August 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[wildgoose]

Please note - I replied to each participant individually in the two lengthy posts linked below, provided that their reports followed the guidelines for weigh-ins.

Replies for August 13 - Part 1
Replies for August 13 - Part 2

By my count, 15 participants reported for our second August 2021 MWL weigh-in! If I neglected to include anyone, or you notice an error in the tally, please let me know (via PM so we can keep the thread as tidy as possible, or in a post here if you cannot PM).

Thank you for your patience and cooperation in working with me while Mark was on vacation. He will be back next week. I appreciate all your kind words as I have been filling in this week.

Here are the results for the second Friday in August:

Week ending 8/13/2021: 15 participants reported a total change of -20.70 pounds
--------------------------------------------------
GreenFroG +2.20
Rebecka22 +0.20
Gimmelean +0.40
--------------------------------------------------
Total gains: +2.80
--------------------------------------------------
NO CHANGE / MAINTAIN/ STARTING OUT
Gabby7 0.00
--------------------------------------------------
Zoey -0.10
louie3084 -1.10
VegSeekingFit -1.40
cmcavazos2 -1.60
Angelea -1.90
Noella -1.90
Holly33 -2.00
texaslil -2.00
veggiemelt -3.10
Belana -3.40
Health 1st -5.00
--------------------------------------------------
Total losses: -23.50
--------------------------------------------------
Cumulative group loss for August 2021 to date: -33.20 pounds
Average loss for week ending August 13: -1.38 pounds

Cumulative group loss for January 2021: 117.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for February 2021: 39.40 pounds
Cumulative group loss for March 2021: 73.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for April 2021: 48.30 pounds
Cumulative group loss for May 2021: 35.90 pounds
Cumulative group loss for June 2021: 34.10 pounds
Cumulative group loss for July 2021: 64.95 pounds

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, August 20, 2021.

**********
I listen to a lot of podcasts, interviews and discussion groups with Dr. Doug Lisle, so I can't remember exactly where he said this, but I recently heard him answer the following question.

"I ate something off-plan recently. I thought it would taste really good, because I used to like it and I remember the taste of it. But it didn't taste that good at all. Why?"

Dr. Lisle talked about Pleasure Trap foods as being those hyper-palatable, usually highly processed (and often high in some combination of sugar, salt, and fat) foods that evoke a strong dopamine response in our nervous system. When we are regularly eating these foods, our bodies get used to that dopamine. In fact, we get so used to it that it takes increasing amounts of the food, or a more frequent "dose," or a greater concentration of the ingredients that evoke dopamine (sweeter, saltier, or fattier food) to keep us at the same level of "hit" as we are used to experiencing.

After we eat according to MWL (or the regular McDougall program) for a while (1-3 months), our taste buds change. But we also "neuroadapt." Our bodies are no longer used to that dopamine "hit" (yes, we crave it for the first few weeks, but those cravings calm down as long as we don't feed them). A little dopamine will affect us in the same way that a lot of dopamine used to. And a lot of dopamine? Sometimes we test that, and we find out.

We eat a bowl of ice cream, and we think it's WAY too sweet. Or we eat a slice of pizza and wonder why it's so greasy. Or a handful of pretzels and think "meh, just dry and really salty." It's too much dopamine for what we're now used to, and it overloads the nervous system, so we react negatively.

Dr. Lisle also pointed out that it's entirely possible that our memories of how good something tastes, especially as they become more distant, are no longer reliably accurate, especially given how much we've changed. Either way, we figure it's not worth it to eat the junk! Which is a good thing for continued weight loss or for eventual weight maintenance.

The danger is that our nervous systems can rapidly re-adapt to the increase in dopamine, if we keep eating that ice cream or that pizza. We then find ourselves starting over. That's why they call it the Pleasure Trap, folks. The best strategy is to get back on track right away!

Hope you all have a good week, stay safe and be well.

Goose

[Noella]

Hi Wild Goose, Thank you so much for being here with us this week while Mark is on vacation. I’m wondering if you have any insightful information or encouragement to share about losing weight as we get close to achieving a healthy size, but still have a few stubborn pounds to go. What extra challenges can we expect to experience and what might the timeline to look like? I want to have realistic expectations during the weeks and months ahead and can’t wait to get to my goal weight.

I don't know about insightful, Noella, but I can tell you what it was like for me. And of course, since I'm a gabby Goose, once I get started, this turns into a very long post!

A bit of background on me:

• Age: 65
• Gender: female
• Height: used to be 5'11.5", now probably closer to 5'10.5"
• Weight: as of today, 135.6. I try to maintain between 135 and 138
• Highest weight: 237, in about 2002. I got down to 160, back up to 200, then back and forth between 160 and 200 for years before I did MWL in earnest.
• Started MWL seriously: mid-March 2019, at 190 lb.
• Stabilized at my current weight (135-138): end of November 2019
• Current BMI: 19.2
• BMI when at the top of my maintenance weight range (138): 19.5

I kept a journal of everything I ate, the exercise I did or didn't do (to be honest, almost all the latter), how I felt, how my clothes fit. I didn't take "before" pictures, which I probably should have, but I have lots of pictures from along the way in my journal. I weighed daily. That's not recommended, and the fluctuations drove me nuts, but I also kept a rolling average that was a much more realistic assessment of how I was doing.

I checked back in my journal to see how the last "stubborn" pounds came off. I got to 150 the middle of August. I hadn't been below 150 for a long time, if ever, in my adult life. I had lost 40 pounds since I started MWL, and I was really happy with that.

The middle of September, I was 146. What??? Only four pounds in a month? Yes, that's right. It can happen. This is where the realistic expectations have to come in. Believe me, I wasn't happy as I was writing that in my journal.

The temptation, when weight loss slows down that much, is to try something drastic to "kick start" your weight loss. This is where people start to look at unsustainable options. Fasting. Intermittent fasting. Lots of exercise. Raw food diets. Even, heaven forbid, keto. Don't do it!

I didn't do anything different. Maybe upped my vegetable-starch ratio a little, but nothing that would take me out of what I thought I could permanently sustain. This is key, I think. Don't make a change that you wouldn't be willing to live with for the rest of your life, just to blast off a few pounds. Remember, weight is equilibrium between body and eating. You can change the eating side of the equation drastically to get your weight down, but if you don't sustain it, the equilibrium point shifts back upwards as your eating changes back to what it was. This is why people regain lost weight!

My mid-October weight was 140. So a 6-pound loss from mid-September to mid-October. Not bad -- I was pretty pleased with that. A far cry from the early days when I was trying (unrealistically) to lose 4-6 pounds a week. I'm sure people here can identify with that.

Mid-November weight was going back and forth between 137 and 138. This is the problem with weighing every day. But I was averaging about 137.5. I was really getting close to where I was going to end up, and I was slowing down even more. 2.5 pounds in that month's time.

Thanksgiving, 136.6. End of November, 135.8, and I called it done. As you can see, I've maintained it for 20.5 months. Two solid years this fall, which I'm confident I can achieve easily.

Some things to remember if you're trying to apply my experience to yours. I'm tall. I'm broad-shouldered but not terribly big-boned. Still, I'm going to have an easier time losing weight than someone who is 5 feet tall and small-framed, especially at the end (but a harder time than a 6-foot-3 muscular male -- it's just the way it is). Noella, you're 5'9", so your experience may be closer to mine, but it might not be.

I don't exercise. I should. I know I should. I try, then I crash and burn. I hate it. I especially hate it in the heat, so I don't even want to think about it in August in central Illinois. I won't go to a gym -- even pre-COVID I had no interest in exercising at a gym. I have injuries and physical issues that make exercise difficult, but that's really no excuse. I'm just a slug -- I admit it. All of this is to say that my weight loss was achieved 99% through diet alone. Not optimal, and I wish I could say that I adhered to Checklist point #10, but I didn't.

I never eat out. It's just how we are. We don't like restaurants. Even before COVID. I used to do more take-out, but I stopped that when I started MWL. I've had one take-out meal in the past year and a half, and that was out of necessity. I know others who eat out regularly and really struggle with weight maintenance.

I'm introverted. So is the Gander. What that means is, we don't socialize much. It's a big help for weight loss and maintenance if you don't ever see a potluck or an invitation to dinner. We're retired, so we don't have social obligations at work. A huge advantage, and one I know that others aren't so lucky to have.

I try to always have food on hand. Brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, already cooked and stored in the fridge. Tons of frozen veggies in the freezer. We put up 80-100 pounds of fresh blueberries every year, so we have high quality frozen berries for oatmeal all year round. I stockpile beans, lentils, rice, and other staples so I never run out.

I have a Gander who is totally supportive. He eats this way much of the time. In fact, I have a hard time keeping weight on him because of the way we eat (he's genetically rail-thin). He eats lots of bread and muffins, the occasional pizza, nuts, and a few other higher-calorie-density foods. But he's completely supportive of how I eat and what I need to do to keep temptation at bay. I'm so lucky, and I know it. Keeping a clean environment goes hand in hand with having compliant food prepared and ready as what I think are the two most important factors for success.

But my answer to your question of how to get the last few stubborn pounds off is this: stay the course. Keep with the Checklist until you know you've hit equilibrium (steady weight for 2-3 months). Then re-evaluate. You'll have two choices. Shift the average overall calorie density of what you're eating slightly downward (or eliminate any potentially troublesome foods -- I had to look at some condiments and those pesky rice cakes which I knew weren't MWL but I thought I could "handle"!). Or re-evaluate your goal weight. Can you live with 5 more pounds than you might have planned for, to be able to eat just the way you're eating now?

Hope that helps. Also, here are a couple of general ideas for you and anyone else who's reading this. Stay with this board as long as you want. I think there's a lot of encouragement to be found here (I can't say enough about the terrific job that Mark is doing), along with inspiration from the stories of others. There's also a Maintenance thread under "Testimonials and Success Stories" that doesn't get nearly enough activity, but which I think could be a big help once you're at that stage. I'm happy to answer any questions you have, as are many of the other "old-timers" on the various Forum boards, many of whom have lots more experience and more dramatic stories than I do!

You might also want to take a look at some of the journals over on the "My Daily Menus and Journals" board, and to read the Star McDougaller stories or watch the videos on that section of the main website. This community is a wealth of resources, almost all of it available for free (for which I again thank Dr. McDougall, Heather McDougall, and Jeff Novick, along with countless people working behind the scenes).

Goose

Hi Everyone,
Wild Goose’s post about her experience with MWL Is such a great description, I took the liberty to summarize what she had to say about losing those last few stubborn pounds. ( I hope that’s okay!?)

Summary of Wild Goose’s “Losing The Last Few Stubborn Pounds”:
1. MWL Mindset: “Finally” take MWL “seriously.” Follow MWL “in earnest.”
2. MWL Journal: Track your experience in five categories: 1. Food 2. Exercise 3. Weight 4. Feelings/Emotions 5. How Clothes Fit
3. Stay the Course with MWL: Use the MWL checklist. Fine tune your MWL behaviours in ways that you “will be willing to live with for the rest of your life.”
4. Eat At Home: More meals at home. Less restaurant/potluck/special event meals. “It's a big help for weight loss and maintenance if you don't ever see a potluck or an invitation to dinner. ”
5. Be Prepared with MWL Food: Ensure that you have pre-cooked starches ready to eat: “Brown rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, already cooked and stored in the fridge.” A freezer full of fruit, berries and veggies plus “stockpile beans, lentils, rice, and other staples so you never run out.”
6. MWL Supportive Spouse and/or Family: Good communication will help your family to understand exactly what you “need to do to keep temptation at bay”.
7. MWL Inspiration: Participate in this MWL board for encouragement, support and feedback “for as long as you want.” Ask your questions. Explore the "My Daily Menus and Journals board, and read the Star McDougaller stories.”

[Gimmelean]

Goose and Noella-
Thank you, thank you, thank you both for your posts and summary. I’m the 5 ft (+1.5in) prototype person forever seeking that weight loss/weight management equilibrium. You said it ALL! I saved the posts and will refer to them often for reinforcement, motivation, and reminding . Thank you for inspiring me to get back on track NOW before I feel as though I’ve let go and yes, it was much less effort because I hadn’t strayed too far yet.
I hope Mark is doing well and enjoying vacation.

[Mark Cooper]

Hi, Everyone! I'm back home after a very fun and relaxing vacation. It was really nice to get away with my wife and daughter, and we really enjoyed it: mini golf, hiking to see waterfalls, horseback riding, and an outdoor water park - a great time all around.

Thanks so much to wildgoose for being such an amazing guide for the group last week!

Best to everyone, and I'm looking forward to digging into tomorrow's reports.

[PonysPlants]

Loss of 0.8 lbs

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. NO
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. NO
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. NO
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES Easy. Vegan for life

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados,) YES
6. Eliminate any added oil. NO
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. NO
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. YES

Didn’t report last week as I went on a last minute trip. After lots of discussion my husband and I decided to buy our first home so I was up in my home town in the north of England house hunting. And I found the perfect place. It’s all been pretty stressful but it’s happening and I’m so excited when I’m not panicking! Saw lots of family and friends when I was up and it was lovely. I wasn’t entirely in control of what I was eating all the time but tried to stay on plan and I’m pleased to have had a loss. Did loads of walking where I’m moving to. I’m going to be 2 minutes walk from one of Britain’s best beaches! I’m 0.4 lbs from the ultimate dream weight and about to move to my dream area! Pretty amazing.

Many thanks to all the lovely moderators with an extra special shout-out to Mark.

Onwards to next week and hopefully goal!

Naomi

[louie3084]

No weight loss - 57kgs.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. NO
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. Half of the week!
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. Mostly - but ate ice cream and chocolate one night
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados,) Mostly, see above!
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. Mostly
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. YES - still doing Peloton and weights 4-5 days a week.

I have had a very stressful week with work, we are in lockdown again in Melbourne due to Covid-19. So I find myself in these situations rewarding myself with vegan ice cream and chocolate once my youngest one who is 4 has gone to bed. I know it doesn't make me feel better - but it must be that dopamine hit. I need to eat properly during the day and not eat that rubbish when I'm stressed out! Any advice from Wildgoose or Mark would be appreciated!

[Rebecka22]

150.2 Weight change +/- in lbs: +0.6
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
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. NO
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

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Overall I did a pretty good job of getting back on track. I was definitely disappointed with the number on the scale, but focusing on behaviors like you always say. The one no this week I would have reported as a yes previously, but as I’m getting closer to my goal I recognize that I’m going to have to pay closer attention. I rarely eat premade things, but did look closer at the package of a side we often have and there is oil, so a no for this week.

[Gabby7]

Weight change +/- in lbs:  -2lbs

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
3. 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
5. 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
7. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
9. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES
11. Eliminate any added oil. YES
13. 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
15. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
17. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
18. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Made it down below 170 for the first time in my adult life without illness. Very excited about my progress and continuing to discover my new normal. Hope everyone else had a great week!

[GreenFroG]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -1.6 lbs

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. Choose fruit for dessert.
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.
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).

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Lost most of the weight I gained last week, so I am feeling better about getting back on track. Thank you Noella for asking your questions and Wildgoose for your post last week about the last stubborn pounds. It was very helpful, as was everyone else's stories. Our family is not as introverted, so I am learning to navigate more social situations, but I am thankful for this board and the wealth of information provided. I am definitely learning that I have to stick to the plan wherever I am and choose my options wisely when out. I can get derailed easier than I think and items that don't usually bother me in the house can sometimes call my name out of the blue after months of not touching them. This week was better!

[Mark Cooper]

PonysPlants - Congratulations on the new house in your "dream area," Naomi (2 minutes from the beach! WOW!)! It would seem that, although you didn't feel entirely in control of your food choices, you didn't get completely out of control either. Sometimes that can be a victory in and of itself, especially during such an exciting, and I'm sure somewhat stressful expedition. Onward!

louie3084 - I can imagine that lockdown situation and the state of the pandemic currently feels very stressful. The surest way to avoid eating "rubbish" is to remove those items you find most tempting from your immediate environment. If that isn't feasible at present, it can be helpful to commit to always, at minimum, eating adherent food BEFORE reaching for any troublesome treats; if nothing else, you are likely to eat less of the calorie rich foods than you otherwise might. Something I, personally, have found helpful: if you feel like you need / deserve a reward at the end of a challenging day (or week), sit down in advance and make a list of things you would really, legitimately enjoy doing that either don't involve food, or feature your favorite adherent options. Choose a couple that you find most exciting or enticing and keep the list on hand for the next time you want to "treat" yourself. As always, Jeff's advice for dealing with cravings is the best.

The fundamental basic principle of the MWL Program and the principles of calorie density is "whenever hungry, eat until comfortably full of the recommended foods." Because of this, there is no reason for anyone to feel hungry when following our guidelines. The recommended foods are minimally processed starches, fruits and vegetables. The most satiety, short term and long term comes from minimally processed starches and to keep the calorie density low, have them with some non-starchy vegetables. Remember, we do not have to figure out if it is true hunger, appetite, craving, etc. However, to be successful, you have to prepare for success and make sure you have availability of minimally processed starches throughout the day.

At the 10-Day program, the snack room is full of veggies (cherry tomatoes, baby carrots), fruits (apples, oranges) and starches (regular hummus, roasted red pepper hummus, potatoes, Split pea soup, Black bean soup, and Lentil Couscous soup). People choose from both the starches and fruits/vegetables. Choosing just vegetables or fruit will not be enough for most people to feel satiated. If you experience cravings for unhealthy foods, you can beat these cravings by choosing healthy foods to eat and knowing that these cravings will eventually pass and stop. However, you can not beat your biology (hunger) and your biology/hunger will eventually win.

Rebecka22 - Definitely seems you are well on your way back to the recommended pattern of behavior; kudos for keeping your focus on those behaviors, especially since the scale felt disappointing this time! You are absolutely right that as you get closer and closer to your goal, strict attention to all the recommendations is likely to be necessary, for the reasons Jeff discusses in Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them. Rich foods serve to raise the overall calorie density of a given meal, so everything "counts". Jeff's Rules & Guidelines for Reading Labels is a great resource for vetting packaged foods. Keep at it!

Gabby7 - 10/10 and a new adult LOW! Congrats! Exciting progress, indeed. Carry on!

GreenFroG - All the THUMBS pointing UP, and a nice loss! Cheers for getting back on track! Effectively navigating those social situations rarely comes naturally to any of us; I find it helps me to approach it consciously as a learning experience - have a solid plan, evaluate how that works out, and make any needed "course corrections" for next time. A series of iterations over time can deliver us a pretty solid toolbox of "social engagement best practices" in the end.

I am definitely learning that I have to stick to the plan wherever I am and choose my options wisely when out.

Jeff article, Hedge Your Health speaks to this, and offers a viable strategy for approaching those choices.

[Holly33]

Weight change this week: 0

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.......NO.... I was over eating. Not sure I can do this, my stomach only stretches so far, then it goes painful for hours. I found I can only pull this off if the salad is a token teacup or wait 20 minutes after a side salad size. I cannot eat big meals anymore, they have to be modest.
3. 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
5. 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
7. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
9. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES
11. Eliminate any added oil. YES
13. 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
15. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
17. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES, once I
18. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES - 7 days in a row!

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I cooked the most delicious compliant food this week and ate it with such appreciation and love. I only had a small amount of maple syrup on some oatmeal on Sunday as a treat. I do take EPA/DHA algae for some fat to take with vitamin D as I have a drastic deficiency (i didnt do this the first week but just want to push that vit D up). That is the extent of my transgressions. I ate zero processed foods except for the 2 items above. Scale was stubborn set at 149.0 for the week. I checked my calories on a calorie counter finally yesterday which was a whopping 1200 calories, just to be sure I wasn't deluding myself. I'm in a calorie deficit. What gives?

I am disappointed in the zero but I cannot give up because going back to the starch solution is not strict enough to avoid the huge amount of junk in my house. I live with a hard core food addict, and a junk food junkie. I cannot believe that I'm pulling this off. I guess this is my accomplishment for the week......the knowledge that I can do it and did do it.

[cmcavazos2]

Weight change +/- in lbs: + .6# gain

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
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. NO
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

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Comments: I don't have any difficulty with the MWL guidelines when I am at home since no off-MWL foods are brought into my home, but I'm still struggling at work with all the tempting treats --- sweets this week! I go into work early and am able to leave at around 2:00 pm. The dangerous time for me seems to be at around 10:30 or 11:00 am. --- I am able to change my schedule to go in later and leave work at 6:00 pm. My hours are flexible, thank goodness. --- I'm going to check on going in later. I feel asthough I rush through my breakfat to get out the door to get to work. My breakfast is not an enjoyable meal and I sometimes feel cheated that I have not been able to relax over my coffee before leaving for work. --- So my plan might be going in later after a good MWL breakfast and time to sip my coffee and packing my lunch that I would eat during work hours but later than the noon hour. Hopefully, I can make this adjustment next week with my employer. I'll let you know how it goes...

Thanks so much.

[Gimmelean]

Weight change +/- in lbs: +4.0

8/13/2021 124.0
8/20/2021 128

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

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).No

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

6.Eliminate any added oil. No

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. No

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. No


10.Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions. Up 4 pounds this week. Pizza, yogurt cheese, olive oil, bread and eating more than comfortably full are my all too obvious reasons for a quick and immediate weight gain. I had the best of intentions and really let go when I had been doing so well. Back to knuckling through, better meal planning and prepping, and disappearing from the kitchen after dinner are on my agenda this week.
Mark I hope you had a great vacation. I really appreciated Wildgoose’s weight loss bio and Noella’s summary capturing her success points this past week along with everyone’s posts. Hope everyone has a good week ahead.

[JeffN]

I do take EPA/DHA algae for some fat

Our diet is not fat free. People following our diet can get 10-20% of fat in their diet depending on the foods they eat. Even just eating whole natural foods, once can easily be at 12-15% (oatmeal is 16%). We do not recommend EPA/DHA supplements and are concerned with their potential risks.

>to take with vitamin D as I have a drastic deficiency.

What is your level?

Many of the recommended levels are too high and may be associated with higher risk, not a benefit. Many people are told they are deficient, even drastically, when in fact, they are not.

I checked my calories on a calorie counter finally yesterday which was a whopping 1200 calories, just to be sure I wasn't deluding myself. I'm in a calorie deficit. What gives? .

We do not recommend the counting of calories at all. Instead of checking the calories, we recommend checking your adherence to the behaviors. We recommend following the principles of the MWL program, which is a requirement to join this group and weighing in once a week. Weight loss is an outcome of following the recommended behaviors (the 10 points of MWL).

I am disappointed in the zero but I cannot give up because going back to the starch solution is not strict enough to avoid the huge amount of junk in my house. I live with a hard core food addict, and a junk food junkie. I cannot believe that I'm pulling this off. I guess this is my accomplishment for the week......the knowledge that I can do it and did do it.

The key is not the loss or the gain each week, but to see where you can improve on adherence to the behaviors. We don't chase calories or lbs, we modify our behavior to be more adherent. Time and adherence are the most important issues.

If you need, you may want to re-review the orientation and our guidelines.

In Health
Jeff

[veggiemelt]

Weight change +/- in lbs: +3 - I'm not surprised. More below.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. No
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. This week was more SS.
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. Done! ✔️
4. Eliminate all animal foods. Done! ✔️
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. Almost! I had some avocado this week.
6. Eliminate any added oil. Done!✔️
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products. Bread.
8. Don't drink your calories. Done! ✔️
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Done! Kinda. When I'm stressed, I think those receptors go numb, and I think I'm hungry when I'm not.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily: I increased my steps some this week but I need to add in some intentional exercise.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
This past week has been a big mess! Busier than expected at both work and home, and I didn't have backups in place. I am also retaining water, I can feel it when I make a fist and I can see it on the top of my feet. Edema is an ongoing problem for me, so I'm used to fluctuations but it still drives me nuts because I don't know what's really going on. How much is water, how much is fat? I am having a hard time switching from SS to MWL but I'm going to give it my best effort this week. I feel worse this week than I have in 6 months (when I started McDougall).