January 2017 McDougall Weigh In Group

[Loralei]

Hi Amy,

Thanks for all of your encouraging comments. I do exercise, although I could take it up a notch. I do the "Classical Stretch" program on PBS 4 days/week and then I walk dogs, as a volunteer, on Sundays for a couple of hours....which really ends up only being an hour of walking since it takes time to get the dogs in and out of the kennel. Thanks for your advice and have a wonderful week!

[amandamechele]

Hi Everyone!

Drumroll please...We have reached the 100 pounds lost mark this week. 133.55 pounds to be exact.
If you can't visual what that looks like, here is a picture I got off of someone's Twitter feed (Rea-Leah Douglas):



Here are the results for the third week in January:

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, January 27th, 2017

January 2017 Weight Loss Group :: Weekly Weigh-In Results
Total group loss reported in 2017: 133.55 pounds
Total group loss in January 2017: 133.55 pounds
Week ending 01/20/2017: 22 participants reported a total loss of 36.4 pounds

---------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------
Total gains = 0.0
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GlennR - 2.0
Loralei - 0.4
Anne57 - 0.4
Bernadette_S - 2.2
Plant_Eater - 1.0
DizzieLizzie - 1.6
BMcCloud - 1.0
Fancyfinch - 1.0
Chelspaz - 3.4
Rresn50 - 0.0
Krobbins936 - 1.5
DaveDardinger - 1.6
Amandamechele - 0.0
Yomom - 3.0
Nurse_Kim - 0.0
Asia - 4.0
Wgrocost - 7.6
Audmor - 0.0
Angell523 - 3.6
Stillcrazy - 0.0
Hazelrah - 2.1
Christi777 - 0.0
---------------------------------------------
Total losses = 36.4
---------------------------------------------

Total group loss in January 2017: 133.55 pounds
Week ending 01/20/2017: 22 participants reported a total loss of 36.4 pounds
Week ending 01/13/2017: 24 participants reported a total loss of 40.9 pounds
Week ending 01/06/2017: 42 participants reported a total loss of 56.25 pounds

Edited to add 3 participants.
(Additional editing process correction)

[amandamechele]

GlennR - Yay! Just hang out with your treadmill a little bit longer and I bet you'll find something in common to bond over.

Wgrocost - Yahoo... 74.6 pounds is amazing. Your employer must be thrilled! You have been motoring through this, at the three month mark, right? What kind of things have you been doing to stay so motivated?

Kathy - Awesome, that was a huge loss this week. Your dedication is evident! Do you enjoy the work out?

Anne57 - Wishing you a good week too. Any loss is a good loss.

Bernadette.S - Great loss this week. That is a lot of inches lost, how are your clothes fitting?

Robert - Good work this week. I hope your training is going well. Are you struggling with not having food prepared to bring in, or is it more eating out scenarios that are causing the problem?

Krobbins936 - Good loss this week and best wishes for this coming week. I hope you get to break through your barrier! Let us know how it goes.

Nurse_Kim - It sounds like we had a similar week. I'm with you, let's do this!

Rresn50 - I'm glad to hear your eating better than before. That's the goal, to get closer and closer to the guidelines. I don't know the exact red pepper sauce you are referring to, but I tried one once and it wasn't my favourite either. Mary McDougall has a Sweet Thai sauce that I like. Have you tried that one?

Angell523 - Fantastic! 3.6 pounds is a great loss, even for 2 weeks.

Chelsea - Woohoo! Great week for you. I bet you feel very good. What did you do differently this week?

Loralei - Have a great week yourself! Keep doing what you're doing and you will keep losing.

[Yomom]

Congrats to the group for your efforts this weeks.
Thanks, Amy. Yes, I enjoy the new "women's weight lifting" class that I am taking. Recently, hiking has been good to develop my leg strength, but my arms, back & core have needed more exercise! Of course I had some extra exercise today, marching in Denver...
Wishing everyone a healthy week.
Yomom (Kathy)

[stillcrazy]

I would like to come back to refocus on weight loss. I started McDougall the beginning of March laser year and did really well through about July. Haven't lost any weight since then but have basically maintained so I feel okay about that. I know why I didn't lose anymore, though. Although I never varied from no animal products, no added oil, I got waylaid by eating products with some added sugar. Foolish me, since I have been off sugar for about a dozen years since I know I can't handle it. That set off cravings so I tried to get the sugar out again and turned instead to fats -- plant fats, no oils, just loads of avocados and nuts nuts nuts. So you can understand why my weight loss stopped!

I don't have avocados or nuts in the house anymore, of course. Even so I can really overeat on good whole plant foods. Potatoes, rice and bread for sure. I know I need to give up bread and I know that I can make some improvements in other ways such as planning ahead so as not to eat when I am tired and hungry.

At any rate, I am in this week at 214.6.

It is very motivating to read through this thread and see how well everyone is doing!

Vee

[hazelrah]

Down 2.1 this week (-2.1). Still have a ways to go vefore I reach pre holiday weight, but,...

Congratulations to all us losers!

Have a great week everybody. This is the last week of my youth. I enter the last third of my life on Saturday.

Mark

[Chelspaz]

Chelsea - Woohoo! Great week for you. I bet you feel very good. What did you do differently this week?

Honestly, I'm not sure that I did anything majorly different! I'll just quote what I put in one of my posts earlier this week. These are the only changes I had made.

I've been having oatmeal every morning instead of cereal with plant milk, but I do put some natural maple syrup in it because that seems to allow me to enjoy it more. I'm also having carrots for mid-morning snacks and air popped popcorn for mid-afternoon snacks. In the evenings I have a bad habit of really craving sweets after dinner, so I just pop a couple of dark chocolate covered almonds to help with that. [I don't think I'd be able to have more than that anyways because they are so rich after eating not-so-rich foods during the day.

I am going to start working out at a local gym starting this week. My husband and I were finally able to get his corporate gym membership via his work, and I was able to be added on for a lower monthly cost than a regular membership, which is nice. It's at a gym that has a movie room with treadmills, ellipticals, and cycling machines, which is my favorite! I love to go on the treadmills and walk [with spouts of jogging] while I watch a movie on the big screen! Then I may go play around with some of the equipment if I'm feeling adventurous hehe.

[Wgroscost]

Wgrocost - Yahoo... 74.6 pounds is amazing. Your employer must be thrilled! You have been motoring through this, at the three month mark, right? What kind of things have you been doing to stay so motivated?

Yes as of Friday it was 13 weeks exactly. I guess when I put my mind to something I stand firm. When my employer was willing to spend money to help me on my quest for wellness I did not want to waste the opportunity.

I knew I was very over weight and to this point was not in need of medicines, Doctor care, etc.. but I knew it would catch up to me. My family history proves that, having lost my father at 71 due to complications from CHF and Diabetes.

I also have 3 children between 5 and 14 and wanted to remain healthy for them and of course for my wife. My wife just went through major medical issues over past couple years and it is tough being the caregiver. I did not want to put that on her or my children if I did begin having health issues like my father did.

That said... I have opt'd to follow all the guidance and suggestions from the program, having only fallen off the wagon for 1 meal (New Years Eve).

The keys for me are meal planning, growing your "cookbook" so you don't get bored and of course hitting the gym. I slowly add to my meal plan rotation as I grow bored of something. My meals, although typically simple, provide just enough variety to keep me focused on my wellness goals. And as for the gym I usually go 5-6 days a week for 50-70 minutes at a time.

Through it all I just remind myself that I want to prevent the family history from repeating itself and hopefully provide enough guidance to help my children also buck the trend of illness as of result of unhealthy eating today.

Take care!

[Christi777]

Sorry for the late post! This weekend weigh-in was stuck at 132

[amandamechele]

Kathy - I saw your pictures. Good on you! Is it warm enough where you are to still be out hiking?

Hi Vee - I love your username, I may identify with it a little too much...lol. I added you to the Friday list at 0. I hope this week has been going well. You sound like you know what you've got to do to reach your goals. We are here for you! So feel free to chat, ask questions or bounce ideas off of the others here. Welcome!

Mark - Happy Early Birthday! How do you plan to celebrate? I would change that from "last third" to "best third".

Chelsea - Have you fully explored the new gym? What do you think?

Wgroscost - (My apologies for misspelling your username previously) Thank you for sharing your recipe for success thus far; your transformation in such a short time is quite amazing and a testimony to your inner strength. Your family must be so proud of you. I hope your wife and children are inspired by all of your changes. Let's raise a glass of sparkling water in thanks to your employer for getting the ball rolling for you, and to the McDougalls!

Christi777 - Best wishes this week!

[amandamechele]

Hi All,

Weigh-in day is tomorrow and Saturday; I hope everyone had a good week.

While watching today's webinar*, with Dr. McDougall and Gustavo Tolosa, I did a whole bunch of chopping and cooking. Here is what I managed to accomplish in that hour:


Chopped romaine lettuce, bell peppers, celery, cauliflower, green beans and red cabbage. I also made mashed potatoes and mashed turnip and sweet potato.

I don't particularly love to cook, and I particularly don't love to chop (heehee...that's a mouthful). But it is a necessary step for being prepared for the week. That's why I try to do something enjoyable at the same time. Today it was a webinar, other times it's watching something on YouTube or playing loud music (I love to see the embarrassed faces of my younger 2 children as I dance around while cooking - I keep promising them that I'll dance just like this at their weddings).

Do any of you have any strategies to get you through doing things that you don't particularly enjoy?

Amy

*Today's webinar will be posted sometime in the next 24 hours or so. If you missed it live and want to watch the replay you can look for it here:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/videos/
Dr McDougall answered viewer's questions.

[GlennR]

I have started to use a lot more frozen vegetables, no washing, no chopping.

[Nurse_Kim]

Had a bad week. I don't know why I can't stay on track. I do great with breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but it's the little "cheats" in between. We'll see how way in goes tomorrow. Good luck everyone.

[amandamechele]

GlennR - So smart and easy! Great suggestion.

Nurse_Kim - I'm so glad you are still posting here, even when you feel you're having a difficult week. It takes guts! It can be so easy to just fade away from an online support group (I know because I have done it more than a few times) when things are not quite going according to plan. I hope, no matter what the scale says tomorrow, you continue to keep us all updated on how you're doing. I'm rooting for you. This is a marathon, not a sprint! (Though the preceding phrase lacks originality, it is exactly how I feel about my continued efforts to keep my weight down and eventually get to the finish line). XO

With regards to having trouble staying on track, one thing I discovered at the McDougall program, when I attended, was that I was not eating large enough meals (or enough starch) to be satisfied. Once I started eating a big plate of food at each meal I began to be able to last until the next one.I learned that I like to eat a large quantity and that is why the MWL version of the McDougall program is best for me to stay physically satisfied with regards to hunger while eating low enough calories to continue to lose weight (or as I seem to be doing right now, maintain my weight until I re-jigger things some more).

Another strategy I use (and can be seen in the picture I posted today) is to keep a lot of raw veggies cut, to graze on. Some days I just want to snack without having to sacrifice my large and delicious meals.

[audmor]

Woo Hoo - I am happy to be down 4 lbs . (Some of it I am sure is catch up from the previous week that didn't show up on the scale.)

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and stories - it makes things so much easier. I guess I am first to post today - nothing like the Atlantic Time Zone to give me an edge! Good luck everone.

A.