Other weight loss factors...

[kmimi]

I am really at the end of my rope... I need your help please.

I have always been on a diet... I have been a vegetarian for 7 years, but recently switched over to being a committed vegan in April of this year. During that time, I decided to totally abandon intense calorie restriction. By doing so, I have gained weight and am at the highest weight of my life. I don't necessarily attribute this weight to the vegan diet, I think I was artificially keeping the weight low by terrible eating habits in the past.

I have been following the McDougall plan for 1-2 months. I have tracked my calories and seen that most days I am eating 1800-2000 calories per day. I am 5'7, 29 years old, and 195 pounds. I am totally frustrated. I have not lost weight. I am a beautiful person aside from my disgusting body. I feel tempted to go back to my methods of starving myself to lose weight because McDougall doesn't seem to be doing the trick, although I love eating starches and feel better. It is absolutely miserable being obese and I don't know what to do with myself. I am a teacher, and anticipated losing weight over the summer, but instead I have gained weight. Now the school year is starting again, and I am so fearful that the stress will lead to more weight gain.

If I am following the program and not overeating, are there some other factors that might influence my inability to lose weight?

Please help.

[Wild4Stars]

Are you being absolutely oil free? Reading every ingredient in everything you eat? Are you staying away from the high fat plant foods, nuts, olives, avocado? If you're eating according to MWL are you staying away from all flour products, pasta, bread, etc?

It might help someone help you if you would post your actual food for a few days, every morsel you put in your mouth. Someone else may see something that you are not seeing.

[kmimi]

Thank you for your reply. No added oils from my kitchen... once or twice I've eaten out a restaurant and suspected oil was used in the preparation of the rice or beans, but that was 1-2 times over the past 2 months.

A typical day for me is:

breakfast: 1 cup dry oats for breakfast (cooked) w/ 1 banana and a teaspoon of maple syrup (sometimes add a small handful of craisins)
lunch: 2-4 cooked medium potatoes with small amount of buffalo sauce or hot sauce
dinner: 2 cups brown rice and 1-2 cups beans for dinner with green beans or zucchini or asparagus and some teriyaki sauce
*might have a can of corn if hungry as a snack somewhere in there...

rare treats include:
100% whole wheat fig newtons (2.5 grams fat each- no more than 2 at a time)
1-2 beers or glasses of wine once or twice a week maximum

*no coffee, only 1-2 cups oolong tea most days (but not all)


when school starts up my plan will be:

breakfast: 1 cup dry oats for breakfast (cooked) w/ 1 banana and a teaspoon of maple syrup (sometimes add a small handful of craisins)
snack: 1 baked sweet potato for snack (no sauce)
lunch: 1 baked white potato with 1-2 cups lentil soup or some other no fat added vegetable soup with beans
afternoon snack: maybe 1 additional potato as a snack (no sauce) or a large apple
dinner: 1-2 cups brown rice, 1-2 cups beans, 2 cups vegetables, some sauce (i.e. Liquid Aminos, Sriacha, teriyaki)

[Wild4Stars]

I just did a quick search on whole wheat fig newtons and can't find any that are vegan and they all have high fructose corn syrup and a couple different kinds of oil including partially hydrogenated. Those really need to go. And since they have flour they are not part of the Maximum Weight Loss Plan. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the alcohol needs to go. Totally empty calories.

Dried fruits, raisins and craisins are very calorie dense. I realize you're not eating many, but if you're not losing weight I would let those go also.

Those are the only things that jump out to me.

Do you exercise at all? Just a 30 minute walk every day will help. Burns a few calories and believe it or not also helps with appetite.

That's all I have for now. Maybe someone else will see something I am missing. Sometimes when you're stalled you need to do something to give it a kickstart. Others with the same experience will hopefully come here and share what worked for them.

[kmimi]

Thanks again, wild for stars. http://naturesbakery.com/snack-products ... e-fig-bars

That's the link for the fig newtons. I was eating 2 pieces of those about twice per week. I will cut them out. I will also cut out the craisins and cut back on alcohol.

In Dr. McDougall's MWL book, he says that alcohol consumption will not lead to fat gain so I took that as it is ok. I will cut it out to see if that helps with weight loss.

I walk 30 minutes 3-5 days per week. During the summer I am more sedentary, but during the school year I am on my feet and walking almost all day.

[Wild4Stars]

I'm not sure which one of those bars your are eating, but looking at the ingredients every single one of them have canola oil in them. Oil is a big no-no, not even just a little. Make sure all of your sauces, BBQ or any others have no oil. You can't go by the front label or the nutrition label, you must read the ingredients. I know it seems like such a little amount, and you're not eating it often, but if you're not losing weight you have to look at everything.

[Ltldogg]

Hi Kimmi,

You listed several processed foods. Get rid of them, eat whole plant foods centering around starches with some added fruits and veggies. Avoid oil, but also avoid added salt and sugar since you are on the Maximum Weight Loss Program. You need to re-read the locked topics at the top of this forum with the guidelines and then adhere to them. Time and adherence is the key.

Lastly, it is easy to see that you are stressing out over your weight. You admit to always dieting, yet threaten to go back to calorie restriction when that clearly has not worked (and we know it doesn't). Here are some suggestions:

1. Forget the scale and stop stressing over your weight.
2. Follow the program strictly, enjoy the food, eat until you are satisfied.
3. TIME AND ADHERENCE
4. Be active - Go for walks, do cardio, light weights, play sports, garden, play with kids or pets, etc; have fun!

This WOE eating works. Results are to be expected.

Cheers,
Scott

[vgpedlr]

In Dr. McDougall's MWL book, he says that alcohol consumption will not lead to fat gain so I took that as it is ok. I will cut it out to see if that helps with weight loss.

Re-read that chapter. Calories from alcohol will not convert to fat. But they are calories nonetheless, so while they're being burned, other calories could be stored as fat.

Alcohol does interfere with weight loss, perhaps by raising insulin levels and decreasing the body's ability to burn fat.

You might want to revisit viewing your body as "disgusting."

[Gershon]

You don't mention getting any exercise. Your caloric intake is less than your weight maintenance requirements or you wouldn't be gaining weight. It's easier to get some exercise than restrict too far below your sedentary requirement. Many people report exercise decreases their appetite.

In my opinion, the simplest way to start exercising is getting a pedometer and striving to increase your number of steps each day. The Fitbit Zip is $47 on Amazon and trouble free. It will sync with your computer to log data. People complain about inaccuracies on the wrist models. If $47 is out of reach, get an inexpensive mechanical pedometer. They are about $12 at WalMart if they are in stock.

If you start slowly increasing from your current number of steps a day and you keep your intake the same, you will eventually get to the point where your calorie consumption exceeds your intake. Don't increase too quickly or you will be back asking about how to cure some foot or knee ailment.

[Jeepsterhound]

Try adding more nonstarchy vegetables. They have a lower calorie density and will fill you up. For example eat 1 or 2 potatoes at lunch and a bowl of cooked greens or green beans or carrots.

[DWu]

Hi kmimi,

Perhaps simple sugar, which should be used sparingly, is holding you back from losing weight.

Even though it’s a small amount, are you willing to set aside the maple syrup?

Sugar is also listed as an ingredient in Sriracha.

And is there sugar in the buffalo sauce and hot sauce?

[Kristopia]

I'm relatively new to this eating plan, but I have discovered one thing that might be of benefit. I tend to stall if I have more than one serving of any grain (oats, wheat, even brown rice) in a given day. Sometimes it will completely stall out my weight loss. Dunno why, but my body seems to want to pack on weight even with those grains. So I'm sticking with simple starchy root veggies like potatoes (white and sweet), corn, and a few green veggies added. I usually only have one serving a fruit a day - an apple, or a handfull of blueberries - I'm also avoiding bananas, as they tend to be fattier.

I'm eating no nuts of any kind, and the only "snack" I eat is mandolin-sliced potatoes soaked in pickle brine or vinegar/salt, and nuked or baked to make chips.

I guess I have begun with the idea that I'm simplifying my diet down to root starches and a few herbs, spices, and simple greens. Every time I add something in, whether it be maple syrup, or a grain, or whatever, I'm logging that and seeing what the scale says the next day about the addition. Every time I eat rice or a quinoa rice blend, the scale goes up. Same with breads and grains. I am not having a problem with one or two glasses of dry red wine every day or so.

Anyway, I would suggest that you pare down to basics - maybe a big sweet potato or two for breakfast, an apple for a snack, baked potatoes or mashed with spices and a little veggie broth to make the mash smoother, and more starchy veggie with other greens and such for dinner. (Even a glass of wine if you want it). Maybe see if simplifying starts the scale moving in the right direction again, then add one thing at a time every few days to see what those things do to the scale?

[vgpedlr]

I'm also avoiding bananas, as they tend to be fattier.

What? Bananas are about 3% calories from fat. While fruit is generally minimized on MWL, it is not because of fat content.

Alcohol is not part of MWL. There is a good chapter in the MWL book explaining the effects of coffee (caffeine) and alcohol on weight loss. While alcohol does not turn to fat, it is calorically very dense, nearly twice as many calories per fluid ounce as a coke. Liquid calories of any kind do not affect satiety, so ideally liquid calories of any kind are eliminated. Furthermore, alcohol raises insulin dramatically, and insulin encourages fat to be stored, and discourages fat from being metabolized for energy. The need for the body to detoxify the alcohol means those calories get used first, no exceptions.

Alcohol, like other calorie dense foods, are best avoided when losing weight. Once at a healthy weight, one can experiment to see what calorie dense foods, and in what amounts can be consumed without gaining weight.

You may want to try eliminating the wine, and revisiting brown rice and quinoa, which have a much lower calorie density and higher satiety.

[Highcarbhappy]

The way I've thought about it is that to lose weight, you in the end still need a calorie deficit. That normally and for many people is accomplished by just eating whole plant foods and cutting out the calorie denser foods without further tinkering. But if you are either very small, sedentary (and can't for whatever reason be more active), female, or have a goal of being very slim, it may require further tweaking. I add a lot of non-starchy vegetables to my meals, soups, lettuce, etc. and chose those starches that give me the best satiety. I did a little experiment comparing my satiety of calorically equivalent portions of whole starches. For me, barley and potatoes are by far more satiating than brown rice and sweet potatoes and oats are somewhere in between. Flour foods and white rice are way less satiating per calories (those are off MWL plan anyway). So, that's just an idea: find the starches that are the most satiating per calorie and focus more on those. Plus vegetables. Of course, the suggestions of other people are great too, to cut out the more processed stuff, because just having them around and a part of the diet is a bit dangerous for many people. Sure, eating 100 calories once a week of something won't really make a difference if you already have accumulated a solid calorie deficit, but there's always the chance that you get suckered in and eat a bunch of them in one sitting, at least that would be a danger for me.

[kmimi]

Just checking in... still 195 pounds. I now eat the same thing most every day. I have cut out all processed foods.

1 cup quaker oats with 1-2 bananas
2 baked potatoes
carrots, celery, other raw veggies
1-2 cups brown rice or mashed oil-free potatoes
1-2 lentil soup or beans
peppers/oils/non-starchy vegetable

3 days a week I may have a glass of wine in the evening...

I'd appreciate your feedback. It has now been several months of avoiding processed foods, added oils, nuts, seeds, and avocado.


Oops I forgot that I have 2 tea bags of green tea in the morning and 2 tea bags of green tea in the afternoon.