March 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[Mark Cooper]

Please note - I replied to each participant individually in the two lengthy posts linked below, provided that their reports followed the guidelines for weigh-ins.

Mark's Replies for March 19 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for March 19 - Part 2

By my count, 21 participants reported for our third March 2021 MWL weigh-in! If I neglected to include anyone, or you notice an error in the tally, please let me know (via PM so we can keep the thread as tidy as possible, or in a post here if you cannot PM).

Here are the results for the third Friday in March:

Week ending 3/19/2021: 21 participants reported a total loss of -8.30 pounds
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Texaslil +2.20
Rachael +1.60
birdy birdy +1.20
CindyD +0.80
PonysPlants +0.60
Gimmelean +0.50
PotatoHead1980 +0.20
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Total gains: +7.10
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NO CHANGE / MAINTAIN / STARTING OUT
Cliv 0.00
GreenFroG 0.00
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Noella -0.20
Anne57 -0.80
Rebecka22 -0.80
Bunsofaluminum -1.00
Chef16 -1.00
Principality -1.00
Squealcat -1.20
JaBee -1.50
Growing a Pear -1.70
Cmcavazos -2.00
HoustonJason -2.00
Moonlight -2.2
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Total losses: -15.40
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Cumulative group loss for March 2021 to date: 54.70 pounds
Average loss for week ending March 19: 0.40 pounds
Cumulative group loss for January 2021: 117.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for February 2021: 39.40 pounds
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Next Weigh-In is on Friday, March 26, 2021.


Congratulations to everyone who participated this week! Consistent adherence over a sufficient duration of time is the surest path to the results you seek!

Among my favorite resources for putting the notion of "exceptions" into an appropriate perspective are Jeff's articles in the Myth of Moderation series - Pt 1: Do All Foods Really Fit?, Pt 2: The Impact of “Just A Little Oil!”, & Pt 3: Is Your Diet Exceptional?

Reviewing these articles, several points seem particularly pertinent to our discussions this week. The observation below is in regard to dining out and the impact of oil.

I was in an Italian restaurant a few weeks ago that is supposed to be known for its "healthy" food. One of the members of the party I was with was trying to order a "heart healthy" meal. She ordered pasta primavera with a plain tomato sauce and specifically requested it be cooked with "as little oil as possible." When the dish came out, there was so much oil in the plate, she asked for a second plate so she could lift out the pasta and veggies from all the oil and put them in a new bowl. After she did this, we looked at the remaining oil in the original plate and there had to be over 1/2 cup if not more, of oil left in the original bowl. A 1/2 cup of oil is the equivalent of 8 tbsp. Imagine the impact this would have had on someone trying to eat "Heart Healthy." Even though she removed the pasta she was going to eat from all this oil, we still have no idea how much oil was still left in the pasta, veggies and sauce.

And looking at the potential effect of a variety of common "exceptions,"

So, let's look at the impact of few items that are often considered as exceptions and what would happen if you added in just a few of these.

- A tbsp of oil is ~120 calories

- A tbsp of sugar is ~50 calories

- An ounce of chocolate is ~150 calories

- A 5 oz glass of wine is ~120 calories

- A serving of a refined grain is ~80-100 calories

- A small piece of vegan pie, cake or a cookie can easily be 100-150 calories (or more).

The total of the above is over 620-690 calories which would be over 1/3 of an 1800 calorie diet, over 1/4 of a 2400 calorie diet. And that is for just one serving of each. If you have 2 servings of each, you are around 1300 calories which is over 2/3's of an 1800 calorie diet and over 1/2 of a 2400 calorie diet.

As you can see, it is very easy for these exceptions to add up. And, if you add in a few more of these "exceptions," the exceptions have become the rule, and the healthy foods have become the exception and while you may have an exceptional diet, it is not healthy.

Hopefully these articles offer some valuable insight in assessing how exceptional your diet may or may not be, and give a sense of direction toward the degree of adherence you might seek to maintain in service of your important goals.

Take care everyone, have a fabulous week, and be well!

[wildgoose]

Mark and Wildgoose, do you recommend switching to the SS or doing a 10 day mini to switch things up and get back to weight loss or would you suggest staying the course with MWL? I have learned that maintaining weight loss is the same continuous effort as losing weight.

@Gimmelean I would second Mark's recommendation to "direct [your] efforts toward ongoing, excellent adherence to the MWL 10-Point Checklist." Remember, as you get closer to goal weight, the little things matter more. Excellent adherence becomes more important. You may not be able to get away with small deviations. (This was emphasized in the postings by Jeff on "exceptions," which Mark has quoted above.) Look at your responses this week to points #5 and #7. I wonder if you were to concentrate on improving those two areas, you might see results.

This will also give you some clues as to how your maintenance program is going to look going forward. You may decide, like Mark and I did, that continuing to eat mostly or entirely MWL is best for weight maintenance as well. It won’t feel restrictive, it will simply be the way you eat.

Goose

[Growing a Pear]

Take care everyone, have a fabulous week, and be well!

You too, Mark! As always, thank you for the thoughtful, personalized responses.

[Noella]

Noella - Here is Dr. McDougall's Hot Topics page discussing Bowel Problems, which may offer some helpful information...
Among my favorite resources for putting the notion of "exceptions" into an appropriate perspective are Jeff's articles in the Myth of Moderation series - Pt 1: Do All Foods Really Fit?, Pt 2: The Impact of “Just A Little Oil!”, & Pt 3: Is Your Diet Exceptional?

Noella - ...If you were my client, I would not worry so much about the fiber (which is usually not a problem) but the history of the situation, a detailed look at your lifestyle including your food and fluid intake over this time. You may be treating the symptom and not the problem.
In Health
Jeff

Thank you, Mark, for the link to several helpful articles. Reading about more serious concerns helps me to keep my mild problem in perspective. Reading the Myth About Moderation series by Jeff Novick is extremely informative.

Thank you, Jeff, for your encouragement and sharing your knowledge. I appreciate your reassurance to not ever worry about getting enough fibre while following the MWL way of eating. This rules-out ‘lack of fibre’ as my problem and perhaps points to a food allergy or sensitivity. Since starting SS and MWL, eliminating animal products and calorie-dense plant foods like oils, nuts, seeds, I have experienced many benefits to my health including that my digestion has greatly improved. I no longer experience upset stomach, indigestion, heartburn, nausea, and acid reflux, things I used to accept as normal. It’s also alleviated my problems with hives, eczema and seasonal allergies.

I am going to follow your suggestion to keep a detailed food and fluid intake journal. I hope that greater vigilance will help me to determine which foods are the problem.

Best regards,
Noella

[bunsofaluminum]

General impressions & observations / resources to share / sources of excitement / requests for input & support
I lost the pounds I gained the week before plus a little more. I'm taking that as a positive outcome. I'm still struggling. I realized this week that I need to work at having food ready to eat. Also, I need to work harder at having interesting food that is appealing to me. I can get burned out on the same food if I eat it too often. At one point this week potatoes, bulgur, rice, cooked frozen vegetables, and my soup was not something I could eat. I cooked some different vegetables and some short grain creamy rice and got over myself! It's all a work in progress. The key is not to give up.

Moonlight, I'm arriving there myself, where I don't think I can eat plain grains and vegs as my entrée. Soup is still great, but gotta find something interesting to do with the entrees. So glad that you shed the pounds plus one! well done

[PonysPlants]

Down 2.6lbs this week! I think that’s my biggest drop since I started MWL and I’ve only got around 6lbs left until I reach my goal weight. I feel suspicious of it for some reason but I’m really pleased!

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. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES Easy. Vegan for life
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados,) 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 I got a case of sugar free, sweetener free flavoured waters. They’ve been a lovely treat on an evening and make a change from herbal teas.
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. NO. Did 6 out of 7 so almost a yes.

I think that it’s finally clicked in my head that I’m not trying to lose weight here. Now, I know that I am but focussing on that can feel unhelpful. What I am doing is building the habits that mean than my body gets down to it’s natural weight and putting the spotlight on the habits rather than the number on the scale is the most important. For the longest time there was a bit of a hangover from previous weight loss attempts. Thinking that maybe I could have some chocolate because I hadn’t had that many calories that day. Giving up entirely on the idea of calorie counting and trusting calorie density has been a shift, albeit one that I believed in but that little voice that knows the calorie count of all of the snack foods has taken a while to quieten. Up until even a couple of weeks ago I was almost worried about getting to my goal and not having the support of this forum but now I know I’ll be ready to fly the nest when the time comes!

Thanks to the moderators as always and especially Mark. You’re encouragement and gentle pointers when things go awry has honestly been pivotal to my success so far.

Naomi

[Rachael]

Weight change +/- in lbs:
-.2
last week 150.8
this week 150.6

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.half the week
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. half the week
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).no I had eggs in some baked goods and ice cream
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).yes
6. Eliminate any added oil.half the week
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.half the 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.half the week
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: Last weekend was difficult for me. Does anyone else have trouble on the weekends? I feel like the general lack of structure that just comes with the weekends really feeds into my thoughts and behaviors around food. The lack of adherence followed into Monday and Tuesday and I just couldn't find my way out of the crap - cookies, chocolate, etc. By Wednesday I was finally able to resist the cravings and fight the urges to binge. One factor that I think played into the difficulty of last weekend was the onset of my period. The cravings for chocolate and high-fat foods were intense. Because of that I gave in and had cake at my sister's birthday celebration on Saturday and then I was off on a binge. I'm hopeful for this weekend though. My plan is to strictly adhere to my behaviors that I use during the work week. I can do this!!

[squealcat]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -0.4 pounds

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.not always 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
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 except for one meal out which had 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).walked 5/7 days as usual

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:Another pretty good week. I ate out with friends one meal and ordered the "Hippy Hash" which was onion, mushrooms, hash browns and other vegetables with scrambled egg on top and toast on the side. I ordered dry toast and took about two bites of that and put the eggs to the side. Now that I know how it is served I will tell them to grill the veggies dry and skip the egg. I will get better at all this. I have a couple restaurants that I know what to order at and will add this one with those specifications. My friends already notice the difference so wait until next time !

No other thoughts this week. A few temptations but I was able to push them to the side. I just don't want to get into the rut I was in in the past where Sundays were so tough and daily afternoons were also. I make plans for my time, make sure I have good food always available and relax !

Have a great week everyone and many thanks to those who have helped me by your written thoughts and words and just by being here. We all make a difference to each other.

-squealcat (Marilyn)

[squealcat]

I think that it’s finally clicked in my head that I’m not trying to lose weight here. Now, I know that I am but focussing on that can feel unhelpful. What I am doing is building the habits that mean than my body gets down to it’s natural weight and putting the spotlight on the habits rather than the number on the scale is the most important. For the longest time there was a bit of a hangover from previous weight loss attempts. Thinking that maybe I could have some chocolate because I hadn’t had that many calories that day. Giving up entirely on the idea of calorie counting and trusting calorie density has been a shift, albeit one that I believed in but that little voice that knows the calorie count of all of the snack foods has taken a while to quieten. Up until even a couple of weeks ago I was almost worried about getting to my goal and not having the support of this forum but now I know I’ll be ready to fly the nest when the time comes!

This is copied from PonysPlants and written above and this is exactly how I feel right now. So many years of following diets and other food plans ! The focus on building habits is what is going to help us achieve and sustain health. I am thankful for what was written here. Worth repeating !

-squealcat

[anne57]

...

[Principality]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -3.1

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. My soup/ salad/ fruit is a part of my meal.

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, My bowl is filled this way.

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, they are troublesome and are being eliminated.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).Yes, working on ending the coffee because it involves cream

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes

6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes, this was harder this week as the spouse roasted potatoes with oil and seasoning. My weakness is crispy potatoes. Should be fine next week as long as I am in control of my potatoe friends

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. [color=#FF00FF]Yes, with eliminating the dry cereal, I don’t have issues with the rest of this group. Cheerios and all bran and corn flakes have always been my go to for a late evening snack because I thought they were a good choice. Now they are going to be the item hanging around that is going to taunt me[/color]

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).yes, the shakes are gone so that is a issue fixed.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes, not an issue

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). No, the food was the focus last week so I hope to focus on activity this week,

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Nothing much to report. Just chugging along and planning to keep on keeping on.

[HoustonJason]

From Houston Jason
Original Weight = 252 on January 1.
March 26 = 210

Total = - 42 pounds

Weight change +/- in lbs: no change

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. I didn't eat dessert at all this week.
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, most of the time - I think I'm probably hitting the salt a little hard. I'm eating potatoes almost every day...
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).
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. Yes.
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. I need to step this up.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I had a tough week. I shouldn’t let my sister’s family’s issues or my mother-in-law’s issues which I have no control over bother me but I do. I did get a lot of good feedback and compliments from friends at work asking what I’ve been doing, hearing how I haven’t touched guacamole, cheese, donuts, cookies, or oil etc. in 12 weeks and shrieking “no way”!!! I think my non-loss this week is mostly due to my neglect of exercise. I’m going to focus more on long cardio sessions this week. I really want to get to 199 by my birthday, April 28. All that said, I’m amazed at how much I’ve melted off myself in 12 weeks! Thanks again for being here to encourage everyone!

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 March 19 = 210 March 26 = 210

[GreenFroG]

Weight change +/- in lbs: +0.6 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: Ha! Thought I did pretty good this week until I got on the scale and it was up half of a pound. So I re-read the articles you recommended, Mark, and it helped me to analyze my week. The Myths of Moderation series was just what I needed. I read them on Sunday and then went about my week. Looking back, I did have some "exceptions" without even really registering them. I had some fresh squeezed OJ from our tree- which I have always passed on before. I also remember having some balsamic glaze on veggies for dinner. And I was trying to increase my exercise this week, which I did, but it also increased my appetite so I had fruit at night, which increased my fruit intake. Exceptions add up

Yes, the article did give me a "sense of direction toward the degree of adherence you might seek to maintain in service of your important goals" and a good perspective for my next week. I will be looking for all the exceptions where I have gotten sloppy. Reading an article and applying it are two different things for me...onward!

[Mark Cooper]

PonysPlants - WOW! Great week, Naomi! All your diligent efforts have put you in a really good groove. The change in perspective / mindset you describe was a real gamechanger for me, too. Focusing on our prevailing pattern of behavior instead of singular outcomes or specific numbers offers us so much more agency and leverage; I find it very empowering. Keep it up, and protect your groove!

Rachael - Give yourself credit for turning things around and getting back on track; that rarely feels easy. Powerful cravings can certainly be very challenging. Taking the same structures and tactics you employ to support adherence Monday-Friday, and applying them to the weekend seems like a reasonable adjustment. The more you can establish an environment that supports strict adherence, the easier it is to adhere; make it trivially easy to have an adherent meal, and as difficult as possible to lapse into troublesome foods. Have you thought through a plan for how you can successfully manage the next time cravings take hold?

squealcat - Woot! You reported weight loss every week this month, Marilyn! Your attention to preparation and planning, keeping adherent foods you enjoy close at hand has been paying off. Likewise, continuing to adjust, adapt, and reassess when challenges arise has really fortified your practice; carry on and you'll be assembling adherent restaurant meals like a pro!

anne57 - Nice loss and a gratifying list of victories! Something that really helps me fit in exercise is to block out the time in my daily schedule, just as I would for a meeting or appointment; make a "date" with yourself to go on a walk each day and you'll be prepared for that 5K sooner than you think. Try not to worry too much about perfectly discriminating that "just full point"; keep the focus on WHAT you are eating (adherent foods), more so than HOW MUCH - give yourself time, keep making little adjustments, and it will likely sort itself out.

Principality - That is a dramatic result! Well done! Your focus on getting the food and related behaviors right definitely paid off. What sort of exercise activities are you hoping to include? Anything feel particularly appealing, fun or exciting to you? Keep on keeping on!

HoustonJason - Losing 42 pounds since the start of the year is quite an accomplishment! Try not to draw too many conclusions from the single scale measurement this week; you have been averaging 2.25 lbs / week, which is right on track. Maintain your attention to the recommended behaviors, direct effort where you see opportunities for improved adherence, and give yourself time. Always delightful to get lots of positive feedback from friends, right?

GreenFroG - I think both your considered assessment of the week, and your response are right on target; just as recommended, you conducted

a very honest and thorough appraisal of the guidelines and principles of the MWL program and calorie density and [your] understanding and adherence to them.

Now for the application!

Then, make the recommended adjustments as needed.

You have got this.

[bunsofaluminum]

Weight change +/- in lbs: - .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, 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).
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.
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: so, I had a palmful of raw almonds on Thursday evening, and at one point I wanted something different, so I made noodle stir-fry. I still ate soup before my entrée, so I was able to push my plate back...three times on the same batch of noodle stir fry But that also means I ate noodles for three meals and it is what it is. Eating those noodles snapped me out of my boredom with the foods I have been eating and prevented me from like, you know, Reese's miniatures or something.

Those almonds and those noodles were my off plan foods for the week. The scale jumped two lbs the day after the first noodle stir fry, and took its time coming back down, but I did ditch 1/2 a pound this week. Enjoying my energy, stamina, and even my eyes are adjusting from bright to dark more quickly...the things that improve that you didn't even know.