The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - July 2022 Group

[Artista]

Wildgoose, thank you so much for your comments on my week last week. I love the myopic tortoise idea and I watched the Dr. Lisle video, “The Slow Fast Way”. I tend to lose weight pretty slowly so having a tortoise for a model is perfect.

Mark, Welcome back! We missed you.

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.  95% I didn’t preload at one meal. It was just a matter of forgetting.

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, I did this consistently throughout the week.

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). 6/7, There was one day this week when I didn’t exercise.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: It was a pretty good week overall although not a perfect 10 out of 10. I’ve pretty well settled into a groove with the diet and lifestyle changes I’ve adopted with MWL although remembering to preload at meals is still not a solid don’t-have-to-think-about-it habit. Raw vegetables seem to work the best because I always have those on hand and they take very little preparation. I just need to remember to do it! My motivation has been dragging a bit on some of the days this week. I'm not sure why, maybe just inevitable restlessness. I need to watch some of the videos available here on the website. That usually refills my enthusiasm and commitment well. Being part of the MWL group helps to keep me on track. If it weren’t for the MWL group and keeping an accountability journal, I would’ve wandered away long before this. So, thank you to all of you for being here.

[kirstykay]

I've been back from my trip for almost a whole week. We got in late Saturday night last week, so didn't get a chance to check in. But, I feel like I'm back and finding my groove again. Although I felt my trip was probably the best I've had in terms of being in control of my eating, it was great to get back into my own food environment again. I felt like I did well with the 10-points, but not perfect (Yes, I know perfection is not the goal).

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. - Mostly. This has always been the hardest one for me. I think I've found a solution, though. For Breakfast I've been making it a habit to have oatmeal with fruit everyday, and I preload that meal with 1/2 a grapefruit while the oatmeal is cooking. Lunch is always a Giant salad with some kind of starch and beans, so I don't feel the need to preload here. Dinner, I have prepared fresh raw cut veggies (carrots, celery, bell peppers, and cucumbers) to munch on while I cook, which solves 2 problems for me...eating while I cook and preloading my dinner meal. I am excited that this seems to be a workable solution for me.)

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. 50/50 plate is no problem. I seldom have dessert, and I eat my fruit at breakfast. When I do have dessert it is always chocolate banana ice cream.

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. Mostly. I don't feel the need to eliminate, but greatly reduced for sure. I still have some oat creamer in my morning crio bru (a coffee alternative). I no longer add maple syrup to my oatmeal, and I don't make vegan treats anymore, which is where the added sugar came in for me. Salt isn't a problem, but I am not and probably never will be salt-free.

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). Mostly. I still sometimes make a vegan ranch dressing with tofu. And I this week I put edemame in my stiry-fry. I am happy to say that I am no longer eating peanut butter or nuts, or avocado though, and those were my biggest problem, so that's a huge victory for me.

6) Eliminate any added oil. YES! No restaurant meals this week, and I don't use oil at home ever.

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! My husband eats bread occasionally, so I have it in the house, but I have been able to stay away from it by telling myself that it's not my food. Also, I don't buy the special bakery bread that I love...he's fine with store-bought bread and that doesn't tempt me as much.

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES (and no)! I make smoothies for my husband to drink on his way to work, but I have stopped having them. I look forward to my oatmeal for breakfast. I have stopped having Soy Lattes from Starbucks regularly, which is a big deal... Only thing is my morning oat creamer that I do add to my crio bru as I mentioned before. I'm not ready to give this up yet, but I do think I can eventually.

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes! I am not ignoring my hunger anymore, nor am I trying to do any intermittent fasting anymore. However, I also found myself stopping eating when I was comfortably full several times this week...this is a welcomed new behavior.)

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking) YES! I walk 3 miles a day and do strength training 3x/week at my gym.

I did put on a couple pounds on my trip, but I'm not letting it get to me. I'm staying away from the scale for now and working on my consistency and commitment to the plan for now.

[Gimmelean]

MWL Post for week ending 7/8/22

Hello everyone!

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes.
Having a bowl of washed fruit or a container of cut up melon helped reinforce this. It’s easy to grab a plum or a nectarine while getting the rest of dinner ready.

2). Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
Yes.
We are growing lettuce for the first time ever. So easy and inspired by our neighbors. Grains and fresh baby no cook greens. Visually 50-50 on a big plate.

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. I must tell myself that grains must be intact ( thank you Jeff). I did it wrong for years thinking something must be good because it’s made from or with a whole grain.

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,Questions,Challenges:
Thank you team for your posts, inspiration, kindness, and consideration which draw me back every week. Always so much to learn and thoroughly relate to from each and every person here.

Mark, I hope you had a great vacation and welcome back!

I also watched the video Wildgoose recommended, “The Slow Fast Way” with Dr. Doug Lisle. Being able to justify all of the reasons why a behavior or technique works just resonates with my analytical brain and nature. Another excellent resource.

Next week I am going to focus on closing the kitchen after dinner and keeping it closed for the night. Although I had a very adherent week, this is one aspect that has really gotten me into trouble in the past.

Things that keep me on track:
I batch cook and meal prep and plan to try some of the recommended recipes and dishes for new ideas this week. My Instantpot is a summer lifesaver when it’s really hot, I’m time pressed, but want fresh food. My spice collection is a lovingly disorganized disarray of everything and anything you can imagine so throwing together flavor profiles and mixes of my own are easy because it’s all there. I buy fresh peeled garlic which is the closest to fresh and makes a big difference in flavor.

Have a good week!

[CUgorji22]

Hello everyone! Happy Saturday!!

Welcome back, Mark. Thank you so much Wild Goose for all your wisdom and advice last week.,,super helpful!

Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. NO
**On Monday night, I forgot my soup in the microwave, rushing to get food on the table because of our family schedule. I was so disappointed because I prepped it and everything. I made a decision that night to put my starter on the table BEFORE we put our plates on the table. Worked great for the rest of the week!! I only missed one day without a starter.
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
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
Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES
Eliminate any added oil. YES
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
Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). NO
**On Sunday, my schedule was jam packed. I did not prioritize exercise. On Monday, I made the decision to get on my stationary bike while on the phone, while talking to my husband in the morning as he gets ready for work, while listening to a podcast. I only missed one day of exercise!

*REFLECTION:
- Because I missed eating a starter at the beginning of the week, I basically went overboard with meal prep for soups and salad to make sure I could be consistent with Guideline #1 for the rest of the week. It was so nice to have so much handy. What I prepped will carry me through the weekend!
- Let me start by saying, Guideline #I0 is by far my weakest area EVERY single time I join the Group. (SIGH!) So I knew I had to tackle this Guideline head-on and choose how to change my behavior!
- I didn't realize the opportunities I have to exercise while doing something else. Lol! Some nights, after we put our kids to bed, my husband and I like to talk through the day or through the next day's schedule. Perfect chance for me to jump on my bike and keep talking. One morning, as we talked through our day, I was able to complete 30mins on my bike AND actively contribute to the conversation.
- I remembered what you (Mark) shared with me the last time I was in the Group: break-up my exercise throughout the day. Yesterday, I could only get in 20mins on my bike in the morning. I completed the last 10mins in the evening. Totally worked!
- An obstacle I had to overcome this week was the "perfect" exercise routine I desire. I have a certain way I want to exercise in my head (outside, in nature, super early before my kids wake up) but when reality hits and that's not be possible, I usually give up. This week was different!
- I decided to install 3 new fitness apps on my phone to exercise at home. I used one app for Zumba this week. It was awesome!!
- Huge victory: I took my own food to a Bridal Shower last night! I didn't eat ANYTHING on the multiple tables of food. And really enjoyed my food. I saw the dessert table piled with way too many cakes (I had to walk by the table to get from one section to the other) and didn't feel like I was missing out. I honestly felt satisfied with my dinner from home. I've NEVER done that before but I now know I will do it again!!

*SUMMARY:
A successful week for me in spite of challenges. My Grandmother passed away on Monday, July 4th. She was 97yrs-old so we expected her to pass away but her decline was much faster than we were (emotionally) prepared for. I was very close to my Grandmother; I will fly from WA to TX next week for her Celebration of Life. Upon hearing the news and feeling so sad that I couldn't be with my Mom (esp since my Dad passed away last July), I was so thankful I proactively joined the Group this month. I told my husband I will need this Group + the Guidelines + the accountability + the encouragement this month. I'm a lil nervous about traveling to TX; being around my family is VERY hard...and that's an understatement. I love them to death BUT most of them are obese with very poor eating habits. I even asked my Mom if she could ask the repast cater if they offer vegan options; I specified no pasta. My Mom replied, "This is Texas. Do you think they would know what a vegan is?" And she wasn't trying to be funny...that was a legit question. LOL! That convo helped me decide I will prepare & take my own food to the family repast to avoid TX BBQ being shoved in my face. From my last time in the Group (Nov 2021-Jan 2022), I have pretty much mastered (I think) getting through TSA with prepared food. (But just know I've had quite a bit of food thrown away by TSA as well. Lol!) Already thinking through which soup to freeze for my trip!

So glad to be back!

-Chesca

[Mark Cooper]

The window for reporting this week's behavioral results has officially closed.

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

[Mark Cooper]

VegSeekingFit - Awesome efforts, Stephanie! Isn't it interesting how sometimes taking a step back, relaxing a little, and concentrating on the fundamentals can deliver such great results? You have put in the work diligently over a significant period of time, and now all that focus and attention is paying off in the form of a solid, durable routine, strong habituation, and that feeling of relief. Enjoy and carry on!

Lizzy_F - Wildgoose delivered some outstanding responses to several of your questions, including advice for gravy-making. To be honest, the main "topping" I use for mashed potatoes is a simple lentil recipe: 1 Cup lentils, 2 Cups water, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder, and 1 bay leaf, cooked in the Instant Pot on high pressure for 10 minutes with natural release. The fast 50/50 meals I find myself returning to over and over are all variations on Jeff's SNAP template and basic recipes, they all satisfy the guidelines, are quick and easy to make and store well in either the refrigerator or freezer for a quick, adherent meal in very little time.

Artista - It looks like you had a very good week to me! I think having one's motivation waver a bit from time to time is a pretty normal experience. Something I find helpful for renewing my motivation and building my enthusiasm is to take time to review and reconnect with the reasons WHY I am practicing this pattern of behavior: "What is my purpose in pursuing these efforts?" "What results am I seeking to achieve?" "Does that feel important to me?" It can also be helpful to look backward, as well, and take a moment to appreciate the successes and positive outcomes that our hard work has already delivered to us. Being in that well-settled groove is a nice place to be! Enjoy it!

kirstykay - Nice progress! Even when travel feels more successful than past experiences in regard to adherence, it always feels nice to return to "home base," right? The solutions you are working out for preloading your meals seem like great, sensible, and importantly (as you said) achievable options for hitting that point. Kudos to you for nixing the indulgences from Starbucks - that is a big deal!

I did put on a couple pounds on my trip, but I'm not letting it get to me. I'm staying away from the scale for now and working on my consistency and commitment to the plan for now.

Good for you! Self-recrimination rarely serves us well, and consistent adherence over the course of time is what will ultimately deliver the results you are after. Keep it up!

Gimmelean - Really excellent adherence! I'm envious of that lettuce you are growing; I wish I had the space to do that myself. Good luck and let us know how it goes. I completely agree with you about the Instant Pot being a great helper, both when the weather is hot and when time (or energy) is scarce. Have a great week!

CUgorji22 - Definitely a solid week, Chesca, especially in the face of those challenges! My condolences to you for the loss of your grandmother; even when we might be expecting it, those losses are real, meaningful and impactful. I hope you have a safe, easy trip to Texas and a wonderful celebration of her life. I think your decision to take charge of your own food for that experience is both admirable and wise.

I made a decision that night to put my starter on the table BEFORE we put our plates on the table. Worked great for the rest of the week!!

What a great solution for that challenge! I LOVE all the different ways you have been finding to include exercise as part of your day, and it seems like you are doing a great job of testing and applying different strategies to make that work - awesome! Kudos for your very successful experience at the bridal shower; I agree with you, that is a HUGE VICTORY! Especially this part - "I've NEVER done that before but I now know I will do it again!!"

[Mark Cooper]

Please note - I replied to reporting participants in the two posts linked below.

Mark's Replies for July 8 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for July 8 - Part 2

Hello, everyone! Thank you for all the kind sentiments while I was away and upon my return, and a BIG THANKYOU to wildgoose for her amazing stewardship of the group. It was nice to take some time away, but it is also really nice to be back. I missed you all!

I applaud your continuing diligent efforts, and your willingness to engage with and respond to each other, sharing what is working for your, what challenges you are facing, and the victories you have achieved! This group feels like such a vibrant, living community!

Related to a couple of topics that came up in this week's discussion, I'm sharing Jeff's "Hedge Your Health" article and a short tutorial on using the search function below.

Hedge Your Health (1/27/11)
Jeff Novick, MS, RD

People are always asking me, "what if I had to choose between "X" and "Y," which should I choose?" Of course, these two choices are usually unhealthy choices and the decision is always between the lesser of two evils. The problem with this strategy, as Jerry Garcia once pointed out, is that, "Constantly choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil."

Fortunately, we almost never have to make such a choice as healthy options exist almost everywhere. In addition, with proper planning, we can prepare ourselves to have healthy food with us for those rare situations we find ourselves in where there is just no healthy options. As one who travels extensively, I can attest to the fact that with a little proper prior planning, we can always be prepared.

As the old saying goes, Proper Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.

However, what about those rare situations where we are not prepared and there really is no healthy option and when we are faced with the rare choice where we must choose between the lesser of two evils. How can we lessen their impact on our overall health.

There is a simple strategy I recommend that can help you minimize the impact of these situations. I call this, Hedge Your Health, and it is where we use the strategy of hedging in regard to our health just as investors use it, with their money.

Hedging is a strategy that helps investors to minimize their overall exposure to unwanted risk. So, what we want to do is minimize our exposure to unwanted health risks.

And here is how we do it.

For those rare situations when we find ourselves with absolutely no healthy choice available and we are choosing between the lesser of two evils. Clearly, in these situations, we should always make the best choice possible.

However, whenever we find our self in a situation where there is a healthier option and/or a best choice, we should always make it, no exception. This will minimize the amount of times we find ourselves in the situation choosing the lesser of two evils and will go a long way to help minimize its impact on us.

So, if we go to restaurant and we have a choice between whole grain brown rice or white rice with our meal, always choose the whole grain brown rice, no exception. This way, if and when we are in a situation where there is no choice and the only option is white rice, it's impact on our health will be minimized.

If we really look closely at our choices, we will find that there are often many situations where we can really make the healthy choice, but are not be doing so.

So, for now on, Hedge Your Health and help to reduce your overall risk exposure!

In Health
Jeff

It also occurs to me, since we have so many brand new participants, many of you are probably not yet familiar with the search function of the discussion board. If you go to the top right corner of any discussion board page, you will see a box with a search button directly beneath it. You can enter a term or question in the box, click the button, and find previous posts on the topic. Additionally, if you click on "Advanced search" (directly to the right of the search button), you can perform a more detailed search by keywords, specific author username, and search a specific subforum (e.g. Maximum Weight Loss Program). Search can be really useful for finding answers for questions or gaining information. For example, this is an advanced search for keywords "label reading" by author "JeffN" - it delivers a list of Jeff's posts on that topic, starting from the most recent and working backward. You can even search through your own posts by entering your username in the author field. Hopefully, that explanation is helpful; let me know if anything is unclear.

I wish you all an amazing week to come! Take care and be well!

[Noella]

Hi Mark, (welcome back!) , Wildgoose, Jeff and all July Participants, I apologize for my late report. I had a much improved week following the MWL guidelines. We are staying by the sea for a month and we'll be able to prepare fresh whole foods for every meal that we are away. Summer is such a special time with the farmer's stands selling all sorts of fantastic fresh vegetables and fruit.

1. Start each meal with soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
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 stop them. Yes:
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 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. Yes.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).

I hope everyone has a great week!
Best regards,
Noella

“What I am about to tell you is so utterly simple and true that it may deceive you: Health feels better than sickness. You will be happier at your ideal weight than you are overweight. You will be proud of yourself. You’ll have confidence. You’ll feel so many good things that right now you cannot imagine and I cannot describe. But the net effect is that you’ll like yourself a lot more. You’ll look in the mirror and actually like what you see; you may even love what you see. You will have honored the person within yourself who longs to be healthy, beautiful, and free of all those burdens that being overweight brings. Life will not be perfect, but it will be better.”
― excerpt from The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss

[Lizzy_F]

Thank you Mark, Goose and Stephanie for your responses to my questions! You all have given me inspiration to think about these things in new ways - especially 50/50 FAST meals, and the many possibilities other than flour gravy for mashed potatoes!

Mark I also really appreciate your wisdom and simplicity re: the hunger / satiety concerns. Keep is simple and eat the right food. can't hear that enough!

I am also learning a lot from reading everyone's comments and reflections on the 10 point list. This group is amazing!

Thank you thank you thank you!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence!!

I would +1 both what Mark Cooper said about this thread reflecting a vibrant and living community ... So appreciate everyone here!!!

And Beth with Thank You.... (and I am not as articulate as either of them. .. )...

I will be real and say this thread has saved my life (or put the life back in my life?? ). Thank you a million --- especially to Mark, Wildgoose, JeffN... and also to every participant in the Group....

Check this out and be happy!! What a Wonderful World... Hope everyone has a wonderful week!!!

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=it ... &FORM=VIRE

[Mark Cooper]

Hello, All! Since our group is such a nice, comfortable size right now, I'm going to take a cue from wildgoose and make my replies to everyone's weekly reports at the close of reporting on Saturday. That way, all the responses will be in one post, together. Hope your week has been going well, and I'll speak with you on Saturday (unless there are any urgent questions).

[BambiS]

7-15

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes, enjoying fresh farmers market foods!


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, or larger salads


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, not an issue here

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes, no problems

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. I had a small muffin

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes, no problem

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: overall it was a good week, I watched a few Dr McDougall and Mary’s YouTube videos. My husband had store bought potato salad, I wanted some, but want to be in control of my health. I made a compliant potato salad, it was great. I am enjoying the farmers market opening up.

[Noella]

Hi Mark, Wildgoose, Jeff and all MWL Participants,

I had a GREAT week following all of the MWL guidelines. We are staying in a beautiful seaside home until August 3 (a vacation rental), so we can shop at the local food markets and prepare fresh whole plant foods for our meals. This house has a gorgeous, well-equipped kitchen, including an instant pot, so I tried it to cook beans yesterday, and it worked out well. At home, I soak beans for 24-48 hours, rinsing and adding fresh water several times, then it is easy to cook the beans for an hour or two. With the instant pot, I soaked the beans just like at home, and the total cooking time, including the pressure release time, was significantly less, and it didn't require constant stirring and supervising, which was nice. I will try out the instant pot a few times while we are here to see if it seems worth buying one for when we get back home.

When we go out for lunch, I'm getting WAY savvier about choosing healthy menu items with the idea of being KIND to myself. Sometimes I order a salad; other times, I order a salad and a side order of potatoes or rice and steamed vegetables -- this usually fits the MWL requirements.

1. Start each meal with soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
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 stop them. Yes:
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 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. Yes.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). ...but... I have tendonitis in my right foot, so I'm (unfortunately) walking the minimum amount of 30 minutes per day (maximum five-ten minutes at a time) until this injury is resolved.

I hope everyone has a great week!
Best regards,
Noella

“What I am about to tell you is so utterly simple and true that it may deceive you: Health feels better than sickness. You will be happier at your ideal weight than you are overweight. You will be proud of yourself. You’ll have confidence. You’ll feel so many good things that right now you cannot imagine, and I cannot describe. But the net effect is that you’ll like yourself a lot more. You’ll look in the mirror and actually like what you see; you may even love what you see. You will have honored the person within yourself who longs to be healthy, beautiful, and free of all those burdens that being overweight brings. Life will not be perfect, but it will be better.”
― excerpt from The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss

[/quote]

[Rebecka22]

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

Well basically same report as last week. Some better choices, some same. I did reflect on your comments on controlling my environment and I think that is going to be key to get back on track. We are at the lake until tomorrow, but I am optimistic about being home and getting on track next week.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time and Adherence!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. Still usually salad / raw veggies, but a few times fruit. Loving grapes and nectarines this week. Also, Roma, Kumato, and Marzetti tomatoes. Yum!

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.
Continued with SIMPLE SIMPLE SIMPLE.
I made spaghetti 50/50 with roasted veggies and Pomi NSA tomato sauce. Delicious! Need to make this more often.
Also, made a pot of Sloppy Lentils (from this website) that were great with either: potato, rice, or on Romaine based salad.
Have eaten through most of my batch of Jeff burgers and will need to make more this weekend. Had with salad or roasted veggies.
Breakfast every day included Split pea soup... (perhaps I have a problem here... )
Ate way too many roasted potatoes to quantify. Think that I go through approaching 15 lbs. / week. Had these with raw or roasted veggies / fruits.


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. Reduced not eliminated. Think I only used salt this week a few times on potatoes.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
YES, of course.

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. I didn't stuff or starve.
I still keep potato slices and a soup in the refrigerator. If I get hungry at an off-meal time, I either eat potato and fruit or veggie OR a cup of soup. This has been really helpful to keep overall eating on track.


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 7/7 days walked briskly
Lots of beautiful weather this week! Not too hot...


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Thank you for this feedback last week, Mark! Yes, it is amazing and interesting as well! Have continued on the same this week. Feels good to relax a bit and remain committed but not hyper-focused on any individual thing.

VegSeekingFit - Awesome efforts, Stephanie! Isn't it interesting how sometimes taking a step back, relaxing a little, and concentrating on the fundamentals can deliver such great results? You have put in the work diligently over a significant period of time, and now all that focus and attention is paying off in the form of a solid, durable routine, strong habituation, and that feeling of relief.

Victory - I still feel FANTASTIC... Actually, part of this is almost being "un-bothered"... For instance, having busiest time in a LONG time at work with a huge project just going live and I am unbelievably calm... (and thinking to myself like - it's not brain surgery... it will all work out.... )... All is working fine with this mindset. Also, have hit 46 lbs. lost over the past 14.5 months. Had been on a "plateau" for maybe 3 months and then with better adherence have lost 5 lbs. in past 4 weeks. So, this reinforces to me Time & Adherence.

BambiS - I LOVE the Farmers Market too. What is your favorite? I am loving the blueberries, nectarines, tomatoes, onions, purple cauliflower...

Noella - YAY! Glad that you are enjoying your vacation and doing so well. Seaside home sounds lovely!!!

Rebecka22 - Hope you are feeling better. Try to hang in there without feeling down on yourself! When I got sick last September, took me at least a few weeks to get back on track.

Keep going everyone!!!! Hope you each have a wonderful weekend!!!

Cheers,
Stephanie