PonysPlants - Kudos! And you are down 4 lbs for the month, I believe! Sometimes the Pleasure Trap "whispering" gets pretty loud, right? Well done getting straight back on track after the award dinner! Cheers to your husband for 5 years cancer free! It's great that you were able to celebrate that momentous occasion in a way that allowed for adherence, Naomi.
PonysPlants wrote:I’m fairly sure that I might have given up after only losing 0.4lbs in the past but I’m just ready to refocus and keep going with this plan.
Continuing to focus on the recommended behaviors is exactly the right approach.
mandybee - Down 1.5 lbs for the week and 9 for the month! Keep in mind,
JeffN wrote:The average weight loss at the McDougall 10-Day Live-in Program is 3.5 lbs in 7 days; the first week is when the majority of people have their largest weekly weight loss. The average over time is about 1% of your current weight.
So you are above average this month.
I think you realize this already, but I want to reiterate for everyone that it can be helpful not to frame things in terms of portion control, but rather just eating when hungry and stopping when comfortably full (not stuffed). It can take some time and adjustment to really fine-tune this; but, if you find you are hungry again sooner, rather than later, just eat again (provided you are eating the recommended foods, in the recommended fashion). Remember, too, that some days you may find that you are more (or less) hungry than other days. Full steam ahead!
Abe - Kudos! It has been such an enjoyable experience watching your progress with exercise! You have come so far with that particular habit since January! White rice would be
acceptable, but not ideal - it still has a relatively low calorie density (a bit higher than brown rice), but it has less fiber and consequently may not be as satiating as brown rice. I believe it is important to evaluate this type of decision within the context of your
overall dietary pattern - so, from my perspective, it is a question of how often it would be included, is it supplanting a better option, or, within the context of a particular situation, making overall adherence more attainable and sustainable?
Veganjo - Nice loss! Since this group takes a behavioral approach to weight loss, taking a moment (at least weekly) to assess our pattern of behavior with the MWL 10-Point Checklist is an important part of the reporting process. Please do, at least briefly, review how things are going with the recommended behaviors, so that we can all stay on the same page.
chowbby - I'm sure seeing that result on the scale felt disappointing; particularly since you were experimenting with refraining from daily weighing and concentrating on eating the recommended foods in the recommended fashion. It can feel quite demoralizing when our efforts aren't directly reinforced by the feedback we get from the scale; any single scale reading is, at best, an imprecise and imperfect substitute for the information we would actually like to capture (fat loss). I know it is hard, but I would encourage you to stay the course, continue to focus on the recommended pattern of behavior, and see how things work out in another week, two weeks, month, &c. Whenever we are faced with a plateau, the process outlined in Jeff's article on
Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them offers the surest approach for overcoming that in a sustainable way. If you feel like it would help to "crowdsource" some input, you might consider starting a journal and recording several days worth of meals, to see if anything jumps out. If adherence is excellent, try to trust the process and allow more time. You are down a pound from where you started the month.
squealcat - Huzzah! No peanut butter! That looks like a week filled with progress, Marilyn!
Well done putting the checklist to work for you at each meal.
Cheers to looking forward to November!
Kappagator_96 - Congrats! That seems like a very decent week! I'm glad your foot and ankle are starting to feel a bit better. I want to applaud your efforts to prepare for and celebrate Halloween in a way that supports your goals! The observation that the bite of cake "didn't taste as good as I thought it would" is valuable information and worth keeping in mind with respect to the candy, as well. It appears you have put quite a lot of thought and effort into being well-prepared for the temptations that Halloween might bring; I totally agree with you, for me, it is definitely true that "abstinence is easier than perfect moderation." Eating the recommended foods, in the recommended fashion, whenever you feel hungry is the best way to fortify your "willpower".
Your plan for the week ahead sounds very solid, and it makes so much sense to keep the most tempting items "out of sight and out of the house."
CindyD - Another 2 lbs down and nearly 11 for the month! That is great progress! If you haven't had it before, you might want to give Jeff's
recipe for hummus a try - I especially like it with the optional inclusion of tomato paste he mentions. Thank you for your very kind words. I know what you mean about hope and positivity seeming to be "in short supply." I'm continually grateful to the participants in this group for their kindness and camaraderie; we can all always use a little hope, right?
Rebecka22 - Down 2.2 pounds this week and TEN for October! Fantastic! It can certainly be very challenging to maintain adherence when out of town with no kitchen; it sounds like you did your best to make choices in support of your goals. As you say, most important is that you "got right back on track."
Great work not letting the travel disrupt your exercise habit, too. Onward!
curcubit - Nice loss! The upside to those "white knuckle moments" is that, when you successfully make it through them, they tend to diminish and eventually fade away. The bread you describe would not be recommended for MWL (nor is any bread); even breads made from otherwise "healthy" ingredients are higher in calorie density than the recommended starches. Whole grain breads do have a fair amount of fiber, but they are a "dry" food without the water content of more calorie dilute foods.
JeffN wrote:In general, the combination of water & fiber in food create bulk & add weight for few calories. This tends to lower calorie density & increase satiety.
I'm glad you are feeling back on track after traveling. Your purple-filled sushi sounds fabulous! It's fantastic to get the supportive feedback from your lab results and doctor; continue to focus on the recommended pattern of behavior, "be patient and stay the course," and you'll achieve the results you seek with time.
I wish you the very best in the weeks, months and years to come! Don't hesitate to return to the group if you feel it would serve your goals.
galoop - Kudos, Chris! Since this group takes a behavioral approach to weight loss, taking a moment (at least weekly) to assess our pattern of behavior with the MWL 10-Point Checklist is an important part of the reporting process. Please do, at least briefly, review how things are going with the recommended behaviors, so that we can all stay on the same page.
connielovesdogs - Wow! 2.9 lbs! Nice work managing to avoid going completely off course during a week that felt filled with struggles. When you decided to get non adherent takeout / Starbucks, was anything different about your routine, preparation or context? Were you just going past Starbucks, or did you make a special trip? Could you change your route and or routine to avoid it? Now that you know the Starbucks didn't taste good, do you think that will make omitting it feel more attainable moving forward? Hyperpalatable foods do seems to trigger a desire for more of the same, for many of us. Keep doing your best, making improvements and adjustments as you are able, and fill yourself with minimally processed starches, vegetables and fruits and you'll get where you want to be in the end.
GreenFroG - Sometimes "no change" in weight after a few travel days is its own sort of victory! I'm glad to see you are keeping that in perspective, and looking ahead to what next week's weigh-in can tell you. Cheers to planning ahead for the holidays to come; I think
Giving Thanks offers a really valuable perspective on what celebration can mean, I'm happy to hear you found some helpful takeaways in those articles.
VivianS - Woo-hoo! 10/10! I always love seeing that! A potato, cauliflower, sweet potato, brussel sprout soup sounds very delicious to me! When time for cooking is in short supply, I usually lean heavily on the fundamental concepts Jeff outlines in his
Fast Food meals - use frozen vegetables so you don't have to waste time cleaning/cutting (you can even let them thaw in advance), and microwave potatoes / sweet potatoes. Everything goes in a pot with some liquid and gets heated until it's nice and warm; it usually takes me less than ten minutes. I think you are very wise in already planning alternate means of staying active once the pool closes. I hope your husband has been enjoying that bite or two of vegetables! Maybe he'll want more.
wstokes - Down 0.8 lbs! I can see how the framework of "mastering" particular behaviors might be of value in bringing appropriate focus to a given guideline, particularly so, if they stay "mastered" as additional behaviors come into the spotlight from week to week. Since the aim is to achieve an overall pattern of behavior that will result in attaining the outcomes you want, any tactic that consistently brings you closer to adherence to the MWL 10-Point Checklist seems meritorious. Just don't lose sight of the entirety of the picture.