Question re: Eating Between Meals

[MarionP]

Hi Jeff,

In the first post of the Eating Between Meals thread, the poster writes:

If I'm not mistaken McDougall program says to eat as much as you want , whenever you want till you are reasonably full.

To which you answered:

First, you are mistaken as this is a misunderstanding of the recommendations of the program.

I read the thread to see if you were going to explain in what way it is a misunderstanding of the McDougall program, but if you did I missed it.

I think I know what you mean by that, but just to be sure, I'd appreciate it if you could expound on this statement or direct me to a thread where you did.

Thank you,

[JeffN]

Hi Jeff,

In the first post of the Eating Between Meals thread, the poster writes:

If I'm not mistaken McDougall program says to eat as much as you want , whenever you want till you are reasonably full.

To which you answered:

First, you are mistaken as this is a misunderstanding of the recommendations of the program.

I read the thread to see if you were going to explain in what way it is a misunderstanding of the McDougall program, but if you did I missed it.

I think I know what you mean by that, but just to be sure, I'd appreciate it if you could expound on this statement or direct me to a thread where you did.

Thank you,

This thread may help clarify this..

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=6032

In Health
Jeff

[MarionP]

Thank you Jeff,

Here's what you say in the thread you pointed out :

What it means is that if you follow the principles of the program, especially of the Maximum Weight Loss program, you will be able to eat all you want of the recommended foods, until you are comfortably full, and still lose weight.

I'm afraid I still don't quite get what is wrong with the original statement. Is it the "whenever you want" part? Is it because it omits other important principles, like calorie density, recommended foods or the other elements raised by Burgess?

I'm sorry if I'm being punctillious, but, even though I think I have a pretty good grasp of the principles of this program, I'm always interested in deepening my understanding.

[JeffN]

The following quote, which was posted in the original thread by the OP, says

to eat as much as you want , whenever you want till you are reasonably full

That is a very generic statement that can be interrupted many ways and does not accurately reflect the program. It can't, as there is not just one program. In general, there is the regular program and the MWL. And there is the Mary's Mini. And, the elimination diet. And for those who struggle losing weight there is the adjustments to the MWL.

There are also foods that are recommended and foods that are allowed.

For instance, here is the list of McDougall Canned and Packaged Foods...

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... ged-foods/

On the list is "Snyder’s of Handover - Sourdough Hard Pretzels, Sourdough Nibblers, Oat Bran Sticks"

Does the above quote apply to these?

No.

Maybe for some people but for many, it only applies if you add in the qualifier I did.

If you read in my thread, Top 10 reasons for failure

viewtopic.php?t=8316

Not understanding the difference between something that is "allowed" on occasion in small quantities, and something that is "recommended.

There are many threads here where people have misunderstood this statement (which is often used to represent the program) and have not been able to lose weight and/or have gained weight.

In Health
Jeff

[MarionP]

Thank you Jeff,

I now understand what disqualified the orginal statement. I'm glad to see it wasn't a sublety of the program I had missed. I really appreciate the care with which you lay out the information and your attention to detail and accuracy.