amandamechele wrote:Hi All!
Wonderful work this week all.
I loved the sharing of recipes, of strategies, of what we struggle with and where we have found success. You all are doing great and are very supportive of each other!
Even though I still have a few more days left until the official end of my October MWL Challenge (and I will continue to post the pictures and possibly my ending weight loss if the scale arrives in time), I thought I'd summarize some of my thoughts about how this month went. With the objective data (my photographs) I was able to more accurately review how I actually did this month. Memory can be so selective, that's why journaling can be a great tool periodically to figure out why you may be stalled in your efforts.
I entered this challenge with the full intention of following every protocol and refinement listed. Isn't that how everyone's weight loss plans start? Hehe...but you all saw how it actually went. It becomes a mish mash of best intentions gone slightly astray and reversions to the mean. Never mind where that road paved with good intentions is going...lol...
This is a long reflection, going over certain little details. The Cliff's notes version is
by following the guidelines quite closely I was able to stay on-plan without too much difficulty and lose weight even in situations atypical to my regular schedule.
Here is a list of the things that went well:
1)I didn't measure or limit my food consumption and
ate until full at every meal. Conversely, I also
didn't snack in the evenings. These two statements may seem at odds with each other but they are both truly (truly) key in my success this month. By filling up at my meals I didn't need to eat in the evenings. Breaking that habit (and its more than just a habit and is covered by Dr. Lisle in his presentation on
The Cram Circuit) is very important to me, its my
next-level goal.
2)I was able to
avoid all refined flour products. I make peanut butter sandwiches for the kids and baked pita chips and find having these things laying about the house difficult sometimes because they call to me a bit. Really poor food choices used to call to me too, but not so much anymore. It appears to be true that by not reinforcing those desires they fade. It just takes time and consistent adherence. I have no doubt that if I continued to avoid eating the refined breads and pastas, my desire for them would fade as well. (See the Cram Circuit) I will admit to being a bit nervous about November, one month without them may not be long enough and I hope to not have to rely upon will power alone, because that never turns out well. I will need to consider strategies for continued success for this issue and the no evening snacking issue. I won't have the external pressure of this challenge nudging me any longer. I will also eventually be settled in my own home and not feel so restricted in action by being on display in that way as well.
3)I was able to find (or bring)
no added oil choices to all of my social activities. This month included a wedding, a couple of birthdays and good-bye celebrations, Canadian Thanksgiving, a driving trek across the country and living in someone else's home. All of these occurrences offered the invitation to
ease up a bit and let my most common slip up occur:
letting a little bit of oil in here and there. I am happy to say I did quite well (the taster's bite of the bride's special dinner selection notwithstanding). Avoiding the oil while out of your home may be the biggest hurdle everyone must face due to its ubiquity in meal preparation and processed products. Success in this small domain takes a bit of fortitude. But you can do it!
4)Though by no means perfect, I included
A LOT more veggies with each meal than I usually would. I also consistently followed Jeff Novick's advice to eat my meal in the order of
lowest to highest calorie density. I started with my raw and cooked veggies or fruit, then ate soup if I was having it and saved my starch until the end. I did notice that this past week I have been just naturally choosing less oatmeal in my morning bowl and there have been a few times that I couldn't finish the potatoes or stew that I had put on my plate. That was a neat occurrence that took a number of weeks to manifest.
5)I was successful at
avoiding nuts, nut butters and other high fat healthy plant foods in order to keep my percentage of fat as a daily total lower than my historic average. I did eat boiled edamame one evening out - I think that was the highest fat item of the month (but I'd have to go back through the pictures to confirm that). I was also successful at
removing refined sugar. Oatmeal truly isn't the same without it, and that may be why I'm slowly eating less of it. I was concerned that I may fall back into the periodic use of coffee as a stimulant to get through some of the challenges of the month, but (again) without any added sugar there was no appeal to do so.
6)
Alcohol: I had 6 occasions this month where I was offered alcohol. I don't tend to seek it out but have used it socially as a tool in the past. This month I faced some of those fears and braved a wedding full of strangers and even sang in front of a crowd (twice) without its aid. I got through those situations and can see a future place where I will no longer
need it. For those of you who do still have the odd drink and want to change that, maybe try to get past the thought
I enjoy a drink every now and then and think through why that it so. Are you using it as a social facilitator? Is it a habit? (Alcoholism is a different story and I'm not commenting on that is here. It can be tragic and insidiously difficult to manage. Please seek professional help if you struggle in this way).
Here are the things that I didn't get quite right, but continued to work on and consider throughout the challenge:
1) I actively chose not to graze, as recommended in one of the refinements. This was mostly a presentation issue with regards to photographing everything that I ate. Since I was not currently in any of Dr. Lisle's
traps it did not lead me to get off track even when I did get over hungry. If
your environment has too many tempting items or you are still
missing and thinking about foods that are not recommended then grazing would definitely be the way to go.
2) I consistently ate
more fruit than recommended. This seems to be one of those sticky issues for me. Once I have gotten everything else right, then I'll consider this as a final change if I still haven't gotten to where I want to be weight-wise. Fruits are nutrient-packed low-fat high-fibre foods that could be overeaten because of their sweetness. Fruit is a better choice than the more refined sweeteners like sugar or maple syrup and definitely better than the chemically-concocted fake sweeteners. If you are still using artificial sweeteners please consider strategies to give them up (it can be in a step-wise fashion - artificial to refined to fruit).
3) Exercise oh exercise, why do I keep putting you off? I still haven't instituted a personal walking program for myself here in my new home. That is currently my only
regular intentional exercise goal. It's reminding me of the difficulties of transitioning to a plant based diet. When there are enough little road-blocks the thought of attempting a behaviour change is daunting and can sometimes be shelved for an indefinite future date. My personal road-blocks to walking here are actually road related. Safety issues such as being unfamiliar with the area and people, lack of lighted streets and sidewalks...cougars and wolves and bears, OH MY! LOL. Yep, I may have a small tendency to overestimate low probability events. I've still got to figure this one out. I believe that setting a timeline for this process in an attempt to circumvent the desire to not deal with it is a potentially good strategy. For example: Over the next week, I will make a list of possible ways to add in a daily walk. Then I will allow an additional week to explore those ideas and choose those that will fit best with my current situation. (Did you all see what I just did there? Still not dealing with it...lol)
So I have come out of the month grateful to Dr. McDougall, once again, for all of the resources that he has provided online and his dedicated insistence on getting this information to everyone whether they can come out to a program or not. By re-reading his newsletters I've been able to remind myself of the protocols and refine my choices back towards evidence-based healthy eating and successful long term weight loss and maintenance.
Keep your meals simple, eat them slowly and until full, stick to whole unrefined foods and find the joy in that process and other areas of your life!
I hope to see you all in the November Weigh-In thread! Best wishes this week.
Amy
XO
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RHC
