March 2019 McDougall Weigh In Thread

[Ellen N]

I am down 1# this week, weigh 160. Looking forward to breaking into the 150’s as that will be a psychological lift.

[amandamechele]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you so much for checking in. I was wondering how do each of you go about prepping your food for the week? Do you play by ear? Is your fridge nice and orderly and filled with healthy choices in Tupperware? Somewhere in between? Being prepared by having lots of pre-made food available is one of the best strategies for success.
I did a whole bunch of food prep today. I’ve been finding the week days are a bit too busy to do it then.
Wanna know what I made? (For those that know me...it’s all the same stuff as usual...LOL. I’ve become a creature of habit)



In the jars are 3 Bean Chili, Moroccan Red Lentil Soup (minus the orzo), and an adapted version of this Chana masala with no added oil.
I also chopped melons, celery, cucumber, red pepper, and peeled carrots (because I don’t really like those baby ones). The first batch of super garlic-y hummus* I made this morning didn’t make it to the end of the day, so that’s batch number 2. Most of the potatoes and watermelon also didn’t make it to the photo either (those hungry kids!). There’s brown rice and white in the cookers and I also made oil-free whole wheat pita chips for the rest of the family.
Tomorrow I’ll make cabbage soup* and potato leek soup*. The only problem with the potato leek soup is that it doesn’t freeze well (it becomes a solid mass of starch and just doesn’t taste the same) so if I make it, I have to eat it all. If the kids don’t feel like having any, then it’s 4 days of potato leek soup, twice a day...LOL.

Here are some preparation and meal planning resources from the McDougall’s:

Planning Meals with Mary McDougall
Kitchen Essentials with Mary McDougall
McDougall Made Easy: Practical Health lessons, Cooking Demonstrations
From the recipe section of the website: Feature Recipe Videos
And because we all need a little more Dr McD in our lives: Dr. McDougall - Shares Words of Wisdom on starting MWL

What are all of you preparing for the week? Do you have any favourite recipes that you’d like to share?

Have a lovely week and I wish you all the best.

Amy XO

*The hummus is from Dr. Esselstyn’s Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. There is no sanctioned version that I could find online, so no link, my apologies. The cabbage soup and potato leek soup are just my own simple recipes.


Here are the results for the first week in March:

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, March 8th, 2019

Total group loss reported in 2019: 210.77 pounds

March 2019 Weight Loss Group :: Monthly Weigh-In Results
Total group loss in January 2019: 140.53 pounds
Total group loss in February 2019: 78.64 pounds
Total group loss in March 2019: -8.6 pounds

Week ending 03/01/2019: 15 participants reported a total loss of -8.6 pounds
---------------------------------------
Idgie - 13.0
Rosey - 7.7
Michele613 - 2.0
---------------------------------------
Total gains: 22.7
--------------------------------------
Anne57 - 0.0
Linda Dorrill - 1.0
Sirdle - 1.5
Anelson108 - 2.2
Fiftysix - 0.0
Dpascar - 0.0 - on vacation
Belana - 2.0
Humberto - 1.8
Moonlight - 0.0
Frymom - 0.6
Ellen N - 1.0
Amandamechele - 4.0
---------------------------------------------
Total losses: 14.1
---------------------------------------------

Total group loss in March 2019: -8.6 pounds
Week ending 03/01/2019: 15 participants reported a total loss of -8.6 pounds

[sirdle]

Hi Amy!

What a timely post!

I have always used a 'play it by ear' approach, but I'm discovering that if I want to stick with this, then I must have a more structured plan and build some deep-seated habits.

Rather than focus on each meal, I'm starting to look at how meals work together. (Maybe use 1/2 head of cabbage for this recipe, but then the other 1/2 head in a that recipe.)

I've also been looking at Cronometer. If I just eat the foods I like, then I'm always low in certain vitamins and minerals. So, I've been branching out and trying new foods (Swiss chard, kale, cabbage, lentils, split peas, sweet potatoes, turnips, jicama).

I love starches... but I'm finding that if I mix in some non-starchy vegetables at each meal (like, maybe 1/2 of my plate?) then my Cronometer vitamin/mineral profile magically normalizes and I get all the vitamins and minerals I need.

Amazing.

Somebody should tell Jeff Novick about this.

On the menu for this week is:

Breakfast
Oatmeal
Berries
Flax seeds

Lunch
Salad -- romaine, tomatoes, celery, zucchini, bell peppers, cucumber, garbanzo beans, peperoncini, mandarin oranges
Jambalaya -- rice, red beans, onions, bell pepper, celery, kidney beans, mushrooms, tomatoes

Dinner
Roasted potatoes w/ BBQ sauce -- Cathy Fisher recipe
Spicy Beans and Greens -- Cathy Fisher recipe - onion, garlic, cannellini, Brussels sprouts, kale, Swiss chard

Snacks
Mandarin Oranges
Blueberries
Corn

The prepared meals only last until Wednesday or Thursday... I'll have to improvise for Thursday or Friday.

Improvised dinner is easy... in a pinch I eat broccoli and brown rice... or pasta with some Walnut Acres marinara sauce.

Lunches are always the toughest to improvise.

Cheers,

[amandamechele]

Belana - That is so nice of you to clear the alleyway. It seems to me you have some good momentum going too. Social situations will be tough for many, keep doing your best. If you are able to suggest locations when eating out, or bring your own food when at friend’s you may find it a bit easier. I’m sorry to hear that you’ve hurt your wrist, hopefully it gets better for your birthday celebrations. Have you planned anything?

Humberto - You are right to thank yourself for feeding yourself real food. Our choices are our own and it is you who control your progress. Congratulations on a solid loss this week.

Moonlight - Woo hoo! Craving healthy food is great. I hope this next week isn’t so crazy for you.

Chris - It is an important realization that progress doesn’t take perfection. Just a whole bunch of good choices. I hope things are going okay for you and I’m glad you’re feeling encouraged.

Ellen - You are so close! Good choices and good luck this week will get you there.

Sirdle - LOL, it is amazing - I’ll let you explain to Jeff how well this works... ha! Your menu looks great...very coincidentally I bought all of the ingredients for Cathy Fisher’s BBQ sauce today, I just ran out of time to make it. How do you like it? Does it taste anything like commercial sauces? My prepared stews can last the week, but I have the same issues as you with other foods. I need to chop fruit and veggies twice a week to have enough and sometimes it’s hard to find time, so the end of my weeks tend to be very starch and bean heavy.

[sirdle]

...very coincidentally I bought all of the ingredients for Cathy Fisher’s BBQ sauce today, I just ran out of time to make it. How do you like it? Does it taste anything like commercial sauces?

Hard to say. I don't seem to have much in the way of taste buds and my sense of smell is pretty weak. When I cook, I have to ask my wife how everything tastes because most things taste good to me. This is good in that I never have any cravings and I can sit around a bunch of people snacking on junk food and not be tempted, but it is bad when I'm trying to modify a recipe for a pot luck.

I've tried many different commercial barbeque sauces. They all taste fine, but seem very different. The last kind I bought was very watery... which was disconcerting. Cathy's has a dark red color, which I like. The consistency is about like ketchup. Simmering the sauce deepens the flavors (and allows you to control the thickness). The taste is a little bit tomatoey and a little bit tangy. I tried it on my hash browns yesterday and it went very well.

To someone coming from a SAD background, though, I wouldn't recommend thinking of it as a barbeque sauce (because it creates hard-to-fill expectations). Instead I'd think of it as a new type of tangy sauce. Make it. Taste it. And then figure out what you'd like to have it on.

My prepared stews can last the week, but I have the same issues as you with other foods. I need to chop fruit and veggies twice a week to have enough and sometimes it’s hard to find time, so the end of my weeks tend to be very starch and bean heavy.

Good to know I'm not the only one.

Cheers,

[Humberto]

Hola and Hello and thank you for the kind words.
Just read today's daily emails and wanted to share, they seem timely.

Abraham / Hicks
The "devil" is a fictional character made up (and perpetuated) by insecure humans who want to control other insecure humans. There’s a lot of power in fear, isn’t there? There shouldn’t be, because, really, what fear is, is power-less. If you understood Source, as we do, you would never fashion such fiction because there is only Well-Being that flows from that which is your Source.

Don Miguel Ruiz
When the relationship between me and the body works well, all our relationships improve. We become more generous, without trying. We don’t have to twist ourselves into shapes to please other people. We don’t need lies or alibis.


All the best to all,
Humberto

[Lorna1954a]

I am sorry once again for the late weigh in. I lost 1 lb last week.

Lorna

[alishana]

Sorry again for the late weigh in, I'm 0,5 down !

This pasts weeks, it has been very hard to me to stick to the program. But it's a march already and I'm just going to do it with you all !

Thank you so much amandachele for taking time to upload photos, it's so amazing to see all this amazing fresh food.
With work and school, I discovered that I need to plan a bit more my meals if I want to be successful and stress-free. What I like to do, it's making larger quantities of 3 or 4 dishes and eat them during a few days. When I'll be cooking, I'll upload some photos too !

[amandamechele]

Sirdle - You’re living the dream. I wish I thought everything tasted equally as good, but I can see how it could be limiting to any dreams you may have of becoming a Chef or food taster. Hee hee. I agree with you about having to re-label things in order to not have preconceived notions about them.

Humberto - I am really loving the DMR!

Lorna - No worries...you made it, and for that I’m thrilled. I’ll add you to the tally. How is your mom?

Alishana - Nice loss, I’ll add you to the tally too. I’m glad you are joining us for March. The more the merrier! I look forward to seeing some of your photos. I’ll be posting more this coming week because I’ll be at the McDougall 3-Day Program. Making large quantities of food and freezing the excess is a great way to always have great choices ready and waiting.

[sirdle]

Sirdle - You’re living the dream. I wish I thought everything tasted equally as good, but I can see how it could be limiting to any dreams you may have of becoming a Chef or food taster. Hee hee. I agree with you about having to re-label things in order to not have preconceived notions about them.

Yes, my future as a food taster is in doubt but otherwise I feel very fortunate.

Can't wait to see your pictures of the 3-day!

Cheers,

[Rosey]

Those pictures of food look yummy.

[Dpascar]

Good morning all, big milestone hit this morning. 40 pounds since November 4! I am down 2.5 this week to 189.5. Have a great day.

[anne57]

...

[moonlight]

I'm still at 173lbs. No loss.... I've had a love affair with crackers!! Somehow I need to break it off.

[anelson108]

Weigh-in today: 193.8
Last week: 194.2
Results: 0.4 pound loss
Total loss (since joining MWL): 10.8
Goal weight: 150 pounds (5' 6" height)
NOTE: I cooked and ate a 'normal SAD' Sunday dinner with my family which is why my loss was slight this week.