Discussion Board

I am 110lbs at 5'3" no need to loose weight but have many autoimmune issues.
Should I (can I) vary the basic diet in any why so that I do not loose weight. I am just now healthy enough for excersise.

My mother is in a similar position.

Do you get enough calories in a day? She has GI problems and eating enough to satisfy her basic energy needs has been a challenge (if she doesn't watch it, she will only get 500-600 calories a day), but she has made great strides the last week.

Once we made sure she was eating enough, the diet started working very well. It's been a bit of a puzzle and we are figuring it out piece by piece (food sensitivities, etc), but each step seems to be cumulative, and the progress is so nice to watch. Still a ways to go, but at least we finally found something that helps her. She's on the forum, maybe she will post here.

Good luck to you. Some people think that folks like you and my mother are "lucky" because you don't have extra weight to lose, but they don't realize the other kinds of challenges that might face you.

This is a great diet for people that don't need to lose weight. If we're eating enough, our bodies will typically adjust to the right weight. For example, when I finally dropped the added oils and high quantity of nuts from my diet in Nov 2008 (I had already been plant-based for years), I immediately dropped 10 pounds. That put me at the very bottom of the BMI normal range (which is 18.5, and based on your height/weight, yours is 19.5). Periodically/currently I eat a subset of the MWL program for health reasons, and I DO struggle to maintain my weight, but if you can eat a variety of McDougall-legal foods, you should be fine. If you drop below a BMI of 18.5, try adding some foods that are higher in calorie density.

Thank you! It's good to know that others understand. Soon I will start my daily work outs again and with added Mucle (which we all know is heavier than fat... whichI have little) I will most likely gain bounds. But I will have to work hard to make sure I get enough calories and proteins for the extra energy used mucsle buiding.
My husband sttill needs to loose about 7lbs so obviously our plates look a little different.
I have a lot to learn!!!!! But taking it step by step will surely get me there.
I'm very excited and can't read fast enough to get all the info.
Thanks again.