January 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Thread

[Miss Meta]

today 192.8
lost 1.6

[gj1310]

01/17/2020 244
Start 01/01/2020 251.2

[kirstykay]

Points from MWL Checklist where I need greater attention—1, 2, and 3. Most especially giving up the salt. I have been trying to lower adding salt, but this is my greatest weakness.

I have a question about this. I didn't think we had to give up salt and sugar with MWL. Just checking for clarification. I'm working on only following MWL and not adding or deleting anything from other programs. It was my understanding that eliminating all sugar and salt are from other programs like Chef AJ, not MWL. TIA

[colleenaprn]

Hi,
I gained one pound this week I am not sure how that happened since I have been 100% compliant with guidelines but I will trust my body that is knows what it is doing and I will continue.
everyone have a great week!

Weight: 226
gained 1 pound

[JeffN]

Points from MWL Checklist where I need greater attention—1, 2, and 3. Most especially giving up the salt. I have been trying to lower adding salt, but this is my greatest weakness.

I have a question about this. I didn't think we had to give up salt and sugar with MWL. Just checking for clarification. I'm working on only following MWL and not adding or deleting anything from other programs. It was my understanding that eliminating all sugar and salt are from other programs like Chef AJ, not MWL. TIA

Correct. 100%

Also, as my recent post in my forum noted... Dr Goldhamer is the originator of this recommendation. As he now admits, there is no evidence for it and he is no longer saying it is healthier or neccessary.

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=57151#p610813

In Health
Jeff

[Mark Cooper]

Stephanie - I think you are proceeding with exactly the right attitude, and it is great that you are feeling so well! I applaud you starting a journal, I really believe they can be one of the most powerful tools for practicing this WOE, especially because over time the journal can provide a clear picture of our patterns of behavior. Way to go on the checklist, and it looks like you have a clear set of "next steps" going forward.

VGuzman - Hi! How did the week go for you overall? How are you feeling?

alishana - Kudos!

wstokes - Are there particular areas where you went off track this week? Returning to the MWL 10-Point Checklist to reassess and proceed accordingly seems like a sound strategy. Hang in there!

ElizabethAdams - As the family member who does all the food prep and cooking in my household, I offer a full-throated endorsement of your idea to give your husband a "behind-the-scenes" primer on meal-making! I'm somewhat awed by your industriousness, you'll have to let me know how your exploration into hominy goes. I do want to point out a few things, for everyone in the group who may be reading this discussion, to avoid any confusion - while corn tortillas in appropriate quantities can certainly be part of a healthful diet for many people, they are not recommended within the current MWL guidelines because of their high calorie density, ~1000 calories/lb. One of the key concepts of MWL is calorie dilution - finding that "sweet spot" where each of us can eat to satiety, be well and properly nourished, and still sustain a safe amount of weight loss (or maintain our weight once our health goals have been met). If anyone is having difficulty understanding the concept, I highly recommend watching Jeff's video on Calorie Density: How To Eat More, Weigh Less and Live Longer and / or reading the very detailed discussion in this thread on Finding The Sweet Spot: Balancing Calorie Density, Nutrient Density & Satiety. If someone wants to keep it simple, find a whole or minimally processed starch you like, add non-starchy vegetables in about a 50/50 ratio, and repeat as needed. For those who want to take a deep dive into the concept check out the The Ultimate Guide To Free Calorie Density (MWL) Resources.

Catswcravats - Assessing and improving each week is a path to success. Planning in advance nearly always helps - it is almost like those prepared non-starchy vegetables and starches are components on hand, so it can be easy to just "assemble" a healthful meal when needed. Glad the exercise is going well for you!

laurag - That looks like a pretty solid meal plan to me! Those calorie dense, sugary (& often high-fat) items can really feel addicting! Good idea trying to break that cycle. You might find Dr. Lisle's lecture on The Cram Circuit of interest.

Nat13 - Awesome that you are enjoying the way you feel!

BeTrue01 - I think Wild4Stars, wildgoose & deweyswakms posted some useful advice. In general -

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full.   Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.

So if you are feeling hungry, have a starch with some veggies or fruit, as needed. Also, as a reminder for everyone, bread is a calorie-dense food and is not recommended within the MWL guidelines. You might also want to keep a journal of your eating and activity levels to get an idea of your overall patterns and see if something stands out. It can take some time to get things "dialed-in."

debsal - Amount of weight change for any particular week or day can be somewhat unpredictable. How does your week seem in terms of the MWL 10-Point Checklist? It may help you narrow down some areas on which to focus.

pootsy - Those small successes definitely do accumulate over time! Good idea to dispense with the diet soda. I think you'll find that if you are able to abstain from cheese for long enough it will be much less of a temptation - cheese really hits many of those pleasure trap buttons for some people, but the cravings ought to fade eventually.

Jlowe - Nice result! It's awesome you are feeling well!

symbas - Kudos! I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be out walking in -42 weather, either! If you enjoy it, maybe a little yoga or light calisthenics could fit into your routine? I wish you the best with your sleep. Do you feel like you are getting enough starch throughout the day?

Cnmsth - Certainly not bad at all! I'm glad your attention to added sugar is starting to help.

Bruce1223 - Hi Bruce! How did the week go for you, in relation to the MWL checklist?

Moonlight - I think wildgoose provided some excellent advice in the post above.

I want to thank everyone that is participating in this thread. It is exciting to share this all encompassing life change with you. It is not an insignificant lifestyle change. Kudos to us all who are brave enough to take on the challenge.

I agree so much! These ARE NOT insignificant changes to make, and we shouldn't underestimate the challenges the current societal food environment raises to our health and well-being.

JaBee - Kudos! How are you feeling about how the week went for you?

ltolar - Congrats! It's fantastic to have some support for your husband! Perhaps he will be willing to continue to adjust as you progress - Mary McDougall did an excellent newsletter on cooking without oil, maybe he would be interested in checking it out?

Butterfly043 - Do you feel like you are eating sufficient starch in your meals? It may be worth journaling what you eat each day, to get a clear picture of the situation. It may not be so much "way more than I should" eat, but rather some specific food choices that could be aggravating your situation. Just a thought. In general, though, if you are hungry, eat.

Miss Meta - Kudos! How do you feel the week went, within the frame of the MWL guidelines?

gj1310 - Congrats! How has the checklist been going for you?

colleenaprn - Weight changes in any given week can be a little unpredictable. If you are adherent to the MWL 10-Point Checklist, you should likely see progress over time. If you start to feel frustrated, it might be worthwhile to start a food journal as an aid to getting a really clear picture of eating patterns, but I think you are wise in not sweating it at this point.

[Johnatmh]

I can't seem to view my old posts but I remember my starting and weight and what I weighed last week:

Weight Change this week : -1.4 lbs
Total loss to date: 14.2 lbs
Weight:
01/18/2020: 366.8
01/11/2020: 368.2
01/04/2020: 381

I have been doing pretty well, mostly compliant and was expecting a better result this week but I'm not discouraged. I had a very large loss last week which I am sure was largely water loss. I'm guessing I gained some of that back and am continuing to lose body fat. I'm still hoping for about a 1% loss per week going forward so hope to be down more than 3 lbs in this coming week. Pressing on!

[WholePlanetBased]

F/55/5'1"ish/183> ? Vegan 2.5 yrs. Started following McDougall's Starch Solution about 2 months after becoming vegan. I reached my goal weight and BMI already but cheat occasionally with unhealthy foods. However if I lost 10 more pounds then I would weigh what I did when I graduated HS. I joined this group for support and inspiration to get stricter with my "diet" for health and ethical reasons. I aspire to eat as clean as Chef AJ some day. Have considered going all potato...wonder if I could handle it.
Challenges this week...stress, a lot of big changes at work. Had a few weak moments and ate some peanut M&Ms...they were at work, and I was needing an energy boost. Also came home to find some tortilla chips and guacamole that other family members had left out, and I was hungry and they were just right there in my face calling to me. But one of the many things I have learned on this journey, is not to completely throw in the towel because I have an off day.
I was 128 at the start of this 2020 forum a couple wks ago, my second weigh in I was down to 125, now Im back up to 130 today. (My highest wt before going starch solution was 183). My wt tends to go up and down like this but over the past couple years of vegan diet, has overall continued to go down on average. Good things Im proud of this wk, ate soup (McDougall's lower sodium) everyday. Ate more fruit...apples and berries, ate a potato or sweet potato everyday, avoided peanut butter, drank more tea (hibiscus and decaf green tea and peppermint are my favs). My skin looks clearer. My face continues to look leaner.

[laurag]

Either the weighing machine is wrong or I have put on a pound!
01/03 = 156
01/10 = 154
01/17 = 155

Have a question? I've had it for two nights now. After dinner yesterday night we had left over sweet potato/spinach soup and 2 slices of rye at 6:00pm. Then I'd gone for rehearsals and came back at 9pm. Drank water but by 10:30pm, I was hungry again. I ignored the signals and went to bed.
Tonight, I made Japanese sweet potato noodles water stir fry with lots of vegetables and now it's 10:30pm and I'm hungry again

Why doesn't the dinner food keep me going through the night? Do any of you feel hungry 4 hours after dinner? And what do you snack on to assuage the hunger? Tonight I succumbed and took my husband's cheese stick and drank water.

Hi there be true,

Instead of bread have a baked potato on side which is filling is also good for snack just cold in fridge dipped in mustard or hot with salsa, I do beans and rice for dinner and I'm full just remember to add veggies for other half of plate. I think Soup not enough you can have a dinner plate after soup you could also do soup for snack you should not be hungry, keep trying out till u find what works good luck

[Drew*]

Weight change on Friday: 179.6 lb …-1 lb
Down 5.8 lb since starting in this forum.

This week I succeeded at picking out two recipes and sticking to them for the most part during the week for lunches and sometimes for dinner. They included a variation of Jeff’s Longevity Soup and his standard recipe. I also had at least one salad with a lower salt fat free dressing without sugar. The recipe is in Dr. McDougall’s latest book.

Two points on the checklist that require more attention this week are exercise (my goal is to do ½ hour of Delgado’s straight lifts for 4-6 times before next Friday) and avoiding salt free Ezekiel Bread and Ezekiel English Muffins or other breads. There are other things I could do, but these seem realistic in the coming week.

My comment is that it is great to have a support group online that has a goal to follow the MWL checklist.

My observation is that my wife and friends do not follow MWL. However, my wife cooks pretty close to the MWL checklist when we eat together about 4 times a week.

Thanks for all your comments!

[LeahMT]

Only down 0.8 lbs this week. Too many cheats (a couple beers) and dinner out that included some oil. Back on the program this week!

[Jiffy]

Hello everyone,
It was a challenging week but I was glad to end it with a small loss (.8 lbs from last week)
Starting weight 1/03/20. 249.6 lbs
Current weight 1/17/20. 243.0 lbs

[Mark Cooper]

Johnatmh - I'm glad you aren't feeling discouraged, that is a solid loss after such a big drop last time. Are there any specific areas where you feel like you are struggling? Way to press on!

WholePlanetBased - I applaud you for recognizing where you got off track, and not "flipping over the table" just because you made some imperfect choices. It is great that you are seeing some positive changes in your complexion and appearance. My own weight also tends to bounce around at times, since I'm in maintenance I keep a 7-day rolling average and consider that my "actual weight" - I just make sure to make adjustments if the trend starts heading in the wrong direction.

Drew* - Great follow-through on planning your meals! I think you are right that avoiding those calorie-dense breads will make a meaningful difference. It is awesome that your wife is willing to support you by preparing some adherent meals!

LeahMT - It is easy for a few "exceptions" to turn into too many! Refocusing on the MWL 10-Point Checklist and moving ahead is the way to go.

Jiffy - I'm glad that you are glad! Were there particular challenges that you were facing this week?

[Michele613]

Mark & Goose....thanks for the comments re pasta. I am looking forward to having some for Sunday lunch.
I will be sure to add some broccoli (my favorite veggie these days....which for me I can only buy frozen and it costs about $9.50 per 32 (?) oz bag). Since I'm not eating my go to meal of pizza, ice coffee and fries I guess it's a bargain price in terms of $ and health.

Boy Mark you've got your hands full with the January enrollment...I can't even keep up with the reading...it's just mid month and you're at page 35

Well everyone seems enthused and ready to try and/or try again....we should be reading about many new successful journeys from our team in the coming months!

[MaryP]

Gained 2 lbs.

I know I am a day late reporting. It has been a hard week for me and I didn't want to report a gain. I wanted to be accountable though, so here I am. I am back on track and plan to stay there!