August 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[louie3084]

Hi Mark - I'm in for August, I slipped up last week but not too much damage on the scale.

I'm 57kgs and feel like I could still lose 1-2kgs if I just stuck to the MWL.

My struggles are that I have three children and a husband who don't eat this way. So I have a bit of temptation in the house. If you have any strategies for avoiding putting them in my mouth that would be great

[taymariekay]

Hi all!

I would like to join for the rest of August. I am ready to re-commit.

Thanks!

Taylor

[Mark Cooper]

louie3084 - Glad to see you back! It definitely adds to the challenge when we can't completely remove troublesome foods from our environment. Given that, the more things you can do to make it as easy as possible to reach for adherent foods, and more difficult to access non adherent temptations, the better. Getting troublesome items out of sight, and ideally out of reach often seems to help. Importantly, having adherent food prepared and easily available is essential; the more you can lower any "barrier" to choosing the right foods in the moment that temptation rears, the more likely you will be to actually use those foods to sate your hunger.

taymariekay - Welcome back, Taylor! A review of the Orientation Information should get you all set for the next weigh-in and self-assessment.

[wildgoose]

My struggles are that I have three children and a husband who don't eat this way. So I have a bit of temptation in the house. If you have any strategies for avoiding putting them in my mouth that would be great

@louie3084 You’ve gotten some very good advice from Mark. I’d only add that sometimes a bit of negotiation works for me as well. There are some off-plan foods that can be right under my beak and not bother me a bit. I’m just not interested. If those happen to be things that the Gander and the grand-Goslings enjoy, it’s a win for all of us. I don’t have to ask for special treatment on those items, and being flexible there gives me bargaining power on the things that I really find hard to resist. I can ask the Gander not to bring certain foods into the house or to put them in a special cupboard that I never go near. He’s glad to do it because I have no problem with several other favorite foods of his, so it seems very fair to him that he help me out in areas where I really need the support.

Goose

[louie3084]

Mark that is great advice, I do need to get better prepared and have started to think about a meal plan each week for the family dinners. I've got some fantastic cookbooks to go through to get some inspiration!

@wildgoose - that is also very true, I am not at all tempted by lollies and am happy to have them lying in plain sight. I read your bio and success story. I found it very amusing, well done. I will have to read more of your stories as they are very easy to read.

[Holly33]

Hello, my name is Holly and I have read the orientation materials and would like to be in this group.

I have been in the group before and was successful, I only quit because I disliked the salad dressings I was trying. I was hating my salads and wanted to go back to my seed-based dressings which made me so happy. However, the very next day Chef AJ posted a seriously garlicky Cesar dressing recipe. I substituted garbanzo beans for the almond flour and yeeeoowza...I found it to be tasty. I also found a California Balsamic that I liked with grapefruit and onion. Salad and raw food is very important to me, I'm becoming more attracted to it, maybe because it's summer. Thank you, moderators.

[Mark Cooper]

Holly33 - Hi, Holly! Welcome to the group. I am a big salad-lover myself, and enjoy salad as a precursor to nearly every meal. While raw foods can certainly feature in MWL, of course (fruits and non starchy vegetables come to mind); meals centered around minimally processed cooked starches are the foundation of the program. I expect you know that already, but I love an opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of including adequate starch in each and every meal.

[Mark Cooper]

Happy Thursday, everyone!

I'm off to the Poconos for a short family vacation, and wildgoose has graciously agreed to guide the group through this week's weigh-in & behavioral reports. She is one of the best when it comes to practicing MWL, so the group is in the very best hands.

As a reminder,

Friday is this group's weigh-in day, and participants have until noon pacific time (19:00 UTC) on Saturday to post a report of their result for the week. Reports posted outside that window of time won't be included in the summary compiled for Saturday evening. This group is all about changing patterns of behavior, so it seems reasonable to expect those who choose to participate in the weekly weigh-in to honor that time frame for reporting. In addition to reporting your weight change in pounds, more importantly, please be sure to evaluate your behaviors within the context of the MWL 10-Point Checklist, as discussed at the beginning of this thread.

For more information on why participants are recommended to weigh themselves once a week while in the weight loss phase, check out this excellent and thorough article from Jeff - To Weigh or Not to Weigh

Have a great week; I'll see you when I return on August 19. Take care & be well!

[wildgoose]

Have a great trip, Mark, and we'll all look forward to seeing you when you get back.

Goose

[louie3084]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -0.5kg
7/30/2021. 57.0
8/06/2021. 56.5

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. 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). One meal I deviated.

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, Peloton bike and weights.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions. Deviated with one meal and dessert. A couple of times I had non-MWL meals but McDougall compliant... interesting that I still lost weight. I made some delicious banana muffins with oat flour and whole meal flour.

[Rebecka22]

149.6 Weight change +/- in lbs: + 0.2 pounds
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). NO
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). NO
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: Every no is from my birthday this week, but I kept it to one day, I didn’t stuff myself, I still started with salad and did 50/50 and I didn’t even eat cake at my own birthday party (that wasn’t on my birthday). Also my birthday was day 365 of closing my move rings on my Apple Watch, so I was really proud of that and I’m still going strong on my streak. Here’s to getting right back on track.

[Belana]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -3.4
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. N
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.Y & N
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. Y & N
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Y
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Y
6. Eliminate any added oil. Y
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. Y
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Y
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Y
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Y

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
I missed posting last week, because I was out of town.
Nevertheless, I'm on track.
Because this diet is so bland, I crave sweetness and salt.
I use tamari or soy sauce and table salt as needed. It doesn't seem to interfere or impede my weight loss. It also helps in fewer trips to the bathroom; which is a major problem on this diet! Especially, on road trips!!
I'm trying to minimize fruit.
The only time I use fruit is in the morning or for my big dinner salad. Using fruit in this manner seems to work best for me.
When I order vegan food at restaurants, invariably, the meal comes with tofu. Although, it's a highly processed food and not recommended, I eat it anyway. Otherwise, I don't get full enough from those kinds of restaurant meals.
I have found most vegan choices at restaurants quite sparse. At home, I'm able to achieve satiety easily. No so with vegan restaurant meals!
I'm hitting the road again next week. This trip means I'll face a challenging relocation for quite a few months. This is the type of situation that always seems to derail ALL my efforts.
This time around, I've established a good momentum. Hopefully, it's enough.
Wish me luck!

[Angelea]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -1.9 lbs
Friday, August 6th: 124.8
Today: 122.9

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. NO
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). NO
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. 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 and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). NO

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Starting on Sunday, I transitioned from the MWL program to the COVID-19 diet. Yep, woke up that morning with headache, exhaustion, chills, nausea and GI distress. Due to the nausea and GI troubles, I moved to a set meal of fruit with one slice of wheat toast with peanut butter. I'm just now starting to stretch out to try again to add my normal MWL back in. Had hashbrowns for lunch yesterday and tried a few bites of brown rice pasta with marinara. I've just now lost my sense of smell/taste, so food is not very exciting. I keep thinking I'm going to try a slow walk on my treadmill, but the struggle with fatigue continues unabated so far. All this started with my 13 year old, who came down with a 2 day "allergy attack" and he was followed by my husband who got mostly sinus congestion and 2 days of fatigue. Lucky me here on day 7 is already looking to take my morning nap so I can hopefully be functional enough to get some work done this afternoon. Take care and be well everyone! Stay at home as much as you can if you are here in the US. Delta doesn't play!

[GreenFroG]

Weight change +/- in lbs: +2.2 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: I come this week with no excuses. I had a bad week. I had two meals off plan and then slipped up with snacking a few days later. I am struggling with these last few pounds. Time to recommit and refocus. Thank you for this site where posting is humbling, but will keep me from completely going off the rails. I will be going grocery shopping this weekend/ meal prepping with a lot of sweet potatoes and bell peppers. My downfall was chips and salsa. I am going to make the McDougall Mango Salsa recipe and put it on a lot of potatoes/bell peppers to see if that can help me get back on track.
Hope everyone has a better week. Enjoy your vacation Mark, and thanks for filling in Wildgoose!

[Holly33]

Starting weight-151 End Weight: 149
Weight changes: -2 pounds

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. 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). NOPE

I think I joined on Tuesday or Wednesday and have been shockingly compliant. I am trying to not overeat the starch. Last night I ate this big salad and then made a 50/50 plate. The problem is that I have this certain amount of starch I always want - which is a bit more than 1 1/2 cups of brown rice for instance. I matched the other side with summer squash. The plate was just too big..but emotionally I wanted that rice. I ate the veg first, then sadly, all that rice. I did stuff myself. My goal for this next week is to make a smaller 50/50 plate for dinner.

I am an overeater. I overeat healthy foods. It's so curious, even as a small child I felt this very kooky compulsion to overeat and get more. I know it is inflamed by salt, sugar, and fat. I don't know that I can get rid of the compulsion but hopefully, it can become less acute. I see MWL as a possible solution. Many thanks, Holly