The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - July 2022 Group

[wildgoose]

@CUgorji22 It's good to have you back, Chesca! I understand the need for structure around your food at an emotional time. If you stay with the 10-point Checklist, it should help you to not "eat your way through the sadness." And if you can tie your sadness to a positive behavior (healthy food, exercise, meditation, journaling, etc.), it can also keep you away from the foods you want to avoid. Sending you a virtual hug.

Goose

[wildgoose]

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

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[wildgoose]

BambiS — Congratulations on hitting that 50 lb. weight loss mark! That, combined with all those "yeses" on the checklist is an outstanding achievement. Glad you enjoyed the band without added food

Rebecka22 — You're doing really well, given your COVID struggles. Getting your eating together as well as you did is a big deal. Congratulate yourself on that, and keep going. Did you ever find anything compliant that would help with the bad taste in your mouth?

Noella — Traveling is always a big challenge. You're lucky that you have a vacation rental with cooking facilities. But yes, I know what you mean about being in "vacation mode," particularly with your husband wanting to take full advantage and eat SAD while you're trying to stay with MWL. I'd say, given all those elements, that you're more than "barely hanging on" -- you're coping quite well.

Keep telling yourself...

I am unwilling to let go of the health gains I have achieved.
...
Dr. McDougall says this way of eating isn't all or nothing. When travelling, I will do the best I can, one meal at a time! If it's not perfectly MWL, I want it to be as close to following MWL as possible.

One meal at a time, one day at a time. A month away from your routine calls for managing as well as possible, knowing that August will be here sooner than you think! In the meantime, relax, enjoy your vacation, concentrate on the experiences and deal with the food as best you can. Don't let stress over food rob you of making memories and enjoying your time away.

Lizzy_F — Long posts are fine -- you have a lot to say!

I understand the braces. I'm doing Invisalign aligners, so I can at least take my "braces" out, but the timing is strict and the requirements for dental hygiene are demanding, too. Soup is a great pre-load with braces and tender teeth. And a water flosser is a useful investment to get veggie scraps from hard-to-reach places.

One cookie is far better than a box of cookies, but it gets easier the more weeks you can put together with no cookies

Ketchup is generally OK, as long as you don't eat too much of it. I make my own, and it's really easy. Salsa is fine, and a few low-sodium canned goods can be included if necessary. No-salt-added canned goods are the best. For refried beans, I make Mary McDougall's smashed pinto beans. Easy to do, and we love them. Make a big batch in a slow cooker. Freeze any leftovers. I make the Gander's burritos with them, and I fix a burrito bowl for myself with brown rice, beans, broccoli (yes, broccoli -- we even put it in burritos!), onion and tomato, salsa on top. The beans are also good on a potato with salsa.

Strive for progress, not perfection, on the crunchy bread and everything else that's an issue for you. You'll get there! You get to choose whether it's easier for you to work on the hard elements (that's what worked for me -- give up the hard stuff first -- but your mileage may vary) or the easier ones first. I'm a perfectionist too, and it worked better for me to do about 90% of the transition in one go, then figure out the rest as I went along. But you get to develop your own strategy. You've learned a lot already from the 12-day program, and I'm sure others here will chime in too.

VegSeekingFit — "Angelcots" sound tasty -- will have to see if they have any of those around here.

Excellent strategies for dealing with your time crunch! More on that in my comments below.

A snack before bed is often a better idea than going to bed hungry. Combining starch and veggies/fruit is the best approach.

Goal weight is often a moving target. It can change over the course of your journey. I know mine did.

carwex — I had to laugh about the avocado in the salad "for your husband." If I put an ingredient in a salad that the Gander likes and I shouldn't have, it goes in his bowl or on his plate, not in the serving bowl (otherwise, guess where it ends up? )

Prepared foods are often a ticket straight to the Pleasure Trap. They're convenient but usually loaded with fat, sugar and/or salt. Back to basics, keeping things simple, is the way to go. Advance preparation is the best, but when you are busy or ill or overwhelmed by a change in routine (like a big move!), it's not always easy.

Great suggestions for savory oats and congee. I do a similar savory breakfast with polenta.

Artista — Congratulations on all of those "yeses"! One or two ounces of a fruity carbonated drink won't be a program-buster, but if it taught you something about stress eating/drinking, it's valuable.

The myopic tortoise idea was from Dr. Doug Lisle's webinar "The Slow Fast Way", a presentation that was done for the McDougall webinar series several years ago. The whole video is very good, but the concept of the myopic tortoise comes at about the 30:00 mark.

Nice that your doctor had a copy of Dr. Esselstyn's book in her office. It's so much easier when we can find doctors who have some understanding of what we're trying to do.

Gimmelean — Lots of "yeses" and a strategy for the next time the Shredded Wheat monster gets you. Good job! I like the idea of having a "mini meal" handy if needed before bed (thanks, Stephanie), even though I usually shut down the kitchen right after dinner.

Stopping the chastising, self-judgment, and guilt isn't easy, but the better we can do at that, the better our program will work. The myopic tortoise strategy works here, too. We look at just what's in front of us. All we need to do is follow the checklist today, and if we don't do it perfectly, we learn from what we did and know that we get another chance at it tomorrow. That tortoise shell can also come in handy for deflecting a lot of things that will try to get in our way.


********


We struggle when the wrong way of eating becomes easier than the right way of eating. When the food that we have for other members of the family, or the food that a friend brings in for a holiday get-together, is easier, faster, or just more visible than our preferred MWL food. When we're away from home, or when we're moving, or when the painters and carpenters have the house torn apart and we can't get to the freezer. When we're ill, or when a family member is ill. When something as simple as road construction takes us out of our familiar route home and right past the tempting take-out that we've been trying to avoid for months.

It helps to be the myopic tortoise, concentrating on just what's in front of our nose. But we need to make sure that the good stuff is right there, not at the back of the fridge, or buried behind the gallon of ice cream in the freezer or, heaven forbid, at the grocery store and not even in the house. The Tortoise Trail needs to be lined with tasty, nutritious food. And your single-minded brain should also have some planned rest stops in case of unexpected bumps in the road (they happen -- the trick is to have an answer for them before you reach for the phone and the delivery app).

Stephanie outlined her strategy this week:

Was a bit crunched for time - so did a few things to further simplify my routine for the week which helped make adherence easy.
* Used microwave more frequently than usual for potatoes (had a hard time keeping enough oven-batch cooked in refrigerator)
* Encouraged my husband to keep making rice...
* Dug into my stock of NSA cans of beans
* Dug into my stock of frozen corn
* Finished all Jeff Burgers in freezer (will make more this weekend)
* Focused on fruits that require little prep - frozen mango / cherries / berries, angelcots, blueberries, nectarines, bananas
* Focused on veggies that require little prep - baby cucumbers, grape tomatoes, Romaine lettuce
* Chopped massive quantities of only a few other veggies and kept in fridge - carrots, celery, cauliflower, red onion
* No time crunch will keep me from making my split pea veggie soup...

Favorite meals this week were:
1) Smashed beans, rice 50/50 with Romaine, beefsteak tomato, red onions - topped with mango salsa
2) Same as above, but in a salad with frozen corn
3) Smashed beans, potatoes, frozen corn over Romaine, grape tomatoes, red onions topped with NSA salsa and a bit of hot sauce
4) SIMPLE meal = Microwave a few potatoes add in raw veggies 50/50 (and start with fruit)

The common elements here?

• Make your regular routine more streamlined and simple (use convenient appliances -- pressure cooker, slow cooker, microwave, etc.; draft, bargain for, or hire help in meal prep)
• Have meals prepared and in the freezer for quick options when you don't know what to have for dinner. Jeff likes to advise cooking extra or batch cooking and putting up food in quality freezer containers. You can then rotate through your supply as desired. This keeps you from getting bored (if you're not the type who can eat the same dish for a week) as well as providing a good source of backup food.
• Keep your freezer and pantry stocked with ingredients for easy, fast meals. Frozen fruits and vegetables, frozen, shelf-stable, or boil-in-bag brown rice, pre-baked potatoes and/or sweet potatoes in the fridge (these store best uncovered), oats or other whole-grain hot cereal (wonderful for dinner too), frozen hash browns (no oil), no-salt-added beans, pre-prepped salads (I like Tami Kramer's chopped salad batch prep -- search the blog "Nutmeg Notebook" for her salad technique and video).
• Pre-wash and prep fruits and veggies so that they're grab-and-eat ready (be aware that if you have youngsters around, the bowls will empty fast -- kids can't resist the healthy stuff when it's all ready to go and in child-friendly sizes).

Keep your fridge clean. No food past its prime (because it all gets eaten, since it's prepped and accessible, right?). Organize your pantry. All of your favorite spices and condiments fresh and available. Canned goods and dry starches (rice, legumes, quinoa, etc.) in good supply. Onions, garlic, and other basics in stock.

This may sound like a lot of work, but once you have a system in place, it becomes much easier -- dare I say habitual?

Then make a backup plan to your backup plan. What do you do if you're traveling (that's been covered extensively on these boards, but people are always coming up with new and valuable ideas)? Where do you stop for a compliant meal on the road? What local restaurants have acceptable take-out for those days when you just can't cope with even the simplest meal prep? When you have ready answers, the easy (and usually unhealthy) way becomes a second choice to the easier (and healthy) way.

Thank you for sharing the check-in process with me while Mark has been away. He will be back after the 4th and will be ready for next Friday's assessments!

Goose

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi to All!

Thank you so much, Wildgoose, for your support this week --- are we your goslings?? Appreciate you so much!!

Welcome back, Chesca! Empathizing with you at this time and sending another virtual hug your way... Eating the recommended foods always helps my mood ... hope that this is your experience as well. Try to remember the standard Mark Cooper advice to treat yourself kindly... Glad that you mentioned that you have a great support system as well to rely on... Take care...

Gimmelean --- OMG --- all of your comments this week were really helpful and I would give them a +1... I would be super curious to understand what percentage of this change process is psychological vs. understanding how to implement... The emotional side of this journey has been the most challenging for me as well and I am so appreciative that we have this group and top-notch moderators...

Beth -- Welcome !!! Wildgoose gave so much great feedback to you... I think maybe most importantly was that YOU GET TO CHOOSE how to do this... I'll add a few thoughts (that you can take or leave)...

First, totally a fan of reading long (and sometimes writing long) posts... You go girl!!!

Your compliance level is PHENOMENAL and I don't think anyone would ever tell you otherwise!!! Just keep going!!

Perfectionism question --- YES, this can be troublesome for me. I try to keep a watch on my thought patterns (and adjust accordingly). I used to have a tag line that I was following the MWL 10 Point Checklist (imperfectly)... It served as a reminder to me that seeking perfection is not a good goal for me. It is really helpful to learn how to get right back on track (like you may have with the 1 cookie thing)... I still work to overcome this challenge --- positive self-talk, laughter... Learn, adjust, move on...

You may want to think about how you want to individually implement these concepts and you are well-positioned to be able to do so by also talking with Tiffany. My own thought... McD wants you to like the food that you eat --- this is how that you can eat it forever. So, be cautious not to jeopardize patterns of behavior that you have established and followed for a month.

I really love this JeffN quote that helps to explain that MWL isn't commandments, but guidelines to implement to the individual. Super helpful. From https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/posti ... 2&p=618986

I would recommend you read this post, and the one right below it

https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/view ... 19#p569991

The MWL guidelines are guidelines, not black and white rules and are based on the principles of calorie density, satiety, fiber/kcal, food form, chewing, etc. etc. The more you do, the more you can benefit.

Starting meals with a soup, salad and/or fruit, helps to lower the overall calorie density of the meal and increase the overall satiety. This helps to decrease the overall caloric intake without giving up any weight or volume of food, which usually increase. Hence the saying, eat more, weigh less. Eat more food in volume/weight while eating less calories. Some will start with huge salads and/or soups, some will have small ones. Some have both, some have none. It is a guideline but all based on the science of pre-loading. Fruit is included because it works better for breakfast for many. However, many people like “savory” breakfast and have oatmeal with vegetables.

While using these as a pre-load work, they also work as part of the meal (50/50 plate) which is based on the science of dilution.Some may end up needing to do both to hit their goals, same may need to do one or the other.

So for instance, you mention oatmeal and fruit for breakfast... Sounding like you LOVE it... and have reasons not to love salad... and have vegetable soup... Personally, (you talk to Tiffany about this)... would think that you have a low calorie dense breakfast of oatmeal and fruit that you like... You don't have to pre-load breakfast...

Totally will +1 with Wildgoose on Mary McD's smashed beans --- I also do the black beans that way. Also, in a pinch, you can smash an NSA can of beans with a fork and add some hot sauce, onion, salsa, whatever ... and that is pretty good too and it is fun to smash the beans...

For your bread thing, that you are not eating much of... talk to Tiffany. Figure out your plan... She will help you... I am sure you can eliminate --- but just be cautious that you aren't making yourself NOT like your food now. Sounds like you are good and you have done similar with the smoothies...

For time of eating, I personally don't worry about this at all. When hungry, eat recommended food in the recommended fashion ... I would totally fail any "feeding window" or IF type of thing... Which I could care less about...

For exercise, I found it MUCH easier when I lost pounds... Be cautious, try to build a habit but don't be your own drill sergeant... It will get easier AND "It's the food"... exercise is great (and helpful for things other than weight loss), but focus on the food...

Hope some of this helps... Take what helps and ignore the rest. Like Wildgoose said, you get to be in charge!!!

Hope that everyone has an excellent weekend and US folks an awesome 4th!!

Best,
Stephanie

[Lizzy_F]

Hello feelow travelers! Thank you so much for the warm welcome and the words of wisdom and encouragement!

Carol - just the thought of moving brings me into a stress response! Best wishes with everything. I think I would be living on baked potatoes and frozen veg!

Artista - it sounds like such a blessing to have a doctor who is familiar and supportive of your way of eating. I would love to find a doctor like that! None of the "doctor finder" lists and tools that I have tried bring up anyone anywhere near me.

Bambi - congratulations on reaching the 50 pound milestone! Confirmation that a focus on these habit changes is the right focus. (note to self!!!)

Rebecka - hope you feel better soon! The lingering symptoms you describe sound really unpleasant...

Noella - Bravo for taking on the challenge of master MWL as much as possible while traveling! And with someone who does not share that goal right now! Stephanie made mention of your success with this program over time - congratulations and call me inspired!

Stephanie - I am really impressed with the PREP you described! Thank you for helping me see in a practical application just how important that is. I feel llike I have a decent start on prep habits, but I know I have a lot to learn that will help me get better at it. Your detailed comments are helping me think of ways I can get better. And I definitely know that the best way for me to stay out of trouble is to have cooked and ready food on hand at all times!

Gimmelean I LOVE your screen name! I love your comments on the "progress not perfecction" theme. That is such a HUGE issue for me historically.

Chesca I am really sorry for your loss.. It can be so hard to cope with losing our Dads.... Big hugs to you...

Goose - thank you SO much for your feedback, suggestions and support! My water pik is definitely my best friend in terms of dental care right now LOL! I appreciate the links to the Jeff N. Ketchup remarks and also your simplified recipe for making your own. I'm going to try that! As Stephanie discussed, I want to tread carefully on those things that make me LOVE this food. But I can also at least keep an eye on areas where small changes might help me make small improvements. I will not be without store bought ketchup in my pantry any time soon (it really is THAT important to me LOVING my food!). BUT - there is no reason not to make a batch of home made that is a bit healthier and see how that goes. I also appreciate the link to Mary's smashed beans! I will definitely be making some crock pot beans in the very near future! I haven't historically had much success cooking my own beans but my AHA MOMENT when I read her method was cooking on HIGH in the crockpot for at least 8 - 10 hours! No wonder my beans never got soft!

Stephanie - thank you for giving me so much detailed feedback and encouragement! You are right on the money about the things I need to be really careful about - basically taking two steps back as a result of an effort to take one step forward. I can hear Tiffany's voice in my head agreeing with every word you said about the importance of LOVING my food, and using the ketchup example, not changing or giving up a condiment that might make me stop loving the potatoes so much. I also appreciate your direction to Jeff's comments about GUIDELINES rather than hard and fast all-or-nothing type RULES. You definitely know my achilles heel, and I may need a LOT of reminding about it! Viewing all this in a less legalistic way is probably one of the most important behavior changes I have to keep working on in order to be successful in the long term.

Thank you to all for willingness to indulge my lengthy posts!!

Continued success to all in whatever areas of MWL you are focusing on this week!

[Noella]

Hi Beth,
I enjoy reading your 'lengthy' posts and hope you continue writing a lot to help you assess your successes and challenges descriptively. Stephanie said it best: "You go, girl!" I so enjoy reading every one of your posts! I also love reading the responses to your posts from Mark, Wildgoose, Jeff and all of the wonderfully active MWL participants here each week; we all struggle with similar challenges. It's lovely to inspire each other towards improved health.

Travelling is problematic for me, and the more I travel, the more I realize short trips are much easier to plan meals for. In the future, it might be better to organize our trips to be between 4-8 days rather than three-four weeks. We will see how I manage our extended stay by the seaside in Victoria in July. It's a vacation rental, so that I will be in control of almost all meals, just like at home.

My thoughts on perfection: My ultimate 'perfect' weight goal is to be about 125-130 pounds again (fifteen-twenty more pounds...). I think that would be 'perfect' for my frame, for my knees, for the fit of my clothes...so many reasons...but I am content while staying at this lengthy plateau of 145 pounds because I feel and look much better than 240 pounds. I am abundantly thankful for my progress into 'normal weight' territory, and I'm also grateful that my weight is staying stable. That in itself feels like such an accomplishment! I'm trying not to weigh myself too often based on Mark's, Wildgoose's and Jeff's suggestions to weigh less frequently and focus on following the guidelines, so I focus more on my overall daily eating patterns and healthy habits for exercise, sleep, stress, etcetera. I’m proud of what my body can do again, how I better enjoy my life, and how much energy I have. I’ve overcome several problematic health conditions. I am free of medications. My knees are not perfect, but they are much improved. If I still need knee replacement surgery sometime in the future, I will manage the surgery better if I am at an average healthy weight. I enjoy being in control of my well-being by focusing on eating starch. I love the foods I choose to eat, and I feel these nourishing foods love me back. Food is not my enemy. It is my joy; it fuels my body and creates vibrant health. I’m free of my previous attraction to salty, oily and sugary processed foods, and I'm no longer interested in dairy products and alcohol. I consider all of these sorts of things as 'not-food.' I fully understand that salt, oil, sugar, animal products and alcohol are not health-promoting.
I like Stephanie's comment about imperfection:

"Perfectionism question --- YES, this can be troublesome for me. I try to watch my thought patterns (and adjust accordingly). I used to have a tagline that I was following the MWL 10 Point Checklist (imperfectly)... It served as a reminder to me that seeking perfection is not a good goal for me. It is beneficial to learn how to get back on track (like you may have with the one cookie thing)... I still work to overcome this challenge --- positive self-talk, laughter... Learn, adjust, move on..."

Yes! Positive self-talk, laughter, learn, adjust, move on...imperfectly. None of us are perfect...Perfection isn't a human quality; we're all imperfect; we are all doing the best we can with our choices at each step in our journey.
Wishing you a great week! Noella

[wildgoose]

Thank you so much, Wildgoose, for your support this week --- are we your goslings?? Appreciate you so much!!

Stephanie!

Actually, I think we're all in the same flock, and you’re just drafting off of me as the lead goose these past couple of weeks. But the great thing about a flock of geese is that even though we have strong leaders, different members fly forward from time to time to help the whole flock get where it’s going. Lots of contributions from some pretty skilled fliers, and nobody gets left behind.

Happy to be on the journey with all of you.

Goose

[BambiS]

7-8

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


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. I did have a taste of cake

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. Tasted cake

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).no, I was traveling, riding in the car several days. I rode my cubii a few days


Victories, comments, concerns, questions: it wasn’t my best week due to traveling several days. I ate well, but did have a taste of cake. It wasn’t that great either. I’ve gotten back on task for my next mini goal.
I’m still excited about reaching a 50lb weight loss last week.

[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 really didn’t do better this week. I was thinking about the ditch analogy that has been used before and I just seem to keep tripping. Then I get out and do better and next thing I know I fall again. I have no one to blame but myself, but I’m also trying to be patient and not mean to myself. I need to reflect more on why I keep choosing to jump in the ditch. I knew summer would be hard for me and starting with Covid hasn’t helped. Another kid got off quarantine yesterday. All that to be said I’m trying to let myself fall less and even better stay out of the ditch.

[Lizzy_F]

7/8/22 Check-in! Grab a potato and a glass of water if you plan to read all this!

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

There were 2 meals I can think of this week where I was hungry but very limited on time, so I just ate some potatoes. The cooking time was not the issue since I have so much food already prepped – it just has to be nuked. I just didn’t have time to sit down with a big bowl of soup/veg/fruit and work my way through that (takes even longer with braces) and then also work my way through a starch. So I just ate the starch (for satiation). I can see how front loading helps fill us up at an overall lower calorie density! It was only 2 times across a whole week, so not getting worked up about it. I am curious what others do in a tight crunch meal situation.

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.

Overall I feel I am doing well, and getting better at this! With the 2 exceptions noted above, of course. I definitely have increased awareness as I am planning and assembling meals. And I had awareness even on the 2 meals where I did not meet this guideline. I think Tiffany would definitely tell me to do the best I can as often as I can.  (Not trying to justify bad behavior here, but to specifically remind myself not to get into “perfectionism” mode, which ALWAYS leads to negative outcomes for me!)

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.

This is another area where my awareness has increased (esp. re salt) during the last week. I enjoy listening to what Jeff, Dr. McDougall, and Doug Lisle all have to say about it. Just goes to show that opinions can differ slightly, and yet everyone can be more broadly on the same page. So I am building confidence that I will find what works for me within the boundaries of the differences of our leaders. (I hope that made sense to someone other than me LOL!) I made a crockpot full of Mary’s Smashed Beans overnight on Wednesday. I was pleasantly surprised how GOOD they tasted with NO SALT – not even added at the table. For those who use this recipe, I’m curious if you like your beans a bit spicier, what do you add to the recipe? (The basic recipe is pinto beans, water, onion and garlic)

I don’t think I consumed any added sugar this week. There is Stevia in my store bought ketchup. I also made Goose’s easy no salt, no added sugar ketchup recipe which is really good! That was another pleasant surprise and step forward in reducing added salt. (because I do tend to use a LOT of ketchup!) I doubt I will abandon store bought ketchup entirely, but for now it is great to have an easy home option which addresses this point. Goose – what would you add to the ketchup if you wanted it a bit spicier?

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

NO PROBLEM HERE!

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

I don’t believe I had any meals containing any of these types of foods in the past week.

6. Eliminate any added oil.

No 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.

No Ezekiel toast in my soup for a whole week!!! (I do still give myself permission to have a slice of Ezekiel toast if I really want one!) I did have Mary’s Golden Gravy on mashed potatoes which is thickened with brown rice flour. I forsee myself continuing to make that recipe to go with mashed potatoes unless something stops working. How do others view this particular use of a flour in the context of this guideline?

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).

Success!!

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.

I am an original member of the clean plate club. This is an issue I KNOW I need to work on. If it’s on my plate, I’m eating it. A strategy that Tiffany and I have discussed is to take a smaller portion of starch, eat it (in my cast, that will be eat is all!), then wait a while to see if I’m still hungry. If so, eat more! If not, carry on with life. I really have not yet started to do this. I will eventually need less fuel in a smaller body, so I think working on this point will be a good goal for next week! One of the things I LOVE about eating this way is never feeling like I have to go hungry. I need to remind myself at meal time that I can take less to start, and go back for more later. I don’t have to take it all NOW. (I grew up in a family where if you didn’t get “firsts” there would be nothing left for “seconds.” That old programming dies HARD, LOL!) I will continue eating large (same as current) portions of the low calorie density items – especially the pre-loads of soup/veg/fruit. The 50/50 plate will remain the 50/50 plate – a bit less of everything, and seconds of everything if still hungry. That is the game plan – I welcome feedback and personal experience comments!

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).

This is another area where I can set goals and improve. Since I love to walk so much, I need to do a better job of planning walks into my daily routine (i.e. considering weather, personal schedule, etc.). I also want to get busy and learn the Jack Dixon (I think I got that name right) Functional Six. If I start with one, and then add (learn) a new one each day, then at the end of the week I would at least be at the baseline starting point.

I DO give myself credit for going for several walks this week!


Victories:
• NO Animal Products and NO added free/processed oils! What I get from the Dr. McD / Dr. Lisle lectures is that these are the two most important things. I feel good about getting this part right!
• Raised awareness of added sodium and more attentive label reading. I’m not looking to eliminate salt (or sugar – thank you Jeff!) but to be AWARE of what I am consuming so that if future adjustments are needed, I know where to look.
• I am giving myself credit for food prep this past week. I ALWAYS had prepared fruit, veg, fruit and starches in the fridge! It doesn’t feel “effortless” just yet to be in this position, but I think that will come with time as I continue to get in a solid groove with this program.
I was down another 1.8 pounds at my weekly check-in with Tiffany. Once I am no longer meeting with her weekly, I will start using Friday as my weigh-in day and reporting here will be more consistent. (right now it depends on what day of the week I am meeting with her)

Comments:

• Goal for next week: Work on awareness of hunger/satiety signals. Slightly reduce 50/50 plate portion size. Wait 20 minutes, assess hunger level, and get more food (50/50) if still hungry. The purpose of doing this is to increase awareness of portion sizes to be appropriate for my shrinking body, while not going hungry.
• Goal for next week: Incorporate Functional Six exercises – one new one per day.
• Random observations: I had a moment a few days ago where a random thought skittered across my brain. Something like “I need to go walk to burn off some of this energy!” WHAAAAT??? Where did THAT come from?  My body LOOKING for ACTIVITY??? Well I NEVER! The healing must be REAL!
• I am regularly walking up and down the stairs like normal(one foot on one step, then the other foot on the next step) instead of like a person in pain (one step for both feet, then the next step for both feet, hanging onto the railing). I caught myself doing this without even thinking about it. More signs of healing!
Concerns:
• While consulting this 10-point checklist with the goal of ultimately maximizing good health, remember that perfectionism and all-or-nothing thinking is a trap (for me anyway)! No animal products and no oils are the RULES (Dr. McDougall). The rest are GUIDELINES meaning I make best effort, consider my personal circumstances (health issues, etc.), and don’t make this more complicated for myself than it needs to be. LOVE my food! Let my results be my guide.

Questions:
• What do others do when you are super pressed for time to get a proper meal in quickly?
• How do you suggest spicing up smashed pinto beans in the crock pot – what would you add besides onion and garlic for more kick? Or would you just add hot sauce at the table?
• What spices to experiment with in Goose’s easy homemade ketchup to add more kick?
• Does anyone have feedback or personal experience to share about beginning to reduce portion sizes (and go back for seconds if still hungry) to keep pace with reduced fuel requirements during weight loss? My goal is not necessarily to eat less food right now, but to do a better job tuning into hunger / satiety signals and raise my own awareness about potentially shifting fuel requirements for my ever smaller body. So maybe that is the better question: What did you do to improve your awareness of hunger / satiety, and respond accordingly?
• What were your personal early or later signs of healing? How long did you continue to notice changes? (months? Years?)

I can see that green is not a great color for readability - please accept my apologies! I will use some other color in the future on points where I feel I want to focus on a goal or improvement.

Thank you to EVERYONE for your welcome, your help and your support!

[carwex]

Hello MWL devotees,
Check-in for this week
1. Start each meal with a soup or salad. Since its hot now here, making fewer soups and eating more salads
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method, ½ starch and ½ vegetables. YES
3. Reduce or eliminate added sugars and salts. YES, eliminated from cooking.
4. Eliminate all animal foods. YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. YES no avocado in the salad
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie dense foods. YES, no bread this week
8. Don’t drink your calories. YES
9. Follow these principles whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary. YES Staying out of the pool but walking even though the weather is HOT.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I loved everyone’s shares last week and Goose’s responses. The Myopic tortoise was written into my notebook to be read and reread. I need constant reminders. Anyone else need them?
My share this week is food oriented. It has to be. There is so much to do as we near the end of our project of moving internationally. If I let it overtake me I’ll be back on that slippery slope to the Pleasure Trap. So I’m concentrating on preparing simple, compliant meals and avoiding going out to eat or buying prepared foods

Thanks to Wildgoose for the suggestion of using polenta for breakfast congee.
I ate breakfast very early one day this week then I was starving by mid-morning. It was not yet lunch time, so I did the half-meal thing. I had polenta in the fridge and left-over salad and that was great for getting me to the next meal safely.
Following Jeff’s recommendation about how to lower cholesterol I have finally located the elusive hulled barley. The problem was not that it does not exist where I live, but that the translations for all the barley products were the same, ie pearled barley. I was lost in translation. But one popular company produces 2 kinds: one labeled pearled barley and one labeled barley groats which is the whole variety. Problem solved. I’m really enjoying this new grain. I use it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner in different forms.
I devised a new dish from an old one recently. Split pea soup is my favorite but it’s not good for a preload so what I have done is decrease the amount of liquid and turn it into a stew which I use for a main dish with a whole grain.
Ceska: About bread, I was very big on bread. Even today I don’t think any other food can compete with it. However, my own experience (12 yrs on McDourgall and 2 ½ years on MWL), has been that consistent adherence (albeit imperfect) is the key. It just comes. One day I was able to pass up bread without a struggle. I hope it’s out of my life, but can’t afford to be complacent, since it could worm its way back in a second.
Sending courage to our happy MWL group for the coming week.
Carol

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - Big congratulations on attaining that 50 pound milestone! That is such a significant achievement! Travelling almost inevitably makes sustaining our desired pattern of behavior more difficult, but you did your best, right? You mentioned that "taste of cake" "wasn't that great," did that realization feel significant for you? Do you think that information might be something that will inform future decisions? Keep at it!

Rebecka22 - Hang in there! When we get off track, sometimes it can be a real struggle to work our way back into the groove of adherence, and I can only imagine that dealing with COVID-19 complicates that struggle. I think you are wise to be patient and treat yourself with kindness and compassion. In addition to reflecting on the "why" behind recent choices, take some time to think about how you can arrange or rearrange you environment and routine, so that "jumping in the ditch" is much more difficult, and adherent choices become as easy as possible to reach toward.

Lizzy_F - Kudos to you for that list of victories for this week! It seems like you are in the midst of a period of significant effort, learning and growth! I imagine that feels exciting and inspiring, right? In general, when circumstances outside my control interfere with my preferred routine in a singular instance, I apply Jeff's "Hedge Your Health" strategy; i.e., I aim for the very best choice that is available and feasible. In the time crunch scenario you describe, being sure to at least get in the starch seems like a reasonable action. That said, speaking for myself, if I find some challenging situation recurring multiple times, I set my aim at adjusting my routine, environment, or preparation so as to eliminate the difficulty. Just as an example, having foods prepped and ready in 50/50 portions, so that they can be accessed and eaten just as easily and quickly as starch by itself. Oatmeal with fruit can be great for that purpose. For thickening gravies or other sauces, mashed beans, mashed potatoes, or even mashed cauliflower are all adherent options to replace flours; you could give them a try if you find it necessary to adhere more closely to the recommendations. I usually add crushed red pepper, or Penzeys Salsa & Pico spice mix when I make mashed pinto beans, and I imagine that might work as an add-in for ketchup, too. I think it makes sense, given what you've been talking about, to experiment with portion size in the way you describe, and just see how it goes. Taking a 10 or 20 minute break before going back for another portion is a practice that worked for me, personally. That said, in my personal opinion, granular attention to hunger/fullness, and whether or not one is "truly hungry" is less important that doing one's very best to get the food right. This post gets into some of my thoughts about the topic.

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.

It should not require Holmesian levels of attention to know when you are full. Do you feel uncomfortable? Are you stuffed? If you overshoot the mark, take note and do your best to slightly adjust next time, but don't spend energy fretting and beating yourself up over that - if you stuffed yourself on MWL suitable foods, the calorie density was low and it seems unlikely that you will be continuously stuffing yourself at each meal, each day, on an ongoing basis. Don't overvalue the importance of these episodes, or think you need to perfectly manage hunger cues, as compared to the impact from including troublesome foods in your menu or planning not to adhere on a consistent (or occasional) basis. If you are over consuming problematic foods, the problem isn't your appetite, it's the food, and you can direct your efforts accordingly.

I think you are doing great!

carwex - Looks like a fantastic week, Carol! Try to stay cool, if you can! After your lengthy search, I'm sure glad to hear that you are ENJOYING the barley groats - it all worked out in the end. I can also attest to what you said about consistent, diligent adherence over time being key to overcoming a particular temptation. Keep at it, keep trying and adjusting and it will come, right? Onward!

[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. Still loving the cauliflower - also loving tomatoes of all kinds -- and Romaine and carrots...

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.
Still was crunched for time this week. Used simpler approach (same as I posted last week).
Did some batch cooking over the weekend - roasted potatoes, soup, roasted veggies, cut produce (yes, this counts!), Jeff burgers.
Made some super simple plates for meals like: raw cauliflower, carrot, grape tomato with roasted potatoes. Preloaded with frozen fruit.


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. A few times this week I had a controlled amount (like 1-1.5T) of California balsamic vinegar or BBQ sauce - both sugar. A few times this week I salted 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 think I only snacked once after dinner this week. My appetite was not what it usually is for a few days. Today, it has come back with a vengeance.


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


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Somewhat ironically, by not hyper-focusing on any certain parts of the checklist --- I did fine on all points this week. Relief!

Comments:
Welcome back, Mark! Hope you had a great vacation!

Noella, loved your post to Beth! Thanks for sharing your successes and enjoyment of the McD food!!! (Insert love emoji)

WOW, Wildgoose, really loved your post on the "flock" concept --- how we are all on the journey together and nobody gets left behind... (Insert another love emoji)

BambiS So fantastic that you reached 50 lbs. lost!!! YAY!!!! You've worked diligently to get there!

Rebecka22 - Hope that you are feeling a bit better each day. Covid sounds like a miserable way to start the summer.

Beth - Mark Cooper answered your questions!! I'll weigh in with a few thoughts:
Pressed for time --- I was taking this as you didn't have time to eat your standard meal? Perhaps because I am a super slow eater. When I have to eat faster, I would choose things that are "scarf-able" --- like banana, grape tomatoes and potato fries / slices or Jeff burger.
For the pinto beans, some additional things you could try for heat / spice are: cumin, chili powder, cayenne --- or add hot sauce at the table.
A few signs of healing --- clearer skin, more energy, dropping clothes sizes, rings fit, wanted to move and could move faster, clockwork digestion, thicker hair, faster growing nails, cuts / abrasions heal faster, wake up before alarm clock, mental clarity, feeling terrific.... (probably missed some).... I continue to notice changes 14 months out.

Carol - You asked if anyone else needs constant reminders --- YES, I sure do!! Also, what you mentioned about making your split pea soup more of a stew --- that is what I do too. It is super filling a quite tasty!!

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!
Stephanie

[Lizzy_F]

Lizzy_F - Kudos to you for that list of victories for this week! It seems like you are in the midst of a period of significant effort, learning and growth! I imagine that feels exciting and inspiring, right?

Yes it sure does! Especially after so many years of struggle and for whatever reason, just not feeling able to "get" this program!

In general, when circumstances outside my control interfere with my preferred routine in a singular instance, I apply Jeff's "Hedge Your Health" strategy; i.e., I aim for the very best choice that is available and feasible. In the time crunch scenario you describe, being sure to at least get in the starch seems like a reasonable action.

Thank you for this link! How on earth do you keep track of these links to have them at your fingertips like that? I want to be able to do that too!

That said, speaking for myself, if I find some challenging situation recurring multiple times, I set my aim at adjusting my routine, environment, or preparation so as to eliminate the difficulty. Just as an example, having foods prepped and ready in 50/50 portions, so that they can be accessed and eaten just as easily and quickly as starch by itself.

What are some of your favorites? (besides oatmeal)

Oatmeal with fruit can be great for that purpose.

HEAD SMACK! I actually had multiple single serving containers of oats + fruit already cooked and ready to go in the firdge at the time! Additionally, I also had cans of NSA green beans - I could have added green beans to the same plate with the cut up baked potato when I nuked it. So now that I know better, I want to come up with a handful of super simple one bowl/plate options that can go from fridge to microwave to table in under 5 minutes for those "emergency" situations when they happen. When I know better, I can do better.

For thickening gravies or other sauces, mashed beans, mashed potatoes, or even mashed cauliflower are all adherent options to replace flours; you could give them a try if you find it necessary to adhere more closely to the recommendations.

Can you point me to any recipes or other instructions for how to use these alternatives for thickening gravy? It makes sense that these things would work. Now I need to just learn how to do it. (More of when I know better, I can do better! )

I usually add crushed red pepper, or Penzeys Salsa & Pico spice mix when I make mashed pinto beans, and I imagine that might work as an add-in for ketchup, too.

Awesome suggestions! I don't (yet!) have the Penzey's spice mix you mentioned, but I'm guessing Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle would have a similar effect!

I think it makes sense, given what you've been talking about, to experiment with portion size in the way you describe, and just see how it goes. Taking a 10 or 20 minute break before going back for another portion is a practice that worked for me, personally. That said, in my personal opinion, granular attention to hunger/fullness, and whether or not one is "truly hungry" is less important that doing one's very best to get the food right. This post gets into some of my thoughts about the topic.

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.

It should not require Holmesian levels of attention to know when you are full. Do you feel uncomfortable? Are you stuffed? If you overshoot the mark, take note and do your best to slightly adjust next time, but don't spend energy fretting and beating yourself up over that - if you stuffed yourself on MWL suitable foods, the calorie density was low and it seems unlikely that you will be continuously stuffing yourself at each meal, each day, on an ongoing basis. Don't overvalue the importance of these episodes, or think you need to perfectly manage hunger cues, as compared to the impact from including troublesome foods in your menu or planning not to adhere on a consistent (or occasional) basis. If you are over consuming problematic foods, the problem isn't your appetite, it's the food, and you can direct your efforts accordingly.

Thank you for sharing your personal experience, linked info, and the reminder that the first priority is and always will be THE FOOD and getting the food choices optimized! I can over-complicate anything, and I need to remember / be reminded of that often!

I think you are doing great!

Thank you for your support and encouragement!

[wildgoose]

How on earth do you keep track of these links to have them at your fingertips like that? I want to be able to do that too!

We have our favorite links that we use a lot. So yes, we can find some things fast. But the search function in this board works pretty well, especially in the "advanced" mode, where you can limit by forum or by author or both. So I’d search for some appropriate keywords and, for example, author "JeffN", if I remembered that Jeff did a post that I wanted to share.

For thickening gravies or other sauces, mashed beans, mashed potatoes, or even mashed cauliflower are all adherent options to replace flours; you could give them a try if you find it necessary to adhere more closely to the recommendations.

Can you point me to any recipes or other instructions for how to use these alternatives for thickening gravy? It makes sense that these things would work. Now I need to just learn how to do it. (More of when I know better, I can do better! )

OK, think of what you do when you make gravy — you combine flour or cornstarch with a liquid (water, broth, plant milk, etc.) and stir it into the hot gravy mixture to thicken it, right? If you're using something other than flour, you purée whatever you’re using (beans, cauliflower, potato, etc.) and stir it into the gravy mixture the same way. Make the purée as smooth as you can. I use a whisk instead of a spoon to stir it in, because it breaks up the purée and blends it better.

If you’re making a soup that has some beans, potato, or cauliflower in it, you can purée part of it in a blender, then pour that mixture back into the rest of the soup to make a thicker "creamy" soup (which also works as a chunky gravy). I make "cream" of broccoli soup that way, with a broccoli-cauliflower-onion-Yukon Gold potato mix that I cook and blend, then add a bag of frozen broccoli. Probably too bland for your taste, so spice it up as you want!

I don't (yet!) have the Penzey's spice mix you mentioned, but I'm guessing Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle would have a similar effect!

Most likely. That’s the fun about cooking like this. You don’t need to be tied to recipes. Think techniques. You get an idea of how to put something together, and you have fun adding different spices (or spice blends from different cultures, like Cajun, Mexican, Indian), swapping out ingredients, coming up with different combinations. Some you'll like, some you won’t. The Gander says I never make anything the same way twice (I get close, but I’m never that precise about how I throw things together). Bless him, he eats it all anyway.

Goose