The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - October 2023 Group

[Starflower]

Wishing you and your family a lovely time, Mark!

[BambiS]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Sone days


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
Some days


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).some days

Victories, comments, concerns, questions good week,

I finally finished the garage for this year. Everything is sorted, that was a lot of lifting but I didn’t eat properly during that time. I ate plant based, but didn’t follow portions.

Now I will have time for myself to refocus and get back on track and see what next year brings!

[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

Another good week. Some tempting situations but with good planning I was able to stay the course. I hope everyone has a great week!

[Starflower]

October 11th

Hi team!

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

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). NO

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:

This week was good until yesterday. I stayed on plan until then. I came down with some kind of virus and just ate what was easy and appealing. This shows me I need food put aside for situations like this. Onward!

Wishing everyone a wonderful and successful week!

[Artista]

Mark, thank you so much for the welcome and admitting me to the group. I hope you have a wonderful time away with your family!

The following is an assessment just for the days since rejoining the MWL group. Next time will include the whole week.

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

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.  Yes, usually raw vegetables or some fruit. I want to transition into making a large batch of salad or vegetable soup so that it’s ready to go at the start of a 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 desert. Yes, I’ve been eating a lot of vegetables at all three meals. Even though my plate is at least 1/2 vegetables, I’m finding I’m usually able to make it to the next meal without needing to snack.

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, I completely avoid sugar because I find that even a little sugar over a period of time will set off cravings for sweets. As far as salt goes, I’m avoiding packaged foods with added salt unless it’s a condiment type thing, and I add salt at the table.

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, big victory here. Soy foods have been hard to give up but I’ve managed to do without them for the last few days.

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, I’m pretty used to not eating bread and other flour products. Dried fruit has been a challenge in the past but I’ve managed to avoid it for the last few months.

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, I can overeat but, fortunately, I haven’t been having a problem with that lately. I feel like I’m eating the right amount of food.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes, this is another one that’s been a problem for me in the past but I’ve been able to be pretty consistent with exercise recently

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

It feels very good to be back on track and I don’t feel like I’m struggling with it, I’m not too hungry or missing any of the foods I’m choosing not to eat. I spent a lot of time easing into it, so it doesn’t feel like an abrupt change. There’s a lot going on in my life right now and some of it is stressful but I find that the diet is sustainable. I’ll be doing some traveling in November visiting family but I can take food with me so as long as I prepare well, I should be okay.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

It is a chilly and rainy Friday here in Chicagoland, IL! I guess that is fall, yeah? Anyway, here is my week…

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Frequently – did not do 4 / 21. I made an easy veggie soup with just a bag of frozen soup veggies, a box of Pomi, some water, garlic, and a red onion. It turned out pretty good.

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. I continue eating primarily the same meals and am still enjoying them.

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. Did not starve or stuff.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes - 7 / 7. Consistent walking and pickleball. Started strength training this week and did 2 sessions – went great! I am signed up for my group’s Halloween pickleball tournament and got my costume -going to be a tiger - found tiger print exercise leggings, ears, a tail… HA! Should be a screech.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Hi Wildgoose! And a big HI to the whole group!

Mark, hope you are having a great outing!

Welcome Artista!

Hope you are feeling better, Starflower.

So glad that we have this place to learn and share. Thank you!

Wishing everyone a fantastic week ahead!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 10/13/23

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- some tortilla chips- again

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 -no gym yet. Yoga, walking, some easy hand weight exercises at home. I’m going to try a group- ex class at the gym tomorrow with planned rest in between. I really dislike being so sensible and cautious here!

Victories,Comments,Concerns,Questions:
The world is such a crazy place with one geopolitical catastrophe after the next. It’s very distressing and hits home on many levels.

Not a bad week. Work seems to be where I cave towards 4pm on days I’m working in the office vs. working at home where I have a much more predictable environment. At home, evenings after dinner are tempting times to go astray with recreational snacking. This week I tucked some mini cooked potatoes into my container of raw veggies and fruit that I take to work. It did the trick. I forgot about being hungry and had no need to forage for candy. I still felt light and focused. I don’t sit down to eat lunch because I never have and prefer to graze. I’m going to continue doing this and make sure I have those teeny potatoes on hand.
I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to hyper focus on adherence but have maintained fairly well. Maybe this is a good sign of habituation taking its course.
I’m having family over for the next two weeks and looking forward to being with them. New challenges. Right?
Have a good week everyone! I’m glad to have this group too.

[Drew*#]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.****Yes or # 2. A couple setbacks.
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.**** Consistent.A few meals deviated.
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. **** 6/7. Reduced.
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. ****6/7
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. *** 5/7
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). ****Yes, except a couple shots of wheatgrass juice.
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). ****2/7 (going on a long hike today and tomorrow to make up for it!)


Hello Wild Goose, Mark, Stephanie, and All, thank you for the warm welcome. I am loving purple or white fries in an air frier with vinegar. Use real potatoes...not ones that a processed with oil. I am not adding standard ketchup with sugar in it. I use the other stuff sparingly, a blend of tomato and other veggies. My split pea soup is nourishing. My progress surprises me. Besides diet, I am finding that getting adequate sleep helps. There are little things I do before sleep to make sure it is restful.

Good to see you all and your progress inspires!

Drew

[wildgoose]

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

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[wildgoose]

BambiS — Good job on the garage. Sounds like you ate as well as you could, given the circumstances. I'm sure you'll get focused again without too much trouble. You know what to do!

Rebecka22 — Planning is one of the major keys to success with this way of eating. Getting caught without a plan is a wide-open path to caving in to temptation. All those YESes are a tribute to your planning skills. Well done!

Starflower — Sorry to hear about your bout with the virus. Putting food aside as a contingency plan is a good idea. I freeze soup, brown rice and other simple, easily digestible food for times like that.

I'll give you another idea for a soup that might taste good when you're not feeling well, in my comments below.

Artista — Welcome back -- glad to see you here!

Batch-prepping salad or soup is a great idea. Saves a lot of prep at mealtime, which can throw off your intentions for pre-loading your meals.

I'm the same as you are on sugar. A little can derail me easily, so I avoid it. Your taste buds adjust, and fruit becomes as sweet and satisfying as those sugary treats used to be. Sugar sprinkled on food is OK for those who don't find it problematic, but I think from what you report, you made the right decision.

Congratulations on eliminating those troublesome soy foods, as well as the dried fruit. Huge victory for you there!

Doing this way of eating in a way that's sustainable is very important. You've realized that you're not "on a diet" -- you're making changes that will form the basis of a lifelong eating plan. Once you reach your weight and health goals, you may make some small adjustments and changes for maintenance, but the basics always stay the same.

VegSeekingFit - Another great report, Stephanie. We've had unseasonable heat down here in central Illinois, but the rain and colder weather are here now too.

Your soup sounds delicious. It has some of the same ingredients as Jeff's Longevity Soup, which I've always liked.

I had a good laugh at your description of Halloween pickleball. The costume sounds fabulous -- if you don't trip over your tail!

Gimmelean - Those mini potatoes sound like just the thing! Great idea.

As for the after-dinner snacking, I've found it easier to just clean up after the meal and declare the kitchen closed (to me, at least ). No snacking at all. I used to be a regular evening eater, and now I have no desire for food after dinner.

Those tortilla chips -- can you negotiate with whoever they belong to, to keep them out of your sight? And if they don't belong to anyone, perhaps they don't belong in your house?

I’ve been so busy, I haven’t had time to hyper focus on adherence but have maintained fairly well. Maybe this is a good sign of habituation taking its course.

Wonderful observation. I think you're right on the mark with it, and it's just what you're aiming for.

Drew*# - Good report. Lots of progress to be proud of. Those YESes are adding up!

Purple potato air-fries sound fun and a nice variation from white potatoes. I make my own ketchup, which is easy and tasty. Maybe you'd like to try, or see if you like some of the other ideas from the linked thread.

Spit pea soup sounds hearty and good. Soup seems to be popular this time of year!

Besides diet, I am finding that getting adequate sleep helps. There are little things I do before sleep to make sure it is restful.

Excellent point, and one we often don't emphasize enough.

**********

The seasons are changing, and for those of us in the US, fall is upon us. In the areas where the weather is cooler, it's the season for soups, winter squashes, starchy and veg-filled casseroles or combinations -- all the warm "comfort foods" that can be a joyful part of this way of eating.

Fall can also be the time of increased busy-ness, with back-to-school, projects around the house and yard, work life ramping up, holiday preparations starting. That means a need for extra attention to planning and being prepared, as many of you have noted. Stock those fridges and freezers, and make meals ahead. That way, when you're tired at the end of the day, you're ready with supper instead of looking to carry-out or delivery. Plan for portability as well. What can you take to work or to an event so you don't get caught hungry with tempting goodies staring you in the face?

It's the time, too, for those unexpected bouts of not feeling well, whether it be from seasonal allergies or the inopportune virus. Veggie broth and brown-rice ramen instead of the time-honored chicken soup? It works. Think about what other soothing recipes from your past can be adapted, and keep the ingredients on hand. Or make your favorites ahead and freeze, as a contingency.

Several of you have been talking about soups. I have my standard soups that I make all the time (especially lentil chili and multi-bean minestrone), but sometimes I want something uncomplicated and not too spicy. I just saw a demo of a soup that Chef Ramses Bravo makes for part of the re-feeding process at True North Health Center (where they do water-only fasting). Dr. Michael Klaper devised the soup to be especially digestible.

The technique is simple. Peel a few Yukon Gold potatoes; cut them into about 1-inch pieces; put them in a pot with enough water to cover them and extend about 1/2 inch above; simmer until they're about half-done. Then cut a couple of zucchini (washed but not peeled -- you want the green) and cut them into pieces about the same size as the potatoes. You want about as much volume of zucchini as you have potatoes, maybe a little less. Add the zucchini to the pan of potatoes and continue simmering until the potatoes and zucchini are both tender. Then use an immersion blender to blend everything to the consistency of thick cream soup. You can transfer the contents of the pan (carefully!) to a regular blender to blend, as Chef Bravo did, but I didn't want a blender to clean and the immersion blender worked well. Add more water if you like it thinner.

This soup sounds very bland, but I tried it and I really like it! It's like a potato soup with a green vegetable overtone (and it's a very pretty green, visually). The Yukon Golds make it richer tasting than it would be if you used another type of potato. Chef Bravo says you can use other green vegetables (I tried spinach the second time I made it -- still really good!), but the zucchini is the most digestible. If digestion is not the issue, you could always add spices or things like onion and garlic, but I like the original recipe. It's extremely warm and comforting, easy on the stomach, and simple to make.

If you want to see the episode of Chef AJ Live where Chef Bravo makes the soup, he starts talking about it and cooking it at about the 5:00 mark.

**********

I hope you all do well this week. Mark will be back for the next check-in. October is moving so fast -- the fall and winter holidays will be here soon!

Goose

[BambiS]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Sone days


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
Some days


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). Most days

Victories, comments, concerns, questions good week,

It was a better week, I got a lot of walks in and are better. The scale even moved down!

[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 was a good week again with a lot of planning. Survived a party and some very long days by planning ahead. I also had some chili in the freezer that came in handy when I ran out of pre planned food. I’m not usually a big freezer of food, but I might do it more after all the talk last week. I hope everyone has a great week!

[Starflower]

October 20th

Hi team!

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

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). NO

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

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

This week started off shakily with being sick. I’m back on plan and enjoying lots of compliant food. After last week, I’m working toward cooking enough ahead for when life happens. Onward!

Wildgoose, thank you for the excellent advice and delicious soup recipe!

Mark, I hope your family outing was a lot of fun!

Stephanie, thank you for the well-wishes!

Wishing everyone a wonderful and successful week!

[Artista]

Hello everyone!

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.  Mostly. I think I missed a couple of meals. There were a couple days when I seemed to be eating often and on those days, I didn’t always remember to start with soup, salad, or fruit.

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. I’ve eliminated sugar and have gotten pretty comfortable with that. I follow the directions to not use salt in cooking and only add salt at the table. I sometimes wonder if I’m adding too much salt at the table. I don’t pour it on but I put it on until I can taste it, food tastes flat without the salt. Is there any guideline as to how much salt to add at the table or is just according to taste?

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. Pretty much, yes, on this one. I never starve myself but sometimes judging between comfortably full and too full is a challenge.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). There were three days when I was very busy and only managed to do the PT exercises for my shoulder which are mostly stretching with some strengthening, could've done better on those days. I like that the weather is changing and getting out to walk is easier.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

My first full week back following the MWL guidelines. There were a couple of days when I seemed to be hungry all day and ate often. I only ate the recommended foods but was afraid I was eating too much of them. At one point I had the idea to try not to eat between meals but I didn’t get too far with that. In the end I decided that the 10 point checklist is hard enough without adding to it, maybe I just need to work on nailing down all of the 10 points before I start adding to them. I noticed that a really hungry day is usually followed by a more normal day, so hopefully it evens itself out over time.

When I first started physical therapy the therapist advised eating more protein, he mentioned protein shakes from Costco, and more calcium. I try to eat lots of greens for the calcium but pretty much ignored the advice on the protein shakes. He's a stellar physical therapist so it wasn't easy to side-step any of his advice but the fracture in my shoulder does seem to have healed well even without the extra protein. Getting along without going along as Dr. Lisle would say.

Welcome back, Mark, I hope you had a wonderful time with your family.
Thank you, Wildgoose, for all your great comments and advice last week.
Wishing everyone a great week!

[Rebecka22]

I just wanted to ask if anyone has a compliant curry recipe. I know I can use beans or cauliflower in place of the coconut milk, but what about the peanut butter? One of my favorite dishes at a Thai restaurant is pumpkin curry and I’d love to be able to make something like it that keeps me on track and ideally my family would eat too. Thanks!