30 day commitment to get over my hump day (14 days)

[Katydid]

Deb,
Are you still using the CRONometer? It should be a simple matter to enter your meals and get an approximate calorie count. I usually set my daily calorie count half way between where I am and where I want to be. So if you weigh 170 pound and want to weigh 120 pounds, Multiply by ten and you'll need about 1400-1500 calories a day to lose 1/2 to 1 pound a week (depending on the amount of exercise you are willing to do). I personally stopped using the CRONometer in favor of MyFitnessPal.com as the food database is better. It even includes McDougall Right Foods . I keep it on my ipod touch and enter exercise and food during the day, so I'm always on top of my eating. But it works from a standard computer databas as well so you don't need an iPod. Of course, different people have different metabolisms, but I know I'm at the low end of the bell curve. More than 1500 calories a day and I will gain weight.
Kate

[sksamboots]

I wish I had an answer for you but I have to agree that there were weeks that I would eat all the Mcdougall I wanted too and still gain weight or maintain...Right now I find it's a complex measure of how many vegetables I eat versus starches--more veggies of course. I will never count or keep track of a number so I can't help you with that. Just keep on keepin on deb

[Katydid]

No disrespect to Dr. McDougall, but when I weighed 300 pounds I COULD eat all the starches (including pasta and bread) I wanted, eat until I was satisfied and do moderate exercise and the weight would fall off. But once I got to around 220, that began to change. I needed to start watching the amount of starches closely and up the amount of green and yellow veggies. I've said before, the most valueable kitchen equipment I have is a $1 set of measuring cups and spoons. At some point calories do start to count. That point is different for every person. Over the years I have tracked calories on and off, and 1500 is the cut off point where I maintained my 160 pound weight. Still, every individual is different. My 54 year old metabolism may simply be a bit wonky. I seems to me I could eat more when I was younger. On May 1st I started my 15 pounds in 15 weeks challenge. I have tracked very carefully and in order for me to actually lose weight at a rate of 1 pound per week, I need to eat around 1300 calories a day and exercise for about 1-1.5 hours a day. And some weeks (like last week) I still won't lose. My advice, for what its worth (and that may be very little ), is if you are still stuck at a plateau come Friday, track your food consumption and make sure you are not overeating on the high calorie foods. Maybe 2.5 potatoes for breakfast is a bit too much (I don't know the size of the potatoes). Maybe flour products like pita bread and tortillas don't agree with your system. They certainly don't agree with mine. Keep the volume of food up by substituting high water volume, low calorie 'green and yellow' veggies for some (but not all) of the starches and up your exercise. You never burn as many calories as your exercise equipment says. Once you start to lose weight again, you'll have a better idea at what point calories in = calories out. You don't have to track every day, but a spot check once a week is useful. I happen to be a chemist and I LIKE tracking data. Again, I have nothing but respect for Dr. M, but you are you. You have to look at what is or isn't working and go from there.
Kate

[lfwfv]

I would personally recommend cutting out the pita and any higher calorie density items (even the corn tortillas).

In Jeff's discussions on calorie density, he mentions that nobody eating *only foods* from the 400-500 cal/lb group and under fails to lose weight. That would include veggies, fruits, and root veggies. Grains are a little more calorie dense, and beans are even more. Any flour product is literally three times more dense than potatoes.

I personally have found this to be true. I lose weight if I eat a lot of veggies and even a ton of fruit. I gain if I eat a lot of grains.

Neither McDougall nor Jeff recommend counting. They do recommend adjusting the calorie density of your diet for faster results. I find raw veggies and fruits very helpful for controlling weight loss.

good luck!
lfwfv

[Loveskale]

To answer your question Debbie, the wedges are triangle shaped.

[lfwfv]

Hmmm, well I set up my account and with only having consumed breakfast and lunch I only have a little over 200 cals left for dinner. I am also over my "carbs" for the day by 30, but way under for protien and fat. Is there a way to adjust those a bit?

I will be going over my cals for today, according to the site.

Hi Debbie,

Please ignore me if you disagree, but I just felt I had to chime in on this. i have restricted calories on McDougall before. I was doing MWL but I was set on losing more weight than I should have (anorexic mindset). I decided to track my calories and realized I was eating 2400-2800 calories a lot of days! No wonder I wasn't losing weight! (mind you I was already at a BMI of 18.5-19 and was not gaining weight). The number just sounded too big to me considering most diets have women at 1200-1400cal per day. Well, I decided to cut back to 2000 and then 1800 cal per day. Seems reasonable right? I started losing weight and got down to a BMI of 17.5. Then, after 2 months, I felt crazed. I felt so starved and depleted and I felt I had tricked my body into losing more weight than it wanted to.

I talked to my husband and determined to get off the obsessive track I was on. I spent about 2-3 weeks eating nuts, dried fruit, and gluten free breads on top of my usual veggies/fruit/yams. I stopped counting calories and stepped the weighing myself way back. After a few weeks of that I realized that I really didn't feel good eating all the gluten free breads, nuts, dried fruit, and some of the grain I had added back into my daily routine. So I chose to make some changes and return to the diet I had started discovering seemed to work best in my body; the diet I had been eating before the calorie-counting madness.

I continued to eat freely according to my hunger but went back to a subset of the MWL with a heavy focus on veggies and fruits (I go way over the 2-3 piece limit per day....try 7-10 ), and mostly yams as my starch primarily for food-intolerance reasons (I am finding most grains to eventually cause inflammation in my gut and skin). I gained back a bit of weight, but am still slightly under a BMI of 18.5.

I average 2700 calories per day and, if I went by most websites and dietetic advice, I would be gaining weight at this calorie level. I'm not though...barely maintaining actually. I realize we're all different, but I really believe we should not mess with calories. Ultimately, you're tricking your hunger mechanism and I believe it will lead to non-compliance.

Would you consider giving Jeff's calorie density stuff a try? I find I can even binge on fruits/veggies/yams (I do have my days when i suddenly feel bottomless and ravenous and end up overeating), and I still maintain or lose weight. If I add in grains I tend to maintain or gain (but most grains cause me inflammation so I avoid them anyways), and if I eat flour or puffed products I almost certainly gain a tiny bit of weight. What if you stuck to veggies/fruits/starchy veggies, with 1-2 servings of grain per day or something and see if you don't lose weight? Eat as much as you want, even until very full, but focus on filling up on those low calorie veggies?

I personally find counting calories ultimately backfires. You've worked so hard for compliance and I just fear that counting calories will ultimately cause you to fail because you will end up feeling very hungry some days and will be 'out of calories'.

I'll get off my soapbox now....

[proverbs31woman]

Glad that you're listening to ifwfv in regards to the calories. I've been feeling obsessive lately too, but I'm trying to pay more attention to eating on plan than anything.

You are doing quite well on the plan. Don't get distracted. The weight will come off.

[sksamboots]

here is my opinion: I agree with lfwf on the calorie density thing. I find that the more veggies I eat, the more weight loss I see. The more starches I eat the more I either gain or maintain. It's all about the veggies and the veggies do keep me satisfied as long as I eat enough. So I have 3/4 of my place full of veggies and the other 1/4?? full of a sweet potato. It took a while to adjust too it. I also dont' believe in calorie couting but that's just from my own experience. I did it for 1 year and never lost any weight and I was faithful and kept great track. Jeff's calorie density has been the only way that I have lost weight. I didn't start losing major weight on the Mcdougall program until I started the calorie density. I wish the best for you deb and do understand your frustration.

[lfwfv]

So glad to hear you are working with yourself and trying to figure out what to adjust to get the results you desire.

I totally empathize with the frustration and with wanting guarantees and 'quick' (or any!) results. I struggle with issues of control and wanting to just 'take charge' and find a sure-fire way to get the results I desire, even when it means setting myself up for failure in the long-term. For me, it's hard to keep the big picture in mind and to strive for time and the best adherence possible...and then be patient and trust my body to reach its healthy weight:eek:

Good luck Debbie, I really look forward to watching how things continue for you as you experiment and make some adjustments.

lfwfv

[sksamboots]

Great job preparing for the shopping trip. Awesome, deb!!

[luvoatmeal]

Debbie,
I just wanted to stop by and say that I'm just thrilled at how well you are doing! I know that you have had your share of struggles, but the whole tone of your posts has changed and you seem alot more upbeat and happy. And it's GREAT that your hubby is doing fantastic.

You are awesome.

[lfwfv]

You're doing great Debbie! Good for you for taking good care of your kids.

Keep on!
lfwfv

[willing2believe]

My oatmeal blows up periodically also. Usually when I am in the biggest hurry.

Lisa

[bunsofaluminum]

hey there debbie

I'm proud of you, over that darn ole 14 day hump, and going strong! nice job, and keep on going

[Love the Lorax]

I just wanted to agree with luvoatmeal!! I haven't been on in a few days and I'm trying to catch up, but definitely you seem to be doing better. YEAH!

Debbie,
I just wanted to stop by and say that I'm just thrilled at how well you are doing! I know that you have had your share of struggles, but the whole tone of your posts has changed and you seem alot more upbeat and happy. And it's GREAT that your hubby is doing fantastic.

You are awesome.