November 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[Mark Cooper]

VivianS - Congratulations on a successful week! Your consistent adherence, reinforced by steady, ongoing weight loss over the last several weeks does indeed make for success. I would give yourself due credit for minimizing your added salt, a sprinkle on the surface of your food is acceptable within the MWL guidelines.

- Salt, Sugar
We are not a S-S free program. We only ask you to reduce the amount to a true condiment, and to just sprinkle it on your food at the table. You don't have to eliminate them if they are not a problem for you. Understand that for many people, the real issue is not sugar (or salt) per se, but how they are consumed and with what company. Most sugar is consumed as liquid calories (sugar sweetened beverages, sports and energy drinks) or as part of ultra processed highly palatable food (donuts, cupcakes, brownies, etc). Same with salt. Most all the salt we consume is in the form of ultra processed foods. Most people find that when the eliminate the sugar filled liquid calories and the ultra processed foods that are high in sugar, salt and are also high in fat and calorie density, they can use salt and/or sugar as a condiment without a problem.

Likewise, tea is acceptable, provided that it doesn't include any ingredients or add-ins that the guidelines indicate should be eliminated.

Coffee & Tea
While there maybe Individual reasons to avoid these, they are not an issue for the MWL program. There is no recommendation to avoid them as part of the MWL program. We serve both decaf and regular tea at the program and have no qualms if someone walks to Starbucks and gets a cup of coffee.

It seems to me that you are doing quite well! How wonderful that your food choices have started to have an influence on your loved ones! May those many good things continue to accumulate in your life.

PonysPlants - Down another pound! I can imagine how that return to a strict lockdown situation could make for some dismay and struggle, Naomi. Would preparing some extra food when you are feeling most motivated help create an easily accessible stockpile for those occasions when preparing an adherent meal feels bothersome? I wholeheartedly agree that solid, consistent adherence is built with daily attention, one day (and meal) at a time. Onwards!

Abe - Kudos! Speaking for myself, I know that "balsamic crack" definitely tended to spur me toward eating more than I might otherwise do. Is mustard a flavor you enjoy? I know Westbrae makes a mustard that satisfies the MWL guidelines. I often use NSA crushed or strained tomatoes, or tomato puree when I'm wanting a sauce. On top of all your other daily responsibilities and obligations, I'm sure food prep and cooking can feel burdensome at times. Like you, I rely pretty heavily on easy SNAP meals to minimize my time in the kitchen. Wouldn't having a personal chef be amazing?!?

Wfpb2020 - Great idea to use frequent reviews of the MWL 10-Point Checklist to stay on course! Strong cravings can be annoyingly persistent, but deprived of reinforcement they will fade in time.

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.

Keep at it!

CindyD - Great results, particularly since this week felt rough! Losing your keys is really the worst, right? I'm sure that made for a frantic day. Sorry to hear one of your dogs requires that degree of cautious handling, that can't be an easy thing. Sounds like you were able to keep "Halloween fallout" to a minimum. Don't your results feel all the more lovely because you earned them with diligent effort over the last 4 months? I have to confess that I have not done ANY work on putting together a website; for the last 9 months I've been devoting what available time I have fully toward working to achieve remission from the symptoms of my CRPS. I've made some real progress, but it has required dedicating a fairly significant part of each day to a variety of therapeutic modalities; I feel like achieving remission would make a big contribution to my quality of life, so I'm all in (provided I can continue to make headway). Keep sticking with the plan!

jan_npr - Cheers to being here and not giving up, even when it feels like a struggle! When various "treats" work their way into our choices, it can be pretty challenging to excise them, right? Sorry your knee pain is still ongoing; that November challenge sounds fun and motivating. The more "mostly"s you can move toward "always", the better. Since nighttime eating and cravings are proving troublesome, do you think it would help to always, at least, eat some adherent food before you decide to have something troublesome? If you are able to get the most bothersome items out of your immediate environment, that always helps, too.

texaslil - HOWDY! Nice loss, Laila! Given you were visiting family this week, it doesn't sound like things went too wild, which is always good. In my experience, the very best way to stay fully on track is to turn to the MWL 10-Point Checklist, and whenever hungry, eat the recommended foods, in the recommended fashion. Take it one meal at a time, if that helps. I love my Instant Pot, but I use it primarily for batch cooking staples (legumes, rice, potatoes, vegetables), and don't really use many recipes. There are a few Instant Pot adapted recipes on Dr. McDougall's site.

Kappagator_96 - Wow! That is a large drop! Diligent, consistent adherence over time inevitably delivers results. Well done trusting the process and holding firm (and shuffling Halloween candy right out of the house in short order)! Sorry you were feeling unwell; it seems you did your best with the week in spite of that. Solid list of goals for the week ahead, putting those into practice should serve you very well.

oneesotericgirl - Down 2.4 lbs! Sometimes, when we are doing really well with adherence for a few days, and then start to veer off course, it can be a sign that we may not be eating enough of the recommended foods (particularly starches). Substituting a drink from Starbucks in place of an adherent breakfast, for example, could easily contribute to this. The idea isn't to minimize the volume of food we eat, but rather, to eat the recommended foods in the recommended fashion, whenever hungry. If potatoes seem unappealing and dry to you right now, why not try some different options for meals? Oatmeal with fruit, rice and beans with vegetables, SNAP meals - would any of those work for you? Orange sweet potatoes are easy to prepare and quite moist, as well. It can take a little time to escape the Pleasure Trap and recalibrate our tastes to appropriate foods.

As Dr Lisle says, part of the problem is that when in the pleasure trap, doing the wrong thing feels so good and doing the right thing doesn't feel good." Even when one finds success, exposure to the Pleasure Trap can very easily put someone right back there.

We live in a very toxic food environment where there is very little social and environmental support for what we do. This is not always easy for everyone to deal successfully with.

The fewer troublesome foods kept in the immediate environment, the easier that is likely to be. We all have discouraging, frustrating days (and weeks), but focus on the guidelines, do your best, and be patient with yourself and easier days will arrive.

Rebecka22 - Nice loss and a solid seeming week! Great work passing up the vast majority of those "opportunities" to go off plan! Were there any particular tools or strategies you feel helped you avoid those troubles and make good choices? You deserve to feel proud of your efforts!

wstokes - Hang in there! Your "election stress" is bound to subside at some point, right? You are correct that an equal visual volume of oatmeal and fruit would satisfy the 50/50 recommendation. As you observe, when approaching one's desired weight "lapses" start to play a more significant role in hindering continued progress. Increasing the rigor with which we attend to our pattern of behavior is exactly the correct approach to take for overcoming this challenge, as Jeff discusses in Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them. Bringing the appropriate attention and focus to the recommended pattern of behavior is exactly why we ask participants to use the MWL 10-Point Checklist for self-assessment. I'm so gratified to know that the MWL group has been a source of valuable structure for you! Isn't it heartening to look back at all the progress you've made since the first of the year? Onward!

moonspirit - Today is always the best day to begin! Be sure and take some time to review the MWL 10-Point Checklist, and the guidelines for reporting; that should get you all set for the days ahead. Happy Friday!

GreenFroG - Kudos! 10 always brings a big smile to my face! When you had the pasta, did you feel like it spurred you to overeat? Consuming it as you describe, according to the recommendations, wouldn't generally be a problem; however, some people do say that they find pasta easier to overeat than other starches. Do you know your BMI at present? The rate of weight loss will naturally slow somewhat as one approaches their "natural" weight. Keep up your excellent adherence!

wavingwheat - Down 3.8 pounds and nearly returned to your recent low! It always feels nice to get back on track! Is removing the cookies from your home environment impossible? If you can keep them out of the house, it will make it much easier to "stay away" from them. Keep at it!

[wildgoose]

November 1st - 202
Today - 199.6
Down 2.4lbs!

I will say, even though I have lost weight, I did much better in the beginning of the week. I was on track, mostly. I did drink my calories a few times this week, opting for Starbucks drinks made with almond milk. I kept telling myself it was ok since it was sufficing for breakfast and I wasn't hungry after. I was brining acceptable options to work. But I fell back into the issue of comfort eating.
I am still dealing with some rather emotional issues. Sometimes I can handle it, but when I am sitting home alone, my willpower fades and leads to binge eating.
I think mostly I am having trouble with finding things that are yummy.
I don't want ketchup with my fries, I crave something creamy. My potatoes are dry without vegan butter on top. I have tried so many things. Better things take so long and a lot of prep required, something I don't have often due to full time work and school. And I have no idea how so many people enjoy things like salsa, ketchup, or mustard on their baked potatoes.
I have to figure out something though. I tried making a "salad" to put on top of my potato, like someone suggested. But I am so disinterested in eating it, that the potato gets cold and I can't easily reheat it due to raw veggies and lettuce being on top.
I am just really lost and frustrated.
When I follow the rules, I feel fantastic, I lose weight. Everything is amazing. But I want to enjoy food while doing these things. I still feel like MWL is a diet, a restriction, and a punishment. And I can not figure out how to change how I see that!

Sorry for the depressing and discouraging rant. I am incredibly frustrated with how firm of a grip the standard way of eating today has on me.

@oneesotericgirl That’s why they call it the Pleasure Trap. It gives you pleasure. And it traps you, keeps you from achieving your goals, makes you miserable.

But first things first. You’re under 200. That’s a Big Deal! Congratulations!

Now for the big question: How do you handle the Pleasure Trap? Because that’s what you’re dealing with. You want "yummy" food. What you want, quite honestly, is fat. Creamy stuff. Vegan butter. Almond milk in your Starbucks. I get it. That’s how we're wired, to seek out rich food like that.

The regular McDougall program gives you more leeway to do a taper off of Pleasure Trap foods. You could use avocado, or sauces that include nuts, or several richer plant foods. MWL doesn’t do that, for the obvious reason that those foods really put the brakes on weight loss. You know that doing MWL gives you a lot of benefit and makes you feel great. So I think you’ve made your choice to stick with MWL — right? You just wish it were easier and tastier, and I don’t blame you.

I can tell you a few things. First, willpower is a finite resource. You will run out of it, if you depend solely on willpower to get you through. So structure your life so that doing well is easier and doing less well is harder. Clean up your environment so you don’t have to make choices between food that’s compliant and "edible food-like substances" that are not. Maybe (hard though it may be) experiment with giving up Starbucks for a month. Make your life as easy as possible, keep the stress low and try to minimize the number of decisions you have to make about food.

Second, cravings for fat take up to 3 months to go away. The more often you feed those little fat receptors, the longer it takes for them to downregulate. Your taste buds will adjust, but you have to put up with a period of time where food doesn’t taste as "yummy" as you might want it to. I did 35 days on just 5 foods when I started. I don’t recommend that approach, but I do recommend keeping food very basic and simple, especially at the beginning. If you’re wearing yourself out trying recipe after recipe, looking for something that tastes good, you’ll give in or give up.

Potatoes. OK, you don’t like dry baked potatoes. Neither do I. I cut a cold baked potato into wedges and air fry them, then dip the wedges into (easy, homemade) ketchup. I don’t use Russets, by the way, I use Yukon Golds. Much creamier. If you steam them rather than baking them, better still. Or peel them, boil them, and mash them with some of the cooking water (not milk). Mashed potatoes taste better to me than baked. But give that 3 months, and you may come out the other side thinking that living without vegan butter is not so bad.

MWL is a choice. A choice you’re making for your health and your weight, to get where you want to be. It gets easier with time. Does the Pleasure Trap ever quit tempting you? No. You learn to stay away from the biggest temptations, and how to get right back into the groove if you stray. But are you ever totally immune? No. It’s always a choice. I look at a year-plus at goal weight, a level of health that I haven’t known in years, a wardrobe where everything is comfortably loose and everything in the closet fits — and I’m OK with not having some of my old comfort foods around.

Ranting is just fine. I do plenty of it! The important thing is to dig in, post-rant, and take another run at getting out of the Pleasure Trap. You’ve made great progress, you can do this!

Goose

[JaBee]

eight change -3.8, current weight 186.1

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. NO
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES,5/7 DAYS, OTHERWISE NO FRUIT
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Overall, good week, keeping meals simple really works/helps, no more complicated recipes for me, at least for now
Is ground flaxseed allowed on oatmeal?

[cmcavazos]

Weight change +/- in lbs: - .6#

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. -- Yes, usually fruit. I have soup or a large salad for a main course.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. -- Yes
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. -- No -- I had two restaurant meals while travelling so I had extra sodium.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). -- Yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). -- Yes
6. Eliminate any added oil. -- No -- Preparation of restaurant meals probably had added oil.
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. -- Yes
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).-- Yes
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. -- Yes
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). No -- I missed exercising 3 times during the week due to being out of town -- I checked on a Zumba class being held at our public library. I went to the class, but the instructor had cancelled the session. I'll try it again on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday of next week.


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
My at-home meals were on target. I had several meals out but I made the best choices that I could. I prepared some picnic style meals for most of our travel meals. -- As per your suggestion, I did not have any dry breakfast cereal this week. I batch cooked some steel cut oats and had those for breakfast several mornings this week.

Thank you for your support and encouragement.

[jkcook]

-2. Hurray

Lots more potatoes this week, so better weight loss. I can finally eat salads again, starting today, so that should help, too. Nice to not have constant pain.

EDIT by Moderator: We would like to respond to your post and see your post counted in this weeks tally. As such, please follow the guidelines on how to report at the weekly weigh-in. You have till Sat 3 PM EST to edit this post or it won't be counted or responded to. We recommend you use the following template.

Weight Change: +/- Lbs

Review how things are going in regard to the 10 MWL Points:

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

[VivianS]

VivianS November 6, 2020
Weight change - 1.8 pounds I weigh 148.0 pounds 37" waistline.
I succeeded on MWL points 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10
I need to pay more attention to
3 salt ...quit fretting about it. Sprinkle a little on my food and use spices.
8 unsweetened tea. I use it only to keep me alert to drive safely on rare mornings to get a sick child.
10 I am having to think creatively to move more.
Mark, thank you for using the "Vivian's Daily Journal"post for my post today. I have a hard time finding this spot to post. I sleep late and I have a husband who wants to talk when I have been trying to post. I used my Thursday weight to write my post last night. I edited my post to today's weight of 148. I like the 147.2 weight, but my weight varies a lot in a day because of the water I must drink. For your record keeping the 147.2 is fine. I thought I could edit then quote to post to this forum in a hurry today. This is a race to beat the dead battery close or the open door talking husband close. Just to see if it is possible , I'm going to try to quote my journal entry.
Well, nothing happened. Someone will have to tell me how to do it.
Thank you for reading my posts and helping me. I got started with my daily journal when you sent me a link. I have finally used the search feature to get to the date I want. I have been shocked to see that 40 people have read some of my posts. If I didn't have the link from my Gmail account, I don't think I would have the time patience or battery power to find the right place to post and get it written. I liked writing my post last night. I had no interruptions.
I think the salt fretting is over. Thanks to ejeff for suggesting spices or Mrs. Dash. I'm not going to worry about tea anymore either, because I rarely drink it.
My weight will be less next week, because as you have said adherence to the checklist produces success. Wildgoose wrote an inspiring testimony that I hope to be echoing soon. Thanks for being good examples yourselves.
VivianS

[josietheschnauzer]

Weight change +/- in lbs: +3.0 pounds

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. Yes
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. Yes
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). No! Uh, oh, slice of avocado with Chinese food,
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes, but see 7
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. No, uh, oh, cookies...... on Thursday night. Emotional/pleasure trap eating at it's finest.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. .....except for the cookie monster on Thursday night, I was doing fine.....
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes, 5 or more miles a day.
I missed the weekly weigh in! I have gained 3 pounds and I must yet again, just say no! I know what happens..... Tomorrow or rather today is another day. Thank you, again!

[squealcat]

Weight change +/- in lbs: +1.3#

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. NOT AT DINNER
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. NOT THE LAST 3 DAYS
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). NO
6. Eliminate any added oil.NOT THE LAST 3 DAYS
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. NO
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. NOT THE LAST 3 DAYS
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES , IT IS A ROUTINE !

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: As you can see, this was not a good week for me. I actually did quite well until about 3 days ago when I felt my food was getting quite bland and I thought I needed some excitement. Well, I am NOT excited now.

I was ready to skip this November group but I realize I would miss it ! I then read Wild Goose's last comment regarding someone who sounded like I felt these last few days. OK, I am sticking with it! I would like a loss 2 weeks in a row as this has not happened in quite a while ! As you see, exercise has not been a problem and most of the other points are fairly easy for me too but having soup or salad before dinner and avoiding high calorie foods are the two tough ones. This week I will have soup before dinner. I have one prepared and have the ingredients for another. The bread I use is going in the outside freezer and I will give the tofu to my daughter. There ! I like a plan !

I feel better now. I continue using my 10 point checklist each day. This helps me a lot. I continue on growing sprouts for my salad and on my soup. (Makes me feel like a mini farmer ! )

Thanks to all supporters !

-squealcat (Marilyn)
squealcat

Posts: 255
Joined: Sat Feb 21, 2015 12:26 pm
Location: Michigan

[jkcook]

-2 since last week

1) Start each meal with soup/salad/fruit—finally today after several weeks of dental work/pain. Today was my first green salad day.
2) Follow the 50/50 plate—Yes, much better on increased potatoes
3) Reduce or eliminate sugars/salts—yes
4) Eliminate animal foods—yes, one time with Sushi salmon
5) Eliminate higher fat plant foods—yes
6) Eliminate oil—never
7) Eliminate higher calorie-dense foods—yes
8 ) Don’t drink your calories—yes, only water or diet soda
9) Eating when hungry and stop when full—yes
10) 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily—normally a couple of hours a day, but the last couple of weeks, less, because I’ve been preparing ballots for counting. Done now.

[alishana]

Hi everyone, I'd like to join.
I've lost 2.2lbs this week !

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. -- I'm not really doing this because I don't eat big portions. I still have salad or soup most of my meals.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. -- Yes !
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. -- Yes !
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). -- Yes !
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). -- Yes !
6. Eliminate any added oil. -- Yes !
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. -- I've had rice pasta, is it ok ?
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). -- Yes !
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. -- Yes !
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). -- I need to do better at this. I've walked some days.

I'm really happy of this week. I feel good and didn't fall for temptations. With the lockdown back in my country, going out for walks is difficult (i'm only allowed to be at 0.6 miles from my house). I love walking but I need to find something else for now, maybe yoga. It's really encouraging to read everyones own experience.

[tinathescreamer]

Weight gain this week +0.2 lbs
I know why this is; I dined out twice this week and on both occasions ate humungous amounts of white pasta, probably with added fat in the sauce. And the salad came with mayonnaise. The thing is, once I'd broken the rules once it made me want to break all the rules. I walked home across the campus to work off some of the damage and there were students everywhere munching on pizza and fried chicken. I really really wanted some, but I got home and only ate carrot sticks, which filled me up nicely and got rid of the cravings. Back on track today.

EDIT by Moderator: We would like to respond to your post and see your post counted in this weeks tally. As such, please follow the guidelines on how to report at the weekly weigh-in. You have till Sat 3 PM EST to edit this post or it won't be counted or responded to. We recommend you use the following template.

Weight Change: +/- Lbs

Review how things are going in regard to the 10 MWL Points:

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

[chef16]

Weight change : 0#
10/30/2020 236#
11/06/2020 236#

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. 95%
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.95%
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.95%
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). 100%
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).95%
6. Eliminate any added oil. 100%
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.95%
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). 100%
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. 95%
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). 90%

I didn't gain but, I didn't lose.( I was suprised it was a terrible week all around.). This will be the first time I did not lose since I started this. I would like to say that it wasn't some thing I did but it is a lot of what I didn't do . I didn't follow the guidelines ! I didn't journal any of my meals ,which I have done from the start. I just went off the track! I have been overly emotional and a little crazy .Okay a lot crazy ! That is no excuse! I am not in a good place right now ,but hopefully I can get a handle on this and move forward.

[Lachoffman]

Weighing in at gain of 1.6 lbs. (175.6).

Overall loss is 40 lbs since 4/4/20 with start weight of 216.

Haven't weighed in for several weeks due to some discouragement. I have stayed on the program though but chosen not to weigh in publicly (although I have privately been weighing and keeping track of progress).

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. 95%
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. Choose fruit. 100%
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. 95%
4. Eliminate all animal foods. 100%
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. 100%
6. Eliminate any added oil. 100%
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products. 95%
8. Don't drink your calories. 95%
9. Eat whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. 100%
10. At least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily. 100%

[Rita<3]

Good morning,
I’d love to join this group. I’m having a good deal of trouble with the new diet.

I now weigh 175.

Months ago, I was at my goal weight & started this lifestyle.

I’m increasingly concerned because I’m gaining weight. I can use all of the information & encouragement that is available. I am becoming discouraged, but I’m trying hard not to beat myself up & just keep trying. I have bought groceries matching the items listed here.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/pdf/Advance ... t_3-13.pdf

Please let me know if that is what I’m supposed to be doing. I have been craving salty snacks, pancakes, & flour products; but I stopped eating all of that a few weeks ago.
Are flaxseeds permitted with oatmeal? Also, the recipe I saw called for dried fruit also. I’ve stayed away; but that would certainly be a welcome addition.

I’m really trying. I’m still learning. I really appreciate your posts & I agree wholeheartedly with the other post I read today about craving fat & not liking some of the foods we’re to eat. Please share your thoughts.

I thank you!
<3

[Mark Cooper]

Good morning,
I’d love to join this group. I’m having a good deal of trouble with the new diet. I’m increasingly concerned because I’m gaining weight. I can use all of the information & encouragement that is available. I am becoming discouraged, but I’m trying hard not to beat myself up & just keep trying. I have bought groceries matching the items listed here.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/pdf/Advance ... t_3-13.pdf

Please let me know if that is what I’m supposed to be doing. I have been craving salty snacks, pancakes, & flour products; but I stopped eating all of that a few weeks ago. I’m still learning.

I thank you!
<3

Hello! If you would like to join the MWL group, please be sure to take some time and review the Orientation Information, and follow the instructions outlined therein for registering your participation. That post, and the November resources should help clarify how to make the program work for you. If you have further questions after processing those materials, feel free to post them here. The various meals Jeff outlines in the handout you linked are a great way to get started.