It’s the Great Pumpkin, Valerie!

Val lifts 40 lb Pumpkin

Have you seen that new Jenny Craig commercial where Valerie Bertinelli compares her lost 40 pounds to a giant pumpkin? When she lifts it she really has to put her back into it and even kind of stumbles like she might drop it. She says she can barely lift it.

Visually, that’s really quite inspiring.

Back in 2002 when I did Weight Watchers, every time we lost 5 pounds, I remember my WW Leader telling us to go to the grocery store and pick up a 5 pound bag of potatoes so we could realize just how much weight we’d gotten rid of. She advise us to imagine us to multiply that bag by the multiples of 5 we had lost. I never really did that and even though I lost 55 – 60 pounds over the year, I never put it into that kind of perspective.

However, last week when I saw this commercial I was really struck by the mass of the weight that came off her small frame. The truth is that Val and I are about the same height and other than the fact that I’m slightly more curvier in spots, our frames are both naturally petite. So, it was easy for me to imagine that all of my extra weight is a giant pumpkin, a 65+ pound giant pumpkin, and suddenly I understood why my back hurts when I do chores that require standing, in part why I’m so easily fatigued, why I’m out of breath walking up the parking garage ramp, why I feel like I’m waddling, in part why I’m tired all of the time…

Before 2002 I had no memory of being a thin adult and thus couldn’t even imagine myself as a thin person. However, because I was 130 – 135 lbs for the first part of 2003, I have very vivid memories of seeing my thin reflection in the mirror and looking down at my wanna-be flat stomach and my tiny arms and legs. I recall how it felt to wear size 8 – 10 clothes and how good I felt about myself.

The image of Valerie Bertinelli and that 40 lb pumpkin has stuck with me, inspired me, motivated me. I finished reading The Mcdougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss and then I obsessed about putting together the perfect one week menu. I sometimes get a little overwhelmed by the details and, thus, never get around to actually starting things. But Val and her Great Pumpkin pushed me on and I actually made it to the grocery store last night. I didn’t actually get anything cooked, however, because by the time I got home and got the refrigerator cleaned out then refilled, I was exhausted and in a load of pain — my feet still hurt this morning! I did try to stick to most of the principles though today. Lunch was mostly McDougall, but it was leftovers that needed to be eaten, and I’ve snacked on veggies.

So, I’m basically going to try to stick to the following for a bit and see if I lose weight and start to feel better — plus, it’s all vegan!

Breakfast: starch with fruit and optional soy or rice milk

Snack: rice cakes, corn thins, or veggie crudities with optional fat-free bean dip

Lunch: starch-based entrée with very-low-calorie salad

Snack: rice cakes, corn thins, or veggie crudities with optional fat-free bean dip

Dinner: starch-based entrée with veggies (preferably green and yellow) with very-low-calorie salad

Snack: fruit

For the “maximum” weight loss period, there’s no oils, no high-fat plant foods like nuts, avocados, seeds, olives, coconut, or soybean products, and no flour products. Salt, sugar, and fruit all have limitations. But like the old WW Core program, there’s a big focus on eating until satisfied — according to McDougall, carbohydrates will not only quickly satisfy, but keep one feeling full much longer.

There seems to be some sort of potato cult on the McDougall forums…if you have trouble with hunger, the advice is to just fill up on potatoes. Considering the fact that my mother tried to “rip me a new one” the other day because twice in a row she talked to me and I had just eaten oven French fries for dinner, I can imagine my mother would not be impressed with this diet; she certainly will not buy into the nutritional science behind it.

Carbohydrates are our primary source of energy. They alone provide energy for red blood cells, and certain cells of the kidneys, and the preferred fuel for the central nervous system, including the brain. Fat, on the other hand, is a secondary source of energy that can be used by some tissues, such as muscle, but is more often stored for use in times of famine.

Humans were designed by nature to crave carbohydrates – or, to put the matter in more practical terms, to crave sweet-tasting foods. Because of the sweet-tasting taste buds are on the tip of our tongues we are designed to seek starches, vegetables and fruits – which supply us with both energy and maximum nutrition. In fact, carbohydrates, with their unique combination of sweet-flavor, energy, and nutrition, regulate our hunger drive. Unless you eat enough carbohydrate foods, you will remain hungry and looking for food.

There are no carbohydrates in red meat, poultry, fish, shellfish, or eggs. Most dairy products are deficient in carbohydrates. Cheese, for example, contains only two percent carbohydrate. This is one important reason people who eat a diet rich in animal foods never satisfied and become compulsive overeaters. (Dr. McDougall’s Health and Medical Center, Plant Foods)

My mother’s reaction to the French fries was to tell me that they were just going to be converted to fat. I tried to explain to her what I read in McDougall’s book that carbohydrates are energy and that it’s the oils and the fats that actually get stored as fat, but she didn’t want to hear it. She just went on a rant about how she knew this vegan thing was a bad idea. It was just like the last time when all I ate were potatoes and starches and no vegetables. Now I tried to explain to her that I had been feeling bloated from the gastroparesis and thus I had broken down my meals so that I would eat my protein at one sitting, my veggies at another, and my starch at another, which I’ve explained before, but she didn’t want to hear it. I think she just wants to be right even if that means I’ll end up sicker.

Anyway, since I had rice for lunch, I think I may try to make some sort of beans and potato dish for dinner. I got the recipe from the potato cult. If it’s any good, I’ll post it.