Starch first..then veggies/fruit…right?

[zumacraig]

Is this the focus of McD and what separates him from the 2 pounds of vegetable/day guys? I've tried and tried to eat a ton of salad and raw veggies, but I just can't stick with it. I end up not focusing on the starch and then falling off the wagon. I think I might do better if I focused on starch and then added veg or fruit for meals and snacks.

Any advice, thoughts? Thanks friends1

Craig

[eXtremE]

Yeah, that is the McD diet. Mostly Starch and throw in a little fruits and veggies. It seems to work great for many ppl.

[Spiral]

Is this the focus of McD and what separates him from the 2 pounds of vegetable/day guys? I've tried and tried to eat a ton of salad and raw veggies, but I just can't stick with it. I end up not focusing on the starch and then falling off the wagon. I think I might do better if I focused on starch and then added veg or fruit for meals and snacks.

Any advice, thoughts? Thanks friends1

Craig

Jeff Novick recommends "pre-loading" fruits and non-starchy vegetables if someone is having trouble losing weight. But in general, this is just a tweak on the calorie density issue. Calorie density is a good concept for weight management/loss.

[zumacraig]

Thanks for the quick responses. Sounds like the best way is to do the starch focused diet initially and then tweak as needed when plateaus occur. I've lost 5 pounds, but have been having trouble sticking to it, so I'm still in the initial stages.

Thanks again.

[dteresa]

If you are having trouble why don't you just have a small salad or small bowl of soup to start and then enjoy your potatoes or rice and beans or whatever? I don't think anyone means for someone to stuff himself full of anything.

didi

[Katydid]

It really depends on the person and how prone they are to compulsive overeating.
Back when Dr. McDougall had a 10 day program designed around the Maximum Weight Loss Diet he described the protocol in the following newsletter:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2005nl/ ... ushing.htm

Basically:
1. A salad
2. Some steamed vegetables
3. A bowl of soup
4. A starchy entree

Low calorie density foods followed by higher density starches. But always eat starches until satisfied.

Kate

[zumacraig]

More good info. Thanks. My issue really isn't stuffing myself, thank god. I have more of an issue with snacking on the wrong foods…donuts. I'll get a good week of McDougall in and then blow it. My hope is that if I can focus on the starch rather than veg, then I'll get in a better habit of snacking on more appropriate foods and then tweak as necessary with some of the MWL guidelines.

To be more specific, I'll eat all good McD meals during the day, but eat 3 donuts in between breakfast and lunch. If I wasn't so caught up in perfection, it'd be better for me to just eat a some hash browns or something for that snack rather than the donuts.

So, we'll see. Thanks for all the great feedback.

[colonyofcells]

I eat a variety of starches, legumes, vegetables, cooked mushrooms, etc. and the order of eating them is probably not important and usually it is not possible for me to squeeze all the types of food in a single meal or a single plate. I just try to eat a variety of food by the end of the day rather than trying to include everything in each meal. I also try to use lots of herbs and spices in my food if possible. I sometimes also use seaweeds in my soups.