February 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Thread

[Stormy]

-4.0 lbs, so I'm back on track.

What went well?
I'm getting plenty of beans and non-starchy vegetables in salads and soups.

A challenge I faced:
Letting tofu and nuts creep back into my diet, even in sparing amounts as condiments, sparked my appetite for more of these. That was a mistake i made earlier in the week, so I had to power through some cravings.

[Butterfly043]

Good Morning,

I lost another pound this week, weighing in this morning at 120 lbs. I think I've finally got back on track after being hungry all the time. I'm learning a lot about myself in addition to the weight loss, so that's definitely a win/win situation for me. I'm only 5' even, and not sure exactly where my body is going to be the happiest and decide to settle in, but I'm shooting for my next goal to be 115.

Down 1 lb. - now at 120 lbs.

[deweyswakms]

Good morning,

01/24/20 weight is 184.0
01/31/20 weight is 182.4
02/07/20 weight is 183.4
02/14/20 weight is 183.4
02/21/20 weight is 181.2 -2.8 loss

Well, I was 'surprised' when I weighed this morning. This is my biggest loss in any week since I started in July 2019. After being frustrated the last 3 weeks, I took a hard look at the MWL checkpoints. #1, start every meal with soup/salad jumped out at me. I have not been doing that. So I decided to try that. Breakfast would include salad greens AND oatmeal. Dinner was veggie chili over rice AND salad greens. I made a delicious 'fast food' skillet meal (ala Jeff N) served with rice and salad greens. I don't know if that's the key to this week's big loss but I have been probably 98% compliant on everything else.

I am 1.2 #s away from my first goal. In July at 197# it seemed a faraway goal. Who says weight gain is inevitable as one ages?
Keep on keeping on. Marsha

[deweyswakms]

Weight Change: -1.1 lbs.

It was extremely challenging diet wise to have my parents staying with me for 10 days.

No kidding! Bravo for hanging tough and true.

[LennieP]

weight 158#

up 2#

total weight change +1#

I have been derailed by vacation and return but will be back on it!

[lbell]

Weight this week: Back to 114.5 lbs
-1.0 lbs

Success: I made it through Valentine's weekend with family. No desserts, although I did eat a lot of fruit.

Need to work on: Exercise. Spring is coming...

I enjoyed the success story this week and also the words from Jeff N. Very helpful!

My biggest issue is spending too much time thinking about food. I also am a hyper-conscientious nutcase, and I spend a lot of time thinking about food and recipes and looking at them on social media. I hope that this is the year I become free from this while staying compliant.

Leah Bell
Age 63; Height 5'3"
1/3/2020 -- 118.0 lbs.
2/14/2020 -- 115.5 lbs.
2/21/2020 -- 114.5 lbs.

[chaz01]

Weight Change

Week: -2.4lbs
Month: -10.8lbs
Year: -24.0 lbs

I had some challenges this week, with 3 different social events (highly unusual and complete co-incidence that these occurred on the same weekend) that I knew would not be consistent with the weight loss plan. I have to say, I read and re-read Mark's post last week regarding "exceptions" and "moderation" and I would certainly agree with everything both he wrote and quoted Jeff on, and I know from personal experience how these exceptions can quickly add up and suddenly the exceptions are the norm and the healthy foods are the exceptions.

However, I think the one thing that I think is missing in his discussion, at least for me, is that abstaining completely from a food group and/or denying myself permission to eat specific foods simply creates cravings for those foods, and although I can suppress them for a while, eventually I end up giving in to those cravings - usually eating a lot more of the foods than what I would have originally eaten. I know that's not what this program is about, and I apologize if that's not a healthy perspective to share, but I just know from my past experiences what works and doesn't work for me.

So in these challenges, I did relent and gave myself permission to choose some options that were not ideal, while at the same time, I tried to minimize the damage and make healthier choices than I would have otherwise. One of the events was a buffet and I did my best to load up on salad and vegetables before indulging in the non-compliant foods. I also think that there are "degrees of badness", and I think I did a good job in choosing foods that were perhaps "less unhealthy" than other choices that were available. In the end, I'd like to think I did a reasonable job of managing these exceptions and preventing them from escalating into more longer term food issues.

Having said that, I will say I was extra diligent in my compliance for the remainder of the meals I had this week. I don't want to give the wrong impression that I can just eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and still lose weight. Knowing that I had these events coming up where i was likely to eat out of plan forced me to really focus hard on being completely compliant for the remainder of the week. It also helped that I got in exercise every day and as I build up my endurance, I'm able to go a little further and a little faster each week, thus burning up even more calories.

Bottom line, I'm ecstatic that I managed to lose weight this week (at least according to the scale). I really thought mid-week that this would be the week where I didn't have any weight loss and/or perhaps even have a gain for the week. Perhaps more importantly, I'm proud that I was able to navigate through the week without allowing my exceptions to lead to trigger additional bad eating choices.

[wstokes]

-1
Not yet very consistent in compliance with MWL, the last 2 weeks have been fairly chaotic as far as my schedule goes. At least the weight is going down. This upcoming week should be a little better for both exercise and MWL compliance.

[NomeOslo]

2/14 - 141.6
2/21 - 140.8
Goal weight: 110 lbs

Weight Change - down 0.8 lbs

This week was better, with my motivation slowly returning. Friday we went out for Valentine's day, the salad had dressing (which I'm sure included oil), their falafel were fried, and we shared a glass of wine; but following that, my days gradually improved. Four days ago, I started rating them as to how many of the principles of MWL I followed that day, and all those days were at least 9/10, with yesterday 10/10. Bread products are a real weakness (a bread and water diet would not be a hardship for me). But I've tried to make sure if I do indulge, it's only one piece, eaten plain, and surrounded, or followed by plenty of vegetables. So, overall, I think I'm getting back on track.

[laurag]

No weight change

EAting after I am full is still something I struggle with when I am at home
I have a half a cup of almond milk unsweetened with coffee
I did really well on 50/50 plate

I would like to focus on relaxing about the food and just know in my heart of I stay eating this way the weight will naturally come off and make it more about looking forward to being healthy and lots of energy. Oh the one thing I did weird was I added a can of clams to my potato soup for b12, what do you think about doing that like once a month or so I need to take the supplement , I have been vegan for about year and a half

Thanks,

[VGuzman]

Weigh in for Feb. 21, 2020

Starting weight (1/3/2020): 125.2 lb.
Last week (2/14/2020): 120.6 lb.
This week (2/21/2020): 120.4 lb. loss of .2 lb.

Have a good week to all,
Vicki

[pbnew]

2/21/20. Up + 0.3 lb. So maintaining 6 lb loss.

[frowsyowl]

Weight Change: plus 1.6

My commitment to no processed foods began to waiver again and weight was up a lot even before the major transgressions. Not sure what was happening. My exercise also has suffered b/c of a cold.

[Mark Cooper]

Abe - That does sound like a real challenge, and your were able to persevere despite that! I hope the visit from your folks was otherwise enjoyable. Fantastic that you've noticed some real progress with your exercise routine!

BlackBeanSoup - I look forward to your comments to come.

Amy Princess - Kudos!

Rachel - Glad you are feeling good and staying active. Way to go keeping those deviations limited, and not getting derailed.

Stormy - Congrats on a nice loss! I definitely empathize with you - those calorie dense and high-fat foods definitely spark cravings for me, too.

Butterfly043 - Feeling on track and learning a lot sounds like a win for sure!

Marsha - Adherence + Time! It is awesome to have that faraway goal so close at hand. Speaking just for myself, starting my meals with soup / salad / fruit was the final piece I needed to achieve what I was wanting.

LennieP - Travel seems like one of the most common times that people really struggle. Perhaps take a moment to review the MWL 10-Point Checklist, do necessary preparation, and make your next meal one that adheres to the principles.

Leah Bell - Way to go traversing the holiday weekend without getting off track! Spring can't get here soon enough for me. As you build up a significant pattern of adherence, I would expect you'll become less focused on / anxious about food and recipes. Perhaps trying some really simple meals, or trying to direct your attention to the checklist might be one way to help your mind spend less time pondering food.

Chuck - I think we all have to honestly assess the best strategies for our individual personalities and situations. I would also observe that those assessments can sometimes change over time, so what makes sense today may or may not hold true next week, month or year. To share my own perspective, I don't frame my lifestyle choices as "denials," but rather as choices that I make freely. I choose not to eat foods that don't fit the principles of MWL, I choose to exercise daily, get sufficient sleep, &c. I could certainly make different choices at any time (but under my current circumstances, the cost-benefit for me is VERY heavily weighted toward adherence). I certainly applaud your determination to not allow deviations from MWL to lead to a extended series of choices that weren't congruent with your goals.

wstokes - Chaos rarely makes things easier! Any particular strategies for the ways you'll be able to make the coming week more manageable?

NomeOslo - I'm so glad to hear you are feeling stronger motivation! Doing better today than yesterday leads in the right direction. I think your method of noting the day's "rating" in regard to the MWL Checklist seems quite useful and worth continuing. Back on track!

laurag - I think you will relax and feel more and more confident as you "prove to yourself" that this way of eating will lead you to those health goals through an extended period of adherence and feedback (not just from the scale, but from how you feel, how your clothes fit, energy). Clams would not be recommended for MWL or the regular McDougall way of eating. Are you deficient in B12? This newsletter article from Dr. McDougall discusses B12. Jeff's examination of the recent B12 study that has been "in the online conversation" lately is also worth a read.

Vicki - I wish you a good week, as well!

pbnew - How do you feel about the week, in the context of the MWL 10-Point Checklist?

Jennifer - I hope your recovery from that cold is speedy and painless! What do you think might help you to renew your commitment to adhering to the principles of MWL? Can you think of anything in particular that preceded or spurred your decision to "transgress"?

[VegSeekingFit]

Happy Friday, Everyone!!!

Weight change this week is -0.6 lbs.

Start weight - 146.4
Last week - 140.2
This week - 139.6

The good news - no snack attacks this week. All food was MWL compliant.

My point of focus for next week will be on getting movement throughout the day and at least putting a plan together for getting more active. Tomorrow looks promising for a walk outside!

Have a great week!

Stephanie