July 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[Tobinterri]

Friday, July 17

I would rather post yesterday's weight than todays Yesterday I was down 3 lb. Today I weighed in at- 1.2

weight change -1.2
ten point check list:
1) start each meal with soup or salad. Did that every dinnerFollow 50/ or lunch but not both. Ran out of soup last night.
2)Follow 50/50 plate Yes for lunch and dinner. Not always for breakfast.
3) choose fruit for dessert. Yes
4) Reduce or eliminate sugar and salt. Yes.
5) Eliminate all animal products. Yes
6) Eliminate added oil. All but Sunday at my son-in-laws.
7) Eliminate calorie dense foods like flour. Vegan pizza on Sunday.
8*)Don't drink your calories. yes
9) Eat whenever hungry. Yes
10) Avoid being sedentary. Yes Walked every day, but yoga was cancelled.
11) Eliminate higher fat plant foods. Dressing I made before I started this had 2 T almond flour. I used it up and went back to vinegars.

I think I did well this week even though I didn't lose much. I am older and I didn't expect I would lose easily, which is why I am back to accountability. I had very simple foods this week. I had to figure out what to have around to feed my husband if I was going with beans, rice, potatoes and veggies. I think he needed a bit of variety but we worked it out. He doesn't mind leftovers.

[Mark Cooper]

LesleyMills - Wow! Adhering to all 10 points throughout the week! Awesome! Potatoes are my "go to" starch, as well; I never seem to tire of them. When you are feeling that "strong pull" toward troublesome foods, know that it will fade with time; just as you describe, whenever you feel hungry eat of the recommended foods.

Abe - The week over week difference is what we want to observe, so that loss is absolutely worth reporting. Feeling good is the best reward! That huge change in regard to exercise is delightful; what a journey you've made already. Keep forging ahead!

PonysPlants - Still heading in the right direction! Isn't it funny how progress toward our goal can suddenly feel disappointing just because it doesn't line up against some hypothetical benchmark? Keep up your attention to the recommended pattern of behavior, and the results will inevitably follow.

josietheschnauzer - I applaud you for reporting, especially when it feels hard! From my perspective, those little trials and setbacks are a really valuable part of the process by which we learn the specifics of what each of us needs to attend to so that we can maintain (and enjoy) this lifestyle over the long term. I wish you a lovely birthday celebration! Kudos to you for planning to successfully celebrate in a manner that supports your goals and values.

Wfpb2020 - Congratulations! Keep chipping away at those behaviors that still present a challenge. Feeling satisfied and free from cravings seems like a great way to feel!

carwex - Way to go steering right back onto the path!

One night this week about an hour before bed I felt hungry. I had eaten a fine meal with fruit for dessert but I was still hungry. My usual routine would be to say no then promptly return to the kitchen looking for something to eat—usually the wrong thing like PB or bread or…
This time I grabbed a small cooked sweet potato and some leftover salad.—A small meal. It was very satisfying and most important I did not feel guilty because according to principle # 9 of the MWL I am encouraged to do this if I am hungry. My behavior was not a guilty behavior. I didn’t eat it standing up, gulping it down fast. I took it on a plate and enjoyed every bit, especially the contrast of tastes, sweet soft potato with a crunchy piquant acidic salad.

I feel like what you shared here makes a really important point - there is no reason one should feel guilty for eating the recommended foods when hungry, whenever and however often that may be. I totally share your feeling of admiration and gratitude for Dr. McDougall's efforts "spreading the word" about this way of eating.

Cathy Ann - I think the pride you are feeling in your efforts over the past two weeks is well-deserved! Keep your focus on the recommended behaviors and, when you feel ready, start to think about how you might best prepare for those more challenging occasions.

Cathmc -Nice loss! I'm sorry you were feeling so tired this week - that never makes anything easier. Keep on focusing on those areas where you feel you could improve. Here's to an energy abundant week to come.

Adriana - When our observed results feel disappointing, concentrating on adherence is nearly always the answer. Those exceptions can add up shockingly quickly. Way to go getting right back on track heading into the coming week!

Dennis h - If you can, try not to think of those setbacks as "letting someone down," they can be great opportunities to learn how our dietary choices affect us, and what steps we need to take to support our goals. Heading into a new week feeling better and more energetic must feel good!

MartiB - That looks like a pretty great week! Since smoothies aren't recommended, does that seem like something you would be willing to eliminate from your routine? One possibility for a ranch-flavored dressing - Jeff's Creamy Garlic Dill Dressing with some adjustments to the herbs and spices -

Creamy Garlic Dill Dressing

1 Can Eden Foods No Salt Added Butter Beans, drained (save the drained bean liquid).
4 (-6) Tbsp bean liquid
2 (-3) Tbsp plain vinegar or balsamic vinegar or lemon juice
1/2 (-1) tsp garlic powder
1/2 (-1) tsp dried dill weed

Blend in food processor or blender till creamy.

Adjust the amount of bean water & vinegar/lemon juice to the consistency you like.

Adjust the amount of garlic & dill to the flavor you like.

Any white bean will work but I find butter beans make the creamiest dressing.

P.S. 1 can beans is approximately 1 1/2 cup cooked beans.

That garlic dill dressing looks awesome. I'm thinking you could change up the spices and come dangerously close to it tasting like a ranch dressing (onion powder, parsley flakes, black pepper, keep the dill in there).

Yes. Many people have done this and think the very same thing.

Joanne_elon - I'm glad you are finding your results to be encouraging! Great progress!

AnnetteW - You're down 3 pounds since June 26, even with all that company!

I don't need to be perfect, but I have to keep working at it.

rlechols - I'm sure added stress and anxiety isn't fun, but I think it is admirable that you aren't letting that derail the pattern of behavior you've so diligently established! Fine-tuning how to make things work when dining out can be something of an ongoing project, and I agree with you that attending to our close relationships with kindness and equity is quite important. What a delightful reward wearing that boldly purchased dress must be!

philmwl - That is great! Keep on building those habits!

K-Squared - I think you've done yeoman's work maintaining the recommended pattern of behavior throughout your vacation! Very well done! May your journey home be safe and easy - I find it's always nice getting back to my accustomed environment.

Laney273 - Slow and steady progress is often preferable. I think it is true that taking no bites of a troublesome food is usually easier to manage than stopping after one bite. Do you have a favorite fruit that could serve as a nice treat for dessert?

BarbaraLynn - Fantastic! Enjoy that good groove, and guard and protect it where you are able!

rsmith0809 - Solid progress! Jeff has a post on travel food; if your accommodations lack a kitchen it makes things more challenging, but a mini fridge and microwave can go a long way. Safe travels!

Waterfit - Kudos to you for managing so well under more demanding circumstances!

VNiehoff - Congratulations on that return to 2017's status! You seem to be doing quite well, indeed!

GreenFroG - That looks like a great week! In my own experience, it's been very helpful to pay attention whenever something seems like it tastes TOO good - I think those little lessons and observations can be a great help for steering us toward the choices that make durable adherence attainable.

Trish - Great observation about "practicing" this pattern of behavior; cumulative effort absolutely matters! If your energy feels like it is waning, it is possible you might need to include more starch throughout the day. Tempeh, tofu and other variations of soy bring a significant proportion of calories from fat in addition to the protein and carbohydrate they supply. Here's Jeff's answer to the question How Much Protein Do We Really Need? On crispy chickpeas -

I have a question about dried chickpeas. Does it make them more calorie dense to roast them (without oil of course)? Are they a good snack, or are they not okay since roasting dries them out? TIA

Yes.

Roasting dries them out and concentrates the calories, making them calorie dense (~1800 cal/lb) and lower in satiety, and that is for the ones without oil.

Remember, high water content is our friend as it lowers calorie density and drying is the opposite.

I tend to rely heavily on all varieties of sweet potatoes (Okinawan purple are my favorite), as well as russet potatoes for my go to starches; I also include brown basmati rice and various beans and lentils fairly often. One pound in a week is great progress! Keep at it.

soulforged - That sounds great! Simple often does "work wonders!" Keep up that steady improvement! Jeff takes a look at Kombucha in this post.

MaShellie - Kudos! Like you, I found the SNAP template to be an invaluable part of my practice. The best way to curb those cravings is absolutely to eat of the recommended foods whenever you are hungry, until comfortably full. Dr. McDougall's writings and resources related to supplements are collected here; Jeff's general recommendations regarding supplements are here; both are well worth reading.

Renestl - Hang in there! Hurdles and challenges are part of the process, try to learn what you can when you encounter them. When you do deviate from your plan, assess why, put it behind you and try to get right back on track by making your next choice in conformity to your overall goals.

JaydaMax - That sounds like a good week, I'm glad you feel pleased! Making those evening snacks starch and vegetables or starch and fruit may help you steer clear of that calorie dense popcorn.

Busy-B - Onward!

Kathie - A 1.4 pound loss, I believe; well done! Great work conquering that craving for chocolate! Don't forget, if you are struggling with cravings, and you feel hungry, go ahead and eat of the recommended foods until you're comfortably full, whenever and however often.

Beeshell - I'm so sorry to hear that your husband is dealing with some health issues! I wish him all the best! I hope your cats are safe and sound, as well. In my personal experience, when rich foods become our go to choices for a particular meal, it usually means we need to put some extra thought into planning and preparation, so that we have appropriate foods ready and available - particularly starches.

abible - Keep hanging on, Tony! May the days ahead be free of distractions!

Petunia - It's always nice when the scale moves in the direction we want! I'm glad you are loving practicing MWL! I think eating in advance of a party or celebration is a great strategy for supporting your adherence.

francnm - That looks like an excellent week! Keep it up!

wstokes - Slow progress is progress, nevertheless! Here's Jeff's post on Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them. It may be worthwhile to take a moment for a review of the MWL 10-Point Checklist, just to see if anything might be "slipping through the cracks;" since results are the product of adherence and time, if adherence is excellent allow more time.

GreenGables - Nice progress! Feeling so weak can't make things any easier for you, I'm sure. I'm glad the added starch proved helpful!

Golightly - Doing great on the checklist is the place to be! Bear in mind Jeff's advice when choosing snacks -

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.

hollyhock - Another 9/10 week! Nice! We're glad to have you participating. What kind of activities do you enjoy for keeping active?

Corey M - 9/10 is definitely making a good start! Was daily exercise the sticking point throughout the week, or was it different points of behavior on different days? MWL works! ADHERENCE + TIME = RESULTS.

Tobinterri - I think you did very well this week, too! A 1.2 pound loss is real progress. Keeping meals simple often makes adherence more easily attainable. Remember, we recommend participants weigh themselves once a week during the weight loss phase, for all the reasons Jeff discusses in this article.

[laura_delao]

6-30-20: 140.2
7-1-20:140.6
7-3-20: 138.6
7-10-20: 138.0 -0.6
7-17-20 137.6 -0.4

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Except breakfast. I enjoy having a pot of soup in the fridge that lasts for 3 days.
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. With all the extra selection of fruit, I am eating more fruit than usual.
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. Omitting cooking with salt and adding it on the table.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Done
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). On the weekends I have half an avocado and tofu scramble for breakfast.
6. Eliminate any added oil. Ate once at a restaurant and ate one roll and one hush puppy.
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. Eliminated corn tortillas. Ate four crackers with my soup.
8.Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Reducing milk on oatmeal.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Eating less.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Walked three days. Did some push ups against a bench, sit ups and lounges during the walk.

I enjoy reading and learning from other people's posts. It's wonderful to be amongst people on the same journey. I was not aware of this group. It would've made my journey easier and shorter. I've been mostly on my own because even though many people I know are overweight and sick and complain constantly, none has been willing to join me. I've benefited from all the free materials and youtube conferences by all the plant based doctors and the recipes in their websites, as well as the documentaries on Netflix. What the Health got me started in 2017 and 35 pounds down later, I am here, grateful for al the selfless help offered. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into this. Much appreciated. An added benefit has been my husband's weight loss sinceI started this program. He has lost almost 4 lbs.

[Hope410]

Hi Mark,

I just lost my post that I did. Don't know what happened to it.

Can you find it? If not, use this one please.

Weight gain this week: +.8.

Did points 1-9 at 90% and point 10 at 50%. Went off MWL 2X.

Have a great week everyone. See you all next week.

[karenjaq]

I did pretty good this week. I am solid on 9 of the 10 steps and I’m making progress with the soup or salad before meals, though I didn’t hit the mark every time. I made a big batch of veggie soup in the IP and kept it on hand which really helped. I also experimented several mornings with savory oats instead of using blueberries and almond milk like usual. It’s different, but quite tasty and I find I don’t crave sweets as much later in the day. I’ll keep at it!

This week’s results:
Down 2 lbs which puts me -3.5lbs since July 1. This is my best week so far! It feels great to keep moving in the right direction.

[Pattyj115]

7/01/2020 :: 205.4
07/03/2020 :: 203.4
07/10/2020 :: 202.0
07/17/2020 :: 201.0
Weekly Change: - 1.0
Total Change: - 4.4


1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit: almost every meal, still feel full after soup and eat the meal an hour later. Loving my fruits!
2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals: YES
3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and salts: SUGAR 100% - SALT 50%
4) Eliminate all animal foods: YES 100%
5) Eliminate all higher fat plant folds: YES 100%
6) Eliminate any added oil: YES 100%
7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods: YES 100%
8) Don’t drink your calories: YES 100%
9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full: YES 100%
10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily: NO, DID NOT DO PT EXERCISES REGULARLY, AND STILL UNABLE TO WALK 30 MINS AT A TIME


Had a relatively tough week with back, hip bursitis and leg pains. Also had a couple serious cravings for salt. Drinking more water and extra sweating with the heat might have contributed to the salt cravings. I simply salted more meals. Otherwise, I am really liking the starch diet. Some days I’m more hungry than other days, being able to eat to satisfy the hunger is great. Avoided tracking calories this week but did track what I ate. I checked out the gravies and sauce, I need them to keep the potato and rice yummy. I like that the recipes are with rice flour or cornstarch as I have a high sensitivity to wheat. Also, I am keeping in mind this is a forever way of eating, not a temporary until I lose the weight, kinda thing! So, I want to enjoy my meals and not feel I have to endure tasteless food.

[SGarcia]

I weighed in at 212 today.

I'm still struggling to hit the mark with the guidelines so I changed tactics. I focused this week on eating McDougall style for breakfast and lunch. Next week, all three. And add the other guidelines a few at a time.

[chaz01]

Weight Change
Week: -3.6 lbs
July: -5.6 lbs
Year: -76.0 lbs

Sorry, I haven't been able to keep up with this thread this month. Hope everybody is having a good week!

I had a nice loss this week, but worked really hard to get this. I've stepped up my exercise recently, and am now running/jogging nearly every day - mostly in the early mornings, but sometimes in the heat and humidity. As a result, I'm seeing my weight fluctuate quite a bit up and down as I lose water during my runs but gain it back eventually afterwards by drinking a ton of water. As an example, after my official weigh-in, I had a nice 3 mile run this afternoon and re-weighed myself - I lost another 2.5 lbs just during the run (although I choose not to report that weight as I'm likely to gain that right back). So some fo my weight loss this week might likely be transient and temporary, but hopefully 1-2 is legitimate weight loss.

Dietary wise, I'm continuing to do fine. I'm eating a lot of the same foods and meals over and over again, adjusting a vegetable or swapping out rice for quinoa, so I'm happy where I'm at and it seems to be working for me.

Hope everybody is having a great week!

Chuck

As a side note for people who sometimes lose their written responses without successfully posting, I've noticed this. If someone else successfully posts while you are entering in your submission, your post won't submit at first, and you get a message, "At least one new post has been made to this topic. You may wish to review your post in light of this." If you leave the page at this point, I think your data entered is gone without being posted. But if you hit submit it second time after getting that message, it normally will posts successfully for me.

[Lachoffman]

I lost 8 lbs. this week for a total of 15 lbs. since July 1, 2020. I am very thankful and thrilled with my progress. It's great eating this way; I am definitely a starch lover. I am rarely hungry and am following all ten requirements pretty much as written. I walk at lesst 45 minutes every day along with at least 4 days of 20 minutes of stretching. I've been making many of the McDougal recipes and this week tried (and loved) the Three Bean Salad and the Spinach and Brown Rice Enchiladas.

[Violet3135]

7/1 = 183
7/17= 179

Weight change this week= 0

Not too happy with the lack of weight loss this week. During the week I had gone down to 178 but back to 179 this AM. I suppose a more calibrated scale would show a little bit of a loss. Trying to keep my eye on the bigger picture ( i.e the positive gains to my health) but certainly harder to do when the scale is not moving in the direction we want it to. Remnants of the long history of dieting lurk in my mind, making judgments and criticisms. Self-criticism never serves as motivation- but remains an automatic response. I will remain steadfast, nonetheless.

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. For the most part
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. I tend to eat one then the other, but always the starch second/
2) Choose fruit for dessert. Saw a 3rd fruit sneak in a few days!
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. Probably have to cut back on salts.
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.
Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). . Maybe too much-unsweetened almond milk in coffee. Something to think about.
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).

[chef16]

7/1/2020 274 #
7/10/2020 270 # -4 #
7/17/2020 267 # -3 #

1. I try to start each meal with soup ,salad or fruit the only time I have a problem is breakfast my fruit usually ends up on my oatmeal
2. This one I got 100% .
3. I have greatly reduced my sugar and salt. I do not know if I will get too, eliminating them completely.
4. This one I got 100%.
5. Every so often I slip off the path on this one. A veggie burger or some tofu some soy curls . Not a lot just a little. I can stop this with no problem.
6. This one I got 100%.
7. This one is a problem. I love sandwiches , bread is my down fall. I could eat all my meals on some kind of bread product. Have slipped a little .
8. This one can be a problem for me. I would say half of my weight came from soft drinks . I never drank water. I worked in food service for 47 years and you have access to as much as you want. I can say that I drank 8 to 12 glasses a day and I drank it at home also. When we went out I have 2 to 3. One drink and I am gone. I have not had one for 3 or 4 months. I have upped my water intake with an occasional ice tea lightly sweetened. Still having 1 or 2 coffees with non dairy creamer a week not a day.
9. This one I got 100%.
10. I have been walking to the end of the block and back . I am going to up that to 2 blocks on Monday. I have pain in my hips when I go very far . I have arthritis . Years on my feet and the last 20 very over weight!

[Amberlina]

Weight change +/- in lbs - (-2)
Total loss: (-3)
Points from the MWL Checklist where I succeeded this week- Points from the MWL Checklist that need greater attention- Really did well on calorie density and exercise. I did not deviate from the list this week at all. I continue to improve.
General impressions & observations / resources to share / sources of excitement / requests for input & support- I fell better that i lost 2 pounds this week instead of just 1. This is how it worked last time. It started slow and then it really came off quickly for me after that.

[AmandaL]

Gained +1.5! This way of eating is so restrictive, I have no idea how this is happening. I’ve been at it over a month. I’m near my ideal weight, have muscle and am
45 yrs. old. I can’t lose this last 5 lbs. I may be overeating watermelon, but how can this matter when I was eating vegan junk and oil and weighed less. help!

[VivianS]

VivianS 2020, July 17
I lost .8 of a pound.
I succeeded on points 1,2,4,6,9,10.
I need to give closer attention to points 3,5,7,8.
Point 3 "no added sugar": In the comments to others, I read that nutritional yeast is not on the program. My package says it contains no added sugars. I used it every day last week. Maybe I should stop using it. It is 115 calories. Do I need it? I like it. I don't like being fat. I will stop using it and see if the food tracker indicates that all those nutrients are met without the supplement.
Point 5 "high fat plants" I must leave the room when my husband eats them. I ate nuts twice this week.
Point 7 Late night snacking of low fat chips, crackers, marinara sauce, even in small portions can prevent weight loss. I need to stick to my soup, starches, green and yellow vegetables, water and fruit. That formula works.
Point 8 I drank almond milk 3 times this week, but I have started a calcium supplement to replace it. My food tracker kept indicating that I have not been getting enough calcium. The almond milk fixed it until I got the supplement.
Thank you for helping me think better about what I am eating. I think I can make better food choices this week.

[jkcook]

0 change
Doing well on exercise and eating vegan
Did poorly on avoiding tortilla chips
Improved on eating salad twice a day