Keeping it Simple

[JeffN]

I am also a bit confused with the MWL - are we supposed to only be eating one type of starch or is that just Mary's Mini. Tomorrow I will take some time to look it up.

The MWL has no limit on the amount of variety of starch at a meal. That is the Mary’s Mini.

Also, Rye Krisp and tortillas are not MWL.

The most accurate up-to-date info on MWL can be found in the MWL Weigh-in Group and the orientation post and the links in it.

In Health
Jeff

[creativeone]

I read through the MWL - but somewhere I thought I saw FF Corn tortillas in a recipe for MWL...well I went back and checked and there is a note that corn tortillas can be swapped for wheat tortillas according to someone who read the book.

Then further down there is a list of recipe pages from the books

Baja Vegetable Wraps uses corn tortillas
Potato Enchiladas use corn tortillas
Corn tortillas pg 307

[JeffN]

The MWL book was updated in a newsletter several years later which was then condensed into the 10 points. This is all explained in one of the links in the MWL Orientation thread.

You can read about it here.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=26620&p=578019#p569991

There were several changes made. One of those is tortillas are no longer recommended due to their calorie density.

In health
Jeff

[creativeone]

That's cool, I don't have to have the tortillas, but must admit info is a bit confusing on that at first glance. The rykrisp, I thought I saw them on a visual in easy recipes for MWL - but cannot find that thread atm.

[JeffN]

There have been several changes over the years. You can even find some oil in some older recipes.

That is why I keep directing you to the MWL thread for the current guidelines .

The biggest change in MWL is that whole grain pasta (600 cal/lb) is allowed but corn tortillas (1000 cal/lb) aren’t. This is how the MWL program at the 10-day residential program was run the last several years.

Rye Krisp has never been allowed on MWL.

In health
Jeff

[creativeone]

Jan 18th - missed my journal so this is just catching up

B - porridge and apple

L - potato vegetable soup

D - roasted potatoes topped with peppers, onions and mushrooms

S - pineapple

[creativeone]

Today Jan 19th

B - porridge
S - tangerine
L - baked potato
D - roasted baby potatoes with tomato sauce and big salad
S - peaches

[creativeone]

Missed my journal yesterday but my meals are so simple and not dissimilar and its easy to keep track. I wouldn't need to journal here, but I want to continue while getting my food back to the McDougall plan.
JAn 20
B - banana and porridge
L - baked potato and baby carrots
D - fondant leeks with mashed potatoes and steamed spring greens
S - tangerine

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Jan 21

B/L - none as i wasn't hungry until 11 am then I had a tray of baby baked potatoes and a peach
D - Mary's potato pizza slow cooker recipe and steamed broccoli
S - banana, tangerine - ate one too many fruits today but I was hungry and tired and not feeling well since I received my flu jab yesterday and my arm is really really sore and aches all the way to my hand.

[creativeone]

Jan 22

B - leftover mashed potatoes, apple
L - carrot coriander soup
T - tomato cabbage soup with WW pasta

Jan 23

B - none, not hungry
L - tomato red pepper soup with a steamed potato
T - roasted potatoes with homemade no SFS ketchup, cup tomato red pepper soup
S - porridge, 2 tangerines this was for pudding after tea

Since Jan 4th, I have been occasionally checking scale but not too frequently. Although today I jumped on and was pleasantly surprised to see 9 lbs gone. My clothes are looser fitting and I have more energy, less pain overall and noticeable every day. I love eating this way - once in awhile I was hungry and had to adjust to make sure I had enough and not too much food. A few mistakes were made until I had time to digest all the details and help from a kind people here. I just wish the world would get on board so you could order a healthy meal without fat at a restaurant--maybe someday.

Also walked 45 minutes 4 days this week. Sunday I often get a 90 minute walk in to and from studio when the weather is dry.

[creativeone]

Snow day Jan 24

No breakfast - not hungry

midmorning - tangerine

Lunch - leek potato soup carrot sticks

early Dinner on Sunday - brown rice 2 cups, roasted butternut squash julienned and tossed with chili powder, cumin and dried chopped roasted garlic, green peas and lettuce

after dinner - tangerine and 1 c brown rice

Today is actual weigh in day and I am now 10 lbs down. woohoo!! I tried a sweater on that I was afraid to even try as I didn't want to stretch it, and it was loose.

Jan 25

Today the plan is a butternut squash soup with celery and potato for lunch and dinner as a starter. Potatoes for dinner - mashed or roasted. Crudités because they are inexpensive and easy. carrots, celery, peppers. Or I might steam a broccoli head and some peas.

I have been saving my porridge for my dessert at night on occasion and that is a really nice way to end the day, warm and cosy before bed with a small piece of fruit. I am not hungry for breakfast some days.

I am sleeping so much better. As a person with lifelong sleeping issues this is very important to me. Diagnosed with Fibromyalgia which is caused by not getting delta sleep, I am desperate to sleep. My sleeplessness is caused by fear, besides it is a long story I am not comfortable sharing on the forum. Eating correctly helps my sleep patterns too.

Last week my DB was on a zoom call for work and got compliments on how lockdown seems to be doing him good as he looks great. His complexion has gotten rosy and it reminds me of what Dr. M always said about people look grey because of the fat they eat. We are discussing staying on MWL for February. We had planned on just January and then graduating to regular McDougall diet. As we are happy and feel good I agreed to stay MWL for a bit longer. There may come a point when I'd like whole grain crackers or tortillas or homemade bread and I don't want to feel deprived and then we can switch. To me that would be better than craving something unhealthy. Staying home because of snow and ice today.

[creativeone]

Stuck home again...still icy and the brick walk and steps to the studio are probably slippery and they are already steep. The 'super' doesn't clean them or salt them and its not worth a fall. I started teaching myself to use iMovie yesterday and created my first film while drawing over a painting. Very pleased with it.

Last night I had baked potatoes with crudités - peppers, cucumbers and scallions. I had an upset tummy afterward--first time in a long time. Wondering which veg was the offender...they can all upset the stomach but it could be the raw onions. Although I eat raw red onions nearly every day without issue. It passed after I took a teaspoon of gaviscon - which made me pretty angry to use because I have never used such a product. I had a tincture from Holland made from anise, ginger and other such ingredients that works perfectly for that sort of stomach upset. But I am out and haven't been able to get to Holland due to the pandemic. I will try to order some online for the future. My DB keeps gaviscon and used it a lot when he was eating his normal food, which I tried to explain you wouldn't need if you would try my way of eating. oh well.

Jan 26 plan for today

B- banana

L - steamed potato and red pepper tomato soup

D - broccoli soup and mashed potatoes with cut up fresh veg

my snacks are now microwaved potatoes and we just had 10 kilos delivered so plenty to eat.

[creativeone]

Jan 27

B - banana

L - broccoli soup with baby potato

D - roasted potato wedges, vegetable soup, steamed leafy greens

Dessert - porridge with blueberries

__________________________________

Walked 55 minutes today

B - banana

L - potato

D - veg soup, mashed potato, peas, steamed greens

Dessert - oatmeal with blueberries

[creativeone]

Busy few days and I lost track of posting my foods here.

Jan 29

B - Banana

L - Potato and baby carrots, microwaved the potato

D - carrot soup, Mashed potatoes with green onions and collards, sugar snaps and green beans

Dessert - porridge with blueberries
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Jan 30 - Saturday

B - Clementine, lemon water and decaf tea

L - steamed potato and red pepper slices

D - carrot soup, roasted chili potatoes - I had an idea the if I used brown rice flour lightly sprinkled on a tray covered with parchment and then tossed the wet potato wedges with chili powder/blended with smoked paprika, that they would not stick on the bottom. They came out perfect!!! We ate them with steamed broccoli and green peas.

Dessert - porridge and berry mix

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Jan 31 Sunday

B - Apple

L - microwaved baby potatoes and mixed veg soup

D - scalloped potatoes - sliced potatoes, onions and pepper layered in a casserole dish, covered with vegetable broth that I made in the soup cooker earlier in the day, and mixed with nutritional yeast and curry spices. Baked for an hour - it was scrumptious. We had mushroom gravy on the side and steamed broccoli

Dessert - clementine

________________________
Weigh in as of February 1st - 157 lbs - That means I have lost 13 lbs in total since the beginning of MWL and 8% of my body weight. My clothes are much looser, body aches receding, or gone in many areas, sleeping better through the night am feeling rested for the first time in a very long time.

B - none, not hungry

snack - 10am 1 baby potato and mango slices

L - microwaved potatoes and baby carrots

D - leftovers soup and scalloped potatoes, raw celery sticks

S - hungry when I got home at 3pm so I ate a banana

Dessert - porridge and mixed berries - this made it 3 fruits for the day, but it was .5 cup berries and I hope it wasn't too much
_____________

We both decided that we will continue on MWL for February as we are happy with our food and eating well and losing easily. We will assess and if needed we might need to ease up a little, but so far we are doing very well. No cravings or desire to go off altogether, Frankly this is my favourite food and way to eat so I don't want standard fare anyway. DB lost 16lbs over January 7% of his body weight.

One thing we notice is that when we eat brown rice or pasta we do not lose weight and seem to maintain it. So we love potatoes and have decided to keep them as our main food with porridge for breakfast or snacks if needed. I have gotten extremely creative with different ways to cook the potatoes for dinners. I just simply eat a leftover or quickly microwave a potato for myself when needed.

[creativeone]

I have no idea where the time goes--until I think I should do my 'daily' journal - which I jot a note on my desk about what I ate and plan in the evening to post it. But after a day at the studio and calling my mother every day (she is living in care home on lockdown with no visitors) so I am trying to keep her spirits up too.

Mon Feb 1

B - mango/baby potato

L - potatoes and a whole pepper sliced

D- broccoli soup, mashed potatoes with dark leafy greens and peas

Dessert - porridge with berries

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Tue Feb 2

B - banana

10am snack - potatoes

3 pm snack - veg soup with a few potato chunks in it

D - jacket potatoes, crudités and sugar snaps

dessert - porridge with berries
_____________________

Wed Feb 3

B - raspberries and mango

10am snack fingerling potato microwaved

L - fingerling potatoes microwaved with hot peppers

D - cabbage onion carrot soup with WW tagliatelle I ate the whole batch which was about 4 cups and it had about 60 grams of dry pasta.

Dessert - porridge and a tangerine

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When I write porridge it is for 40 grams dry medium steel cut oats mixed with .5 cup frozen berries and 150 ml water and microwaved for 3 minutes.

The potatoes I eat - I try to guess that they are the size of a good sized baking potato and having weighed them in the past I can visualise they are about 200-250 gram servings. Sometimes though I eat more and it could go as much as 300 or 400. Having a soup every single day before dinner is helping to lower volume of what is being eaten of course and I am feeling less hungry. Having checked a nutrition site in the UK a large helping of potatoes is 220 grams and 163 calories. I just looked out of curiosity. I have no idea what calories I am eating for the day because we don't weight and track which makes me very happy!

The only reason I weighed the potatoes is because the microwave asks how many grams of potatoes and then cooks them perfectly if you put the right grams in.

Fruit - I keep it at one whole piece and .5 cup cooked berries most days.

other notes: I was putting a little dark brown sugar on my oatmeal (maple syrup is a bit difficult and expensive to get in the uk) but I noticed that I was casually 'increasing' the amount I wanted on my oats. So I quit using it this week and switched to honey. I know its not vegan ethically and don't know if we can have it or not instead of maple. I measured it on an espresso spoon, which I have to do or loving sweet so much I'd drizzle it over the whole bowl! Next time I get to town I will look for maple syrup again, since I am only using for my cereal in small amounts. Brits don't care for the flavour and my partner being british does not like it.

Have a bit of sore throat and staying home from studio today which I do every thursday anyway.

[deweyswakms]

I just dropped in to say how much I too love potatoes! They have become my favorite starch. And bravo on the weight loss, plus realizing that eating MWL way is the way to vibrant health. Just keep going till you realize your weight goals; then you can ease up a bit.

Marsha