Hi Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose and everyone participating on
the behavioural path to MWL success forum,
Nov. 18th-25
1. Start each meal with soup and/or salad and fruit.
Yes, almost always, although I missed doing this at 1 out of 21 meals this week. It was a special Christmas event at a conference, and there were no soup, salad or fruit options available, and I hadn't thought to bring anything with me. 2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
Yes... I ALWAYS balance the starchy with the non-starchy when I'm home and serving myself. This was much trickier at the Christmas buffet when someone else was serving. I asked for lots of veggies, and the person served me two scoops of potatoes, which was great, but only a small spoonful of mixed veg and one Brussels sprout - not quite how I would have served it if I could have done it myself! 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 stop them.
Sugar: Yes...I NEVER add sugar while cooking or at the table; I almost ALWAYS use a reduced amount of salt, which is a bit of a problem for me. Salty food tastes so good to me it often makes me want to eat more than I need to...this is an area I'm still learning more about myself. I am trying to keep my salt level down at a reasonable level so that I don't have to eliminate salt from my food entirely. 4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes...I RARELY eat dairy, meat, seafood or eggs -- but I did eat some of these at the Christmas dinner today. 5. Eliminate all higher-fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes... I did fine this week. I seldom eat these, and I am only tempted occasionally. They usually don't appeal to me, so it's easy.6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes...NEVER use oil when cooking at home; the exception was today, at lunch, I had some at a Christmas party. 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, except for some stuffing at the Christmas luncheon.8. Don’t drink calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes...Usually, NEVER, but I had some sparkling apple juice instead of champagne at the Christmas party. I had to join in socially by clinking the glasses for the toast, but then I went ahead and drank the whole glass of juice and, even worse, had another. It tasted very sweet ( I haven't had juice in two years!), and I didn't even enjoy it, so why did I drink it? It doesn't make any rational sense, but I think some social situations make me weirdly nervous, and I overeat/drink. It suddenly becomes hard for me to be around so much non-compliant food and beverages -- this is an area I need to do more self-analysis and pre-planning for ways to succeed.9. Follow these principles, eat whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't
starve yourself, and don't
stuff yourself.
Yes. Trying. I could do a bit better on this. I have a hearty appetite sometimes, and when I take more food than I need, I always seem to finish everything on my plate. This principle guideline has been hard for me this week - 'enough' doesn't seem like enough this week, and I need to get back to being satisfied without 'stuffing.' I did overeat at the Christmas party. I feel I let myself down. 10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, trying...It has been a bit too cold lately, with some arctic air bringing temperatures to 0 degrees F ( -18 degrees Celsius), but it's the time of year to head out on the nordic ski trails, and I will when the weather warms up a bit. It's not worth taking the chance of getting frostbite. We have two three-day ski trips booked for early December ( one in BC and one in Quebec), so we hope for perfect winter weather - sunny skies and temperatures just below freezing. **Nov. 30th additional comment about last week: It is interesting to note that I have been in physical pain since I reported some off-plan eating at the Christmas lunch last Friday. My knees, which have been pain-free for many months, had pain immediately after I had eaten those non-MWL foods and beverages at the Christmas luncheon!!! I've been in pain ever since (four days and still no relief). I can't think of any other cause for this arthritic flare other than dietary. It wasn't worth leaving the b
behavioural path to MWL success, and I don't know how long it will take for my knees to feel happy again. I am learning from my mistakes and am back on track to following the MWL guidelines 100%.
This quote inspires me:
“Day by day, you’ll be making your best effort at creating better health. And day by day, you’ll find yourself looking better, weighing less, and feeling more energy and confidence. It doesn’t happen without effort. But that’s what makes it great. You earn the right to be healthier, happier, more vital, beautiful, and alive. Enjoy it. You deserve to look and feel great.”
― John A. McDougall, The Mcdougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss
Happy Thanksgiving and wishing everyone the best of health and happiness,
Noella