Just need to make sure I read the book properly.. (question)

[marlie]

Before I read Dr. McDougall's program for maximum weightloss book, I thought eating corn tortillas was okay.. (I was eating a lot of bean and veggie tacos or taco salads with warmed corn tortillas)
The book though, says no corn tortillas.. Is that correct then if I want maximum weightloss?
If it is so, it's such a bummer because I thought I had a good thing going.lol

I'm sorry if it's a dumb post. I just want to do this right since I kept falling off the wagon and finally want to get back on and stay on.

[TominTN]

Hi, Marlie. I think one of the thrusts of MWL is to stick to completely unprocessed foods, which are less calorically dense and thus help with weight loss. Since any kind of bread is more processed than the whole grain it's made from, it would be more conducive to weight loss to use the whole grain itself instead.

But how is your current eating style working for you? If you're seeing the progress you want, maybe the tortillas are not a problem for you.

If you aren't seeing progress, one way to move in the desired direction might be to replace the tortillas with whole grain corn.

[Letha.]

Hi Marlie,

I’ve got some good news and some bad news for you. Which do you want first?

OK, I’m gonna give you the bad news first. The MWL book specifically says that corn tortillas should be avoided. As you read for yourself, on page 61 of the soft cover book it specifically says, “Eat your grains whole. Eliminate breads, bagels, pasta, pretzels, crackers, and corn and wheat tortillas.”

Now here is the good news.

If you follow this link you’ll find the following description of the MWL protocol used at the McDougall center.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2005nl/ ... ushing.htm

“Avoid Refined Foods and Flours:

Those interested in the utmost efficiency for weight loss should eat their starches in an unprocessed and unrefined condition. In practical terms, this means you minimize your intake of flour products. Flours are more rapidly absorbed than are the whole grains, causing a greater rise in insulin levels. The reason for this is that when you cut a kernel (corn) or a grain (wheat-berry) into a thousand pieces with the steel blade of a grinder; you dramatically increase the surface area for absorption through the intestinal wall – rapid, more complete absorption means more insulin produced. Insulin’s job is to push fat into fat cells (adipose tissue) where it is stored as the “metabolic dollar” for the day when no food is available – but for almost no one in Western societies does that ever occur.

Program Protocol: Except for a few offerings of whole corn tortillas, we eliminated all breads, pastas, bagels, and other flour products. This was an easy adjustment for program guests.

Why did we allow corn tortillas, and not bread and bagels? You can effortlessly eat a half a loaf of bread in one short sitting. That could be over 600 calories downed without a guilty thought – after all it is made of “all natural, whole wheat flour, without butter.” Two or three corn tortillas, at 50 calories each, are more than enough for most people to consume at one sitting.

Practical Tips for Home Compliance: Most of you will still easily lose weight and become healthy if you include some flour products – even whole grain breads – in your diet – but, don’t over-consume them. For best results, these processed foods should be kept for special occasions, and eliminated entirely if weight loss is difficult for you. “
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Now I’m an older female and I’m sedentary and I have a lot of weight to lose so I don’t eat any tortillas or pasta or bread. But I agree with TominTN that if you are getting good results following the MWL plan with a few corn tortillas thrown in, then stick with that. Best wishes.
Letha

[marlie]

Thank you for the responses!:)
I was beginning to eat corn tortillas on a daily basis because I had found that I ate my "greens" much better with them.
I don't know if it was stalling my weightloss much? (I had just only recently gotten myself together on this and am doing it RIGHT and as exact as I can.) But I stopped eating them. I think if I still see progress, I'll try and just eat less of them and judge it by that.
Definately good news if they don't affect my weightloss!

[Chumly]

How do you eat your greens with tortillas? Sounds interesting!

Michael

[marlie]

How do you eat your greens with tortillas? Sounds interesting!

Michael

My greens? Well, it's just whatever I've got in the fridge, so nothing interesting really.lol
When I'm at the store, I like to go along the bagged salad area and pick all different kinds of them. There are so many different varieties. When I make my plate, I load the tortillas each up with my "green" veggies, onion, tomatoes, beans and lots of cilantro.