Discussion Board

OMG - I stayed on the MWL Plan with no f'ing around for a whole week. I kept looking at myself in the mirror and thinking, "wow - I'm doing this! I'm looking great and I bet I lost a couple of pounds!" NO - this morning was my weigh day and I GAINED 2.4 FLIPPING POUNDS!!!!!

So - I've been trying to get a grip here. I'm new. I came from the 80/10/10 diet and was so cooked carb deprived - that I probably ate way too much on my first couple of days. I've also started running and have been working out.

I don't know - I'm hoping that if I stick with this that by next week I surely should lose some weight.

But - I am thinking that for lunch - I am going to have 2 slices of Ezekiel Bread (that has no flipping oil!) with my bean burger! I'm thinking that I may be overeating other cooked carbs when I'm really "hankering" for those 2 slices of Ezekiel Bread!

Thoughts anyone???? Did anyone else gain a little at first? I'm 5'1 1/2 and weighed 128 when I started. This morning I weighed 130.4. !@#$! That was very discouraging.

Any words of encouragement? I could sure use some pep talk here.

When I first moved from Eat To Live to McDougall I gained a couple pounds. I was so starch deprived I think I did overeat a bit. I also ate more salt (I like salt on my potatoes) so I think there was some water retention going on. You and I are the same height and my start weight for McDougall was 127. I'm now down to 122 and STALLED.

I know that as short as we are every pound seems to show up in the mirror. I also know that neither of us are obese. I find it helps me to focus on the health aspects of this WOE and let the weight loss be a bonus. I won't say I don't get frustrated when I go a couple weeks without moving towards my goal, but I do keep my focus on the fact that I am 60 years old and healthier than anyone I know. As healthy or healthier than I was in my 30's.

Yes, I would like to look better in my jeans. I would like to need a new wardrobe, but even more than that I love it when my Doctor tells me if all her patients were as healthy as me she would be out of business. When the scale doesn't move as fast as I'd like, I try to remember her words.

Thank you for those very kind words! You're so right. I'm 54 and in much better health than anyone else I know that's my age.

I really needed to hear that!

I've been looking at your post again (thanks!) - do you follow the MWL Plan? or McDougall? do you think it really matters? I'm so longing for Ezekiel Bread today with my bean burger. I'm beginning to think that if it's on either McDougall Plan and it's what I'm really hungry for - I should eat it and eat until I'm satisfied. I don't know - it was kind of bumming out today to see that I gained.

Thank you again for your support! It means so much!

I MOSTLY follow MWL. I allow myself the regular McDougall 1 - 2 days a week. Your passion for bread is my passion for pasta, which of course isn't allowed on MWL. I'm sure that's why my weight loss has stalled. IF I were to stay 100% MWL I'm sure I would start losing again. I also like my red wine on my non MWL days. If I were to weigh every day I have no doubt I probably gain on my non MWL days and lose it again on my MWL days. It's just a matter of how strict you want to be. I go through phases where I am VERY motivated and then I have days I really don't care. If I could get rid of those days I would be at goal in no time.

I like to say - "My path is one of progress not perfection!"

Earthangel,

I know that it can be frustrating to see a certain number on the scale, but if you're liking what you see in the mirror and you feel good, then you amy want to consider hiding your scale or sending it to a close friend's home for a month or so. I think paying so much attention to the scale can be a hinderance.

Also, you may want to focus on eating a little more green and yellow veggies, and I would say that if you crave bread then have some. I've followed the MWL and the regular, and I've lost weight on both. You may want to do like Wild4Stars does, and have a meal or even a day when you eat something from the regular plan. Whatever you do....don't get off of the plan. It's far too good for the body.

I hope you feel better. One other thing....maybe your scale is broken.

awesome! Thanks!

I also vote for you to get rid of the scale. I know all my previous attempts to lose weight (and there were many) failed because I did not see the results I wanted on the scale. it is too easy to get fixated on that number, and forget about the rest.

This time round, I had no scale in my home and my "official" scale is at work. It is in a locked area that I can get into only on weekends, and not every weekend at that. So far, I have lost 60 plus pounds, and my cholesterol has gone from 289 to 152.

I am about 10 pounds from my goal, for the first time in my life. Naturally, progress is slow. I weigh myself only on those weekends when I am feeling mentally strong. Because I know a "bad number" could throw me for a loop. So I have to be careful. I concentrate more on the fit of my clothes, and sudden glimpses I get sometimes of my reflection in glass. It is still a shock to not see a "big" woman in those reflections!

I remind myself constantly of how far I have come, and how many temptations I have dealt with. There is personal success there far beyond the number on a scale.

Yeah - the thing is before I started on this MWL Plan - I had been on the 80/10/10 diet and then 30bananasaday. I started gaining weight on there! When I started this plan - I weighed 128. I was on it for a few days - but not strict until I went shopping. Then I started MWL strict. I do think I was carb deprived and overate my share of cooked starches. I'll bet I even gained more weight than I know of - because I didn't weigh until this morning! I think towards the end of the week - I started doing better with the amounts of starches I was eating.

Anyway - I appreciate everyone's input. It is disheartening to gain weight - but I do feel lots better! My energy is amazing and my outlook on life is so much better.

Thank you so much for all your tips and suggestions! This is an awesome community of like-minded people!

Earthangel, I can definitely relate to what you're going through. I posted my experience here:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29066

I received a lot of helpful suggestions which I tried to incorporate into my eating plan. I switched to mainly MWL and focused on eating more veggies before my starch. For the most part, I stopped eating bread, corn tortillas etc...but I'm not sure that made as much of a difference as the increase in vegetable stuff. I know it's controversial to weigh/measure food, but I portion out my starches. I start with 1C cooked and if I need more I add in by 1/2C increments. Even though I have quite a bit of weight to lose, I think I was overeating starchies because they are so delicious! I feel very satisfied with my food and portion sizes now. And I've lost close to 20 pounds!

Don't give up....I know you can figure out the best way to eat within the plan!

Thank you e-lyn. That's very encouraging. I appreciate you!

Here's another question I have. I was looking at some other posts - has anyone had better results eliminating fruit all-together and just eating starches and veggies?

I only eat 1 apple every day - usually in my oatmeal in the mornings for breakfast.

I'm not sure I could eliminate fruit. I love bananas, blueberries, mangos. Living in Florida I have access to fruit nearly year round. Right now Mangos are $1 a piece. It's all I can do to limit myself to one a day! Sometimes pineapples are $2 a piece, and they are SO good ! I just love fruit for breakfast. We have blueberries grown locally, so good in my oatmeal. I think fruit has a place in a healthy diet. True you can't over do it, but I don't think it should be left out. Just my humble opinion!

Fruit is not required....you can get rid of it if you want...If you are having trouble losing, you might want to check your intake of beans and grains, and sometimes even rice..some people bloat from eating too much(I am one of them) I do better with potatoes and corn as my main starch....just find what works best for you

Thanks! I'm gonna try eating potatoes for my main starch for a few days and see if I do better!