July 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[Artista]

Weight change +/- in lbs:  -1.4 lb.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
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. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Somewhat.
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I missed one day of exercise.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: The first part of the week I was feeling discouraged and went back to my usual way of eating but then I spent some time looking at different posts in the forums and renewed my commitment. I saw Wild goose’s post about giving it 60 days and so I decided to do that. I realized I couldn’t really measure my potential for success in just a week or a couple of weeks. So I jumped back in 100% and the days since then have been all 10’s.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team MWL! Hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. We have some beautiful weather here in Chicagoland.. Getting ready to head out to the Farmers Market...

Weight Change - Loss - 1.6 lbs.
Current weight - 145.6 lbs.
Last Week weight - 147.2 lbs.


1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. yes, 17/22 meals this week

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.
Choose fruit for dessert. mostly, 15/22 meals this week

3 Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. I have reduced, not eliminated. I will be reviewing condiment usage - which I am thinking would be my biggest source of these. I have gotten rid of a couple of heinous sodium products....

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES

6 Eliminate any added oil. YES

7 Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES

8 Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Mostly. Had White Claw over 4th weekend.

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES. Has been working well. I have hardly done any late snacking that I had been prone to doing. I do keep options in refrigerator in case I do wake up hungry, but this hasn't happened this week.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). MOSTLY. I took a rest day which I probably didn't need to take, but just was tired of the really hot weather. My focus here is on building the habit for most days and building some base of fitness.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Trying to get #1 and #2 in synch with #9.... thinking that this may take a bit of practice! Glad to be doing it while I am still working remotely. Will be continuing to focus on this in the next week --- as well as consistency in walking.

I was going to ask a question on the soup for preload. However, was able to use the Advanced Search function on the Board to find some great information!!! So, question averted...

Sending positive vibes to all participants. Extra strong ones to those who are discouraged or struggling. Just an idea that sometimes helps me change mindset.... Maybe folks can find some extra motivation on these Boards from several members who have been successful in implementing this Program. I especially love to read the wisdom of Pinkrose who ate so simply - rice and broccoli, potato or sweet potato and tomato - he was so encouraging to everyone and was a "happy customer" ...

Cheers,
Stephanie

[chef16]

Weight change +/- in lbs:
07/03/2021 225#
07/10/2021 225#
still the same 0

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.75%
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. Choose fruit for dessert.75%
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.75%
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).100%
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).75%
6. Eliminate any added oil.100%
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.75%
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).95%
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.100%
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).45%

I am still working on getting back on track. Still a lot of confusion and stress going on . I will keep on trying.

[Gimmelean]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -.01
7/02/2021. 127.6
7/09/2021. 127.5

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes

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. Choose fruit for dessert. Yes

3.Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.Yes

4.Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).Yes

5.Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).Yes

6.Eliminate any added oil.Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. Yes

8.Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes

9.Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes


10.Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes

Victories, comments, concerns, questions.
I had my annual wellness bloodwork done. Cholesterol is down and I’m very pleased about that, but glucose is slightly up and that really worries me. It’s just over 100 but has never been that high before. Could it be the consistent starch and fruit that’s causing that? I’ve been eating quite a bit of fruit. What is recommended from SS/MWL POV to reduce fasting blood sugar and while I know this is not a forum to seek medical advice, I’m hoping for some general high level suggestions because just a few points higher means pre diabetes. Thank you!

[texaslil]

Weight change +/- in lbs:

-.4lbs
165.4

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
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. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). NO, I made a big pot of lentil curry and put 1 can of coconut milk in it and I have basically been eating that all week.
6. Eliminate any added oil. NO, I had one vegan meal out, compliant except for the oil
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES, I'm riding my bike to yoga these days and loving it. I've also incorporated a bit of swimming at our outdoor local pool

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I'll take the .4 loss! I feel pretty good about my compliance except for the two missteps listed above. What are your thoughts on the can of coconut milk? I love the lentil curry and it's so much better with the coconut milk. I figured that distributed across the 4-5 days of eating the curry, it wouldn't be too bad. I'm proud of myself for no avocado or no tofu. I've also been enjoying broccoli, I've been eating it before my oatmeal and also with the curry, I crave it now. Next week it will just be me in the house and I'm going to try and eat more potato and broccoli meals, which sounds delicious to me!

Love this summer weather! Hope everyone is enjoying the summer vibes. As always, thanks for all of your feedback! Laila

[Drew*#]

Friday Weight change +/- in lbs: -.2 lbs (185.2lbs.)

MWL checklist

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Throughout the week I would preload at times, but the 50/50 mix seems to satisfy me before and after the meal. But I need to be mindful about this. There were a couple days when I got quite hungry without realizing the cues. I ended up without the 50/50 plate in these two instances. But overall things are going well with the 50/50 plan.

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. Choose fruit for dessert. I mostly did so. See above.

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. I need to think about the salt consumption and make plans in the coming week to avoid too much salt. Had some pasta that contained salt. Overall this is not a big issue for me. This coming week however I will be tracking my BP to make sure...

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Done.

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Soy and avocado on one day, but mostly on track.

6. Eliminate any added oil. Had a snack which obviously had added oil. On a positive note, I mostly have meals that had no added oils whatsover! It sure helps keep on track.

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. Can I say crackers? Yes but there is no need... Bought some carrots and am grabbing them all weekend along with plenty of fruit that needs to be consumed!

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Done.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. I Mostly did this...see above.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). My wife and I might go on a hike today. It will be nice if we do. I will continue with an average of 30+ minutes a day in exercise. Had fun kick boxing and doing calisthenics last night.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Having food or a plan to go to each day and each meal helps. I get busy and do not have time except to through an MWL food in the microwave along with veggies. Planning and/or prep is so important. Keeping on track to do well at MWL!

Drew*#

[Mark Cooper]

The window for reporting this week's weigh-in and behavioral results has officially closed.

The remainder of my replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Mark Cooper]

cmcavazos2 - I'm so happy to hear that the weekly reporting serves to help you stay accountable to your goals, Christine! In many ways, vigilance is the progenitor of progress. Carry on, with a vigilant eye toward eliminating any "exceptions" that occur.

squealcat - It is so interesting how messaging that takes our focus away from the recommended behaviors, or challenges our resolve to adhere can leave us sidetracked, Marilyn; Jeff noted the importance of focus, and staying attuned to this particular program, in his discussion of 3 Important Recommendations for Success:

2) Focus

First, on this program

You invested a huge amount of money, time, effort and energy in Dr McDougall, his program and his staff. Trust your decision and the process. For the next 6 months to a year, if you have a question, ask Dr McDougall, Mary, Doug, Alec or me. We are all accessible. If you need a recipe, Mary has about 4000, if you have a question, most of them are answered in the forum or our hot topics. If you need reading material for support, we have a dozen books, 100's of newsletter and articles and videos going back about 30 years. Read the Hot Topics and this website and my forum and the Education material at the website and the FAQ here in my forum. When done, re-read them. If you need, email us, we are all responsive.

It is not that others WFPB Health Professionals are wrong, it is just that there are some slight differences between them all and you are just going to get confused. I would tell you the same thing if you picked one of the others but you are all here and made this choice. And, there are many WFPB "experts" that have little to no clinical and patient experience but you may not be able to know that about them. You are spending this week with a bona fide, licensed, credentialed professional team that each has over 25 years of direct clinical experience helping people. Get the most out of your investment.

Second, on yourself.

Until you have put the time in over the next few months and understood the program and been able to achieve and maintain your own success, keep the focus and attention on yourself. Do not worry about telling your spouse, your parents, your daughter in law, your cousins, your neighbor, your hairdresser, the local school, your church group, the food industry, the USDA, the FDA, the FTC, your doctor, the neighbors kid, etc etc or anyone else about the program or trying to get them to do it. Keep the focus on yourself, understanding and implementing the program and getting yourself well. We are not asking you to become a evangelist or preacher of this way of life or to try and convert anyone. We are only trying to help you take care of yourself.

This is not selfish, this is self nurturing and right now, you need all your focus and attention on you.

Put this week behind you, and aim yourself back "onto the road." Checking in with your MWL 10-Point Checklist journal seems like a great practice for reorienting yourself.

louie3084 - As Jeff noted, rolled oats cooked in water (2 parts water:1 part oats) are completely adherent for the starch portion of a meal within the MWL guidelines. So, by all means cook and enjoy your oats, ideally for MWL with an equal visual volume of fruit (or vegetables). Just don't eat them "dry."

George Ohwell - Down half a pound! Fairly solid week; keep attending to the recommended behaviors, with an eye on those ratios, and I'm sure you'll get things "dialed in."

Zoey - It really can feel like some frustrating nonsense, when real world conditions and measures don't conform to our desired schedule, right? I know it can also feel really unfair when you are doing such an awesome job of sticking to the principles, and the results still don't seem to come easily. I think it is worth noting, though, that those modest losses have been occurring VERY consistently since the start of May; in aggregate, they are not at all inconsequential. From my perspective, far better to diligently adhere to the recommendations, and produce reliable, modest losses, than deviating broadly from week to week and watching the scale bounce up and down 3 or 4 lbs at a time. Stay the course and the outside and inside will only become more and more congruent.

carwex - The scale is heading in the right direction, and feeling satisfied is definitely important, Carol. Totally agree with you about feeling MUCH happier with my way of eating as compared to the calorie rich, processed, oily, salt & sugar laden mess that passes for typical fare. It is great that all those "treats" no longer feel attractive to you, and I think you are also very wise in acknowledging how easily one can fall back into the clutches of the Pleasure Trap. Keep weeding out the remaining non adherent foods where you have the opportunity, stay safe, and enjoy getting out of isolation!

Artista - Awesome that you were able to remotivate yourself quickly and proceed through the week with renewed commitment, Nancy! I think taking wildgoose's advice, and allotting a sufficient amount of time + adherence is a great idea; give those "all 10s" time to deliver results.

VegSeekingFit - Nice progress! I definitely agree that getting the preload and 50/50 volumes in synch with one's appetite takes a bit of time and practice, Stephanie. Remember, if you find yourself comfortably full with a portion of your meal remaining, you can pop it in the fridge - makes a great snack for later. Likewise, if you finish a meal and you're still hungry, you can serve up another 50/50 portion. My utmost thanks to you for making use of the Search function; it is very much appreciated. Thanks, too, for the excellent suggestions for bolstering motivation; two of my favorite success stories / journals are Cloudy Rockwell & George Saunders. Have a fantastic week and enjoy the Farmers Market!

chef16 - Sorry you are experiencing a stressful, confusing time. Do you feel like you made worthwhile progress with the recommended behaviors this week? What sorts of things have you been doing to support yourself in getting back on track? You can do it, Doreen - keep trying and plan & prepare for success by focusing on adherent foods, and getting troublesome options out of your immediate environment.

Gimmelean - Congratulations on an excellent week of adherence, and your cholesterol results! Here is Dr. McDougall's resource page on Diabetes; it includes all his newsletter articles, relevant success stories, videos and independent research. Jeff's thread discussing the Real Cause of T2 Diabetes should also be helpful. Speaking generally, it is always a reliable course to follow the behaviors from the MWL 10-Point Checklist as faithfully and consistently as possible, with special attention to any deviations that may have crept in, as outlined in Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them. If you feel like you have been eating a large volume of fruit (particularly if you find yourself overindulging past the point of being comfortably full), you could certainly take Dr. McDougall advice and try limiting your fruit consumption to two servings per day. Let us know how things go. Wishing you the best!

texaslil - We'll always take progress as it comes, right, Laila? Potatoes and Broccoli is absolutely a favorite for me, too. Nice work eliminating the avocado and tofu! On coconut milk:

We do not recommend the use of coconut milk at all, including the low fat ones (which are really misleading as they are still high fat and high saturated fat). The Thai Kitchen one is 90% fat and 72% fat saturated fat, and that is the “lite” one. The Goya “reduced fat” is 78% fat and about 76% Sat fat and 280 calories per cup. We recommend using one of the approved non-dairy milks (or make your own) and add a few drops of coconut extract.

Avoid it and don't be fooled by all the marketing BS around it.

Coconut milk is liquid calories and very high in saturated fat (~56%).

Coconut oil is 91% saturated fat and about 28% of the 2 worst saturated fats.

Coconut water is liquid calories, 46 calories per cup & is 50% sugar and 8% saturated fat

Of course, for MWL NO plant milks of any kind are recommended. Something I've found that can help make dishes like curry more "creamy" is to stir in a mashed potato or sweet potato. Keep enjoying the summer vibes!

Drew*# - Making moves in the right direction! As you observe, planning and prep is such an important part of the "recipe" for success with this way of eating. Having adherent food stocked, prepared and ready to be microwaved is a great way to make things feel easier. Hope you and your wife get to enjoy a hike; calisthenics are among my very favorite activities. Have fun and be well!

[Mark Cooper]

Please note - I replied to each participant individually in the two lengthy posts linked below, provided that their reports followed the guidelines for weigh-ins.

Mark's Replies for July 9 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for July 9 - Part 2

By my count, 17 participants reported for our second July 2021 MWL weigh-in! If I neglected to include anyone, or you notice an error in the tally, please let me know (via PM so we can keep the thread as tidy as possible, or in a post here if you cannot PM).

Here are the results for the second Friday in July:

Week ending 7/9/2021: 17 participants reported a total change of +1.00 pounds
--------------------------------------------------
Squealcat +5.30
Bunsofaluminum +4.00
GreenFroG +1.60
PonysPlants +0.80
--------------------------------------------------
Total gains: +11.70
--------------------------------------------------
NO CHANGE / MAINTAIN/ STARTING OUT
Chef16 0.00
--------------------------------------------------
Gimmelean -0.10
Drew*# -0.20
Wfpb2020 -0.20
Deweyswakms -0.40
Texaslil -0.40
Zoey -0.40
Carwex -0.50
George Ohwell -0.50
Cmcavazos2 -0.80
Artista -1.40
VegSeekingFit -1.60
Gabby7 -4.20
--------------------------------------------------
Total losses: -10.70
--------------------------------------------------
Cumulative group loss for July 2021 to date: 21.25 pounds
Average change for week ending July 9: +.06 pounds
Cumulative group loss for January 2021: 117.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for February 2021: 39.40 pounds
Cumulative group loss for March 2021: 73.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for April 2021: 48.30 pounds
Cumulative group loss for May 2021: 35.90 pounds
Cumulative group loss for June 2021: 34.10 pounds
--------------------------------------------------

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, July 16, 2021.


Best regards everyone! I know this was not an easy week for many of you, and I know these periods of struggle, challenge and diverted attention can be extremely frustrating. Practicing the MWL recommended pattern of behavior in our current society and prevailing food environment is absolutely not easy or without obstacles. Treat yourself with kindness, remember WHY you want to make these changes, and do your best to move forward with grace and intention. Keep things as simple as you can and don't let the "lust of result" divert you attention away from a dedicated focus on adhering to the recommended pattern of behavior, as best you are able, day in, day out. The result follow the behavior; you must consistently change the latter, to affect the former.

Now seems like an ideal time to draw inspiration through vicarious experience - There were definitely some personal narratives and individual journals that served to inspire and direct my own efforts, and I've written about several of those in months past. Here are three that I found especially compelling, personally (links are to my posts, which include links to the specific success stories):

Cloudy Rockwell

George Sanders

Sue Pratt

I hope these, or other stories of success can inspire your efforts.

As the "Advanced Search" feature was mentioned in our discussions above, here is a basic tutorial explaining how that works:

since we have so many brand new participants, many of you are probably not yet familiar with the search function of the discussion board. If you go to the top right corner of any discussion board page, you will see a box with a search button directly beneath it. You can enter a term or question in the box, click the button, and find previous posts on the topic. Additionally, if you click on "Advanced search" (directly to the right of the search button), you can perform a more detailed search by keywords, specific author username, and search a specific subforum (e.g. Maximum Weight Loss Program). Search can be really useful for finding answers for questions or gaining information. For example, this is an advanced search for keywords "label reading" by author "JeffN" - it delivers a list of Jeff's posts on that topic, starting from the most recent and working backward. You can even search through your own posts by entering your username in the author field. Hopefully, that explanation is helpful; let me know if anything is unclear.

Don't lose heart, don't quit trying, even in the face of adversity. All your hard work will be worth it, to achieve the health and wellness you seek.

Take care & be well, everyone. Have a great week!

[Noella]

Hi Mark, Wildgoose and Jeff,

This is my late posting for July 9th. +/- 0 pounds.
My apologies for not posting within the window last Friday/Saturday. I didn’t actually weigh myself last Friday as I was travelling and didn’t have a scale, so the +/- 0 pounds is a ‘guesstimate.’

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes
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. Choose fruit for dessert. Yes
3.Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.Yes
4.Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).No, there was a little bit of butter and cream that I was unaware of in the porridge.
5.Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).Yes
6.Eliminate any added oil. No, a small amount of oil was used in the preparation of a couple things I chose to eat as there wasn’t anything else offered.
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. No. I chose to eat some whole grain bread as part of my starch, as it was the only thing readily available.
8.Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes, (no wine! Two years ago I would’ve had a glass of wine when I arrived at my daughters after a long day of travelling; .
9.Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes
10. Exercise yes lots of walking!
Our daughter, who lives in Ottawa, gave birth to her third baby (a girl!). As I am now fully vaccinated I immediately took my first flight across Canada since before COVID-19, to meet my first grand daughter, visit my daughter, son-in-law and two grandsons. Last time I saw them all in person was Christmas 2019, and, coincidentally that was exactly when I realized that I needed to lose weight and started eating starch based following Dr. McDougall’s advice for regaining my health and appearance.

I’ve lost a lot of weight since then and I expected my daughter to notice and comment about my weight loss. But she didn’t and as she is a medical doctor, I followed Jeff’s advice and didn’t get involved in any discussions about weight loss and diet. If she noticed that I had lost 86 pounds she didn’t say anything, so I didn’t mention anything either.

I tried to keep to the principles of MWL as much as possible during my visit but I also didn’t want to cause any extra trouble for my daughter and her husband as I was there to help out. In my attempt to fit in I didn’t eat MWL as strictly as I do at home although the habits I have developed with MWL are my preference. On my four hour flight to Ottawa I only accepted water from the flight attendant. So that part went really well. I remembered Dr. McDougall saying something about how we don’t ever need to eat food on a flight; that, yes, we will survive without those little packets of pretzels and cookies, soda pop, etc. I declined these easily.

Breakfasts at my daughter’s house was steel cut oats with fruit…perfect!…or so I thought, until I saw the way they were making it on the third day. They used an instant pot recipe that included butter and cream! I wasn't surprised that parts of every meal included some added oil. I sometimes chose to eat it anyway, to not cause any extra trouble for them, but I prioritized my selections to the starches, and veggies. Fruit was my treat. I did the dishes every day I was visiting and the added oil in was visible and sometimes difficult to clean compared to cooking 100% the MWL way.

I was away for five nights and many of my food choices were MWL compliant. The ones that weren’t MWL compliant weren’t too calorie dense. I continued to eat mostly starch, salads, veggies and fruit.

At one of the airport restaurants, I studied the menu carefully, then ordered a garden salad without dressing and side orders of steamed rice, black beans, salsa, and steamed broccoli. Not bad!! I felt pleased that I found some items that worked! And my selection turned out to be less expensive than the entrees listed on the menu.


It’s often hard to see the gains we are making in our health because they come slowly and almost imperceptibly. It’s not until we are given the opportunity to do something like I just experienced that we get the clarity to see these gains. With this fresh view, here are a few weight-loss related victories that I noticed on this trip, compared to my trip two years ago ( before losing weight!). These lifestyle improvements are directly related to following the Dr. McDougall starch-based diet and MWL:
1. The arthritis at the base of my thumbs is now gone and I could easily pick up and hold my daughter’s baby safely without pain. With her last baby my hands hurt so much! It didn’t feel safe, either, I was afraid my hands couldn’t reliably hold the weight. (Two years ago)
2. Their house has three levels and so many stairs. Two years ago it hurt so much to go up and down all of those stairs, and I took them one at a time. This year I could handle the stairs easily!
3. Ottawa has a lot of level pathways along the canals. Two years ago it hurt so much to walk I couldn’t manage a leisurely family walk with the grandbabies. Now I can!
4. My knees didn’t stiffen up on the four hour flight and I was able to walk long distances through the airports even with the added weight of my carry-on. Such a great improvement. I am so pleased to not be in pain with every step. I saw other people struggling to walk and realized that the Dr. McDougall books, articles and this online forum have completely renewed my life.
5. I can now get up and down easily from the floor to play actively with my grandsons. I’m not a bystander grandparent watching from the sidelines anymore. I’m participating where it’s appropriate to do so!

Feeling very thankful! Also, enjoying life a lot more!
Noella

[Mark Cooper]

Noella - What a great list of positive improvements you've experienced! Seems like you were really able to enjoy the trip, and appreciate the benefits from your lasting changes in behavior.

[Noella]

Thanks, Mark! Yes, following the MWL behaviours has been life changing and it’s such a better life!

[louie3084]

Starting - 59kg
Now - 56.5kg
Loss this week - 2.5kg (5.5lbs). I'm amazed at this loss (no peanut butter is the key I think )!!

Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. (though a couple of meals I was too rushed to do this)
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. Choose fruit for dessert.
Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Eliminate any added oil.
Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).

Victories, comments - amazed that I lost 2.5kgs this week ~ 5lbs!!!

I also liked getting into the two McDougall cookbooks that I have and trying new recipes. I rarely felt hungry and feel great now. I think I could get used to eating this way.

Mark - I liked reading the two stories about the stars who lost weight. Thanks for the inspiration.

[PonysPlants]

Down 2.2 lbs this week! I knew that gain last week wasn’t “real”. Haha! Not to self and everyone else, salt is not your friend.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
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. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES Easy. Vegan for life
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados,) YES
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary. YES

Good week this week. I’ve been really diligent in applying the 10 points as now I’ve only got about 3 pounds to go to dream weight every bit counts. It might sound over the top but any little slip that means a gain or staying the same is the difference between it taking 6 weeks to reach goal or 6 months.

On a really lovely note, I posted my progress on the testimonials page here and Jeff reached out and now I’m actually going to be a star McDougaller! I’ve read everyone’s stories on there multiple times over the years, never ever thought I’d actually be one. It means a lot.

As always, Mark, I couldn’t have done it without your help, encouragement and guidance on here. Thank you!

Hope you’ll forgive my indulgence for posting this pic here, too.



Onwards to next week!

Naomi

[deweyswakms]

Friday July 16, 2021
Good morning to all,
Last week weight: 177.8
This week weight: 177.6
Loss .2, and I don't really count this as a loss.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. No, I don't really eat at set times during the day, but I DO eat salad, soup and fruit each day but can't say I 'start each meal' with them.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals Yes
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. Yes
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods 95% Yes
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products 95% Yes
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry and don't stuff yourself. Yes
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily 95% Yes

Challenges/Successes: Successes this week include settling into a healthy routine of eating MWL foods, feeling comfortably full and not 'tolerating' being too hungry; discovering the 'hungry' feeling often goes away especially after drinking more water. Rediscovered the pleasure of sweet potatoes again. Also successful in more conscious of eating greens with or before every meal. Challenges was staying ALL WEEK at 177.8 lbs. A plateau. Have experienced this before and I know my body will respond again with more weight loss. Jeff N's post about hitting plateaus is very good info. My 74.5 yr old body is slower to react; it can't do #10 guideline every single day BUT I do something every day. I walk 1.5+ mile several days a week and recently started doing the excellent Essentrics stretching routines especially for hips and legs. I also cite 95% compliance on a couple of the guidelines, because I want a food regimen that is for a lifetime; so once in a great while I will have 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds; had quinoa in a mexican skillet meal--it may be a seed but good protein and kept me full for a long time.