December 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[carwex]

Hi Mark and MWL’s,
I returned to MWL last week and am glad to see Mark back this week. Best wishes for a speedy recovery from your flare-up.
I have gained a bit of weight since leaving 3 months ago after a successful period with the MWL starting in April 2020.
I have returned to some foods and food behaviours which need more monitoring. So here I am ready to fess up and use whatever support is available. This program has always been helpful.
Weight last week 138 pounds.
Weight today: 136.
Goal weight: 130.
I like the pared down principles, so here goes:
1. Start each meal with a soup or salad. I have soup ready 90% of the time/if not a salad
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method, ½ starch and ½ vegetables. yes
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and salts. Reduced yes, eliminated no
4. Eliminate all animal foods.yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. Miso and tofu are still part of some soup during the week
6. Eliminate any added oil. yes
7. Eliminate all higher calorie dense foods. No nuts/ no bread, no tahini
8. Don’t drink your calories. yes but I do drink tea with plant milk during the day
9. Follow these principles whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Yes. If I’m hungry between meals, I take an additional small meal rather than a snack.
10. Avoid being sedentary. Yes, but not enough

My life has changed since leaving the program because a 15 year old grandson now lives with us during the week. He is skinny and growing and I feel the necessity to ”feed” him which can lead to my tasting some of the foods I prepare for him which have non-compliant ingredients. Hard to stop tasting. Any advice on this forum anyone?
Nice to see names I recognise from my earlier period. That’s perseverance.
Love your shares.Reading about keeping a food log gave me a new idea. Thanks.
Carol

[josietheschnauzer]

Thank you, Mark, Jeff, and Wild Goose. December is flying by.
Weight Loss: -1.4 lbs.
1. Start each meal with soup/salad/fruit: Yes. Some meals I start with soup and salad.
2. Follow 50/50 plate method for meals: Yes.
3. Reduce or eliminate added sugars and salts: Yes. Minimal amount of soy sauce with vegetable sushi & Chinese food.
4. No animal foods: Yes.
5. No higher fat plant foods (nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy): Yes.
6. No added oil: Yes.
7. No higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit: Yes.
8. Don't drink calories: Yes.
9. Follow principles, eat when hungry & until comfortably full. Don't starve and don't stuff: Yes. Much, much better this week.
10. Avoid being sedentary. Exercise at least 30 minutes daily: Yes. Minimal of 5 miles daily. Continuing on virtual runs-- almost at the bottom of South America, Argentina, with my group and in Oklahoma on my solo Route 66 trip!
Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I have finally lost the small amount I gained on my trip. I am finally not stuffing myself. I think/hope I am getting acclimated to the cold! This is my DANGER period: winter cold and holiday cravings which result in major pleasure traps. I made it through November and December is half way gone. My long term goal is to get through March. Now I am day by day during December. I thank Wild Goose (I think) for posting the difference in taste between baked and microwave sweet potatoes! Major game changer for me. I thought there was something off with my sweet potatoes (I was microwaving them). I roasted a bunch in the oven and used one for dessert! Great sweet consolation. And a terrific bonus because I doubled my greens to keep the 50/50 ratio going. I was comfortably full and my sweet craving was satisfied. I am also using apples as my fruit. There are so many different kinds in the market this winter. They have been another life saver. I have also added beets as a snack and to some of my meals. My goodness, all for now, just realized that our next posting will be on Christmas Day! Thank you all again.

[Veganjo]

Weight change +/- .2 LOSS


1. Start each meal with a soup or salad. Sometimes the soup or salad is my meal!
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method, ½ starch and ½ vegetables. usually
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and salts. Reduced yes
4. Eliminate all animal foods.yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. yes
6. Eliminate any added oil. yes
7. Eliminate all higher calorie dense foods. yes
8. Don’t drink your calories. yes
9. Follow these principles whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. I usally eat between 11 am - 6 pm.
10. Avoid being sedentary. Yes, Exercise two times a week, and we walk every day, sometimes 2-3 times a day!

Victories, Comments, Conerns: My weight is going down little by little. I know I can do this because I did once before! Christmas might be a little troubling. But, I am making vegan lasagne!

[squealcat]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -4 pounds

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes ! did this all 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. 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. happy to say that I did this all week except for a handful of crackers
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). did my usual 3 mile walks for 5 days and I am still happy with that. I also do resistance exercises and stretches

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I have to say welcome back Mark ! We all missed you ! I always enjoy Wild Goose's comments and advice and so appreciated her help the last two weeks.

This week has been my very best week this time around. I gained a pound last week and totally made up for it this week. I needed to see what good adherence looked and felt like. Yesterday I was thinking that lately food is not what I think about all the time. Having a stable breakfast and lunch plan has really helped so I don't have to think and having a changing dinner keeps me interested enough to keep on going. I have foods I can eat all the time but I like to try new things too....so it seems to be working for me this way.
Since I "got serious" the beginning of November I have lost 10 pounds. It is not the weight that makes me happy but how I feel body-wise and mind-wise. Getting healthier is my goal.
I want to thank WIld Goose for her advice on getting veggies in and the 50/50 plate method. I followed her advice and bought frozen vegetables that I like and cooked them up each day so I didn't have an excuse.
I continue to use my habit tracker after each meal and am still having fun growing my sprouts and microgreens. My new crop of arugula turned out great this week !

Look forward to being here next week . Have a great week everyone !
-squealcat (Marilyn)

[jkcook]

+2 too much celebrating and eating out. Next week will be interesting. Birthday and Christmas.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. 75%
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. 75%
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. 95%
4. Eliminate all animal foods. 90% avoiding salmon sushi is impossible
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. 85% Chipotle chips and guacamole twice
6. Eliminate any added oil. 90%
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods. 85%
8. Don't drink your calories. 100% - see below
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. 95%
10. Avoid being sedentary — Daily. Walked to shopping and other errands. Happy dog. Now of to watching birds along the river.

[CindyD]

Dec 11, 2020 155.9
Dec 18, 2020 154.1
RESULT: -1.8

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
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 (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). 98% due to the 3 walnut halves and one half of a pecan which had fallen off a decadent something-or-other at the office.
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products 98% - 3 pretzel thins (also at the office)
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. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

Happy to report the very modest portion of nuts and pretzel thins did not lead to further problems. In fact, I am finding steamed broccoli, cauliflower AND brussel sprouts to be quite fragrant and sweet recently. And my dogs like all three too, yay!

Mark, so nice to see you! A very warm welcome back to you. Thank you for your update, and I hope you continue to feel better in the coming weeks and months. Happy December to everyone. I don't think any of us will be sad to see this dreadful year finally end!

[NancyNancyR]

Weight change December 18, + 2.0 lbs.
Total December, - 6.2 lbs.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
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.
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.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
6. Eliminate any added 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.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Well, I gained a bit this week. I started each day with the best of intentions, but devolved as the day went on.
I hate to make excuses so I won’t, it happened, I didn’t have a perfect week but I will continue to try harder each day. I feel pretty good and though I want to lose weight each week I will also take just feeling good and still fitting into last year’s jeans.
Mark, glad to see you are back, I think everyone was worried about you. Thanks to Goose for jumping in to take care of us for a bit.

[AnneG]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -3 lbs

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 - with the exception of 2 TB ground flax daily for dry eyes
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. mostly - I had pizza (crust and vegetables, I don't do the vegan cheese) this week
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:
This week had a wrench thrown into it when I was sent home from work to quarantine because of direct and prolonged exposure to someone who tested positive for COVID. I am so thankful I have been eating healthfully for the past several weeks so the positive effects of good nutrition were in full force in my body's defense mechanism. I am also thankful for batch cooking so I have not had to spend time in the kitchen. My test came back negative last night so I am out of the quarantine room and with the rest of the family again - and I am officially on break now until Jan. 4, so there is cause for rejoicing!
As far as food and drink, the week went well. I stuck to my eating plan with the exception of coming home one evening to find my husband had ordered pizza for us, which I did eat. The dough from that is the only thing I had this week that was noncompliant. Again, having a food plan and batch cooking is crucial for me. I have also been drinking herbal teas to combat the chilly weather.

[Rebecka22]

179.8 Weight change +/- in lbs: -5.6 pounds

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, but still have work to do here.
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 kept re-weighing myself this morning to see if the number was right! Big change from last week. I am proud of a couple decisions. I had two different occasions where everyone was getting special drinks and not only did I refrain, but I didn’t feel like I was missing out. I also changed two recipes that call for cashews and used cauliflower instead and not only did they come out, but my kids didn’t even notice. I’m just really trying to stay strong through the holidays this week.

Mark, I am glad you are okay and appreciate your willingness to share your journey and your time with us! Hope you have a speedy recovery!

[Tian-De]

Hi Mark and the MWL team,

Good to see you again. The sleep experiment I told you about was largely successful but had some unintended consequences on the scale. (Details below)

Weight change +/- in lbs:
Dec. 1st: 168.8 lb
Last Friday: 171.3 lbs (Highest after no restrictions for 4 months)
Today: 166.2 -5.1lbs (Being aware of 10 guidelines this week)

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. 70%. Breakfast & Lunch, Yes, most of the time. Dinner, No.
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. 80%. Breakfast & Lunch, Consistently Yes. Dinner, Mostly No.
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. 90%. Mostly, Yes. Kimchi was pretty salty.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). 95%. Ate Kimchi regularly, some powdered anchovy inside.
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). 95%. Mostly yes. Soymilk twice
6. Eliminate any added oil. 98%
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. 66%. Dinners and afternoon snacks are harder to control in this regard, but getting better.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). 95%. Much better at drinking lots of water.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. 70% Starving, no. Stuffing is pretty common at night.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). 20% Jog in the house ones, cleared the snow. Otherwise pretty sedentary due to busy work schedule

Victories: It took four months of unrestricted plant based meals to get from 170 to 154. And after four months I got right back to wear I started. This may seem like a loss, but I feel like I've learned a lot in the process and it's even easier to see how cummulative choices build on each other. Overall, I feel very happy about this learning experience.
Comments: During the unrestricted time, I "thought" I was doing starched based eating, but when I look at it objectively after being strict again, I probably was eating oil every night and ate a lot of flour products. It's interesting how easy it is to be unaware of these thing.
Concerns: Discovered that I have a major cram circuit going on at night between 6:00 and 8:00. I'm not able to change the circuit easily, but I'm finding that making a big rice and veggie dish in the Instant Pot makes it easier to cram responsibly.
Questions: How are you doing Mark? I'm sorry to hear you were in the hospital. Are you alright?

[Mark Cooper]

Expat in NZ - Nice loss, no bloat and a new low, Lindsey! I love seeing all those 100%s! It seems like you had a great week. Cheers to starting 2021 lighter and healthier!

Noella - I want to sincerely thank you for your very kind words, thoughts, and loving concern. The suddenness of my illness worries me too; I'm working with my doctors to do everything I can to prevent a recurrence in the future (it was a scary experience, for sure).

PonysPlants - Kudos, Naomi! Your week looks good to me, and I think it is especially important that you feel OK with how things went; that seems like a sign that you have a good grasp of how to make everything work within the context of whatever constraints you might be facing on any given day. Being "OK" with ourselves is a big piece of the puzzle, right? Wishing you headache free days in the week ahead. Thank you for your kind words.

carwex - Nice progress, Carol; setbacks are normal and to be expected, especially during a period of time when we're attending less closely to our pattern of behavior. Keep practicing and refining your routine and choices, particularly in those areas where you have the opportunity to more toward closer adherence to the guidelines. It makes sense that your grandson might require more calorie density in his meals; if he is a around and willing, would it work to just have him taste the foods during preparation, so as to avoid flirting with the Pleasure Trap? I highly recommend keeping a journal or food diary; I found it to be a very valuable part of my own process, during the weight loss phase.

josietheschnauzer - Congratulations on banishing the final remnants of weight from your travels; it is great that you're feeling more comfortable and in touch with your hunger signals! I have a tough time with the cold weather, as well. Taking things day by day (or meal by meal, or choice by choice) seems like a useful framework for navigating a "danger period;" it helps me to just focus on making the "next right choice." Enjoy the oven baked sweet potatoes and apples; both are favorites of mine.

Veganjo - Looks like a week of solid adherence! As you say, you know very well you can do this, having succeeded in the past. Would it help to think through solutions for those potential Christmas troubles in advance? Vegan lasagna sounds delicious; does the recipe for that satisfy the MWL guidelines, or will you have to make some substitutions?

squealcat - Congratulations on that dramatic result from the scale and on having your "very best week!" Having that frame of reference for what strict adherence looks and feels like seems extremely valuable. Feeling great in your mind, body and with respect to your health seems like the very best goal you could pursue. That habit tracker definitely seems to be serving you well; enjoy your yummy new crop of greens! Thank you for your kind regards, I missed all of you, too.

CindyD - Nice loss! I'm glad to hear those two modest deviations didn't contribute to further challenges this week. It is really remarkable how delicious smelling and tasting plain steamed vegetables can be when our palate has adjusted to this WOE, right? Thanks so much for the warm welcome back!

NancyNancyR - Hang in there! You are right that even when a week is less than "perfect," the important thing is to learn from the challenges that present themselves; by learning and growing with each setback, we can create an "upward spiral" that will ultimately make lapses more infrequent and much less troublesome. Feeling good is important, for sure. Sorry to have worried anyone with my sudden disappearance, but of course it is lovely to know so many people care about me and my well-being. Onward (wearing last year's jeans)!

AnneG - Encouraging feedback from the scale! Sorry you were faced with that brush against COVID, I imagine that was a scary experience; cheers for your health-supporting choices and the negative test result! I could not agree more that having a plan and being prepared is crucial for lasting success. Stay warm!

Rebecka22 - Wow! Big drop this week! Being able to answer YES to all those points from the checklist had a big payoff for you. I think it is awesome that you were comfortable socializing in a way that served your goals, without feeling as though you "missed out" on anything. Great work adjusting those recipes - cauliflower for the win! Thank you so much for the well wishes.

Tian-De - The greater attention and awareness you brought to the MWL 10-Point Checklist this week is already being reflected on your scale; it seems to me that your decision to address the CRAM circuit by making a point of eating adherent foods when you feel that urge is sensible, 天德, and in line with Jeff's statement below.

You don’t have to figure it out or work out it. Only follow the guidelines. When hungry (regardless of whether you may think it is true hunger, appetite, or something else) just eat. Eat of the recommended foods as outlined in the 10 point checklist.

Over time, it will work itself out.

Continue to bring closer attention to those recommendations where you have the chance to adhere more closely, so you can support continued progress. Maybe taking some time to plan adherent snacks and dinners well in advance would make the latter half of the day less of a challenge? I'm feeling much better and very much back to "myself," thank you for asking.

[cmcavazos]

December 18
Weight change -- +.8#

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. No -- 5/7
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.No --5/7
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. No --5/7
4. Eliminate all animal foods. Yes -- 7/7
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. No -- 5/7
6. Eliminate any added oil. No -- 5/7
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods. No -- 5/7
8. Don't drink your calories. Yes -- 7/7
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. No -- 5/7
10. Avoid being sedentary. No -- 4/7

Victories -- None this week
Comments -- I had two off days this week and my weight gain reflects that. One day my eating spree was kicked off by a workplace Christmas celebration. And then I didn't get back on track the following day. I physically didn't feel well with the junk that I had eaten. Today I was back on plan.


Hoping for a better next week.

[lmggallagher]

SW: 241.9 lbs.
GW: 150.0 lbs.

Last Weigh in: 215.4 lbs.
This Week: 214.0 lbs.

Weight change +/- in lbs:
Lost:1.4 lbs.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
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.
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.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
6. Eliminate any added 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.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

This is my first week using the exact list Mark posted. All week I thought, except for exercise, I was doing the very best I could. However, he has listed some specific foods to avoid in his list and yikes - dry cereal!!! Until the fires here in California I'd never been a dry cereal eater. I always have oatmeal and fruit for breakfast. But it was easier to have Cheerios in my go box when I was on the run from the air pollution this summer and fall. I immediately went back to oatmeal when home but this very week - being pretty busy Christmas-wise - I decided dry cereal was the fastest breakfast I could do. I didn't even ponder it's compliance. but wouldn't you know there it is -- well, I still have a middling weight-loss and yet again learned something

Note to Mark: Indeed wildgoose has done an excellent job of filling in during your absence - but my gosh what a shock to find out you were in the hospital. It must have been so frightening to go through that - I'm really in stupor from reading your brief account. Particularly, since I'd just read through your journal to see how you applied your list so rigorously and on a daily basis! Not just the food but all the exercise you do - no one I can think of (or imagine) is making such a stunning degree of effort to optimize their health. And you are right back to it - amazing. We are so thankful to have you back from all that and thankful to wildgoose for sharing her wisdom and efforts in your absence. Be well Mark and stay well too!!!

[Noella]

Hi Mark, Wildgoose, and Jeff,

+/ - zero (0) pounds

Current weight :162 pounds
Goal: 140 pounds
Starting weight 240 pounds


1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES ...I don’t have any problems following this step.
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 find this to be a great way to serve meals.
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 have eliminated sugar and I’m definitely trying my best to reduce salt. This past week I seemed to always want just a bit more salt. And this led me to have second and third helpings with yet another sprinkle of salt on each serving. I often use an herb and salt blend so I know that is helpful at reducing salt intake. However, while the salty snacks like chips, roasted nuts, tortilla chips, etc. that are in my husband’s snack cupboard haven’t tempted me at all over the past eleven months, this week I suddenly found myself looking in his cupboard. I’m craving salt. I might have to eliminate salt completely for a while to settle this craving.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES ... I’m not interested in eating animal foods any more.
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES...I usually have no problem with this guideline but yesterday and today I had a really hard time resisting the salted roasted nuts. I ate a couple nuts yesterday and then, today, I ate a whole handful. I’m not interested in the raw (unsalted) nuts we keep in our fridge (several types) so I am guessing it’s actually the salt on the roasted nuts that is attracting me. I have discussed this with my husband and asked him to help me out by hiding these away.
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES... I prefer no added 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, MOSTLY...I had some rye bread with my soup
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES, MOSTLY Except one glass of wine last weekend. Again, my husband wants me to be ‘fun’ and have a glass of wine with him once in a while. He doesn’t see the harm in it if it’s only twice a year. Today we discussed this and I explained that I would prefer to drink water. This is tricky because we only have wine on special occasions, and never more than a few times in a whole year. It’s a social pressure from with my husband. He understands how serious I am about getting healthy, he really does, but then he just doesn’t seem to understand that I want to do this 100% of the time and it makes me feel like I’m letting him down by not joining him. How are other people handling these sorts of social things? What do you say and do to still be ‘fun’ with food and beverages? Help me with ideas on this, please, everyone.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES ...mostly, but I’m sure im often eating more food than I need just to get another sprinkle of salt!
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily YES I went nordic skiing three times this week. I really enjoy it and I have to pinch myself because can hardly believe that it is true that I am back out enjoying the cross country trails. I find that my knees feel better after and hour of the gentle gliding motion of cross country skiing.
A short time ago (about three or four weeks ago) my hips, knees and lower legs were sore and I could barely walk. My husband had to help me and I leaned on him or furniture to take weight off my knees as I hobbled slowly. Adding a firm mat to the top of our mattress immediately resolved my back and hip pain and by the next day most of the pain in my legs had gone away. My knee pain is much less and I’m so happy to be exercising pain free.

I started the starch based McDougall diet last December 29th, 2019 and I started MWL on April 1, 2020. It has been an amazing year! I have lost almost eighty pounds and I have gained much better health in so many ways. Eczema...almost completely gone. Seasonal allergies...gone, and no need to take antihistamines or drops for itchy eyes!! No more pain in the base of each of my thumbs. No more ‘Trigger’ finger...and my doctor said it would never heal. Knee pain...so much less than a year ago. Heartburn/acid reflux...resolved! Migraines....no more!!! Insomnia...gone. Fatigue and brain fog...way more energy and alertness. And there are several other things on my long list of health improvements. I can’t wait to lose another ten pounds.

My thanks to Dr. John McDougall! Thanks to Mark, Wildgoose and Jeff!! Thanks to all of the participants on this discussion board!!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all!
Noella

[Rita<3]

Hi good folks!
I’m hoping everyone’s well & safe. I also hope you had a great week.

Weight loss .5
Weight 168.5


1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Y
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. Y
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. Y
4. Eliminate all animal foods. Y
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. Y
6. Eliminate any added oil. Y
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods. Y
8. Don't drink your calories. Y
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Y

I followed the diet well this week.
I exercised this 3 days this week & plan on trying again today. Yesterday, I weighed 168.0.
Not certain what’s happening but I’m in this for the long haul, so I hope it goes better next week. Thank you!!