August 2017 McDougall Weigh In Group

[Lyndzie]

I'm down 2 pounds! This is a total shock to me. We're trying to get our grocery budget down, which is good because compliant foods are extremely affordable.

I picked up a new hot sauce that is absolutely delicious, but contains sugar, and next thing you know I'm knee deep in cookies and cupcakes. I wish the downward spiral wasn't so steep! But I am grateful that my weight is creeping in the right direction. I'm tired of my pants feeling snug.

I went to the pitch-in last weekend, and it was a great success. The two new recipes that are on my list to try are The Vegan 8's Mexican Casserole and Thug Kitchen's scalloped potatoes. The casserole calls for cashews to make a Mexican cheese sauce, but I'm going to try subbing potato instead, because I try to limit rich foods like nuts. The potato recipe does call for oil, but that is easily omitted, and I'm going to add sautéed mushrooms.

Also, I watched What The Health this past week. None of it was news to me, but it was good at reaffirming my dietary choices.

Wishing everyone a great and compliant week!

[gaylerobin]

Hello, everyone! I'd love to join in this month.

I'm down 0.6 lbs this week.

I've been "flirting" with this way of eating for far too long, and it's time to get serious and commit. I'm hoping some accountability will make the difference.

Have a great weekend!
Gayle

[Mom+Me]

Saturday Salutations, Everyone!

This was a good week in that l was able to gather with family + friends for two seperate birthday celebrations (neither my own). But yes, you guessed it...non-compliant food galore!

Considering this, l did fairly well. Umm...just thinking that if Dr. M. were there he'd probably emphatically say, "You consider that 'eating well?!'." And then Mary would tug on his armsleeve, "John!". I hope no one took or will take that the wrong way. Dr. McDougall is wonderful, down to earth, + so caring!!! It's just that, by his own admission (not necessarily exact words), he can be pretty intense because he is SO passionate about people regaining lost health.

All that said, l ate completely vegetarian (as l have for many years), but had some items that contained oil. The biggest item l indulged in too much were breaded potato wedges. In a way it was good to do that, though, because l really got to see how greasy they left my fingertips + how hard it was to remove--yuck! And then l was soooo thirsty + could feel the effects of too much salt.

I gained 3 pounds. It hurts, especially after last weeks great loss. I suspect that a lot of that loss + a bit of this gain were/are water weight. The main thing now will be for me to get right back into the McDougall/MWL groove + to not get de-railed. It really does help knowing that we have this little group of people who are all in the same boat! I smile + silenty cheer when l read of your successes, am saddened with you when you have set-backs, + knowingly nod when you share your experiences.

Amy--I can't thank you enough for all your time, dedication, wisdom, + links! Yes; you worded that beautifully about the head knowing but the body not following. When l've been off the plan for periods of time, it's almost as if l have to turn the knowledge part way down so that l can eat that way. Does this make sense? Probably...because we've most likely all been there + done that (even bought the t-shirt--LOL!)

How funny and true about your stages + songs to express where you're at. This is a newer song that's been in my mind a lot. I find it encouraging + empowering. Unfinished by Mandisa https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Ejycllx5iwA (l hope this links okay! This is my first time linking here + it took me awhile to figure how to do it.)

I really didn't mean for this to get so lengthy. Hoping everyone has a kind-to-yourself week!

[LadyM]

Happy August everyone:

I am down 1.2 lbs. this week. Getting closer and closer to my next goal.

Amanda to answer your question about where will I go if I sell my home, I'm not sure. If I had the funds I would love to move back to California. I lived there for 10 years and loved every minute of it. I was in the Palm Springs area. I would probably stay here but get a small apartment (down size). The upkeep of this house and mowing the lawn in the summer is starting to get to me. We'll see what the spring brings.

I've been testing adding in foods to this WOE and not had much success. I feel that I have an addiction to processed flour items. I say this because when I tried the tomato sandwiches a month ago I could not stop eating them. I wanted more and more. Finally ran out of bread and refused to buy more. Also, I tried pasta and found one serving was to much and the whole box was not enough. I craved the pasta for 5 days after eating it that one day and decided this feeling of wanting more and more of these foods will lead me down a slippery slop I don't want to take. I will probably stay on the MWL plan but add in larger quantity's of higher density compliant foods. Another we'll see thing. Feels like my life is FULL of we'll sees.

Welcome to all the new people on this board. Hope everyone has a great week.

LadyM
(Dee)

[sarabee]

1.0 lb. loss for me this week. Thanks to everyone for all your posts. I sure do enjoy reading about everyone's ups and downs. All the posts plus the Friday weigh-in have really helped me stay on track, or get back on track quickly after eating out or hosting guests. I had a new passport photo taken this week and was so happy that my face and neck didn't look too chubby. That was really gratifying.

[ANNAUK]

I posted on the wrong feed 1 pound loss for me xx

[ANNAUK]

Ps stage 5 for me has to be the Rocky theme tune. Sylvester Stallone is a huge inspiration for me. X

[amandamechele]

Hello Everyone,
Thank you for joining in for another month of working towards your healthy weight-loss goals. Keeping at this, day in and day out, is what will get you there. Not everyday or week will go smoothly but many of them will. Celebrate those!
My mom is joining us this month (unofficially and offline). Like mother, like daughter; we both struggle with compliance in the face of temptation. Not everyone in our households choose to eat this way, so we do our best to manage our environments (just like advised by the Dr.s and RD here at the McDougall Wellness Program). This week I was staying with her and we did big clean out of her fridge and made room for lots of pre-chopped veggies and fruit. We set up her Instant Pots, rice cooker and Vitamix - right out on the counter - for easy accessibility. We also cooked a couple of batches of her favourite chili and stew to freeze.


It's been 5 days now and Mom reports her food cravings are beginning to fade and she feels more confident that she can do this. Overall I'm pleased and she is feeling very motivated to continue.
I hope everyone reading this knows that they can do this too!
Have a great week!
Amy

PS. If you haven't read it yet, Dr. McDougall's feature article in this month's newsletter entitled Simple Reasoning Solves Dietary Confusion explains how he came to recommend this dietary pattern through personal experience and the research of others. These eye-opening experiences led to the development of the McDougall Plan.

I (John McDougall, MD) Have Earned the Right to Help You

(I'm so happy to have him helping us all out!)

Here are the results for the first week in August:

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, August 11th, 2017

Total group loss reported in 2017: 555.86 pounds

August 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: 34.9 pounds
Total group loss in August 2017: 27.2 pounds

Week ending 08/04/2017: 19 participants reported a total loss of 27.2 pounds
---------------------------------------
Mom+Me - 3.0
---------------------------------------
Total gains: 3.0
---------------------------------------
Mich0422 - 0.0
Suey51 - 0.0
Qwerty988 - 0.0
Zsilent1 - 5.0
Galooop - 0.2
Yomom - 0.0
Velo1975 - 0.0
BeHealthy - 0.0
Cambitsgirl - 4.2
Silver - 1.0
Svenja - 1.0
Lyndzie - 2.0
Gaylerobin - 0.6
LadyM - 1.2
Sarabee - 1.0
Annauk - 1.0
amandamechele - 2.0
Darcin - 2.0
---------------------------------------------
Total losses: 30.2
---------------------------------------------

Total group loss in August 2017: 27.2 pounds
Week ending 08/04/2017: 19 participants reported a total loss of 27.2 pounds

(Edited to add a participant)

[amandamechele]

This morning I weighed 157 so I lost 2 pounds this week! But better than that my body composition is changing, my clothes are looser and my stomach flatter. The changes I made were: ate oat bran with strawberries and blueberries for breakfast instead of toast with all-fruit and the banana. Instead of brown rice, I ate potatoes with lunch and dinner and a salad of romaine and tomatoes before each meal. For some reason the potato is more fillling to me and I was satisfied for much longer. Now I am hardly hungry enough for dinner when I come home from work which is very unusual for me. Also I started using the quick and easy cookbook from Mary McDougall and several yummy recipes from the newsletter archive. And, I've had more energy and desire to exercise than before. I'm super excited about the break through for the weight loss but more excited that I feel better than I have in years.

Hi Darcin - I just noticed your post in the July thread. I'll add you to this week's tally.

Those are some fantastic changes you made this week. I wanted to be sure the group saw them, so I've included your post here. I'm super excited for you too! It sounds like you've found a strategy that works. Woo-hoo!

Here's the link to the searchable McDougall Recipes Page for anyone else who hasn't checked it out yet.

[amandamechele]

Silver - Alright...taking a breather after some great losses.

Svenja - I'm glad to hear your studies are going well and that your knee is feeling better too. With that kind of caloric deficit you will see more losses, just keep at it. It can take surprisingly (and frustratingly) longer than you think. Each week you'll get just a little better at this. Just like each week you are that much closer to becoming a doctor through hard work and diligence. 65 more days... fantastic!
Oh and yes, I did lose my taste for curries...I guess what I enjoyed most about them was the coconut milk and I haven't found a satisfying, familiar or acceptable replacement for them (what a mouthful of adjectives that was...lol). We've had a cool wet summer here too...so much so that the underground garage level of our building has been flooded since May. Water levels for Lake Ontario are just starting to go down enough that the garage is starting to dry out a bit. I hope your wet summer doesn't affect produce prices for you too much.

Lyndzie - I totally hear you about certain foods leading to more poor choices. Throw that sauce away! LOL. I'm so happy you still had a good loss this week...proof of other great choices you must have made. I'll check out your recipe recommendations from the potluck (I'm always on the hunt for a tasty new dish). Good for you for being so proactive in creating a supportive group for yourself! How was the turn out?

gaylerobin - I hope so too. Do your best this week. I hope to hear from you no matter how it goes. Practice really does make perfect. Have a great weekend as well.

Mom+Me - LOL...you are hilarious! They way you write reminds me of someone...I just can't put my finger on it. So...you've got the right thought here...just get back to following the guidelines. I'm glad you have kept at this and posted here even after a rough week. We all have them and that's what this thread is for. We are here too, working at this everyday and truly know how you feel. Thank you for the song link and the lengthy post. XO.

Dee - How wonderful that you are approaching your next goal. Yes, yes, yes! I have trouble controlling myself with the refined grains too and am still attempting to completely remove them consistently. I wish you much success with that and think that eating the MWL version of the program indefinitely will maximize your health in the long run. So no need to add back those items at all! I hope the spring real estate market is favourable for your sale and you find a lovely place that is easy to care for so that you can have more time for all of the the other great things in life.

Sarabee - Thank you! Oh my gosh, that's awesome that you like your passport photo. I'm still waiting for my driver's licence to expire so that I can get a new one.

Anna - Solid loss this week, good show! I love the Rocky movies and theme song, they are iconic inspirational stories.

[Mom+Me]

A very early "Good Morning!" to you all!

I really should be sleeping right now, but l was watching some videos on YouTube + came across one that made me think of you all.

Hopefully l can insert the screenshots l took, because l wasn't able to capture the URL. (Not sure if it's because l'm using my phone or because l'm just that tech illiterate. : -O )

Oh boy; yep, that didn't work. I'm sorry. You'll have to do a search. The name of the video is: Weigh in Wednesday! How to lose 16 lbs in 1 week Now don't let the title fool you or disgust you into thinking it's a gimmick. The lady (Heather) who made this video has lost 268 pounds following a plant-based diet very similar to MWL. In fact, she mentioned Dr. McDougall + Dr. Lisle.

If you have 20 minutes to spare, l really think her insights could be extremely helpful to you. I know that they were to me, and l'm going to implement a lot of what she said. But please don't be disappointed in or get hung up on how to lose 16 lbs. in 1 week.

Hope you decide to watch, that is if you can find it. Okay, l now have to get some zzzz's. BTW, l haven't yet read posts since mine...another day, another time to get on-line.

P.S. I tend to get extra-rambly (and make up new words--LOL!) when I'm so tired. Also, l'm aware that l could have made the above a lot more succinct, but find it more challenging when my entire screen is only 4.5". I apologize.

[Svenja]

@ Amanda:

Oh, I must have left the wrong impression ... sorry!
I am not working on becoming a doctor

But yeah ... might sound like it ...

I am not sure how it works in the US, in Germany you need to have a 'healing permission' (sorry for the poor translation). You can obtain it in two ways 1. study medicine at university to become a doctor 2. go through a medical test and become a 'Heilpraktiker'. I am on the second path. Just that the word 'Heilpraktiker' does not translate well ... naturopath, alternative-practiotioner, traditional healer ... all of it doesn't sound quite right to me
A Heilpraktiker does not have all the rights and permissions like a doctor. They can not treat infectious illnesses and have way smaller range of medications they are allowed to prescribe. But that is not a problem for my kind of work.

As I run my little practice for bodywork/body-therapy I specialised on pain treatment and fascia treatment, alongside with methods from TCM, osteopathy and Shiatsu.
But as long as I don't have my 'healing permission' I am not allowed to talk to clients about illnesses or aiming at bettering them. I have to claim it all as wellness. Since this isn't a satisfying situation and I definitely want to do more than "just" wellness, I have to somehow get through this exams ...

... hope this does make a little bit sense

Have a great week!
Svenja.

[galooop]

amandamechele

your mom is so cute!
She looks so happy...
Your empty fridge - full table pictures cracked me up.
I always feel great after doing a big clean out / purge.
I just did that with my sewing stuff - now I actually know what I have in my fabric stash, notions, etc.

Chris

[zsilent1]

Hi All!

Mom + Me, I've seen some of Heather Goodwin's videos too. I believe her YouTube channel is The Butterfly Effect. She has lost over 300 lbs! Actually, watching her led me to Mcdougalling and this group. Inspirational and we can do it too.

Amy, your mom looks so happy! What a great time for you two. I see you had the Instant Pot going. I use mine everyday now. Menu for dinner tonight Spicy cabbage hot pot, maybe add some sprouted tofu with brown rice.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Susan

[Svenja]

A very early "Good Morning!" to you all!

I really should be sleeping right now, but l was watching some videos on YouTube + came across one that made me think of you all.

Hopefully l can insert the screenshots l took, because l wasn't able to capture the URL. (Not sure if it's because l'm using my phone or because l'm just that tech illiterate. : -O )

Oh boy; yep, that didn't work. I'm sorry. You'll have to do a search. The name of the video is: Weigh in Wednesday! How to lose 16 lbs in 1 week Now don't let the title fool you or disgust you into thinking it's a gimmick. The lady (Heather) who made this video has lost 268 pounds following a plant-based diet very similar to MWL. In fact, she mentioned Dr. McDougall + Dr. Lisle.

If you have 20 minutes to spare, l really think her insights could be extremely helpful to you. ...

Thanks for the recommendation ... enjoyed watching it!
Too bad that greens are very expensive here! .... and I don't like veggies .... mmmhhhh ...
But I know that I need to move forward in that direction ...