A few months ago I followed the lead of my daughter and son-in-law and went back to the McDougall way of eating. The McDougall Plan is based on eating whole foods, no added fat, vegan. Dr. McDougall has been teaching others how to eat this way and tracking progress for many years, which is why I knew about him when Elaine mentioned that she and Ed were going to attend a McDougall seminar in Santa Rosa.
Years ago I followed something similar. I think I may have gone with Ornish, with some McDougall thrown in. There isn't a lot of difference between them. I mainly remember, though, keeping fat to within 10% of total calories, which is not the way McDougall does it. The results are similar in terms of weight loss.
When Elaine and Ed returned, glowing and committed (some might say obsessed), I thought back, wondering when I strayed from the 10% rule and why. I recalled that I was still at a good weight when my tenant brought me a large bottle of olive oil. I thanked him and thought, "It will take me a long time to finish that". I wasn't in the habit of using it regularly and certainly not tossing it into just about everything. However, in time that's about what happened. I still don't know what kicked me over. I still love olive oil.
Clearly, though, it was the re-introduction of more fat and more bread that led to my weight creeping up and up and my not getting it back down again.
Now I am back again, using the McDougall plan as a guideline, not obsessing with staying with it 100% of the time. And it is working. I am down to 245 now. I seem to be at a bit of a plateau and I am feeling cravings more, which I think is because I cleaned out so much food from my fridge and have been compromising more and enjoying it less. Still, I eat a lot of vegetables simply steamed. I eat as much as I want. I eat a lot of potatoes. It's a good way to eat.
When I first started this time I went on the elimination diet. Ate only those foods that are least likely to cause any kind of allergic reaction. After a week, gradually I added foods back in, one at a time. I was hoping to find foods that caused problems with my knees, with inflammation. I didn't really find that, didn't find foods that increased inflammation and caused more pain, but I did discover that coffee was keeping me awake at night and causing me to lose energy. I found that coffee was partially responsible for the recurring stomach pains. I have cut out coffee, except for a cup now and then, and only in the morning. So it was a good thing to do.
Over time the pain in my right hip, which was excruciating, lessened, and now I hardly ever feel it. I still have issues with both knees but am managing better, I think. I have started to hike again. Baby steps! At first I had episodes of pain and arthritic stiffness but lately hiking has been mostly pleasurable, even though I feel it. It's progress that is major to me because I wondered, for a while, if I'd ever enjoy hiking again.
