September 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[laura_delao]

Weight change: -1.0 lbs
Current weight: 135 lbs.

Last Friday and Saturday I ended up eating out four meals and tried to order as clean as possible building my plate from the sides they offer. I weighed 134.4 yesterday, which is a first in a long, long time. Other things that I have eliminated from my grocery list that I forgot to mention last week are beer, peanuts in the shell, and peanut brittle. It's amazing to see how many extra calories I was consuming and believing that I was eating in a healthy way. Always room for improvement. I am only exercising three times a week at the gym. Compliant with the rest of the behaviors. Looking forward to more improvements as we learn from the best. Thanks Mark.

[wildgoose]

Added oil is in the brown rice I bought that goes in the microwave for minute to make 1 cup. I am going to ask my nephew to make brown rice in his Instant Pot (an electric pressure cooker). He thinks the pot makes too much for one person so he isn't using it. He is diabetic. I am not. Maybe if he makes it for me, he will be encouraged to eat some brown rice himself.

@VivianS Good strategy to share brown rice with your nephew. Yes, the pot makes too much for one person — which is fine, because rice freezes beautifully! Figure out what a single serving looks like for each of you and invest in some freezer containers of that size. Both of you can benefit. I get the rectangular, flatter boxes like these. They stack better in the freezer and don’t waste space like the round ones do, plus the flat ones are not so deep that you can’t break off a chunk of frozen rice if you don’t want to thaw out the whole container.

Another suggestion: oil-free microwave-ready brown rice bowls. I use them for travel, and I keep some on hand for the times I run out of rice and need something fast. I’ve used Lundberg, Nishiki, and Minsley brands. My favorite is the Nishiki, but it’s quite expensive right now for some reason. Search Amazon or your favorite online grocery provider — there are several options. The kind that comes in a packet usually has oil, the ones in bowls usually don’t. Be sure to read the label!

There are also boil-in-bag brown rice options. Jeff Novick has recommended the Success brand. Many local grocery stores carry it.

But I like your original idea best. Ask your nephew to cook up a batch in his Instant Pot. Freeze individual portions (and leave a couple in your nephew's freezer, so that it’s handy for him). Less expensive and still convenient!

Goose

[chef16]

9/4/2020 253#
9/11/ 2020 252#
-1 pound
Down another pound. I didn't do it gracefully either. A lot of processed food and bread products. Didn't get to prep much for the week because my father was in the hospital and my days off were used tending to him. Improvise was the word of the week.
1. Was a sometimes this week. Not always available to me .
2. This also was a sometimes this week.
3.I didn't have too much trouble with this one. Fruit is all most always my choice.
4. I still have cut back on my salt and sugar. I still am holding on to a small amount.
5.This one continues to amaze me, I have no trouble with it at all. I can't see myself going back to eating animal products.
6. Oil is not a problem. I don't have it ,so I don't add it! Some of the other stuff has been a lot more prevalent this week( tofu, soy, nuts, and avocados).
7. Work offers very little in the way of food that is not drowning in oil or has dairy or meat. So I had a hummus wrap a couple of days this week and a veggie burger of course bread came with these options as did the higher fat plant food. I know it is okay to be hungry but, I am there to long to go without something.
8 No trouble with this one.
9. No trouble with this one.
10. Still not formally exercising , but work still is providing me with enough activity .
Even though I had somewhat of a off week I still managed to loose another pound! Yeah!

[PonysPlants]

Forgot to report yesterday, had to take a poorly cat to the vet. Did weigh and lost 1lb which I’m pleased about. A much more compliant week and pleasure traps avoided!

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
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. YES. This is just how I eat now. So easy and I love it.
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. Yes.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Easy. Vegan for life
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados,) Had a few olives in a salad.
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes.
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. Had a single date.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Still having a little oat milk in my tea.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily. Yes, Pilates and walking when the weather permits.

All good this week, and nice to see it reflected on the scale. I’m within spitting distance of a normal BMI, which is a fun little milestone.
I also realised this week that I no longer gain water weight during my period, which is very cool. Not just because it’s not a huge amount of fun to gain 5lbs overnight but I assume this means that my body is working better? Would love any links or info that the mods might have about this if it’s not too much trouble?

And, thanks to said moderators. Really appreciate you guys!

[Reni]

Hello Everyone!

I'm down to 162.0, so a loss of 1.2 lbs. I struggled this week as I was ill and couldn't cook much this week. But I still lost! Hooray! I started feeling a good bit better on Thursday and yesterday, so that is when my compliance was spot on.

For the checklist:
1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. 50%
2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. 50%
2) Choose fruit for desert. 80%
3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. 80%
4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). 90%
5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). 70%
6) Eliminate any added oil. 70%
7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods. 70%
8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). 60%
9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. 60%
10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). 80%

Some thoughts: If I had some meals in the freezer or some quick cooking options I would have done (and felt) much better. I'm going to stock up on some fast cooking options this week and also batch cook a few meals. I also am feeling quite motivated to up my exercise from one hour daily to 1 1/2 hours daily. Thank you to everyone participating in this! It is so encouraging.

-Reni

[Dot]

Initial Weight: 150 lbs. Goal: 130-135 lbs.
July - 145 -5
Aug -- 142 -3
Sept 5/20 -140 Loss 2 lbs.
Sept 11/20 -138 Loss 2 lbs.
6) + 7) Another outing with friends. I tasted the oil based hummus and salad dressing along with the white bread bun, but decided to leave most of them uneaten on my plate. Replaced them with roasted potatoes I had brought with me. I should have brought some oil free dressing too. Will prepare better for next outing. It must start becoming more of my lifestyle.
10) Extremely busy this week and missed exercise twice but was more active than usual so definitely expended energy. Yoga is first thing in the morning and rarely missed but not increased as I have been intending to do.
This is the first time on the MWL program that I’ve lost weight two weeks in a row, so I’m quite buoyant, and feeling like I’m getting somewhere. At home, with routines and having developed a few dishes I enjoy, the one big hurdle is filling that afternoon craving with something sweet. I miss walnut stuffed dates. When I’m busy the craving is not there. Boredom? Keep busy I guess.
Your struggles, examples and advice are priceless to me. If I haven’t thanked you recently, thank you, Mark, and everyone!
D.

[Diane Marie]

[/quote]
@Diane Marie, I’m so sorry to hear about everything that’s been happening in your life. It’s easy to go off plan under those circumstances.

Try to do the best you can. My best suggestion is to keep things very simple. You might just want to try to hit Dr. Doug Lisle's six "Starch Targets" every day. Starch, starch, starch (meaning starch at every meal), salad, fruit, exercise. It doesn’t have to be a lot of exercise, but a little movement will help with stress and sleep. Starch, salad and fruit will help keep you full and may displace some of the high fat foods. Then, get back to as many of the MWL checklist items as you can, but don’t stress about perfection.

When you get time, bake a bunch of potatoes/sweet potatoes and put them in the fridge. Potatoes can be lifesavers on the run. Grab one, put it in a plastic bag in your purse. Add a fast-food salad and an apple, you’re good! They’re also great with some steamed veggies at home when you don’t want to fix anything complicated.

You have a great attitude about your health, and I hope things are better for you next week.

Goose[/quote]

Hi Goose - many thanks for your supportive words of encouragement. I've not heard of Dr Lisle's "Starch Targets" - can you elaborate a bit more or direct me to where I can find more information? Many thanks,
Diane Marie

[squealcat]

This week did not go well at all.
Gained 1.9 pounds

Many days of powerful urges to eat foods that contained fat and sugar. I just couldn't get my mind off them ! Will see how the next week goes. I think I have to just white-knuckle it for a few days.

I did make your tomato/spinach soup ! So easy and very anti-inflammatory ! I will be finishing it off today.

My difficult areas were #5, #7 and #9. When those cravings hit those are the points that go out the window. Today I have pre-planned what I will eat to make sure I have food available for my meals. I also have cooked potatoes ready for emergencies as I have used this tactic before. Potatoes seem to squelch cravings (if I can just remember to eat them). I can eat them cold with mustard or warmed up with my home made hummus.

I am hanging on by my toes this week and hope to be swinging using my hands next week ! Thanks for all you input and thank you too all who participate in this forum !

-squealcat (Marilyn)

[oneesotericgirl]

Weight on Sept 4th: 206.4
Today: 204.4 (down 2 lbs)

1. 40% this week. Salad felt a lot like lawn clippings this week. Lead to extra starch and fruit.
2. Another 40% this week. Way more starch/carbs than green things.
3. 90%
4. 100%
5. 75%. Still relying heavily on steamed edamame to fight potato chip/cracker cravings.
6. 100%
7. 65%. McD approved cereal. And an occasional smoothie for dessert. Had a couple vegan cookies on a really rough night. They were good, but high fat content.
8. 85%. Always water with lemon to drink but occasional smoothie. I make fruit infused water too when I need something sweet to drink.
9. 50%. I feel like I inadvertently starved myself this week because of my lack of interest in food. So when I actually was hungry, I was only interested in fruit and starch. Going to read all the info on the Pleasure Trap again, slipping seems really easy and then feels like day 1 again.
10. I work on my feet all day and had three days of hard manual labor. But haven't been able to take walks because of my foot pain. Focusing this week with some new shoes and stretches.

This coming week I really want to focus on finding ways to increase activity without being on my feet. I'm working on healing my foot issues, but working all day on my feet doesn't help the situation. I also want to work harder on resisting cravings. Even with the things I choose like, " this smoothie is better than the ice cream I want." It still leads down a spiral into the pleasure trap where I convince myself that the lesser of two evils equals good. False lol. Making this a focus this week.

[wildgoose]

I also want to work harder on resisting cravings. Even with the things I choose like, " this smoothie is better than the ice cream I want." It still leads down a spiral into the pleasure trap where I convince myself that the lesser of two evils equals good. False lol. Making this a focus this week.

@oneesotericgirl You have a few options here. There’s the Alan Goldhamer "suck it up and do it" approach (that’s a direct quote from Dr. Goldhamer — gotta love his bedside manner ). Lose the smoothies. Lose the cold cereal. Definitely lose the vegan cookies. Eat whole, wet starches (potatoes, brown rice, etc.), steamed vegetables and fruit. If you can’t choke down another salad, make a pot of Jeff's Longevity Soup.

Going all-in isn’t easy. You’ll be miserable for a week. You’ll be more miserable the third and fourth day than you were on the first. Then it gets better. IF you don’t cheat. The payoff for all this misery is that you’re out of the Pleasure Trap. You don’t have to work harder on resisting cravings because, for the most part, YOU DON'T HAVE CRAVINGS. You’re not exhausted all the time from the mental and emotional battle. (Another big help here is a totally clean environment. Get the junk out of your house!)

If that’s too overwhelming for you (and it may be, which is not a failure on your part — its just a matter of individual differences in personality, which is genetic), you have infinite variations on Plan B. This is the more gradual approach. Far less misery, but you stay in the Pleasure Trap longer. More opportunities for giving in to temptation. But it may be the way that appeals to you more. Make the choice that works for you.

You have a clear vision here. You know that (again quoting Dr. Goldhamer) "less bad doesn’t equal good." What you need is a plan. Pick one thing and do it. No vegan cookies, for example. Don’t worry about the smoothies or the edamame for right now. No vegan cookies. Do that for the week. Do the rest of the checklist as well as you can. When you get through a successful week of no vegan cookies, then tackle the next issue, say no smoothies. Make that your focus for the next week. Have specific, achievable objectives. Little ones. If it’s too easy, you can add another challenge, but don’t make it too hard or you’ll throw up your hands and think you can’t do it.

The way to succeed on the gradual approach is to use Dr. Doug Lisle's tortoise approach. A tortoise is slow and methodical. It is also very nearsighted — can’t see much behind the front of its nose. That’s how this works. Go slowly and only focus on what’s right in front of you — small, specific objectives. Don’t think about long term, don’t think about the big picture.

Whichever variation you choose, know that you can do this. Setbacks are part of the process (in the world of addiction, they say "relapse is part of recovery"). It’s all OK. You will get there in the end! I did. Lots of ups and downs, lots of starting over, but I got there, and you will too.

Goose

[Growing a Pear]

Net rolling average this week: -1.0#
SW this week: 143.8#
CW: 142.8#
GW: ~135#

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
2) Choose fruit for dessert.
3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts.
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).

It's interesting. I had several occasions when I dipped into cereal this week and I was particularly working on conquering that habit, so it felt like a failed week. But when I look at the checklist, I actually did well on the rest. (Maybe they don't feel like accomplishments because they're becoming more a part of normal life? I dunno.)

Of note, I ate more potatoes for my starch this week and felt like I was more satisfied and eating larger portions, but the scale responded. I am doing a food journal on paper at home so will hopefully be able to determine if I just consolidated the rewards of several decent prior weeks or if the potatoes are a better starch for me overall WRT satiety. And I'll work on the cereal by making another batch of the cold steel cut oat "pudding". That seemed to do the trick before and I just failed to replenish it because of distractions.

ETA: Oh! Non-scale victory for the week: I walked out of my pants. Nearly tripped in the process, too.

[OrangeBird]

CW 219.4
Change -5.4lbs

Have been sticking to the principles pretty tightly. I think I liberated some of that excess water from last week so I am happy about that. Continued to keep up with the minimum of 30 mins of activity as well.

15 days to the wedding....

[Hope410]

Hello All,

Weight Loss -2.2 LBS

Points 1,2,4,6,8,9 all at 100%.

Point 3,5,7 all at 90%. I used salt added cans of vegetables a few times, had a sandwich with tofu mayo once this week. I didn't have enough MWL food for seconds when hungry after dinner. Will make a point to be better prepared to always have MWL food available.

Point 10 only at 60%. Walked 4X for 30-55 minutes due to weather.(high winds one day, rain one other, and one just plain lazy day.) Plan is to walk 6X next week.

Have a great and successful week everyone.

[Lucas]

4/27/20: 203.2
5/1/20: 201.8
5/8/20: 200.0
5/15/20: 198.6
5/22/20: 197.8
5/29/20: 196.0
6/5/20 : 193.8
6/12/20: 192.8
6/19/20: 192.6
6/26/20: 191.8
7/3/20: 190.8
7/10/20: 188.8
7/17/20: 189.0
7/24/20: 187.4
7/31/20: 187.8
8/7/20: 186.6
8/14/20: 187.8
8/21/20: 184.6
8/28/20: 182.0
9/5/20: 180.8
9/11/20: 182.4

Change: +1.6

So I have recorded a gain this week. Not surprisingly I suppose, since I didn't stick to all of the checklist this week. Where I know I went wrong would be limiting myself to no more than two fruits per day. I have been craving sweets so I know I have been eating far too many bananas and frozen fruit. On a positive note I have resisted eating the ice cream my wife indulges in all the time. I guess I am eating the frozen fruit to make up for not being able to eat the ice cream. I need to do something else when these urges strike. I know I have been violating the eating only when hungry point as well.

I also have been eating more than 1 cup of beans per day as well. I know I need to work on these things in the up coming week. I need to really try hard to get back on track. I have also started journaling for myself (using Apple Notes) again. I know I can turn it around. I must. Thanks everyone. Have a great week.


A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL) 

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes, for most meals.

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. Yes, for most meals.

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. Yes

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes

6) Eliminate any added oil. Yes.

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. Yes

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full.   No.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I think I did about 4 out of 7 days this week. Need to do better.

[LittlestTree]

Loss -4.2lbs

Was 100% on all points except no. 3 - had jam a few time throughout the week. The jar is finished and I don't plan on buying any more.
My main goal for this week was eliminating soya milk, which I was successful with and plan on continuing.