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The reason that I came to the McD WOE three months ago is because I wanted to stop taking medication for arthritis in my thumbs. Of course, I also wanted the pain to go away. After watching some of the Star McDougaller videos about getting rid of arthritis pain, I stopped taking the meds at the same time that I stopped eating anything with oil, and cut out all dairy and eggs (I had been a vegetarian for 28 years, but an on again, off again vegan.)

At the time I began back in early February I weighed about 205 pounds, but being 6'5" I wasn't very concerned about my weight. I did have a belly paunch and some moobs, but I figured I just needed to exercise more, even though I was swimming and biking on a regular basis.

After adopting this WOE though, the pounds started to slowly come off. My belly fat and moobs began to melt away. Only then did I realize that I did actually need to lose some weight and it was diet and not exercise that was preventing that from happening.

Now I'm at about 190 pounds and the belly paunch and moobs are almost totally gone. Maybe another 5 pounds worth to lose.

Also, I don't have nearly any arthritis pain in my thumbs anymore.

Of course, it's not all goods news. I went from a 36 waist to a 33. It was hard enough finding 36 x 36 pants in stores, now it's impossible to find 33 x 36 pants. I have to order them off of the internet.

I should add that I follow the McD general recommendations, not the MWL. I eat a lot of brown rice and potatoes. My only regular cheat is a piece of cake and a cup of coffee with my mom on Sundays. Sometimes I break down and buy a baked sweet, or have a snack with a bit of oil in it, but that's not often. I think that cutting the oil out of my diet is what did the trick; I used oil every day in my cooking and liked to snack on chips and nuts.

Way to go! I really love how easy this program is - I am doing MWL now, and even that has been easy.

Thanks for sharing your story!

Congrats! That's wonderful that it's going so well for you!

Way to go!

I just went for a 54-mile bike ride today..."But where do you get your protein!!! All you eat are potatoes and rice!!! Dear Lord, someone think of the protein!!!"

Congrats! Love reading testimonials like yours.

My problems were "I use oil in everything, automatically" and nuts, particularly peanuts in the shell. Now, the oil is put away, and the nuts are out of sight. It's shocking...I'd buy a one or two pound bag of shelled peanuts and I'd get home, and half the bag would be gone.

My problem with moderation is once I start, I have a hard time stopping, but if I keep certain things out of reach, I'm fine.

Great to hear your story!

Thanks amarand, I enjoyed your story and the pics you just posted, congrats!

Nuts were always a big problem for me...nuts are healthy, right? Of course, buying a pound bag of cashews and eating the whole thing in one sitting may be too much of a good thing

I have to admit that I was clueless about eating healthy...I figured if I cut out chips and fries but continued using oils in my cooking I was fine. Also I didn't realize that potatoes and rice could make a meal...where's the entree!!?? So I used to buy those vegan patties and fake meats that really weren't healthy (but it says "vegan" on the package, so of course it's healthy!)

The thing that's revolutionary for me is that if you cut out the unhealthy foods and just eat the "good" stuff then you can eat until your heart's content...and I eat a lot of food. Of course exercising a lot helps too.