ASW Weekend Update

[f1jim]

If you think Frozenveg looked good on camera wait till you see her in person! Everyone should be so blessed as those in attendance at the ASW. The camera doesn't do her justice. An amazing transformation. Her husband was a joy too. Glad to hear he is so supportive. I thought it was amazind we had several from Alaska at the weekend event. It really is a small world.
f1jim

[Vanilla Orchid]

This was the first McD event I have ever attended, and to come from Alaska and have this experience was mind-blowing! It was especially exciting to meet Becky and Bruce from Anchorage, Alaska, whom I had never met, and who told me about the Vegetarian Society of Alaska, which meets right here in Palmer! DH and I are attending a potluck this Saturday, and I am very excited to meet people right here who are of like mind!
. . .
The food on the weekend was fabulous! It's funny, since my daily meals are what DH always calls "glop," but I didn't have a single soup the whole weekend! The tables were filled with such good food, I figured I'd eat stuff that's unlike what I make for myself all the time. I gained 2 pounds (tho I've lost them now, by this morning), but DH, who ate twice as much as I did, lost about 10! 'Course, he still has XX pounds to lose, and I'm at my weight range, so it's not that surprising.

I thoughly enjoyed meeting frozenveg and her DH. Frozenveg is just stunning, and her husband is a lot of fun. How exciting that he lost 10 pounds in only one weekend, and just by eating abundantly. I'll bet that when we see him next we won't recognize him. There was certainly no time to exercise. I'm so glad that you met others in your area and chances are you will have a group ALMOST as good as ours in Pacifica .

[frozenveg]

Froveg, glad you made it home safely and it was such fun to meet up at the ASW. I've got our picture in my download collection and will be reporting in on your marvelous story soon. I also enjoyed meeting your DH and am thrilled to hear your report of his experience! This was definitely a good weekend for EVERY one - whether a veteran, or brand new to eating wflfpb.

I'm sure your 'coherency' came across just fine in the video!

Best to you both,
Lani

Lani, it was SO great to meet and talk with you! Thanks for the exeprience!

But tell me--the acronym has me stumped: what's wflfpb? I get the "low fat," but pb can't be peanut butter!

[frozenveg]

Patty, thanks so much for the link to Dr. Sahtouris! I will be watching those for a while--very interesting!

And thanks to TerriT, Moonwatcher and Adrienne for the good wishes!

[LauraA]

Froveg, glad you made it home safely and it was such fun to meet up at the ASW. I've got our picture in my download collection and will be reporting in on your marvelous story soon. I also enjoyed meeting your DH and am thrilled to hear your report of his experience! This was definitely a good weekend for EVERY one - whether a veteran, or brand new to eating wflfpb.

I'm sure your 'coherency' came across just fine in the video!

Best to you both,
Lani

Lani, it was SO great to meet and talk with you! Thanks for the exeprience!

But tell me--the acronym has me stumped: what's wflfpb? I get the "low fat," but pb can't be peanut butter!

Ok, I'm just going to guess! I'd say "whole food low fat plant based" is that it for wflfpb? Take care, LauraA

[Lani Muelrath]

Patty, thanks so much for the link to Dr. Sahtouris! I will be watching those for a while--very interesting!

And thanks to TerriT, Moonwatcher and Adrienne for the good wishes!

Yes, Laura is right. Whole-food low-fat plant-based. Whole food isn't enough to describe what I teach when it comes to eating. Neither is low fat. And plant-based on its own doesn't cover it, yet in a pinch or when brevity is required in headings and titles, that's the one I use.

And just think, we can eat a little peanut butter, too!

Lani

[ruupyet]

Thanks. What I want is a vacation where I can get educational lectures, food I don't have to cook or worry about, exercise and a whole weekend looking at Rip E . What I really want is to go to Costa Rica, but that will have to wait until my personal finances are in better shape. Something for the bucket list.

Kate

^^This!
I think my family and I are doing great with this way of eating and I don't "need" a trip to teach me how to do it. But I would love a vacation where the food is never an issue and I don't even have to think about it because everything is terrific and healthy. Hearing the speakers would reinforce and rejuvenate me so that is a plus. And looking at Dr. McD, Dr. E, or Rip for an entire weekend can only be a positive thing.

Costa Rica looks fabulous but out of my price range for my family. I can't justify a $10,000 + vacation.

The west coast is too far and too expensive, as well.

Someone mentioned how hard it would be for Dr. McD to do this on the east coast since he has trained the staff at the current hotel how to do this properly. Isn't that sad? We still live in a time when chefs look at you like you have two heads if you ask them to prepare everything without oil and animal products.

[frozenveg]

Jim, you are making me blush 3000 miles away! Vanilla Orchid, I can't wait until next year and hope that we get to see you again and that DH will be able to lift up HIS shirt and show off his abs!!

Lani, Whole-food low-fat plant-based makes a ton of sense to me and it's what I will have to tell people I am doing--much more clear than anything I've tried so far...

And ruupyet, I hear you on the expense either way. But what I saw of the weekend's running, it's a lot more than just training chefs to cook the right way--the weekend was so organized and on time and well-run, and to transport all the support staff and materials across the country would inevitably increase the amount of money they'd have to charge for the sessions. They've got the thing running so well there at headquarters, it is a mind-boggling set of logistics they have going!

[Lani Muelrath]

I took copious notes during the debate so that I could report back in to my readers. Just posted them on the plant-based fitness blog here:

McDougall vs. Fuhrman: Notes for you from the great plant-based doctors debate

For those present who also took notes, let me know if we have a match!

Lani

[BarbG]

Good notes, Lani

[Adrienne]

Hi Lani

Great job but I did find an error regarding beans. Dr F stated that he "didn't recommend much more than a cup a day either." And then John Mackey said something about being in agreement to limit the beans.

Here is something I am curious about and maybe someone can enlighten me: I have heard Dr F talk about supplements many times and it's usually regarding vit D, b-12 or DHA. But I noticed on his website he also sells and recommends his line of multivitamins. In the qna section he said the ideal diet was vegan plus b12, DHA (if levels were low) and perhaps iodine. But he didnt say anything about adding his multivitamin.

Does he encourage people to take multivitamins if they are properly following his diet? Just as Dr McD (fairly) asked Dr Welch is he gets PSA tests I would have been curious to know if Dr F takes vit D, DHA and a daily multivitamin.

This is what I am referring to:
http://www.drfuhrman.com/shop/GCF.aspx

[LauraA]

Hi all, I wasn't sure whether to post these questions here, start a new post, or post in the Star McDougaller section. Anyway, I'll try here. I'm confused! The debate was one of the first things that I watched, and it reminded me of Dr F's idea to eat a big salad before each meal, and of Dr McD's idea in the MWL book to balance meals (more green and yellow veggies/less starch for more rapid weight loss). I right away started adding the big salad and more veggies. Then, later I went back and heard Dr McD's lecture on the starch solution. In this lecture, he says that his recommendation for hasty weight loss in the MWL book was not good, because it would leave one too hungry. I guess I'll go back to about 50/50 with starch and veggies. Does that sound right? Also, in the debate and his lecture, Dr McD mentions the high protein content of beans, and the high nutrient level. He discusses limiting beans, which I already do. In his Dec newsletter, though, where he talks about SAD eaters adding more starch, one of his suggestions is 2-4 cups of lentils or beans per day. Is this only because they are eating SAD?
So, should I limit beans/legumes to half a cup a day, and do I do 50/50 with starch and veggies? I need to get this exactly right - after losing 50 pounds from late 2008 to late 2009, I regained some in 2010 and part of 2011. I had some real "excuses", but I'm through with using them now!! I have about 40 pounds to lose, and it is happening in 2012!! I've already lost 10 in late 2011 and early 2012. Thanks, and take care, LauraA

[AlwaysAgnes]

Hi all, I wasn't sure whether to post these questions here, start a new post, or post in the Star McDougaller section. Anyway, I'll try here. I'm confused! The debate was one of the first things that I watched, and it reminded me of Dr F's idea to eat a big salad before each meal, and of Dr McD's idea in the MWL book to balance meals (more green and yellow veggies/less starch for more rapid weight loss). I right away started adding the big salad and more veggies. Then, later I went back and heard Dr McD's lecture on the starch solution. In this lecture, he says that his recommendation for hasty weight loss in the MWL book was not good, because it would leave one too hungry. I guess I'll go back to about 50/50 with starch and veggies. Does that sound right? Also, in the debate and his lecture, Dr McD mentions the high protein content of beans, and the high nutrient level. He discusses limiting beans, which I already do. In his Dec newsletter, though, where he talks about SAD eaters adding more starch, one of his suggestions is 2-4 cups of lentils or beans per day. Is this only because they are eating SAD?
So, should I limit beans/legumes to half a cup a day, and do I do 50/50 with starch and veggies? I need to get this exactly right - after losing 50 pounds from late 2008 to late 2009, I regained some in 2010 and part of 2011. I had some real "excuses", but I'm through with using them now!! I have about 40 pounds to lose, and it is happening in 2012!! I've already lost 10 in late 2011 and early 2012. Thanks, and take care, LauraA

I think Dr. McDougall was giving options in the "Eat More Starch" newsletter article. He does say you can mix and match the starchy foods he listed to get the additional 600-900 calories daily. Most people probably wouldn't add ONLY 2-4 cups beans for their starch. Though I think if someone who only ate SAD in the form of fatty meats, dairy and processed stuff were to add 2-4 cups beans to that mess, they'd almost have to see improvements and find themselves eating less SAD because of all the fiber and the filling nature of beans. The ones who would have problems would be the ones who can't digest beans. They'd probably explode.

As for doing this exactly right, I don't know what that means for you. What's exactly right looks different for everyone. We're all human, but we're not clones.

[LauraA]

Thanks, Always Agnes- what I meant by getting it "exactly right" is that I want to follow Dr McDougall's MWL recommendations as closely as I can, and understand them as well as I can . He used to say that for the fastest weight loss one should eat one third starches and two thirds green and yellow veggies. He now seems to be saying that more starches are preferred. I appreciate that he recommends changes as more information becomes available, and just wonder if he is now recommending 50/50 or more starches than veggies. I certainly know that we are all different, and not clones, but would like to start with a clear understanding of his current recommendations. Take care, LauraA

[Debbie]

Do all of you guys who went to the ASW also get to watch the videos at home as part of the whole weekend price or do you have to buy the video package also?