January 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Thread

[Mark Cooper]

tllaurie - Fantastic that you were able to mainly stay on track, despite being away from home. Pat yourself on the back!

[rlechols]

So, tomorrow is my birthday. I had planned to follow MWL 31/31 days for January and even made a calendar with stickers to help me be consistent! My husband, who is not WFPB, invited a bunch of friends for dinner tomorrow. He did plan a Japanese meal that should be easy for me to stay compliant, thankfully. I just hope he or someone else doesn't bring a cake. Fruit is a good enough dessert for me!! Most of my friends know about my diet, and I even got some of them started on WFPB, but here's to hoping I can get through it without issues.

Wish me luck!

[Mark Cooper]

So, tomorrow is my birthday. I had planned to follow MWL 31/31 days for January and even made a calendar with stickers to help me be consistent! My husband, who is not WFPB, invited a bunch of friends for dinner tomorrow. He did plan a Japanese meal that should be easy for me to stay compliant, thankfully. I just hope he or someone else doesn't bring a cake. Fruit is a good enough dessert for me!! Most of my friends know about my diet, and I even got some of them started on WFPB, but here's to hoping I can get through it without issues.

Wish me luck!

Rachel - Wishing you luck & a very HAPPY birthday (a little early )! It must feel quite fortunate to have some support from your spouse - Japanese food is a great cuisine for eating within the guidelines. Perhaps it might be worthwhile to really think through some challenging scenarios that may arise during the festivities, and put together ideas for how you could tackle them. Your commitment to staying on track is inspiring!

[rlechols]

So, tomorrow is my birthday. I had planned to follow MWL 31/31 days for January and even made a calendar with stickers to help me be consistent! My husband, who is not WFPB, invited a bunch of friends for dinner tomorrow. He did plan a Japanese meal that should be easy for me to stay compliant, thankfully. I just hope he or someone else doesn't bring a cake. Fruit is a good enough dessert for me!! Most of my friends know about my diet, and I even got some of them started on WFPB, but here's to hoping I can get through it without issues.

Wish me luck!

Rachel - Wishing you luck & a very HAPPY birthday (a little early )! It must feel quite fortunate to have some support from your spouse - Japanese food is a great cuisine for eating within the guidelines. Perhaps it might be worthwhile to really think through some challenging scenarios that may arise during the festivities, and put together ideas for how you could tackle them. Your commitment to staying on track is inspiring!

Thank you for the encouragement. I haven't had a lot of support at home, honestly. I'm a year into this lifestyle and and there has been no shortage of contention regarding what I eat. I think by now he has figured out I'm not giving it up, so he's trying to accept and support. There are still some rough patches, but I hope we are getting there. Thanks for all the encouragement here.

[Pradeepa]

On Friday I weighed in at 157 lb. - no change. I am sorry I did not report in earlier - I'm still getting the hang of this. But I'm noticing that my half hearted effort around getting my weight in on time matches my half hearted efforr around losing weight. I've lost weight before & it takes real commitment & discipline. I need to stop kidding myself that this half effort will work.
I have read other people's stories about why we fail & I realise how lucky I am. Myself, my husband & son are all into John McDougall Starch Solution. We are all passionate vegans & proud of it. I'm just addicted to the flavour of high caloric density foods, & use them as a reward for myself & a quick energy pick up.
Thank you all for your honesty in your stories. You've inspired me to get with the program - I have no real excuse not to. I really hope I can contribute to the total weight loss score next week by 1. Losing weight and 2. Getting my results in on time. Have a great, healthy week everyone!

[Mark Cooper]

Rachel - Ah! Hopefully you will get more and more support as time goes by - that contentious period is no fun. Best wishes.

Pradeepa - Better late, than never! It is well-observed to note that our outcomes tend to be proportional to our level of adherence, and those calorically dense foods can certainly feel very addictive. Maybe you could brainstorm some rewards not related to food to give yourself, when you are needing an inducement? Just an idea. I look forward to seeing your post next week!

[wildgoose]

Okay. So I'm living in an abundance of riches here. I've bought a number of WFPB cookbooks. The thing is, I've tried a number of them and a large number of times my reaction to the dish has been, meh... And all this trial and error takes the time to: buy the food, make the dish, then the days it takes to eat the food, so that it doesn't go to waste, before I can try another recipe. And it seems to me that to be successful long term with a new way of eating, you need to have a collection of recipes you REALLY enjoy eating. So I had a thought. Maybe I could tap into the experience of the group here and ask if any of you have a favorite MWL go-to meal recipe that's a real workhorse for you, that you could post here, that I could take of picture of your posting on my phone, and then go into my kitchen and be able to make it. And hopefully it'll become a fav of mine, too, saving me a ton of trial and error time. Maybe you could start off your posting with something like: "A favorite dish I like to make is this:" Thanks, all, in advance. I've noticed a few ideas already in this thread that I've noted. Hopefully a collection of favorites could benefit us all.

Bruce, I’m definitely not the one to be posting recipes for you. I get overwhelmed by recipes. In fact, I went through exactly what you did — bought a cookbook or found a recipe online, bought a bunch of ingredients, spent a lot of time cooking, only to be completely unimpressed by the results. Repeat several times with new recipes, mostly the same outcome.

I’m hoping other people will provide you with their recipes. There are a lot of talented folks in this group.

So what do I have to offer? My thought processes as to how I learned to feed myself on MWL, plus a few recipes/methods from Jeff Novick and Mary McDougall.

I started really simple. I mean boringly simple. One starch and a couple of vegetables for one meal, oatmeal and blueberries for the other. For a month. Then a second month. Yes, I got a little sick of rice and broccoli, but I got myself grounded in the program, killed my cravings, got acclimated really fast to no oil, no added sugar, and low sodium. (I don’t recommend this for everyone, just pointing out that it’s one approach.)

Then when I was comfortable, I got a little more adventurous. Not much, but a little. I started baking a bunch of sweet potatoes and Yukon Golds and would store a week's worth in the fridge, to fix when I needed them. Lunch could then be potato and vegetable. The potato could be microwaved, or cut up and oven-fried or air-fried. Sweet potatoes are good cold! I learned how to make my own compliant ketchup and found a no-salt-added mustard that I liked. Sometimes I would add a salad, sometimes not.

Jeff Novick's bean burgers (dish 5 from here) are good too. I make a double batch, using one can kidney beans and one can pinto beans, add half a teaspoon each of onion powder and garlic powder to the doubled recipe. Cook in a skillet or broil, freeze the leftovers. I like them with a side of frozen mixed veggies and some potato.

I also thought about the foods I liked that weren’t MWL. I like burritos, but tortillas are not MWL. So I invented my version of a burrito bowl. I knew how to make Mary McDougall's smashed pinto beans, which I love and which are incredibly easy (from her burrito recipe, here). I make big batches of brown rice, and I always have some of that in the fridge and freezer. So I take a big bowl, put a layer of brown rice in the bottom, add a layer of beans, and sprinkle some frozen corn on top (how much? Whatever I feel like. This isn’t a recipe, it’s a technique.). I heat that up in the microwave. Meanwhile, I cut up some tomatoes and onion (by hand, or in my pull chopper) and either some lettuce, spinach or both. When the bottom layers are hot, I top them with the chopped veggies and some salsa, and voilà, instant burrito bowl.

Now if you like burritos, there’s an idea for you. If you don’t like burritos, make a bowl out of something you do like. I have an Italian bowl that I start with 4-5 chopped Roma tomatoes, half a small onion, mushrooms, spinach, cucumber, and whatever else I feel like. Add a couple teaspoons Italian seasoning, about a teaspoon of oregano, half a teaspoon of garlic powder — add more or less to taste. Stir that all up. Heat if you like that idea, or just add warm starch (brown rice, rice and beans, wild rice, or cubed leftover baked sweet potato — whatever appeals) and eat at room temperature.

My technique is the bowl version of Jeff's one-pot meals, some of which are on the same handout I linked to above, for the burgers. Jeff's meals are very good too, and they’re easy to make. The idea is not to get stuck tied to a recipe. Look at potential ingredients. If you like all of them, dump them in. If you don’t like something, use something else. Add spices. Start off slowly with these. Taste as you go. Write down what you do, so if you come up with something good, you’ll be able to replicate it.

But don’t get yourself into recipe frustration. Many of us end up eating very, very simply, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Others get too bored and need more variety, which is fine too. The problem I ran into was that I was cooking too much and starting to think that the drive-thru would be SO much easier.....which is NOT where I wanted to go. So when I finally succeeded, the very simple approach was what worked for me. I still eat this way, to MAINTAIN my weight loss, and I’m happy with it.

Your mileage may vary. Hope some of this is helpful.

Goose

[Abe]

fiddler I just got a bunch of these fat free dressings to try on my giant salads and vegetables, and the Asian one is pretty good.
https://wellyourworld.com/products/asian-everything-sauce?variant=29168753672295

I am waiting for some of the other varieties to arrive. I also like the Indian sauce, however I did not care for their BBQ or Ketchup.

Although not Asian, I have also been enjoying these dressings https://www.forksoverknives.com/shop/#gs.raykbr

-Abe

[Lyndzie]

Although not Asian, I have also been enjoying these dressings https://www.forksoverknives.com/shop/#gs.raykbr

Unfortunately, the Italian dressing is not MWL compliant. It is made out of cashews. Always check the labels. Many of the Forks Over Knives recipes are not MWL.

[moonlight]

Okay. So I'm living in an abundance of riches here. I've bought a number of WFPB cookbooks. The thing is, I've tried a number of them and a large number of times my reaction to the dish has been, meh...

When I started this WOE I felt the same way about recipes that I tried. I found that over time my tastes adjusted to not having such strong flavor from salt or sugar (I think that's what is lacking in taste at first). I would use a little salt sprinkled over the prepared food. Gradually I've been able to drop the salt. Also, extra spices like garlic and onion powder, red pepper flakes, thyme, and cumin have been helpful in giving a dish more flavor. Your taste buds will likely change over time.

And all this trial and error takes the time to: buy the food, make the dish, then the days it takes to eat the food, so that it doesn't go to waste, before I can try another recipe.

Yes! I've done the same thing. Usually I can save a recipe by adding more spices, putting a sauce over it, or making it into a soup with tasty vegetable broth. Hopefully this won't happen too often. Also, I've found that the next day after I cook something it can have a better flavor.

And it seems to me that to be successful long term with a new way of eating, you need to have a collection of recipes you REALLY enjoy eating. So I had a thought. Maybe I could tap into the experience of the group here and ask if any of you have a favorite MWL go-to meal recipe that's a real workhorse for you, that you could post here, that I could take of picture of your posting on my phone, and then go into my kitchen and be able to make it. And hopefully it'll become a fav of mine, too, saving me a ton of trial and error time. Maybe you could start off your posting with something like: "A favorite dish I like to make is this:" Thanks, all, in advance. I've noticed a few ideas already in this thread that I've noted. Hopefully a collection of favorites could benefit us all.

Working on a week or two weeks worth of menus is a great way to keep food prepared. I've done this. Keep notes about recipes you like and you can develop your own menus. Keep in mind to have a balanced diet - soup, salad, and 50/50 vegetable/starch dishes. Try to keep all of those prepped. There's plenty of recipes on the web. You said you had several cookbooks. It's really trial and error. I like the MWL book even though some of the information has been updated since it was printed. I'm trying to make all the recipes at least once. I write notes in the book on how I might modify the recipe if I choose to make it again. There's sample menus in the book, too. The sample menus are a lot to prepare for one person in a day and it is a lot of food prep. So, depending on your willingness to be in the kitchen a lot, it might not be a good approach for you. I enjoy experimenting with recipes when I have the time. (I find it relaxing to spend the morning in the kitchen making a new recipe or batching cooking for the week.) Also, I've found the menus to be balanced with the right mix of salad, soup, fruit, and starches.
JeffN has some great DVD's for recipes he has developed that are very simple. You won't spend near as much time in the kitchen with his recipes. You can find a few on YouTube and here's a copy of his menu plan for the SNAP recipe templates: https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=10519&p=82887&hilit=snap+template#p82887
They are very easy, using frozen vegetables. I learned quite a lot about the quick meal prep from his recipes.
If you look through Mark Cooper's Journal you can see pictures of his meals to give you some idea of portions. He has documented his meals and they are very helpful and inspiring.
Finally, I'll list some of my favorite "Go To" recipes. Hopefully in a few weeks you will have a list of favorites.
From this website under Recipes/MWL recipes:
Shredded Salad - I love this combination of raw vegetables. It made enough to last me a week. Helpful to have a food processor for all the shredding. I didn't even need dressing. Keep the tomatoes separate and add at mealtime.
Chunky Gazpacho (salad in a bowl)
Lo Cal Stew
Lentil Soup
Sweet Potato Beginnings
Other basic combinations I like:
baked steak fries with broccoli or a bag of frozen vegetables steamed
chili and rice
Grandpa's Meatless Loaf (search the web for the recipe)
I hope you don't get discouraged. Find simple meals to get you started, then build from there. It is all about the food, as Dr. McDougall has said, but that doesn't mean it is complicated. You don't have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen if you don't want to.

[LennieP]

Hi Fellow MWL'ers, I am looking for some advice/help for this week. My husband, my little dog and I are taking off for a month in our camper to visit the southwest. I will no doubt be getting plenty of exercise biking and hiking but I anticipate the eating/cooking thing will be a challenge. I will pack my scale although I feel a bit funny about doing it...Some points that I could use some help...

1) an easy, approved breakfast item that could double as a snack when I am away from the camper.

2) some shelf stable items for relatively quick prep (not a lot of refrigerator space)

3) any hints you may have to eat well while feeding your spouse their SAD meal in a limited space environment.

I plan on taking my yoga mat and doing some yoga outside, lots of art stuff and books. Thanks in advance

[Cnmsth]

Lost 7 lbs. probably water, but still 7 lbs. I need to work on having good snacks. I also loved Jeff’s soup. It tasted better as the week went on.

[Mark Cooper]

Lost 7 lbs. probably water, but still 7 lbs. I need to work on having good snacks. I also loved Jeff’s soup. It tasted better as the week went on.

It's great you've been enjoying Jeff's soup! I've updated this week's tally to include your report.

[Mark Cooper]

Hi Fellow MWL'ers, I am looking for some advice/help for this week. My husband, my little dog and I are taking off for a month in our camper to visit the southwest. I will no doubt be getting plenty of exercise biking and hiking but I anticipate the eating/cooking thing will be a challenge. I will pack my scale although I feel a bit funny about doing it...Some points that I could use some help...

1) an easy, approved breakfast item that could double as a snack when I am away from the camper.

2) some shelf stable items for relatively quick prep (not a lot of refrigerator space)

3) any hints you may have to eat well while feeding your spouse their SAD meal in a limited space environment.

I plan on taking my yoga mat and doing some yoga outside, lots of art stuff and books. Thanks in advance

Hi, LennieP! What methods of cooking will you have available during your visit?

I'm not sure whether you reviewed this earlier post from Wild Goose already, it's solid advice -

You have the right idea in trying to deal with travel. Keep it simple. And try to eliminate as many decisions about food as you can. Have your food planned and in stock.

My first travel experience on MWL was pretty basic. I took a wide mouth thermos and a small electric kettle, along with a bag of steel cut oats, and made hot thermos oatmeal for breakfast every morning (supplemented by a banana from the hotel continental breakfast). I also brought a small steamer for potatoes and veggies in the hotel room microwave. Lunch and dinner were Yukon Golds, baby carrots and broccoli (bought at the grocery store), with Subway chopped salad (dressed with balsamic vinegar that I brought in a small travel bottle). I also brought a few bowls of shelf-stable brown rice in case I got sick of potatoes. But that was it. I did a week of that, and I was fine.

Depending on your preferences for breakfast, oatmeal or rice with fruit could work - and many fruits don't need to be refrigerated, and travel well.

Some fairly quick and easy possible items not requiring refrigeration -
"Boil-in-Bag" Brown Rice
Canned or aseptically-packed no-salt-added beans
Canned or aseptically-packed no-salt-added tomatoes
Potatoes / Sweet Potatoes

Preparing some combination of the above with some fresh or frozen vegetables, and spices could make for a quick & easy meal that meets the guidelines. If you haven't already, checkout Jeff's fast and easy recipes - that may give you some ideas. If you are preparing some things ahead of time, you may want to give Jeff's Chubby Chips a try.

Hopefully, some other participants here will chime in with their ideas!

[ElizabethAdams]

'
Hi LennieP...
https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=610693#p610693

My husband used to go backpacking with his buddies for weeks at a time.
They took light-weight, freeze-dried, pre-packaged meals with them and
then, when they camped for the night, all they had to do was add water,
cook and eat.

The labels on those meals, though, read like something straight out of
Frankenstein... lots of salt, sugar/flour, fat and ingredients with long,
unpronounceable names.

I had the happy thought of persuading my husband to include some ziplock
bags filled with various freeze-dried vegetables that he could add to his
one-pot frankenmeals at night along with some extra water.

It took some persuading--backpackers resist advice from nonbackpackers!--
but in the end he agreed. When he got back from that first veggies-added
trip, he confessed that his first dinner was so good that he gave his
buddies a taste... and that they liked it so much, he shared his veggies
with them every night until he ran out and they had to suffer through
their last few meals without veggies.

Poor babies!

After that, they all packed veggies.

And I felt very smug and pleased with myself!



Mexican farm workers have a long tradition of putting some dried beans
in a container filled with water in a napsack of some kind before they
leave for the fields at dawn. By noon, the beans are all swelled up
and ready to cook for lunch. They probably packed other things to cook
with the beans like onions and dried peppers and tomatoes and whatnot,
but I don't know that for sure. It's just what I'd do, if I were them.

A Rubbermaid dishpan fitted out with 4 to 6 one-quart glass jars would
enable you to start some beans soaking... and some rice... and a couple
of different dried veggies... and maybe some dried dates and berries
for a SAD-spouse-pleasing pie!



I guess what I'm saying is that this trip could turn out to be
an opportunity to discover what you're made of in terms of your own
creativity and problem-solving skills.

It looks to me like you're already off to a cracking good start.
You're imagining yourself in various scenarios and thinking through
different ways of dealing with them, some of which are bound to be duds
but others will be "keepers." That's just the way this pickle squirts.

I hope you come back in here and let us know how this story ends!

Back when I first started, I felt like a bomb had been dropped on me.
Everything I ever knew about food... every skill I had ever acquired
in the sourcing, buying, storing and preparing of food... every habit
I had ever formed to help me get through mealtimes on automatic pilot...
it was all out the window just as if a blood clot had blown out my brain.

You can see something similar going on in Moonlight's post above:
https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=610686#p610686

I, too, tried the "recipe" approach to solving this problem,
and it didn't work for me, either.

I started thinking maybe I was a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic!

I even descended into the blaming/shaming loop...

...that place where you conclude that it must be your fault
because you're such a worthless person.

What snapped me out it was finding out that not only is there an epidemic
of childhood obesity going on, there's an epidemic of six-month-old
*infant* obesity going on, too.

Are we going to blame *babies* for being obese because they're greedy
and eat too much and shame them for being slothful because
they don't exercise enough?

Ridiculous!

So I wiped my counters clean--metaphorically speaking--and started over.

BEANS

That's what I started with first.

I'd never cooked a dried bean before in my life,
so I had it *all* to learn.

And you just wouldn't believe how *much*
there is to learn about cooking a dried bean!

Or how many *kinds* of beans there are...
quick: what's an "heirloom" bean?!!

RICE

I tackled rice next...
sort of simultaneously, actually,
because rice goes with beans, right?

Besides: rice was something I knew how to cook...
or thought I knew. Turns out I didn't know squat,
but that's a story for another day.

SALSA

I'm *still* working on this one because a delicious salsa
made of tomatoes and onions and garlic and mushrooms
and chili peppers and exotic spices is to die for.
It can transform a plate of plain ole beans and rice
and vegetables into a meal fit for a king.

And it is so simple!

Sauces are one area where "recipes" can be helpful because
just the right ingredient in just the right amount can make
all the difference in the world in how the sauce turns out.

In turn, a to-die-for sauce can cover a multitude of culinary sins!

What I mean is, it can "dress up" canned beans and frozen vegetables
to the point where you can hardly notice the difference from fresh.

• So if you want to become a hero in your house,
focus on salsas!

Have a wonderful trip!

Elizabeth