Mark's MWL Journal

[Mark Cooper]

A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL)
10/10

Exercise: PT Exercises X 3, 60 minutes vigorous Calisthenics, 2 sets Bridges & Crunches, Wall Handstands.

2 meals today, 2 servings of fruit. I had another great workout this morning and I’m feeling pretty good, pain is present but manageable.

2 November 2018 Meals

1st Meal
Noon - 1:00 pm
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 4 Medium Stalks Celery, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, 1 Medium Tomato, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1 Jalapeno Pepper.

SNAP Stew
1 Red Onion
227g Spinach
5 Cloves Garlic
454g California Mix
1 tsp Ginger, 1 tsp Ras el Hanout, 1 tsp Red Pepper, 1 tsp Turmeric, ½ tsp Black Pepper.
794g Whole Plum Tomatoes (NSA)
1 Medium Sweet Potato
Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

1 Apple

2nd Meal
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 4 Medium Stalks Celery, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, ½ tsp Red Pepper.

Red Beans & Rice, California Mix, Juice from ½ Lime, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, ½ tsp Red Pepper.

1 Kiwi

[Lyndzie]

Hi Mark! If I’m remembering correctly, your daughter is the same age as my oldest, who is 6. Does your daughter eat the same as you?

[Mark Cooper]

Hi Lindsey,

My daughter, Posey, is 5 and she eats a 90% McDougall compliant diet. She typically eats more calorie dense starches that I ever consume - breakfast cereal, whole wheat bread, pretzels, bagels, and other compliant baked items; and more overt fats like nuts, nut butters and avocado. She also really loves whole grain pasta, brown rice and plain mashed potatoes. She will eat some green vegetables, but not a lot. She loves fruit and eats it frequently. My wife still includes dairy (and occasionally eggs) in her food choices, so on our infrequent restaurant meals we allow Posey to choose for herself and she often picks regular mac'n'cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches or cheese pizza, and sometimes ice cream. I almost always prepare the evening meal for the family, and my wife typically takes leftovers from the night before for lunch, so they both mostly eat a McDougall diet (often MWL recipes), but not at all strictly.

Hope that long ramble answers your question!

[Lyndzie]

Thanks Mark! I love to hear how people are making it work for their families. My girls eat similarly to yours, having McDougall foods at home, but more lax standards out of the house. My husband is a picky eater, but at least the littles are easy.

[Mark Cooper]

I really appreciate hearing that your kiddos eat similarly - I know what feels right for my own food choices, but it can be hard to know the right path to take with kids. I try to be pretty clear with Posey about the relative healthfulness of various foods and reasons why, but I do feel like it is important to allow her to have agency over her own body and what she decides to put in it. I'm gratified that she has never chosen to eat meat, so far.

[Mark Cooper]

A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL)
10/10

Exercise: PT Exercises X 3, 30 minutes Jogging - 4-6 mph w/ incline, 2 sets Bridges & Crunches, Wall Handstands.

I was able to actually run today, for the first time in about 8 months! Didn't go too fast, as I was worried about overdoing it and reversing my pain improvement, but so far, so good. 2 meals today, feeling good. I was feeling tempted by the many McDougall compliant (but NOT MWL) baked treats in the house right now; I decided to eat a little extra fruit to ward off my cravings. I feel like that was a good decision, but I'm going to still aim for only 2 fruits / day in future.

3 November 2018 Meals

1st Meal
10:15 am - 11:30 am
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 4 Medium Stalks Celery, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, 1 Medium Tomato, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1 Jalapeno Pepper.

SNAP Stew
1 Red Onion
227g Spinach
454g California Mix
1 tsp Garlic Powder, 1 tsp Ginger Powder, 1 tsp Cumin Seed, 1 tsp Paprika, 1 tsp Red Pepper, 1 tsp Turmeric, ½ tsp Black Pepper.
822g Diced Tomatoes (NSA)
1 Cup Red Beans, 1 Cup Rice
Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1 Serrano Pepper.

1 Apple, 2 Bananas, 1 Cup Mixed Berries

2nd Meal
5:15 pm - 6:00 pm
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 4 Medium Stalks Celery, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1 Jalapeno.

SNAP Mexican Rice & Beans, California Mix, NSA Rotel, White Bean “Sour Cream”, Homemade Red Pepper Paste (Red Chiles, Vinegar), Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

[verde]

SNAP Stew
1 Red Onion
227g Spinach
5 Cloves Garlic
454g California Mix
1 tsp Ginger, 1 tsp Ras el Hanout, 1 tsp Red Pepper, 1 tsp Turmeric, ½ tsp Black Pepper.
794g Whole Plum Tomatoes (NSA)
1 Medium Sweet Potato
Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

Hi Mark!

I've noticed you have an awesome thread here with great recipes! Quick question: you post most things in weight (grams), but when it comes to potatoes or sweet potatoes you always write "1 medium" or "three small"... Etc. what does a medium sweet potatoes or potato weigh?
I live in Portugal, and potatoes here come in many shapes and sizes...we don't really know what a medium potato is because it can mean different sizes for different people! What is a medium potato in your case? I actually see this "medium" reference a lot in American and Canadian recipes and I'm always lost on what it means. Can you give me a weight reference? Like could you grab a sweet potato you consider medium and weigh it?

Thanks very much in advance!

[Mark Cooper]

Hi Verde!

I don't weigh and measure my food, so if it doesn't come in a package with weight measures, I usually just go by eye.

I just weighed what I would consider a "medium" sweet potato and it was about 250g uncooked / about 3 inches long.

Hope that answers your question and thanks for the kind comment!

[verde]

Hi Verde!

I don't weigh and measure my food, so if it doesn't come in a package with weight measures, I usually just go by eye.

I just weighed what I would consider a "medium" sweet potato and it was about 250g uncooked / about 3 inches long.

Hope that answers your question and thanks for the kind comment!

Yes it does! Thank you very much Mark!

[Mark Cooper]

A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL)
10/10

Exercise: PT Exercises X 3, 30 minutes Stair Climbing on Powermill - vigorous pace, 3 sets Scapular Rows, Wall Handstands.

2 meals today, feeling great. Today was probably my mildest pain level since the foot/ankle pain started in April! I had a great workout and was on my feet quite a bit throughout the day and the pain still never escalated. I'm really hoping that this will just continue to improve and eventually go away entirely.

4 November 2018 Meals

1st Meal
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 4 Medium Stalks Celery, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, 1 Medium Tomato, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1 Jalapeno Pepper.

SNAP Stew
1 Red Onion
170g Kale
454g Broccoli
1 tsp Garlic Powder, 1 tsp Ginger Powder, 1 tsp Cumin Seed, 1 tsp Paprika, 1 tsp Red Pepper, 1 tsp Turmeric, ½ tsp Black Pepper.
822g Diced Tomatoes (NSA)
1 Cup Red Beans, 1 Cup Rice
Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1 Serrano Pepper.

1 Apple

2nd Meal
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 4 Medium Stalks Celery, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1 Jalapeno.

Sweet Potato, California Mix, Homemade Red Pepper Paste (Red Chiles, Vinegar), Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

3 Cups Watermelon

[Mark Cooper]

A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL)
10/10

Exercise: PT Exercises X 3, 60 minutes vigorous Calisthenics.

2 meals today, another very mild day for pain.

5 November 2018 Meals

1st Meal
10:45 am - 11:30 am
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 4 Medium Stalks Celery, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, 1 Can NSA Ro-Tel, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1 Serrano Pepper.

SNAP Stew
1 Red Onion
170g Kale
454g California Mix
1 tsp Garlic Powder, 1 tsp Ginger Powder, 1 tsp Cumin Seed, 1 tsp Paprika, 1 tsp Red Pepper, 1 tsp Turmeric, ½ tsp Black Pepper.
822g Diced Tomatoes (NSA)
3/4 Cup Old Fashioned Oats / 1 ½ Cups Water, 1 Cup Red Beans
Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash, 1 Serrano Pepper.

1 Apple
1 Cup Watermelon

2nd Meal
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 4 Medium Stalks Celery, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

Cholent, Green Beans, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

1 Cup Mixed Berries

[Mark Cooper]

A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL)
10/10

Exercise: PT Exercises X 3, 30 minutes Stair Climbing on Powermill - vigorous pace, 3 sets Scapular Rows, 4 sets Wall Handstands, 2 sets Bridges & Crunches.

2 meals today, 2 pieces of fruit, another really mild day for pain; I'm feeling pretty great.

6 November 2018 Meals

1st Meal
10:00 am - 10:45 am
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 4 Medium Stalks Celery, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, 822g Tomato, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

SNAP Stew
227g Spinach
454g Broccoli
1 tsp Garlic Powder, 1 tsp Onion Powder, 1 tsp Ginger Powder, 1 tsp Cumin Seed, 1 tsp Coriander, 1 tsp Paprika, 1 tsp Red Pepper, 1 tsp Turmeric, ½ tsp Black Pepper.
822g Diced Tomatoes (NSA)
1 medium Sweet Potato
Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

1 Apple

2nd Meal
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
Salad - 3 cups Lettuce, 2 Medium Carrots, ⅓ Large Cucumber, 822g Tomato, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

Jade Pearl Ramen Noodle Bowl, Stir-Fry Vegetables, Juice from ½ Lemon, 2 Tbsp Cider Vinegar, 1 tsp Mrs. Dash.

1 Apple

[verde]

Hi Mark! Sorry for intruding again into your log, I love your Snap recipes, so easy!
One question though: the recipes you post as Snap meals are all eaten just by you in one meal? Or is it a recipe you make for yourself and others for that meal?

[Mark Cooper]

Hi Verde,

I typically eat those by myself in a single meal, although depending on how hungry I am I sometimes have a bit leftover to save as a snack or for another meal (I would also note, I tend to be a volume eater and generally have large portions of food). All of those SNAP lunch recipes are based on the basic template that Jeff Novick outlines in this thread https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=10519

There are some interesting variations by other people as that thread goes on, so you might be interested in checking it out. Feel free to let me know if you have other questions about any of the recipes I've logged in my journal.

Take care and be well!

[Rosey]

I love how you put your Journal. Mine is kinda sporadic. Getting better at checking in though.