The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2022 Group

[Mark Cooper]

frowsyowl - Clear progress from last week, Jennifer! Being prepared (both with adherent food and with planning) is often the KEY practice contributing to success. Carry on building that groove and habituating these new patterns, making gains where you see an opportunity to do so.

GreenFroG - Excellent work this week! I'm very happy to hear that adjusting the volume of your meals has been helpful for curbing cravings.

Can people change their triggers by abstaining for a month?

It is hard to say, as I think the answer might be different for different people, and perhaps dependent on the potency of the particular trigger. One sure way to get a pretty good idea: Try it for a month and find out! That said, a lengthy period of abstention can definitely go a long way toward minimizing or eliminating any cravings for a particular item.

I just posted my comments and realized that the lemon juice I have been adding to my hot water at night as a treat may be considered liquid calories. It is only about a teaspoon, but would I be better off with herbal tea? When I drink herbal tea, I seem to want caffeine. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!

I would say that you probably do not need to worry about this, since the amount you are describing and the way you are using it is much more in line with a condiment, rather than a more caloric beverage. If this doesn't provoke more troublesome behaviors, and you find it helpful for staying on track overall, I think it is fine.

moonlight - Kudos! Not only is your consistent tracking providing a motivating view into your pattern of behavior, but it also offers a clear picture of week over week progress. The frequency of your adherence continues to climb. Are there a wide variety of different situations or events that feel like they keep those potential 100%s feeling out of reach, or do you find it to be specific, repeating factors each day? Carry on identifying those links in the chain of causation, try a solution (like you did with the preload for hiking), and reassess. You can get there!

VegSeekingFit - I AM ABSOLUTELY ready for SPRING, Stephanie! Nice effort and progress this week; I really like your description of finding your "adherence muscle," and flexing it! I find the role that our emotional context can play in our decision-making process and "in the moment" behavior to be fascinating; sometimes a particularly tough, frustrating, anger-inducing situation comes along and really knocks us for a loop, right? Cheers to you for being mindful of that and making a fast recovery.

I am feeling pretty good about this one (FINALLY) - as it no longer is a habit and I am not feeling cravings.

That seems important! Carry forward the habits and practices that helped make that possible and you should be able to "seal the deal."

So, I am glad to be practicing imperfectly .... because I do intend to continue to follow MWL 10 Pt. checklist going forward and if mistakes happen --- just dust off and keep going.

Just so!

CUgorji22 - The anniversary of your father's passing can't have been an easy day, Chesca; may you find comfort in happy memories of your time together. You are absolutely welcome to "pop up" here any time in the future. My congratulations on the remarkable progress you have made, both this month and since November. Thank you, too, for really embracing the new behavioral group focus, and setting a great example of how to make diligent, thoughtful self-assessment and evaluation work to deliver results. Best wishes for a happy, healthy year ahead, and here's to EVERYONE enjoying those "starters!"

josietheschnauzer - Your diligent efforts have delivered an excellent month, Elsa, and solid results! Roasted chestnuts are ~1100 calories / lb, so comparable to bread or other richer foods; they would not be recommended for MWL.

At this stage in my life, I don’t think I am the type of person who can “go on maintenance”. I think I must stick to MWL, period. Will that be my maintenance? I have found out over and over again, that once I start deviating, it is too easy to deviate even more.

This has been very much my experience, as well. Speaking personally, I have been "sticking to MWL" for about 5 years, while maintaining a healthy BMI. Provided one doesn't become underweight, I don't know of any reason not to practice MWL as a lifestyle.

thatsright75 -

It's been another great week for me. Feeling happy, successful, and in control of my behaviors.

Awesome, Kali! Congratulations for your efforts, and the results you have achieved!

But I still feel like I'm doing great at establishing habits of eating the right types of foods instead of resorting to the ones that derail me.

That is exactly what this behavioral approach is all about. Carry on!

Diane 17 - Hello and welcome! Jeff discusses Kombucha in this thread. It feels like you have been experiencing some trepidation regarding implementing all these changes in behavior, which I think is pretty natural, especially if this is all new for you. As we shift away from the dietary habits and patterns to which we are most accustomed, it seems natural to worry about whether we will like the changes, enjoy different foods, and find success. When first making the change away from a hyperpalatable diet, it is totally normal to experience some cravings, and it takes some time for one's palate to adjust. Wildgoose has a great post discussing this, take some time to read it through - I think you'll find some good takeaway concepts. The only real way to resolve these worries is to perform an experiment wherein you consistently practice the recommended pattern of behavior, to the best of your ability, for a substantial period of time, and see what happens as a result. It will feel really hard at first, but becomes easier with time and experience. Think about the things preventing you from adhering to each of the recommended behaviors, and try to address them with a solution; if the first try doesn't solve the problem, reassess and try again, adjusting as you go. In general, I would encourage participants not to "make plans" to deviate from the recommendations; rather, plan to succeed and address obstacles when they arise. There will inevitably be hurdles, obstacles, challenges and detours, but aiming for success seems like a prerequisite to actually succeeding. Social situations are one of the most oft-cited challenges faced; when you know you'll be away from home, and presented with non adherent foods, some participants find it helpful to eat adherent food in advance, bring there own food along, or even do BOTH. The more you can arrange and adjust your environment to support the pattern of behavior you are attempting to practice, the easier it is to succeed. Non adherent foods that aren't present, cannot be eaten, right? Likewise, time invested into planning and preparing, so as to always have adherent food close at hand and ready to go is invaluable. Have you practiced any coping methods for responding to stress that worked well for you in the past? Food preparation, or doing other household chores can be surprising relaxing, I've found. Going for a walk, or taking time to breath and stretch almost always helps, too. Wishing all the best for you!

Noella - Solid assessment, especially being away from home, comfort and routine! Some are DEFINITELY more sensitive to salt than others, so recognizing that about yourself and the way it affected you seems like an important realization.

Yesterday I made burritos for dinner and I roasted potatoes in addition to heating tortillas. I stayed away from the tortillas easily and really enjoyed the roasted potatoes with all the delicious MWL approved toppings: homemade no oil refried bean with onion and apple cooked for several hours, tomatoes, lettuce, green onion, and salsa.

This sounds amazingly delicious! Best regards for an awesome week!

[Mark Cooper]

Please note - I replied to reporting participants in the two posts linked below.

Mark's Replies for January 28 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for January 28 - Part 2

And with that set of assessments, we draw the month of January to a close! Congratulations to our group participants for all your efforts: reporting, sharing strategies, trying experiments, and making progress! Watching the activity throughout the month has been very inspiring!

Thanks to everyone for being so willing to get on board with our behavior-focused, assessment-driven approach this month, and this year. I feel like it has been a resounding success, and I am overjoyed to see the progress that has already been made, and excited by all the potential achievements that lie ahead. Making these important changes in our behavior is rarely easy, but the rewards offered by this style of living seem unparalleled. Cheers to you all for continuing to practice, learn and grow!

I will post a new group thread for February on Tuesday, February 1; our initial "check-in" will begin on Friday the 4th. I hope to see you there!

Best wishes for health and happiness!

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 1/28/22
I apologize for missing the deadline but posting to stay honest.

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.  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! Chips, breads, crackers have become a bad habit. Especially at night. Slowly breaking it doesn’t work. Aiming for 100 % next week.

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).

Yes.

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

Yes.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).

Yes.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Snacking at night has been hand in hand with eating bread, chips, and wrong foods. I’ve got to focus on walking away after dinner and closing the kitchen and make that my habit instead. The end result of my poor choices is a 2 pound weight gain over the last month. See you next week- on time.