September 2021 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[Mark Cooper]

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.

[Mark Cooper]

Health 1st - Another nice loss! It absolutely makes sense that the occasions when you felt overly hungry corresponded with the decision to include non adherent foods; Dr. Lisle's lecture The Story of Willpower – What it Is & How it Works speaks to the mechanisms behind this, the simple answer is eating of the recommended foods whenever hungry, until comfortably full. It seems quite encouraging that, although the cake roll keeps surfacing in your consciousness, it remains largely unappealing for you. I think this article from Dr. Lisle offers a possible model for why this happens, and he presents a technique for managing the situation, as well: Cravings – How They Work and How to Manage Them. Avoid indulging any troublesome cravings and keep choosing the recommended foods instead, and those mental images are likely to fade away over time. As with many things, the answer is TIME + ADHERENCE, as simple (and/or challenging) as that may be. Happy Labor Day!

cmcavazos2 - Glad to hear you are continuing to successfully eliminate those workplace "treats"! I know that can be quite effortful. The times when you included non adherent things, was that an active choice, situational, or for some other combination of circumstances? Keep doing your best to adhere to the recommended behaviors as consistently as possible.

VegSeekingFit - Great progress, Stephanie! I think your observation about self-assessment with the checklist allowing for effective reaction to lapses, anomalies and changes in situation is apt; I believe self-assessment is fundamental to "course correction" - we have to recognize when lapses and challenges occur, in a clear, accurate and timely fashion, and THEN make adjustments to our behavior, routine, and environment as needed. If we don't "see" the issues, how can we respond, right? I am right there with you LOVING salads, especially at breakfast! YUM! Enjoy the holiday weekend and carry on!

Zoey - You win the award for most reliable results! As long as you are choosing to eat the recommended foods, in the recommended fashion, it is hard to go wrong; however, I can understand and identify with what you say about "not liking the behavior" of stress-eating. When those incidents occur, do you feel the sensation of hunger? Sometimes stress and hunger can coincide, right? Having some self-specified and enjoyable (to me) activities / tools for coping with stress (I like breath exercises, mind-body awareness, and going for a walk) has really helped me to move away from using food as a coping mechanism. I think you inclination to give yourself time, aim for less frequent incidents, and commit to choosing adherent foods when hungry is absolutely a sensible approach.

veggiemelt - Down 2 lbs! So sorry to hear your mom was hospitalized! I'm sure that was really stressful and exhausting. I'm wishing for her to have a beneficial and positive outcome. Take care, treat yourself with compassion, and just keep doing your best.

PotatoHead1980 - Nice results, Chris! You are definitely off to a solid start! SNAP meals for the win, right?

Gimmelean - I'm so glad to hear you weathered the storm without any harmful impacts! 16 + 21 pounds - Fantastic progress!

Maintaining is just as tough as losing and will always need to be top of mind for me.

I totally know what you mean, and I think it is especially salient to acknowledge that, in many instances, the same prevailing pattern of behavior that produced the results is required to maintain those results. Speaking from my own experience, it does get easier with the accrual of experience and adherence over time, but that period of time may be much longer than one might think. It is TOUGH, but you know what to do, and how to do it.

texaslil - Hang in there, Laila! Those cravings can feel really powerful sometimes, right? The more you can set yourself up with a clear plan and some effective tools for managing those cravings when they arise, and avoid indulging them, the sooner they will fade: for me, having adherent foods prepared and easy to eat is key. I think this post from wildgoose about handling the Pleasure Trap, as well as this post discussing temptations, offer really practical advice.

Noella - I'm so relieved to hear you tested negative for Covid! Making everything work while travelling isn't easy under the best of circumstances, and I'm sure being ill and needing to self-isolate only compounded the challenges. It sounds like you did your best. I'm definitely not qualified to offer any medical advice, so I can only speak to my own personal experiences. On those occasions when I have had a cough, I've gotten decent relief from drinking plenty of liquids (hot water or tea, in my case) and applying Medicated Chest Rub, and, of course, following any advice from my primary care physician when the illness was more lengthy or severe. Wishing you a quick and easy return to full health!

[Mark Cooper]

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

Mark's Replies for September 3 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for September 3 - Part 2

By my count, 10 participants reported for our first September 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 first Friday in September:

Week ending 9/3/2021: 10 participants reported a total change of -10.40 pounds
--------------------------------------------------
Woo-Hoo! NO GAINS
--------------------------------------------------
Total gains: +0
--------------------------------------------------
NO CHANGE / MAINTAIN/ STARTING OUT
Cmcavazos2 0.00
Gimmelean 0.00
Noella 0.00
Texaslil 0.00
--------------------------------------------------
Zoey -0.10
Rebecka22 -0.40
VegSeekingFit -1.40
Veggiemelt -2.00
PotatoHead1980 -2.50
Health 1st -4.00
--------------------------------------------------
Total losses: -10.40
--------------------------------------------------
Cumulative group loss for September 2021 to date: 10.40 pounds
Average loss for week ending September 3: 1.04 pounds
Cumulative group loss for January 2021: 117.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for February 2021: 39.40 pounds
Cumulative group loss for March 2021: 73.20 pounds
Cumulative group loss for April 2021: 48.30 pounds
Cumulative group loss for May 2021: 35.90 pounds
Cumulative group loss for June 2021: 34.10 pounds
Cumulative group loss for July 2021: 64.95 pounds
Cumulative group loss for August 2021: 49.30 pounds
--------------------------------------------------

Next Weigh-In is on Friday, September 10, 2021.


Kudos to all our participants for starting out strong with NO weight gains this week! Your attention to the recommended pattern of behavior, and continuing reduction and elimination of lapses, within the context of a very challenging societal food environment is praise-worthy!

Through your ongoing efforts, you are continuing to build healthy habits, and Jeff's article The Road to Success: Creating Healthy Habits offers a solid map for how to proceed. Give it a read (or reread ).

For everyone who is celebrating, have a safe, enjoyable, and healthy holiday weekend!

[texaslil]

I think this post from [b]wildgoose about handling the Pleasure Trap, as well as this post discussing temptations, offer really practical advice.

Thank you so much for sharing those links, they were both enormously helpful! I especially appreciate the information that it takes 3 months to get rid of the craving of fat, and that some of that resistance comes down to good ol' white knuckling it! I've got my work cut out for me!

I'm also a bit frustrated with myself as when I read Goose's post back in November of 2020, I had also posted that week weighing 171.. that was 9 months ago and I really haven't made much progress since then... very discouraging. I don't think I have been very honest with myself about how I am approaching the MWL and have really just been setting myself up for failure. As of today, I am committing to getting through the next 3 months with NO overt fat in my diet. I know for sure that this will be difficult for me, especially since I love avocado and tofu.. but I also know I want to continue to make progress and what I have been doing the past 9 months has not gotten me much closer to my goal. So, I'm fed up with being fed up and am ready to commit. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't trepidacious, but I am going to put all of my effort towards this. I am also going to increase my non-starchy vegetable intake, ensuring that I'm more adherent to #1 and the pre-load.

[wildgoose]

I think this post from [b]wildgoose about handling the Pleasure Trap, as well as this post discussing temptations, offer really practical advice.

Thank you so much for sharing those links, they were both enormously helpful! I especially appreciate the information that it takes 3 months to get rid of the craving of fat, and that some of that resistance comes down to good ol' white knuckling it! I've got my work cut out for me!

I'm also a bit frustrated with myself as when I read Goose's post back in November of 2020, I had also posted that week weighing 171.. that was 9 months ago and I really haven't made much progress since then... very discouraging. I don't think I have been very honest with myself about how I am approaching the MWL and have really just been setting myself up for failure. As of today, I am committing to getting through the next 3 months with NO overt fat in my diet. I know for sure that this will be difficult for me, especially since I love avocado and tofu.. but I also know I want to continue to make progress and what I have been doing the past 9 months has not gotten me much closer to my goal. So, I'm fed up with being fed up and am ready to commit. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't trepidacious, but I am going to put all of my effort towards this. I am also going to increase my non-starchy vegetable intake, ensuring that I'm more adherent to #1 and the pre-load.

@texaslil I don’t think I can add much in terms of advice to what I’ve already written, but I can share a real-time story that might help....

#1. The last few days, the Gander and I have been eating one main dish that’s richer than we normally eat. Nothing awful, just a little higher fat than our usual diet. But it’s enough. Enough to get those fat receptors singing. And the song they sing is "I want M-O-O-O-R-E!!"

#2. I’m taking a friend to an appointment in another town today, 50 miles from where we live. It’s a place I don’t go very often. Which is a good thing, because it’s also home to my very favorite pizza place in all the world. Pizza that’s worth a 100-mile round-trip drive even if I weren’t going to that area already. You get the idea.

Now, combine #1 and #2, and what do you have? A setup for a big problem. Having eaten just slightly higher on the calorie density scale has thrown me off just enough to get me about ankle-deep in the Pleasure Trap. Just enough to make that pizza sound really good.

And of course, being just enough "off" physically brings in all the mind games, too. I’ve been "so good" for "so long." I deserve a "treat." Right?

I even admitted to the Gander what I’d been thinking about, how it would be only half a mile out of my way to stop at that pizza place. His response? "It’s up to you." No lecture, no pep talk, no drama. Just a shrug and "It's up to you." Maddening how practical that Gander can be, sometimes

It is up to me. And I’m still clear headed enough to know exactly what I’m going to do.

#1. Toss the rest of the leftovers of that richer dish. Back to brown rice and broccoli for a couple of days, which I like and which I know keeps me stable.

#2. Make sure I’m well-fed before I leave on that trip. Load an interesting audiobook for the trip home. Plan the route that does not take me past the pizza place.

I know I’ll be OK. It’s like Dr. Doug Lisle has said, falling off the narrow path just puts you in a shallow ditch. It’s not hard, especially when you first fall off, to step right back up onto the path.

So that’s my story. I tell it to illustrate how the Pleasure Trap is always with us. And that getting out is a matter of one choice at a time. And that I like being lean and healthy more than I like that pizza.

So what do you think, texaslil ? Are you ready to step out of the avocado- and tofu-filled ditch, shake off your feet, and try the narrow path for a while? Sounds like you are.

After all.....It’s up to you.

Goose

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi MWL peeps,

Hope that everyone is having a great week!!

I am sorry to be early ... and I am not weighing this week, but still intending to follow MWL Checklist for the long term (and will report on compliance with behaviours). I got really sick on Sunday night. Waiting for longer test COVID results. Before this time, I did a good job (IMO) following the MWL checklist. From Monday to this Thurs PM, I have been so fatigued that even making rice in rice cooker would be a "job"...

Background - I have been really sick from Monday - Thursday. I have again stopped recording food / exercise - as it was not 100% compliant with MWL checklist and I didn't have the energy to do so. I think that I have Covid.. Rapid test says no... still waiting for other test results. Have 8 of 12 symptoms of the common symptoms of Covid... Could certainly be something else, but I have to say that I have never experienced this level of incapacitation from a flu or cold... I got tested on Tuesday at a drive thru -- you do your own testing thing ... If it comes back negative, think I will re-test. I am dumbfounded at how I could have "caught" anything... I am vaccinated and I mask ... even when they said you don't have to mask in stores, I still masked and avoided gatherings of many people.... I am a crazed handwasher and have disinfectant gel in my purse and car...

Anyway, not looking for sympathy but will just factually say: I have been couched (very little movement) from Mon-Thurs (starting to feel like a human on Thurs)... Had a hard time to find easy testing facility... first one I went to was "open" on Internet but really "closed"... Took all of the energy that I had at the time to find it and go there,.. Then, walking around with mask -- trying to find it... and seeing others do the same. Called them multiple times and no answer... was sweating through my clothes... Came home crying because I was trying to do the right thing and was all out of energy. Went home and found another testing place ... it was weirder than weird. You follow the instructions and put your own samples ... I have to be honest that I want a valid result, but no way that I will put this nasal thing up as far on myself as someone else might...

I don't think that my change in weight will have any bearing on my compliance with the checklist this week and it could be down (not hungry) or up (too much salt).... When I initially started following the Checklist, I hardly weighed... Crazy?? I knew that I was doing the right thing and didn't want to be discouraged. Today, I don't feel a "good" or "bad" weigh in does me any good or would change what I intend to do...

Weight change - N/A
Current weight - 134.8 lbs.
Last Week weight - 134.8 lbs.


1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. INo. I did this some before I got sick. I need to go back to this when I feel better/

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. I have found some great ideas for 50/50 plate that I can take forward. I did do this consistently until I got sick. After, I have incorporated fruit more / veggies less. Also, have probably been more starch heavy.


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. I have used more convenience soup (like McD cups) than I would normally do while sick.
When I have energy back, the convenience soups would be a rare occasion.

4 Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES, of course.

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

6 Eliminate any added oil. Yes! I do not add oil and only have this if eating out.

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. When I was sick, I had my homemade no fat bean dip on whole wheat toast (that I had made for salad)... It was super easy to make toast... This is not going to trigger Pleasure Trap for me... was just easier to put together on toast and veggies were not attractive at time...

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. I'm not sure. Mostly. Tried to eat at least soup at meal times. I didn't really stuff or starve, but may not have recognized hunger at times.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Ha ha!! Nope. Fail. But, with reason of being sick. Will pick this back up when I feel that I can. I am super sad to have to miss the 5K that I recruited friend to walk with me...

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Was obviously not a banner week for me... Did the best that I could (IMO)... with being sick.

Just trying to recover in a sensible way and get right back with MWL checklist when I can. Today I actually feel human, so soon!!

I hope that I haven't been a downer - just didn't want to skip reporting -- as I am still in!!!

Wishing everyone health and happiness!!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[PotatoHead1980]

Stephanie,
I'm sorry you're going through all that! I'm wishing you a speedy recovery.

[PotatoHead1980]

Weight change +/- in lbs: -2.4

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). 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). I got a few walks in this week which is an improvement, but I still need to do more.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Another great week! I'll have a challenge this evening. We are having a couple of friends over for my wife's birthday this evening. There will be starchy McDougall-friendly food plus a non-McDougall pie. My plan is to preload on a large pile of steamed broccoli before guests arrive and avoid the pie, effectively creating a 50/50 plate. The rest of the week should be pretty easy, (fingers crossed).

[Rebecka22]

149 Weight change +/- in lbs: +0.4 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: It was a busy yet compliant week. I survived hosting my husband’s party thanks to all your advice. I also didn’t eat any of the sweets or chips or soda at the party. I am working on focusing on the behaviors and not the scale even though I’d be lying if I said it didn’t bother me. Being back at work has been stressful and exhausting, but I’ve been sticking to my plans. Thanks for being here Mark and everyone else!
Rebecka

[texaslil]

I think this post from [b]wildgoose about handling the Pleasure Trap, as well as this post discussing temptations, offer really practical advice.

Thank you so much for sharing those links, they were both enormously helpful! I especially appreciate the information that it takes 3 months to get rid of the craving of fat, and that some of that resistance comes down to good ol' white knuckling it! I've got my work cut out for me!

I don’t think I can add much in terms of advice to what I’ve already written, but I can share a real-time story that might help....

#1. The last few days, the Gander and I have been eating one main dish that’s richer than we normally eat. Nothing awful, just a little higher fat than our usual diet. But it’s enough. Enough to get those fat receptors singing. And the song they sing is "I want M-O-O-O-R-E!!"

#2. I’m taking a friend to an appointment in another town today, 50 miles from where we live. It’s a place I don’t go very often. Which is a good thing, because it’s also home to my very favorite pizza place in all the world. Pizza that’s worth a 100-mile round-trip drive even if I weren’t going to that area already. You get the idea.

Now, combine #1 and #2, and what do you have? A setup for a big problem. Having eaten just slightly higher on the calorie density scale has thrown me off just enough to get me about ankle-deep in the Pleasure Trap. Just enough to make that pizza sound really good.

And of course, being just enough "off" physically brings in all the mind games, too. I’ve been "so good" for "so long." I deserve a "treat." Right?

I even admitted to the Gander what I’d been thinking about, how it would be only half a mile out of my way to stop at that pizza place. His response? "It’s up to you." No lecture, no pep talk, no drama. Just a shrug and "It's up to you." Maddening how practical that Gander can be, sometimes

It is up to me. And I’m still clear headed enough to know exactly what I’m going to do.

#1. Toss the rest of the leftovers of that richer dish. Back to brown rice and broccoli for a couple of days, which I like and which I know keeps me stable.

#2. Make sure I’m well-fed before I leave on that trip. Load an interesting audiobook for the trip home. Plan the route that does not take me past the pizza place.

I know I’ll be OK. It’s like Dr. Doug Lisle has said, falling off the narrow path just puts you in a shallow ditch. It’s not hard, especially when you first fall off, to step right back up onto the path.

So that’s my story. I tell it to illustrate how the Pleasure Trap is always with us. And that getting out is a matter of one choice at a time. And that I like being lean and healthy more than I like that pizza.

So what do you think, texaslil ? Are you ready to step out of the avocado- and tofu-filled ditch, shake off your feet, and try the narrow path for a while? Sounds like you are.

After all.....It’s up to you.

Goose

Thank you so much for your response Goose! Please keep the stories coming, listening to your past and current experiences is so helpful to continue to keep my eye on the goal! I am ready, I accept the challenge and yes, afterall, it is up to me!

[Mark Cooper]

VegSeekingFit - Oh my goodness! So sorry you have been feeling so poorly, Stephanie; everything you have been dealing with must feel quite overwhelming. You are clearly making the best of a difficult situation. Concentrate on your recovery, keep doing the best you can, and give yourself a big pat on the back. I don't feel your post was a downer, at all; rather, it shows your dedication to the reporting process and the program. I'll have you in my thoughts, wishing you an easy recovery and all the best. Take care.

PotatoHead1980 - Well done, Chris; you're down another 2.4 lbs and making progress with getting more active. Your plan for managing tonight's challenge seems solid to me. Carry on!

Rebecka22 - Always great to see 10 YESes, especially during a busy week - with a birthday party, no less! Kudos to you for maintaining the recommended pattern of behavior, even when work is feeling stressful and exhausting. Succeeding when things feel hard makes the smooth times feel like no problem, right?

[cmcavazos2]

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.
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:
Victories: I was able to tighten up on my compliance to the 10 guidelines this week, especially #5.
Comments: I'm still trying to focus on the 10 guidelines and not to obsess over the weight numbers.
Questions: None this week

Again, thanks so much.

[Gimmelean]

Weight change +/- in lbs:-1.40

9/03/2021 127
9/10/2021 125.6

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. 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:
Food wise my week started out terribly with a no at most every level. I felt awful and I was gaining weight. All kinds of stuff was brought into the house and I ate it all. I turned things around with a really focused and concentrated effort towards the latter part of the week,so I’m saying yes to all 10 points. I wound up winning the week with a loss of 1.4 pounds. What a difference a few days make. Not only the scale, but in feeling great.
My favorite quote that comes to mind when it comes to adhering to the MWL checklist is “rest not from duty, but find rest in it”. The effort is so worth it.
Have a great week everyone!

[texaslil]

-3 lbs
166.8


1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, 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: OK Y'all... if this is what 100% adherence looks like, I like what I'm seeing I'm very pleased with the loss. and it felt so good to really recommit myself to the 10 points. I increased my veggie intake before meals and had a large bowl of greens, broccoli or any frozen veggies that I had accumulated in my freezer for the past 15 months of doing the MWL... didn't realize how many I actually had in my freezer. I also started a new exercise routine of getting up early to go to a 5:30 am yoga class and then a walk with my doggie. I do think this has had a major impact as it required me to to change my evening routine as well. Instead of staying up to 11-11:30 and struggling to get up in the morning, I am now getting ready for bed at 9:30 and lights out at 10. The best part of the new routine is that I have my evenings back and no longer have them overtaken by my workouts, which means... I can cook earlier and eat earlier and 'close the kitchen' by 8-8:30. This is a c change for us as we would sometimes sit down to eat at 8 previously. I like the way I feel much better when I get up in the morning, I don't feel lethargic and I'm not dragging like I was before. I'm excited to keep it up next week

Thanks for all of the gentle encouragement!
Laila

[Noella]

Hi Mark,
This week’s Weight Change: none
Current weight: 151.5
Starting Weight: 240 lbs
Goal Weight: 140 lbs.

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes! I am having two or three ‘starters’ at every meal again, now that I am back at home. I like nibbling fruit while I make a salad and heat up a soup. My soup lately has been very easy: Pomi brand strained tomatoes, water to dilute by about half, a cup of fresh chopped basil, dried herbs ( Kirkland brand no salt seasoning) and ground pepper…easy and delicious. It just takes a minute to put together and we have so much basil in our garden I usually include it in our salads too!
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! This 50/50 mix of starchy to nonstarchy foods really helps me organize my pantry, fridge, and freezer. It also really helps me organize my grocery shopping, too. Do I need to buy more nonstarchy veggies/ leafy greens, or more starchy whole grains, legumes, or potatoes. More than likely, I have enough starchy foods on hand and only need to shop for fresh non-starchy veggies each week. The starchy foods store well and are easy to store in my pantry cupboard. I like how attractive our fridge shelves look filled with colourful veggies and fruits and our pantry shelves look with glass jars filled with various beans, lentils, whole grains, etc.
3.Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.Yes! I think I am almost “out of the pleasure trap” after travelling. It feels good to enjoy the true flavours of food with just a sprinkle of salt or sugar. Restaurants sometimes overdo the salt or sugar to the point where saltiness or sweetness is the dominant flavour and the real food is lost. After following MWL I prefer the flavour of the food without a lot of added salt or sugar. Travelling for a couple weeks reinforced how much I prefer food prepared following the MWL guidelines for using just a little salt/sugar.
4.Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).Yes. Easy to do this at home. In restaurants you just don’t know about every ingredient. I try not to obsess about being 100% on this one when aim travelling. I eat at home 99% of the year and do my best when I have to eat out. For our recent trip we mostly went to grocery stores, farmers markets etc. For our food and ate meals that could be eaten without any cooking…mostly fresh fruits and veggies. (I brought along a big bag of precooked potatoes for starch, plus a tiny cutting board & knife…so helpful!). Happily my husband is content with this kind of food, too. But to keep my husband happy we did enjoy a couple restaurant meals. Next time I think I will take a small rice cooker along to cook rice or whole grains once or twice. All of our hotel rooms had a tiny fridge, which was great. So many veggies and fruits don’t require any refrigeration: tomatoes,
5.Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).YES
6.Eliminate any added oil. Yes! Honestly, I enjoy food so much more without oil or butter added.
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! So nice to be home again and able to cook up a batch of oatmeal, or rice. We had bread/bagels/corn tortillas as our starch a few times on our trip once we ran out of the precooked potatoes. I thought I would really like, and get pulled back into, that world of rich restaurant food but I didn’t get pulled back at all because I found the food too salty and not as satisfying/satiating as whole grains like quinoa, rice or starchy veggies. My eating habits have changed THAT much. For the better! It’s a great freedom!
8.Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes! This guideline is easy for me.
9.Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.Yes! I do like eating and enjoy big servings but the preloading with soup, salad and fruit usually means that I’m completely satisfied by the time I eat my 50/50 plate of starch and veggies! Before this diet I was always hungry and snacking on sweets. Eating starch has changed everything! I’m only hungry at meal times and rarely snack.
10. Exercise daily for thirty minutes (brisk walking). No…I haven’t gone for a walk this week or even done any housework or gardening. I was home for three days before I even unpacked my suitcase… sort of tired and lazy after travelling and being so active for a couple weeks…I know that exercise is key but sometimes I just can’t seem to get myself moving.

Victories:I haven’t yet experienced the lower number I REALLY want to see on the scale, I feel confident that it’s going to happen soon… l feel that it will be a reality because my waist keeps shrinking and my clothes feel loose. So my body is changing even though the scale isn’t. When I catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror, or in a photo I can recognize myself again. I didn’t recognize myself twenty months ago! I looked like a stranger! Haha…, I have regained much of my lost appearance and I finally look like my old self again. In the beginning I wasn’t totally sure that I would ever get to this point of feeling or looking normal and healthy again yet I trusted and I believed in Dr. McDougall’s words, “It’s the food!” and I felt motivated to try it out when I read the success stories. When I started out on this journey I didn’t focus on regaining my appearance because I was mainly wanting to hang onto my mobility. Mainly I did not want knee replacement surgery - just the idea of knee surgery really frightened me (One of my daughters is a doctor she had described the details of knee replacement surgery to me she assisted with during her residency…I sure didn’t like what I heard her describe! …that was a motivating and transformational conversation.) Shortly after the conversation about knee replacement surgery with my daughter, I came across and read success stories on the main McDougall website: Cloudys: https://www.drmcdougall.com/articles/st ... -rockwell/ and Esthers’: https://www.drmcdougall.com/articles/st ... es/esther/. They, too had pain in their knees before losing weight. Their stories gave me hope. Well, here I am twenty months later and my knees are feeling so much better. Starch based is working! It hasn’t been fast; it has been a gradual improvement - each month a bit better than the one before it. It’s SO great to be able to walk without sharp pain at each step, to be able to get up and down from the floor when I play with the grandkids, and recently even something as simple as walking through an airport is a pleasure now. I had no pain on my recent travel including the long airport walks! Not that long ago (ten months ago?) I had to lean on my husband for support and I could only walk for short periods of time between rests.

I am thankful for the healing I have experienced.

Thank you, Wild Goose for your recent posting! I enjoy learning from you as I read your real life descriptions! Wonderful!!

Thank you, Jeff! I read and re-read your posts, and watch ( and re-watch!) your videos.

Thank you Mark. I rely on your encouragement SO much! You are in my thoughts daily and I hope that you are feeling very well.

Best regards everyone,
Noella