Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

Debbie, we had to buy it but got $100 off.

BarbG wrote:Debbie, we had to buy it but got $100 off.

Thanks

LauraA,

How about experimenting? Try eating 2/3 veg and 1/3 starch and see if this satisfies your hunger. If it does, then you are good, and if it doesn't, then add more starch.

LauraA wrote: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

LauraA,
I am eating the way you describe: 1/3 starch, 2/3 vegetables (including a large E2L-style salad after work), 2 fruit and 1/2 cup beans a day. According to the CRONometer I am getting 50 grams of protein a day, which is the right amount for my current age, height and weight. I am losing about 1 pound a week, which is excellent as I am within 10 pounds of my ideal weight and 15 pounds below my previous set-point weight. I also stopped eating all in-between meal snacks to put a stop to an out-of-control snacking behavior and now eat 4 times a day - breakfast, lunch, big salad in late afternoon, dinner. I have plenty of energy. Everyone is different. You need to eat in a manner that keeps you ON the program and for some that means more starch and more frequent meals. But after 10 years at 155 pounds I wanted to experiment to see if I could get my weight down another 25 pounds to 130 and that meant playing with caloric density and the CRONOmeter. If you want more details see my journal entries under Katydid's Keeping it Off.
Kate

LauraA, I just wanted to share that although I often intended to try to do the 50/50 veggies to starches while I was in my losing phase, I doubt I ever got the ratio that high. And I was never too exact about it, anyway. Dr. M also recommends that you start each meal with a salad or raw vegetables--I thought I read that in the MWL as well as other places--and I also have cooked veggies in with my soups/stews, but I'll bet I usually had more starch than vegetables on most days. I never measured beans, but I found they did not sit too well with me, so I managed to easily limit them.

So I recommend that you listen to your hunger, and experiment. You mentioned excuses for gaining a bit, and I bet that they don't have much to do with eating too many potatoes or whole grains. Try Katydid's idea of plugging in your foods to the CRON-O-Meter to see what you're getting. Try a week of 1/3 to 2/3, a week of 50/50, and a week of 2/3 to 1/3. See what happens with each, and let us know!

I love making mini micro salads, that way it is very easy to eat my veggies with my starch. I use the shredder of the food processor or you can use just the chopping blade. I prepare my hard veggies: carrots, red cabbage, or whatever I have in the refrigerator, then throw them on the plate with sprouts. You can use cauliflower, broccoli with peppers etc. They make great fillings for lettuce wraps or with other greens or just on a bed of lettuce. And if I don't use up the veggies I have I just cook them with some tomato paste to make a veggie sauce to put over a potato or rice.

Aloha, patty

Wow - thanks for all of the amazing replies from so many of you that I respect so much. I have been doing so well on MWL for the last couple of months, and I feel that it is because I'm keeping it very simple. Pretty much, oatmeal, salad, brown rice, green yellow veggies, and some beans. I have started a new journal, and I would be honored if some of you would visit there. I learn so much from you. Take care and thanks to all, LauraA

LauraA wrote: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

Dr. McDougall's recommendation hasn't changed. Although he says that increased proportion of of vegetables to starch result in the quickest weight loss, in his MWL book on page 74 he makes clear that he recommends the moderate or rapid approaches. With regard to the "hasty" approach he says that it "...may result in very rapid weight loss,but may not be the wisest approach for permanent weight loss: You may find that the satisfaction from the meals may be too low for long term adherence."

Thanks, serenity! Take care, LauraA