'McDougalling'

Day whatever of my TOM (the tail end at least) and I'm feeling ever so much better. I don't know what the deal is, but at the risk of TMI I swear these days my entire abdominal cavity now gets terribly swollen and sore during The Event. Indeed, the requisite 'cramping' of course -- but also just overall pressure and sensitivity everywhere, all over the place in there, deep inside my bloated guts. And don't even get me started on the Bloating, which as of this morning has only finally subsided (this used to happen the first day, though these days it doesn't until the very last, sigh). Thankfully it's all pretty much over and done with now (for this cycle anyway) -- ready to get back to regularly scheduled LIFE. With any luck, as I continue along this path to health and wellness perhaps I may find some relief from these aggravating symptoms (crosses fingers).

In any case it was with great relief that I felt flatter in tummy this morning upon waking (and I've written previously just how much my moods can be tied up with THAT). Likely thanks to TOM finally simmering down I'm sure -- but also hoping due in part to my healthier eating habits as of late.

Currently as I try to regain control of my runaway food consumption, I've turned yet again to the McDougall Plan, as I have for the past 18 odd years now (have I written about this before? Don't remember...) -- ever since I just happened to attend a live lecture for fun by this particular vegetarian doctor/author I had never heard of before. The year was 1990, or thereabouts. The lecture (about his ultra-lowfat vegan plan) made a quite a huge impression on me at the time -- and still does. It's my security blanket. Though I've never quite been able to make The Plan a completely permanent lifestyle change? (always falling off the wagon at some point, hard --even after following it for years) -- it's always there for me to crawl back to, as I have time and time again.

So, yet AGAIN, I'm regaining control -- by watching the fat intake and the refined sugars and the excess salt. And avoiding the animal products -- not so difficult really, since despite how out of control the nibbling can get for me at times, in these 25 odd years of vegetarianism, I've never gone back to the meat consumption. Never ever -- never even so much as tempted, and never will be. Now the SUGAR, FAT, SALT, PIZZA, and DAIRY is quite another matter entirely -- BUT, at the very least, I've got the No-Meat-of-any-kind thing down pat. Easy-peasy. And really, I need to remind myself that for most people that's half of the battle right there. Not to mention how crazy easy and fulfilling it is to be a vegetarian in the Summer -- with all the bountiful beautiful fresh fruits and veggies at hand, ahhh (for instance, I made a huge batch of fresh pico-di-gallo last night -- just tomatoes, onions (vidalia), cilantro, a pinch of salt, jalepeno (gotta have the jalepeno!), and lime. So good I think I could live on that stuff all summer long. May go have some right now in fact -- to top a baked potato)....