by amandamechele » Fri Dec 01, 2017 12:41 am For the program details visit the MWL Guidelines thread in this forum. Please check out as many of the links as you have time for, there is so much here to discover!
A couple of other great resources, for those just starting out, are from Jeff Novick the staff dietician for the program: The Ultimate Guide to Free Calorie Density (MWL) Resources and his 1 hour video explanation on Calorie Density: How to Eat More, Weigh Less and Live Longer.
It's DECEMBER! Can you all believe it's December? I think I'm in shock a little about how quickly this year has flown by. It's almost time for food-related holiday remorse and New Year's resolutions (hehe). Well, no, that's for everyone else, not us!
Let's get the holiday season started right by deciding to eat a healthy, starch-based, no-oil, no refined flour diet. If you can swing it: jump right in, watch Jeff's Calorie Density video (link above) and pledge to try a month of the MWL program as it is meant to be followed. Your results will mirror the level of adherence you decide to use.
That being said, sometimes it can be just a little daunting for some to go cold turkey on a big dietary change, especially during the holiday season. Here's what Dr. McDougall had to say in December 2009 about easing your way into eating this way:
John McDougall wrote:Pick a Category to Work on This Year
A New Years Resolution Based on Three Decades of Success
If you are looking for big improvements in your life for 2010 then your diet is the right place to focus. In the late 1970s when I was developing the McDougall Diet after reading the bulk of the nutritional science published since the early 1900s, I came to the conclusion that starches, vegetables, and fruits were ideal for human nutrition. These humble plant parts supplied all of the calcium, iron, and high quality protein that any person of any age, beyond infancy (a time for breast milk), would ever need during any activity, including those as demanding as pregnancy and running triathlons.
The Relative Hazards of Foods
However, you may be unwilling or unable to make a complete turn-around to the diet I have recommended based on starches, vegetables, and fruits, all of the time. In that case, you should consider a more gradual course by eliminating foods based on the categories I outlined in our first national best-selling book The McDougall Plan (1983) by John and Mary McDougall. I have made a few modifications in order to update the lists in the categories.
Progression from Categories I through IV below lead from harmful to health-supporting foods. For those who usually follow the diet closely, these categories will identify foods least damaging to you when you do indulge on those special occasions. Anyone who is not yet ready for a complete change to a health-supporting diet as set forth in Category IV may want to improve his or her diet by beginning with the elimination of foods in Category I and progressing at his or her own chosen pace.
Category 1 -- Dangerous Foods
You should never eat these foods. Government, medical, and scientific authorities have considered these foods dangerous enough to hold committee hearings, to issue warnings about them, or even to ban these products from use. All of these foods are suspected causes of cancer. You have no reason to eat these, because there are safer alternatives.
1. Nitrite-containing meats: ham, hot dogs, sausages, cold cuts, and bacon.
2. Supermarket quality meat: pork, beef, organ meats, and poultry. They are contaminated with substances that are suspected of causing birth defects and cancers.
3. Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils: margarines, vegetable shortenings: found in most packaged foods from cookies to breath mints.
4. Charcoal-broiled and smoked foods.
5. Deep-fried foods.
Category II -- Feast Foods
IIA. These foods should be eaten rarely, if ever. Never eat them if you are trying to regain your lost health and appearance. These are very rich foods. They should be reserved for that special occasion, the feast. For most healthy people, these feasts should occur less than once a month. Anyone still trying to regain the best possible level of health should always avoid feasts. Be forewarned: for some sensitive people, like those with inflammatory arthritis, one feast can result in devastating pains lasting for weeks.
1. Range-fed beef without hormones or chemicals.
2. Organically grown poultry.
3. Shellfish.
4. Fresh fish.
5. Cream.
6. Whole milk.
7. Cheese.
8 . Creamed cottage cheese.
9. Sour cream.
10. Ice Cream.
11. Yogurt.
12. Butter.
13. Eggs.
14. Vegetable oils (including olive oil, flaxseed oil, canola oil, coconut, and all "free" oils).
IIB. These modified feast foods should be eaten no more than once a week, and then only in small amounts. Anyone looking for improvement in their health should never eat them. These dairy and egg foods have been modified to lower the fat and cholesterol content. Removal of the fat reduces the level of fat-soluble chemical contaminants. However, they are still too high in animal protein, and contain no dietary fiber. Dairy products are the leading cause of food allergies, and eggs are often listed as the second most common food allergen.
1. Low-fat yogurt.
2. Low-fat milk (skim milk).
3. Buttermilk.
4. Low-fat (dry curd) cottage cheese.
5. Low-fat cheese (like mozzarella).
6. Kefir.
7. Sherbet (contains water, sugar, fruit juice, and often egg whites or low-fat dairy products).
8 . Egg whites.
Category III -- Rich Plant Foods
These rich plant foods may account for a small portion of your daily food intake (less than 10 percent of your calories per day) but only after you have attained the level of health you are striving for. In general, these foods are more harmful than health-supporting. Never eat these foods if you have problems with your health that remain unresolved. They can easily add to your body fat. If you begin using this group of foods and find that you are also gaining weight or getting back some of your old ailments, then stop eating these foods immediately.
IIIA. High-fat plant foods contain large amounts of fat, and are very high in calories.
1. Olives.
2. Avocados.
3. Nuts.
4. Nut butters (like peanut butter).
5. Seeds.
6. Seed spreads (like tahini).
7. Soybeans.
8 . Tofu (fiber has also been removed).
9. Tempeh.
10. Miso.
11. Soy "ice cream".
12. Coconut meat.
13. Chocolate (dairy-free).
IIIB. Simple sugar foods provide concentrated calories and often little else.
1. White sugar (worst).
2. Brown sugar.
3. Corn syrup.
4. Honey.
5. Maple syrup.
6. Molasses.
7. Malt syrup.
8 . Agave nectar.
9. Sorbet.
10. Jams and jellies.
11. Fruit puree (like applesauce -- significant content of vitamins and minerals).
12. Dried fruit (best) (significant content of fiber, vitamins and minerals).
IIIC. Refined grains and flours have had much of their fiber content, vitamins, and minerals removed. Some products have had a few vitamins and minerals added back (enrichment).
1. White rice (cereal- or glucose-coated).
2. Refined flours (such as white flour, used in bread, bagels and noodle products).
3. Cornstarch.
4. Potato starch.
Category IV -- Health-Supporting Foods
These foods are health-supporting. They allow your body to attain and maintain its naturally intended state of good health. They should account for the greatest share (at least 90 percent) of your calories if you are healthy and for all of them if you are still working to regain your health.
1. Whole grains, such as wheat, rice, barley, millet, rye, oats, corn, and popcorn.
2. Milled grains, such as whole-wheat flour, corn meal, brown rice flour, rye flour, oatmeal, and bulgur.
3. Starchy vegetables, such as white potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, and cassava.
4. Green and yellow vegetables, such as spinach, kale, zucchini, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, and onions.
5. Sprouted seeds and beans, such as alfalfa, radish, wheat, mung bean, and lentil.
6. Beans, peas, lentils, such as kidney beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, pinto beans, split peas, and red lentils. (These legumes are high-protein. They should be restricted to about one cup of cooked food on average daily and restricted even more for people with osteoporosis, kidney stones, and liver or kidney failure.)
7. Fresh fruits. (All edible varieties of these are suitable; however, most people should limit them to about three per day. They contain simple sugars that are largely protected by fiber. People trying to lose weight and people with high triglycerides should consider further limitation.)
Ten Ideas We Have Improved On in Three Decades:
You should not be surprised to learn that we got it mostly right the first time -- more than 30 years ago. After six years of exhaustive study of the scientific research and almost every vegetarian cookbook published in the preceding eighty years we learned a lot from other people's hard work. During those six years between 1977 and 1983 when The McDougall Plan was being written, Mary also designed homey recipes, cooked the meals, and the McDougall family taste-tested each and every one of them. Here is what we can now add:
1) Animal foods -- be they derived from cow, pig, chicken, or fish muscles or the ovum of a bird or the lactation fluids of a mammal -- high-fat or low-fat -- are all so similar in their make-up that they must be considered together, and should be strictly avoided for health reasons. The destruction of the Earth due to the livestock industry makes avoiding animal foods imperative.
2) Chicken and Turkey are no improvement over beef and pork products. Consumers are just fooling themselves and might as well have a beefsteak on their birthday rather than a dried-up piece of white breast meat.
3) Fish are health-wise no better than any of the other muscle foods. Since the time The McDougall Plan was written nearly 90% of the world's large fish and other sea life have vanished. In order to restore our oceans, lakes, and streams people must understand the importance of not eating and further contributing to the depletion of these natural resources.
4) Low-fat Dairy Products and Egg Whites are very high in animal protein and sulfur-containing amino acids, which promote bone, kidney and liver damage. Trading high-fat foods for low-fat foods in this category is a matter of choosing whether to be shot or hanged.
5) Soy Foods, such as traditional soymilk, tofu and miso are sensible additions to a healthy diet, but should be used in small amounts because they are rich in fat and protein. Fake foods, such as soy burgers, soy luncheon meats, soy hot dogs, and soy cheeses made from isolated soy proteins and a number of other chemicals should be strictly avoided.
6) Vegetable Oils, regardless of the health claims, such as "high in omega-3s" or "good fats" are serious health hazards and should be clearly distinguished from whole foods that are high in vegetable fats such as nuts, seeds, avocados, and olives.
7) Salt is a pleasurable taste that can make compliance with the McDougall Diet much easier. Research over the past three decades shows salt is well tolerated by most people and rarely is a contributor to poor health. However, to be on the cautious side, use salt sparingly.
8 ) Simple Sugars are all basically the same and make foods delicious. Used sparingly they add great pleasure to the McDougall Diet without causing harm.
9) A Starch Focus is emphasized in every possible way. The McDougall Diet has always been taught as a starch-based diet with the addition of fresh or frozen vegetables and fruits. Until people eat most of their calories from higher calorie plant foods, such as rice, corn, beans, and potatoes, they struggle. Emphasizing these comfort foods makes everything about the McDougall Program work easily.
10) Simplicity in meals is a key to better health and appearance. Mary's cooking style in our home has become focused on simple meals. She prepares dishes such as sweet potatoes broccoli or rice with steamed green veggies, which are topped with delicious sauces. With simplicity, advantages like greater weight loss, better health, and lower food costs are enjoyed.
December 2009 McDougall Newsletter
By following this plan for the month of December you can completely do away with New Year's resolutions based on dieting and either forego making any resolutions at all or go a completely different route and choose intentions that will enrich your life in other ways, like resolving to call your Grandmother once a week or deciding to give whatever change you have anytime someone asks for it. For me, resolutions that support others bring a different type of satisfaction than ones made for self improvement (though I wouldn't be willing to debate Dr. Lisle on this statement...LOL).
Best wishes for the weigh-in Friday and Saturday.
Amy XO
Here are the standard monthly instructions for participating in this thread:
Our weigh in's are on Fridays and you have until 12 PM PST on Saturday to report.
Anyone is welcome to join the weekly weigh in group as long as they follow the McDougall principles. We recommend following the Maximum Weight Loss (MWL) plan or the Mary's Mini's Plan.
There is a sticky at the top of this forum on the guidelines for the MWL program.
In order to tally the results please submit your results by posting the total pounds you have lost or gained that week. You don't have to share your total weight if you'd rather keep that to yourself. This is an honor system so we take the gain, loss or maintain you give us in order to tally. (Please make a new post each week)
If you are a new member and would like to join but don't have a weight to be counted for the week then you will be counted either as a body with a zero starting weight, or when you check in for the weekly weigh in the following week. Large amounts of weight lost over a period of months or weeks, prior to joining the weekly weigh in group, will not be counted towards the weekly total.
If you measure your weight in something other than pounds please convert the measurement to pounds.
All gains will be counted towards the total to encourage weekly participation. Posting is encouraged whether it's a gain, a loss, or a maintain.
You are welcome to share as little or as much as you want on your weight loss journey here in this thread. We encourage members of the group to talk to each other, cheer each other on and set goals together.
This thread is for the mutual support of all who wish to participate.
If I can end the month at my current weight I will be mightily happy. I hope that's OK with you guys.
Chris
So after two grueling weeks fighting to starve out the cravings and losing my first solid 8 pounds I regained every last one of them in 4 days 
How? By not cutting myself off at the right time each day..
That's the only kind of gossiping I'm down for.
