Belana - It's always a fun surprise when you're able to check-in here!
Here's your previous post; it appears you've lost ~1.3 lbs since July 31. It is hard for me to imagine what it would be like being on the road for that length of time.
Your persistent effort to make everything work as best you can is impressive!
Belana wrote:When I give into the cram circuit or anything else that sabotages my health, I end up feeling a lot worse.
That has certainly been my experience, as well. To find your past posts, just click on your "User Control Panel" right under the Board Index, then click "show your posts" and you'll get a list of all your posts in reverse chronological order. Good journeys and persevere!
Wfpb2020 - Definite progress! That looks like a near-perfect week, excepting that single fast food meal!
In case you (or anyone else) missed it, here's Jeff's response to your question.
JeffN wrote:Wfpb2020 wrote:Could warm low sodium V-8 serve as a soup?
We do not recommend it because of health concerns, it has potassium chloride instead of the salt, which you can read more about here.....
viewtopic.php?t=11630Also, it is liquid calories, so not a recommended choice for MWL. We want soups that are chock full of non-starchy veggies and even some starchy ones
If you haven't tried it already, you may want to check out
Jeff's Longevity Soup. It's quick and simple to make, and easy to adjust for different palates by switching up the herbs and spices.
VivianS - Woo-hoo! Success on all 10 points and the results to match! Fantastic work!
jkcook - Congrats on being down 2 lbs! Being fine on all 10 points is right where you want to be!
Keep doing what you're doing, and whenever you feel hungry, just be sure to eat of the recommended foods.
Lachoffman - You seem to have had another solid week! Traveling and vacationing without a kitchen certainly can make things significantly more difficult; well done putting some thought and effort into preparing as best you could. If you haven't seen them already, Jeff's
principles for Dining Out are really helpful. Congratulations on losing 29 lbs since July!
Noella - It sounds like you did your best, given the circumstances; finding a satisfactory meal when dining out can be a challenge even before taking into account the wants and needs of one's dining companions. I do think these lessons we learn "the hard way" regarding how we react to specific non adherent foods can be a very valuable and important part of the process that builds durable adherence. I know, in my case, those episodes of particular foods resulting in increased pain and inflammation were invaluable in moving toward my current pattern of 100% MWL (although I'm a little embarrassed with how long it took me to actually make that connection
). Hang on to these lessons and they will serve you well.
laura_delao - Looser fitting clothes are a pleasing development! It sounds like you're in the process of considering / deciding what pattern of behavior you want to pursue over the long-term; I think it's helpful to think about that in terms of a
particular overall pattern of behavior yielding a corresponding equilibrium. I wish you a satisfactory outcome for those digestive woes. I'm so glad you found participating in the group to be a great experience!
chef16 - 2 more pounds gone! Your average weekly loss for August was 2.5 lbs, which is pretty much right on track. That work situation sounds VERY challenging, for sure. As you describe it, it would seem your best approach is to just keep making the best available choices, as well as really making the most of all the opportunities outside of the workplace for close adherence to the guidelines. As the weeks go by, perhaps those required restrictions will become somewhat less onerous?
Reni - Nice loss, in the face of this week's challenges! I think feeling satisfied with one's progress is an important piece of the puzzle. I can very much identify with that feeling of having a tenuous hold on one's behavior choices in the face of increased stresses (mental or physical). Give yourself credit for being mindful and recognizing that precarious afternoon window; figuring these things out and making the necessary changes is hard! Do you have any intuition about some barriers you might put in place to make it more difficult to turn toward non adherent foods during those most challenging moments? Sometimes even just getting troublesome foods away from the recommended foods, and out of sight can help. Try to look at yourself kindly, with consideration for how hard it can be to make these adjustments, and know that each week (or day or meal) is a fresh opportunity.
Zoey - That feeling of having "hit the wall" is naturally somewhat discouraging for many of us. I've found it helpful (if I know my behavior is aligned with the recommended pattern) to not think of these stretches as "stalled weight loss," but rather periods when positive changes may have not yet become visible to our methods of measurement, if that makes sense. I applaud your decision to go "all in" on eliminating that tiny amount of remaining alcohol. I know this is easy for me to say, but hard to do - if you can, try to focus your criteria for success on your pattern of behavior with respect to the recommendations and let the scale catch up with time. I think you are doing great.
Lucas - Cheers for 182! Was there anything different about this particular week that contributed to adherence feeling more difficult than past weeks? Considering the amount of weight you've lost over the previous two weeks, is it possible you were feeling more hungry than usual? I'm not sure if any of these would serve as a reasonable stand-in for the bouillon, but my personal favorite seasonings are Kirkland Organic No Salt Seasoning, Benson's Gusto Garlic Seasoning, and Penzey's Florida Seasoned Pepper. Forward or Mural of Flavor from Penzey's might perhaps approximate what you're after, but it seems likely that it is the salt and fat in that bouillon that makes it seem so hyperpalatable. Have you been using a sprinkle of salt on the surface of your food? If not, that might be worth a try as you continue to transition. 1/4 tsp of salt likely has less sodium than a tsp of the bouillon powder. Looks like you did great this week, barring that particular addition. Just to clarify, whole wheat vermicelli is suitable for the starch portion of a meal,
with the same considerations as other pastas.
Dot - That seems like a very solid week! I think your intuition about making progress that isn't quite enough to be captured by your scale is likely on target; in any given week, the scale is at best an imprecise indicator (although helpful in the aggregate over time), so we have much more agency when we keep our focus on behavior. How nice that you were able to enjoy whole grain pasta, without triggering any unwanted habits. It has been my experience that, as long as I eat pasta "primavera-style" with an equal volume of non-starchy vegetables, it doesn't trouble me, either; like any specific food, it can be more of a trigger for some than others. Continue your admirable efforts, you'll gradually build that lifestyle along the way.
MonkeysMom - Kudos on being down 2.8 lbs! That does sound like a tough week! I hope you have a speedy return to functionality and feeling better! I applaud your mindfulness of things for which you can feel grateful - it feels like we all have to take our blessings where we find them right now.
Keep doing the best you can; as long as those cookies are around to be tempted by, they seem likely to present a challenge - fortify your "willpower" with the recommended foods when you are hungry, to best meet that challenge.
Jeffn wrote:If you experience cravings for unhealthy foods, you can beat these cravings by choosing healthy foods to eat and knowing that these cravings will eventually pass and stop. However, you can not beat your biology (hunger) and your biology/hunger will eventually win.
Growing a Pear - Excellent work! As you observe, I'd expect your experience exhausting the impulse toward dry cereal will play out in a manner similar to the bread and Clif Bars.
It seems like you're handling things in a sensible way. Slow, steady progress has many benefits, and I agree that being focused on getting the process right is advantageous.
Violet3135 - Kudos for showing up and reporting during a difficult week! Were you facing any new, particular challenges this week? Was any specific recommended behavior the biggest sticking point? Keep hanging in and doing your best!
BarbaraLynn - Sounds great! It's hard to ask for more than enjoying the recommended foods and how good you feel!
Gimmelean - Almost 10 lbs gone since the end of June! It appears you're making headway with each of the recommendations you're focused upon! I couldn't agree more about the MWL 10-Point Checklist offering welcome clarity amidst the cacophony of weight loss advice. Let me echo your thanks to Jeff for putting the checklist together!
Drew* - Your weight continues to work its way downward! It would seem that you're starting to map out the plans and routines that can make this way of eating durable and sustainable in your particular situation. I agree, as you figure things out with some trial and error, it is valuable to keep one's perspective within a frame that feels reasonable, while staying mindful of broader goals, opportunities and obstacles. Enjoy the "curry medley," sounds great!
Pattyj115 - YAY, success indeed! Great work eliminating eggs and cheese from your meals! I think nearly all of us deal with "weak willpower" in the face of tempting, highly palatable foods; the more you can do to make adherent foods the easy choice to reach for and erect roadblocks around the troublesome snacks, the stronger you will find your "willpower" getting, I would imagine. It does take some time for those sorts of cravings to fade and expire; if you're able to remove the most tempting items from your environment completely, it feels less taxing. It sounds like the urges for many of the other off plan foods are already waning, which is great. If the temperature is a problem with soup, how do you feel about
gazpacho?
NateKruse - Hang in there! When it feels like you are on a slippery slope, recommitting to the MWL 10-Point Checklist is definitely the soundest approach, so well done!
Whole Wheat pasta is acceptable for MWL, provided it doesn't lead you to overeat beyond being comfortably full, or spur other cravings. Be sure to have it with an equal volume of non-starchy vegetables.
texaslil - Nice loss, Laila! That does look like a good week! No smoothies! Really good progress, keep it up!
I stuck closely to the 10 points w/ only a few deviations, see below. I do think I suffer from monthly bloating and that might have accounted for some of the weight gain last week. Overall, it's disheartening to see such fluctuations in my weight from week to week, but when I put it in the perspective of monthly bloating it makes sense.
