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I've mostly been eating healthy since I read Campbell's China Study book 5 years ago. I say mostly, but I've slowly evolved. Even before I read the book, I kinda cut out candy when I got married to a Chinese man who likes to grocery shop with me and gently told me we shouldn't buy the junk when I tried putting it in the grocery cart.

I say I mostly eat healthy, but then you might ask, why am I obese? That's a question that sent me on the quest that led me to Campbell's book and then Dr Mcdougall's book, the one with the big smile and his hands spread out to grains and fruits and vegetables, seeming to say, "come, eat this delicious food, and be healthy."

I read that book three years ago. I believed every word. I had finally found the answer to my weight problems, no doubt. I have been and always will be grateful to Dr. Mcdougall and Dr. Campbell for their leading me to the truth. Things clicked when I read the one five years ago and then they clicked even more when I read the second book two years later.

And things keep clicking the more I read and re-read information on Dr. Mcdoguall's website. So the question keeps coming up, why am I overly fat? I know, just be patient with me, I know. Patience is something I've learned hard through this weight loss journey. I've been patiently waiting for things to click. I read the information, I believe it, and I patiently wait until my mind and body both say, "Okay, I get it, got it, love the rice. It really does fill me up."

I often compare the contents of my grocery cart with that of others and almost every time I do, whether the person is thin or heavier, the contents of theirs are full of mostly junk, pure junk. While mine is full of fruits and vegetables. And I ask myself, "I get it. I got it. I know what I'm supposed to be doing to lose weight. I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, so why isn't it coming off?" So I would go and re-read things from Dr. McDougall's site and I would try new things until another thing would click. Of course, they wouldn't click until I made a few mistakes and went back to old habits. And I've been doing that for the past 3 plus years. All the while, watching my weight slowly rise through two pregnancies.

But I think I got it. I think I got the final puzzle that should be the last missing piece. Something that I've known all along, but hadn't clicked until this past week after I read what Dr Mcdougall said about sugar, how it raises insulin so the fat can't be released from the cells. I know I've been eating too much sugar, from the big spoonful or two that I add to my bean soup or oatmeal for breakfast, to the ketchup that I dip my baked french (unfried) fries in, to the 4 grams per slice in my oil/butter free whole wheat bread.

Anyways, I finally got it and cut out the sugar and bread (because it has sugar) from my diet and since I've done that 6 days ago, I finally started to lose. My official measuring (I think that's more accurate than weighing) will be tomorrow. I'll post how it goes.

Welcome. I look forward to exploring this journey with you

Glad that things have finally clicked...now click your heels together and see you world change.....looking forward to seeing your losses...

Hi JennieZ,

That is what I did, a couple months ago. I took out all the sugar & it wasn't that much, but it made a big difference. I find though that I can have a small amount of ketchup, for instance, I use the kind that does not have HFCS in it. I avoid barbecue sauce, have not been able to find one without sugar/HFCS. No longer use the brown sugar on my oatmeal. Just 1 t. of that can set me off, making it really hard to keep myself in check.

You get kind of crazy reading labels though. Sugar is hidden in products very well. So I try to stick to whole foods, potatoes, rice, veggies. I usually only have 1 fruit a day, on my oatmeal in the am, frozen cherries.

I am looking forward to following you on this journey as well. And it is a journey. I am hoping mine comes to an end later this year. At least in the weight loss. Then the next journey will begin, for a lifetime.

Thanks all for your support.

I weighed and measured myself this morning and I lost 5 pounds and 3 1/2 inches! Before I was only slowly gaining. And I was eating about 3-4% sugar and 10-12% fat. So I thought I was doing pretty well but I guess not. Now I am fully compliant, no added fats, so I'm guessing my fat percentage this last week was 7% and sugar was 0.5%. I ate plenty of whole grains and fruits and vegetables this week and I was not once hungry. I probably even overate a few times. (I'm a stuffer) I exercised about 4 1/2 hours but I've been doing that every week already (while gaining.)

I feel great and have so much energy. I didn't even miss the sugar and bread. I really love rice and oatmeal, sweet potatoes, barley, legumes, ww noodles. I love how on this program I get to fill myself up on those foods that I really love and that satisfy me and I don't have to go hungry.

Jan, I don't know if they have Red Bull barbeque sauce where you live, but that doesn't have HFCS and it tastes so good. But watch out, it has alot more sugar than ketchup does. I'll follow you as you lose. It sounds like we are both highly resistant to fat loss. I know you can do it.

I have still been eating the MWL plan and I love it. Never hungry. I measured myself yesterday and lost 1 1/2 inches. But get this, I gained 2 pounds! I've been reading people's posts this week and I've noticed a few people discouraged that they have been sticking to the plan and have gained weight. To those people, I highly suggest measuring yourselves, because you probably did lose fat.

I am so inspired by many of you and I'm grateful for the comments and posts in this discussion board. I am especially inspired by ETeselle who convinced me that the MWL is the way to go.

I found this quote by frozenveg that I have to quote because I love, love, love it. "Rather than looking to lose weight, or even inches, or even anything, you may want to adopt this way of life wholeheartedly, eat the food until you're happy, do your exercise, and enjoy! This is the life!"

I dropped the sugar last Monday, and I started melting immediately. That, and eating the lower calorie foods and sequencing my eating, so that I eat veggies first, and by the time I get to the starch, I'm starting to feel full. Same volume of food, far fewer calories consumed. "It" also clicked for me!

Nomikins, I am actually surprised about the sugar. I really thought that it was okay, because it's not fat. But I've learned that I really can't lose weight unless I drop it. the nice thing is that I don't miss it. I never dropped it before because I thought it would be too hard (and not necessary). But as long as I fill myself up on grains and vegetables and fruit, then I don't miss the sugar or the fat.

I am still eating MWL or Jeff Novick's calorie density diet. I figure if it's allowed by one or the other, it's okay. I'm posting below my inch and weight loss. Notice the week I lost the most inches and pounds was the only week I ate bread--homeade with no added sugar or fat- regardless, but weird.

I notice that even the tiniest reduction or addition of sugar and fat can make big differences in my weight loss. I just finally bought Dr Esselstyn's book and started reading it. I know from Dr. Mcdougall and Jeff Novick that we should avoid anything with added fat, even if it says 0 grams of fat. But once in a while I ignore that and have 0 gram salad dressing with added fat. But things are clicking as I read from Dr. Esselstyn that even if it has less than .5 grams per serving, that little bit can actually increase your fat intake to more than 20 percent of the calories you consume. And since I have a problem with sugar too, I'm sure that tiny bit I take here and there of added sugar and fat are making a huge difference in the rate of my fat loss. I decided today to completely cut out any added fats and sugars. I've already cut out most, I'm sure that last little bit shouldn't be too much of a struggle, right?

Last week my husband and I took my great aunt out to eat at Chuck a rama. I got two huge plates of food from the salad bar and she couldn't believe I could eat so much. She was even telling me I had a hard time losing weight because I eat so much. I looked at her plate and it may have had less food, but it was all mashed potatoes I'm sure laden with fattening milk and butter and she had gravy added and chicken legs. Nothing healthy there. She also didn't forget 3 cookies for dessert. When you consider that I'm much taller than her and I'm nursing a baby and I'm much more active than her and my food was much less caloric dense, I know I was faring better than her caloric wise. But yet she still couldn't help chiding me for eating too much. It's just interesting to me how people don't get the caloric density thing, how you can eat so much more for less calories when you're eating healthier. My husband also used to say things about how I eat too much. He sits on his behind all day at work and doesn't exercise. While I exercise and nurse and am cleaning and chasing children all day and eating less fattening food. I explained this to him a few times and he finally understood.

Also, my husband asked about my great aunt's friend who never eats sugar and wondered if she was thin or not. My aunt said that she's very overweight. Later, my husband asked me if I'm disappointed to know that cutting out sugar won't help me lose weight after all. I told him, "no, it's the fat that makes us fat not the sugar. The sugar just keeps you from losing the fat." I couldn't help but feeling a little goofy saying this, but he got it.

That same lady who doesn't eat sugar, I was talking to her once and she said her daughter became very sick after becoming a vegetarian. I knew what the real problem is before I even asked her this question. "Is she eating whole fruits and vegetables and whole grains?" No, she said that she ate a lot of junk food. Unbelievable. She somehow forgot to mention this when she was blaiming her daughters's vegetarian lifestyle on her daughter's sickness.

Anyways, here's my stats.

Week ending:
4/7 Down 1.25 inches, down 2 lbs
4/14 Down 3/4 inches, down 1.6 lbs
4/21 down 1 1/8 inches, up 1.4 lbs
4/28 down 2 inches, down 5.4 lbs
5/5 down 3/4 inches, down 0.4 lbs

That is awesome weight loss, congradulations! You are doing great. I have been vegan for a long time, but I was an unhealthy vegan. I ate a lot of vegan junk food. I now have learned to eat healthy. Just because you are vegetarian doesn't mean a person is healthy. It has to nutrient rich food that a person is eating. I have told people before you have to decide which is better to eat. Either you can have 12 chips for 150 calories or 1/2 c. of oatmeal, which is more filling for the same amount of calories. You get to eat more food that is filling and more satisfiying than eating all that junk.
Kathy

Thanks mtns. I'm definitely healthier than I used to be thanks to all the education Dr. Mcdougall gave me. I used to think veggie burgers and fiber bars were healthy and I couldn't understand why I couldn't lose weight.

I am the same way - I quit using sugar, and cut out the bread, and have been losing weight pretty easily!

Keep it up - you are doing great!

This is brilliant!!! Great way to put it!