July 2017 McDougall Weigh In Group

[Silver]

I lost 6.0 pounds this week!

I'm not sure why it's so high. I did cut back on beans a bit. I also started exercising on the recumbent bike and light weights. I think the main reason is that when the junk is out of my diet, it turns out I'm not a volume eater. Or I may just be settling into my typical weight loss routine. High one week, low the next. So I'll try not to be disappointed if next week shows a small number.

[Lyndzie]

I'm still holding steady, so no loss for me this week. I read an article about goal setting that someone posted in the lounge earlier this week that really hit me hard about how I am just putting mediocre effort into life and getting mediocre results. I need to set a goal, then set up guidelines to guide me to reach it. I'm working on implementing this in regards to food and money management.

Tonight I went to a friend's house for dinner and we grilled out. I brought Jeff Novick's bean burgers and they were a hit! Both of my kids gobbled theirs up, and my friend's husband ate two. Now, I just need to find a compliant burger bun and I'm set.

I'm hoping with my renewed focus the scale will shift a little over the next week. As the saying goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I will batch cook and have potatoes on hand.

Sunday I will be attending my local WFPB meetup for a pitch-in. It's looking like our largest gathering yet, with 14 people RSVP'd. I will be taking Straight Up Food's Ceasar-y Salad. If you happen to be in the Indianapolis, Indiana, USA area, please join us!

[cambitsgirl]

Hi everyone! Hope you are all having a great week. I wanted to login while I had the chance. I am up 3 pounds this week. I am not concerned about it though. It's that time of the month, a went out to dinner 2 nights ago and think it may have had oil in it (I was so hungry), and my leg is acting up really bad (felt horrible for a few days) so I was not as active. My body will adjust though and drop it off in no time. Last month I gained almost 10 pounds from that time of the month and dropped it off within another 4 days.

You asked me what I have been doing to get the results I have. I have really been getting in tune with my body and eating when I am hungry and stopping when I am satisfied (not completely full). I tracked my food through Cronometer for awhile and noticed that I basically eat the same amount each day. If I ate a little less one day, I would eat a little more the next, but it all works out by listening to how hungry I am. I stopped logging my food a few weeks ago and everything is still the same. In the morning I get up and drink a big glass of water. I get ready for work and pack something to eat for work. Usually I get hungry after a couple hours of being at work (3 hours after I get up). I eat my meal and then may snack on some veggies or fruit toward the end of my shift. After I get home I start cooking my next meal. I eat that when I get hungry. My meals are pretty simple. I was eating oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, but then started eating starch with veggies instead. I still have oatmeal every once in awhile when I want it. But I have been on a kick of wanting my lunch for breakfast. I make enough to split into 2 meals. I take a bunch of greens and put them on the plate or in the bowl I am using and put the starch and veggies I cooked on top of that and eat it all together.

Probably the biggest change I made was in my mindset. I decided that I am happy with myself and my progress. Losing weight slower usually means we keep it off longer in the long run. It is exciting to see the numbers go down, but I have to let my body adjust to this way of eating, and I don't have to stress or worry about losing weight. The biggest change is in my measurements. I have dropped 2 pants sizes already, and now this size is getting too big too. I know the weight is coming off, and if I continue to eat this way I know the weight will continue to come off. That is why I am not too upset about eating out the other night. I hardly ever order anything but a salad when we go out, but that night I was really really hungry. I made the best decision I could at the time. It was just an off day for me. I worked an overnight shift on the ambulance, got off work, and came home and started doing chores and stuff, and when another 911 call went out we responded, and I went on the transport as a second EMT. We got to the receiving hospital and I could not figure out why I was so hungry.....I had not eaten at all yet. Go figure lol.

I was increasing my workouts too before my leg acted up. It is starting to feel better so hopefully I can get going on that again soon. I try to do at least 30 minutes of movement a day. It just makes me feel better. I try to get up and move more at work too (I work 4 days during the week at a hotel as a front desk clerk). I usually finish up my work and then jump into helping the housekeepers with laundry to keep moving.

I love reading the posts here and getting encouragement from everyone from their posts. Enjoy your week.

Carol

[amandamechele]

I lost 2lb last week and forgot to weigh in ((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

Hi Anna,

Sorry I've been MIA, I will add you into last week's tally. Great job and I hope this week went well too.

Amy

[amandamechele]

Qwert988 - Wonderful news, what sort of changes have you made? I'm so happy for you.

Sue - That's a great lecture. Here's a link to the TedX Talk for anyone else who wants to check it out. Best wishes this week, I'm sure you'll find your stride again.

Welcome Susan! My apologies for my tardy response. We are happy you are here too and look forward to travelling this path with you. You are thinking about this in such a positive way, that will be the wind beneath your wings on any difficult days. I'd love to know what recipes your family enjoyed. Beans and rice are the best. Great loss this week, congratulations!

Darcin - I'm so sorry to hear that you haven't been having success for all of your efforts. Below is the summary of the guidelines posted by Debbie in the guidelines thread. Take a quick look through them and try to identify any way that you are deviating from the suggestions and then consider adjusting what you are doing to get a little bit closer to these recommendations. Maybe you could consider giving up the Ezekiel bread and jam for a week and see if that makes a difference. The banana should be fine, Dr. McDougall recommends limiting fruits to 2 a day if you wish to have faster weight loss, but it is a perfectly healthy and delicious food. With regards to the historic foods of other cultures, Dr.McDougall is highlighting the fact that the majority of their traditional diet comes from starch, not that it was necessarily vegan or oil-free. The calorie density of oil is so high that including it in your diet, if you are someone who struggles with extra weight (like me) will work against your goal. Please don't give up just yet, we will figure out how to get this right for you. Would you like to post a few days of menus this week for us to take a look?

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.
1. Eliminate All Animal Foods
2. Eliminate All Oils
3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods: Nuts, Nut Butters, Seeds, Seed Butters, Avocados, Coconut, & Olives.
4. Eliminate All Flour Products
5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
6. Eat Legumes
7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal
8. Eat Uncooked Foods
9. Restrict Fresh Fruit to No More Than Two Servings a Day, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice
10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Guidelines for Healthy Eating in MWL book, page 67.
1. Eat until you’re satisfied
2. Graze
3. Allow time for digestion
4. Chew foods thoroughly
5. Restrict variety

Weight-Losing Reasons To Exercise. MWL book, page 100.
1. Exercise burns calories
2. Calories continue to burn after exercise
3. Exercise counteracts plateaus
4. Exercise suppresses appetite
5. Exercise reduces insulin
6. Exercise protects and increases muscle mass

Exercise you can live with. MWL book, page 106-107

Aerobics: The best kind of exercise. Walking, running, cycling, & swimming are not only enjoyable but highly efficient ways to lose weight.

Benefits of weight training:
Build a stronger body
Build a shapelier body
Strengthen ligaments
Improve bone density
Help prevent musculoskeletal injury
Elevate metabolism
Increase stamina
Elevate blood levels of HDL cholesterol

Your New Daily Exercise Plan: MWL Book Page 109
1. Get up half an hour earlier each day, or skip a TV program to do a specific exercise.
2. Make exercise a part of each day.
3. Choose an activity that you have always enjoyed and do it at least four times per week.
4. Sometimes purchasing equipment helps to motivate…
5. Invest in a membership in a YMCA, YWCA, or health and fitness club
6. Ask a friend to become your exercise partner
7. Go dancing, a great aerobic (and romantic) exercise
8. Join a walking or hiking club.
9. Check with your local adult-education program for exercise programs.
10. Keep an exercise journal.

Establishing a healthy way of life from page 127 of the MWL book.
Step 1. Be Goal-Oriented
Step 2. Acknowledge Your Willingness to Pay the Price
Step 3. Educate Yourself, Become an Expert
Step 4. Visualize Yourself as Healthy
Step 5. Make a Commitment: It’s Magic
Step 6. Ensure That Your Environment Supports Your Goals
Step 7. Alter Your Coping Mechanisms
Step 8. Join A Support Group
Step 9. Reward Yourself
Step 10. Keep It Simple

Silver - Fabulous! Celebrate those high numbers when you can get them...lol...because you're absolutely right, some weeks won't be as satisfying, even with the exact same diligence and effort. Congratulations.

Lyndzie - I love that quote! I totally agree with you regarding it takes great efforts to potentially get great results. What kind of goal would you like to set? Lose X amount of weight? OR Eat consistent to the MWL guidelines for X amount of time? OR Eat a whole food starch based diet for X% of my calories per day? My experience has led me to shy away from setting a goals to lose a certain amount of weight within a certain timeframe because I have found that to be difficult to do consistently and then it can become demoralizing to not hit those targets. But, that is just me and maybe you would find it very motivating. I'm so jealous that your kids are eating those beans burger. That is my dream! We don't have any oil-free buns at the grocery stores where I live. Do you live near a bakery? I have had luck with oil free bread products at the bakery. Enjoy your potluck! Let us know how it goes, we'd love to hear about it.

Carol - Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question so thoroughly. I'm sure many people will find your summary so helpful. You are on such a great path to figuring out how to get the best results possible from this program. There are so many strategies and tips and suggestions available throughout this website and elsewhere, and you are figuring out exactly which ones are helpful to you and which ones aren't as necessary. I went through a similar change of thinking regarding the speed of weight loss. Once I let go of needing to try and lose the weight quickly I was able to see this as an ongoing lifestyle change as opposed to a weight loss diet. It took a lot of trials for me to get to that stage though, congratulations on getting there so quickly!
I can't believe how busy you are with all of your jobs. I hope you are able to let your leg completely heal and get some rest.
Woohoo...2 pant sizes down! Have you gotten to shop for anything new yet?
Best wishes this week!

[sarabee]

I am happy to report a 0.0 lb. gain and a 0.0 lbs loss for the week which is relatively good for me since the family went out to eat three times this week. I have my potatoes cooked and salad stuff ready to start a new week. I have more house guests coming again next weekend but my goal is to be completely compliant (simple and without too much variety works best for me) through the week and then vary things a bit on the weekend with guests. Having the weigh-in on Fridays is very motivating!

[Svenja]

Good morning!

I lost one pound!

Still no exercising because of my knee. But slowly getting better. Doing my stretching every day.

Another study weekend. 72 days until the written exam
The date for the oral examination will only the handed out after passing the written part ... too many don't get through the fist part ...
All in all ... about 85% fail this medical examination!

but I decided that I will get through

Have a great weekend everyone!

Svenja.

[Qwerty988]

Qwert988 - Wonderful news, what sort of changes have you made? I'm so happy for you.

Thanks, Amy -- and thanks again for all the motivational posts and links! I've really enjoyed everything you've shared about your summer trip too.

Food-wise, my changes are pretty small as I feel like I'm in a good routine. I've been working on eating more non-starchy veggies, which I've been pretty lazy about in the past. Trying for a big salad-based meal once a day and trying to keep veggies to at least a third of every plate. That's leading me to a simpler, less recipe-based way of eating that I really like!

The biggest change for me lately though is with exercise. The past few months I've been doing 15-25 mins on the NordicTrack and starting to work with free weights. Right now, I'm serious about bringing in strength training and yoga more formally, and increasing the cardio to more like 45 mins to an hour. It's pretty cool, I've taken some big steps lately! I started taking longer hikes, I joined my local gym, I assembled my at-home weight bench and have actually been using it, and I've been researching yoga classes in my area so I can start doing that a few times a week as well. I'm a total novice with yoga -- and with weights -- but I'm done with NOT doing these things that I know intellectually are really imporant for my health, especially getting older.

I have this vision of transforming my butt and legs into a massive 30-lb. calorie-burning metabolism-charging inferno of awesomeness.....

[Mom+Me]

Good Morning, Everyone!

Right now this will be short + sweet--err--starchy, because I was hoping to post last night but it got too late. Now l have to get going for a busy Saturday.

I finally have a loss to report for this, my first month being with you all. I dropped 8 pounds!

Many thanks to you, especially Amy, for your kind + encouraging words!

I look forward to getting onto a computer soon so that it's a lot easier to read + respond to fellow MWL members' posts.

Hope everyone has a very nice weekend!

[zsilent1]

Greetings Amy and All!

I've been making a lot of bean dishes. I soak a lb of beans overnight and then cook them in the instant pot the next day. Super easy and fast usually done in under 30 min. Last week I made pinto bean chili with bulgur and corn in it; a chickpea salad; tabouli with bulgur; wheatberry salad; pasta fazool soup; Lima beans; brown rice salad. I put a lot of veggies in the salads. I make a green salad on most days too filled with veggies. I'll make veggie side dishes too like roasted cauliflower, asparagus etc. Last night I made Mexican, pinto beans with bulgur and peppers, shredded lettuce and veggies, and I made tortillas (for the first time ever) with masa harina. It was pretty good and that was the family meal. I rolled out the tortillas and that was a pain... gonna buy a tortilla press. I make a lot of potatoes too in the instant pot and keep them in the fridge. They are handy for snacks and easy to add to recipes.

My husband and I are retired and we live with my daughter, son in law and our 3 yr old grandson. We're like the Waltons!I care for grandson and cook dinner during the week. Since starting Mcdougall... this way of eating, 2 weeks ago, I've gotten no complaints on the meals. Lots of complements, yes! If anyone wants meat they can make it themselves. I have committed to this lifestyle with a sea change and my fam are all supportive. I am so grateful for their understanding and love. My husband said yesterday that he's lost 10 lbs! He is pretty much doing it too.

I'm going to plan out next weeks meals. Good thing we all like beans, brown rice, potatoes and lots of veggies. I make one main meal a day and use leftovers for breakfast or lunch. Easy to make a big green salad with all the fixins you can rustle up to throw in.

When you get to a certain age you become much more aware of your body's aches and pains. I feel an improvement in the arthritis in my hands and knees. This lifestyle change is a paradigm shift for me. I realize that. One that is taking me to a much more healthty body.

In Starch!
Susan

[Yomom]

Minus one pound, at 149#.
Sigh; I've been here before!

[LadyM]

Hey everyone Good Morning!!

This will be quick as daughter and son-in-law are on their way over to paint again. Daughter decided my office needs to be freshened up. All the rooms will be done then. In the fall we'll do the shutters on the house and the exterior doors. Seriously thinking of putting the house up for sale in the spring. We'll see.

No loss again this week. Looking forward to August. Maybe that will be a better month for me.

Hope everyone has a GREAT week.

LadyM
(Dee)

[ANNAUK]

2lb gain. Lost the plot too much alcohol. Bought mineral infused water this week instead
Back on it xx

[amandamechele]

Hello All!

Great job everyone! Thank you for checking in.

This week I read and listened to two great discussions on pathological eating patterns that I wanted to share with you all. I found them both helpful in broadening my understanding of why I continue to have to work so hard to keep myself on track. (I bet some of you understand what I'm talking about )

The first discussion is from Dr Lisle, the psychologist for the McDougall Program. On his podcast, the other night, he answered a listener question about binge-eating, more specifically, consistent overeating in the evening. [You can jump in at the 49 minute mark to listen to just this part of the podcast; it's about 22 minutes long].
Spoiler Alert: Cravings are a conditioned compensatory response. To understand that statement be sure to listen. Beat Your Genes Podcast: Binge Eating.

The second article wasn't actually a discussion, but a blog post by neuroscientist Dr. Stephan Guyenet. EntitledWhy are some people Carboholics?, its Guyenet's response to a recent New York Times editorial by Gary Taubes. He refutes Taubes's explanation of why we have food cravings by describing how drug addiction works. Dr Guyenet is a wonderfully eloquent writer and has been a speaker at a McDougall Advanced Study weekend; he and Dr McDougall do not share all of the same views when it comes to optimal dietary patterns. (I just wanted to point that out because I wouldn't want to confuse anyone, but with regards to this particular blog post those differences are irrelevant)

I hope you enjoy both of the discussions and that they give you some insight into what many of us are up against when trying to eat more healthfully.

Best wishes for the coming week! I will start a new thread for the August weigh-in group on Tuesday. I hope you will join me there next month.

Amy

PS. I actually did, finally, weigh myself this week. Boy do I have some work to do!

PPS. Here are a few final vacation pictures from my adventures in Northern Ontario:



These are from the Dr. Roberta Bondar exhibit at the Canadian Bushplane Heritage Centre in Sault Ste Marie. That last picture is my very own pilot-in-training. He will be going to flight camp later this summer and is quite excited!


Here are the results for the fourth week in July:

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, August 4th, 2017

Total group loss reported in 2017: 530.66 pounds

July 2017 Weight Loss Group :: Monthly Weigh-In Results
Total group loss in January 2017: 137.25 pounds
Total group loss in February 2017: 102.91 pounds
Total group loss in March 2017: 111.3 pounds
Total group loss in April 2017: 56.1 pounds
Total group loss in May 2017: 41.8 pounds
Total group loss in June 2017: 44.4 pounds
Total group loss in July 2017: 36.9 pounds

Week ending 07/28/2017: 15 participants reported a total loss of 14.8 pounds
---------------------------------------
Suey51 - 0.2
Darcin - 1.0
Cambitsgirl - 3.0
Annauk - 2.0
---------------------------------------
Total gains: 6.2
---------------------------------------
Qwerty988 - 1.0
Zsilent1 - 4.0
Silver - 6.0
Lyndzie - 0.0
Sarabee - 0.0
Svenja - 1.0
Mom+Me - 8.0
Yomom - 1.0
LadyM - 0.0
Galooop - 0.0
amandamechele - 0.0
---------------------------------------------
Total losses: 21.0
---------------------------------------------

Total group loss in July 2017: 36.9 pounds
Week ending 07/28/2017: 15 participants reported a total loss of 14.8 pounds
Week ending 07/21/2017: 15 participants reported a total loss of 11.6 pounds
Week ending 07/14/2017: 14 participants reported a total loss of 1.9 pounds
Week ending 07/07/2017: 23 participants reported a total loss of 8.6 pounds


(Edited for update from a previous edit)

[Emily]

Hi! Sorry I went missing! I haven't been able to log in and stay logged in to the site to post. It doesn't seem to work on my mobile device any more - and that is my primary way to access the Internet. I'm doing alright on my own for the time being. I went to the library to post this message, though, because I don't like to just drop out without saying anything! Good luck everyone!