Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

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Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby Cherry Tomato » Fri Nov 04, 2011 7:47 am

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/vegan-island/

Probably you long-time McDougallers have seen this before ... while reading it, I went back and forth between being amused and appalled.

I would be surprised if Dr McD served "romaine-only" salad and no dressing available. That's not what he indicates in his books or on his website.
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby BenFTW » Fri Nov 04, 2011 8:18 am

Cherry Tomato wrote:http://www.marksdailyapple.com/vegan-island/

Probably you long-time McDougallers have seen this before ... while reading it, I went back and forth between being amused and appalled.

I would be surprised if Dr McD served "romaine-only" salad and no dressing available. That's not what he indicates in his books or on his website.


"His heart is certainly in the right place, but I fear he is leading people down a wholly inappropriate dietary path" Now that is laughable.
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby ETeSelle » Fri Nov 04, 2011 8:28 am

I'm kind of astonished that the guy could go on the Costa Rica trip and come back so UTTERLY ignorant of the McDougall plan! He must just have been paying NO attention whatsoever when Dr. McD opened his mouth!
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby dlb » Fri Nov 04, 2011 8:45 am

ETeSelle wrote:I'm kind of astonished that the guy could go on the Costa Rica trip and come back so UTTERLY ignorant of the McDougall plan! He must just have been paying NO attention whatsoever when Dr. McD opened his mouth!


That's because he did not come to any of the lectures. As a matter of fact he only came to the dining room once on the very first evening. He then ate all his meals down the hill at the hamburger shack. His wife is/was a McDougaller. He agreed to come on this trip with her knowing full well what he was getting into and then made her miserable. She was in tears several times.

The other 119 people on the trip had a great time, including myself. Even Kev who is not now nor was then a McDougaller ate every meal in the dining room and enjoyed them all.

Sorry if this sounds terse. He was so obnoxious and I felt so sorry for his wife. Think I'll go do my kick boxing workout now :D.

Donna
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby Gweithgar » Fri Nov 04, 2011 8:54 am

O! So you were actually there with him, dlb? Thanks so much for adding to this discussion. Were his descriptions of the meals accurate? Because they don't sound very "McDougall-ish" to me! He implied white bread and sugary fruit drinks, which can't be true (can it?).

On the other hand, I was sort of glad to hear that the "adventure" parts of the trip weren't "all that adventurous". My mental image of a ropes course is me, dangling like the victim of a giant spider, while the coach throws abuse upon my head :crybaby: .

I'd love to hear your own recollections of this trip, if you've got time to share.
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby ETeSelle » Fri Nov 04, 2011 9:38 am

Well, that 'splains it then! What a jerk! If he doesn't want to do it, that's his business, but why then go out on the internet to talk about something he clearly knows NOTHING about??? :mad:
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Weight in 2010: 207 (33.4 BMI)
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby dlb » Fri Nov 04, 2011 9:44 am

Gweithgar wrote:I'd love to hear your own recollections of this trip, if you've got time to share.


Well you asked for it. I tried to keep it down but it's long :-D.

Yes, he was there the year we were.

He’s right that the group was a mixture of people. Some were long time McDougallers, some where people who had no idea what the program was all about and most somewhere in between. His description of the long timers is inaccurate. There were many trim and healthy looking people. I meet some people who were in their 80s and could run circles around most people half their age.

All of the meals where held in a common dining area with open seating and the buffets around the perimeter. The dining room was open air and looked out over the ocean. It was a beautiful setting. There were literally tables full of food. There were starches (potatoes, rice, beans), veggies, fruits and a whole table of salad stuff. I honestly don’t remember what the dressings where but if they didn’t have any I think I would remember it. Or at least remember Kev complaining :D . They made different things like waffles, pancakes, lasagna, pizza. There was also a woman making fresh corn tortillas. And yes, they did have a dessert table. It usually consisted of 3 or 4 different types of cakes. All cut into small serving sizing.

For beverages there was fruit juice served with each meal. They were made from freshly squeeze local fruits. Also available were tea and coffee. If you wanted a glass of wine or beer there was a bar which you can buy it from. Of course, water was also served.

For the adventures they spilt us up into smaller groups. We went hiking, horseback riding, snorkeling, rafting, zip lining. The adventures were planned so that people of all fitness levels could take part. Nothing was overly exerting but you weren’t sitting around a pool all day either. Or you could if you wanted to.

In the evening before dinner Dr. McDougall gave a lecture each evening. He tailors his lectures to the level of the group. As we had so many beginners that trip, the lectures were mostly at that level. He said to me, “you’ve probably heard all this before” and most of it I did. Still it was interesting to hear him in person and I did learn a few things I didn’t know. Also he and Mary were available each day for general conversation. The very first day we got there, he and Mary were at our table for lunch. I was so thrilled.

After dinner each evening, one of our guides gave a lecture. We had three guides and each had their own specialty. One talked about plants of Costa Rica, one talk of the indigenous peoples and artifacts, and the third took us up on a hill to do star gazing. His father or grandfather (I can’t remember which) was an astronomer and his knowledge was amazing. Then on another evening, Dr. McDougall arranged for a local dance and music group to come and perform for us. They were in authentic costumes and it was beautiful.

I really enjoyed everything but my favorite part had to be just meeting so many like minded people to share the experience with. That’s the part that is so hard to put into words. Even Kev, who as I said is not a McDougaller, still wants to go back again someday.

Donna
To read how the McDougall Program helped me reach my goals, go here:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/stars/donna_byrnes.html
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby HealthyMe2010 » Fri Nov 04, 2011 9:49 am

dlb wrote:His wife is/was a McDougaller. He agreed to come on this trip with her knowing full well what he was getting into and then made her miserable. She was in tears several times.

Donna


How sad and unfortunate. Perhaps he was just living up to the caveman image of a man dragging his wife around by the hair? :roll:

It's one thing to reflect back observations about the retreat, but to make statements when you aren't even present or fully involved says more about his ego than the quality and value of the retreat.

I'm glad to hear that others enjoyed the trip! :-D
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby dlb » Fri Nov 04, 2011 9:51 am

ETeSelle wrote:Well, that 'splains it then! What a jerk! If he doesn't want to do it, that's his business, but why then go out on the internet to talk about something he clearly knows NOTHING about??? :mad:


And why agree to do something with his wife and then torture her!

I just don't know why people can't at least be open minded. Would it have killed him to eat no meat for a week?

But the comparison did make me appreciate Kev even more. He was so gracious. By the way, this trip was Kev's birthday present. Nothing like giving somebody something you want :mrgreen:.
To read how the McDougall Program helped me reach my goals, go here:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/stars/donna_byrnes.html
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby Gweithgar » Fri Nov 04, 2011 9:51 am

Thanks, Donna! You write one great travelogue. Now I'm mad at that donkey for dissing meals he didn't even partake of. I don't know if I'll ever do a McDougall trip, but it's good to read about them and they do sound like fun. It's just that, for about the same money, I could spend a couple weeks hiking the Welsh Coastal Path; if I can only pick one (if I'm lucky enough to be able to afford to go at all) then I pick Wales.
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby Melinda » Fri Nov 04, 2011 10:09 am

I had read his post before - interesting that he sells supplements! Great that you gave us the goods on him, Donna! We would love to go on a Costa Rica trip, but we have a limited travel budget, and travel fairly frugally.
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby HealthyMe2010 » Fri Nov 04, 2011 10:49 am

Melinda wrote:I had read his post before - interesting that he sells supplements!


I had to really LOL at this one! Why do vegans always get asked "where do you get your protein", "what about B12?", "Aren't you worried about iron", etc. when it's the MEAT EATERS who are supplementing with protein and just about everything else under the sun!!!!! HAHA. It's irony at it's finest! :lol:

It also amazes me how Paleo people say they don't eat grains because that's not what cavemen would be eating ("not natural"), yet their supplements are FULL of extracted nutrients, flavours, binding agents, and other "stuff" that you wouldn't have found in our diets just 50 years ago! HAHAHA, oh my...
Last edited by HealthyMe2010 on Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:17 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby dinska » Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:10 am

I'm kind of astonished at all of his denial. Calling McDougallers "skinny fat" and then mocking the triathelete.

I have to say that when I was in my 20's as a macrobiotic vegan I did bodybuilding, and looked quite appropriate for the activity. I had great definition and decent bulk. I did not eat no fat, but I ate extremely low fat. My grains of choice were oatmeal and brown rice. I ate tofu as a condiment and rarely made tofu smoothies. I was not going for 'high protein' in any way. My only supplement was a heaping tablespoon of ground up flax seed and oat flour which I blended into my morning juice. (Keep in mind this was the 90's.) I did keep a food diary -- which I wish I still had -- to keep an eye on my percents.


Thanks for all the informative posts, dlb. Very interesting to hear the backstory and the rundown in general.
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby rijman » Fri Nov 04, 2011 11:17 am

I can't imagine a vacation I'd rather have than the McDougall trip to Costa Rica. Several years ago, before I went plant based or heard of Dr. McDougall, taking the family would have been financially possible, but these days it is not. The Costa Rica trip is definitely one of my goals.
I may be naive.
But I still believe the truth will be revealed if enough light is shined on the subject.
Right now we are dealing with massive ignorance.

John McDougall, MD
(McDougall Discussion Board, posted 7/2/13)
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Re: Happened upon this "trapped on vegan island" blog entry

Postby StarchBeet » Fri Nov 04, 2011 12:38 pm

dlb, were you the woman who worked for a drug store?

I emailed Dr McDougall after reading that mans blog explaining that the mans' observations weren't my experience. I dunno how I missed him or his wife, or maybe I read it after my trip but it was written earlier during another trip. I was enjoying myself too much in Costa Rica, as well as meeting some great people, to be bothered by someone who wanted to prove how wrong McDougalling is. I lost about 4 pounds eating as much food as I wanted (even though some rude man did ask "where I was putting all that food"). I was asked that again by another man concerned (yeah right!) about my eating, after I'd lost 45 pounds back at home. It's not much of "how" much you eat, too often, as much as it "what" you're eating.

I'm sticking to this lifestyle and I wish that unhappy person health regardless of his misconceptions. I wish his wife more happiness still.
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