The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - August 2023 Group

[Starflower]

August 11th

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 desert. 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 - Too much sugar this week.

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 - There was some oil in two foods.

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 one or two days.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Despite not meeting my 10 YES goal, it was a good week. I thought about Mark’s questions and realized that my go-to methods for handling stress don’t work as well as they should. I chose a couple of alternatives for this week. I have a family birthday celebration and three social events to navigate this week. It will be a good test!

Wishing everyone a wonderful and successful week!

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 8/11/23

Greetings everyone!

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes.

2). Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
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,)
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* Candy and bread. - much less this week. Looking for a complete yes and gradually getting there.

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. I went to a different group fitness class every night this week getting a good combination of challenging but not painful weights and cardio. In the morning I do some type of gentle restorative class online to wake up and get ready for the day. Exercise helps reduce my food cravings in addition to all of the health benefits.

Victories,Comments,Concerns, Questions:
My “why” for wanting to adhere to MWL is to maintain optimal health and maintain my weight loss in a sensible and sustainable way. There is quite a bit of type II diabetes in my family. While not yet in the pre- diabetic range, my A1C tested a bit higher than I would have wanted despite losing weight last year. I brought my total cholesterol down 44 points with this way of eating and no medication . I told my doctor that I was determined to manage both with diet and exercise and she was completely onboard. If I’m “ destined” to live with diabetes in the future at least I can say with consistent MWL yeses that I did all possible to delay it. I am hoping to prevent it.
Maybe this reflection and refocus is what is helping me to reduce my recent evening office quests for junk and sweets.

Thank you Mark.

See you next week.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

Hope that everyone had a wonderful week! A big Hi to Wildgoose and hope that Mark is enjoying his visit with family.

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
About 2/3 of the time. Dinner is usually the meal that I don’t preload – not usually as hungry for that meal.

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. Continuing to eat lots of oatmeal, brown rice, corn, beans, and potatoes with various fruit and veggies.

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. Reduced, not eliminated.

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. No stuffing and no starving.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Mostly -6 /7 (same as last week). Primarily walking and pickleball. Took a complete rest day and have been playing a bit less pickleball as I am working through plantar fasciitis --- which is doing really well with some foot exercises, ice, and a bit of a break.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Really ❤️ the post that Mark shared last week on F1Jim’s keys to 10 years of success. Lots of knowledge and inspiration to take away from this discussion! Additionally, I think it is a travesty that society doesn’t support (financially or emotionally) this way of life that has proven to be so successful in dramatically transforming health. Beyond continuing to march forward, not sure if there is any opportunity to be a catalyst for change.

This week I heard the “siren song” of the snack cabinet at night a couple of times. I have not answered the song…. But some days one side of my brain thinks a dry salty snack would be a splendid idea – BOO to that. I can pinpoint what is causing it --- a bit of feeling sorry for myself (not a good look) on a doozy of a project I just got assigned where I am trying to figure out how to manage delivery within the inherent constraints.

Otherwise, feeling great about continuing to harmonize my behaviors to my core values and allocate time / energy accordingly. Have finished reading The Untethered Soul which was phenomenal and am exploring other activities in the mindfulness space.

I appreciate this group --- the support and the sharing are invaluable.

Wishing everyone an incredible week ahead!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[CUgorji22]

Happy Saturday, everyone!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL)

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 desert. Yes
Behavior: I had an emergency dental issue this week but was determined to stick to this guideline. Spinach (a soft green) became my life saver!

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
Behavior: My 1st day, I made a salad. I used my "usual" toppings without thinking. It was the wake up call I needed to remember the guidelines.

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). No Behavior: I had a major headache one day and could not workout. When I was well, I grew a deep desire to make sure I could exercise everyday...which I did!

Overall, I was surprised that I was able to jump back in without major obstacles. I found such joy in seeing my mind and body respond in such a great way. My digestion is better, I'm sleeping better, my mood was up. These guidelines are familiar and a nice welcome back into my routine/life.

-Chesca

[wildgoose]

The window for reporting this week's behavioral results has officially closed.

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[wildgoose]

BambiS — Sounds like you had a really successful week, and doing it with family visiting is all the better! A few sweets doesn't seem to be that problematic for you. Congratulations on the walking!

Hope the start of retirement is going well and that you have had some inspiration for new recipes.

Rebecka22 — Glad to see you back! Happy birthday, and I hope you had a good time traveling. Both of those can interfere with close adherence to the checklist. Good for you to get back on track. Yes, you know what to do and how to do it. You're right, it's the little things that add up.

I tried a couple of the melon suggestions too. All pretty good! I'm spoiled, in central Illinois, though. We have Beardstown melons that are really fabulous. They're named after a town on the Illinois River that has sandy soil that they like. We call them "muskmelons," and I'm not too sure what the difference is between a muskmelon and a cantaloupe. When they're in season, I eat a lot of them.

Starflower — All in all, it looks like quite a good week for you. Sounds like maybe the stress might have led to too much sugar and possibly a couple of foods with oil (unless those were from eating out). I'm glad to see you have a strategy for all the socializing you'll be doing this upcoming week!

This journey is one of constant small adjustments. Nothing is ever static, no matter how long you've been eating this way. If something isn't working, you tweak it and make small changes until it works better. Even something that worked well in the past might not be as effective as it once was -- so you get to re-evaluate and see if you can come up with an alternative.

Gimmelean — You're closing in on a "yes" on number 7. You'll get there! And nice job on the combination of exercise. It'll work different muscle groups and keep you from getting bored as well.

Keeping an eye on your "why" is a good way to focus. You have two "why"s -- a big picture of optimum health and weight loss maintenance, and a more targeted "why" of avoiding the diabetes that runs in your family. Having a supportive doctor is a big deal! Hang onto her

VegSeekingFit - Amazing how our brains trick us into thinking that not only would a dry, salty snack be a splendid idea, but that we deserve the "reward." BOO is right. Tell your brain to unload that idea fast!

I was re-listening to Jeff's calorie density lecture a few nights ago and had to laugh when he talked about a client who wanted something "crunchy with a little bit of a salty taste." Of course, the client didn't jump at Jeff's suggestion -- celery. The client wanted potato chips. But I've been eating celery with homemade hummus or bean dip, and it's really quite good -- if one can get potato chips off the brain.

I agree, F1Jim's story is really inspirational. He's also been on these boards for many years, supporting and encouraging others, often by just sharing his story.

CUgorji22 - Nice to see you back, Chesca! And well done to get back in the groove so well.

One day without exercise when you weren't feeling well is nothing to worry about. I like your comment "When I was well, I grew a deep desire to make sure I could exercise everyday...which I did!". I would like to have a deeper desire to exercise myself!

**********

All the best wishes to everyone in the group for a successful upcoming week. Hope Mark is enjoying his well-deserved vacation.

Goose

[wildgoose]

Since I’m facilitating here for this week and next, I get to try to emulate Mark’s skill in coming up with useful and timely information for the group. Mark sets the bar very high in that regard, but there is a topic that I’d like to share...

A few weeks ago, Jeff posted about a question that was asked of Dr. Doug Lisle and Dr. Jen Howk on the Beat Your Genes podcast. The question was, is it possible to stay adherent to MWL or a similar plan for any length of time? The questioner thought not, "unless I quit my job, divorce my husband, drop all my friends, move to a cabin in the woods in total isolation with no form of communication or entertainment and never leave while growing my own whole foods."

Dr. Lisle started his answer by saying that the human being was not biologically designed for such an eating plan long-term, and that most people have difficulty maintaining such a low level of calorie density in what they eat. As a result, many become convinced that it’s impossible and “kick over the table,” giving up all hope of successful healthy eating.

He gave a suggestion for "spiking" the diet with higher calorie density foods, to increase satiety and satisfaction. Recommended foods might include avocado and tofu, but not nuts and seeds (which are too calorically dense and can be trigger foods for some people). His answer was, in typical Doug Lisle fashion, quite long and detailed.

Jeff, Mark and I had an extensive discussion about this. I think it’s worth going back and listening to the original question and Dr. Lisle’s answer (follow the link to Jeff’s post above) and then reading Jeff’s excellent response, based on his own expertise as well as the thoughts that Mark and I brought up.

This information can be useful for many different types of people. People who are just starting and who feel like MWL is just WAY too restrictive. People who are committed to the plan and are highly motivated but who have issues with keeping their environment clean, or who have family members who are not supportive or who want to eat tempting, non-MWL foods. People who maintain a very low calorie density eating plan for months or even years, then go off-plan for one reason or another and find it very difficult to resume MWL, even though they know it worked for them in the past. People who are struggling to figure out a way to make MWL work for them when they feel like they can’t be totally compliant (can I eat MWL for breakfast and lunch and regular McDougall plan for dinner — or MWL during the week and regular McDougall on the weekends?).

Jeff put a lot of very good information into his response. I think the “Sweet Spot” chart is especially helpful. We all have to find a Sweet Spot that can work for us. And that can change, depending on where we are on the journey and what our goals are.

I had some challenges after I reached an acceptable weight. I had trouble in trying to figure out what maintenance was going to look like for me. I was “spiking” my plan with things that, while they are McDougall-approved, were too high in calorie density. I did a bit of roller-coaster eating and, yes, induced some cravings with food that was just too rich. Jeff’s suggestion for bumping the calorie density level up using high water content starches with intact fiber (a better alternative than tofu, avocado, or nuts/seeds) really works! Adjusting the overall calorie density just slightly upward, a little at a time, using his method, feels so steady and stable.

As I commented at the end of his post, it also works for those days when I’m feeling like “comfort food” — days when I’m tired or stressed or particularly hungry (maybe because I’d let my calorie density get too low?). If you’re going to adopt this strategy, though, make sure that the food/combination you choose is (a) simple, (b) easy to prepare, from readily available ingredients, and (c) made up of only high water content starches with intact fiber along with fruit or non-starchy vegetables (no trigger foods!). This is your go-to meal before you reach for the take-out menu, or the bag of chips that’s hidden in the back of the cupboard for the kids, or the “just a few” nuts that turn into the whole bag.

We'd like to hear from any of you who have thoughts on this subject, either here or over in Jeff's forum under his post.

Goose

[BambiS]

8-18


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 desert
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, not an issue here

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 good week, nothing eventful.

It’s been almost 2 years since going WFPB. The past year hasn’t brought much weight loss due to being sloppy about following maximum weight loss. I’ve recommitted this week to take my health into consideration and not play around. I’ve done well and do not want to backslide.

[Rebecka22]

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). 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

This week was good for getting back on track. There were of course moments of stress that led to temptation, but I didn’t give in. While I feel good about my eating I am struggling with how to help my kids, particularly my youngest. She’s only 5 and gained 21 pounds in the last year and it’s really stressing me out. She eats a lot of fruit and vegetables but also clearly too much processed foods. She’s very active and amazing, but I really want to get things under control for her for so many reasons. I hate the food world we live in because it feels like at every corner I am facing another event with hot dogs and other crap food and I’m trying to not make her want that crap even more because I’m always saying no to what other kids are eating. I have my why and I’m grown so I know why I’m eating different than others, but it’s really hard helping her get there. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Starflower]

August 19th

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 desert. NO - Some meals were more than 50% starch.

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 -I went off-plan with some high-fat food.

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). NO - I missed one day due to hurting my foot.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

It was a reasonably good week, considering all the events offering pleasure trap foods. There are a few more coming up this week. I hope to do better, especially on 50/50. I found good low-salt chili powder and curry powder that I like, and some delicious smoked black peppercorns.

Wishing everyone a wonderful and successful week!

[Hjklost55]

August 19th

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 desert.
NO

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

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
NO

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.
NO

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

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
TRUE CONFESSIONS here. I won’t go into detail but I’m off the rails again. It amazes me how easy for some of these habits to sneak into my life AND how difficult it is to get clean again. The cravings have been out of control. AND I understand why. It’s the sugar and salt. I am refocusing and moving forward. Thank you ALL for being here! It helps to connect with like minded people.

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 8/18/24

Greetings. Where did summer go?

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes.

2). Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
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,)
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.
Not entirely, but inching towards a yes. No candy at work! Saying to myself, “Just for today, I’m not going to eat candy at work. “ one day at a time is manageable.

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: WG thank you for moderating and hope Mark is having a pleasant and uneventful- at -the -airport trip with no cancellations or delays.
Yesterday I made giambotta. Think ratatouille but with potatoes! A slow cooker makes anything with tomatoes bitter but the Instant-pot gives beautiful fast results. Not much left of a big pot. My fig trees are full of figs that will be ripe all at once. I’m sure I’ll be overdoing with them but it’s really short- lived. Looking forward to celebrating autumn in a few weeks with all of you.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

Happy end of August!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Still about 2/3 of the time. Dinner is usually the meal that I don’t preload – not usually as hungry for that meal.

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. Continuing to eat lots of oatmeal, brown rice, corn, beans, and potatoes with various fruit and veggies. Planning to eat lots of starchy soup over the next week also!

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. Reduced, not eliminated.

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. No stuffing and no starving.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Mostly -6 /7 (same as last week). Lots of walking and pickleball. I maybe didn’t need to take a rest day again. I have to remember that I can go to the gym and swim or ride a bike if my feet hurt.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Waving “hi” to all and hope Mark is enjoying his vacation!

Bambi – I am with you on not wanting to backslide. Let’s keep going!

Starflower – hope that your foot is better quickly!

Rebecka – I agree with your sentiment about the food world we live in being so challenging – especially as you try to teach your kids to eat healthy. I am also eager to hear any thoughts here.

Holly – Wishing you the best as you pick up and get back on track. You CAN do it!!! You are the queen of PL soup!

Gimmelean Your fig trees sound amazing!

Thanks, Wildgoose for great comments last week! Appreciate you sharing the link and your thoughts around JeffN’s fantastic thread around long-term MWL adherence in light of Doug Lisle’s podcast. I found the whole response fascinating and optimistic for a healthy way forward for anyone so inclined. I am still processing all of the information contained within. In a nutshell, I really like Jeff’s thought of increasing the starchy portion of the plate to increase the calorie density of the overall diet as opposed to making other changes. Also, appreciate how you mentioned Mary’s slow cooker pintos! Personally, I don’t want to trigger the Pleasure Trap so prefer to keep to the MWL approved foods and at times have adjusted the starch portion up a bit --- mainly potatoes --- loving them in the form of fries.

Hope that everyone has an incredible week and can take advantage of enjoying the last bits of summer!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[wildgoose]

The window for reporting this week's behavioral results has officially closed.

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[wildgoose]

BambiS — Congratulations on your upcoming 2-year WFPB anniversary! You've learned a lot and made good progress.

One of the important points you've discovered is the difference between MWL and WFPB in terms of your goals and your health. You're well on your way to establishing an individual "Sweet Spot" that will lead to your being able to have a way of eating that will serve you well for the rest of your life.

Rebecka22 — Good for you to not give in to temptation, especially in times of stress.

Kids always present a challenge. There is only so much you can do. At age 5, your daughter is still under your influence and control a great deal, but that will diminish as she gets older (as you've found with your older kid/s). Kids are surrounded by stuff that is Calorie Rich And Processed (aka CRAP), and they're influenced by their friends (and, unfortunately, their friends' parents) who consume it without a care in the world.

I look at my grand-Goslings' food in horror. Their mom is conscientious but overworked and stressed. Their dad is the primary caregiver, and he's a classic junk-food junkie. So there's not a thing I can do about their diet but distract and dilute, on those occasions when I'm with the kids. I feed the youngest avocado, one of his favorites, and hope that fills him up so he only eats one hot dog later instead of two. When we go out to an all-you-can-eat buffet, and he's gobbling mac and cheese, I have a plate of raw veggies between us that I've cut into bite-size pieces. Eventually, there are little hands dipping into that as well!

You can't forbid or rant against the CRAP -- that will only make her want more, as you pointed out. But you can make the good stuff attractive and readily available (snack bags for those minefield events?), model the behavior that you want, take great joy in your food and let the kids see you doing it, and fill the kids as full as you can with nutritious food. Don't skimp on the starches and higher-fat plant foods. Fruits and veggies are great, but active kids also need extra calories. If they don't get them from nutritious food, they'll get them from CRAP.

Starflower — Good job in navigating the Pleasure Trap with reasonable success. Having extra starch in some meals might have actually worked in your favor, keeping you away from the real problem areas. And you have another chance to refine your technique and strategy next week.

Finding good spices can go a long way toward making food tasty and exciting, as well as adding variety. Smoked black peppercorns sound really good!

Hope your foot wasn't too badly hurt and that you are on the mend!

Hjklost55 — Well done for posting, even with a report of being off the rails. Yes, it's easy for bad eating to sneak back in (that's why they call it the Pleasure Trap), and the cravings get worse the more of the CRAP that you eat. It's a myth that you can kill cravings by giving in to them, as you well know.

You have the right idea. Refocus, move forward. One choice at a time, one meal at a time. If you ever eat something that's less than ideal, make sure that the very next bite is something health-promoting. Don't listen to that little voice that says "oh well, I've blown it, so I'll eat what I want for the rest of today and start in again tomorrow."

Don't restrict, especially the starches. If you're comfortably full, it's easier to resist the cravings. Eventually, they'll go away, and you'll be back in the groove again. Stay with the checklist. Think behavior, not food. Keep things as simple and easy as you can (you want to make good behavior easy, less-than-optimum behavior much harder).

Looking forward to hearing from you again next week. We're all here for you!

Gimmelean — That "one day at a time" strategy for managing the candy at work seems to be working for you. Keep it up! Inching toward a "yes" is just fine. I remember thinking of the snack tray in the break room at work as "clutter" rather than as something that might be eaten -- it helped.

I had never heard of giambotta. Sounds tasty! I'm a big fan of both slow cooking and the Instant Pot. Maybe once it gets cooler, I'll see what I can do with the giambotta idea.

Enjoy the figs while you have them. It's only once a year for a short time.

VegSeekingFit - You're doing a fantastic job, Stephanie. Varying your exercise is always good, and you're right -- it's good to have options that don't put stress on sore feet.

You're working your way into a pattern that works for you long-term. That's just what I did -- cut back on the preloading, adjusted the ratio of starch to non-starchy foods on my plate.

I love those smashed pintos of Mary's. We use them for everything. The Gander makes sandwiches with them. We both use them to top Chubby Chips or steak fries (with chopped scallions or salsa). They taste good cold, spread into celery! And of course, they make fabulous burrito bowls.


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Love the comments about autumn that many of you included this week. Fall is my favorite season. I can't wait for the cool, crisp weather and the changing colors.

In the meantime, we're due for a heat wave here in the Midwest. It happens every year, especially in August, but I'm not looking forward to it at all!

I find myself using the same strategies to address the heat as I do to work my food and behavior program.

• Plan in advance. Don't get caught without the means to comfortably get through the day (or the week, or longer!). That might mean going to the grocery store, or preparing food for the freezer, or making a menu for the week (or, in case of surviving the heat, going to the library to stock up on reading for when I'm not sticking one little feather outside the house!).
• Consider the worst-case scenario, and how to cope. Our power grid is terrible, and I know just where I'll go if we lose power and AC here. Likewise, I know just how to maneuver around a social eating situation, or how to respond to one of my more obnoxious family members who always has something pointed to say about "that stupid diet." I know where the pitfalls are, where I'm vulnerable, and how I'm going to deal with any of it. And if something comes up that's totally unexpected, I know I have the skills to figure it out.
• Know that the "finish line" can move. The weather forecasters say the heat will start breaking after a week. I can hang on till next weekend, but I've also seen where the heat is stronger than the forecasters and can last for days (sometimes a whole string of days!) longer than predicted. If it's hotter for longer than I expect, will my worst grumpy Goose tendencies come out, or will I start thinking about "treats" to make myself feel better? It's the same with challenges to my program. Maybe the cravings don't go away as fast as I thought they would. Maybe a sniff of hot pretzel in the mall hits me harder than I thought it could (gee, you mean I'm not immune by now?). Maybe the meal that used to hold me so well for hours just isn't working any more (what's up with that?). Flexibility and a healthy dose of humor is the key.
• Don't push for perfection. Be willing to let some things go. Don't sweat the small stuff. Literally for me, in the case of the heat. I know I shouldn't start a big project, even in the air-conditioned indoors, that will be too taxing or too likely to create a strain. I won't decide that now would be a great time to clean the basement. Bad weather puts stress on humans, even when they're sheltered from it. With the food and the checklist, I focus on the basics. Don't try to improve everything at once. Drop back to really, really simple meals that are easy to fix and that don't require a lot of thought. Ask for help and support if I need it, and let family or friends pitch in (the Gander always tells me when it's time to put my superhero cape in the washing machine and not wear it for a while -- I usually get the hint).

McDougall/MWL applied to life, life skills applied to McDougall/MWL. This program calls on lots of "regular" skills that we already have, and it also develops some new ones that extend far beyond the realm of food and health.

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Hope you all have a good week. I've enjoyed my time as your facilitator, and I hope Mark has had a restful and relaxing trip. He'll be back next week for the last check-in of August.

Goose