November 2017 McDougall Weigh In Thread

[petmomful]

Hi, I am new on this thread. I am 62, and weigh 181 pounds right now. I am 5' 8" tall, and a grandma. I would really like to get down to , maybe 165 or so. I don't feel that I need to be super thin. I would just like to flatten my belly! Sweets are my problem, and I find it difficult to not have them, even if they are compliant. I find it hard to have only 2 servings of fruit per day, and things like oil free granola. I have found that if I get a bad craving, I should just fill up on something compliant, like a big potato, and I will get thru it.

I really like to exercise, and when I was younger I worked out with weights. I love to walk and listen to rock music, and I have a new bike. It is called the Terra Trike Rover. Look it up on Youtube, it is so cool; I just love it!! The problem I have is neck pain. My neck is screwed together and if I overdo it hurts for days. The other day I went to the rec center and I felt fantastic. I walked, then jogged, around the track, with some Aerosmith and other good stuff, blaring in my ears for about 80 minutes! I also did some ab work. Well, you guessed it, it was too much and now I have been able to do nothing for a couple of days except the bare essentials at home. So I am thinking that I will do best if I do just a little exercise, maybe 30 to 40 minutes a day, or even every other day. Anyone have any thoughts on this? It is so very hard to stop when you are feeling great and enjoying yourself. I have to say that a year ago before I started the Starch Solution, my pain was severe! Now I am about 90% better! So I am not complaining; I just have to find a balance. I am a big sewist and want to be able to sit in front of my machines for a while daily. I also struggle to sit up straight to practice my guitar. You cannot fret the chords properly if you are leaning back. These are the things, besides family, of course, that are very important to me, and I cannot give them up.

Since the next weigh in is right after Thanksgiving, I will probably not lose anything this week, altho I am trying. I am taking my own food with me to my son's house, and making Mary McDougall's pumpkin pie with vanilla sauce. I am also taking a big fruit salad with no added sugar. I don't miss the turkey at all. My family all think I am nuts, BUT they have seen the improvements in my neck pain situation and they cannot deny it. I even shot a few baskets with my grandson 2 weeks ago. Before McDougalling, I could not even go to my granddaughter's games after which he practices. Now I can run around on the court with him!

Any advice is appreciated. I will post again on Friday and look forward to others posting on this thread! Happy Holidays!!

[SonjaK]

petmomful, your post was very inspiring! Sounds frustrating but like you know what you need to do to care for yourself. I suspect if you *do* limit yourself a bit and take care of yourself for now that you will continue to be able to do more, just as you have.

Purposive, so glad you were able to share that info with others and hopefully make a positive/long-term impact. It feels so good to know others won't suffer more than they have to.

Amy, if you read The End of Overeating, you'll have to tell me what you think!

Congrats to everyone who is losing this week. Wow - amazing when the trend this time of year is to add more and more pounds and never take them off again.

Thanks to everyone who gained but posted here anyway and keeps trying too. You are inspiring to me!

I am not officially doing the weigh-ins. I started salt/sugar/flour free (was already oil free) a couple weeks ago and will weigh myself Weds morning to see how it's going. I plan to eat one non-compliant item that night and I want to know how this is working scale-wise without that spike. But for Chef AJ's UWL program, she says don't weigh your food or yourself (or if you must, not more than once a month). So I'm trying to stick with that and just go by my clothes, which are definitely baggier.

I was feeling frustrated because my stomach seemed like it was getting larger not smaller but then I realized that the area above my belly button which has always had some fat is now almost flat so the area below my stomach that still has some serious roundness looks larger in contrast. But it is not actually increasing. So... fingers crossed. After I weigh myself on Weds I will not weigh myself again until right before Christmas.

Sonja

[petmomful]

Sonja, lets just keep truckin' on! Good luck to you over Thanksgiving and I look forward to your future posts.

[ANNAUK]

hey all
I'm back. After a crappy few weeks I'm trying to pull myself together and get on with feeling good. Does anyone else have any great reading material for losing a couple of pounds then gaining them every other week? I'm stuck in a cycle I cant break. I make good choices and lose weight. then because Ive lost weight I allow for foods I shouldn't be eating. Its depressing seeing the scales go down only to undo it all literally every other week.
I know you guys are finding this stuff equally as hard but I wondered if theres any inspirational reading out there I could try.

xxxxxx

[SonjaK]

hey all
I'm back. After a crappy few weeks I'm trying to pull myself together and get on with feeling good. Does anyone else have any great reading material for losing a couple of pounds then gaining them every other week? I'm stuck in a cycle I cant break. I make good choices and lose weight. then because Ive lost weight I allow for foods I shouldn't be eating. Its depressing seeing the scales go down only to undo it all literally every other week.
I know you guys are finding this stuff equally as hard but I wondered if theres any inspirational reading out there I could try.

xxxxxx

Hugs! I understand that cycle and it certainly is tenacious.

For reading, I'll suggest what I suggested higher in the thread and that I have found SO inspiring: The End of Overeating by David Kessler. It totally changed how I view SOS/flour-foods and set me on the path to freedom.

I would also suggest watching The Crave Circuit videos with Dr. Lisle (including follow-up interview with Chef AJ on Cramming and Bingeing) and Chef AJ's videos on youtube: "From Fat Vegan to Skinny B**ch" and "How to Eat Healthfully Anywhere!" and her whole series titled Weight Loss Wednesday.

[amandamechele]

I have yet to lose a single pound. I have been trying to lose about 10 pounds for a couple years now to no avail. I have tried other methods, now back to this one. This week I think I have a faint glimmer of potential success for the first time in many months. I removed gluten free oats and potatoes, and my only grain is now brown rice. I also got a mini trampoline and have been jumping every day for about 15 minutes. It appears as though some excess fat is reducing? Scale still says about the same-115 to 117 lbs-but it does look like fat loss may be beginning to happen. I am noticing it in my midsection first (the excess fat is globalized on my hourglass shape). No reduction in inches yet either, I measure and weigh daily for accountability & to determine progress. I have a very small frame & am very short & middle aged, so I know I must be patient & persevere. Wishing good health to all!

OOnaOwl,

Wishing you good health as well, and I'm glad you are still diligently doing your best.
Give this time, you are close to your goal (and potentially optimal weight) so losses can be a bit slower at this point. I'm glad you understand this and will have patience. I look forward to hearing how your week has gone on Friday.

Amy

[amandamechele]

Hi, I am new on this thread. I am 62, and weigh 181 pounds right now. I am 5' 8" tall, and a grandma. I would really like to get down to , maybe 165 or so. I don't feel that I need to be super thin. I would just like to flatten my belly! Sweets are my problem, and I find it difficult to not have them, even if they are compliant. I find it hard to have only 2 servings of fruit per day, and things like oil free granola. I have found that if I get a bad craving, I should just fill up on something compliant, like a big potato, and I will get thru it.

You are off to a great start! You recognize a struggle and have a strategy. Awesome. I understand how you feel about sweet foods and wish you success. Are you able to remove any foods that are particularly troublesome from your home? That can make it easier.

I really like to exercise, and when I was younger I worked out with weights. I love to walk and listen to rock music, and I have a new bike. It is called the Terra Trike Rover. Look it up on Youtube, it is so cool; I just love it!! The problem I have is neck pain. My neck is screwed together and if I overdo it hurts for days. The other day I went to the rec center and I felt fantastic. I walked, then jogged, around the track, with some Aerosmith and other good stuff, blaring in my ears for about 80 minutes! I also did some ab work. Well, you guessed it, it was too much and now I have been able to do nothing for a couple of days except the bare essentials at home. So I am thinking that I will do best if I do just a little exercise, maybe 30 to 40 minutes a day, or even every other day. Anyone have any thoughts on this? It is so very hard to stop when you are feeling great and enjoying yourself. I have to say that a year ago before I started the Starch Solution, my pain was severe! Now I am about 90% better! So I am not complaining; I just have to find a balance. I am a big sewist and want to be able to sit in front of my machines for a while daily. I also struggle to sit up straight to practice my guitar. You cannot fret the chords properly if you are leaning back. These are the things, besides family, of course, that are very important to me, and I cannot give them up.

I'm glad you're beginning to feel better. I think I'd find it hard to stop exercising too if I got to rock out to Aerosmith at the same time...lol! Serendipity helped me find you some advise, Jeff Novick has a thread called Exercise, Health & You: How Much Is Enough? which I thought you may like to read through. Below is one of his posts:

Re: Exercise, Health & You: How Much Is Enough?
Postby JeffN » Wed Dec 28, 2016 8:43 am

Interesting bit of info from the CDC..

“Unintentional overexertion” is one of the top three causes of injuries that land adults in the emergency room

https://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/pdf/ ... 2013-a.pdf


Be active but don't overdo it.

Since the next weigh in is right after Thanksgiving, I will probably not lose anything this week, altho I am trying. I am taking my own food with me to my son's house, and making Mary McDougall's pumpkin pie with vanilla sauce. I am also taking a big fruit salad with no added sugar. I don't miss the turkey at all. My family all think I am nuts, BUT they have seen the improvements in my neck pain situation and they cannot deny it. I even shot a few baskets with my grandson 2 weeks ago. Before McDougalling, I could not even go to my granddaughter's games after which he practices. Now I can run around on the court with him!

Any advice is appreciated. I will post again on Friday and look forward to others posting on this thread! Happy Holidays!!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family. I hope the weather is good enough where you are for a little 3 on 3...lol!

[amandamechele]

Amy, if you read The End of Overeating, you'll have to tell me what you think!

I definitely will. I have it sitting here on my bookshelf, but I seem to acquire books much faster than I can read them. Your endorsement has jumped it up the pile by a few books.

I am not officially doing the weigh-ins. I started salt/sugar/flour free (was already oil free) a couple weeks ago and will weigh myself Weds morning to see how it's going. I plan to eat one non-compliant item that night and I want to know how this is working scale-wise without that spike. But for Chef AJ's UWL program, she says don't weigh your food or yourself (or if you must, not more than once a month). So I'm trying to stick with that and just go by my clothes, which are definitely baggier.

I was feeling frustrated because my stomach seemed like it was getting larger not smaller but then I realized that the area above my belly button which has always had some fat is now almost flat so the area below my stomach that still has some serious roundness looks larger in contrast. But it is not actually increasing. So... fingers crossed. After I weigh myself on Weds I will not weigh myself again until right before Christmas.

Sonja

I'm happy you're stopping by whether weighing-in or not. Scales are not for everyone, but support is! That's exciting to hear that your clothes are getting baggier...that must feel sooo good.

Best wishes,
Amy

[amandamechele]

hey all
I'm back. After a crappy few weeks I'm trying to pull myself together and get on with feeling good. Does anyone else have any great reading material for losing a couple of pounds then gaining them every other week? I'm stuck in a cycle I cant break. I make good choices and lose weight. then because Ive lost weight I allow for foods I shouldn't be eating. Its depressing seeing the scales go down only to undo it all literally every other week.
I know you guys are finding this stuff equally as hard but I wondered if theres any inspirational reading out there I could try.

xxxxxx

Anna,

I'm sorry to hear that you're struggling. Sonja already mentioned my go-to expert when I'm feeling mentally exhausted by the effort involved...Dr. Lisle. Here is a link to the videos on his website. I find them helpful.

I've posted this link before, but just in case you haven't seen this, it is an interesting read about this type of struggle from Jeff Novick:
People and Non-Compliance

One other thing, have you read any of the success stories on the website? Or from any of the similar sites like Forks Over Knives, etc? To echo what others have said, like Star McDougaller NicoleS, time and adherence is key to getting to your goal. My experience has been that it will take both more time than you think and better adherence as well (this doesn't sound very inspirational, I know...). But in a slow downward shuffle you will get there. I was on and off this plan for many years before I noticed that the "on-plan" days began to outnumber the "off-plan" ones. That is when my weight began to go down and stay down. I still get stuck in a certain decade for long stretches of time (like this past year), but thankfully the weight doesn't creep up very much so that when I'm ready to goto battle again I don't have to start fresh. I can pick up where I left off and try to make some more headway.
Here is a link to my online journal: I've lost Count of How many times I've restarted. It's not a short read, and at times also doesn't feel very inspirational, but it is a very honest and personal account from someone who struggles but has managed to lose a bit more than 100 pounds (and I'm still going...).
Hmmm, that just gave me another idea for a link. This link will take you to The National Weight Loss Registry. It is a compilation of data from more than 10,000 people who have taken off at least 30 pounds and have managed to keep it off for at least a year. There are success stories and research findings and media articles. These people follow a variety of eating-patterns, styles, diets...whatever word you wish to use. But what I have noticed is that they find what works for them and stick to it, while losing weight and after the fact. My take away from reading their stories and the research is to know yourself.

I can hear that your weight cycling is frustrating you, but I think its great that you've identified a pattern. Now that you've named the problem and brought it into being you can address it. If I may ask, so that I can think about book recommendations, are you looking for an explanatory non-fiction book or more of an inspirational look at how others attained success with their goals?

I hope this week is going better and that you get to enjoy a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

Amy

[Suey51]

Greetings group mates and belated happy thanksgiving to those celebrating yesterday!

I'm posting a 0.8 pound loss this week. There have been a couple of emotionally tricky days, and I've tried to go for the least worst option when I give in to a craving. Trying to cut out alcohol has led to me having some off-program foods on those occasions when previously I would have had a glass of wine. Luckily, each day is an opportunity to learn and to get back on track and I'm grateful for that

Looking at the numbers over the last 10 weeks, my weight has hovered within a 2 pound range. While I would like to lose another 5 pounds, I'm comfortable with being here for a while. It's easy for me to obsess over the numbers and compliant eating, so I try to remind myself of how much weight I have already lost. If anyone had told me that I would lose 20 pounds in 6 months on this program, I would have been delighted but very surprised!

Thanks to everyone for sharing their stories and questions and to Amy for the support and signposts to resources. I couldn't have done this without you all

Love and positive thoughts to you all, Sue xxxx

[galooop]

Gained 1.4 LBS

Almost didn't want to post the gain, but I appreciate people's honest stories on this kind discussion board and think of it as a safe place to tell the truth.

That said, I'm wishing everyone a great weekend!
Chris

[zsilent1]

Greetings Group Mates,

Reporting loss of 1 lb this. Happy to say that I’ve been able to stay about 97% compliant through the funeral meals and also Thanksgiving. I made several veggie dishes that everyone enjoyed. I did celebrate a bit yesterday with some wine.

I contemplated having a bit of turkey yesterday but when I looked at the slices on the platter, well, it just looked so unappetizing. I said to my son in law, who was in the kitchen with me, “oh, I was gonna have a taste of turkey but it doesn’t look good to me.” He replied to me, “well don’t have any, you’ve been doing so good.” Wow, I thought just what I need to hear! “Thanks!” I told my son in law. Actually, the turkey looked like blubber meat to me. gotta laugh it was funny.

Hang in there fellow turtles! Slow and steady get us were we are going. Just enjoy the trip and don’t forget to smell the flowers!

Susan

[petmomful]

Hi everyone. I hope you had a wonderful holiday. Even tho my weight is up a bit from Wed, when I originally posted, because of Mary's Pumpkin Pie, which is wonderful, my weight for the entire week is a loss of 1.4#. I am very happy about that. My daughter-in-law took some of the potatoes and green beans out for me before she added the butter, so that was very nice of her. I also brought some of my own food. So I feasted like everyone else. I was disappointed in that only my daughter-in-law was willing to taste the pie I had brought, and she said it was a little bland. I thought it was wonderful.

Good luck to everyone for the week coming up. Thanks everyone for the tips and links; I will check them out.
I cannot remove problem foods from my home because my husband eats them. So I just have to be strong. One thing I did, tho was to buy him a large tool box with a lock. All candy and cupcakes he buys goes in there, and since I know I cannot get into it, I do not struggle with making choices. I just know it is off-limits. Whatever works, eh?

Oh, and I wanted to add that the vanilla sauce that goes with Mary's pie, is great when you pour it into little popsicle makers and freeze. I found that out because the recipe makes more than I needed, so that is what I did with the extra.

[CamiJb]

Happy Post Holiday to everyone!!
I am reporting a -4 for the last week, for a total of -8 in 2 weeks... It kind of reminds me of WW years ago when you always lost the most in the first 2 weeks then slid into the 1-2 pounds per week lol.. I think my body is adjusting to the monotone meals and the early ending time for my last meal.. It is still a very real struggle to stop eating by 5:30 but I know for me that is the biggest factor in my loss or gain... My body seems to just store everything after a point... And not being very active due to hip issues I have an even harder time...

The holiday went smoothly.. we had a blast and no one had issues with me having my plate of personally prepared and brought foods.. I was the only one that was not comatose after the meal!! And seriously there was nothing that attracted me to either the feelings or watching people mindlessly stuff themselves into misery!!

My man-mate expressed some surprise this morning when he mentioned leftovers and I told him they are all his... lol...we used to eat leftovers 3-5 times a day until everything was gone back in the day!! But I am right back on my potatoes, string beans, Brussels, and broccoli as of today

Have a great week-end everyone

[BeHealthy]

Hello! Who scheduled the weigh in day for the day after thanksgiving?!? LOL.

I'm being kind to myself and skipping the weekly weigh in. I had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoyed the semi-healthy foods I prepared and shared with family.

Today, I passed the certification exam I've been studying for for what seems like forever and rewarded myself with a giant margarita. I skipped the chips and salsa. #balanceandmoderation, lol.

Now, I'll get back to being healthy, sane, and more balanced in my approach to life and all of its challenges.

I hope you all survived the trials and tribulations of dealing with planning, self-regulation (or not), family (and all that comes with them), temptations, and feeling good about yourselves no matter what.

Onward and upward!