May 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[frowsyowl]

Mark,

Please add me back in. Sorry, I join and drop so much. I've got less going on now, and have stuck to exercising for over a month! I think I've improved my 'commitment muscle' in the process.

Starting weight 228.8

Estimates over the last week...
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Most lunches and some dinners.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. 5/7?
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. Meals were good, but some small treats at work...and this morning.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). 4/7
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). No. Reduced Soy milk, but added flax/walnuts/peanuts.
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes, except for the treats noted above.
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. 4/7
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). No--had low sodium V-8 with breakfast.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Pretty good on this...ate less in the evenings than usual.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Nearly there! Some days were 20 minutes walking, plus 20 minutes very easy callisthenic type exercises...or one of these.

[squealcat]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -1.9

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.most of the time
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.yes
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.yes
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).no Had a little soy
6. Eliminate any added oil.had some oil earlier in the week
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.no, bread earlier in the week
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).yes
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.yes
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).I walked 5/7 days this week.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:I am very happy for the loss this week but confess that it took most of the week to get out of that darned pleasure trap. This has been a lot of work and I don't recommend that others should try it for even one day.

Even after a couple of days eating better, I feel so good ! My mood has improved and I feel lighter in body and soul. As I continue on I will be very careful and a bit nervous . When I get one full week under my belt I will be better.

Thankyou for all the encouragement Mark and for all the comments on my journal page. It means a lot. Now to get back to the business of life !

-squealcat (Marilyn)

[texaslil]

Weight change +/- in lbs:
172
+1.6

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). NO, I CONTINUE TO EAT AVOCADO AND TOFU
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES, EXCEPT ONE VEGAN MEAL OUT
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. ATE BREAD THIS WEEK
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). HAD SOME WINE THIS WEEK
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). 5/7 DAYS

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR INTRO WORDS TO THE MONTH OF MAY. THIS IS ESSENTIALLY ME. I KEEP DOING THE SAME THING AND EXPECTING DIFFERENT RESULTS. I THINK I AM AFRAID OF FEELING DEPRIVED W/O THE AVOCADO AND TOFU (AND MY OCCASIONAL GLASS OF WINE) SO I HAVEN'T REALLY COMMITTED TO ADHEARANCE IN THOSE AREAS. IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO WANTING TO ENJOY MY FOOD W/ THOSE TWO ADDITIONS.. DEEP BREATH. THIS WEEK, I WILL NOT BUY THEM FOR MY FAMILY EITHER AND SEE HOW THAT GOES DOWN. KEEP BREATHING. ON THE FLIP SIDE, I HAVE BEEN INCREASING MY EXERCISE AND INCREASING MY RATIO OF RUNNING TO WALKING, WHICH HAS FELT AMAZING AND I FEEL GOOD ABOUT THAT.

[Kappagator_96]

Starting weight: 149.4



1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. No, not hungry enough to pre-load most of the time.

2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for desert. YES

3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).YES

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES

6) Eliminate any added oil. YES

7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

Victories, comments, questions, concerns: I feel really good about being able to answer YES to so many of these for the week. I recently started HIIT training 3/week, which I love. My muscles are really sore, though, so I’m walking and stretching the other 4 days, which is a good balance for now. I will work on pre-loading this week and see what happens. Thank you so much for your support and guidance!

[Zoey]

I think I've improved my 'commitment muscle' in the process.

I love this so much. I'm working that muscle, too, Frowsy.

[Gimmelean]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -2.2
4/30/2021. 133.2
5/06/2021. 131.0

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes.

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume). Yes

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. Yes.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).Yes

6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, popcorn and dried fruit. -No some raisins

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes - getting better at this.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking)Yes.

9/10

Victories, comments, concerns, questions. Mark, as always, thank you for your kind, supportive, and most helpful feedback on my lapse last week and for your opening words of inspiration for May. Everyone’s shared experiences and comments help me very much. I’m 5’2 and have absolutely no wiggle room which makes it tough sometimes.I’m so relieved that the scale is headed in the right direction this week. Not a good feeling to be at the top of the board’s “gained” list.

As you suggested, I thought about what I can do to make my immediate environment conducive to adhering to the MWL guidelines.

1) I started by deleting every Facebook group purporting to support McDougall MWL and didn’t realize what a collection I had there. All the right information and reinforcement is here along with lots of links and resources.

2) I found it helpful to follow Jeff’s article about utilizing the conveyor belt technique for planning and preparing dinners.

3) Shopping for adherent foods is a strong point, but I’m not the only one in the household. I decided that starting now, food that doesn’t belong to me that thwarts my efforts will be going into the basement fridge and will stay there or go to a high shelf where I can’t see it. I’m not going to say a word. Maybe one day it will be gone for good. On a positive note, I’ve noticed that lots of what I do related to this way of eating is also enjoyed by members of my family. Proselytizing has exactly the opposite result.

4)I loved your birthday arrangement. I asked my family for no birthday cake for my birthday at the end of this month and they are trying to convince me to agree to a fruit tart.

5) I was really excited to see Jeff’s article that you posted about meditation and mindfulness especially as it relates to weight loss and maintaining a positive mindset. It helps. In the past few months I completed and would highly recommend two free university courses on Coursera; Demystifying Mindfulness (Univ. of Leiden) and Foundations of Mindfulness. (Rice Univ.).I also love the app Insight Timer which offers thousands of meditations and topics at no charge.

Have a good week and outcomes DO follow behavior!

[chef16]

04/31/2021 223#
05/08/2021 224#
gain of a pound +1

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.50%
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.40%
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.95%
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).100%
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).85%
6. Eliminate any added oil.100%
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.85%
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). 95%
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.100%
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).50%

I have been at a stand still. You get comfortable with eating just a little out side the box. When you finally realize you are out side all of the time and you need to get back in. I use lot of excuses and bargains and that is not getting me any where. I am 2 days of being laid off for a while and I am going to use this time to get back to me. I think the one thing that kept me on track in the beginning is keeping a food journal so I am start that habit again. I still have so much pain with walking any distance that it keeps me from it .I am going to look and see if there are any other options . Swimming sounds good but me in a bathing suit

[Noella]

Hi Mark, Wildgoose, Jeff and everyone,

No Weight Change - However, I’m SO happy that my weight didn’t go up and I’m noticing lots of non-scale victories.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
6. Eliminate any added oil.
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).



“The MWL program is not about rapid weight loss, but rather establishing a pattern of behavior and a way of living that produces steady, healthy, and lasting weight loss.” Mark Cooper.

Since I started eating more starch, my weight loss journey has not only been steady, it’s been lasting. As I get closer to my destination, while the pounds are shedding at a slower pace the non-scale victories are so real as I get a bit healthier each week. What a privilege it is to know, without a doubt, that eating starch-based is the healthiest way for me to eat. I feel that I have established the MWL pattern of behaviour and way of living that will get me to my goal and keep me there.

Today through Tuesday, I’m at my daughter’s house to help out with daycare for three of my grandsons (ages 1,3,4). (It is the first time we have been together in a year, and it’s okay for us to be back with our bubble now that everyone has had their first dose of vaccine, so this trip is pretty exciting.) I plan on serving lots of starchy foods at every meal as I know one of my main ways of helping out with my kids and grandkids is through cooking lots of yummy food: This is what I have planned: potato salad, baked potatoes, bean burgers, refried bean burritos (No oil!), whole wheat spaghetti with veggie marinara (Wildgoose’s awesome recipe), veggie soup, black bean soup...plus lots of non starchy veggies and fruits. They love eating their fruits and veggies and they are supportive of my way of eating, so it’s all good. I’m making a traditional carrot cake (not at all MWL approved with olive oil, walnuts and cream cheese icing) though, for my daughter’s birthday and right now, as I write this, I am feeling confident that I am finally secure enough with my MWL lifestyle that I can do some cake baking without eating any cake myself, not even a crumb. Rich, oily, sweet foods do not have the appeal to me that they once had. However, this is the first time in a year I have been asked to bake something and that’s basically the whole time since starting on this starch-based way of living. ( One of my other daughters asked me so sweetly, “Mom, will you please make your famous Waldorf Astoria Carrot Cake for Leah’s birthday?” Well... How can I refuse her request?!) So, it will be a test to my commitment muscle. I will report in on my success with this dietary challenge and also getting through a beachside Mother’s Day brunch/picnic. Right now I feel like I know the direction I want to go with my health and feel really confident that I can navigate the food environment at both of my daughters’ houses.
To be prepared, I’m taking a dozen baked potatoes! If I don’t let myself get hungry, I should be fine, right?!...it’s so good to think through my specific plans to succeed as I write this to you this morning.

Thank you everyone! I so appreciate this opportunity to learn together! All the best to everyone for a successful starch-based week!


Best regards (eat your carrots and kale! ),
Noella

PS I really enjoy using http://www.tickerfactory.com and watching my ‘horse’ trot toward my goal. I recommend trying out this visual tool to track your progress.

[Pattyj115]

05/8/2021
This Week Loss/Gain: +0.8
Total Change as of July 1, 2020:
1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit: NO
2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals: NO
3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and salts: YES
4 Eliminate all animal foods: YES
5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods: NO
6 Eliminate any added oil: NO
7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods: NO
8 Don’t drink your calories: NO, I drink only water
9 Follow these principles, eating when hungry - stop when comfortably full: NO
10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily:
Comment: I did not have a compliant week… I had trouble with the 50/50 plate, some meals were good but not 100%. I did have salad dressing too w/oil for one lunch. I had avocado & tomato on toast for breakfast a couple times, breakfast is my hardest meal to find compliant foods. Soup just doesn’t always sound good. And I did overeat at least 2 dinners, eyes were hungrier than my stomach had room. Last night we went out for dinner and I got some bad food & up all night, so today I am not liking any food but I did have dry toast this morning. So already messed up this week. I just need to buckle down and eat potatoes! Boiled, air fried, mashed … whatever it takes!

[Mark Cooper]

The window for reporting this week's weigh-in and behavioral results has officially closed.

The remainder of my replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Mark Cooper]

frowsyowl - Welcome back and kudos to you for sticking with exercise for more than a month, Jennifer! Keep giving that "commitment muscle" a workout by striving to adhere more closely to the MWL recommendations where you have the opportunity to do so. Putting some time into planning adherent meals and preparing a supply of the recommended foods is a great way to make things easier for yourself.

squealcat - Moving in the right direction, Marilyn! Considering how challenging it can be for many of us to work our way back out of the Pleasure Trap, all the more reason to avoid tumbling into it whenever possible. Combine that with how good you are feeling physically, mentally and emotionally after a period of adherence, and you have some powerful reasons for attending to the recommended pattern of behavior, right? I look forward to hearing how you are feeling with a full week of diligent efforts in your rearview mirror. Back to business!

texaslil - Cheers to you for making that commitment to get serious about adhering to all the guidelines, and taking action to support that intention, Laila! Would it help to think of it as a 3 week "experiment?" You could always bring those other items back on to your menu after 21 days if you still feel deprived, right? Considering how amazing you feel about the progress you've made with exercise, imagine how you might feel after 3 weeks of conscientious effort on all fronts of the MWL 10-Point Checklist.

Kappagator_96 - Awesome! Way to start STRONG, with 9/10 YESes! I can see why you feel good about that! I'll be excited to see what your next report looks like, as you start to integrate the starters into your routine.

Gimmelean - Down 2.2 lbs! There you go! I can totally understand how when progress is gradual (and there is no "wiggle room") it can be more difficult to stay motivated and enthusiastic; that is one of the reasons I think it is so valuable to frame success in regard to behavior vs. specific outcomes at a specific time. I'm so impressed with your thoughtful consideration of how your environment can be made to support your efforts! All great ideas and bound to prove helpful. That birthday treat from my wife and daughter was really delicious, btw, to me it was WAY better than cake, particularly since it didn't leave me feeling lousy in the aftermath. Thanks so much for sharing those recommendations for mindfulness courses and apps. I think finding productive, healthy ways to manage stress and adversity is an essential tool for living well and making lasting behavior change.

chef16 - Recognizing how far we've headed in the wrong direction is the first step to righting the course, Doreen. Now is the time to take action and get back to the fundamental principles of MWL, since you've been presented with this opportunity to take some time for self-care and attention. Keeping your daily food journal seems like an excellent habit to renew; it would probably also be helpful to "check-in" with the MWL 10-Point Checklist in those journal entries, so that the recommended behaviors stay at the forefront of your attention. Swimming can be great exercise, and fun, too! Why not give it a try?

Noella - Ten big s! Steady, lasting progress is what it is all about, and it is due to your assiduous efforts! Taking time to appreciate your many non-scale victories seems like a notable way to maintain enthusiasm and keep your focus centered on behavior. Enjoy the special gift of time spent with your loved ones; it is apparent that you are definitely planning to succeed while away from home! I look forward to hearing your "test results" and seeing that horse continue trotting forward.

Pattyj115 - Hang in there! Tough times pass, and you can hurry them on their way with a little planning and preparation. Get those potatoes you mentioned cooked and ready to go, so it's trivially easy to have them at any meal. What sorts of adherent foods do you enjoy for breakfast? Oatmeal and fruit is an ever popular option, but any adherent foods that you enjoy could work - there isn't any reason breakfast has to look different from lunch or dinner, right? I hope you get to feeling better! Make your very next choice serve your goals.

[Mark Cooper]

Please note - I replied to each participant individually in the two lengthy posts linked below, provided that their reports followed the guidelines for weigh-ins.

Mark's Replies for May 7 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for May 7 - Part 2

By my count, 19 participants reported for our first May 2021 MWL weigh-in! If I neglected to include anyone, or you notice an error in the tally, please let me know (via PM so we can keep the thread as tidy as possible, or in a post here if you cannot PM).

Here are the results for the first Friday in May:

Week ending 5/7/2021: 19 participants reported a total change of -10.50 pounds
--------------------------------------------------
Rebecka22 +1.60
Texaslil +1.60
Bunsofaluminum +1.00
Chef16 +1.00
Pattyj115 +0.80
--------------------------------------------------
Total gains: +6.00
--------------------------------------------------
NO CHANGE / MAINTAIN / STARTING OUT
Frowsyowl 0.00
Kappagator_96 0.00
Noella 0.00
Ruff 0.00
Zoey 0.00
--------------------------------------------------
PonysPlants -0.20
Cmcavazos -0.60
GreenFroG -0.80
Carwex -1.10
CindyD -1.60
Squealcat -1.90
Gimmelean -2.20
HoustonJason -4.00
Alishana -4.10
--------------------------------------------------
Total losses: -16.50
--------------------------------------------------
Cumulative group loss for May 2021 to date: 10.50 pounds
Average for week ending May 7: 0.55 pounds
Cumulative group loss for January 2021: 117.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for February 2021: 39.40 pounds
Cumulative group loss for March 2021: 73.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for April 2021: 48.30 pounds
--------------------------------------------------

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, May 14, 2021.


Cheers, everyone! We have a new month, new opportunities and renewed commitments - let's make the most of that!

Some videos to share this week:

Dr. Lisle's Three Top Tips for Dietary Success
This is one of my all-time favorite videos, and it's less than 6 minutes long, so no excuses if you haven't seen it. One of the points Dr. Lisle makes is, essentially, that the outcomes we experience are in large part determined by our prevailing pattern of behavior over time. Getting REALLY GOOD at producing (and consuming ) a steady stream of enjoyable, adherent meals is essential for enabling a pattern of behavior that can produce the outcomes we seek; time spent cultivating that skill is always time well used.

Dr. Doug Lisle: The Story of Willpower – What it Is & How it Works
"Willpower", or the seeming lack thereof, is a frequently recurring topic within our group; this video does a great job of clarifying how it relates to our efforts, and how we might best set ourselves up to make "willpower" work in our favor.

Happy viewing!

Have a great week, take care, and be well!

[frowsyowl]

I think I've improved my 'commitment muscle' in the process.

I love this so much. I'm working that muscle, too, Frowsy.

Thanks Zoey. I have surprised myself! Started with something that seemed too easy, so I had fewer excuses.

[Ruff]

thank you for the video links, mark. I watched them whilst doing the ironing, and enjoyed them both, partially the 3 top tips one.

Where do you get your protein?

I dunno!

Love it!

[PonysPlants]

Down 1.2 lbs this week! Yes! Very happy with that.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. YES.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES Easy. Vegan for life

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados,) YES
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. NO. Had 2 slices of bread.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily. NO. My hip is still playing up. I took it for a walk and it didn’t enjoy it so I haven’t done anything too strenuous this week. I’ll probably ease in and do some gentle Pilates this week and see how I get on.

Nothing much to report. I felt pretty ropey after my first vaccination but only for the day and then I was fine and didn’t let it swing me off plan. I was trying to work out how much I’d lost since starting MWL. I originally came on here to lose the last 20lbs but I’m sure I’ve lost more than that at this point. Have fully decided on my final goal weight now so I’ve got another 6 I’d like to lose before I’ll leave all of you lovely people.

Thanks as always to the moderators and especially Mark. Your comments and help encourage me every single week and I’m very grateful for them.

Onwards to next week!

Naomi