April 2018 McDougall Weigh In Thread

[landog]

Landog, I'm so very sorry for the loss of your mother. And, your best friend's mother. Amazing they both departed the same week and so close in age. Were the mother's friends too?

Yes, my best friend's mother and my mom were friends while growing up. Our grandmothers knew each other and helped each other out during depression days. Our kids know each other. Four generations!

[JeffN]

To Weigh or Not To Weigh?

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=57741

In Health
Jeff

[victw]

To Weigh or Not To Weigh?

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=57741

In Health
Jeff

Thanks Jeff for weighing in.

From the first study Jeff referenced
" In trials which included accountability there was significantly greater weight loss (p = 0.03)."

"Accountability is defined as creating in a person the sense that someone other than themselves is observing and cares whether they weigh themselves or not."

Thanks everyone for providing the accountability aspect.

Vic

[landog]

To Weigh or Not To Weigh?

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=57741

In Health
Jeff

Thanks, Jeff!

-lamScaleMonkey

I mean
-landog

[Sundog]

Weight 226.3 down 1.8 lbs

Happy Friday everyone!

I had my laser ablation yesterday and all went well. Today I’m swollen from all the meds and stuff! I’m just so happy to have this procedure behind me now. My weight was from Thursday morning as I knew today’s weight would not be accurate due to surgery/ procedure. I have been increasing my veggies and eating a big salad everyday. Trying to move each day as much as I can even if it’s just around the house. My weight is finally moving down and I know it’s from eating veggies first before starches, legumes and fruit. I’m not very hungry eating this way but I’m getting tons of nutrients and yummy whole Foods.
Wishing you all a healthy and nutritious week!
Best,
Sundog

Landog, I’m sorry for the loss of your mother and her best friend.Sending you comforting thoughts.

[Naomi123]

Down 1 lb this week.

[amandamechele]

Sue - Best wishes my friend. I'll miss hearing from you each week, but am so thrilled with how you've done. I appreciate all of your contributions to these weigh-in threads, as do many people.

Landog - It sounds like you were raised by a wonderful woman and I'm very very sorry for your loss. Kindness and strength must be heritable.

Chris - I'm sorry to hear that you've been sick, but very pleased that you've had such a good week with adherence to the guidelines. Congratulations.

Moonlight -

Vic - Good loss for the week and with your month long trend . I'm glad you are working towards being prepared. Having premade rice and potatoes, chopped veggies and fruit is a very important habit to develop. It will be the difference between long term success and struggling. The veggies are delicious and important, but don't forget the starch!!


Jobet - Good effort this week. Slowly and through experimentation you will find what works for you. I have found that Jeff Novick's forum provides many clues as to where best to focus your efforts.

I've just opened page 2 of the thread and see that Jeff has weighed-in. Darn...now I'll actually have to think of something to write about tomorrow. Ha!
Please take a look at his link, To Weigh or Not to Weigh, there are many references provided within it which expand and support his guidance (a portion of which I've re-posted below):

My recommendation, if you are tying to lose weight, weighing yourself once a week can be a good idea. On average, most people will lose about 1-2% of their weight per week. So for anyone that is 150-300 lbs, this is about 1.5 to 6 lbs a week. This means that the more you have to lose, the more you will lose each week, which will slow down over time. If you want to weigh yourself every day, use a rolling average.

If you have lost weight and trying to keep it off, and following a consistent healthy diet, the odds of you have daily fluctuations and/or any dramatic fluctuations is dramatically reduced. Therefore, weighing yourself more frequently can prove helpful in seeing, and catching, any upward trend before it gets out of hand.

Doing this, allows you to see that you are on track and watch your trends. If you are gaining, (or not losing), better to find out sooner then later. In addition, while not all weight changes or fluctuations are fat (and most are due to fluid/water), it is also good to see these as you can see the impact of what you are eating, For instance, you will be able to see the impact of anything that is high in salt and the impact of any monthly cycles on your weight fluctuations. If you went out to eat at a restaurant and gained 2-3 lbs, you know that food was very high in salt.

In the research and in my personal experience, this is the number one reason successful long-term “losers” weight themselves frequently, They have worked so hard to lose the weight, they want to catch any upward trend ASAP.

Me? I am a 6th Degree Black Belt Scale Monkey and proud of it.

I weigh myself every day and have for decades, While my weight has fluctuated little over the years, I like to keep an eye on it and I like to track things.

However, if there is any day-to-day or week-to-week fluctuations, I know why and I don’t let it impact my mental or psychological state or let it decide whether I will have a good day or not.

In Health
Jeff

Sundog - I'm so glad to hear that your surgery/procedure went well. I'm excited for the possibilities that will open up for you now that your leg won't be an issue. I'm also glad to hear that sequencing your meals is having such a positive effect!


Naomi - Hi and welcome and good loss this week!

[Suey51]

Oh landog, I'm very sorry for your losses, and so close together. They sound like wonderful women. Sending you condolences and comforting thoughts.

Thanks Jeff for the wise words on weighing, very timely as I grapple with weight maintenance!

Moonlight , Jobet, Amy - thanks for your very kind words. I will miss you all, but hopefully will bump into you elsewhere on the forum and will drop in here to keep up with the news and top up on inspiration and advice!

Moonlight - thanks for the suggestion, that sounds like a great idea! I am a little worried about what will happen without the accountability so that would help

With apologies to my late Dad for the 'estuary English', knowing that I'll have to fess up to a gain this week has been 'doing my head in' even though I am still (only just!) within my target weight range. I'm heading away on holiday in a couple of weeks so will be trying to regain that 'buffer' before I go. There will be some more challenging eating occasions while I'm away so I want to not stress about messing up the numbers here for a while and test myself to see if I can manage to maintain without the accountability of weighing in here each week. It feels like learning to ride a bike when you first take off those stabilisers!

On 12th May I'll be celebrating my 1st year of eating McDougall-y, although obv. not with a vegan brownie (see here for why) and hope to be within my target weight range then.

Best wishes to everyone xx

[Svenja]

Good Morning!

I report zero loss this week!

I am quite happy with it. Was a little up during the week and now back to a little less of last weeks weigh in.
Still very excited that I lost 22 lbs (10 kg) since Nov./Dec. But also been going strong with daily exercise, it's great for my posture and feeling good.

After an Easter bonfire with lot's of snow (and umbrellas over the BBQ) we have now the most amazing sunshine and mild temperatures. It's great. I planted the first flowers outside yesterday. We might still get some cold during the night, but I hope they will survive And I put the first seeds (squash and zucchini) into the soil ... I have only a tiny garden but so happy to be back out there!

I was off work this week. It was amazing. Still saw a few patients and had tons of stuff to do (didn't get half of what I wanted done) but it was so nice to go at a slow pace and sleep in in the mornings. It made my blood pressure happy too

Have a great weekend!
Svenja.

[kirstykay]

Good morning everyone! I am reporting a 0 pound loss/gain for the week. However, I am pleased with my week because I got badly off course over Easter week and actually gained several pounds when all was said and done. So, the fact that I'm back at zero this week shows me that I can recover quickly and not allow it to derail me. This is a big win for me.

Jeff, thanks for posting the thread on "to weigh or not to weigh." I find your perspective very helpful.

Landdog, I am deeply sorry for your loss. Your tribute to your mom was beautiful and inspirational. My thoughts and prayers are with you as you grieve this amazing woman.

These past few months, my weight has been easily fluctuating up and down several pounds, with no real progress being made. I've been hovering right around the 200 pound mark-a few pounds above to a few pounds below since the beginning of the year. It's no mystery why. When I'm honest with myself, I can directly correlate it to my adherence to the program, which is what really matters anyway. I'm not sure what is keeping me from being consistent, but I do know that I am continuing to figure things out and press on. I feel like I'm making progress and that feels good.

I appreciate being able to come here to check in whether it's been a good week or a bad week. I always find encouragement and inspiration that keeps me grounded and moving forward. So thanks to you, Amy, ad everyone who continues to report their ups and downs here. I'm constantly learning from all of you.

[moonlight]

I forgot to post my weight loss. I'm down 1 pound this week.

[amandamechele]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you for checking in! It's fun to take quick peeks at this thread throughout the day on Fridays and Saturdays to hear how each of you are doing.

Even though many of you will have already read through it, and given it some thought, I still want to reflect a bit on Jeff's To Weigh or Not to Weigh post. He had noticed a lot of talk amongst us, and other forums and the Facebook groups, about the alternative strategy of monthly weighings and wanted to present some evidence.

I will admit, I opened the links in the thread to the PubMed article-listings to check out the abstracts that Jeff included. I then felt the need to begin opening some of the related material listed in the sidebar under Similar Articles. Titles like Is frequent Self-Weighing associated with poorer body satisfaction? or Self-Weighing frequency is associated with weight gain prevention over 2 years among working adults...and on and on...

So the scientific literature suggests that weighing yourself on a regular basis, as a part of other interventions, could improve weight-loss outcomes. The articles presented also suggest that there were no adverse psychological effects over the course of the studies associated with self-weighing.

So what's a McDougaller to do? Weigh daily? Weekly? Monthly?

Jeff's specialty is pointing us in the direction of what research has shown to be effective at a group level. He is presenting to us what works best for most people. This is beneficial; this can help us make less false starts down incorrect paths. This can help us chose the best experiments to do on ourselves. This can save us a lot of time. But it is not the last word on what will work best for you. Know yourself. Don't be afraid to do something a bit different* and don't be afraid or embarrassed to change course when you find something isn't working as you had hoped.
Though we are aiming for a certain outcome, (fantastic weight-loss or enviable bio-markers indicative of great health) we have to remember that for long-term success it's the proper process that makes that outcome possible. Choose the process that you are capable of comfortably doing over and over again. If weighing yourself stresses you out, do it less often, while understanding that maybe less accountability may slow your results. If weighing yourself daily keeps you on the straight and narrow, than do that. As Jeff has said to me Everyone has to do what works for them.

Have a lovely week, on or off the scale!

Amy XO

PS. Those linked threads from as long ago as 2006, in Jeff's post, are sooo full of interesting information. I'd never dug that far back to read them. It is so worth the time: I am gaining weight help! and food really unlimited??and The "muscle weighs more than fat" idea and Undereating and the metabolism and Which BMI measurement?

*By do something different I am not in any way referring to the MWL guidelines. I will assume we are all here because we agree that eating a McDougall MWL style diet is the best course of action. I am merely referring to adjuvant strategies.


Here are the results for the first week in April:

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, April 13th, 2018

Total group loss reported in 2018: 168.6 pounds

April 2018 Weight Loss Group :: Monthly Weigh-In Results
Total group loss in January 2018: 54.7 pounds
Total group loss in February 2018: 49.3 pounds
Total group loss in March 2018: 52.5 pounds
Total group loss in April 2018: 12 pounds

Week ending 04/06/2018: 11 participants reported a total loss of 12 pounds
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
Total gains:
--------------------------------------
Suey51 - 0.0
Landog - 2.0
Galooop - 3.2
Victw - 1.8
Jobet - 0.0
Sundog - 1.8
Naomi123 - 1.0
Svenja - 0.0
Kirstykay - 0.0
Moonlight - 1.0
amandamechele - 1.2
---------------------------------------------
Total losses: 12
---------------------------------------------

Total group loss in April 2018: 12 pounds
Week ending 04/06/2018: 11 participants reported a total loss of 12 pounds

[amandamechele]

Sue - Most definitely!

Svenja - Wonderful, 22 pounds down, I knew you were doing well but hadn't added it up. Congratulations! What kind of flowers did you plant? Which type of squash? Less hours working and more gardening will do wonders for the blood pressure, I'm sure. Have a lovely week.

Kirsty - Big win! I'm so glad that you keep persisting, the weight loss will come as the adherence gets more consistent. We are all learning and growing together....er well, maybe learning and shrinking...LOL.

Moonlight - Yay! Best wishes this week.

[Rosey]

Hi Everyone haven't been on here in years I let oils slip back into my foods and gained a lot of what I had lost thankgoodness not even close to all of it but I'm back to get rid of it and more. Was 305lbs when I weighed Friday Morning. Told myself I was never going back over that 300 mark when I got under it but alas I have.

[amandamechele]

Hi Everyone haven't been on here in years I let oils slip back into my foods and gained a lot of what I had lost thankgoodness not even close to all of it but I'm back to get rid of it and more. Was 305lbs when I weighed Friday Morning. Told myself I was never going back over that 300 mark when I got under it but alas I have.

Hi Rosey!

Welcome, we're happy to have you join us. I empathize with your experience, I've been there too. But, we are here now and ready to get back to healthy eating!

Best wishes as you navigate the first week hurdles, like remembering how calorie density works and getting through the cravings caused by The Pleasure Trap.

Let me know if you have any questions, and please feel free to post anytime, we'd love to hear how you're doing.

Amy