Mcdougall efects on mental health

[Faith in DC]

thanks Jim for responding. I missed this inspirational post by Shack as we posted near the same time.

[Loveskale]

I really enjoyed all the great sotires from people who followed the diet and have improved moods. I can only imagine what it feels like to be going through something so terrible, having to take so many pills and suddenly being able to reclaim your life. My Dad went through something similar.
Now I can only hope that I can do the same for myself. I must do the elimination diet, becuase I am a vegan, but not low-fat and I eat refined things...but only rarely (If you have a good pad thai recipe...please send it my way
Anyways, I am glad I joined this forum and I think I'll be reading this one more too.
They say I am showing signs of Crohn's and I have been sick for 3 months, and the doctor's, after doing every test imaginable, can't tell me why. I am sick of feeling sick! And I hope that soon enough, I too will experience better moods, since I have been having problems for many years. I'll keep you posted.

[SandraK]

It's a new life for me, I mean that...
I am smiling where I used to have permanent frown lines, .... Did my fat clothes happy dance.

It's wonderful and encouraging to read about the mental health benefits you've experienced - but I must admit I miss your crabby dog pic. (I suppose it just didn't accurate represent you any more - right?)

[Shackwacky]

Hmm, yes I kind of miss the dog too. Might have to change back. Or this one, I like it too.

Things are still going unbelievably good. I had a bad patch, where my weight loss stuck in one spot for what seemed like forever. I was really starting to worry that maybe 182 was going to be my stopping point.

Then I noticed that I have waaaaay nicer legs than I used to, and while my belly isn't a WHOLE lot smaller, it certainly is squishier and I just know it's about to shrink.

And my scale this morning put me at 178, so I was on cloud nine all day. I have just done some jiggling with my hormones, that may have helped.

It's easy to eat this way, really. I don't LIKE meat any more, it tastes "carcassy" to me and the old KFC type cravings are completely gone. I love my spuds (especially now that my garden is full of them) and homemade salsa and baby lettuce and teeny tomatoes. Don't need all that other crap.

I ordered some videos of Dr. McD....he is a great speaker.

It is a great life. People ask me if I miss having real food. I ask them if THEY do. LOL.

[DavidMR]

... People ask me if I miss having real food. I ask them if THEY do. LOL.

What a great comeback! I will have to remember that one.

[WishIWasInBuffalo]

The MWLP has been a mental heath savior for me. I was in the midst of depression and my OCD was running (ruining) my life. I don't need to lose weight, but loved the simplicity that the MWLP had to offer, so that's what I did. I was already a low fat vegan, but ate many more beans that what MWLP allows. Now, I don't eat any beans and its all oats and rice. Actually oats and fruit before noon and brown rice and veggies after noon. Or sweet potatoes. The *BEST* part was reading Dr. McDougall articles on why beans aren't required and that complete proteins exist in rice and oats. What a life, or in my case, a life savior. I haven't felt this well in a very long time.

Live simply.

[ivy]

The MWLP has been a mental heath savior for me. I was in the midst of depression and my OCD was running (ruining) my life. I don't need to lose weight, but loved the simplicity that the MWLP had to offer, so that's what I did. I was already a low fat vegan, but ate many more beans that what MWLP allows. Now, I don't eat any beans and its all oats and rice. Actually oats and fruit before noon and brown rice and veggies after noon. Or sweet potatoes. The *BEST* part was reading Dr. McDougall articles on why beans aren't required and that complete proteins exist in rice and oats. What a life, or in my case, a life savior. I haven't felt this well in a very long time.

Live simply.

Your take on beans is interesting, as is your analysis posted in the Jeff Novick section. I am on MWLUF....that's Maximum Weight Loss Until Fall.....because I'm a confirmed scratch cooker and it's too hot in Summer to bake bread. I HAVE noticed that there seems to be a correlation between mood and fruit consumption. I feel better when I limit fruit. I don't know if this is because of the fruit sugar or if the fruit tends to displace starch....along the same reasoning of the beans.

I'm frankly confused about beans. In the McDougall Plan, Dr. McDougall recommends no more than one cup of beans a day because of protein levels.....but I see a lot of recipes on this site and in newsletters that are heavy on beans, so I have wondered if he has changed this recommendation and I just missed the news. I did read something about plant protein being better tolerated than animal protein but it wasn't elaborated on. But since I started with The McDougall Plan, I limited beans and this, for me too, was one of the big diet changes. I became a vegetarian 40 years ago when we were all including lots of beans with our whole grains to avoid the dreaded scurge of incomplete protein. (If you weren't there, you can't imagine the hysteria. All that measuring, measuring...all that worrying). So yeah, it turns out that this just wasn't true and gosh we don't need these large quantities of beans and nuts.

[bunsofaluminum]

Let's see...before starting this (restarting) on 9.7.09, I was eating 70% raw and way more veggies, but no grains at all. It was veggies and meat or eggs or cheese. My IBS was getting better, somewhat (all the added fiber from the raw vegs) but my energy was in the tank.

I'm still eating at least one meal 70% raw every day (usually, a big green salad. EVERY day) but put away the animal products and added in the grains (oooh, rice tastes good!) so that I can say my diet is starch based, with lots of veggies over rice or potatoes or yams, and a big salad every day...my energy is up as long as I guard my sleep. My house is staying picked up, I get so energized I have to get out and work it off by doing a brisk walk, and it feels like I am thinking more clearly. I'm certainly not depressed, which has been a struggle for me my whole life.

It's been a week, tomorrow. It feels good, emotionally and physically.

heidiW