Drew*'s journal

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

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Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Tue May 05, 2020 10:48 am

Edited 8/1/2020...In simple terms, following the Maximum Weight Loss plan (MWL) and avoiding straying too much from the principles will help....

Drew*
Last edited by Drew* on Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:26 am, edited 2 times in total.
Drew*
 
Posts: 111
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Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Wed May 06, 2020 8:07 pm

Edited 8/1/20: My strategy was and is to rely a lot on the SNAP menu!

Drew*
Last edited by Drew* on Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Fri May 08, 2020 9:19 pm

Edited 8/1/2020...The strategy is to eat more MWL starch and veggies or fruit whenever hungry...
--
Drew*
Last edited by Drew* on Sun Aug 02, 2020 12:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
Drew*
 
Posts: 111
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Location: Puget Sound region, WA

Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Sat Aug 01, 2020 3:27 pm

Plan: "[A] daily MWL checklist and journaling my thoughts / how I'm feeling..." (Mark Cooper 2018). My weight has not gone down much lately and actually gone up a little. It is time to do a journal every day using the MWL Program steps. It will start tomorrow at the end of the day to check-in. The plan is to follow as fully as possible the MWL steps.

The plan is to follow as fully as possible the MWL steps and to report on them. I may also make a few comments about efforts regarding the principles of calorie density.

MWL 10 Steps:

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
6. Eliminate any added oil.
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
https://www.drmcdougall.com/2019/05/15/mcdougall-program-maximum-weight-loss-10-point-checklist-and-recipes/

Principles of calorie density:

1) Thrive on Unrefined Starch
2) Avoid Refined Foods and Flours
3) Eat Green and Yellow Vegetables
4) Eat more raw foods
5) Avoid All High-Fat Plant Foods
6) Avoid Sugar
7) Minimize Fruits
8 ) Eat Slowly and Frequently
9) Keep Your Meals Simple (Monotonous)
10) Lower Salt Intake
11) Its Okay to Be Hungry
12) Exercise
https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=26620&start=135#p569991

Small print: About twice a week I eat vegan food with my wife so these two meals will be excluded from the remarks unless excessive. She usually cooks a starch based meal with veggies that for the most part fit in to the plan. Much of her food is Japanese style and starch based.

Drew*
Drew*
 
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Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Sun Aug 02, 2020 10:21 pm

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :thumbsup:
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. :thumbsup:
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. :thumbsup:
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :thumbsup:
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :thumbsup:
6. Eliminate any added oil. :thumbsup:
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :thumbsup:
8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :thumbsup:
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself. :thumbsup:
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :thumbsup:

Comments:

Exercise: I did 30+ minutes of straight-lifts and watched Dr. Lisle on some tactics for success.

Filled up: I felt full today especially after lunch and perhaps did not need the fruit. The meals filled me up.

Weekly weight as of 7/31/2020 - 179.5 - BMI: 26.32
Drew*
 
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Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Tue Aug 04, 2020 1:10 am

8/3/2020 journal entry...

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :thumbsup:
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. :thumbsup:
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. :thumbsup:
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :thumbsup:
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :thumbsup:
6. Eliminate any added oil. :thumbsup:
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :thumbsup:
8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :thumbsup:
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself. :thumbsup:
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :thumbsup:

Comments: Did more straight-lifts and watched more Dr. Lisle on some tactics for success.

One may crave the sorts to foods that are dense. The more one eats of such foods, the more dopamine or pleasure one gains. This leads to a cycle of eating such foods and gaining weight and other health issues. It is necessary for me to make a more complete break by choosing foods in the MWL plan. I felt satisfied today with such foods even though I had a busy day. I had 4 meals; one was a salad with beans. I have done this before and can do it again with MWL rather than standard McDougall. I cannot seem to handle much of the rich foods! This time around I need more determination and the lectures by Dr. Lisle are helping me along. My goal is to get into some healthy choices that become a routine...

As a side note, I'm going to research "salt." Is it OK to have salt with herbs or would this be considered gourmet, which is not recommended? I believe I read that on the MWL plan one could sprinkle salt on top of food, but not add to the dishes. I've for the most part been doing this. Salad dressing is the most difficult for this. So I will consider some options here as well...
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Location: Puget Sound region, WA

Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby wildgoose » Tue Aug 04, 2020 10:27 am

Drew* wrote:As a side note, I'm going to research "salt." Is it OK to have salt with herbs or would this be considered gourmet, which is not recommended? I believe I read that on the MWL plan one could sprinkle salt on top of food, but not add to the dishes. I've for the most part been doing this. Salad dressing is the most difficult for this. So I will consider some options here as well...

The salt for MWL question has some leeway, but it can be problematic in several ways. Yes, MWL allows sprinkling salt on the surface of food. Salt in cooking is not permitted.

But here’s the thing. Salt makes food taste better (stating the obvious here, but...). That, for me, is a problem. It makes me want to eat more! Salt also leads to fluid retention, which can show up on the scale as water weight — depressing thought! And for me, salt leads to a rise in blood pressure. I was a heavy user of the salt shaker, and I ended up just giving it up. There was no "moderation" for me. You may be different.

FYI, it takes about 30 days of completely stopping salting the surface of foods for your tastebuds to adapt. During that time, food can taste really bland. Herbs and spices help (I’m a big user of onion and garlic too), but stay away from the herb blends that contain salt. Salt by any fancy name is still....salt.

Goose
My story: MWL works!
How I determined my "goal weight"
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Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Tue Aug 04, 2020 10:48 pm

wildgoose wrote:The salt for MWL question has some leeway, but it can be problematic in several ways. Yes, MWL allows sprinkling salt on the surface of food. Salt in cooking is not permitted.

But here’s the thing. Salt makes food taste better (stating the obvious here, but...). That, for me, is a problem. It makes me want to eat more! Salt also leads to fluid retention, which can show up on the scale as water weight — depressing thought! And for me, salt leads to a rise in blood pressure. I was a heavy user of the salt shaker, and I ended up just giving it up. There was no "moderation" for me. You may be different.

FYI, it takes about 30 days of completely stopping salting the surface of foods for your tastebuds to adapt. During that time, food can taste really bland. Herbs and spices help (I’m a big user of onion and garlic too), but stay away from the herb blends that contain salt. Salt by any fancy name is still....salt.

Goose


Thank you for sharing some information about salt. I may be in the same boat as you were with salt. I just went through a bottle of herbal salt that I sprinkle on top of the food. In addition, I use original Tabasco sauce (with the added salt). The Tabasco does not have a lot of salt, but still has some. I am wondering whether to exclude it. I also have a recipe that mixes vinegar, coconut aminos and water with some other ingredients to make a salad dressing. There is definitely some added sodium in that. And since I eat big salads once or twice a day it may be best to make some no salt added sauces.

Given as you note that salt increases blood pressure, retains liquid, and promotes heavier food consumption, I may be better off without it. I will throw out the salad dressing and go with unsalted beans mixed with bean juice, vinegar, lemon juice and spices (plus some thickener). I wonder whether to stop the Tabasco as well and either go without or make my own vinegar/hot pepper sauce...perhaps after a month without the added salt I will have nearly perfect blood pressure.
Drew*
 
Posts: 111
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 1:36 pm
Location: Puget Sound region, WA

Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Tue Aug 04, 2020 10:56 pm

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :thumbsup:
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. :thumbsup:
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. :thumbsup:
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :thumbsup:
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :thumbsup:
6. Eliminate any added oil. :thumbsup:
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :thumbsup:
8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :thumbsup:
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself. :thumbsup:
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :thumbsup:

Comments: Today I ran 30+ minutes and after shopping made a large batch of SNAP menu. I tripled the recipe and added curry and a little chili powder. Yum. I also have strawberries and carrots for nibbling before or after the meals. I ate three meals today and was satisfied after each one. Instead of adding salt I avoided it. But I am still using hot sauce. Will need to make some of my own if I have the time. Sustaining this momentum for the long haul will be worth it...I will keep on day by day with this forum. It feels good to do this for health and vitality.
Drew*
 
Posts: 111
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 1:36 pm
Location: Puget Sound region, WA

Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby vegyluvver » Wed Aug 05, 2020 10:33 am

Great job, Drew*!
Val in SoCal
Focusing on the food, not the number on the scale.
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Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Wed Aug 05, 2020 10:22 pm

vegyluvver wrote:Great job, Drew*!


Thank you vegyluvver! For the first time in a while I have not done some of the things that were holding me back from following MWL. Are you joining the August 2020 MWL board?
--
Drew*
Drew*
 
Posts: 111
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 1:36 pm
Location: Puget Sound region, WA

Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Wed Aug 05, 2020 10:50 pm

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :thumbsup:
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. :thumbsup:
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. :thumbsup:
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :thumbsup:
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :thumbsup:
6. Eliminate any added oil. :thumbsup:
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :thumbsup:
8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :thumbsup:
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself. :thumbsup:
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :thumbsup:

Comments: Today I ran 40+ minutes. I have decided that I do not have to run 40 minutes unless it feels OK to do so. Yesterday I ran 30 minutes and that is fine too. MWL recommends 30 minutes of daily exercise...

Today, I had three meals and a "snack." The snack was noodles with green veggies and some salt-free spice. I did not add the flavor packet that contains salt! Maybe some veggies and no salt added chopped tomatoes would work better for this small meal. Also, I nibbled on carrots during a meal and the snack.

Not having salt, including Tabasco is working OK. The spices in my SNAP menu are curry and chili powder at a ratio of 3:1. Some crushed chili peppers might also add some good flavor.

Now the Braggs sprinkle that I have may not be OK for the program. Although 1/4 teaspoon is 0 calories, there is oil in the spices. Braggs does not have to say the real calories from the oil if it just reports 1/4 teaspoon... It is tasty though and perhaps I will table this thought.

As mentioned yesterday, I am doing MWL for health. I have no certain goal regarding weight loss except to follow MWL and to eat until comfortably full while not being bothered by hunger at times. Today, I was comfortably full after my meals at different levels. The bigger meals with the salad, bean dressing, and SNAP menu and a little fruit definitely are filling. But 7 grain cereal in the morning with fruit is also good. I have stopped using oat milk so it is just the fruit and cooked cereal with a small amount of rolled oats as well. I use 1/3 cup 7 grain cereal, a small amount of the oats, and fruit. 1 cup of water mixed in before microwaving it all... Overall I am pleased with the meals and can't complain about hunger or lack of nutritious food. It feels good to eat this way without processed foods.

Drew*
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Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 1:36 pm
Location: Puget Sound region, WA

Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Thu Aug 06, 2020 12:43 pm

wildgoose wrote:
Drew* wrote:Herbs and spices help (I’m a big user of onion and garlic too), but stay away from the herb blends that contain salt. Salt by any fancy name is still....salt.

Goose


Wildgoose, I will also try the onion and garlic sprinkled on top of foods. I need to read further about salt...so far so good without it. Thank you,

Drew*
Drew*
 
Posts: 111
Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 1:36 pm
Location: Puget Sound region, WA

Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby Drew* » Thu Aug 06, 2020 11:25 pm

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :thumbsup:
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. :thumbsup:
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. :thumbsup:
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :thumbsup:
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :thumbsup:
6. Eliminate any added oil. :|
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. :thumbsup:
8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :thumbsup:
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself. :thumbsup:
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :thumbsup:

Comment: Today I had a good day although I had two guests out on the patio for dinner and they brought me a small container of veggies from Panda Express. They were stir fried. I mixed the same with some Asian vegetables and put over rice. There was no time to make any brown rice, but I had a prepackaged one that had little or no sodium. From here on out, I am going to prepare some frozen rice for times like today! Both dishes had a small quantity of oil so that I why I did not give myself a :thumbsup: in the add no oil section. Still the quantity of oil is low and I am still out ahead this week as I for all practical purposes followed the MWL plan.

Other meals included my standard breakfast and a bowl of mixed Asian vegetables with shredded potatoes for lunch. I topped the dish with curry powder and other spices. No salt. I microwave a lot and the three meals were satisfying. Lunch also included some bean dressing and kale, arugula, cabbage, and tomatoes. I had strawberries after lunch and dinner.

Did 40 minutes of jogging and now need some rest...

Drew*
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Joined: Fri Aug 09, 2019 1:36 pm
Location: Puget Sound region, WA

Re: Drew*'s journal

Postby vegyluvver » Fri Aug 07, 2020 9:57 am

Drew* wrote:
vegyluvver wrote:Great job, Drew*!


Thank you vegyluvver! For the first time in a while I have not done some of the things that were holding me back from following MWL. Are you joining the August 2020 MWL board?
--
Drew*


Yep, finally managing to follow MWL most of the time. The weigh in thread really helps inspire me.
Val in SoCal
Focusing on the food, not the number on the scale.
vegyluvver
 
Posts: 131
Joined: Tue Jun 30, 2020 9:40 pm
Location: Southern California

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