July 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[LesleyMills]

Last week I was 189lbs now I'm 186, -3lb this first week. I had a good week as I managed to stick to the 10 point checklist all except for coffee. Sorry but this appears to be the one vice that I'm struggling to give up. I haven't had a shop-bought espresso every day but I have cut down and will try and cut down further this coming week especially as we are now back in full lockdown here due to the virus. I walk a couple of neighbours dogs each day and I also foster retired racing greyhounds every couple of weeks so that gives me approx 3 x 20 min brisk walks a day. I've also been landscaping my garden when the weather has held (it is winter over here currently) and so I think item 10 on this list is fine currently but this was a concern of mine going in to this program. I am struggling with items 1 and 2 though. I can't eat much of a meal after I've had a bowl of soup but I'm finding I eat too much starch at the expense of the vegetables when I do. I've had my gall bladder removed and so can't do too much raw food without getting cramps and so too many salads are an issue. Still I'm eating more steamed veggies than I did.
For me I think the biggest issue moving forward will be not eating or drinking the wrong things when I'm bored or emotional and I'm a big emotional eater. I decided that I needed to add a pause to this behaviour so I now have no wine and no 'off program' easy to eat food that I'm partial to in the house eg bread, cakes, jam, sweets, chocolate. I will now need to leave the house to get these items and I figure that the act of walking/driving to the shops or ordering home delivery take out would give me time to think about what I'm doing and hopefully stop the impulse. Anyway I have a way to go but I'm heartened this week due to not having as many issues as I thought I'd have with the program. Also knowing I have everyone else along on this journey with me is a big help so thanks everyone for posting as this has been a godsend.

[vegyluvver]

Tomorrow is my weigh-in and here's what I have learned in week 1:

1) I suck at moderation
2) If I want real results I will have to stop messing around and do the work
3) It is possible for me to have delicious foods all day and not go off the diet
4) Evening is my hardest time
5) My husband will not fuss at me if I don't eat what he's eating, so I should stop using his eating habits as an excuse to eat junk
6) Plain boiled potatoes are delicious to me hot or cold

Starting NOW, no more moderation for me.

[Corey M]

Hello,

I am a 40 year old busy working mom of 2 and have a goal of losing 30lbs by the end of this year. I will start MWL tomorrow (Friday morning, 7/10) by posting a starting weight and beginning the program. I've been plant based since 2012.

Thanks,
Corey

[PonysPlants]

I’m down 0.8lbs this week which I’m pleased about, that’s actually 2lbs lost in 10 days. I was previously eating a whole food diet with higher fat foods in and losing about that in a month if I was lucky. I mean I don’t know why I’m surprised, John McDougall knows this stuff better than me!

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. Choose fruit for dessert. YES. Loving this way of eating. I had a meal of potatoes and tomatoes yesterday and it was so delicious.
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 don’t add sugar to anything, salt I’ve put a little on top but find myself wanting to add more to rice dishes so won’t have any on it going forward.
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, tofu, soy). Interesting to see the cravings that pop up here, have been wanting almond butter all week when I didn’t think I was that bothered by it normally. Did mess up last Friday night. My husband wanted a subway so I asked him to get me a vegan salad with no dressing and cooked some potatoes to have with it. Didn’t realise the vegan salad came with vegan patty slices in it and I ate it instead of picking it out.
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 2 slices of toast, had a bad headache and my husband made me some. Wasn’t going to refuse it.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Still really missing green smoothies! Also, still having a decaf coffee everyday with a splash of oat milk. Help!
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes, though I’ve found my meal times are thrown off because it takes me ages to get hungry again. Not a bad thing but having dinner later than I’d like.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Pilates and walking but not everyday this week which is unusual for me. Need to get this back on track.

Every day I’ve probably had more than 2 servings of fruit. I doubt I’ve had more than 4 but definitely 3. I tend to have a banana when I get up and then blueberries with my oatmeal and an apple before lunch and a fruit at night as dessert. Will try to not have to salad before lunch instead of the apple.

Thought that I was doing ok this week but now I see that there are quite a few things that I need to improve on going forward. It’s really helpful to take stock at the end of the week like this. Also, huge thanks to the moderators for looking after us. You’re brilliant!

[Cathmc]

03/07/20 - 156.3lbs
10/07/20 - 155.8lbs
Not even -1lb.

I´m a little disappointed even though I didn´t really start untill Sunday.

[b]Check list[/b]

Have tried the Chunky Gazpacho and Asian Garbanzo spread. Enjoyed both

1: I don´t really have first, second and dessert but when I have had a starter it has been chunky gazpacho ( better than I expected as I´m used to making the real one here in Andalucia lol )
2: OK
3: OK ( struggling with the salt elimination especially )
4: YES
5: YES
6: YES
7: YES
8: YES ( I´m presuming Chunky Gazpacho or blended soup is ok ?? )
9: YES ( Have I eaten too much ? Keep my eye on this )
10: OK ( Room for improvement for sure. Average of 11.000 steps a day. Two days of 45 mins Body Groove dancing )

As much as I enjoy beans, I find I get very bloated with them. Going to work on eating them little by little ( odd days a week ) rather than every day. Any ideas on how to avoid getting so bloated anyone ?
My food has been a little bit boring this week as I haven´t settled down and looked at recipes.
Although I´ve hardly dropped any weight I feel as though I am eating in a healthy manner that sits right with me. I miss bread, but that is a big downfall of mine.

Lesley : Well done on the weight loss and getting rid of all the temptations.
Vegyluvver : Good luck on the weigh in. Great points you´ve made there.
Corey M : Hi. Good luck with the program. Look forward to hearing how it goes for you.

[josietheschnauzer]

Weight loss this week: 3 pounds
Total loss since starting MWL in April: 25.2 pounds
As I have posted before, I have never weighed this little in my life!

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. CHECK
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. CHECK
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. CHECK
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). CHECK
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). HALF CHECK: Two pieces of vegetable sushi that came with avocado by mistake.
6. Eliminate any added oil. CHECK
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. CHECK
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). CHECK
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. CHECK: Walking after the evening meal to make sure my brain registers “full”.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). CHECK: Exercise one or two hours every day.

[Cathmc]

Wow Joseitheschanauzer : Well done !!!! Very inspiring xx

[Abe]

Weight Change: 0 lbs.

My new scale arrived yesterday, so I am going to say 0 for this week.

I had not been able to get sweet potatoes for the last three weeks. I bought some this week and I was unable to control myself. They tasted so delicious that I overate them regularly throughout the week. 3-4 at a time every day, sometimes at every meal. This did cause me to eat less potatoes than I normally do, but I am concerned that perhaps I should not buy them going forward. I had been eating them in a normal fashion before this dry spell, and now they taste too delicious.

My tastes have really changed. These Japanese sweet potatoes taste like dessert, and plain celery with no dip tastes salty and flavorful.

[Cathy Ann]

-7
current weight 238
start weight 245

MWL 10 plan.
1 to 8. yes
9. I need to understand, just because it's my regular meal time, I can just not eat if not hungry.
10. a work in progress.

I am happy that I have been successful this week. My goal for next week, is just to stick with the 10-point MWL plan, go to the swimming pool for exercise, and not to binge eat........Have a good week everyone!

[April H.]

Good Morning All!
Weight change: -3.5 lbs
Where I succeeded on cklst: with it being a holiday weekend last week I allowed some cheats as I had just begun, so most items on the list where only partial successes. But, I did much better on eating till full.
Where I need to work: everything will improve this week as I apply the chklst at every meal.
April H.

[jan_npr]

Weight change - down 0.8 lbs
A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL)

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.  Could do better but doing this 2 out of 3 meals at least.
2) Follow the 50/50 plate method 2) Choose fruit for desert. Doing great.
3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts.  Great
4) Eliminate all animal foods Never a problem here.
5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Great week.
6) Eliminate any added oil. Great week.
7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products, puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. Had home-made pizza one day.
8 ) Don’t drink your calories Still managing to avoid alcohol when friends visit. Fantastic!
9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full.   Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Going very well.
10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily. Still much room for improvement but doing a bit better.

yahoo! Weight still going down.

Milestone for my husband today. He reached his target BMI of 21. He lost 18.2 pounds compared to my 8.2 in the same amount of time. Basically we eat the same food (I might eat more) but he has had A LOT of physical activity in recent weeks (landscaping). He loves that kind of lifestyle activity as opposed to going to the gym and this time of year is great for that. I'm so happy for him and he looks fantastic. In the meantime, he is cheering me on recognizing that we have never been in this mindset before. Our friends, like so many, have put on loadss of pandemic pounds. We were going down that path until we saw this as a maybe once in a lifetime opportunity to buckle down with our environment without the stress of entertaining, and without eating out like we used to.

Thanks to the moderators here!

[jackcook82]

Weight Loss this week: -2.4 lbs

I big game changer for me this week was following the baking instructions for potatoes I found on this blog. Wow! What a difference. I've been making me a big batch of mushrooms/cabbage/onions stirred fry (no oil) and eating that. Delicious and satisfying.

Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Doing better although I think I am still eating more fruit than I should. I get hungry between meals and will eat an apple or plums. I am probably eating 4 servings of fruit a day.
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.
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. I am struggling with this as I am addicted to salt. I find myself going to the mustard jar to get my salt fix.
Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes
Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes
Eliminate any added oil. Yes
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
Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes
Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes
Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes, walked every day for 40 minutes

Wish everyone well.
- J

[Dennis h]

dennis h here:

Started last weeks weigh in @ 238lbs
This weeks weigh in is 230lbs
- 8 lbs for week

Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. CHECK
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. NOPE VEGGIES AND OATMEAL-NOT GONNA HAPPEN HERE
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. CHECK
Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). CHECK
Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). CHECK
Eliminate any added oil. CHECK
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. CHECK
Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages) .CHECK
Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
CHECK
Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). GOTTA WORK ON THIS

Lots of adjusting and planning when you are no longer on a "see food" diet (I saw it and ate it)
thanks
dennis h

[Kathie]

Down from 243 to 236 this week. I suspect some of that was fluid buildup. They removed 49 lymph nodes when I had surgery for cancer (followed by radiation and chemo). From what I gather, there can be lymph fluid buildup in the body. So what I've seen since beginning MWL and cleaning up my diet is that the swelling in my ankles (and hands) is almost all gone. And my joints aren't cracking all the time now. Exercise is getting easier and, thus, more enjoyable. And sleep is getting more restful. Anyway, here's my checklist.


Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit ........... Did fine with the salads, but didn't get soups made. Will get to that today. I actually like soup.

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.............I don't usually eat off of a plate. I use bowls for salads and potatoes and such. It was probably 50/50 most of the time. I'm slowly getting used to eating more salads.

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.......Fine here. Never liked salt anyway. Cut back sugar in my oatmeal and don't add it to other foods. Except sweet potatoes with brown sugar.


Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood)...........I did fine in all of these areas. Never liked animal foods much anyway.

Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).........Had one day where I ate some coconut.


Eliminate any added oil.
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.
Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages)........Did fine on all of these. I did insist my husband take the cookies (one of my weaknesses) out of the house and he did. Never cared much for juices or oils either. Never been a big bread eater.


Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.........I'm thinking I may eat a little too much past 'full'. Will have to work on that.


Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).........Went to the gym several times, bounced on my mini-trampoline at home, and walked outside a few times. Began walking at an indoor track yesterday and will probably continue that since it's so hot now. I don't handle the heat well what with being so overweight. That's one of the things I'm really looking forward to - being able to go out in the heat without being miserable.

I also spent some time going through my recipes and categorizing them. It helps me to know what I have in the kitchen and what recipes I have in my files. Keeps me from buying non-MWL foods when I'm shopping.

One thing I was wondering though. What to do about people who insist on talking about food ... all. the. time. I have a husband like this. It doesn't help me at all. I tend to view MWL as just my new 'normal' and it will be my lifestyle for the rest of my life. So there's really no need to talk about food every day of the week. Eating is just something we do. And being on MWL I have SO much more time where I don't have to think about food. It's wonderful.

[Waterfit]

I am so excited that I lost 3 lbs this week. I haven't seen the scale move in several months with heavy exercise. I did not get to exercise much this week due to taking care of my 90 year old mom and working full time. Other than that, my habits have been good but going thru detox. I was even sick after dinner last night which hasn't happened in years. That was odd but feeling OK today. It's a learning curve though as I approach this way of life again. So far, so good!

Starting weight: 120.5
Current weight: 117.5
Goal weight: 105