April 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[cmcavazos]

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

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). 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. 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. 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:
Just a fairly routine week. No specific victories or concerns.

[Gimmelean]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -.10 pounds
4/16/2021. 127.5
4/22/2021. 128

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). 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, a ir-popped popcorn. Mostly-biggest challenge to work on.

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 but still and most likely always will need to be my area of focus. I never really learned to intuitively do this

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. For fun this week my team at work took the 16 personalities test online and shared the results. We all had good laughs but I reminded myself that my propensity towards absolute efficiency and perfection ( no surprise) has always carried over into my weight loss and weight management journey and has often lead to my undoing. Still, the simplicity of this program is probably the closest solution to perfection I’ll ever find for me. I gained a bit this week but the weekly accountability post helps me back on track, because It helps me to grab my lack of perfection by the collar and not just let go any more. Mark that is one of the things you pointed out to me months ago!

[chef16]

04/16/2021 224#
04/23/2021 223#
loss of -1#

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.50%
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.60%
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.85%
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).85%
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.85%
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.100%
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).50%

Another pound gone! Can't believe it! My sister is very sick and I am sorry to say that I have not been able to stick as closely as I should. A lot of sugar ,salt and sandwiches have snuck in. Things are going to be rough for a while hopefully it will be something I can work out.

[CindyD]

April 17, 2021 142.0 (didn't report)
April 24, 2021 141.7
RESULT -0.3

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. 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 - nuts
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. NO - dried fruit
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. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

I didn't report last week. I've been feeling out of sorts in general, and with some added family and work stress, the endless pandemic- got my first shot though! - and general I don't know! Malaise? So, 8 of 10 points above, due to the consumption of some nuts (almonds) and dried fruit (apples), on most days. I really need to decide if I want to buckle down for another 10-15 pounds. Most of my adult life was spent in the 165-185 range which eventually increased to 217. I know I'm not going back there! I think I'll stick around and shoot for 138ish. We'll see how it goes!

So nice to see all the successes and determination in this group! Keep at it, people! Hi Mark, hope you're feeling good this week!

[Pattyj115]

4/19 Monday Returning Weight: 191
This Week Loss: +/- 0
Total Change as of July 1, 2020: -14.4
1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit: NO
2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals: YES
3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and salts: YES
4 Eliminate all animal foods: YES
5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods: NO (avocado)
6 Eliminate any added oil: NO
7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods: NO (bread)
8 Don’t drink your calories: NO (1 Beer)
9 Follow these principles, eating when hungry - stop when comfortably full: YES
10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily: NO I did go to the gym 1 day, and I did ride my bike another day. I am going to start riding my bike daily and using the elliptical 3 – 4 times a week, at least that’s my goal.
Comment: I have reviewed the Orientation Information and MLW Guidelines. I am glad I am back on this MWL program, but it is harder than I thought to transition back. I had lunch at Olive Garden and had their salad dressing this week. I have made a pot of vegetable soup, so I should be able to comply with #1 now. I do not typically add sugar or salt to the food I cook or on my plate, so I am good there. I did have bread and some avocado spread, so that gave me a NO on #5 & #7. The cravings are what I am dealing with this week while focusing on the 10 Point Checklist. I know they will subside if I do not give in to them. I do need to work harder on non-starch foods, not even sure myself why that is a problem to eat. Now that summer is almost here, a variety of fresh veggies should be easy to find. I am happy I have a goal to work towards next week, conquer cravings and exercise more.

[JaBee]

Weight change +/- in lbs:

4/17/21: didn’t report, on vacation and off track
4/24/21: no loss/no gain, stable at 173.5, back on track this week

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). 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). No, couple glasses of wine last weekend
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, 5/7

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
So grateful for this forum for accountability and direction. Feeling better after resuming MWL

[Belana]

Weight change +/- in lbs: 0
*Sometimes (S)
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. S
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. Y
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. Y
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Y
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Y
6. Eliminate any added oil. Y
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. Y
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Y
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Y
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). S

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
This last week was a major setback for me. Unfortunately, next week might be as well.
Last week, I suffered another sudden hearing loss event. I had that several years ago, but this time was a lot worse. The dizziness I've been dealing with has made life extremely difficult.
I've been seen by an ENT, who's been treating me.
I'm waiting to get an MRI.
In spite of it all, I'm still doing the best I can to stay with MWL.
As soon as the dizziness goes away, and I get through the second Covid shot next week, and finally recover from that as well, I hope to be back in a stronger and more confident training and MWL mode.
When I'm in a good groove with MWL and my cycle training flowing into a good momentum, I seem to lose weight fairly consistently.
It's just hard being patient due to setbacks and occurrences beyond my control.
I'm certain I'm in for it with the second Covid shot, because my son got very sick after his second shot, so I feel because of my adverse reaction to the first one, I'm very likely in the high-risk group for bad reactions.
I'm looking forward to being protected as best one can be against Covid. However, I'm certainly not happy with how I have to get there!
At least, I'm not succumbing to using food and alcohol (which I did a bit yesterday), in order to comfort myself. That's usually my go-to when I'm feeling down or anxious.

[Mark Cooper]

The window for reporting this week's weigh-in and behavioral results has officially closed.

The remainder of my replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Mark Cooper]

connielovesdogs - Looks like a great week; I'm glad you feel good about it! I find that regular exercise really helps me to manage stress, as well. Love the quote! Onward!

squealcat - I applaud your decision not to "chicken out", Marilyn! Assessment, accountability and adjustment beget success. Were there any notable differences between the 3 "good" days vs. the other 4? Any changes that could help avoid future obstacles? Stocking adherent foods and having them prepped and ready is one of the best ways to support adherence and lead to a "really good week." You can make that happen.

cmcavazos - Kudos! Settling in to a solid routine can be a great comfort, right Christine? You can support your ongoing progress by continuing toward eliminating those few remaining calorie dense foods.

Gimmelean - YESes in abundance! I can totally relate to that drive toward perfection serving as an impediment, at times. The things that have helped me the most in overcoming that propensity are a shift of focus to mastery/ongoing improvement through regular self-assessment and adjustment, and developing a simple, basic menu of easy to prepare meals that I enjoy.

chef16 - Down another pound! I'm sorry to hear your sister is ill; I can imagine that has been worrisome and stressful for you. Keep doing your best to adhere to the recommendations as closely as you are able. Hopefully, these rough waters will calm with time and attention.

CindyD - Glad to see your report! This seemingly endless pandemic does take a toll on us, doesn't it? Thankfully, perhaps a light is beginning to shine at the end of the tunnel. Despite the malaise, it appears that you didn't allow your efforts to be greatly derailed; that must feel encouraging, right? Your goal seems like a very reasonable aspiration. It is fabulous how far you have come. I'm feeling great! Thank you for asking!

Pattyj115 - Welcome back! Making that return transition can definitely be challenging, but the difficulty will ease with time and adherence. As you observe, those bothersome cravings will ebb away if they are not reinforced. The more you can set up your environment to support your adherence, the easier everything will be - stock up on adherent foods, keep them prepared and ready where you can, and get the most tempting, troublesome things out of the house (or at least out of reach/sight). Great goal - you can conquer these hurdles!

JaBee - Excellent work getting back on track with MWL! I'm guessing you didn't go too far off the rails while vacationing? Being able to report YES to 9 of the recommendations attests that you're headed in the right direction with resumed focus.

Belana - Y x 8 seems like a decent week! Sorry you were faced with setbacks; I can imagine that sudden hearing loss and vertigo feels quite alarming. Best wishes for effective treatment, improvement, and a manageable experience with your second vaccination. Being confronted with forces and events outside of our control can be SO frustrating! Great work not turning toward maladaptive coping strategies. This, too, will pass.

[Mark Cooper]

Please note - I replied to each participant individually in the two lengthy posts linked below, provided that their reports followed the guidelines for weigh-ins.

Mark's Replies for April 23 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for April 23 - Part 2

By my count, 19 participants reported for our fourth April 2021 MWL weigh-in! If I neglected to include anyone, or you notice an error in the tally, please let me know (via PM so we can keep the thread as tidy as possible, or in a post here if you cannot PM).

Here are the results for the fourth Friday in April:

Week ending 4/23/2021: 19 participants reported a total loss of -1.40 pounds
--------------------------------------------------
Squealcat +6.20
Rebecka22 +1.60
Cmcavazos +0.60
Gimmelean +0.50
--------------------------------------------------
Total gains: +8.90
--------------------------------------------------
NO CHANGE / MAINTAIN / STARTING OUT
Belana 0.00
Carwex 0.00
Curcubit 0.00
JaBee 0.00
Pattyj115 0.00
--------------------------------------------------
CindyD -0.30
Noella -0.40
Anne57 -0.60
GreenFroG -0.60
Bunsofaluminum -1.00
Chef16 -1.00
HoustonJason -1.00
PonysPlants -1.00
PotatoHead1980 -1.90
Connielovesdogs -2.50
--------------------------------------------------
Total losses: -10.30
--------------------------------------------------
Cumulative group loss for April 2021 to date: 51.70 pounds
Average loss for week ending April 23: 0.07 pounds
Cumulative group loss for January 2021: 117.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for February 2021: 39.40 pounds
Cumulative group loss for March 2021: 73.20 pounds
--------------------------------------------------

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, April 30, 2021.


April participants! I'm so impressed and inspired by your continuing efforts here. Your tenacity does you credit!

For your reading pleasure this week, two different threads that discuss the ways in which "cheating" can be an impediment, both to our efforts at change and in regard to outcomes. These threads have some interesting observations and considerations from many long time McDougallers, as well as contributions from Jeff (here and here). Definitely enlightening.

Will One High Fat Meal Hurt Me?

Cheating

If you are still hungry for something to read after the discussions above, might I suggest this post from last June?

Just because you are struggling, doesn't mean you are "broken" or something is wrong with you! These are HARD changes to make and, especially in the beginning, they might not feel very good at all.

The problem isn't you! As Dr. McDougall would say, "It's the food!"

Cheers everyone! Do what you can to make this week amazing! Take care and be well.

[squealcat]

Mark, I have been thinking about my last week and comparing the 3 days that went very well to the 4 days that didn't. I had a couple of days that were "off schedule". I like my routines ! Then when I have some richer foods I just keep them in my mind thinking about how they taste and feel in my mouth. Can anyone relate? It then becomes so hard to get back to my more plain food.

What I am doing now? I got my old checklist out so I can make checkmarks for all the 10 MWL points. Most of the points have a spot for each meal. Marking those off after each meal (or day) make me feel more positive and "on task". The checklist also directs my attention to those 10 points and off the food so my concentration is back in the right place. By history, after a few days I begin to feel more positive, more happy and more back to where I really want to be.

Once my mind is on richer food, recipes, what I can buy and what I can sneak into my eating.....I am toast ! The secret is those 10 MWL points!

Thank you for your thoughts this week! See you next week !

-squealcat

[Mark Cooper]

I got my old checklist out so I can make checkmarks for all the 10 MWL points. Most of the points have a spot for each meal. Marking those off after each meal (or day) make me feel more positive and "on task". The checklist also directs my attention to those 10 points and off the food so my concentration is back in the right place. By history, after a few days I begin to feel more positive, more happy and more back to where I really want to be.

Fantastic idea to renew your checklist daily practice! I know that has worked really well for you in the past, so it is a sensible way to get back to where you want to be.

[anne57]

...

[Mark Cooper]

Thank you !

You are very welcome!

[Miss Kim]

It's been 9 months since I left the group. I managed for 6 months but the last 3 months have been really rough. I need to start all over again. I read the guidelines and printed off the check list. Ready to start May 1.