March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

For those wanting to learn about and follow the McDougall Maximum Weight Loss Program. You can also join our monthly weigh-ins.

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, carolve, Heather McDougall

Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby birdy birdy » Fri Mar 26, 2021 3:12 pm

Weight change +/- in lbs: -1.80

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

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: This week wasn't that different than last week, but I was able to lose 1.8 pounds instead of adding any weight. But the scale is only one measurement. I'm actually feeling smaller overall and my clothing is fitting in a looser fashion which is more comfortable.

I appreciate the insights that you all offer. And mostly I applaud Mark for his pearls of wisdom. Thanks, everyone. Have a great week!
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby cmcavazos » Fri Mar 26, 2021 3:34 pm

Weight change +/- in lbs: - +.8# gain

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. -- NO
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). -- NO

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Victories: None this week
Comments: I think my gain may be related to sodium intake since I ate homemade soups/stews several times during the week.
Concerns: None this week

Ready for April!
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby texaslil » Fri Mar 26, 2021 9:09 pm

-3.2
Current weight: 170.4

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, I'VE BEEN THOROUGHLY ENJOYING A GRAPEFRUIT EACH EVENING FOR AN AFTER DINNER SNACK (THIS IS MUCH EASIER TO DO 3 WEEKS OUT OF THE MONTH ;-) )
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. HOMEMADE OIL-FREE PIZZA
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). HAD WINE TWO NIGHTS
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. DID REALLY WELL ON THIS ONE, THIS WEEK I DIDN'T STRUGGLE AS MUCH WITH CRAVINGS
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).7/7 I STARTED TO ADD IN HOT YOGA TO MY ROUTINE AND I JUST LOVE IT SOOO MUCH! WILL DEFINITLEY KEEP IT IN MY ROTATION OF ACTIVITY.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: SO IT SEEMS LIKE LAST WEEK MUST HAVE BEEN MY CYCLE WEIGHT, I'M ASSUMING. I AM FEELING GOOD AND FEEL LIGHTER THIS WEEK. I WILL CONTINUE TO ELIMINATE THE HIGHER CALORIE DENSITY FOOD, MAINLY AVOCADO AND TOFU HAVE BEEN MY WEAKNESSES. I HAVE REALLY BEEN CRAVING MY BOWL OF STEAMED CABBAGE AND OATMEAL WITH GRAPES AND BANANAS IN THE LATE MORNING, IT'S SOO DELICIOUS. I'M WONDERING HOW MUCH COOKED OATMEAL I SHOULD EAT? I AM GENERALLY EATING 1.5-2 CUPS WITH THE FRUIT ON TOP. DO YOU THINK THAT IS TOO MUCH? I DON'T MEASURE IT BY DRY OATMEAL SINCE I GENERALLY MAKE UP A BIG BATCH ON MONDAY AND EAT THROUGHOUT THE WEEK.

I'M GOING TO KEEP ON TRUCKING ON AND WORK TOWARDS ANOTHER POSITIVE WEEK NEXT WEEK. THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby Noella » Sat Mar 27, 2021 2:05 am

Hi Mark, Wildgoose, Jeff, and all MWL participants,
Weight Change: +- .5 pounds

1. Yes, I started my meals with soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
2. Yes, I followed the 50/50 plate method for my meals, filling half my plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and the other half with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
3. Yes, I greatly reduced added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too.
4. Yes, I eliminated all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
5. Yes, I eliminated all higher-fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
6. Yes, I eliminated added oil.
8. Yes, I do not drink any calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
9. Yes, I followed the MWL principles, eating whenever hungry until comfortably full. I didn’t ever starve or stuff.
10. Not every day... I didn’t get at the minimum 30 minutes of exercise each day. I’m still not in the habit of exercising regularly, not yet. That’s my goal, though, I really want to get to the point of being in a deep groove for getting daily exercise. I am hoping to do nordic skiing and swimming over the next few days as we will be staying at a mountain resort.

:D March 31st is my first Anniversary following MWL! Thank you, Mark, Jeff and Wildgoose for a wonderful year! You are the best support! Thank you to all of the participants, too. All of the thought provoking suggestions, comments, and answers to questions really help to maintain my commitment and determination to calmly carry on with this lifestyle. Thank you!
Best regards,
Noella
Last edited by Noella on Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:39 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby CindyD » Sat Mar 27, 2021 6:40 am

March 20, 2021 144.3
March 27, 2020 140.8
RESULT -3.5

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals 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). NO, some nuts
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. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

As noted, I did have some nuts because I wasn't eating as much as I know I should. -3.5 seems crazy, but since I'd been hovering around 144 since March 6 and probably had too much salt earlier this month, I think the scale is really showing a month-long result since I weighed in this morning at an optimal moment.

All of that is to say, I do not believe I lost 3.5 pounds this week because that would be worrisome. Overall, my total lost since last July is now just over 70 pounds. Wow! This lifestyle works if you do it, it really, really does. It's funny because I see people posting online that maybe this program "just doesn't work for them" and I am doubtful, because I think Dr McDougall, Jeff Novick and the whole team has proven time and again it will work for anyone who will really commit to doing it as written. :)
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby PotatoHead1980 » Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:16 am

Weight change +/- in lbs: -0.8

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. 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. 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). Had two restaurant meals
6. Eliminate any added oil. Had two restaurant meals
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. Had two restaurant meals and some 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). Yes

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
I went on vacation with the family this week. I took a double batch of Jeff's Mexican Fiesta SNAP meal with me in a cooler which was great. We had two dinners at restaurants however. For the first dinner I had a BBQ soy curl sandwich with a side salad in lieu of fries. Not MWL, but not eating french fries was a huge victory for me. For the other dinner I caved and had a veggie burger with fries. I also ate some crackers with the kids in the hotel room, I just couldn't resist. The good news is that I avoided all of the other restaurant meals that the family was eating and I didn't eat a single bite of candy, despite going to three different gourmet candy shops throughout the trip. And I still managed to lose weight. So I'm giving myself a C+ for the week.
Chris

“From now on, we live in a world where [PotatoHead1980 has lost weight]. And it's not a miracle, we just decided to go.”

-Tom Hanks as Cpt. Jim Lovell, (Slightly revised)
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby chef16 » Sat Mar 27, 2021 8:33 am

03/20/21 225#
03/27/21 225#
same /no change

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. 65%
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.95%
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).95%
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.95%
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).100%
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).60%

Stayed the same this week and that is okay. I really need to get serious about this and get on with it . I know that I am still losing but I have fallen into auto pilot. I can continue to do this and probably still lose. It could be a lot faster, but that's on me. I have a doctors appointment on Monday ,this will be the first annual visit since I started this . I am really excited to see the numbers and what my doctors reaction is. Wish me luck!
Doreen
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby Gimmelean » Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:24 am

Weight change +/- in lbs: +.01
3/19/2021. 128.5
3/26/2021. 128.6

Greetings!
That sneaky little increase in weight this week is a reminder not to see how much I can get away with. I really promised myself that I wouldn’t stress about the little MWL things and let go a bit. Gathering my resolve as I write this weeks post to pull it together and get back to what I need to do for the results I want.


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). 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). Mostly

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Not as frequent this week.

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. Need to eliminate bread

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. Most days

Victories, comments, concerns,questions. Have a happy, healthy, wonderful week. Thank you as always for all that you do. I’m grateful to be a part of this community and for your sage advice and support. Mark, I did read the article you referred me to about plateauing- over and over- . I am glad it’s there every time my head wants to take the “ it’s not fair why me I’m doing everything right this doesn’t work “stance instead of being willing to change and being willing to focus on my margin of error. Thanks again! Looking forward to seeing you in April.
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby Rebecka22 » Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:31 am

168.0 Weight change +/- in lbs: +2.2 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. NO
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
6. Eliminate any added oil. NO
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
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). NO
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: Just got home from the airport and wanted to get my weigh in done and stay accountable even though I am not surprised by the gain. I was hoping all the exercise would have balanced it out, but this group has taught me to know better. All in all while I ate out three times and had vegan gelato a couple times I found I was able to stay pretty close to on plan this week while not stressing. I was glad that some off plan choices didn’t lead me to totally adopt the vacation mode everyone else was in and everyone ate more veggies because I always had salad made. Having the potatoes from the plane was super helpful in the beginning when everyone was hungry and eating fast food. One suggestion for people traveling is being Tupperware or something to store your food in to make things easier. We ended up buying some. Hoping getting back in the swing of things won’t be too hard this week, but I feel confident and blessed to have a week with my family on Maui.
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby Growing a Pear » Sat Mar 27, 2021 9:39 am

Weight change +/- in lbs: -0.5# :thumbsup:

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :D
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. Choose fruit for dessert. :D
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. :D
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :D
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :D
6. Eliminate any added oil. :D
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products. (5/7)
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :D
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. :D
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). (5/7)

The huge bowl of savory oatmeal at ~1100, or whenever I'm first hungry, continues to serve me well. I'm getting in more vegetable servings than I did before as part of that meal. I'm sure that's the main reason I've done better the last few weeks because it's the biggest change to my diet. Weirdly, I had eaten savory oatmeal before but this round I added frozen onions and peppers as part of the veggie mix, and my taste buds truly appreciate them. (Goes to show how a small tweak can make a big change.)

My sleep is better overall, too. I'm trying out a weighted blanket, and it's too early to tell but I think it's helping with the restless legs.

Weather is improving; I got out for my podcast-accompanied walks 5/7. Hope to make that at least 6/7 this week.

I fell down on the dry cereal twice this week. Both times I ran myself too hungry midafternoon and tried to make do with fruit. I'm now adding in oatmeal.

Will do my best to deepen the groove. See you in April, Mark and crew!
I just want to emphasize: It is the QUALITY of the food, not the QUANTITY. You are guaranteed success when following a starch-based and a simple diet. Monotony can be a key helper. ~Dr. John McDougall
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby JaBee » Sat Mar 27, 2021 11:23 am

Weight change +/- in lbs: +.9

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.7/7
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
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. 2/7
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).7/7
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).7/7
6. Eliminate any added oil.7/7
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.6/7
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).7/7
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
7/7
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). 5/7


Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Craved salt so added salt to plate- may have used too much, unable to explain salt craving.
Lesson- appears retaining fluid due to added salt and will adhere closely to #3 and not add any as have not used in the past..onward to April.
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby Belana » Sat Mar 27, 2021 12:06 pm

Weight change +/- in lbs: 2.8

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

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Lost a lot of weight this week (for me) however, that will soon plateau, so I'm certainly not gonna get overly excited.
I will soon start cycling regularly, so that'll be interesting regarding where my weight loss will start going...
As for what I consider exercise, I haven't really been doing what my 'bar' is, but I have been a lot less sedentary.
I hope I posted correctly this week!
Thanks Jeff & Mark for PMing me regarding posting appropriately.
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Re: March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

Postby moonlight » Sat Mar 27, 2021 12:55 pm

Weight Change: - .4 lbs
Points from the MWL Checklist where I succeeded 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.
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. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
6. Eliminate any added oil.

Points from the MWL Checklist that need greater attention
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
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).

General impressions & observations / resources to share / sources of excitement / requests for input & support
I'm sliding down the slippery slope. I plan to stop today. That's always easy to give the future the stop date but I will have this to keep in mind. I don't want to intentionally be a liar! I will start writing everything down again. I will make some soup, salad, and entrees. All last week I planned to do that. I bought food. I was not prepared.... My exercise even went downhill. My attitude was not good. Next week starts a new month. I'll make the sense of renewal a good place to start!
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Reporting for March 26 Weigh-In is now CLOSED

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Mar 27, 2021 1:01 pm

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.
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Mark's Replies for March 26 - Part 2

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Mar 27, 2021 1:02 pm

bunsofaluminum - You're down 11.5 lbs for the month! :D Isn't it great to feel so energetic and capable? Something to keep in mind, if that noodle dish used whole grain pasta and included an equal volume of non starchy vegetables, it could be acceptable for MWL (provided there weren't any otherwise troublesome ingredients).

birdy birdy - Nice loss! That looser fit to clothing is a fun result! Keep taking action to eliminate the remaining calorie dense foods and liquid calories, and you'll support continuing progress.

cmcavazos - 8/10! I think you are right not to be overly concerned about that modest gain, Christine. If it was due to greater than usual added salt, that seems easily corrected. Have you tried preparing your soups and stews without any salt, and then just adding a sprinkle at the table? Carry on with your diligent efforts. :thumbsup:

texaslil - Big drop this week, Laila, and you are down 3.6 pounds overall for the month! The elimination of those calorie rich higher fat foods is definitely a great way to support weight loss. It doesn't seem to me that you're eating "too much" oatmeal; in fact, it sounds like you are following the MWL recommendations, eating the oatmeal with an equal volume of non starchy vegetables / fruit when you are hungry, and stopping when you are comfortably full. Focus on WHAT you eat (recommended foods) rather than HOW MUCH, and don't stuff yourself to the point of discomfort and you'll do fine. :nod:

Noella - Happy MWL Anniversary! Your steady, measured weekly losses accumulated and have you finishing this month a pound lighter, and 82 pounds lower than your starting point! That reliable progress based on your consistent, diligent efforts will deliver you to your goal one step at a time. :D Calmly Carry On!

CindyD - Awesome results! I think it makes sense to view the big change at the scale this week as a product of your ongoing work throughout the month. :nod: Your weekly average was a loss of 1.65 lbs, which is great! MWL works, when we work it; the recommendations are built on a foundation of time-tested principals. As Jeff has written in the past,
JeffN wrote:We are here because we are an evidence & science based program.
JeffN wrote:Remember, the program always works because it is based on sound science.


PotatoHead1980 - Down .8 lbs this week, and 6 lbs for the month, Chris! Considering that you were on vacation, I think you did very well. You came prepared with adherent food, took a pass on candy, limited the occasions of dining out, and made better choices than you otherwise might have, right? It is an ongoing learning process, so give yourself credit for your efforts, think about changes or adjustments you might make in the future to support further success, and keep making choices congruent to your goals. :)

chef16 - Very best wishes for your visit to the doctor! If you feel comfortable, let us know how it goes. :) Sometimes that feeling of being on "autopilot" can be an opportunity to shore up the progress we have made, take a breath, and start to plan and prepare for the next steps where we want to direct serious effort. Which of the recommendations do you think offers the best opportunity for improved adherence?

Gimmelean - Don't sweat that little increase too much! I think you have it right, it might be a matter of getting clear and specific with yourself about the results you want, and why you want them, and taking the necessary, appropriate actions to adjust behaviors. That, and time, will get you where you wish to be. :)

Rebecka22 - I'm so glad to hear you had an enjoyable vacation with your family! And it sounds like you learned a lot about how to make MWL and travel fit together. Cheers for not going full on "vacation mode!" Since most restaurant meals are high in added salt, they can have a pretty dramatic effect on the scale in the near term, but you can reverse that - just focus on eating the recommended foods, in the recommended fashion the very next time you feel hungry (and the time after that, and the time after that . . .) :D

Growing a Pear - Awesome! That savory oatmeal sounds wonderful. It seems to me you are doing a great job of assessing your progress, analyzing challenges that arise, and adjusting accordingly; that is what it's all about! :thumbsup: So glad to hear you're sleeping better. Onward!

JaBee - Kudos! You did really great with 8/10 recommendations! If you feel like the added salt gave you trouble, or contributed to further, bothersome cravings, it makes sense to reduce or eliminate it (particularly if you didn't feel the need to use it in the past). That said, if a modest sprinkle of salt on the surface of your food helps you stick with adherent meals, rather than veering off track, it is definitely acceptable.

Belana - You absolutely posted your report correctly! :nod: A great way to prepare for the plateau you're anticipating, and even circumvent it, could be to focus effort toward the recommended behaviors where there is opportunity for closer adherence. Enjoy the cycling! I know you set your "exercise bar" pretty high! :-D

Moonlight - Good for you! You recognized that your pattern of behavior was drifting in a counterproductive direction, and acknowledged the need to take action. A food journal sounds like a great tool to apply, and adequate preparation of adherent foods is a key factor toward success. Make your next choice reinforce your sense of renewal, and focus on making your very next meal adhere to the guidelines. Now is always the right time!
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Mark Cooper
 
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