Hello Club Time & Adherence! I hope everyone is off to a great start of the new month.
I can't believe it's already March! I am in a MUCH better place this week - more on that below!
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
YES2. 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.
YES3. 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 - reduced, not eliminated. I feel I have come a long way with salt use. I still occassionally sprinkle a little on my food. But condiments are an area that I feel I'm ready to do more work on. It's hard to find condiments that meet the salt guidelines (as we all know!). Thus far, I have accepted the high sodium levels in condiments, and tried to by very mindful about not adding any additional sodium to a meal where I'm also using a condiment containing sodium (i.e. ketchup on my baked taters). I finally decided to try some of the California Balsamic flavors with the idea of replacing some of my salty condiment use with vinegar instead. So far this is working well. These vinegars really are delicious (and the customer service is excellent!) - I feel good about supporting this small business. I will need to be mindful about quantity, as I have to be mindful of with pretty much everything! I haven't tried it yet, but next week I plan to make simple BBQ sauce mixing the smoked hickory flavor with NSA tomato paste. I'm hoping I will like it enough to begin replacing at least some of the salty ketchup with a no salt BBQ sauce that actually tastes good. Others seem to really like it, so I hope it ends up being a step in the right direction for me as well. I'm not looking to eliminate sodium - just looking for some sodium reduction in my condiment game.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
YES5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
YES6. Eliminate any added oil.
YES7. 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.
YES8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
YES9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
I think I ate a bit too much today. My food tasted delicious to me and I think I kept eating because I liked it instead of because I was still hungry. This is still an area I have to be very mindful about. I would say I did YES on 6/7 days.10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
YES!!! 6 days this week I did 30 minutes or more of intentional exercise. One day was frightfully busy from get up time to lay down time. I still consider it an active day because I was on my feet for most of it, and logged over 17,000 steps! This has been my most inconsistent area of the 10-point checklist. One week does not a new habit make, but I’m happy to be moving in the right direction!Victories: I have been in a really sketchy place mentally for the last few (several?) weeks. Depressed, fearful, skirting around the edges of the Pleasure Trap. I am so thankful for the internet, and for all of our McDougall team who provide so much content for us here, on YouTube, etc. I came across an interview of Dr. Lisle that was a game changer for me. There weren’t any new topics in this video. He referenced the Pleasure Trap and the Ego Trap which he certainly covered during the 12-day program, and I have also seen/heard those lectures in other places over the years. In this particular interview he was asked about getting back on track. Something about the way he explained what it is like to be “caught between the Pleasure Trap and the Ego Trap” just really spoke to me and was a lightbulb moment. I realized that was EXACTLY where I was. Stuck somewhere in between the two. His suggestion was to step the expectations back, and just pick a goal that feels very attainable, such as 3 days of clean eating. So that is exactly what I did. I challenged myself to 3 days of very simple and clean minimally processed foods. (the foods that are the focus of the MWL program!) I challenged myself to hit every one of these MWL 10 points for 3 days in a row. After that, all bets are off. But I felt I could JUST DO IT for 3 days in a row with no deviations over near the side of the road by the CRAP ditch. What a difference that made! I don’t know why that one particular section of that one video made such a difference. But it did, and I feel like my old self – back on track! I am SO grateful to feel back in a good place mentally with this program.
Questions: What helps you get back on track when you feel yourself slipping away, whether that is with actual food choices, or just feeling mentally checked out of the MWL game plan?
Comments:
Bambi – looks like you are moving right along on cruise. That is where I want to be again! I have never really figured out how to prepare fresh kale. How do you like to do it?
Stephanie – I’m sorry to hear that you are dealing with an injury! I hope you heal up soon. We are sure getting teased with the weather lately! I hope outdoor walking season will be here to stay very soon!
Rebecka22 – I can relate to getting off track and feeling bad – for me the mental bad feelings are worse than the physical! Is it that way for you? I’m joining you in the “back on track” club! Congratulations on your annual physical, and on maintaining your weight loss. I am ALWAYS encouraged by people who report that level of success, despite not being perfect 100% of the time. The ego trap is so real for me!
Gimmelean – From your post a couple weeks ago, I can totally relate to what you say about “the times when it feels so challenging to maintain what feels like basic adherence.” I wish I better understood in myself what triggers me into the dark place. I’m just grateful to feel like I’m back on track – I hope you are in a better place as well! From last week, I’m not sure if I’ve seen the Dr. Lisle lecture you mention about cravings / cues. I need to give that a listen!
Artista – I can also relate to what you said a couple weeks ago about the higher calorie density / portion control schemes never working for me. I finally feel like I’m developing a better understanding and acceptance of myself as just a volume eater, who needs more food to feel satisfied than the average person. I’m beginning to see this as the reason some people can succeed on portion control type programs and people like me rarely do – and especially not for the long haul. I’m finally seeing the simple math. I talked to a woman the other day who has to be careful to not eat too many non-starchy vegetables, because she typically eats about 3 pounds of food per day. So if she goes overboard on veg, she comes up short on starch due to being full, but then is trigged to high calorie density foods later. As someone who typically eats more like 6 pounds of food per day, I have completely different issues! Anyway, this is such a journey of self-exploration, isn’t it? Congrats on your strong weekly report last weekend! Mini-trampoline always looks like fun to me. Are you ever afraid you will step off of it and hurt something? (I am a complete clutz with things like that!!)
Noella – I can relate to having lessons that I have to re-learn again and again, such as your experience with ice cream from a couple weeks ago. I wish I could burn these experiences into my brain so I don’t make the same mistakes over and over! I am in the Midwest waiting impatiently for spring! I am envious of your farmers markets! I love your comments from last week about the importance of remembering our “whys.” I need to spend some time reflecting on that topic!
Ejg – I would have a hard time if I had to be around goldfish crackers! Good for you moving quickly past it (from a couple weeks ago). From last week, I just wanted to say I can totally relate to that too full feeling you describe. That is a big issue for me and I really have to just keep working on it. Happy Birthday! And congrats on tossing the Swedish fish. The pleasure trap is so seductive, isn’t it?
Greens – From 2 weeks ago - I totally hear you about the harsh critic in my head!!! From last week – did you get your thermos situation figured out? I used to take hot meals to work with me and used a Thermos brand – I think this one?
https://www.amazon.com/THERMOS-Stainles ... C98&sr=8-8 One thing that seemed to help keep the food warm a little longer was putting plain piping hot water in the thermos and letting it sit for a few minutes to warm up the inside of the thermos. Then I would put the heated food into the already warm thermos.
Marilyn – sounds like you have come up with some useful methods of prepping vegetables. I was just thinking about that today as I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen chopping. I do like getting it done before there is crunch time. I don’t always do it when I first get home from the store, which would probably really make all things much easier! (and reduce waste in the back of the drawer as you mentioned!) Congrats on your progress getting smaller in your saddle!
Mark – thank you so much for your kindness and compassion. Your thoughtful replies and suggestions mean a great deal to me. I grew up in an environment where love felt conditional on performance. That was the perfect setup for a huge experience with the ego trap, and that has been somewhat of a lifelong battle ever since. Giving myself the gift of unconditional love always feels challenging – I just have to keep working at it! I also appreciate your reflection on “experiments.” I believe my inner child is looking for ways we can try to “get away with something.” If I am honest with myself, I really do already know what types of things work OK for me, and what types of things don’t. So why I want to step in the same hole again and again is beyond me! Something has radically changed, though, with McDougalling. I haven’t fallen off into the ditch and disappeared. This has NEVER happened before – staying in the game like this!
On adherence fatigue – thank you for copying over Jeff’s wisdom on that. “Not being able to indulge in all food around them” has definitely been a contributing factor lately. Part of what helped me in my 3 day “reset” was making sure to prep compliant foods that I ADORE!
Stephanie – I appreciate you so much! Your caring personality always shines through. I’m so grateful we are on the same path here.
Holly – you are such an inspiration!!! You GO girl!
Thank you all so much for being here and for sharing this journey! It helps so much to know I do not have to do this alone.