up Ammar on my bank account, the teller asked him for a government issued ID and he pulled out his greencard because that was all he had-- and she said, "NO! I want a GOVENRMENT issued ID!!!" And I jsut looked at her (wasn't in a nice mood) and said "Who in the hell do you suppose issues greencards? Where do you think he got it, the photo booth at the mall?! Where's your manager?" And that was settled in one second when she said "He's trying to use this ID instead of a government issued ID" and her manager said "this is issued by the US Government, it IS government issued ID." Then she said she thought that the State had more authority than the feds. Idiot twit. Anyway, that's the long story that I think of when I hear that phrase!

Tofu-- depends on what kind you get and what you aer doing with it. There is no way it is going to be able to be cooked in a pan with just water, even a non-stick... unles it's sitting on top of something/ Tofu doesn't really have to be cooked, as it's not "raw." If you get the silk kind, you can use it instead of yogurt, etc in a smoothie. If you get extra firm, you can either stirfry it (put it in on top of things and then add a liquid like soy sauce just in case) or bake it... I always get extra firm because I use it like that. it's normally sold in that one block size-- 1/4 block is your protien for the day. You have to be careful to not overdo the tofu as it can cause you to gain weight. Look for one padckaged in calcium water-- it's a sponge, and it will soak up some of that calcium and give you some extra mineral goodness!

[Nasturtium 500]

Crazy Sunday double post!

Edited July 20, 2008 by julianna

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Good story!

Must copy and paste that tofu info to my email. Thx!

[Nasturtium 500]

Good story!

Must copy and paste that tofu info to my email. Thx!

YW!

BTW, yes, you are taller than me-- I'm 5'4", so I am pretty sure we're headed for the same goal. 2 inches in height can easily make 10lbs difference.

[ErikaAndHamit 73]

Wow I just so happened to stumble upon this topic on the first day of my diet. How long has everyone here been dieting? I want to lose 50lbs. I gained it all last year when I was tressed out. Pisses me offfffffffffffff

Wow I just so happened to stumble upon this topic on the first day of my diet. How long has everyone here been dieting? I want to lose 50lbs. I gained it all last year when I was tressed out. Pisses me offfffffffffffff

Wow "tressed out" good spelling Erika....lofl

[Dr. A ♥ O 203]

Wow I just so happened to stumble upon this topic on the first day of my diet. How long has everyone here been dieting? I want to lose 50lbs. I gained it all last year when I was tressed out. Pisses me offfffffffffffff

Wow I just so happened to stumble upon this topic on the first day of my diet. How long has everyone here been dieting? I want to lose 50lbs. I gained it all last year when I was tressed out. Pisses me offfffffffffffff

Wow "tressed out" good spelling Erika....lofl

The thread was started for the new year and looks like ppl join on and off.

[Jenn! 918]

The thread was started for the new year and looks like ppl join on and off.

Yes, more off than on though lately!

Come on ladies!

[~*Dorothy*~ 2]

I'm still here - doing my exercise program and waiting to take it to the next level - revisit and revise my eating habits so I can bring my efforts full circle.

One day at a time, need to keep the motivation going!

Dorothy

[Nasturtium 500]

Does anyone have a "goal" outfit or something you're judging your success by other than weight?

[Nasturtium 500]

Does anyone have a "goal" outfit or something you're judging your success by other than weight?

Why, yes I do! I have a closet full of clothes I cannot wear at the moment, or at least that I shouldn't wear. But I really have 2 standards of size to know when I reached my goal:

1. I bought this pair of pants which I have never worn yet-- I got them last fall and they were small then, but should have fit. Right now, I want to wear them. They claim to be size 6 petites, but I think they are really a 2/4.

2. I have these sundresses which are short. I don't really wear them out anymore, but I just like to fit into them. That is probably weird, but I really like them. I also know that when I can fit into them, I can fit into anything I want to fit into.

[Nasturtium 500]

For a week now I have been charting my eatnig and I've noticed something about myself that I had forgotten-- I am on a 2-3 day eating cycle with calories. I will overeat one day and then the next not be hungry and want to undereat. Is anyone else like that? Like yesterday, I had 2300 calories while sitting at home doing nothing... but then today I have forced myself to get up to 900-- I really feel full and I cringe at the idea of eating. tomorrow I'll probably eat 1500 without a problem and not want anymore..