Discussion Board

Hey there! New and sooooo wanna eat this way!!! I really want to lose my excess tummy fat too.. I have been eating 801010 for a year. Sooooo lots of fruits. Do you think switching to this lifestyle will make me gain weight? Should I cut out all fruit? Is there a calorie restriction on here? I would love to not have to worry about gaining weight anymore!!! I have never liked meat or fats anyway, so I am good there, but I have a huge appetite I also haven't had any salt for months and months!! I don't think I want to start right? I even read the rice diet too, but that is rice and fruit only...Should I start with the 10 day mini potato 'diet' or just rice? I dunno where to start :/
I just ordered McDougall's maximum weight loss book from amazon and should be here by march 30th! But I wanna start tomorrow!! I am only 5 foot 2 inches.. so not sure if I should only eat 1200-1500 cals a day? Or how it works.. sorry I keep babbling...
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Hi and welcome. I haven't been here long myself but have lost all the weight I wanted while eating lots and lots of food! So, let me assure you that you won't gain weight on this program and you won't go hungry. You'll be eating very low calorie foods, so it's almost impossible to gain weight. Give it a try. I think most people here would recommend starting with the MWL plan, and there's a special thread for that with sticky notes explaining the guidelines, but it depends on how much weight you need to lose and how fast you want to lose it.

I kind of mix the regular plan with the MWL. I eat a bit of whole grain bread or pasta some days, and lots of potatoes, vegetables and rice.

Welcome aboard, Faith! While you may be able to lose the excess fat on the regular program, it will be good for you to have the MWL book. I will give you the MWL program in one sentence: Eat lots of veggies and starches and not much of anything else! I like to eat steamed veggies as my entree and a starch for dessert. I also enjoy meals of steamed sweet potatoes or steamed potatoes with tomato sauce/ketchup.

You may have up to two pieces of fruit/day. Do not be concerned with measuring or weighing your food. Eat when you are hungry and eat until satisfied.

See
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/pdf/pdfmc050100nl.pdf

You can see my story here:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=26307

I am a very happy customer and if you will study and follow the guidance here, I think you will be very pleased with the results!

Please keep us posted on your journey!

Thank you! I am actually trying to get rid of stubborn remaining weight. I am 130 lbs and have never been below that.. I would love to get down to 120 or lower if that is even possible? I mean I see there are people on here losing too much weight!?!? That has never happen to me before in my whole life! I wish, i wish!!! Even when I got soooo sicky and couldn't eat for a week, I went down to maybe 125 but was right back up the minute I started eating... I would love to be free of this unwanted tire round my waist, or maybe I am just destined to have it for life?? lol But I am coming from an all fruit and veggie diet which are low~cal sources of food anyway.. So I wonder if starches with work for me?
I wonder what would be my daily calorie allowance??? Like how many potatoes in one sitting? I can totally load up on the veggies and enjoy it, but I fear I will overeat on potatoes...

Hi Faithslanding,

Welcome to the McDougall community! The section in blue below is from the very first thread in this forum, Maximum Weight Loss Guidelines, in which Debbie listed the basics of the MWL program. Reading that entire thread (including the links that Debbie provides) should get you started until your book arrives and you have time to read it through. You will also learn a lot by reading posts on this forum and on the Star McDougaller forum -- "Stars" are folks who have achieved real and lasting results by following the McDougall program, and they share their experience to help those of us who are starting out.

The McDougall way of eating (WOE) really isn't a diet; it is the way most of us plan to eat for the rest of our lives to ensure optimal health. Oh, and as an added benefit, we lose weight, too! You won't be measuring, you won't be counting calories, and you won't be hungry. That will make more sense to you when you get to the part about caloric density, but trust me, it works! Also, be patient with yourself. It takes a while for some people to get out of diet mentality, and it can take a little while for habits and taste buds to change. But stick with it, and don't give up if you feel frustrated or slip up. Like f1jim said in another thread, you get a fresh start three times a day!

Good luck, and I look forward to reading about your progress!
**************************************************************
A reminder of the basics from the McDougall Maximum Weight Loss Book. All of these points are discussed in more detail in the book.

Below some links with more information about calorie density and the starvation mode myth and what McDougalling really is.

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.
1. Eliminate All Animal Foods
2. Eliminate All Oils
3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods: Nuts, Nut Butters, Seeds, Seed Butters, Avocados, Coconut, & Olives.
4. Eliminate All Flour Products
5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
6. Eat Legumes
7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal
8. Eat Uncooked Foods
9. Restrict Fresh Fruit to No More Than Two Servings a Day, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice
10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Guidelines for Healthy Eating in MWL book, page 67.
1. Eat until you’re satisfied
2. Graze
3. Allow time for digestion
4. Chew foods thoroughly
5. Restrict variety

About set-points
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2005nl/ ... ushing.htm

Calorie density
viewtopic.php?p=41322#p41322

Starvation mode
viewtopic.php?f=22&t=17541

Its starch based not veggie based
http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic ... 249#p57249

The secret build-in to the MWL program is calorie-density. Please take the time to watch the following video by Dr. Doug Lisle. Understanding this one thing can make all the difference between success and failure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAdqLB6b ... ata_player

Kate

You guys are soo sweet, thank you! I think I have watched every Mcdougall, Barnard, Novick, Lisle youtube video I could find, but I am going to look at this one again.. Seeee the thing is I [i]really[i] can eat a lot!!! It's like I'm never full, or I have to retrain my stomach to not eat till I'm about to pop! lol
Soooo I have this fear I will eat past my caloric limit!! hahaha The other thing is it is always guys giving those talks and all the advice... and we all know guys lose weight sooo much more easily, I really feel like my body holds on to this weight, no matter what 'diet' I do... But I really want this to work for me Are there a lot of woman who have lost all they wanted and then some?? I know I am soooo annoying, I'm sorry

Hi: You are not annoying. I am the same way. I always overeat, especially if the food tastes good to me. That is my biggest problem. Then I keep overeating when I know I am full. It starts a downward spyrial. You will feel so good on this WOE. It seems impossible that we can eat this way and lose weight, but there are so many people who have so I am going to trust it that and do this full spped ahead. Good Luck!!
Heather

Thank you Heather! I wonder if anyone has gained on this woe?? i mean I feel like I have been eating low calorie density my whole life and that's why I'm concerned it might not work for me or work the opposite And by low cal~density I mean just fruits and veggies, not even grains or potatoes... so might it be too much??? I wish I new how many pounds of potatoes I could eat in a day and be safe. Like 1-2 pounds? I got those tiny white, red and purple potatoes....

Faith, relax! It is extremely unlikely that your metabolism is so different from others that you would gain weight while eating as much as you desire according to the guidelines here. If you want to lose fast, simply increase the ratio of veggies (especially green veggies) to starches but I think you will find that measuring, weighing, calculating etc. is unnecessary.

Follow the program and tell us how you do. Enjoy your spuds!!!

Faith, I, like you, ate what I thought was a very healthy diet for many years - mainly fruits and vegetables - but I realized since I've been doing this WOE, that all that time, I was eating way too much fat and oil with my healthy food. Eliminating oil alone has made it possible for me to eat as much as I want and still lose. So, it's important that you don't just look at the healthy food you've been eating but what you've been eating WITH them - cheese, oil, butter, oily salad dressings, etc?

If you eat starches and veggies without oil and fat, it's really almost impossible to gain weight. A pd of potatoes is only about 500 calories, so theoretically, you could eat a whole pd in one sitting and not gain. So relax, don't worry, you'll lose those stubborn 10 pds if you stick with the program. I started in Jan, and have steadily lost weight, eating potatoes every day. I only have about 5 pds more of that stubborn tire to go, and I've really started to relax and trust in this WOE.

Thank you again! I am enjoying my starch and cooked veggies immensely!!! I think I have two pounds again today in the form of sweet potatoes and yams
By the way... I never have added oils or nuts.... The last time I had fat was 1-2 tbsp of tahini in my salads for din~din but that was months ago.. and no dairy for at least a year.. But I was eating 801010/lfrv... raw fruits and veggies only!! Soooo a ton of fruit. Like 10 apples at a time...1-2 pineapples... or 8 mangos in a sitting... I guess it's just the quantity I consume... I really eat a lot, no matter what it is. But lots of people eat that way and thrive, and stay slim, but i was never sure if I was gaining, eating too much, too little... I know I over~think everything
I just have never gotten to experience losing weight without trying hard/restricting, or exercising to death, and even then it never lasts... I do feel calmer and more even keeled though, not sure if its the lower sugar content? Or that I am including the cooked veggies??? I hope this feeling lasts, cuz I feel great! And I really hope I don't gain! hahaha

I hear you. I was so frustrated for about 4 years trying to figure out why I couldn't lose these stubborn 10 pds, and, like you, I tend to overthink everything. I was genuinely afraid to eat this way at first. What if it doesn't work and I gain another 5-10 pds?

And, the first few days, I did gain a couple of pounds, but I think that was my glycogen stores refilling (I had been low-carbing). So glad I stuck with it.

Anyway, you'll probably find that you're fuller and more satisfied eating the starches, so you won't consume so much fruit. I'm really at peace with things now because I know this isn't just a diet but a WOE I can stick with for the long term, for my health, as well as weight maintenance. I'm no longer worried about gaining weight, and I'm actually beginning to think about what I'll add in to keep my weight up (nuts, more fruit, and so forth) once I reach goal in a few weeks. It's a nice "problem" to have!

Just got back from my walk/jog! And feeling soooo good!!!
Heehee I think secretly I really wanna find a 'diet' or way to eat where I can stuff my face and binge all the time!! But really I do feel more satisfied and kinda more in control already! As with my other ways of eating i always thought you should feel that 'weak~y hungry feeling' Soooo not having that, I feel like I've crossed ova to the other side the "i am gaining slowly" and I will see it next week! haha
What an awesome feeling it would be to 'have to eat' to keep weight on!!!

That's great news, Faith! I've found I have so much more energy. I must've been starving nutrionally before. I went through a day or so at first of feeling tired, but then, I began bouncing out of bed in the morning (which is sooooo unlike me, usually a late riser). Been up since 6 am today. This is just a wonderful WOE, and it's almost criminal that more people aren't aware of it and get misled by other diets that leave them starving and undernourished.

Keep posting your success! So happy for you.
Tanya