For the program details visit the MWL Guidelines thread in this forum. Please check out as many of the links as you have time for, there is so much here to discover!
A couple of other great resources, for those just starting out, are from Jeff Novick the staff dietician for the program: The Ultimate Guide to Free Calorie Density (MWL) Resources and his 1 hour video explanation on Calorie Density: How to Eat More, Weigh Less and Live Longer.
September is reading weather, in my opinion. No more fluffy August beach-reads, but meaty non-fiction that requires your thinking cap. I always have a very large stack of books on my bedside table. It actually grows faster than it shrinks because my appetite for a good book is almost as large as my appetite for a good meal; I'm only still learning to be more discerning about both.
Many of us following Dr McDougall's way of eating are not just trying to lose weight, but to improve our health and health-span. We want to learn everything we can about how to live well. Many of my book choices are guided by this desire.*
Late last year I purchased The Telomere Effect by Drs Elizabeth Blackburn and Elissa Epel and I'm finally getting around to reading it. The book begins with some background on telomeres, which are found on the end of each strand of your DNA. They protect the chromosomes from damage; Some of what we call aging is the accumulation of DNA damage. Until (relatively) recently telomeres were thought of as a sort of static aging-clock. Each time a cell divides a small section of telomere is lost; with each division more is lost until the telomere can no longer protect the cell's DNA and it becomes non-functional (senescent) or dies.
Though your genes influence the length of your telomeres, Dr Blackburn's research indicates that certain lifestyle factors affect telomere length and the production of the telomere re-building enzyme, telomerase, as well.
The lifestyle factors discussed sound a lot like what we've read about in Dr. McDougall's newsletters and Jeff Novick's forum. Eat well**, exercise, manage stress and build strong social support.
The book is very simply written, making it a quick and fun read. What I learned about how I respond to stress, alone, was worth the time spent.
I'll share just one little bit, because this post is getting rather long (sorry). In Part II, the authors explain that how we experience stress has a significant effect on the length of our telomeres and how much telomerase we produce (and thus how well we age). They determined this cause and effect relationship by studying mothers who were caregivers of children with a chronic condition; the longer the caregiving stress, the shorter the telomeres. But there were some caregivers whose telomere damage did not follow this trend. It was these parents that helped the researchers understand that how we respond to stress, and not necessarily just the stressful situation, could lead to unhealthy telomeres and aging. People that feel anxious and predicted future loss/failing in response to a threat (stressor) fared more poorly than those who took the threat as a challenge to be overcome. Which way we react is guided by how naturally stress reactive we are and our memories of past experiences. However, even if our natural inclination is to worry, feel ashamed, embarrassed or like a failure in anticipation of a stressful situation, knowing this goes a long way in moderating the pattern. If glib self-exhortations are not your style, then try interrupting the cycle with a reminder that this physiological response is a tool to successfully endure what you're going through. It won't change your stress level, but can possibly alter your focus away from unhelpful rumination and pessimism.
I'll end my description there. I have enjoyed the book but don't think it is necessary to improve on any of the recommendations that you can find right here on this website in order to improve your own health. There's something to be said for not having to learn how to build an engine before learning to drive a car.
See you all tomorrow!
Amy
* If you are new to the program, you may want to stick with becoming familiar with all of the resources available here on the website before deciding whether to venture into other reading material. Jeff Novick has written a number of articles on how confusing this information overload can be. Breaking Health News and The Information Myth
** I'd better add that the authors' interpretation of Eat Well is not 100% in line with what we are learning from Dr. McDougall. I personally follow Dr. McD's recommended dietary pattern, and think we all should. That's why we're here!
Amy XO
PS. Check out the August 2017 newsletter's feature Stumbling Blocks to Dietary Transition for a 2 sentence summary of the McDougall diet.
Here are the standard monthly instructions for participating in this thread:
Our weigh in's are on Fridays and you have until 12 PM PST on Saturday to report.
Anyone is welcome to join the weekly weigh in group as long as they follow the McDougall principles. We recommend following the Maximum Weight Loss (MWL) plan or the Mary's Mini's Plan.
There is a sticky at the top of this forum on the guidelines for the MWL program.
In order to tally the results please submit your results by posting the total pounds you have lost or gained that week. You don't have to share your total weight if you'd rather keep that to yourself. This is an honor system so we take the gain, loss or maintain you give us in order to tally. (Please make a new post each week)
If you are a new member and would like to join but don't have a weight to be counted for the week then you will be counted either as a body with a zero starting weight, or when you check in for the weekly weigh in the following week. Large amounts of weight lost over a period of months or weeks, prior to joining the weekly weigh in group, will not be counted towards the weekly total.
If you measure your weight in something other than pounds please convert the measurement to pounds.
All gains will be counted towards the total to encourage weekly participation. Posting is encouraged whether it's a gain, a loss, or a maintain.
You are welcome to share as little or as much as you want on your weight loss journey here in this thread. We encourage members of the group to talk to each other, cheer each other on and set goals together.
This thread is for the mutual support of all who wish to participate.
Chris
I learned a great deal recording everything I ate, and making a couple changes this week has paid off. Now to keep moving forward!
I'll try again for next week.
