November 2017 McDougall Weigh In Thread

[stillcrazy]

I gained .4 so I’m up a bit to 219.6. I made a mistake with cheese, crackers and candy, which I am embarrassed to say I actually went and bought specifically to eat off my program with. However, i had 6 good days this past week so I’m trying to keep it in focus. It was a definite emotional reaction to a cold, grey, boring afternoon. I binged on food and tv at the same time and i know there were many other choices i could have made. Just one bad afternoon! Vee

[BeHealthy]

I gained 2 pounds since last Friday's weigh-in.

I'm not one to make excuses so I won't go into detail about all the reasons why I've been choosing fat and sweet things. It's mostly stress, lack of sleep, and not much time to shop and prepare foods. I've been reading your posts when I have time and have been inspired by how dedicated this group is and also how imperfect we are, and yet we continue to plug away at eating healthy.

While I could be doing much better with my choices, I am going to be kind to myself about my gain and try to do better in the future. I know how to do this, I just don't always do it correctly.

I'm looking forward to next week's couple days off from my day job and will use the extra time to prepare for an exam I have next Friday. I am also looking forward to preparing and enjoying some delicious Thanksgiving foods.

Have great weeks!

[Sundog]

Hi friends,
Forgot to post this morning! I did weigh though! I’m happy to report that I lost 2.3 pounds this week! I’m very happy with this! I have not been able to exercise and I was not 100% compliant this week. I’m feeling stronger each day about becoming 100% compliant and feeling good about it! My plan for next week is sticking to the MWL plan 100% and start walking! I’m wishing each of you a blessed Thanksgiving! Enjoy your loved ones and embrace your healthy eating! You are so worth a healthy,happy and full life!

[CamiJb]

Hi everyone,
hope it's OK if I join your weigh in group?
I am making every effort to do things different this time to stay on track..
I feel like an elevator with my weight going up & down so much this year..And sadly I am ending the year around the same or higher than I started!!!
But just this past week I had an aha moment that came with the recent passing of my FIl
of whom I was his fulltime caretaker... I had a crying break down and finally filled my
man-mate in on just how serious my deadly eating disorders can be... He agreed to let
me create the household environment that I need for success and he also agreed to eat
what I eat here and do his own thing away from our home.. That is a huge help!
So I have cleaned the entire house of all trigger items, and can breathe easier on that account..
After that it was a simple matter of identifying my biggest issues and watching a bunch of Chef AJ, Dr Lyle and McDougal
and getting my head wrapped around this..
So this week I stopped everything sweet, including stevia, any sweet veggies/potatoes, fruit, etc...
I decided to go as monotone as possible with baked potatoes, broccoli. string beans, chickpeas, greens..
Ended my decade long affair with coffee, and zero eating after 5:30!!!
to say this week has been a struggle would be mild, but I am feeling powerful that I made it!
and I finally had a weigh-in that made me smile...{is there a specific weigh-in day?}
my total loss for this week was -4.8 <~~ I know it's mostly water and not eating at night, but I will take it!
looking forward to this journey and getting to know you all...

[amandamechele]

Werner - Enjoy your trip! I'll put you in for a zero this week.

Chris - Thanks for the link.

Sonja - Thanks so much for the book recommendation. Chef AJ is wonderful. Very inspiring and motivating. I'm so excited to hear about your huge life changes!

Svenja - I'm glad to see you back my friend, and hear you have passed your testing. Congratulations for that and your other small victory.

Sue - Thank you for the recipe links...that dry curry looks delicious, I'll definitely give it a try. One thing that I sometimes accidentally do with the Aloo Gobi is overcook the cauliflower...that's something else to watch out for. It definitely tastes better when the cauliflower isn't mushy. I also love chana masala and look forward to trying this version. I'm really liking this website, thanks again for posting it. I used to have a wonderful cookbook with some Northern Indian recipes that I can no longer find and can't remember the name for. If I ever remember it, I'll post it because it had delicious recipes. It was something like Cooking on the Ganges...okay I just googled it...it's called Cooking Along the Ganges. Great book!

Moonlight - Yay, wonderful dedication this week. What is your favourite recipe so far?

Susan - I'm so sorry to hear about the death in your family. All my best to your son-in-law and his family. Your Thanksgiving meal sounds delicious, and I hope no one gives you too much trouble. If you haven't seen it yet, Dr. Lisle has a great video lecture about this situation called Getting Along without Going Along. I truly hope everyone honours and supports your choices and sees how well they are working for you... and if they don't, just give it more time... eventually the changes in your health and appearance become undeniable and then most people tend to stop joking and start asking how you did it! But there will always be that one person...lol...and you've got the right idea: goodwill and humour.

Chris - A very big congratulations on your blood test results. That's fabulous news. Best wishes for the coming week.

Vee - Congratulations on 6 good days! I'm sorry you had a rough afternoon and am sending you a virtual hug. Bad days happen, and you can come back from this. Sometimes I binge-watch McDougall Webinars or lectures from Dr. Lisle's website when I'm trying to get myself back on track... kind of like an at-home immersion program...lol. You've got it right...just one bad afternoon.

BeHealthy - Beautiful thoughts and post! I wish you much sleep and much less stress this week. Enjoy your days off and best wishes for your exam prep. Let us know how it goes!

Sundog - Wonderful loss and I'm glad to hear that you are feeling much stronger with regards to sticking with the program. It can be difficult sometimes, but its so worth it. I hope you also have a wonderful Thanksgiving, next week, and get to enjoy time with your family.

CamiJb - It's definitely OK, welcome! You have had a tempestuous week, I am sending you my condolences and felicitations. Wow, just wow. You are off to a great start and I love hearing about all of the changes you have made in order to be more successful this time around....and how wonderful that your partner (room-mate?) is completely on board...he's a keeper! Chef AJ is always saying if its in your house its in your mouth, and she is so very right about this. Good for you for taking control of your environment, it will make things so much easier (but I'm not saying it will be easy...that would devalue your valiant efforts this week). Looking forward to getting to know you too!

[Determined Diane]

Recent graduate from Immersion class. Beginning weight 214.2 on 11/6 , 210.8 weight on 11/11 and yesterday (11/17/17) weigh in 206.2. This week lost in pounds is 4.6!

[katie3]

Sorry couldn't weigh in yesterday because of crazy plumbing issues at home! All fixed now, though. This week I'm down to 118.2 (down 1.7 lbs from last Friday). Still moving in the right direction!

Amy, the Alan Goldhammer eating decorations at a wedding story--ha! What dedication, indeed! I've been devouring some more of my pumpkin decorations this past week and created pumpkin mash to eat with meals.

I still have two full-sized pumpkins to go throughout November and December. I've never felt so connected to the winter seasons

Also, I'm passed my original goal of 120 lbs (yay!) and now my new goal is two-fold. First, maintenance with healthy habits and healthy vegan food. Second, 115 lbs on the scale. My ultimate goal is 110, but I'm keeping my focus narrow for now.

Happy weekend, all!

[Reni]

I'm at a 0 loss this week. This is completely my fault. I started out great cooking from the MWLP book for three days, but quickly allowed myself to eat junk after.

Today is a new day and I'm going to eat right! By the way, my favorite recipes out of the MWLP book are the Mushroom Barley Soup and the Garbanzo Stew (made in the slow cooker). I may have to restructure how I cook out of the MWLP book, because three meals every day is a bit much!

Thanks for all the support here.

-Reni

[Guitarcorbin]

This week I weighed 242.5 lbs. I forgot to post last week. I’ll gladly take 7.5 pounds down my first 2 weeks.

[Purposive]

3 pound weight loss = 214 (started October 4 at 238)

Managed to be VICTORIOUS passing up lots of goodies at work, but slipped a bit when it came to home stocked dried fruit, as well as fresh fruit. It was those in-season mandarins, fuyu persimmons and slow baked yams (talk about a pre Thanksgiving feast!).
Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday and I'm looking forward to a great day at work because I don't have to plan or cook, hubby is invited out to a great neighbor's feast (since daughter and family are really sick). Can't beat setting yourself up for success, right?
My greatest happiness and thankfulness this year is for all the information that is available from the McDougall research foundation. I actually shared the website with a very healthy-minded, proper weight, third-degree black belt, 68 year old female hospital patient yesterday. Guess what? Six months ago she had a bilateral carotid endarterectomy as a result of an 80% blockage on both sides and she had NEVER heard of McDougall or Forks Over Knives! She had read about decreasing certain fats from red meat and had done that, but not much else. She spent three hours reading through the McDougall website and had shared it with four individuals by the time I discharged her from the hospital. I felt soooo happy just listening to her excitement. And to think I can tell a poor patient that they don't have to pay anything for the information! So many times you find a web page that leads you down a long trail of reading that comes to a dead end unless you buy their product- makes me so angry.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my new found sojourners that are helping me on so many different levels towards being healthier. I read each post with wonder and excitement. Blessings until we weigh in again.

[Svenja]

heya!

Thank you for the congratulations ... I am so happy that I reached this milestone !!!

I restart this week with 250 lbs !!! This is 3 pounds more than my last weigh in here.
Was up to 254 the last weeks.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Svenja.

[amandamechele]

Good Evening Everyone,

Thank you for checking in this week, there were many great losses and many great thoughts. I'm so glad we are all learning together what works for each of us individually. We know the program works when followed, but the tricky part can be following it consistently.
This week could prove to be tricky for my American friends celebrating Thanksgiving. I'm glad to hear that many of you are planning ahead by deciding what you will eat in advance, and preparing it all ahead of time. That is how you will get through the holiday weekend with your goals intact. I suggest keeping containers of food that you prepared for yourself always available, especially if you are celebrating around many tempting items. You may end up overeating a potato or some fruit, but you will feel so much better and very proud of yourself if you are able to limit yourself to on-plan items.


I was taking a look through the McDougall Program for Maximum Weight-Loss book and thought I'd try to put together a festive meal from the recipes listed in there. Here is what I came up with:

Starter:
Tangy Garbanzo Dip and crudités pg 218
"Cheese Sauce' pg 219, served with fresh salsa pg 217 and fresh corn tortillas baked crispy

Salad:
Coleslaw pg 212
Spinach Salad pg 202

Soup:
Creamy Garlic Soup pg 237

Mains:
5 Grain Rice and Vegetables pg 253
Plain Baked potatoes (and offer more of the above salsa and cheese sauce for topping)
Squashy Black Beans pg 268

Vegetable:
Green Bean Salad pg 243 (I think I would serve this warm with sautéed onions as a veggie side instead of as a salad).

Dessert:
Breakfast Apple Rice pg 224
Cut fruit

(I considered looking up links for each of the recipes here on the website but then got a little lazy...here's a link to some photos of the recipes - just in case anyone is interested. Amy's Flickr. Moderators - if these need to be removed please let me know. )

I'd love to hear what you all end up preparing and how the weekend goes. Best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday celebration!

Amy XO

PS. Take a look at this success story about McDougaller June Ziegler and her battle with food addiction.

Here are the results for the third week in November:

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, November 24th, 2017

Total group loss reported in 2017: 729.26 pounds

November 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: 59.6 pounds
Total group loss in September 2017: 41.9 pounds
Total group loss in October 2017: 41.7 pounds
Total group loss in November 2017: 57.4 pounds

Week ending 11/17/2017: 16 participants reported a total loss of 20.7 pounds
---------------------------------------
Suey51 - 0.4
Galooop - 1.8
Stillcrazy - 0.4
BeHealthy - 2.0
Svenja - 3.0
---------------------------------------
Total gains: 7.6
--------------------------------------
Werner1950 - 0.0
Moonlight - 3.4
Zsilent1 - 1.0
Sundog - 2.3
CamiJb - 4.8
Determined Diane - 4.6
Katie3 - 1.7
Reni - 0.0
Guitarcorbin - 7.5
Purposive - 3.0
amandamechele - 0.0
---------------------------------------------
Total losses: 28.3
---------------------------------------------

Total group loss in November 2017: 57.4 pounds
Week ending 11/17/2017: 16 participants reported a total loss of 20.7 pounds
Week ending 11/10/2017: 14 participants reported a total loss of 19.2 pounds
Week ending 11/03/2017: 23 participants reported a total loss of 17.5 pounds

[amandamechele]

Good Evening Everyone,

Thank you for checking in this week...

Oops...It was evening when I originally wrote this...

[amandamechele]

Determined Diane - Welcome and I love your username! Great loss and we're happy to have you with us.

Katie - Yum...pumpkin mash sounds interesting. Do you spice it up at all or just eat it as is? LOL eating in season can definitely mean getting creative when you have lots and lots of a single ingredient. If you have kids that will try these, a favourite recipe in our home is Mary McDougall's Pumpkin Muffins. A great big congratulations on reaching your first goal. Fantastic!!

Reni - Sorry to hear about the tough week. It started out great. Thank you for the recipe recommendations...I almost included that soup recipe in my mock Thanksgiving meal above. Three different meals a day from the cook book is a huge commitment. Scaling back sounds like a good idea, keep things more manageable so cooking doesn't take over your day.

GuitarCorbin - Yes! Good to hear that you're still in this. Congratulations on your loss.

Purposive - Your Thanksgiving plans sound like a well-planned strategy for success. I hope your daughter and her family feel better soon. Congratulations on recognizing the right person, at the right time, to share this information with. I hope she does well! I agree with you, I'm so thankful for all of this information available at no cost from the McDougalls. Blessings to you as well.

Svenja - Welcome back. I hope you will have some time for you now that many of your exams are done! Best wishes this week.

[OOnaOwl]

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!