successful Mcdougallers for over 5 years?

[MmmCarbs]

I used to be a big-time fan of going to restaurants, eating an appetizer, a salad, a large entree and a dessert, leaving the restaurant very over-stuffed. Now, however, I like being "in control" over what food goes into my body. And I no longer look at running up expensive tabs at restaurants and eating huge amounts of unhealthy food as a sport.

Oh, boy, that sounds so familiar. I had a big recreational dining phase in the late 90's. Would have all that plus the pre-dinner cocktail, half bottle of wine with the meal, and the post-dinner liquer

[jamietwo]

I would really like to hear from people who have been on the Mcdougall diet or a very similar diet for more than 5 yrs.

I have been on a "very similar diet" (no animal products; mostly whole foods) for 11 years and have faithfully McDougalled for 2 years and 8 months!

I want to hear from people who lost weight, whose weight loss remained consistent/stable and who has not strayed far from the path for over 5 yrs.

I've always been slim which is part of the reason I wasn't a faithful McDougaller earlier. I thought because I was slim I could eat as many nuts, as much nut butter, cocoa, avocado, etc. as I wanted. I was also swayed by the "healthy fat" movement and very liberally indulged in added oils ... until my breast cancer diagnosis 2 years and 8 months ago (notice the correlation with my faithful following of the program!). I dropped 10 pounds immediately when I dropped the added oils, nuts, etc. My weight has remained constant, with normal daily fluctuations, but I am slightly underweight according to the BMI scale. A 4 pound fluctuation in weight can change my BMI from 17.9 to 18.4 in one day.

What is it like at family gathering, traveling to other countries and telling people what you are doing?

My family has food sensitivities in addition to eating the McDougall way. Once you remove gluten, soy and corn too, it makes it "almost" impossible to eat out. We bring our own food pretty much everywhere. We did successfully take a plane trip with a hotel stay recently. With a microwave and fridge in the room and a nearby grocery store, we did quite well.

Do you ever binge eat?

I don't worry about how much I eat (I eat a lot, by the way). I'm convinced that it would impossible for me to gain weight without eating higher fat foods or eating gluten (breads) again.

How often have you slipped up? How do you fight guilt over not doing it perfectly?

Once I made the decision to give up animal products (11 years ago), that was it. I didn't go back. Ditto for gluten (6 years ago). It was harder with the soy and corn because it took me a while to be convinced that they really didn't agree with me and I played around with eating them on a rotation or in smaller quantities for quite a while. I'm currently doing an elimination diet for arthritis triggers and really appreciate ALL the foods I could eat before! Funny how we appreciate things so much more after we don't have them anymore! I'm a huge believer in diet affecting our health, and if I can feel better by changing the way I eat, I'll do it. But I have to get to the place where I'm ready to make the change.

[vman]

I think I'm at about 5 and a half years now, and still very much dedicated to this way of life. I was one of those one day switchers. Read Dr. Essy's book one night; changed my diet completely the next morning and never stopped. Was then 46 and on multiple meds for BP, low HDL, constant reflux, sinus infections every couple of months, occasional exercise induced asthma, back problems, palpitations, and weight hovering around 230lbs on a 6'2" frame. Lost 45lbs or so within a few months, ditched the reflux meds, stopped getting sick, and ditched the fibrates for low hdl. Have had one or two colds in the last 5 years after getting sick on a regular basis before. BP took over a year to get back down to the point where I could get off meds, but that's gone now too. Back's still a mess with multiple level disc problems, but even that seems better than before.

I'd flirted with the Zone diet a few years back and had lost weight, but ended up with all of these problems nonetheless. Was in despair about all of these health problems when I happened upon a bulletin for a talk by Dr. Esselstyn while I was on a trip to Cleveland. Couldn't make the talk, but the heart attack proof phrase caught my attention and I devoured the book in one reading. I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of relief that there might be something I could actually do about all of this for myself. I even called Dr. Esselstyn with a few questions the next week, and he graciously took my call and answered all of my concerns.

It hasn't always been easy, and I don't have the luxury of getting much support at home, but I haven't really had one moment where I question this or think about going back to eating SAD. The occasional slip is few and far between, because I always have this image in my head of what even small amounts of bad food can do to my endothelium, and strange as that may sound, that's what keeps me on the straight and narrow. I've also witnessed the passing of several relatives, one first hand, and am now hearing of my first college classmates who are starting to experience heart attacks and early deaths from heart disease and cancer. Nothing like spending some time in a hospital ICU to reconfirm ones commitment to staying out of the medical system.

Since reading Dr. Esselstyn's book, I've also read all of the others, Barnard, all of Dr. M's stuff of course, China Study, etc., and they all add to my commitment and complete faith in this way of eating. I also find just dropping into this forum on a regular basis to be immensely helpful as well since it always is nice to know that there are so many others finding success with this way of eating.

[Katydid]

I wish they still had all the archives from the old Vegsource McDougall board so I could see when I started. I think it was in the late 90's. I know I've been at my current weight around ten years. If you look at my Star Mcougaller profile the picture of me with the braids is at least that old. The only time I ever gain weight is when I stray off into some new diet experiment (raw food was not a success). Curiousity kills the katydid in my case . But a few weeks on MWL always brings her back.
Kate

[VeggieSue]

I wish they still had all the archives from the old Vegsource McDougall board so I could see when I started.

The older posts on the McDougall forum (now known as the "low-fat weight loss" forum) are gone, but the entire recipe forum is still there, including the "Welcome to the McDougall Recipe Board" post:

http://www.vegsource.com/talk/mcdougall/index2.html