Finally ready to conquer for good!

[Health 1st]

Hello!

I've known about and have even followed Dr. McDougall and his program in the past. Life happened and I'm in desperate need of getting healthy (hence my Username), and have a lot of weight that I need to lose. How much? I'm not exactly sure because I've not been at a healthy weight since...crickets...I honestly do not know. I've always been a "big girl". I have an extra large frame and grew in height faster than most of my classmates in school. The closest I came to a healthy adult weight was in my 20's when I basically was McDougalling. The lowest I got then was 165, but my lower stomach* still had a football. I was 5'9" then. I think 20 more years of gravity and poor posture have caused me to shrink to 5'7". I would love to regain some of my former height. Maybe with less weight and better posture that will happen?

I'm really looking forward to conquering all the things that have tripped me up in the past. Thankfully I do not drink or smoke, so at least I don't have those things to conquer.

Thank you, in advance, for accepting me into the group (MWL). I look forward to learning, sharing, and growing (not on the scale, of course ). I appreciate that we can be as public or anonymous as we'd like to be. I've been trying to get and stay on this way of eating for far too long in isolation. I'll probably make one of those ticker things and then it will become apparent that I have a long way to go, but I'm completely fine with that. At this point in my life I'm not even concerned about what my weight is or how long it takes to get to a healthy weight. I know the weight will fall off, especially at the beginning. My getting healthy is most important to me in this journey. And once I do get healthy, which will inadvertently also consist of a healthy weight, I want to do this for the rest of my life.

*Yes, I have what I consider an upper and lower stomach. I hope I'm wrong, but I am afraid I will have a lot of loose skin since I'm in my 40's and am so very big.

[Health 1st]

Hello, Mark + everyone else!

I have unsuccessfully tried to copy + paste the template. I'm sure the error is on my end as I am not a tech-whiz. Hopefully you will not mind for this week, + I'll try to figure out what I did for my 1st weigh-in 2 weeks ago + then post properly next week.

This will be a goofy (serious, but a strange) post anyway.

I only get online via my phone. Last week I was without data for a few days, including last week's weigh-in, so I had no way to get online let alone post. Was thinking about all of you, though!

Okay, so 2 weeks ago I had a 6# weight loss, but I also shared how I had a very rocky start + week. Well, things only got worse eating-wise where my head just was not in the game, so to speak. I knew all the right things to do, but I just felt like I had a bad start to my recommittment to eating this way and by last week I was completely off plan.

I don't know how my weight loss will be counted as I didn't post last week, which would have been a gain of 4 pounds anyway (298).

I knew I'd get back on track, even had certain days in mind as a target date to get started/re-started, but unfortunately they all came and went. But..., I definitely am on-plan now, well not 100% MWL yet, but 100% McDougall compliant as of this Tuesday, July 13th.

I am considering this my start date. Again, not sure how everything will be calculated, but here are my stats: Starting weight morning of 7/13/21 = 302. Weight morning of 7/16/21 = 291.10

It's obvious I had had a lot of junk that had a lot of salt, because a 10.9 weight loss in 3 days is just crazy.

I know it may seem like I may be one to have a repetitive pattern of getting off track and then recommitting, but I humbly assure you that I am committed to finally seeing this thing through (getting healthy which includes reaching + maintaining my ideal weight, whatever that may be). I also know that I won't always be perfect, but I am more than ready to do this (MWL/McDougalling) for the rest of my life and, Lord willing, it will be a very long + healthy life!

The reason I was not 100% MWL, but 100% McDougall is because I sprained my ankle pretty bad last week. This week the pain has only worsened because of walking differently to "baby" my ankle. The last couple of days I have been in an incredible amount of pain + discomfort as muscles from my foot all the way through my entire leg and into my hip + back are greatly inflamed/knotted. I can barely walk + standing is misery. I've had salads, oatmeal with fruit for breakfast, + tonight was fortunate enough to be able to stand long enough to make 2 Dr. McDougall Right Cups with only 2/3rds of 1 seasoning packet over a huge bed of raw Power Greens.

Even though I've not been completely MWL, I am very happy that I am solidly on + am grateful I could manage to consume all 100% McDougall compliant things given that this severe pain came upon me + without warning.

[deweyswakms]

Hi,
I wonder if you want to post under the Maximum Weight Loss/July MWL board.

Great weight loss this week.

Marsha

[Health 1st]

Hi,
I wonder if you want to post under the Maximum Weight Loss/July MWL board.

Great weight loss this week.

Marsha

Hello Marsha,

Thank you for your suggestion! Actually the above post was originally posted to the MWL July weigh-in, but Mark just told me that Jeff moved it here. I'm glad that it was not totally eliminated.

It was moved because I didn't follow the template and my focus at this point has been more so on "just" compliance to Dr. McDougall's regular guidelines rather than MWL. I really appreciate all of Mark's + Jeff's help!! For now I think I'll work on the Journal + still hope to get the tech stuff solved, really focus on the 10 point checklist, + still participate in the MWL weigh-in board.

Thanks about the weight loss. That is a crazy amount + I think only goes to show how much water weight I was holding on to!

[deweyswakms]

Oh yeah, I understand.

Yes to the weight loss. I am doing MWL just to lose more and refresh myself on the guidelines. Way of eating, this really works. It takes time to settle into it, too. I found really doing guideline #2 has made a big difference for me.

Good luck, keep going. Marsha

[Health 1st]

Thanks for your understanding, encouragement, and hint, Marsha! I really appreciate it!
Yes, I can see how guideline #2 would really help.

Thankfully, I have a fairly long history with Dr. McDougall's WOE, + when I'm in the groove, I do pretty well.

My biggest problem is the all or nothing mentality. It seems like the older I've gotten + the more knowledge I have, if I accidentally or purposely have something that's not compliant, it bothers me + too often leads to a spiral off plan. Then it takes weeks, months, part of years to get back in the saddle. I want to finally get back to how I decades ago could be in the same situation but then get right back on plan + not let it derail me by mentally beating myself up.

[Health 1st]

Marsha, do you know if there's a way to rearrange posts to the Board? For instance, I'd rather my journal start with my 1st post to the MWL board in June because it has an intro..

Otherwise I'm thinking maybe I can start a new Journal that would begin with my intro.

[JeffN]

Marsha, do you know if there's a way to rearrange posts to the Board? For instance, I'd rather my journal start with my 1st post to the MWL board in June because it has an intro..

Otherwise I'm thinking maybe I can start a new Journal that would begin with my intro.

I can move your intro June post to this thread and it should become the first post as it was one of your first posts on the board.

Just let me know

Jeff

[deweyswakms]

Good morning,
You said: My biggest problem is the all or nothing mentality.

I have been doing this WOE for years (see my signature for timeline). Yet I didn't really fully commit to MWL way of eating until a couple of years ago. Yes I lost weight in the 1st years, but then stalled out because of treats, comfort foods, thinking a little wouldn't hurt, or thinking I deserved those cookies or chips or pizza. I also am a stress eater. But I am fed up with my mindset and really want to lose more because it is healthier for me and my old body.

This whole thing is clearly a behavior change in how we think and treat our bodies. The eating isn't really the problem; the reasons why I would eat were the problem. So I have done a lot of work on looking hard at that issue. I know why I veer off course (hungry, angry, stressed, tired), so I listen to my body now and address those issues but not with food except when I am actually hungry.

I would suggest reframing the thought, "this way is all or nothing eating". Is that really really true? I would say no, it isn't. Look at all the foods we can eat (browse through the recipes section for instance). And turn it around, "I can eat a lot of healthy foods".

Good luck! Keep going, Marsha

[Health 1st]

Marsha, do you know if there's a way to rearrange posts to the Board? For instance, I'd rather my journal start with my 1st post to the MWL board in June because it has an intro..

Otherwise I'm thinking maybe I can start a new Journal that would begin with my intro.

I can move your intro June post to this thread and it should become the first post as it was one of your first posts on the board.

Just let me know

Jeff

Oh Jeff, that would be great! Yes, please move my June MWL weigh-in post here. Thank you!

[Health 1st]

Good morning,
You said: My biggest problem is the all or nothing mentality.

I have been doing this WOE for years (see my signature for timeline). Yet I didn't really fully commit to MWL way of eating until a couple of years ago. Yes I lost weight in the 1st years, but then stalled out because of treats, comfort foods, thinking a little wouldn't hurt, or thinking I deserved those cookies or chips or pizza. I also am a stress eater. But I am fed up with my mindset and really want to lose more because it is healthier for me and my old body.

This whole thing is clearly a behavior change in how we think and treat our bodies. The eating isn't really the problem; the reasons why I would eat were the problem. So I have done a lot of work on looking hard at that issue. I know why I veer off course (hungry, angry, stressed, tired), so I listen to my body now and address those issues but not with food except when I am actually hungry.

I would suggest reframing the thought, "this way is all or nothing eating". Is that really really true? I would say no, it isn't. Look at all the foods we can eat (browse through the recipes section for instance). And turn it around, "I can eat a lot of healthy foods".

Good luck! Keep going, Marsha

Marsha, thank you for taking the time to reply, your insight, wise words + encouragement!

Yeah, I've been there, too, thinking a little wouldn't hurt--yeah, right. If it truly were a little, like 1 small piece of birthday cake on our birthday and maybe 1 serving of some other treat on Thanksgiving or Christmas, I think most bodies could handle it without poor health consequences. But it would have to be that, extremely limited.

You are so right about it being behavioral, because when I've been doing good + have had something not healthy, I usually haven't even enjoyed it because it doesn't even taste good, not compared to our yummy healthy food!

We are all getting older, so being kind to our bodies by eating this way is extremely helpful, as you know.

Re: the all or nothing mentality for me means I'm either eating healthy or I'm not. So if I eat compliant goodies made of mashed bananas in place of oil/margarine + even sugar, that doesn't bother me mentally because it's still made of foods that are compliant. Mind you if I ate those healthy treats all the time, I wouldn't lose weight, + I'm not suggesting people eat healthy goodies all the time either, because they're still goodies + not ideal food.

But the last however many years when I've been doing really good and then "blow it", too often I've derailed because I know how damaging French fries or ice cream or whatever is, and then it bothers me that I just damaged my body. Yet instead of doing the smart thing by just getting right back on track, I have invariably tended to rather spiral right off plan which is really unhealthy for my body.

So my goal is to get healthy!!! That of course means losing weight, but that's just 1 small thing for me at this point. With my aging body (even though in mid-40's), the bad eating + extreme weight have caught up with me. So part of finally getting + staying healthy for me is conquering my horrible tendency to go totally off plan. Ideally I want to be on-plan all the time! But I know that that isn't always feasible (especially unforseen circumstances like hospitalizations when you eat the best you can but it's probably not oil-free). So I want to be able to accidentally or purposely have a tiny bit off-plan but not let it derail me.

So far, so good, 8 days in with absolutely nothing off plan. And I'm once again loving the rich tastes of simple, healthy food, + not missing the former "foods" one iota.

[Health 1st]

I just wanted to clarify something. Yes, I definitely want to lose all this excess weight for health--entire cardiovascular system including b/p, for my joints, etc., + for not always being so fat that I have to order clothes through a special catalog/website, + to be able to fully live life! The awesome thing about this way of eating, though, is that the weight just falls off, especially at the beginning, + especially when one has so much excess weight to lose as I do.

So when I've made comments that may seem like weight loss isn't all that important to me, it is, but I know it will automatically take care of itself.

I have a very dear friend who eats the SAD + counts every little calorie + weighs herself every day + her life is run by constantly ticking off the calorie content of things. To me it's very sad to see her live this way. She's so concerned about what the scale says + yet has no concern about the damage she's doing to her arteries by daily consuming butter, cream, eggs, meat, coconut oil, + chocolate. I think her emphasis on her weight has kind of made me go the opposite way because I know I'm getting healthy and losing weight with little to no effort, never going hungry, never worrying about calories, + enjoying the freedom these things bring!

But yes, weight loss is important to me.

[JeffN]

Your introduction is now at the top of this thread.

If you want, you can edit out the first few sentences before your intro starts or if you don’t know how, I can do it for you.

Let me know

In Health
Jeff

[Health 1st]

Your introduction is now at the top of this thread.

If you want, you can edit out the first few sentences before your intro starts or if you don’t know how, I can do it for you.

Let me know

In Health
Jeff

Thank you, Jeff!

I've been working hard trying to familiarize myself with all the tech stuff + I'm finally getting there, so I was able to edit + even change the name of my journal.

Thank you so much for all of your help!

[JeffN]

Your introduction is now at the top of this thread.

If you want, you can edit out the first few sentences before your intro starts or if you don’t know how, I can do it for you.

Let me know

In Health
Jeff

Thank you, Jeff!

I've been working hard trying to familiarize myself with all the tech stuff + I'm finally getting there, so I was able to edit + even change the name of my journal.

Thank you so much for all of your help!

You are welcome

In Health
Jeff