December 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - You seem to be doing great! MWL appears to be working just as it should for you. In regard to determining what weight might be reasonable to aim for achieving, wildgoose wrote a great post discussing how she arrived at her "goal weight," and these links to Jeff's discussions of optimal BMI should help to give you some idea, as well. My own ultimate inclination was to just diligently adhere to the recommended pattern of behavior over a substantial period of time, and let my "goal weight" be wherever I arrived (provided that weight was / is in a safe and healthy range).

moonlight - That drop of 1.2 lbs makes for a nice affirmation that you are making progress in the right direction, yes? Improving adherence will certainly serve to support that progress. Might it make sense, particularly in these early days, to aim for replacing any troublesome foods with your favorite recommended foods, rather than eliminating any night time eating entirely? You could make a point of having some very appetizing adherent foods all ready to go, and keep them close as late evening approaches. If you can also make the non adherent foods difficult to access, or get the most tempting foods out of the house (even if for a short while), that would certainly help. Those cravings and the appeal of rich foods will lessen if you are able to abstain from them for some time. You can do it!

Rebecka22 - Excellent effort, adherence, and results! How wonderful that you've been able to share the benefit of your personal experience and knowledge concerning food-related behaviors with your students!

VegSeekingFit - Nice loss and NO calorie-rich foods this week! Way to go, Stephanie! The internal argument you describe feels very recognizable to me, including that desire to eat more starch (or just eat more in general). I feel like focusing on NOT indulging in foods that are not recommended is a sound and reasonable approach, even if that might mean one eats more of the recommended foods than seems "normal." I think in some instances this inclination can be related to variances in hunger and energy expenditure, but more often I think it is a matter of overcoming the "inertia" of a habit we are trying to break. If we can just successfully supplant that habit, by whatever reasonable means (in line with the fundamental principles), for a sufficient period of time, it will almost always become less and less of an issue. Alternatively, if the troublesome foods are removed from the environment that internal "war" is highly likely to reach a peace accord expeditiously.

Maco - I think you are coming away from these most recent challenges with an appropriate lesson, Maja; holiday occasions are likely to require vigilance, not just on the day, but in the aftermath, as well. It is a powerful testament to the outsized role that our immediate food environment plays in our pattern of behavior, and the relative difficulty or ease of adherence. Those sugar cravings are no fun, but they generally pass pretty quickly if they aren't reinforced by indulging them. Remember, too, that when faced with a craving eating of the recommended foods is pretty much always a solid choice.

You don’t have to figure it out or work out it. Only follow the guidelines. When hungry (regardless of whether you may think it is true hunger, appetite, or something else) just eat. Eat of the recommended foods as outlined in the 10 point checklist.

Over time, it will work itself out.

[GreenFroG]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -1.0 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: Lost the pound I gained last week --yeah! Had a hard time posting yesterday; it kept kicking me out before I could post. Not sure why? Anyway, felt like I had a great victory this week. Got together with some friends for the holidays, and I chose a non-food activity. Afterwards, they decided we should go out for late- night "food". Since we carpooled, we all went. I ordered hot tea to keep my hands busy and was able to enjoy the company without indulging. I tried to focus on the socialization and not the food. And the scale was my reward! Also tried to simplify my eating this past week, and it felt good. Cooked less and did more bowls with beans, rice and veggies. I did miss two days of exercise, so thumbs down on #10. Tried to change my exercise schedule and it was not successful. Going back to my old routine. Hopefully this next week I can loose a little that will take me past the break even point. Considering it is the holiday season, I am so excited I was able to stay on track. Will work on getting all my exercise in this next week. Have a great week and thank you Mark for all you do!

[Gimmelean]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -1.8
12/03/2021. 130
12/10/2021. 128.2

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). Not entirely but much better this week. This week I will not taste any cheese.

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. Not entirely. Had some birthday cake which wasn’t worth the adherence sacrifice.

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.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Hi everyone. I hope you are all doing well. I “renewed my MWL vows“this week by reviewing all of the videos and resources in the orientation materials again. It helps for motivation and reinforcement in addition to your help and support!! While not completely compliant, I’m working on it and much more on track than not on track this week. In the past I would have let go by now at this time of the year with a January resolution. Or a Monday resolution. Or a tomorrow morning resolution when these cookies I have to finish now won’t be here anymore. So, right here, right now, I keep telling myself it IS all about the food ( and mindset) and being aware of what needs attention. I’m marveling that my weight range is still lower than ever in my adult life and realizing that maintaining for me will always need the same effort as losing. Thank you for everything you do for me, for us, and for maintaining the group.

[texaslil]

+/- 0 lbs

167.8

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. No, ate some pita bread
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). NO had some wine
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, only had a few days of exercise

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
First up, apologies for not being consistent with my check-ins, and in full disclosure it will be challenging for the remainder of the month. In a nutshell, I am going full-steam professionally and personally and it has made it hard to find the time, although I still see the value in it. I especially saw the value today when I logged on and read Goose's post about simplicity, I couldn't agree more and have told my kids that instead of gifts this year we will be doing things together instead. They are in agreement, which made me happy. Regarding the MWL program, I have been mostly adherent but not 100%. I'm happy to report that I haven't gained too much (mostly an up and down situation) and that is my goal for the remainder of the season, to remain steady. There have been many opportunities to go off the deep end, I have sampled some, but have been trying to stick to ensuring my environment stays mostly free of any triggers. Again, I haven't been perfect but I keep trying my best to be 100%. Thanks as always for this forum and I hope that in the new year things will slow down for me and I'll be able to get back to posting more regularly.
Season's Greetings to all!

[Artista]

Weight change =/- in lbs: -1.0

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 desert. 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). 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). I missed one day of exercise.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: It mostly went okay this week. I did miss one day of exercise and I included a Tbsp of soy milk and flaxseeds here and there. The biggest misstep was on the first day, I was really hungry and ended up eating some almonds and dates. Those are no longer in the house and I've been okay since then.

[Hope410]

Hello All,

Weight change -0.2 lbs:

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). NO

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Exercised 4 days this week again, but have been doing my exercise first thing in the morning the last four days. (Thursday-Today). Will work hard to keep this habit going as it feels pretty good. Although I followed point nine, I think I ate more than usual, usually in the evening which did help me not eat off plan food, just more MWL food. Maybe that is why I didn't have much of a loss, but I'm happy it wasn't a gain.

See you all next week. Have a great week.

[CUgorji22]

Hooray for the weekend!!

*Weight Change: -1.4lbs (loss)*

*Guidelines:
Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Compliant 6/7 days
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. Compliant 6/7 days
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. Compliant 6/7 days
Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Compliant 7/7 days
Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Compliant 6/7 days
Eliminate any added oil. Compliant 7/7 days
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. Compliant 5/7 days
Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Compliant 7/7 days
Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself. Compliant 7/7 days
Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Compliant 5/7 days

*Summary: Overall, a good week. I got off track at the beginning of the week but quickly re-focused. Pleased with my loss for this week but even more pleased by my resolve to stay the course.

*Challenges:
- My family decided to do breakfast for dinner early in the week. I jumped on the bandwagon & then fell off, landing in Vegan Ville. Ugh! In the excitement of a cozy night at home with my family, I knocked out quite a few guidelines...my only day without a starter + halfway thru dinner I looked at my plate and almost screamed because it wasn't 50/50. I knew there were a couple things non-complaint, as we were making dinner, but those missing key elements (guidelines #1 and #2) completely slipped my mind. It goes to show, I must be intentional about my eating to sustain the healthy habits I desire.
- I made popcorn for our at-home movie night. Next time, I may try munching on raw veggies instead. Open to other options. I realize how ingrained it is to eat something during a movie for that "concessions" feel...even at home. Perhaps eating nothing at all is also an option...WOW! (Imagine that!)
- Meal planning seems to take longer and longer.

*Victories:
- My kids are ALWAYS asking, "What's for dessert?" This week, I tried something different. I thawed out frozen fruit (no other ingredients added), dumped the bag in a bowl & called it a day! Lol! One night we had pineapples at the end of dinner, another night a cherry blend. My kids LOVED IT! I was shocked at their response. And I served something I could enjoy as well, which is usually not the case. Definitely a Mom-hack!
- So happy about the number of days I exercised!! Still not 7 days straight (yet!) but so much closer. We recently bought an Oculus Quest VR headset. My husband helped me find fitness games that helped me add more days of exercise...so neat!!
- A friend wanted to encourage our family as we came out of quarantine; my daughter is MUCH better & tested negative this week. My friend sent my husband a text inquiring about a "treat" she wanted to buy me...she wanted to surprise me. She suggested vegan chocolate; my husband told her no! YAY!! He came to me and asked what I wanted...he felt like a "surprise" would compromise my guidelines. Long story short, she added a pomegranate to the gift basket for me, per my husband's suggestion. I was thrilled!

Have a great weekend, Mark!

-Chesca

[Noella]

Hi Everyone!

up 3 lbs.
MWL Starting Date - April 1, 2020

Current Weight - 152.5 lbs.

1. Start each meal with soup and/or salad and/or fruit. no. I was at my daughter's and just couldn't do this at every meal...I tried my best though
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, really tried on this by doing most of the cooking but definitely not 100% .
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, tried.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). no not 100% this week because I think there was some egg in a pumpkin dish
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. [color=#FFBF40 Yes[/color]
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, Trying… not !00% though

Challenge: travelling and being with family is such a challenge. I don't want to stand out as different or be seen as demanding.

[Mark Cooper]

The window for reporting this week's weigh-in and behavioral results has officially closed.

The remainder of my replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Mark Cooper]

GreenFroG - Back down a pound! Sorry you were dealing with some trouble posting. Awesome victory this week - really well done! I'm sure that felt extremely gratifying. Focusing on what really matters during a social engagement, the socialization, seems like a very astute approach. Have a great week!

Gimmelean - "Renewing your MWL vows," I really like that! Knowing yourself well enough to recognize that this time of year presents special challenges to your adherence and resolve, and taking action to motivate yourself and reinforce the habits you want to maintain is impressive. Carry that momentum forward, keep attending to your behaviors and your environment, and you can start the New Year empowered, energized and ready for success!

texaslil - Having such a full, vibrant personal and professional life seems like a blessing worth appreciating. Congratulations, Laila! I'm glad wildgoose's advocacy for simplicity spoke to you AND your kids. Perfect is a pretty challenging target to hit sometimes, but with ongoing attention and practice, PROGRESS is always possible, right? Seasons greetings!

Artista - Down a pound! Changing your environment to support your efforts by removing troublesome foods is the perfect approach to a misstep, Nancy. Well done! Keep aiming for improved adherence wherever you have the opportunity to do so.

Hope410 - Great week! I'm happy the morning exercise feels good for you. Choosing to eat the recommended foods, instead of something rich and hyperpalatable, is exactly the right choice, in my opinion. The prevailing calorie dilution created by the MWL behaviors will win out over time. Onward!

CUgorji22 - Nice loss! How awesome that the frozen fruit dessert was a hit with your kids (and you)! It seems like the process of reviewing and assessing your week is helping you really think through your habits and behaviors, Chesca. I think you are absolutely right about intentionality and attention being key to establishing new (or renewed) patterns of behavior. A pomegranate sounds like a lovely treat! Kudos to you, your husband and your kids!

Noella - Hang in there! Travelling and being in someone else's home absolutely presents challenges, and it seems like you really gave your best effort. Acting different or standing out can feel so uncomfortable, particularly in the abstract, but keep in mind that your family love you, and likely support your goals and are on your side. A little information or discussion at the right time might bring everyone more into synch, no?

[Mark Cooper]

Please note - I replied to each participant individually in the two posts linked below, provided that their reports followed the guidelines for weigh-ins.

Mark's Replies for December 10 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for December 10 - Part 2

By my count, 12 participants reported for our second December 2021 MWL weigh-in! If I neglected to include anyone, or you notice an error in the tally, please let me know (via PM so we can keep the thread as tidy as possible, or in a post here if you cannot PM).

Here are the results for the second Friday in December:

Week ending 12/10/2021: 12 participants reported a total change of -5.00 pounds
--------------------------------------------------
Noella +3.00
Maco +2.00
--------------------------------------------------
Total gains: +5.00
--------------------------------------------------
NO CHANGE / MAINTAIN/ STARTING OUT
Texaslil 0.00
--------------------------------------------------
Hope410 -0.20
VegSeekingFit -0.60
Artista -1.00
GreenFroG -1.00
BambiS -1.20
Moonlight -1.20
CUgorji22 -1.40
Rebecka22 -1.60
Gimmelean -1.80
--------------------------------------------------
Total losses: -10.00
--------------------------------------------------
Cumulative group loss for December 2021 to date: 6.20 pounds
Average loss for week ending December 10: 0.42 pounds
Cumulative group loss for January 2021: 117.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for February 2021: 39.40 pounds
Cumulative group loss for March 2021: 73.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for April 2021: 48.30 pounds
Cumulative group loss for May 2021: 35.90 pounds
Cumulative group loss for June 2021: 34.10 pounds
Cumulative group loss for July 2021: 64.95 pounds
Cumulative group loss for August 2021: 49.30 pounds
Cumulative group loss for September 2021: 18.84 pounds
Cumulative group loss for October 2021: 7.10 pounds
Cumulative group loss for November 2021 to date: 43.80 pounds
--------------------------------------------------

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, December 17, 2021.

Cheers, everyone! Two December check-ins down, and next week we'll hit our midpoint!

Apropos of the discussion above thread, I want to again share Jeff's excellent rundown on BMI:

Optimum BMI

The range we recommend is 18.5 to about 22. However, realize this is a general range. Often, when people see the range, they assume 18.5 is the best, which is not true, and then go crazy trying to get there. Several studies have shown that 22/23 is best. We don't know for sure but it seems fairly clear that the bottom half of the healthy range (18.5 to 22) is probably best for most. I cover these issues in the following threads which I recommend you review.

Optimal BMI - Redux

Difference in food choices and BMI

Should we all try to get to 22 BMI?

Should we all try to get to 22 BMI Pt 2

I also think it is worth sharing an excerpt from The McDougall Newsletter that discusses this same general question:

How Do You Tell If You’re the Right Weight?

Take off all of your clothes and stand in front of the mirror. Do you like what you see? All the weight charts in the world pale in importance to your own perceptions.

One Important Precaution. If you are too thin and have any concern that this might be a health issue then please check with your doctor. Illnesses, like cancer, infectious diseases (AIDS), liver and thyroid disease can also cause excessive weight loss. So can some serious psychological problems, like anorexia and depression.

Have a great week! With some effort and attention you will navigate this holiday season with aplomb and equanimity. Take care & be well!

[cmcavazos2]

Just a brief check-in: My weight remained the same for last Friday's posting. I was not able to sign-in on Friday -- perhaps a glitch on the website or on my computer. I was relieved to be able to sign in today. I'll be posting back on schedule.

[BambiS]

Weight change +/- in lbs:
Weight 12/17. -.8

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.y
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
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
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

Still trying new recipes. Enjoyed the MWL “fried rice”. I think trying new recipes keeps it interesting.
I found I wanted more starchy vegetables this week, or couldn’t figure out a non starchy vegetable I wanted. I’m going to make a cauliflower soup to try.
I’m so close to getting below 200, hoping by the first of the year!
I’ve lost more in a little over a month with MWL than struggling for over a year.
Can you add a picture to your profile?

.first weigh in start date 11/7 215.3
Total lost -13.7

[moonlight]

Weight Change: -.6lbs.

Behaviors achieved this week:
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.
6) Eliminate any added oil.
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).

Behaviors I'm still struggling with:
4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). cheese

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). peanut butter

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. chips, WW sandwich bread

Comments;
I felt like I made progress this week on nighttime snacking. I switched to MWL compliant food. My favorite nighttime snack is blueberries and quick cook oats. I'm still craving fatty foods such as cheese and peanut butter. I am giving in to cravings less and less. I have stopped stuffing myself. The urge to eat even when I'm not hungry has been a problem for me. That behavior is beginning to subside. Plan for the Week: Eliminate cheese from my diet.
Writing out this checklist each week is very helpful. Thank you, JeffN, for creating it. Seeing in black and white, at the end of the week, the behavior from the week is very helpful. Forcing myself to write down everything I eat, the good and the bad, keeps me from painting a distorted picture of my success.
Thank you, Mark, for all your wise and kind words of encouragement.
I hope everyone has a good week!!

[Rebecka22]

142.0 Weight change +/- in lbs:-2.8 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). YES

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: This week I was successful despite a lot of challenges. First it was the longest week ever! I am a high school teacher and we had a lot going on at our school this week including a day where there were threats so everyone was stuck in the school all day. I am blessed to usually be able to go to my sisters during lunch so that’s where my food was. They had a staff lunch with a vegan option, but definitely would not have allowed me to end with 10 yeses, so while I was hungry and stressed, I just waited. I am so looking forward to the end of the school day today!