September 2019 McDougall Weigh In Thread

For those wanting to learn about and follow the McDougall Maximum Weight Loss Program. You can also join our monthly weigh-ins.

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, carolve, Heather McDougall

Re: September 2019 McDougall Weigh In Thread

Postby amandamechele » Fri Sep 27, 2019 9:14 pm

Hi All!

Thank you, again, for checking in this week and staying accountable to your goals!

Last week’s post touched on how some people will do best through keeping some wiggle room (while still aiming for very good adherence) in their MWL program in order to avoid the ego trap -i.e/ to not become ensnared in disappointment and feelings of failure due to not meeting internal expectations or perceived external expectations.

This week let’s focus on another winning strategy that may be a good route for others of you who consistently struggle to lose weight and keep it off. This is the Moderation is too Hard version of the program: aim for 100% adherence and eliminate personal trigger foods. Last week, longtime McDougaller Wildgoose shared her* most inspiring story MWL Works. She consulted with an expert and they determined that flexibility wasn’t working for her and it was time to go all in.
wildgoose wrote:I had tried Dr. Lisle's "slow fast way" before — aiming for 80% compliance on 6 "starch targets," focusing on the process rather than the outcome. This is a great idea, and it works for a lot of people, but that flexibility wasn’t good for me. I had to be close to or at 100% to stay on track. Dr. Lisle suggested I go all-in, eating very simple, minimally processed food: steamed vegetables and starches, some fruit, no salt, sugar, oil, or gluten. This is a suggestion he tailored for me (based on my symptoms and history), and it’s not necessarily for everyone.
Essentially, I've been doing — and am still doing— strict MWL. It worked. I now weigh 144.4 pounds. At 5’ 10.5”, that makes me a BMI of 20.4. I have lost 45 pounds since the 26th of March. I’m never hungry. I have no cravings. I have a simple, basic eating plan that I can stay with forever. I eat out very rarely, and my introverted self isn’t bothered at all by that. I can travel and stay compliant. My only issue now is to figure out what to do so I don’t lose a lot more weight and still stay well away from the Pleasure Trap. Nice problem to have.


Dr. McDougall discusses the reasons that moderation doesn’t work in his February 2006 Newsletter. Though his focus is slightly different (comparing regular diets to his regular program), it isn’t really all that different. If you are not having success with the MWL plan and are keeping certain foods in your life because (you enjoy them and) they are allowable on the regular McDougall program but know that they are an issue for you personally, it may be time to try a very very simple plan.
If you decide to do this, I highly recommend:
1) Cleaning out your pantry and fridge out before you begin. Get your home as free of temptations and triggers as possible.
2) Starting during a period of time where the external demands of your life are lower than average. You can choose your own period of time, but what I mean is: try to enhance your probability of success by choosing a period when you are not vacationing, swamped with client dinners at work or have back to back social events on the horizon. Plan for a period of about 3 weeks or so where you don’t eat out, minimize social events, and aren’t starting a new project at work or school. This will give you enough time to get out of the discomfort zone and adapt to the taste of your new simple style of eating while minimizing your cognitive load (which when too high can drip willpower away like a leaky faucet when you need it most: during those first few weeks of major behavioural change).
3) In spite of suggestion 2) above, there is no time like the present, so, if you feel ready just jump right in!

Focus on the McDougall Trapezoid, as VeggieSue has called it, for a few weeks and see where it takes you.
Image
Have a lovely week and I really do hope to see you all in the October group!

Amy XO.

(* I have made an assumption here, please forgive me - and correct me - if I am wrong. :) )

Here are the results for the fourth week in September:

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, October 4th, 2019

Total group loss reported in 2019: 400.32 pounds
September 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: 7.4 pounds
Total group loss in April 2019: 33.55 pounds
Total group loss in May 2019: 38.2 pounds
Total group loss in June 2019: 13.4 pounds
Total group loss in July 2019: 37.3 pounds
Total group loss in August 2019: 23.8 pounds
Total group loss in September 2019: 27.7 pounds


Week ending 09/27/2019: 8 participants reported a total loss of 8.4 pounds
---------------------------------------
Moonlight - 2.0
Squealcat - 0.6
---------------------------------------
Total gains: 2.6
--------------------------------------
Vegman - 2.2
Stillcrazy - 3.0
ShortnSweet - 2.1
AnnetteW - 0.2
Deweyswakms - 2.4
Sirdle - 1.1
---------------------------------------------
Total losses: 11.0
---------------------------------------------

Total group loss in September 2019: 27.7 pounds
Week ending 09/27/2019: 8 participants reported a total loss of 8.4 pounds
Week ending 09/20/2019: 11 participants reported a total loss of 1.7 pounds
Week ending 09/13/2019: 12 participants reported a total loss of 17.8 pounds
Week ending 09/06/2019: 12 participants reported a total loss of -0.2 pounds
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Re: September 2019 McDougall Weigh In Thread

Postby laurag » Sun Sep 29, 2019 11:25 am

Thanks Amy for asking how it's going, well not great but I am focusing on a bit of exercise and starch,starch,starch checklist in my head (Dr lisle) and hope to get back on a track towards getting some weight off , trying to keep simple meals without over eating, I guess I might be putting yummy sauces on my starches with sugar and salt so that might be derailing me. It's hard because I love hot sauce thinking of trying pico de gallo but I have to make that it's easier to grab siracha or salsa in bottle!
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Re: September 2019 McDougall Weigh In Thread

Postby moonlight » Mon Sep 30, 2019 9:04 am

amandamechele wrote:Moonlight - XO. Yep, keep up the good fight (I’m with you sister). Keep chipping away at your food related decisions, keep your goal on your mind and continue to attempt to create a set of circumstances that will make compliance to the guidelines as easy as they can be. You have been doing quite well of late, hovering around a recent low. Focus your efforts on keeping your home free of tempting items and navigating or avoiding social situations that consistently lead to choices that take you further from your goal. All things that you know and I say them in lieu of giving you a hug. They are meant the same way. (Related tangent: My husband and I talk about my helping words sometimes because he finds that I sometimes don’t react as empathically as he expects, when I really do feel like I’m being empathetic. It caused me to look up the word empathy to get an understanding of what he meant. One source identified 3 types of empathy - cognitive empathy (which seems to be where I skew according to him, especially when time crunched - it’s more rational perspective taking; think trying to help someone solve their problem), emotional empathy (which is probably what most of us think of when we imagine an empathetic person; someone who feels and understands the feelings someone else) and compassionate empathy (which is described as the best mix of the above two types of empathy). All that said, I hope I don’t come across as not understanding of the struggles. Sometimes I just feel the need to fill the space with some words just to let you know I care. :)


Hi, Amy, thank you for the encouraging words and support. I love what you shared about conversations with your husband regarding empathy. I doubt my husband could ever articulate his feelings around my empathy towards him. I don't feel like you come across as not understanding - just the opposite. I know you have been down a similar path and I always feel comforted by your comments. I really appreciate your presence here and your thoughtful approach for the Weigh-In thread. At times it is filled with anxiety from folks trying to do their best. All the frustrations... You always post something helpful. I feel like I had a meltdown this week after realizing my weight was continuing to go up. I whined quite a bit and wrote in my journal about my frustration. You and other supportive friends on this website came to my rescue! This website just continues to amaze me. We are so fortunate to have access to such a well-run and supported website. Thanks to Dr. McDougall for providing this resource!!

I am back on track. I'm finding my groove. :D
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Re: September 2019 McDougall Weigh In Thread

Postby wildgoose » Mon Sep 30, 2019 9:39 am

amandamechele wrote:Last week, longtime McDougaller Wildgoose shared her* most inspiring story MWL Works. She consulted with an expert and they determined that flexibility wasn’t working for her and it was time to go all in.

(* I have made an assumption here, please forgive me - and correct me - if I am wrong. :) )


Amy, I’ve always made a conscious attempt to make most of my posts gender-neutral, but you are correct. I am a Goose, a female of the species, age 64 as of next month, married to a wonderful supportive Gander.

Your comments on going “all in” if moderation isn’t working reflect exactly what I had to do. For me, it was easier in the long run to be strict and not to have to constantly re-neuroadapt after eating something off-plan. Once I got through the initial struggle (it was about 30 days to get used to no-added-salt, closer to 3-4 months for the fat cravings to go away), it got much more practical and functional. I was no longer constantly worrying/thinking/fighting myself about food. Dr. Lisle warns about an "extinction burst" — where a craving can pop up out of the blue even after many months of abstinence — but that’s manageable and goes away quickly AS LONG AS I DON’T FEED IT!

I always remember Star McDougaller ETeSelle’s tag line: “One day you'll wake up and realize that it no longer feels like "being strict." It just feels GOOD." She's right!

Goose
My story: MWL works!
How I determined my "goal weight"
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Re: September 2019 McDougall Weigh In Thread

Postby amandamechele » Tue Oct 01, 2019 11:47 pm

Marsha - Nice loss! Your diligence is shining through.

Annette - XO.

Sirdle - That’s a great average. Congrats on the loss this past weekend.

Laura - You can do a little experiment, as Dr. Lisle may suggest, and see what it’s like with no sauces; if you think that’s why you’re struggling. I could be wrong, but it would have to be a whole lot of hot sauce for that to be a problem. LOL. You would be hot stuff! There are sometimes some great low sodium, no added sugar salsas at your local grocer; you may have to check a few stores. Convenience is important, I agree with you. :)

Moonlight - Thank you, I sometimes worry about how I come across to others. This may be just one of the few areas in my life where I have sooo much experience feeling those feelings that I happen to fall into the compassionate side of empathy. LOL. My kids have told me that sometimes they just want a hug, not a Mommy Life Lecture...
I feel very fortunate too that Dr. McD has provided this special place to learn and share our frustrations while continuing to try and just do it like others who have reached their goals have. There will come a time when something will tip that motivation into higher gear and we will be ready because we never stopped trying. The big thing is getting as far away from the pleasure trap as possible, that way when personality and environment challenges appear there is a much better chance of breezing through them with our diet integrity intact! Best wishes this week, my friend.

Goose - Thanks for responding. :) I am so happy for you and glad that you found it within yourself to go all the way. Congratulations! ETeSelle is right and so are you!
Your comments and those of many successful McDougallers have me thinking of the following comment:
Image

It’s just as applicable to weight loss, as it is to health.

Here is a link to the October Weigh In Thread. I hope some of you will join me there!
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