January 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Thread

[ElizabethAdams]

'
Hi, Serene...
https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=610675#p610675

So you copy the link location by hovering over the little white box,
and then you drop that link into a new tab on your browser, and then you
"bookmark" that tab in a descriptively labeled folder in your browser?

I've been parking all my links in Diigo.com for so long I'd forgotten
that the bookmarking feature of browsers even exists. Thank you for
reminding me! It might help minimize the wrangling we have to do
in a thread like this one that's not "threaded" for replies.

warmest regards...

Elizabeth

[brucel1223]

The benefits of eating this WFPB way are more than just weight loss...
Last April I decided to go WFPB in my eating. After eating that way for a few days, I noticed I started feeling better. Through the year I lost 23 lbs, then in the fall steadily gained 10 lbs back, with holiday sweets and all. Then I noticed this thread and decided to get back on the straight and narrow. So now weight is again moving in the right direction. I'm 69, and have had arthritic stiffness in my hips, up my spine, up my neck, and in my fingers, for years, that was gradually getting worse. Chalked it up to getting older... Well yesterday, it just dawned on me, in a surprising kind of way. -- There's NO ARTHRITIC STIFFNESS ANYWHERE! -- Hips feel fine. Spine feels fine. Neck feels fine. Fingers feel fine. It just kind of dissolved away without me noticing it! This WFPB journey, what a trip! Who knows all the good that's going on in your body as you endeavor to eat this way!

[Mark Cooper]

brucel1223 - That is fantastic to hear! What a great result. Thanks for sharing

Serene - No worries, seems like a useful tutorial.

[JeffN]

A few comments and tips in respond to several comments I am seeing in this thread and in some of your journals

We are in this for a long-term solution that you can successfully live with and live well with not short term weight loss.

If you are hungry, eat. We do not recommend skipping meals, fasting, going hungry or eating only vegetables.

When you eat, make sure your choices include a minimally processed starch. This is 100% true for MWL too. The starch should be about 50% of the volume of the food you eat. Do not wait an hour to eat the starch after the vegetables.

Just reaching for vegetables, salads or fruit is not going to do it and you will most likely end up overeating later in the day as the satiety from vegetables, salad and fruit is not the same or as long lasting as the satiety from starch and sets you up to overeat/binge later. Then you end up wondering why you are eating salads and vegetables and not losing weight and often think, I just need to eat “more” salad, veggies or fruit. To break the cycle, eat starch with your veggies and/or fruits.

Good Luck this week!

In Health
Jeff

[Mark Cooper]

Happy Monday, everyone! I hope you are enjoying a great start to this week. Among the many free resources here on Dr. McDougall's website are the excellent featured articles. One that seems especially relevant to the purpose of this MWL group is Jeff's article on The Road to Success: Creating Healthy Habits. Here are a few excerpts to whet your appetite -

When we decide to improve our diets and health, what we are really doing is learning new behaviors and making them into habits. We are trying to break old unhealthful habits and develop new healthful ones. These include learning to be more active and learning to make more healthful dietary choices. And, while there are several keys to developing a new habit, three of the most important ones are simplicity, consistency, and repetition.

The power of the repetition of simple changes to form new habits and behaviors is fairly consistent and strong. The time frame for developing new habits is not the same for everyone. It may take a few weeks for some and a few months for others. But, in the end, the process is the same. Consistent repetition of simple changes forms new habits and behaviors.

Find a few simple recipes and a simple and safe form of activity or two that you like and then repeat over and over (and over and over).

It is absolutely worth your time to give it a read, as you continue toward your goals.

Those of you who are new to the forums may not be aware that Jeff has compiled a list of answers to the most asked questions concerning health and nutrition, as well as a very expansive catalogue of hot topics. And as always, if you have questions relating to the MWL program, please do post them here - the only bad question is the one not asked.

[chaz01]

Hi,

I'm late to the party, but hoping to join this group. I've followed the McDougall plan before, with great success, but I've fallen off the wagon so to speak recently and reverted back to old habits last year. This year I've been focusing on getting back on track and hoping this would be a great place to help keep focused and committed.

So far I've been very happy with my progress - I've managed to eat healthier meals. Started off the new year with my favorite Black-eyed peas Hoppin' John recipe and have been eating lots of rice, grains and beans. I've been exercising more as well and have managed to get at least a 1 mile walk (often going further) every day this year. I haven't had a chance to weigh in yet, so I'm anxious to see what the scales say. But perhaps more importantly, I was excited this morning that I could fit into a favorite pair of trousers that I haven't been able to wear since before the holiday season began! And that's much more motivating to me than what the scale might have to say!

Chuck

[chaz01]

Hi Elizabeth,

Your posts reminds of a vegetarian friendly restaurant I used to visit. They always had a dish they called the "Moonplate Special" and although it changed every day, it was likely the healthiest and best tasting thing on the menu. Each day, the "Moonplate Special" would consist of ...

1) A grain, rice, quinoa, couscous...
2) Legume - beans/lentil of the day
3) A vegetable of the day
4) Some type of sauce ( which often was some type of salsa).

The possibilities are endless and there's always something new to try. Whenever I'm stuck trying to answer the question, "What's for dinner?", I always think back to the Moonplate Special and see what combination I can come up with.

Chuck

[ElizabethAdams]

'
Hi, Jeff...
https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=610734&sid=4a1125e29358f54701f1103436ebbe4d#p610734

You wrote...

The starch should be about 50% of the volume of the food you eat.

When you say volume, do you mean weight? As in ounces and pounds?

Or do you mean size? As in a zucchini-sized baked potato?

I'm used to weighing things for recipe-development purposes,
so I don't mind doing it. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right.

You also wrote...

When you eat, make sure your choices include a minimally processed starch.

I began putting my baked potatoes through a hand-held potato ricer
back when I first started this program because a baked potato
without sour cream and chives on top of it looked so naked
that I had to do something to make it look inviting.

So I invested in a hand-held OXO Good Grips Stainless Steel Potato Ricer
from Amazon... https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004OCJQ/

...and an exquisite salt-free spice from Penzey's called Mural of Flavor,
"a blend of over a dozen spices and herbs, creating a wall (hence mural)
of flavor so delicious, there's no need to add salt. Inspired by the rich
and mouth-watering flavors of the western Mediterranean, Mural of Flavor
is wonderfully versatile. Add it to soups, rice and potatoes. Shake it
over sliced tomatoes, zucchini, asparagus, rice, corn and popcorn.
Hand-mixed from: spices, shallots, onion, garlic, lemon peel,
citric acid, chives and orange peel."
https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/mural-of-flavor/c-24/p-219/pd-s

...and have loved my fluffy, lovely "riced" potatoes ever since!

I eat at least 8 oz of them at a time and often come back for seconds
which means I often eat a whole pound of them!

Anymore these days, I just steam them because it's quicker,
peel and rice them while they're hot, sprinkle them with Mural,
divvy them up into half-pound-serving containers and refrigerate
so all I have to do at mealtime is heat them up or, on a hot day,
just eat them cold.

Half a pound of steamed potatoes looks much more "voluminous"
after they're riced than before, though, so that's why
I'm asking for clarification.

thanks in advance...

Elizabeth

[Mark Cooper]

When you say volume, do you mean weight? As in ounces and pounds?

Or do you mean size? As in a zucchini-sized baked potato?

I'm used to weighing things for recipe-development purposes,
so I don't mind doing it. I just want to make sure I'm doing it right.

Forgive me for answering a question you posed to Jeff, but I wanted to respond to this as soon as possible, just to clear things up - the guideline from the MWL 10-Point Checklist reads -

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

2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.

So, there is no need to weigh or measure. To paraphrase Dr. McDougall, "Just eyeball it."

In regard to pureeing, blending, mashing, or otherwise "home-processing" starchy foods - as I understand it, it can somewhat alter (raise or lower) the calorie density depending on the specific food and how it is prepared for consumption. Jeff discusses this more thoroughly here and here. In the case of riced potatoes, I would say it is a detail not particularly worth focusing on. To quote from that latter discussion -

Enjoy your potatoes, baked, boiled, mashed and zapped.

[Mark Cooper]

Welcome to the group, Chuck! Glad you've decided to join us. The "Moonplate Special" sounds delicious, and pretty darn close to what I'll be eating for supper tonight!

[jdaleske]

For 1/10: -4 lbs!

[Mark Cooper]

For 1/10: -4 lbs!

Kudos! How are you enjoying your meals? How have you been feeling so far? I'll update the tally to include your report.

[Cnmsth]

Last week it was so easy to follow the MWL guidelines. This week not so much. I'm sad that the "bloom" only lasted a week. But weight loss has not been my most successful endeavor.

I don't like setting weight loss goals, I have had too many years of failure in that area. So I'm trying to set behavior goals since that is where I'm dropping the ball. Since my daughter and her family are living with me and have a SAD diet, Mark encouraged me to look at the naughty food around me as non-food. So the rest of this week and maybe for the next week too, I'll make a goal to remind myself out loud that they are non-foods. Also another area of struggle is work and the candy & treats that are always sitting over there. I need to think about bringing filling snacks to work. I'll work on finding time to make snacks at home. I need to simplify my food life. Since I liked Jeff's Longevity soup, I'll try more of his ideas this week.

This cannot fail like the past. I don't want knee or hip surgery and that is the road I'm on and don't want to go there.

[Mark Cooper]

I don't like setting weight loss goals, I have had too many years of failure in that area. So I'm trying to set behavior goals since that is where I'm dropping the ball.

That is the exact approach I personally use, as well. The other major benefit, from my perspective, is that behaviors are within our sphere of control, whereas losing a particular amount of weight is subject to many factors we don't have immediate control over. Long-term, the behaviors will lead to the weight loss. I think reminding yourself of what you have decided out loud is a fantastic practice. Another idea, in regard to those off-plan foods you find enticing - if you are sorely tempted, perhaps make it your policy to eat a healthful food right away, instead. You may find that just that bit of interruption helps defeat the craving. In general, I would make sure you aren't going hungry, as that will make those non-foods even more of a siren. As you continue making these thoughtful plans, you might find it worthwhile to play out different challenging scenarios in your mind and how you will deal with them. Including staches in your snacks, as needed, should help with satiety. Getting over these hurdles is a real challenge, that is exactly why this group is here (and has so many participants), please remember to be kind to yourself as you stumble. I applaud how much consideration and introspection you've applied to your goals!

[Mark Cooper]

If you are looking for some mid-week inspiration, might I point you in the direction of this McDougall Success Story -
George Sanders



Some excerpts from George's story -

I decided to try more conventional dietary advice: I cut out some meats, ate lower-fat food, and increased my intake of fruits and veggies. I also tried calorie restriction and portion control. And it worked! Over a year’s time I had lost over 70 pounds and was looking and feeling a bit healthier, though it was a very difficult year.

I was hungry a lot and fought my old cravings; it was a severe battle of will power. It wasn’t long before life’s little interruptions started disrupting my dietary goals, and within another year I had regained all the weight I had lost and was back to my usual pattern of SAD (Standard American Diet) eating. Typical of so many diet programs, it was ineffective and temporary. It just wasn’t sustainable, and by 2009, at 52 years old, I found myself at 291 pounds.

I tried really hard once again, eating the typical low-calorie, portion-controlled SAD diet. This time I consumed 1,000 calories a day; it didn’t matter what I ate as long as it was less than 1,000 calories. And it worked. At least for as long as I could tolerate the constant hunger and tiredness that are so typical of “diets.”

That started a cycle of yo-yo dieting that usually amounted to about two to three months of starvation, followed by losing a fair amount of weight until I couldn’t tolerate the hunger anymore, before going back to my usual eating and gaining. Then after a few months I would try again with the same results, repeating the cycle several times in the year.

I had collected a small library of diet books over the years, so I started looking through them. I found a copy of Dr. McDougall’s Program for Maximum Weight Loss that I had picked up a few years earlier but had never read. So I sat down and read it from cover to cover in one day. This time something in me was touched; it somehow just made sense. There was no pseudo-science about “miracle” foods, no exhortations to buy every supplement known to man, no magic formulas, no calorie, carb, fat or protein counting or ratio balancing, and no exhaustive exercising.

The message was simple: eat real whole food, as much as would satisfy, whenever you were hungry, cut out or limit the fatty foods, and eliminate the meat and dairy. Essentially, do what your mama always told you: eat your fruits and veggies! There was one twist though: focus the majority of your food on satiating starches such as potatoes, grains, and beans.

That just made so much sense to me. After all it’s the food that Mother Nature provides; how could we have survived as a species without it? It appealed to my understanding of science. I decided right then and there that I had nothing to lose and everything to gain, so the next day I started the program. I ate everything recommended: plain, simple foods in their natural state, and it was good! It didn’t just taste good but the food was so quick and easy to make as well. I was in no way a cook, but I could easily throw a potato in the microwave and top it off with some nice spicy salsa, heat up a side of asparagus or Brussels sprouts, and make a big green salad with all sorts of raw veggies. And Dr McDougall said to eat till you were satisfied, so I did.

If after one plateful of food I was still hungry I would go back for seconds, and even thirds. I never left the table hungry. Being a volume eater, this way of eating fit me perfectly. I could easily find foods that satisfied my taste buds and hunger drive. I never worried about staying full. If I got hungry I would just eat; simple as that. I didn’t worry about how many meals or snacks I had as long as the food was compliant with the program.

I was amazed that just eating real foods could bring on such a dramatic shift in my health. As the months went by, I continued to improve and my body slowly but surely healed itself. And every time I went to get labs done, the results were better and better.

I no longer think of myself as being on a diet and exercise program, it’s just simply how I eat; it is my new lifestyle. And the results speak for themselves.

Dr McDougall’s program has given me back my health and my life and at no cost.

George's journal was a real inspiration for me, when I began to focus on eating MWL; I think it is well worth checking out. Recently, he began posting a new journal, as well.

I hope his story speaks to some of you, as it did to me!

Take care & be well!