March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[PotatoHead1980]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -2.7

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. A few times.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. Yes
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. Yes
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. Yes
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes, walking daily.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Another great week. I've been eating mostly SNAP meals for over three weeks now and am not getting tired of it at all. I also made a few chopped salads and a big pot of Jeff's Longevity Soup in order to use up some random half-used bags of frozen veggies that were soon going to be freezer burned. The bad news is I only got to enjoy one bowl because my wife liked it so much she ate the rest! But I'm okay with that because I love to see my family eating healthier, too.

[squealcat]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -1.4 pounds

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. yes at breakfast and lunch, no at dinner
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 except for dinner last night
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 except for some avocado last night at dinner
6. Eliminate any added oil.yes except for dinner last night
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. tried a slice of my husband's homemade bread once. Ate it dry so as not to encourage myself to eat more
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).walked my usual 5 days out of 7 this week

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:I was so happy to see another loss this week ! I am close to getting out of the obese category and into the overweight ! I have been pretty pleased with what I have been eating. I tried a couple more recipes that were simple but satisfying so I added them to my list . There is one more bean soup with cabbage that I want to make this weekend.

My husband and I went out to dinner last night for the first time since probably October and I kept myself out of the nervous lane and into the controlled lane. One of the hurdles I need to jump over is the "eating out" hurdle. I want to enjoy our dinners together but don't want to be thrown into the gutter. I ordered a bowl with rice, greens, vegetables etc .....I gave the shrimp to my husband. I looked for a dish with starch and vegetables and this worked for me. I am on my way to feeling confident when going out to eat.

I continue to enjoy my morning walks and now that it is more Spring-like I am enjoying it even more ! I still am growing sprouts and currently have some sunflower microgreens almost ready to harvest. They are about 8 to 10 inches tall and growing happily in the sunshine right now ! Arugula will be next. Wish you all could see them!

Not much more to report. Thankful for all the guidance here and for all the followers that read what we type in and then add their words of wisdom too! I read it all .

-squealcat (Marilyn)

[bunsofaluminum]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -4

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). had a taste of avocado with one meal
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). drank a kombuchi drink for one snack
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 okay with this, but dealing with some life stuff sorta slowed me down on this one

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Okay! I started at 236 on March 1. Today I weighed 226 that's 10 lbs. Now THIS is what I've been looking for. Following the MWL closely DOES repair things and bring about weight loss.
Repair things: I had an episode this week that set me in an ER bed all afternoon on Wednesday. PVC's is what they think, and I'm on a monitor for two weeks, etc etc. One of the things they noticed while I was hooked up was my resting heart rate of low 50's-high 40's. I was worried...bradycardia! Oh my! But I'll post about that in my regular journal.
Meanwhile my knees also are feeling no pain, no foot pain to speak of, though that does kick in after a bit of walking. And the energy feels good. In fact, this cup of coffee I made myself feels like too much...it tastes good, but my body does NOT need the adrenal stimulation. Which is also related (so they say) to my "episode" on Weds.

This weight is lower than I've been since regaining so much weight when Wylie and I first started up in 2014. Feels good. At one point I was hovering around the 250 mark...ew...how did I let that happen? But I DID do something about it, and here I am finally feeling like my efforts in MWL are making a difference.

[Rebecka22]

166.6 Weight change +/- in lbs: -2.8 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
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: Hit all 10 points with a yes for a second week in a row. No bribing myself with new clothes this time either. I have a trip coming up next Friday that I know will be hard to stay completely compliant on, but I plan to do my best and give myself grace. I also think the better I do in these days leading up to the trip the easier it will be to stay the course. We have a condo so I can cook and since I do all the cooking and meal planning it will just be the potential eating out that will be harder and the vacation eating mentality everyone else will have.

[cmcavazos]

Weight change +/- in lbs: - .6# loss

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.
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 -- I missed two days of exercise.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Victories: I did well with the food plan for the week.
Comments: I was expecting a larger loss but it may show up in next Friday's weigh-in.
Questions: None for this week.

Thank you for responding to my question last week. It is sincerely appreciated. Thanks for al the support.

[CindyD]

March 6, 2021, 144.5
March 12, 2021 143.5
RESULT: -1.0
Since July 2020, -68.2

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 NO, pretzel thins
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.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

So, one day I just wasn't hungry at all. It was a combination of stress at my job and the pandemic and everything. Anyway, I thought I should get some calories so I ate probably half a cup of nuts that day (in addition to some broccoli and potatoes, just not very much). And a couple days some pretzel thins, so that is two NO answers this week. And yet, still down a pound, even this late in the game. I've been in normal BMI range for a while AND two people at work said I was looking too thin. HOLY COW, I never thought in my life I would ever hear that. It's kind of surreal! (It's also silly as I'm still in a size 10 pants which is hardly underweight.)

I am not sure how long I should continue to report in on this forum. Maybe until a few weeks with no weight change? I understand (and appreciate!) the purpose of this forum is to strictly follow the 10 guidelines, but I have been a bit more relaxed about it. I do appreciate everyone here a lot! Especially Mark and wildgoose and everyone generously contributing their time. Hope this coming week is good for everyone!

[GreenFroG]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -0.6

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:Slow and steady - another half of a pound. Pretty good week except for one meal. Went out to eat for my husband's birthday. Had a healthier plate but it had more salt, calorie-density and oil it it, I am sure. Otherwise, it was a good week. Didn't hit my goal of all thumbs up this week, so that will be my goal again next week. It does help to have the accountability after eating out. By having to post each week, it keeps me from straying too far. Thank you to all the moderators and everyone who shares their stories every week!

[HoustonJason]

From Houston Jason
Original Weight = 252 on January 1, 2021 Jan. 8 = 244 Jan. 15 = 237 Jan. 22 = 234 Jan. 29 = 231 February 5 = 226 Feb. 12 = 225 Feb. 19 = 221 Feb. 26 = 219 March 5 = 218
March 12 = 212

Total = - 40 pounds

Weight change +/- in lbs: - 6 pounds

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit No, most of the time.
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. No, most of the 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. 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 had Grape Nuts a couple of days for breakfast though I did lay off the rice cakes and whole wheat pasta. I think that's a big contributor to the great results this week.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
I still have a little unsweetened almond milk in my coffee and oatmeal.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. No, I may be eating a little on the not enough side because I am finding myself hungry sometimes at work. I do have little oatmeal packets just in case, but I haven't eaten any post lunch oatmeal lately.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I jumped on the rebounder 4 out of 7 days. From Tuesday – this morning I have not exercised due to the vaccine.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: It was another crazy week with a family issue I can’t really get into but it’s stressful and there’s not much I can do about it. When I think of everything that’s happened in my life in 2021 (it promised to be better than 20, but it hasn’t been) I am especially amazed that I have stuck to the MWL plan as well as I have. I got the covid J&J one and done vaccine on Tuesday and it gave me flu-like symptoms all night Tuesday night through most of Wednesday. I finally feel better today, though my arm still hurts. Every few weeks I have been getting a really big loss number, and overall it has been steady and solid. I got some nice compliments this week as well and I fit into my old 36” jeans! It feels great! So... Hopefully the loss isn't completely due to the vaccine... If so I probably won't have much of a loss next week, and I'll have to be ok with that.

Question – Do you have a recommended “don’t eat after” time? Last night I started getting hungry just before bed but I resisted eating. We ate dinner a little earlier than usual, say 5:30. Then I had a hard time getting to sleep because the side I usually sleep on is the arm that got the vaccine so I tried sleeping on the other side, but no luck. Of course I got hungrier as the night went by which made it harder to get to sleep… It was a bad cycle. Should I just have a handful of grapes if I feel that hunger at 9pm?
Thanks again for being here to urge us all on.

[texaslil]

-3.4
Current weight: 171.4

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES, I HAVE BEEN BULKING UP THE SALAD OR VEGGIES THAT I EAT ON MY 50/50 PLATE TO INCLUDE A BIT MORE TO BE ABLE TO INCLUDE AS A STARTER
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). I WAS VERY DILIGENT ABOUT THIS POINT, NO AVOCADOS AND NO TOFU, WHICH I HAD GENERALLY BEEN HAVING OCCASIONALLY, ONCE OR TWICE PER 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 and dried fruit. HAD HOMEMADE OIL-FREE PIZZA
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). COMPLETELY ELIMINATED ANY WINE OR SMOOTHIES, ONLY DRANK WATER AND ONE CUP OF BLACK COFFEE EACH MORNING (I HAD PREVIOUSLY STOPPED DRINKING COFFEE, BUT THIS IS ANOTHER HABIT THAT HAS CREPT UP SINCE THE HOLIDAYS)
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. I CONTINUE TO WORK ON THIS, IT CAN BE A STRUGGLE AS I STILL FEEL LIKE I EAT WITH MY EYES AND NOT NECESSARILY WITH MY STRETCH RECEPTORS
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).6/7 THIS IS AN AREA THAT I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO GET BACK IN MY REGULAR SCHEDULE, THIS WEEK WAS A SUCCESS. i HAVE BEEN WALKING EACH MORNING AND INCORPORATING A BIT OF JOGGING INTO THE WALK, APPROXIMATELY 1/4 OF THE TIME I JOG.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: OBVIOUSLY, I AM FEELING VERY GOOD WITH THIS WEEKS LOSS. I HAVE TO SAY THAT THIS IS THE FIRST WEEK THAT I HAVE REALLY HELD MYSELF TO THIS LEVEL OF COMPLIANCE. THE RESULTS ARE GREATLY ENCOURAGING AND I WILL STRIVE TO CONTINUE ALONG THIS PATH. MY COOKING CHANGED FOR THE FAMILY BUT THEY WERE WILLING TO SUPPORT ME, SO THAT WAS EXTREMELY HELPFUL. I DID BUY AVOCADO FOR THEM, BUT MANAGED TO NOT EAT ANY MYSELF. I HAVE A TEENAGE SON WHO IS 6.2 AND ON THE SKINNY SIDE, SO I DON'T WANT HIM TO ELIMINATE AVOCADO AND NUTS.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE COFFEE, DO YOU THINK I SHOULD TRY TO ELIMINATE IT ALLTOGETHER? I REALLY LOOK FORWARD TO IT AS A PART OF MY MORNING ROUTINE, BUT I DON'T THINK IT WOULD BE TOO DIFFICULT TO ELIMINATE IT AT THIS POINT.

AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT!!!

[Mark Cooper]

PonysPlants - Even though this week's loss felt a bit disappointing for you, Naomi, remember that last week you lost 1.2 pounds, so your average for March so far is 0.7 pounds per week, which is right in line with your overall average since the start of this year (0.76 lbs/week). In other words, I think you are doing pretty great (especially while struggling with a recurring headache)! Onward!

Rachael - Wow! Excellent adherence, dramatic results and feeling great! I applaud your efforts to create an immediate environment that supports your lifestyle goals. Have fun exploring the boards. In response to your question, my professional experience is as an artist, educator and administrator, principally in museum or public education settings. I adopted this way of eating in an effort to correct hypertension and some other related issues, and it worked very well. 3 years ago, I developed a relatively unusual illness: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome a.k.a. Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. While strictly adhering to the MWL 10-Point Checklist, in combination with a variety of other therapies, most of my inflammatory symptoms have been mitigated. I volunteer to facilitate this MWL group as a way of "paying forward" some of the benefits I've received from the free online program from Dr. McDougall's Health & Medical Center. I kept a daily journal of my own experience with MWL.

PotatoHead1980 - Down 2.7 pounds again, Chris! Definitely sounds like a great week! What a fun story regarding your wife finishing the Longevity Soup; sounds like you might need a larger soup pot!

squealcat - Very encouraging results, Marilyn! How exciting to close in on that significant BMI milestone. It seems you made a thoughtful approach to that eating out hurdle. As you continue to be mindful about advancing your goals while enjoying dinners out, I imagine your confidence will continue to build. Jeff's resources for Dining Out are a great support. I'm envious of your imminent microgreen harvest. It has been more like Spring here, too; my daily walks have been a real pleasure - so nice to see and feel the sun shining.

bunsofaluminum - Huzzah! I imagine that feedback from the scale feels exciting! Wishing you the very best outcomes with your medical concerns; I know finding oneself in an ER bed can be a scary, frustrating experience. Congrats on your pain free knees, renewed energy and on hitting that low mark on the scale. Your efforts are paying off!

Rebecka22 -

Hit all 10 points with a yes for a second week in a row.

Woo-hoo! Awesome! I think you are right that building a pattern of consistent adherence in the lead-up to your trip will make it easier to maintain that adherence while away from home. Jeff's threads on travel food and dining out may offer some useful ideas as you plan ahead. Having a kitchen should make things more manageable. Doing your best and treating yourself with grace and compassion sounds like a wonderful approach.

cmcavazos - You are definitely still making progress, Christine; your pattern of behavior is on track and your weight continues to drop! Carry on your excellent efforts, and I'm sure the scale will become more responsive before long.

CindyD - Down a pound this week and over 68 pounds since July! I get what you mean about how surreal it can feel to be told you are "too thin," definitely a strange feeling. Feel free to continue in this group for as long as it serves you, provided that you are still trying to practice MWL and willing to report accordingly. I'm thrilled by your consistent efforts and impressive results. Once you feel ready to transition, consider the Maintenance Group; it is a great support resource with warm, welcoming participants.

GreenFroG - A little more than half a pound gone again this week! A slow, steady, consistent approach is often beneficial. I'm glad you find the group accountability to be helpful. Happy birthday to your husband. Keep striving to achieve that challenging goal you've set for yourself; it will feel great when you achieve it, right?

HoustonJason - Big drop this week! I hope those issues and stressors come to a satisfactory resolution; it can feel so tough to be faced with a situation over which we don't have much agency. Here's to 2021 taking a better turn in the weeks ahead. Kudos to you for staying attentive to the recommended behaviors during a challenging time. I'm glad you've mostly recovered from your vaccination, and fitting into old clothes is always a kick (compliments don't hurt either, right?)! There isn't really any "don't eat after" time; one of the fundamental principles of MWL is eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. So, if you are feeling hungry, the recommendation would be to eat of the recommended foods until comfortably full. Have you had any difficulties from eating close to bedtime in the past? Naturally, it might make sense to choose adherent foods that you don't feel will adversely affect comfortable sleep. Jeff's discussion of meal frequency is informative on this topic.

Bottom line, following the recommendations here to consume a unrefined unprocessed plant based diet that is low in calorie density, high in nutrient density and high in satiety, along with the proper amount and type of physical activity may be the most important issue. Whether someone does this in 3 meals vs 5 meals vs 1 meal, may be less important than total calories and overall food choices, and a fine detail that would be up to the individual based on which method helps them incorporate the more important principles.

texaslil - 3.4 lbs! I can see why you are feeling good about this week, Laila! Great work stepping up to the challenge for closer adherence to the recommended pattern of behavior. It is fantastic to have support from your family. Regarding coffee,

- Coffee & Tea
While there may be Individual reasons to avoid these, they are not an issue for the MWL program. There is no recommendation to avoid them as part of the MWL program. We serve both decaf and regular tea at the program and have no qualms if someone walks to Starbucks and gets a cup of coffee.

Jeff has aggregated many of his past discussions on Coffee in this post, which may help inform your decision.

While coffee is not a health food and I don't recommend it, as I said in my Coffee vs Tea post...

Out of the two drinks, tea is clearly the better "choice" if you were looking to choose between the two. If you were to choose coffee, keep the intake below 2-3 6 oz cups a day, have it black, and make sure it is paper filtered.

[Noella]

Dear Mark, Wildgoose, and Jeff, and all MWL participants,
Weight change -.2 pound
I had an idea this morning as I reviewed my successes and struggles with the MWL ten-point checklist this week:
This weekly self-evaluation helps me to examine how and what I like to eat in order to discover the secret source of my own excess calories. These are the foods I am attracted to that cause me to eat to excess and gain weight. Understanding my own personal source of extra calories is important to eliminating those excess calories going forward. I can’t just follow someone else’s ideas of what and how to eat; my taste preferences are personal and individual to me. For instance, I enjoy the sweet/sour of citrus, mango, pineapple and cranberry and the foods I reach for when I’m feeling upset often include sweet & tangy flavours. Discovering my secret source of excess calories means I can make sure to include my favourite flavours in my lower-calorie dense MWL meals to make these satisfying to my taste.

Starting Weight Dr. McDougall Starch-based Diet: December 29, 2019: 240 pounds
Starting Weight for MWL diet April 1, 2020 198 pounds
Current weight 158.7 pounds
Weight change this week -.2 pounds

1. Yes, I started every meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. [color=#40BFFF] tomato, green pepper and cucumber salad with oregano, fresh lemon or balsamic vinegar!
2. Yes, I followed the 50/50 plate method for my meals, filling half my plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. Lacinato kale is delicious
3. Yes, I have greatly reduced added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. using lemon or lime juice/zest or assorted vinegars means I use less salt to achieve delicious flavours
4. Yes, I eliminated all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). I like the focus on starch and I feel really proud of myself for transitioning to a starch based diet. I used to think of the protein first when I did meal planning, now I don’t worry about getting enough protein and I think of the starch first and Centre my meal planning around that. We batch cook a variety of starches once or twice a week (pasta, rice, potatoes, legumes) for making our meals in short order.
5. Yes, I eliminated all higher-fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
6. Yes, I eliminated added oil. It took me a while to figure out that everything tastes better without oil. Kitchen cleanup is so much easier, too, and I LOVE that!
7. Yes, I eliminated all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products, puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. I used to use raisins to sweeten my steel cut oats, now I use cinnamon, apples, bananas, cherries or blueberries
8. Yes, I do not drink calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). i made a virgin ‘Margarita’ using finely crushed ice, fresh grated-puréed apple, lime juice and it was perfectly delicious.
9. Yes, I followed the MWLprinciples, eating whenever hungry until comfortably full. I didn’t ever starve or stuff. I am finally starting to notice the feeling of being too full. This point is an ongoing adventure in better self-awareness...
10. Yes, I got at least 30 minutes of exercise each day. Nordic skiing three times and gardening a few times this week. We still have a good amount of snow in our nearby mountains so it’s about one month left until the nordic ski trails close in mid-April. I’m hoping to ski at least three times each week until ski seasons over. Spring skiing is especially fun because there is so much more warmth to the sunshine and extra layers of clothing, toques and mittens are no longer needed...just sunglasses!

Victories: I have started to accept the fact that losing the last pounds is going to be much slower than I had expected , and so, my resolution is to be patient as I continue following all MWL points. Maybe it will take a year for me to lose twelve pounds. Maybe it will take more than a year...I can’t think of anything more important to focus on than better health no matter how long it takes!
Challenge: I’m really hoping to find an outdoor activity I REALLY enjoy for the months of May-October (until ski season starts again in November!)

Happy St. Patrick’s Day...I’m Irish so I encourage you to enjoy a common “Irish three course meal”: potatoes, steamed kale, and finely minced green onion”, it’s traditional and a delicious combination!
Best regards,
Noella

[birdy birdy]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -1.0 loss

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.y
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).n

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:My major victory to claim is that I have now transitioned to the "overweight" category from being in the "obese" group. Yay!! I realize it's just a number, but it's a healthier number and I will embrace it. I continued with my no salt experiment this week. I had one meal that was prepared with a tiny bit of low-sodium soy sauce and I could definitely taste the saltiness of it. On the one hand, I am surprised at how quickly my taste buds changed, but on the other hand this has been a long process of gradually lessening the amount of salt in my diet. When I view it that way, it really wasn't so quick. This week, my husband and I were watching an old video about salt and it laid out the facts about how deadly salt is to our systems and I've noticed that now my husband is quietly not adding as much to his food. He hasn't announced it, but I can see his effort. The lack of salt in MWL is one of the sticking points for him . . .says he cannot follow MWL because of the lack of salt. But I'm seeing a change that warms my heart.

[JeffN]

The lack of salt in MWL is one of the sticking points for him . . .says he cannot follow MWL because of the lack of salt.

Just to be clear, the McDougall Program, MWL or Regular, as promoted here and at the 10 Day and 12 Day Program is not a salt free program. We are a low salt program just like Pritikin, Ornish, Esselstyn, Weimar, Kempner, etc who have produced most of the studies on the therapeutic WFPP diet. Your husband should feel free and confident that he can successfully follow the MWL program and add salt to his food at the table to taste.

There are a few WFPB program who are promoting a SOS free diet as a superior diet but there is no evidence for that. If you would like, I would be glad to post the articles on this including a discussion with the main promoter of the SOS free diet.

In Health
Jeff

[taymariekay]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -0.7

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. I am only able to do this for dinner but not other meals due to time restraints at work.

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 desert.

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 completely cut out salt for a few days (mostly by eliminating condiments) then added back in just a dash of salt at the table. Seems to be fine! But sugar/syrups are gone for good.

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. I had a couple incidents involving cereal and pancakes

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. I'm trying!

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I get 12K steps at work, and have been able to go for a walk after work a few days per week.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I am happy to see a loss. I find that a major road block for me is the inability to eat large portions of food for breakfast and lunch. I only have 10 min to eat breakfast, it is rushed, and has to last me 4 hours. Therefore, I only eat oatmeal with fruit. Even that has me pretty hungry around the 3 hour mark. Trying to figure that one out. Lunch is better, I get 30 minutes, but still only able to do a 50/50 plate, no preload, and that also has to last me about 4 hours. Sometimes I feel like my meals don't stick to my ribs long enough! Do beans help?

My goal for next week is to not give into temptation that is around me at work and at home!

[Belana]

Hello again. I'm back.
Unfortunately, stress + work travel + moving = weight gain.
Mainly, I've found that if I can't control my eating environment, I get frustrated and completely give up, which is what's happened and why I'm back here.
Not being able to exercise regularly doesn't help either.
At a minimum, I need to lose 20 lbs
I weighed in this morning at 125.6