Oona's Ogham

[OOnaOwl]

Day 21. Beginning 4th week!
Nothing new to tell, sticking to plan and enjoying the food. Still doing 2 meals a day plus a snack some days.
Still no significant loss by the scale, but areas to pinch seem to be shrinking. Hoping to see some real progress
by beginning of Spring in 3 weeks. May it be so!

[OOnaOwl]

Day 24.

I had a slip-up on Sunday night where I found myself hungry with no on-plan food. Ate a handful of tater tots. Gave me terrible bloating! I had eaten a snack so I wouldn't be hungry when out, but still got hungry anyway. Should have packed a little something to bring, will do next time!
Sadly no weight loss to report, but fat areas do still seem less. I had been eating a little tofu these past weeks, so just cut that out. Will be replacing them with chickpeas & lentils. Hoping to lose 5 more pounds by end of March at least. Still have so very far to go! Doing my best to stay focused, positive, and solution-oriented .

[OOnaOwl]

Day 25.
Today I had the most delicious lunch of fresh asparagus and leeks (finally in season ) with dinosaur kale & arugula, all water sautéed. This I had with double mushroom (shitake & chantrelle) brown rice & chickpeas. The scale still reads the same- approximately 2 to 4 pound loss since I began. Each day I do the pinch test near navel & fat appears to be shrinking, so strange that the scale doesn't capture this much at all yet. I am enjoying the food very much, and feeling better for it. Dinner will be raw carrots with hummus and romaine salad with salsa dressing, and possibly a baked potato.
Indigestion has been a thing of the past since the first days, energy is better, skin is clearer, less puffy & has more of a glow to it. I look younger even I think? Still the excess weight has got to go.

[OOnaOwl]

Day 27.
Scale has finally moved slightly southward! Ever so much more to go, hope this is a continuing trend of shedding .
Been eating tons of green veggies every day at lunch/dinner & loving it. I am really looking forward to achieving the
goals I have not only for myself but loved ones. I hope to inspire others to get healthy, lean & fit. I have my first
road race of the season in just over a week- Shamrock Run. I am woefully unprepared, was tripped up by all the ice
& snow we had a few weeks ago in my training schedule. Will be running it just to participate and finish! This Spring
Equinox I celebrate my 10th anniversary of running . Want to really go for it this year, both with running & yoga.
I have been doing quite a bit of kundalini & hatha yoga at home most days, and going to add some vinyasa in too.

[OOnaOwl]

Day 32.

Nothing new to report as far as desired weight loss is concerned. Scale still reads within a pound of last report. Still seems as though the areas to pinch are shrinking as I mentioned before. My goal remains the same. Still eating MWLP & enjoying the food. My complexion does appear less blotchy and more glowy, improving almost every day. Praying I see a weight loss of at least a few more pounds by month's end.

[nayasmom]

I had the same issue when I first started the McDougall ten-day diet. I initially lost 3 lbs and then... nothing for something like 3 weeks. So far I've lost a total of 6 lbs since Jan. 20, which is no small potatoes but then again it's not the dramatic change I read about. It's all good. The time will come when you are surprised when you step onto the scale!
Robyn
PS, I do the same thing only with me, I keep looking in the mirror. I check my chin because it is the most obvious place where change has taken place. I no longer have a neck-hiding "goiter" type chin. My girlish figure has begun coming out of hiding. Every little change is a miracle!

[kkrichar]

Hi Oona. I enjoy reading your journal. I have been on plan 100% for 3 months now and my weight loss seems slower than I had hoped/read about in other journals. Some days I get really down about it and other days I'm able to see the changes in the mirror or in how my clothes fit. I weighed myself on Feb. 1st and March 1st and weighed exactly the same. That scared me because slow weight loss is one thing and no weight loss is something else entirely. But, I just wasn't ready to weigh and measure or cut back my starches too much so I decided to keep going a little longer without making changes. Anyhoo, I've lost 4.8 pounds since March 1st so I don't know what was going on. I could tell that I was getting smaller but the scale refused to budge. Clearly I was getting smaller. I'm trying to remember this moment for the next time the scale goes weeks without moving. So, if you feel comfortable (not over full) after your meals and your body looks like changes are happening when you look in the mirror or whatever trust that things are working. I think with women (maybe) we have things going on in our bodies that prevent the scale from moving even when weight loss is actually occurring. I don't know. It's my theory today. You are doing great!

[OOnaOwl]

I had the same issue when I first started the McDougall ten-day diet. I initially lost 3 lbs and then... nothing for something like 3 weeks. So far I've lost a total of 6 lbs since Jan. 20, which is no small potatoes but then again it's not the dramatic change I read about. It's all good. The time will come when you are surprised when you step onto the scale!
Robyn
PS, I do the same thing only with me, I keep looking in the mirror. I check my chin because it is the most obvious place where change has taken place. I no longer have a neck-hiding "goiter" type chin. My girlish figure has begun coming out of hiding. Every little change is a miracle!

Thanks Robin/ Nayasmom!
I agree, all the little changes are amazing too! I have been noticing my jawline looking a bit sharper than it has these past few years. The scale is showing a one percent decrease in body fat from last week which is exciting. Congratulations for your successes! Bless!

[OOnaOwl]

Hi Oona. I enjoy reading your journal. I have been on plan 100% for 3 months now and my weight loss seems slower than I had hoped/read about in other journals. Some days I get really down about it and other days I'm able to see the changes in the mirror or in how my clothes fit. I weighed myself on Feb. 1st and March 1st and weighed exactly the same. That scared me because slow weight loss is one thing and no weight loss is something else entirely. But, I just wasn't ready to weigh and measure or cut back my starches too much so I decided to keep going a little longer without making changes. Anyhoo, I've lost 4.8 pounds since March 1st so I don't know what was going on. I could tell that I was getting smaller but the scale refused to budge. Clearly I was getting smaller. I'm trying to remember this moment for the next time the scale goes weeks without moving. So, if you feel comfortable (not over full) after your meals and your body looks like changes are happening when you look in the mirror or whatever trust that things are working. I think with women (maybe) we have things going on in our bodies that prevent the scale from moving even when weight loss is actually occurring. I don't know. It's my theory today. You are doing great!

Hello KKrichar!
Thanks for responding. Yes I so relate to your experience of no/slow loss. That is amazing that things are really moving for you now! I think your theory is a good one. I am definitely noticing changes such as shrinking still happening. I am taking heart and will remember your story when I get discouraged. Bless!

[OOnaOwl]

Day 35.
I have had the most wicked insomnia & mild migraines for the past two weeks due to perimenopause. Finally got my lady days now so was able to sleep peacefully last night! The scale still reads the same but the fat percentage is down one percent as of this week. Also I still seem to be shrinking/firming up a bit more each week. Spring has arrived to our region, bringing warmer gentler weather. I have been eating lots of green veggies in season, such as leeks & asparagus, arugula & mixed greens. I am considering a short juice feast of one day, possibly up to 3 days soon. I have a Jack LaLanne juicer that I would use for it. I have never done a fast longer than about 36 hours before. Just toying with the idea right now. Going to get the juicer out and dust it off, make some veggie juices & see where it takes me. I love mainly vegetable juice, not fruit. Beet, carrot, celery, parsley, kale, cucumber, etc.

The 5K is in 2 days and I will more than likely not be running in it. So terribly underprepared & been so ill with perimenopausal maladies. I have always had good health and vitality until this stage of life. So strange to be so under the weather so often! I have had to miss so many life experiences these past few years to nurse a migraine/insomnia/anxiety/depression. I got some more books on kundalini yoga today in the post, one for women's yoga & one for meditation as medicine. Doing my best to keep a daily practice of both yoga and meditation, and goal is still to run at least 3 times per week. The migraines have been much less painful for the past 6 months, but they happen more often and effect my vision and energy level. I feel very fortunate to work from home and the hours that I choose, and have no dependents during this time of inner change. I imagine it would be ever so much harder if I had to keep someone else's schedule with such shifting energy supplies. Giving thanks for all that I have in life! Such a wonderful world it is truly. Even in these interesting times. Bless!

[OOnaOwl]

Day 39.
Insomnia & migraines have left me alone for now . Scale reads that I am down another half pound this morning, will wait to record until it reads similarly for another day or two. Still on plan & enjoying the food. I think I have been overeating for a long time & not realized it. I am "still" overeating, as I observed myself at lunch today. I eat beyond full until I am somewhat uncomfortably stuffed. This could be why I am not losing weight?! I realize I don't really like to take the time to cook and eat, so I try to stuff all my calories in in 2 meals per day-this since January and this WOE has become apparent through more keen observation. I also think I do this out of fear that I will get hungry too soon/or get hungry and not have access to this WOE food and then eat something unhealthy and/or fattening. Since I have been eating this WOE I am still experiencing some hunger sensations but not the awful feeling I was getting on the ETL and vegetarian WOE. That was a horrible gnawing sense of desperation that wouldn't cease until I ate enough. With the MWLP I experience the mild sensation of a need to eat, but it feels more like just a gentle reminder that I am running low on fuel instead of a screaming bell of doom that won't shut up. So how to address this overeating? I don't like to do the "eat 6 times small meals" or 3 squares plus snacks. I think I will try to make my afternoon meal into 2 smaller meals. Also I want to add more raw foods. I was eating plain rice crackers made just from rice flour and water but I found myself obsessing over them and eating a bag of them in 2 days. So going to try not to purchase them. It is interesting that this focus is shedding light on many unhealthy dietary habits that I was unaware of! Though it is painful to see and acknowledge, I am grateful for the information revealed. Bless!

[OOnaOwl]

Day 44.
Been cutting back a bit on food amounts. No longer eating until uncomfortably stuffed. I still appear to be
shrinking but no inches lost and only down a 1/2 pound. In my online research of weight loss and healthy size
I discovered these two pages that really help clarify it for me:
http://www.builtlean.com/2012/09/24/bod ... men-women/
http://www.builtlean.com/2010/08/03/ide ... age-chart/

I am currently at around 26% but my goal and former size was around19%.
I stopped drinking a bottle of beer every night but have noticed no marked loss in weight or improvement
in health from it. I may add it back in next week if still no positive changes from the removal of it.
When I was walking to the grocery store today I felt much lighter in my body, and slimmer. It felt really
really good! Before I was feeling so heavy, burdened down by the extra pounds. I am imagining how even more
wonderful it will feel and be to be even lighter! I never used to think about what I could/couldn't do or wear.
There were no limits because I was a naturally healthy size for my frame and height. I am really really looking
forward to that experience again!

[OOnaOwl]

Day 46.
After a glorious spring sunshine yesterday we are back to gray skies and cooler mists, I enjoy all weather & appreciate the gentle quiet beauty of today. I feel inspired to make some split pea soup today, knowing that it will be one of the last times I will enjoy it until the autumn. I really like to cook/eat with the seasons. Along with the split peas I will add carrots, gold onion, garlic, boullion, a bit of brown rice, mushrooms and whatever other veggies seem appealing in the fridge. I think I will also be making a beet & cabbage salad too- not only do I love the taste but the bright pink color is so fun! Not sure how I will spice it yet.
I have started spring decluttering and after that will then begin the spring cleaning of the house.
I got 3 big bags of clothing to sell and give away, and have arranged for a clothing exchange gathering at my house next week.
I also have 4 or 5 grocery bags of books to sell and donate to library. I really really want to declutter the basement this bright season! Wish me luck as it requires motivating others who have stored items down there.
Still no weight lost, still want to lose at least 15 more pounds.

[OOnaOwl]

Day 55.
Haven't weighed myself for a few days, but last time I did it was still the same. Still on the plan, still enjoying the food. Still want to lose 15 more pounds! 2 people commented yesterday that I looked slimmer but the scale remains the same and I have definitely NOT gained muscle as I have been hardly exercising. Measuring tape has also remained the same numbers. I didn't meet my goal of losing a few more pounds by end of March.
I didn't eat enough veggies yesterday. Will aim for a lot more today

[OOnaOwl]

I am lost here! I followed the plan & never had any measurable change in my body that I was after-mainly weight loss. I see that most everyone else has huge positive changes in theirs, usually soon but always after a while. I am not sure what to do now, very confused. I have been eating mostly vegan whole food for the past 6 weeks since I last posted here, but a little oil was in a few things. Haven't gotten any fatter at least. I'm confounded, so taking stock and not proceeding in any specific direction at the moment. I remember last year I did start to lose weight when I upped the raw foods to at least 50%-but I did not enjoy the experience and had some digestive issues from it. I would just conclude that I "don't need to lose any weight" if I was at a reasonable number-but I am not. I am visibly pudgy all over and about 15 pounds over what is good weight for me-around 100 pounds for a 5 foot tall small framed female. Just taking pause here on the trail, breathing observing & questioning....