What am I doing wrong?

[seallen711]

Hello,

I've been trying to do MWL for the past 3 days with little success. The first day I did it, I lost 3 lbs. The second day I did it I gained a pound. And today I have gained another pound. I am eating everything on plan, no added oils or fats. I've had oatmeal with fruit, hashbrowns with onions done on the george foreman, and steamed veggies with black beans for dinner. Can someone give me some feedback??

Thanks,

Sara

[Letha.]

Hi Sara,
Well, you didn’t provide much information so the only thing I can see that you might be doing wrong is perhaps being a tad impatient. 3 days is not much of a trial. Relax, plan on eating healthy for the rest of your life, and you can continue to make adjustments along the way to achieve the results you want. I’d start by reviewing Dr. McDougall’s MWL book. See if there aren’t some more of his suggestions that you can implement. Here are the highlights. Best wishes.
Letha

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.
1. Eliminate All Animal Foods
2. Eliminate All Oils
3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods: Nuts, Nut Butters, Seeds, Seed Butters, Avocados, Coconut, & Olives.
4. Eliminate All Flour Products
5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
6. Eat Legumes
7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal
8. Eat Uncooked Foods
9. Restrict Fresh Fruit to No More Than Two Servings a Day, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice
10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Guidelines for Healthy Eating in MWL book, page 67.
1. Eat until you’re satisfied
2. Graze
3. Allow time for digestion
4. Chew foods thoroughly
5. Restrict variety

Weight-Losing Reasons To Exercise. MWL book, page 100.
1. Exercise burns calories
2. Calories continue to burn after exercise
3. Exercise counteracts plateaus
4. Exercise suppresses appetite
5. Exercise reduces insulin
6. Exercise protects and increases muscle mass

Exercise you can live with. MWL book, page 106-107

Aerobics: The best kind of exercise. Walking, running, cycling, & swimming are not only enjoyable but highly efficient ways to lose weight.

Benefits of weight training:
Build a stronger body
Build a shapelier body
Strengthen ligaments
Improve bone density
Help prevent musculoskeletal injury
Elevate metabolism
Increase stamina
Elevate blood levels of HDL cholesterol

Your New Daily Exercise Plan: MWL Book Page 109
1. Get up half an hour earlier each day, or skip a TV program to do a specific exercise.
2. Make exercise a part of each day.
3. Choose an activity that you have always enjoyed and do it at least four times per week
4. Sometimes purchasing equipment helps to motivate…
5. Invest in a membership in a YMCA, YWCA, or health and fitness club
6. Ask a friend to become your exercise partner
7. Go dancing, a great aerobic (and romantic) exercise
8. Join a walking or hiking club.
9. Check with your local adult-education program for exercise programs.
10. Keep an exercise journal.

Establishing a healthy way of life from page 127 of the MWL book.
Step 1. Be Goal-Oriented
Step 2. Acknowledge Your Willingness to Pay the Price
Step 3. Educate Yourself, Become an Expert
Step 4. Visualize Yourself as Healthy
Step 5. Make a Commitment: It’s Magic
Step 6. Ensure That Your Environment Supports Your Goals
Step 7. Alter Your Coping Mechanisms
Step 8. Join A Support Group
Step 9. Reward Yourself
Step 10. Keep It Simple

[talkingmountain]

Sarah, the only thing you're doing "wrong" is suffering from the crash diet mentality that we've all been sold on by the dieting industry.

Your weight can go up and down as much as 5 lbs in a day just from water weight, depending on how much sodium was in the food you ate, for example, or how much you sweat that day. If you are "McDing" fully, and that means eating all you want of whole grains, then you might well retain some extra water at first, but it will go away.

So relax. Enjoy your food. Don't skimp, weigh, or measure. Eating this way isn't about weight loss, though that WILL happen naturally (sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly). It's about feeding your body what it needs to be healthy, prevent heart disease, diabetes, cancer, stroke, and a myriad of other unpleasant or even deadly conditions.

[Faith in DC]

the only thing I can add is don't weigh daily. It really can set some of us up for a downfall. Pick one day (thursday to join us) and weigh.

[seallen711]

Thank you faith, letha, and talking mountain. I'm going to use some of your tips, trying to incorporate more low starch veggies into my diet, i'm going to be patient, and I will only try to weigh myself once a week. Thanks again, everyone.

Sara

[txveggie]

It almost always takes a me about 3-5 days for a new way of eating to start to kick in so give it some more time. Are you exercising? Whenever I start to exercise I can go up a few pounds from that and of course it also depends on the time of the month as well.

Give this a few weeks to see how you feel and if you are losing weight. Good luck!

[LJ]

I'll take the 'weighing less often' a step further. Put the scale away for a while and focus on your health, how you feel, how your clothes fit. I put the scale away a long time ago and now just measure my waist about once a week or so. I'm much happier and quite liberated. I should also add, much leaner and healthier too and I no longer stress over the earth's gravitational pull on my body. Enjoy the journey, don't suffer thru it.

[slugmom]

I agree, you shouldn't expect a steady *daily* loss but an overall downward trend. Daily fluctuations can be caused by many things. I think I even recall Dr. McD quipping that the timing of bowel movements on a plant based diet can account for a pound or two I know in the past I seem to drop a lb or two, then hold steady, then drop, rather than losing .5/day or whatever. That's been my current experience, too, I was down ~2 lbs getting back on track, then dropped another almost 2, then back up .5 or so, where I've sat all week. But I believe it's gonna drop, I know the program works!! Hang in there, it sounds like you're doing well!

Letha, thanks for reposting the basics, that's encouraging and good to help us not drift!!

[rogermoore]

based on what you provided - you are probably doing just fine. So relax and enjoy the veggies - it's not a race! You can do this.

[green jeanne]

I agree with the advice given here. I know it's so tempting to weigh every day, but once a week is so much better for the psyche! Keep working at the program and follow those suggestions posted from the MWL book.