Hi All,
Thank you to everyone for weighing in this week.
I'm glad to hear from each of you. A few of you mentioned having
a bumpy week, I hear you! We managed to still come out down a pound as a group, and most of us are still here trying. That makes it a winning week too! (I'm not calling out anyone not here this week, please keep on lurking and come on back when you are ready. XX). I will apologize in advance for not getting back to everyone individually, yesterday and today. I will resume that aspect of support next week.
There are many iterations of healthy plant-based plans available to learn about. Many of us have tried a number of them and settled in here with Dr. McDougall's version. Many of you are still in a stage of figuring out where you think you fit best. This is an important process because the bulk of the information on how to get
a seed to sprout will be the very similar.
What I like about the information that Dr. McDougall and Jeff Novick provide is that it highlights the information that
most people need to get well and lose weight in order to attempt to
get us to listen to what can be a difficult message. Giving up previous ideas about how the world works is not always easy. As Dr. McDougall and Mary Poppins have said
sometimes it just takes a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.Below is a partial piece of a great thread about a common question that people who are new to the McDougall program sometimes ask,
Is food really unlimited? It is a great reminder about how and why calorie density guidelines work.
JeffN wrote:What they have found is if people follow the guidelines and principles of calorie density and the calorie density of the food is below ~400 calories per pound, most people will lose weight.
Between ~400-~800 calories per pound, with some regular moderate exercise, most will lose weight.
Between ~800-~1200 calories per pound, most people gained weight, except for those with very high activity levels
Over ~1200 calories per pound, most everyone seemed to gain weight.
Remember, the physical sensation of "fullness" is influenced in a large part by the filling of the stomach and the triggering of the stretch receptors. This would happen regardless of the calorie density of the food, as long as enough food was consumed.
However, between 400-800 calories per pound is the range where people either maintained, gained or lost a little. It was the area that I call the "cut-off" zone and the results depending on the person and their activity level. The mid point of the range is around 600 cal/lb
I would not worry to much about the exact numbers when you are trying to apply this to yourself but would be more concerned about the principles as I would not want anyone to weigh and measure their food. The calorie density numbers I give for food groups are "averages" and dont apply exactly to each food in the group.
If you follow the MWL program, you will be applying the principles of calorie density. If it is not working as well as you would like then you can adjust the calorie density of your intake by making slight adjustments in your food choices depending on your individual activity level and metabolism.
These numbers are also inline with other recommendations.
The recent WCF/AICR report on cancer recommends that the average calorie density of our diets be around 567 calories per pound, to avoid obesity and weight problems which is 100% in line with my experience.
The Okinawan diet, before Western influence, was around 600-650 calories per pound
So, knowing all this, if you look at the numbers, it all makes sense.
A starch based diet, made up of starchy vegetables and intact whole grains along with some fruit and veggies, will have a calorie density under 500 calories per pound and maybe even 400 calorie per pound. It would be near impossible to overeat.
You can also see the problem with many of the "low fat" diets that focused on processed whole grains, like whole wheat bread, crackers, dry cereals. At 1200-1500 calories per pound, if they become a large part of the diet, they can raise the overall calorie density and make it much easier to overeat on calories and easy to gain weight and/or not lose weight, even with a higher activity level. Hence the principles of the MWL program is to avoid those foods, or really limit them.
In Health
Jeff
Once you understand what
most people need to be successful at the program, it is time to test that out on yourself. If all goes swimmingly, congratulations, you may now continue about regular life whilst being a great example of what true health and happiness can look like. Sometimes, however, it takes just a bit more work than that, and maybe that's what brings some of you here, right now. I know it's what continues to keep me here.
Be well this week everyone.
Keep up the good work learning and striving for more, but not at the expense of living and loving. Those are the two real reasons for all of this striving anyway. The most successful gardeners remember to keep their gardens watered and fertilized appropriately while planning next season's beds so that the current plants don't wither and die. With proper care, it's not at all necessary, in most cases, to rip out the whole bed and replace it with new plants to create something beautiful.
Amy XO
PS. This week's post is dedicated to a
fellow orchid who wasn't able to flourish where he was planted. To continue the horticultural analogy, I hope we get better and better at recognizing what
all the flowers in the garden need to grow well.
Here are the results for the second week in November:Next Weigh-In is on Friday, November 16th, 2018Total group loss reported in 2018: 493.4 pounds
November 2018 Weight Loss Group :: Monthly Weigh-In Results
Total group loss in January 2018: 54.7 pounds
Total group loss in February 2018: 49.3 pounds
Total group loss in March 2018: 52.5 pounds
Total group loss in April 2018: 26.9 pounds
Total group loss in May 2018: 50.8 pounds
Total group loss in June 2018: 54.3 pounds
Total group loss in July 2018: 50.3 pounds
Total group loss in August 2018: 73.85 pounds
Total group loss in September 2018: 44.06 pounds
Total group loss in October 2018: 30.9 pounds
Total group loss in November 2018: 5.79 pounds[Week ending 11/09/2018: 13 participants reported a total loss of 1.06 pounds
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Lyndzie - 2.0
Idgie - 2.0
Mark Cooper - 0.44
Yomom - 2.0
Svenja - 1.0
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Total gains: 7.44
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Qwerty988 - 1.0
Starbright831 - 1.4
Moonlight - 2.0
Rosey - 1.0
Arewethereyet - 1.4
Alicect - 1.6
Moonspirit - 0.1
Amandamechele - 0.0
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Total losses: 8.5
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Total group loss in November 2018: 5.79 pounds
Week ending 11/09/2018: 13 participants reported a total loss of 1.06 pounds
Week ending 11/02/2018: 15 participants reported a total loss of 4.73 pounds
