Moderators: JeffN, carolve, Heather McDougall
JeffN wrote:This is why I say that the single most important issue to the success of this movement to the individual and to the population is not whether the program works or not, but how to create a culture and an environment that supports these changes so they can be replicable, applicable and sustainable in the world. Otherwise, there is no way this will ever become anything more than a program for those few who are really motivated to do it.
Jeff Novick,
My husband and I went to the McDougall live in course one year ago. Since that time, we have really tried to follow this way of eating. We have continued eating this way, while travelling in a small camper (Road Trek) and while travelling on a boat. We continued eating this way while on a trip to Spain (a very meat based country) and in England. We continued eating this way while having to stay with family members who do not follow this way of eating (and in some cases are quite opposed to it) My husband has continued to follow a starch based diet while attending business functions where no one else eats this way. The most difficult thing for us has been to avoid oil and salt when eating in restaurants. We do the best we can, but we often find that the food contains at least some salt and oil.
I have seen many of your posts about how difficult it is for people to be compliant. Many people claim to have some kind of awakening, after attending a lecture or seeing a documentary and then a few months later are back to their old habits and I wanted to tell you some of things that have helped us to stick to this way of eating. Becoming convinced of the science behind the diet was only the beginning as you have often noted. Sticking with the diet is the most difficult thing.
First of all, I want to thank you for your help in our being able to stick with this way of eating. At one time I was as confused as most people seem to be. It seemed a waste of time to even try and eat healthy as the constant “news” articles all seemed to contradict each other any way. Now, I ignore all of the news articles, and figure that I only need to pay attention if you, or John McDougall or Colin Campbell or Caldwell Esselsytn say that the article is worth considering. It is an enormous help to feel that I have found mentors that are reviewing the research and trying to give people the best and most useful information.
We use your method of label reading all the time. It is particularly helpful when travelling and when trying to make quick healthy meals that I know what short cuts (frozen vegetables, no salt canned tomatoes, quick brown rice, etc) that I can take and still be eating healthfully. One of the things that you said at the course stands out particularly for me. It was during a question and answer session after one of your talks. And a number of people, including us, were saying “yes, but …” and you finally said something to the effect that there would be times it would not be easy but that if one wanted to do this, with planning, it was always possible. If we weren’t interested in planning, then it wasn’t going to work!
I follow your posts and Dr. McDougall’s on the McDougall facebook group. Awhile back, you posted something about compliance. A woman who was at one of the McDougall live-in courses and who had been compliant for 30 years was asked for her tips. Keeping it simple and not caring what others thought. These two tips have been incredibly helpful for me. At the beginning of following this way of eating, I was complicating things. If I had kept on making the diet complicated, I would have likely given up by this point. I would have just found it much too difficult. Now, I remember that John McDougall said you can be very healthy just eating potatoes for a long time—-and just add a bit of greens and that’s even better.
Also, it is very helpful to understand that you have to give up caring what other people think. A lot of people do not want to change their way of eating and there is no point in arguing or trying to convince them, but I do not have to join them in what they are eating either. I now think that eating unhealthy food because someone else wants me to eat it would be about the same as smoking cigarettes because someone wants me to keep them company and feel better about their smoking habit. At first, I wanted arguments to make sure everyone knew that what I was doing was right. Finally, I have learned that this is useless. We don’t bother to explain any longer. When a close relative (like my sister-in-law) insists on arguing that meat is good if you get the range fed, super expensive and only have a little bit. We simply say, we’re not good at moderation so it is easier for us not to have any..thanks. When someone tells us that we should have something and we only need to watch portion size, we say we aren’t good at determining portion size and prefer to have only things that we don’t need to worry about portion size.
If someone seems to be genuinely interested because they have noticed that my husband and I are both looking a lot better…..I refer them to yourself and to the other mentors that I have mentioned above. I have a number of the dvd’s that support this way of eating and I offer those too.
A couple of people have been interested and are successful. We have seen others who are interested but they give up quickly. Again the ones who are successful, look for ways to keep things simple and refuse to allow others to push them to eat things not on the plan. They also plan to be successful. Our friends that have tried and given up are the ones that decided it was too difficult, (because they insisted on making it complicated) and the ones that worry a lot about what their friends and relatives think of what they eat, and found it embarrassing not to “fit in” with everyone else.
Again, thank you for your help. We have certainly benefited from your advice, and are very appreciative. I wanted to let you know that your help and comments are a big part of what has helped us to stay compliant to this way of eating.
JeffN wrote:We are just finishing up a 10-Day program and this issue of long-term compliance was the topic of several discussions both formally in the lectures and informally around the meals.
During one lunchtime discussion on this issue, there was a women sitting with us at the table who had been successfully doing this program for over 30 years. So, I asked, her, tell us what you believe has been the most important factor to your long-term success. She didn't even hesitate and said, easy, simplicity. I keep it very simple.
So I asked, what do you think would be the next most important thing. And again, without hesitation she said, I just don't care what anyone else thinks of me.
Words of wisdom.
In Health
Jeff
Your personal experience may be different. And if it is, and you are successful managing all of this and navigating the lower ends of the continuum of evil, more power to you. Some people can have one small brownie a week and not look back. Most of us here can't. That's how we got here.
But if you are the exception, have mercy on those that can't and understand almost 80% of American have shown they can't either. And for many who do come here, our percent is probably higher because we are self selected and have volunteered to be here.
JeffN wrote:To me, while not as strict as us, I think the National Weight Control Registry and the Premier Trial shows that people can make intensive lifestyle changes and maintain them over time.
National Weight Loss Registry
Weight-loss maintenance for 10 years in the National Weight Control Registry.
Am J Prev Med. 2014 Jan;46(1):17-23. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.08.019.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24355667
The Premier Trial
Dietary intakes associated with successful weight loss and maintenance during the Weight Loss Maintenance Trial
J Am Diet Assoc. 2011 Dec; 111(12): 1826–1835.
doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2011.09.014
PMCID: PMC3225890
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3225890/
And this...
Long-term weight loss maintenance in the United States.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2010 Nov;34(11):1644-54. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2010.94. Epub 2010 May 18.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=20479763
I have been virtually attending this year’s American Diabetes Association scientific sessions. One of the panels was on long-term weight maintenance, with Michael Rosenbaum, Jim Hill, and Graham Thomas. Thomas now runs the NWCR. For years, they have reported on consistent behaviors of successful maintainers, including following a low-fat diet. Of course for them, that would be anything under 30%.
Maintainers follow a 28.5% fat diet, people who were never obese a 31.8% fat, and obese 37.5% according to Graham. “Some use low carb or a Mediterranean diet and are successful.” Now the interesting part: Rosenbaum jumped on Graham and said “ With all the people using low carb diets, don’t you show fewer successful maintainers with a “low-fat” profile?”
Graham: "No. Low fat diets may be easier for the average American to follow, because of lower energy density.”
Rosenbaum persisted, and Graham said: “The low fat pattern is not changing, at least in a clinically significant way. We do not see low-fat diets decreasing among successful maintainers.”
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