The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2022 Group

[Mark Cooper]

I forgot to ask something... I was thinking about what I had planned for lunches this week and wondered if I needed to change it? I made a red-lentil chili with mostly lentils. I was going to have raw veg as a starter and a cooked veg as my 50/50, etc, but should I add potatoes or something to the chili so that it's not 95% beans. I plan on eating it every day this week for lunch.

I would say this is up to you and your taste; I wouldn't think this would be an issue, unless you were eating it everyday for a lengthy stretch of time, since Dr. McDougall's recommendation to limit beans to 1 cup per day is intended to be an average over time. Speaking personally, I make red lentil chili fairly regularly and typically serve it over potatoes or sweet potatoes.

[josietheschnauzer]

"josietheschnauzer - Feeling much better and with no cravings! That sounds like a great place to be, Elsa! I would say 10/10 makes for an excellent reentry! Were there any particular practices or actions that you found to be most helpful for returning to MWL and being able to fully readapt so quickly?"

Dear Mark and all, thank you so much for asking about my quick return to MWL! With the new format, I have been trying to figure out for myself--and writing it down--just why I am so focused and loyal to MWL program. But, why not always? Why do I deviate? Why can't I just stay the course? I don't have the answers, but when I do, I hope to understand my behavior and choices better. But to your question:

The number one factor for my re-adapting to quickly was to go back to the basics and simplify--just exactly what you, Wild Goose, and Jeff teach, teach, and remind us again! In particular, I LOOK at the checklist again and again. And, I realized that I had been skipping number one. I hadn't been starting my meals on a regular basis with soup/and/or salad. I was skipping. Now I am starting with soup and salad. That simple step in a major way has enabled me to say "no" to fat!

Because, I have also realized that my biggest trigger to falling off the program is fat--- fat in french fries, cookies, chips, nuts-- fat is my trigger, AND added fat is bad for us. We know this, I know this. I live by myself and need to take care of my health and brain-- I want to do everything I can, nutrition wise, to avoid a heart attack, stroke, or dementia.

Also, I haven't been around any "tempter friends" lately. Friends who tell me "I am too thin, I need fat in the cold, " Lastly, I have been under alot of stress. I need to fight the stress with something other than food.

Thank you, again. I need this weekly check in. Thank you for your inspiration.
My long term goal is to do something else you recommend, and that is to keep a journal. I will try.

[josietheschnauzer]

Dear Mark,

I believe I need remedial education! For example, I make the delicious red lentil pumpkin soup from the MWL recipe collection. I know that Dr. McDougall recommends one cup of beans/legumes (on average) per day. When I eat beans or legumes, I use them as a substitute for the starch in the 50/50 calculation. I have also used the pumpkin as a starch. Am I out to lunch, so to speak? Am I being too picky?

Thank you, again. Elsa.

[Noella]

Here’s a great McDougall Moment video: https://www.drmcdougall.com/articles/mcdougall-moments/maximum-weight-loss-diet/?utm_source=McDougall+Newsletter+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=604e96dcc8-McDougall+Moments%3A+Maximum+Weight+Loss+Progra&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_96b24b2189-604e96dcc8-93087053&mc_cid=604e96dcc8&mc_eid=a12fb8677c#arve-youtube-1udaytett8k61e5ae8296a4e123589266

It’s straightforward…eat starch! Get healthy!

[Mark Cooper]

josietheschnauzer - Thank you so much for sharing those enlightening thoughts about what has worked for you and the particular obstacles that seem most significant. To answer your question (if I'm understanding it correctly), it would be fine to have lentils or beans serve as the starch component of the 50/50 plate. Likewise, it is also perfectly acceptable to have a mix of starches (rice, beans, potatoes, corn, &c) for half the plate. Dr. McDougall recommends limiting beans to ~1 Cup per day, as an average over time; some days one might eat more, some less (or none). Either way, they are included in the starch component of the meal, and should be balanced with an equal visual volume of non starchy vegetables (or fruit). Pumpkin (and other winter squashes) is low enough in calorie density that, when I'm eating it, I consider it to be part of the non starchy component of my meal.

Can winter squash be the main starch?

No, while they are considered starches, they are too low in calorie density to fill you up and provide satiety. They average under 200 calories per pound.

First, lets look at Calorie Density

Butternut - 182 cal/lb
Hubbard - 136 cal/lb
Pumpkin - 91 cal/lb

And our favorite starch,
Baked Potato - 422 cal/lb

Most “starches” are between 350-650 cal/lb so we can see that those 3 are all low, virtually as low as many foods counted as non-starchy veggies like carrots (158 cal/lb). So just based on calorie density, it would be difficult to “fill up” on these as the main starch.

Now lets look at starch but as a percent of calories, which is the best way to look at this..

Butternut - 26.8%
Hubbard - 8.4%
Pumpkin - 3.2%

Baked Potato - 74.8%

As you can see, the percent starch in these foods is fairly low with some being very low.

Being so low in calorie density and so low in starch, It is hard to see how they would work as the main starch.

Thanks for that great question, Elsa, and thanks again for sharing your perspective on getting back into MWL, I think it is really insightful information for the group.

[BambiS]

1/21

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes
My mother is moving from Florida and staying with me for a while. She brought the best strawberries and oranges, yum, naturally sweet!


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
I batch cooked to be sure I have food prepared in case I get busy helping my mother get settled in her new place.

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. No, I did eat a handful of Chex mix. Normally, it’s not in the house, my mom is staying with me a few weeks.
I’m asking her to keep it in her room, out of site.

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes
I drink water daily, herbal teas, or Teeccino

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 recently upgraded my Fitbit model to the Sense. I strive to get 6000 steps daily. It’s either walking, or riding my Cubii. Shoveled snow!


Victories, comments, concerns, questions

-0, -21 total since 11-7
I find this group, blog extremely helpful. There is a lot of useful tips and guidance here that helps keep me accountable. I truly appreciate it.

[Rebecka22]

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES This continued to be a habit.
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 I tried to mix it up a little, but my go to is a bag of microwave broccoli, cauliflower and carrots mix.
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 I did better this week although I still wanted sugar.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES I am committed to this one so it’s easier for me.
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES I do okay on this with cooking at home, harder when I eat out. So not doing that made it easier.
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES Same as five, I don’t cook with any oil so as long as I stay away from the sweets and restaurants I do okay.
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 I wanted cookies especially when one of my kids tested positive for Covid, but I refrained.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES I avoided this although a previous coping technique would be to get a mocha. Saves me money and health to not do that though.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES I had to remind myself to just eat a few times when I was hungry and it wasn’t my typical time to eat, but I did.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES I do well with this one. I like being fit.

Overall I feel good about this week and my behaviors.

[Aspen8]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
100% compliance this week for lunch and dinner. I'm still working on finding the best way for me to handle breakfast. I can't stand the thought of soup or salad that early in the morning. I eat a hot multigrain cereal into which I put fruit for taste. I could eat half the fruit first, by itself, but then the cereal itself would have less taste.

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! I added a large serving of cooked greens to breakfast in order to get compliant with that meal.

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'm doing very well with sugar but am still struggling with salt. I'm not cooking with it at all but I feel like I'm salting more at the table than I should. I don't have hypertension or a big problem with water retention. I guess I'm unsure about how well I'm doing with this. I know in general Dr. McDougall believes that salt has been scapegoated and a little salt on the surface of foods isn't the end of the world, but I bet I use more salt at the table than he does!

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, except that my husband made dinner one night and used a little cashew butter in it, just forgetting that I'm not eating nuts now. Honest mistake on both our parts.

6. Eliminate any added oil.
100% compliance

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.
This remains the hardest part for me, partly because they're so convenient and partly because I genuinely love breads, pastas, and pretzels. I'm compliant but it's hard.

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.
I'm still struggling to feel satisfied mentally and occasionally eat more than I should (feeling "stuffed") in order to stop wanting "something else". I know that those cravings will go, but they haven't yet.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).Totally back on track with this, walking 30-60 minutes a day.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I think I inadvertently covered this in my answers.

[wildgoose]

Just a thought on salt....

Remember, salting food makes it more palatable (of course!), so we naturally want to eat more. Even if you’re not worried about blood pressure or other issues that can be affected by salt intake, the flavor-enhancing quality of salt is worth thinking about.

I was a salt-aholic! In addition to the salt I undoubtedly got from all the processed foods and takeout meals I used to eat, I was more than liberal with the salt shaker at the table. Plus, I found myself alternating sweet snacks with salty ones. The result: one overstuffed and waddling Goose.

Giving up the salt helped with giving up the sugar (both of which were problematic for me). It’s not necessary to eliminate either if you have no issues and can easily limit your use to a brief sprinkle on the surface of food. However, if you’re struggling with overeating or really fighting cravings, you might consider doing the experiment of going 30 days with no added salt or sugar and just see how you feel.

Goose

[moonlight]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.76% Improved!
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. 93% Improved!
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. 96% Improved!
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). 86% Same as last week but I have changed my evening snack plan.
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).89% Imroved!
6. Eliminate any added oil.93% Same
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.78% Improved! I hope to continue to show improvement here. I feel like I am making progress. I'm not craving crackers and bread as much.
8. Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).89% Improved!
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).Again 5/7 days. My goal is to add 1 more day this week,

I really appreciate this behavior focused approach. Before if I lost weight, I thought my behaviors were good enough to bring my weight down. Now I am focused on the 10 pt. checklist. I still weigh. The number is going down weekly but it's not as important. I feel success when my 10Pt. checklist has improved. It feels like a report card.
Things I did this week that helped improve my behaviors: 1) I started making extra food at lunch and/or dinner and ate that for evening snack. 2) I was better at prepping food for the week. It was so satisfying and relieved stress. I have already begun the process for this next week.
A big bunch of 'THANK YOUs' to Mark, Jeff, and wildgoose. Also, a big thank you to everyone who is participating. I love to read about how others are navigating and solving their issues with learning to incorporate these behaviors.

[squealcat]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. I have been working on this ! Dinner was the tough time but this week was a success. I now am paying attention to the amount I am putting on my plate and have had to decrease the steamed vegetables and starch because I was getting too full.
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. Same as above. Have had to decrease the amount a bit because with the preload, I am not as hungry.
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. No problem. I usually don't use sugar and have decreased the amount of salt.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). I may have had one slice of cheese the beginning of the week. Not sure (oops !
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). OK, my problem area is number 7 this goes along with that. See #7
6. Eliminate any added oil. See #7
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. This is what I will work on until it is figured out and I succeed. My husband likes to make bread ! I like to try it ! Then I cannot stop
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). no problem
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. I remember over-stuffing myself once but maybe that was last week. Usually I feel comfortable with just the right amount of fullness in my tummy.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I walked almost every day and am doing Essentrics stretches for 30 minutes almost every day. I am fine with these amounts and feel like this is automatic for me. I feel guilty if I don't get activity in.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:Like I said up above, I am now working on #7. Those high calorie dense foods are getting to me and I am up for the challenge. I know that once I say "yes" to things like that it feels impossible to say no later and I just keep going. When I conquer this one , I will work on the others but really, if I don't eat those calorie dense foods, I probably won't have the higher calorie plant food ! Those two things go hand in hand with me .

-squealcat (Marilyn)

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - Another pretty solid week! I'm a little envious of those fresh strawberries and oranges. Good idea to have your mother keep the Chex mix in her room; I imagine that will definitely help. I'm happy to hear the group feels valuable to you. Keep at it!

Rebecka22 - Woo-hoo! 10/10! Definitely a week to "feel good about"! That "California blend" of vegetables is my go to, as well. Carry on sticking to the recommendations, and those lingering cravings will eventually subside. You can do it; you are getting into a good groove!

Aspen8 - Great progress this week! Here is a thoughtful comment from wildgoose regarding salt. Speaking for myself, salt was never much of an issue for me (sweet, on the other hand definitely was). I don't consume any added salt at present, but that is only because I'm quite satisfied with my food without adding it. In the past I have added a sprinkle of salt at the table; I would measure out 1/2 tsp into a little pinch bowl each morning, and just grab pinches from there to season my food - that way I always knew I wasn't exceeding an amount with which I felt comfortable. Also, just to clarify, whole grain pasta is an acceptable starch option within the guidelines, provided it is paired with an ample volume of non starchy vegetables, and taking into account the caveats Jeff mentions below.

Also, as you may know, for most people, I highly recommend the MWL program for many reasons. One is that it excludes all these processed products.

The only exception that I allow is whole grain pasta. The reason is two fold

1) while it is processed, the calorie density of the final product is the same as intact whole grains because the pasta absorbs so much water during the cooking process.

2) Part of the concern with all the other ground whole grain products is their calorie density and their absorption rate. The disruption of the fiber can also make these foods less satiating which can pose a problem for those trying to manage their weight. However, the lower calorie density of pasta (and the calorie density recommendation to always consume it with a 50% ratio of non-starchy veggies), slows down the absorption rates and helps to increase the bulk, fiber and satiety. However, there still may be occasions while someone is recovering their health or trying to manage their weight where they may need to also cut out the whole grain pasta.

Remember, I also recommended that people follow the 50/50 plate so if pasta is your starch, make sure you include lots of non-starchy vegetables.

Some say they overeat on it and if you find that to be true for you, then just leave it out

moonlight - Quite a lot of improvement! Several of those points are getting pretty close to 100%; maybe you'll get there in the days to come, right? Food prep delivers again. Really great idea to prepare an evening snack while you are making lunch/dinner. It's great to hear that the cravings are starting to lessen. Onward!

squealcat - Definite progress from your last self-assessment, Marilyn! Interestingly, bread/flour products were the most cited Pleasure Trap trigger food in the poll Jeff wrote about in this thread.

As Dr Lisle said,

"Truth is, we simply drift to soft, easy to eat, salted, high calorie foods."

I know that once I say "yes" to things like that it feels impossible to say no later and I just keep going. When I conquer this one , I will work on the others but really, if I don't eat those calorie dense foods, I probably won't have the higher calorie plant food ! Those two things go hand in hand with me .

Two really important and insightful points that you make here; particularly with trigger foods, a little can lead to A LOT, including other related calorie rich foods. Passing those "treats" by really feels tough at first, but keep reaching for the recommended foods whenever you feel hungry, and they will start to feel less compelling. Cheers to you for being up for the challenge!

[frowsyowl]

Happy Friday!

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. 7/7 Had options ready--raw vegetables, fruit, vegetable soup (froze half recipe from the first week. This is getting easier to remember to do. I go through a mental checklist when I pull things out of the fridge or pack my lunch.

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. 7/7 Used frozen vegetables mostly. Earlier in the week, made cooked cabbage too. Breakfast is currently working with doubling the fruit in my oatmeal or having left=overs from dinner.

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. 5/7 Had a little trouble getting on track last weekend, and then held my ground until someone gave me candy two days in a row. 1st day, I put it in the break room. 2nd day I caved. I don't want to discuss my eating habits with this person, so I need to toss it or deliver to the break room. He hadn't been around for a long time, hoping this is just temporary. I think it gave me a headache.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). 7/7 This is easier to achieve if not trying to eat out...and also if I read labels before I eat something I wouldn't suspect.

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). 5/7 I chose to make a regular McDougall recipe for gravy early in the week that had a small portion of tahini in it..."for my husband" (I use this excuse at the grocery store sometimes too!)

6. Eliminate any added oil. 6/7 Something I ate Saturday...can't remember now what it was. Was a bit "wobbly" about my commitment that day, but pulled it together.

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. 5/7 Same reasons as above...Now that I'm thinking about it, I think I got into my husband's banana bread. My mindset has improved over the course of the week. Last night, I wanted to eat stuff after dinner, but made myself some potatoes.

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). 7/7 As long as I'm off of coffee and not eating out, this doesn't tend to be a problem. I'm also avoiding buying soymilk "for recipes" because it always creeps into my plan more and more--and I can make too many yummy things with it. I also tossed the cocoa powder for this reason. I was adding it to my oatmeal last week, and early this week, but it was too much of a treat; a gateway to sugar and nuts.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. 5/7 For the most part I'm noticing when to stop, but sometimes I keep going anyway. I only had one day where I was starving in the late afternoon with nothing to have--my appetite surprised me that day. Other days, I packed up my breakfast if I wasn't able to finish it and had it late in the day or brought a little extra. I'm trying to not let the wide differences in what I eat each day bother me. I 'know' this is normal, but it's also a pain to plan for.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). 3/7 My internal audience still thinks this is a "win". Saturday, I made myself do an indoor walking video. I used to really like them, but I talked myself into doing it by agreeing that I could just do 10 minutes and stop if I wanted. The other two days I did a 3 mile walk outside...I figured, that's about 6,000 steps and with what I should be getting just during the day it would be about 10K (not so, I'm more sedentary at work than I remembered). But I did three miles--twice! Total of two hours of exercise this week.

Victories/Challenges, etc...I'm pretty proud of the progress I made this week. I've already started to plan for next. I'm going to try a vegetable dip for my pre-load with raw vegetables. I have some of the soup left from this week, so if I make soup it will be later this week--I'm a little "souped-out" since I had soup for lunch and preload later in the day. I have a lot of the red lentil chili left that I will use for a couple dinners this week and have two or three other options to have that we already have ingredients for. Will have the Indian Curry SNAP for my lunch and will roast some potatoes for snacks, that seemed to work well as a replacement this week for all the bread and crackers that I usually want to eat.

I should be able to improve on the exercise again. Looking ahead at the weather this week, it won't be unreasonable to be outside. I'm going to aim for walking right after work while it's still light out and warmer than morning.

This all must be really sinking in because I dreamt that this thread was meeting in person and I made sure to be there early. Problem was, we met at a restaurant

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

Hope that everyone is having a great week!!! It continues to be cold in Chicagoland!!! Seems like a super long January!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
I did preload 18/21 meals.
* I have made Jeff's Longevity Soup (loving this, made a bigger pot!!!) and continued to eat finger food salad and roasted veggies...
*I do target 100% here. I am planning not to miss any for next week. I have all of the starters readily available to grab.

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.
19/21 were 50/50.
* Key for me is planning, shopping, preparation to make starch, veggies, fruit easy to grab and incorporate into any meal.
* Finished week 4 of eating oatmeal for breakfast... (and I still do love it!!!) -- Since this is now implemented, I will drop the comment next week...
* Have roasted and zapped many potatoes, made oven fries, made a few pots of brown rice.
* I made a few pots of soup / chili / beans this week - Split Pea Soup (a couple of times - is my favorite!), Creamy Beany (from this web-site), Red lentil chili.


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, of course.

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
4/7 Days Compliant....
* I have DECIDED to STOP snacking on husband's nuts and pretzels. These are not foods for me. I am sick of struggling and am just going to STOP eating these items.
* If I am tempted by these food items, I will eat: finger food salad, frozen fruit, and either soup or rice or potatoes from refrigerator. These are all ready to grab.
* I still have my other action items noted, but I think that I will get there with this plan. Obviously, goal is 100% compliance.

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.
Compliant 4/7 days
See #5 above. Comments are same.

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.
I try to be mindful of this guideline. I do really well all day except as it may relate to my non-compliance on #5 and #7 (which happens during the witching hour, after dinner).


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, 7/7 days.
* Walked outside 7 days !!! (Really wrapped up in fleece on many of those days!!! )
* Met goal of averaging 8K steps / week (still Pacing with a Purpose...)
* Will be focusing on continuing indoor exercise (when outside is infeasible), stepping at least 8K average / day, making friends with stationary bike.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Comment: My Behavioral Assessment is materially the same as last week. One key difference is that at the end of the week, I was able to achieve 100% compliance over 4 consecutive days (including 1,2,5, 7, and 9). This has led to FINALLY moving the scale down a one pound notch. Not planning to log here each week scale ups and downs ... BUT this was the hardest won pound that I have lost so far... I feel like a good trajectory to keep going.

Thank you to Mark, Jeff, WildGoose and also everyone who is participating in this group !!!

Hope that everyone has a great McD week!!!

Best,
Stephanie

[thatsright75]

Happy Friday, everyone! I feel so empowered and in control since I started with this group three weeks ago. It also helps that I have had good success in the weight loss area. I am worried about how I will do when I am not eating at home or once the weight loss plateaus. But for now, I couldn't be happier with what I've accomplished, and I see this as being the solution to my constant weight fluctuations and dieting. Even when I thought I was being "perfect" at plant-based eating before, I wasn't able to realize the success that I'm having now. There is something magical about these guidelines. So here's how this week went...
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. I've done great with this. The key for me has been having two different soups on hand and a salad already cut up and ready to eat in the fridge. Also, plenty of fruit on the counter to start a meal, end a meal, or control a craving.
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. Again, food prep here is key for me. I always have steel cut oats, baked potatoes, and brown rice cooked and available in my fridge or freezer. My theory on food prep is, "It's better to let food go to waste than to not have anything healthy ready to go when I get hungry." Frozen vegetables are my lifesaver. So much frozen broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, string beans, etc. in my freezer that saves me every time. Is it a problem if I get full on soup and don't make it to the 50/50 plate from time to time?
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 am fabulous at the sugar elimination. I absolutely admit that I'm addicted to salt. To this point, salt has not been a factor in me overeating. Portions haven't been difficult to control. However, I like the suggestion I just read about measuring out salt in the morning, and grabbing a pinch as needed throughout the day to control salt intake.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). No problem at all with this.
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). I've completely avoided all of these since I started with this group.
6. Eliminate any added oil. I've been perfect at avoiding all 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. This used to be a problem area for me, but once I watched Jeff's video about calorie density, I've been totally on board with steering clear of all of this stuff. It has helped me to avoid much of the junk food that used to derail my progress. I do greatly miss bread and tortillas. Maybe someday I will be able to have one as a treat from time to time.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). I've always loved only water. I used to eat muesli or a green smoothie for breakfast. But since I don't eat nuts, seeds, or dried fruit anymore, I don't need almond milk to eat on my muesli. And now I don't process my greens in the blender, so I'm not drinking any calories anymore.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. So I do have a little question about this. Sometimes I get quite hungry because I don't want to take the time to put together something healthy to eat. I wouldn't say I'm starving myself. But it's more that I'm just not hungry enough to put together another meal. At times like this, I'll usually just wait until my next mealtime. Is this considered starving myself? I guess sometimes I do warm up a small bowl of soup to satisfy me until the next meal. Maybe that's the correct solution.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I did HIIT on my elliptical 5 days this week, which is a great success for me. I have trouble getting motivated to work out every day. Life is busy with six kids.
Definitely a solid week for me. I'm getting the routine down and figuring out the foods to have available to make the execution of the eating plan easier. I'm feeling really good and having great ability to turn down everything that doesn't fit my eating plan. The scale was kind again this week, down 2 more pounds for a total of 10 pounds lost since the first of the year. Thanks, all, for your support. "It's the food, it's the food, it's the food!" I'm realizing just how important every small food choice is in the overall success I am seeing. Onward, to another successful week!
-Kali