September 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[Gimmelean]

Hello and hope you all had a good official end to summer on Labor Day this year. I’m still not sure when summer really began much less when it ended as it’s surely been like no other due to the pandemic. I missed the posting deadline for 9/12/20 but don’t want to miss accountability and hope that”s okay. My first missed MWL since joining the discussion in July. BTW, I’ve been reviewing the resources for MWL and find they are great for reinforcing motivation to stay the course this week. I recommend revisiting them frequently and not just for orientation.
Weight Last week 126.8, this week 127, +0.2. But somehow feels to be so much more. I keep telling myself a glass of water weighs 1/2 pound and no I will never get over this. Nor do I intend to if I want to keep my weight 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. Yes. Made a big batch of brown rice lentil soup with kale in the Instantpot to make meals easily and compliantly grabbable.

2) Choose fruit for desert. Yes. Apples are coming into season.

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. I tried a goldfish cracker yesterday and can’t believe how unpleasantly salty it was. Giving up salty refined snacks as normal has finally been replaced with a new and much better normal for me. Sweets are a trigger and I have to avoid them and will never outgrow this tendency I don’t look at this as a bad thing anymore. It just is what it is and a choice to make.

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. 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 (i.e., brisk walking).Yes ran 2.25 miles yesterday and began with 30 seconds run/walk intervals on 7/29 /20. Goal 3.1 miles (5k) in 2 more weeks. Should be doing more weight training than 1x per week.

Cheers!

[Kathie]

Kathie - At least the scale has started shifting back in the preferred direction! Every week (and day) offers a fresh opportunity to refocus, and renew our efforts in aligning our behavior with the recommendations. When things are feeling especially difficult, I think it is really important to concentrate on eating of the recommended foods, whenever you're feeling hungry; it helps fortify one's "willpower." Were there particular situations or developments this week that posed a challenge? Were the difficulties mainly at a specific time of day, or position in your routine? It isn't easy to make these changes, so treat yourself with compassion, capture any lessons that present themselves, and get right back to the guidelines.


Yes, that's good - the preferred direction.
I think it's probably just that there is so much non-McD. food in the house. And I can't throw it out (husband) like I would like to do. Plus, I need to plan ahead more where food is concerned. Like you said, eat the recommended foods to encourage myself to keep going.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'm doing better already this week.

[Growing a Pear]

Question: I understand dried fruits are off-plan. If a person reconstitutes them with plenty of extra water, say during the cooking of oatmeal, would they still be best avoided?

[Mark Cooper]

Gimmelean - Better late than never! I totally agree that a periodic review of the various MWL resources (and orientation information) is an excellent way to reinforce the sought after pattern of behavior and stay focused. Sounds like you had a good week.

Kathie - Having tempting or troublesome food immediately available can certainly make adherence feel more challenging; if there is anything you can do to keep those foods you find most tempting out of sight and more difficult to get to it might be worth trying, some people find that helps. You are so right that planning and adequate food preparation make a big difference; we're much more likely to choose the recommended foods if they are ready to go and easily accessible.

Growing a Pear - For MWL, there is benefit to keeping the guidelines fairly black and white; the recommendation is

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.

That said, I would certainly imagine that (depending on the specific fruit), cooking it in an abundant amount of water, to the point that it was somewhat rehydrated would serve to dilute the calorie density - it would be challenging to know to what degree, without measuring the amount of water that was actually absorbed. Generally, Jeff discusses fiber and water contributing significantly to satiety in this post. For MWL, fresh (or frozen) fruit is always the better choice.

[Growing a Pear]

Growing a Pear - For MWL, there is benefit to keeping the guidelines fairly black and white; the recommendation is

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.

That said, I would certainly imagine that (depending on the specific fruit), cooking it in an abundant amount of water, to the point that it was somewhat rehydrated would serve to dilute the calorie density - it would be challenging to know to what degree, without measuring the amount of water that was actually absorbed. Generally, Jeff discusses fiber and water contributing significantly to satiety in this post. For MWL, fresh (or frozen) fruit is always the better choice.

Makes perfect sense. Alrighty, then. Thanks!

[NateKruse]

NateKruse - Nice loss! Sounds like a pretty good week! Since you mentioned those muffins being the main "exception," do you have any intuition as to why you decided to make them on Sunday and Monday? Were you especially hungry, inspired to make them after watching the video, or spurred in some other particular way?
in.

Mark Cooper. Thanks! It was a good week.

I think it was a combination of things that made me make the muffins. I saw the video the week before and thought they looked really easy and tasty (They were). On Sunday morning I forced myself to get my workouts finished before leaving to pick up my date at 8 a.m. to go to the beach. I was behind schedule so I didn't eat anything before leaving. I picked up the oat milk and the dates to make the muffins on the way back from the beach. By that point I was pretty hungry and hadn't eaten anything all day. I tried to convince myself that since the recipe started with whole oats instead of packaged flour, it could be considered compliant.

Another contributor was that this was the sixth date with that girl and we had a "define the relationship talk" which didn't go as I had hoped, so eating the muffins was probably a slightly emotional response as well.

I made the muffins on Monday again because I had the ingredients and had the holiday off of work.

Other than my usual use of salt, some sugary sauces, and a few more than two servings of fruit per day I have been sticking to the plan since the muffins.

[whereamac]

Hi there, I know I'm late for this month, but hoping I can still join. I have been reading all the materials on this website over the past few weeks and really want to give it a go...

[texaslil]

[b]texaslil - It's great that you are able to keep this week's weigh-in result in the proper perspective! Apples are one of my favorite foods, I eat at least one every day. On those occasions when you "slipped," what precipitated that decision? Any changes in your routine, environment, or the degree to which you were prepared for the day?
Cheers to feeling good and enjoying this lifestyle!

I think when I have the craving for a smoothie or go off track, I'm definitely at a certain point in my cycle and can't seem to control my cravings. like last night my daughter made some popcorn with a bit of oil and I broke down and had some... it's as if for about 1-2 wks, it's more difficult to say no. I will say that this has gotten better since starting this woe, but it still does happen. Although for the most part I am still staying on track! I just need to build some tools or strategies to tell myself 'no' when the cravings are too great to fight

[Mark Cooper]

NateKruse - That all makes sense. Well done getting back to your plan and sticking with it.

whereamac - Now seems like a great time to get started! If you haven't already done so, be sure to thoroughly review all the MWL Orientation Information.

texaslil - Just keep doing your best, and staying on track should feel easier and easier as time goes by. Having adherent foods ready to go and easy to access for when those cravings hit can often help; eating of the recommended foods when those temptations arise is one of the best ways to overcome them.

[louie3084]

Hi all - I know we're half way through but I would love to join in.

I've read through the material and have 2-3kgs to lose. I've got two McDougall cookbooks, and understand I'll need to omit some higher calorie foods to make the recipes work. I have the Quick & Easy and The New McDougall Cookbook.

I have cooked up a large amount of brown rice, ready for tomorrow!!

I'm in Melbourne, Australia and have three children.

[wildgoose]

Hi all - I know we're half way through but I would love to join in.

I've read through the material and have 2-3kgs to lose. I've got two McDougall cookbooks, and understand I'll need to omit some higher calorie foods to make the recipes work. I have the Quick & Easy and The New McDougall Cookbook.

I have cooked up a large amount of brown rice, ready for tomorrow!!

I'm in Melbourne, Australia and have three children.

@louie3084 Welcome! Glad you’re prepared with your brown rice already cooked.

Have you seen this list, which identifies MWL-compliant recipes from the earlier McDougall cookbooks?

Goose

[louie3084]

@wildgoose no I haven't seen that list. Thanks I'll print it out today.

[Mark Cooper]

louie3084 - I'm excited you decided to join the group and get started! Don't forget that there are many MWL adherent recipes on the website, too.

[Expat in NZ]

Aug 28 - 188.1lb
Sep 4 - 186.3lb
Sep 11 - 184.6
Sep 18 - 184.6 (no change)

I was disappointed to see the scale this morning and was trying to think of any factors that could have derailed the weight loss, but could not think of anything specific. I was 100% on all the points. The only thing that it could be other than just a hiccup and nothing to worry about is that I am just coming off my cycle as of Wednesday so maybe that affected it somehow.

Now that I think about it - I usually stick to mainly potatoes for starch but this past week I was using more brown rice instead to change things up. Wow did it ever give me some gastro issues (gas!) - and honestly it hasn't made me feel as good as when I eat potatoes. I don't know why this is? Back to potatoes this week obviously!

[LesleyMills]

11th week weigh in, was 172lbs now 170lbs -2lb
1. start meal with soup/salad/fruit 100%
2. 50/50 plate non-starch veggies vs minimal processed starch. 100%
3. Eliminate added sugar and salt. 100%
4. Eliminate animal foods. 100%
5. Eliminate high fat food. 100%
6. Eliminate added oil. 100%
7. Eliminate higher calorie dense foods inc flour. 100%
8. Don't drink calories. 100%
9. Follow principles: eat when hungry, don't starve/stuff yourself. 100%
10. Avoid sedentary lifestyle, at least 30 mins moderate exercise. 100%
Finally saw a drop!! It's feels like it's been weeks but the scales needed to readjust I guess. So pleased my hard work payed off at last and yes I stuck to it every inch of the way. Didn't manage to do the extra exercise I promised myself but I will try again this coming week to start running. I'm doing a course at home while I'm not working and this is taking up some time.