The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - March 2022 Group

[Werner]

Deleted post

[Mark Cooper]

Hi, Werner. This particular thread is for those participating in the Time + Adherence MWL group. Is that something you are interested in doing? If so, please take a moment to review the Orientation information for the group. If you would like to join up, just follow the instructions for participating. Otherwise, you might be better served by posting in the Lounge, the My Daily Menus & Journals section, or the Maintenance Group. Just FYI, a modest amount of maple syrup, added to the surface of one's food at the table, would be acceptable for MWL. Dry cereals and almond milk, on the other hand, would not be recommended for those pursuing MWL. Oatmeal is the preferred way to prepare oats based on the MWL guidelines.

[Werner]

Sorry. I realized after posting that I was in the wrong for him but I couldn't find the way to delete it or to edit it.

[Mark Cooper]

Sorry. I realized after posting that I was in the wrong for him but I couldn't find the way to delete it or to edit it.

No worries.

[josietheschnauzer]

MWL Check List for 3/25/2022
Am I eating too much? My goal this past week was to ask myself these questions before, during, and after eating to see if I could tell the difference: Hungry? Anxious? Angry? Tired? Thirsty? I discovered this past week that I usually thirsty. How was that? In any case, I am drinking more water and herbal tea before I eat.

On the food front, I did eat “vegan” falafel at retirement/birthday dinner for a friend on Thursday night. My friend is WFPB but not MWL! Don’t you just love our acronyms? The food was from her favorite “Israeli Vegan Street Food” restaurant and the servings were small. I did preload with carrots and celery. I did have plain fruit for dessert instead of “vegan” chocolate birthday cake.

The vegetable Lasagna recipe by Jeff and recommended by Mark is absolutely great! Delicious, easy to make, perfect for company—it also makes a lovely presentation with the sliced tomatoes baked on top--so easy to slice in uniform pieces! I definitely will make it again and again. I have copied the recipe sent by Mark again for your encouragement at the bottom of my post!

Spring is here, I hope! The cherry blossoms are beautiful in Washington, DC!

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: Yes.
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods: Yes.
6. Eliminate any added oil: No, tahini in falafel.
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products, popcorn and dried fruit: Yes.
8. Don't drink your calories: No, one green tea concoction given to me by owner of my favorite Chinese restaurant last week. I was uncomfortable in refusing it. So, I drank it and had a stomach ache. Brother!
9. Eat when hungry & until comfortably full. Don't starve and don't stuff: Yes, this week.
10. Include 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily: Yes, I walk every day at 5am.
I have completed twelve weeks on MWL in 2022. I lost I.8 pounds last week for a total loss of 16 pounds in twelve weeks.
Vegetable Lasagna by Jeff Novick and recommended by Mark Cooper
Spinach, mushrooms, carrots, zucchini, onions, peppers and home-made sauce.
Tomato Sauce:
2 Boxes POMI Chopped Tomatoes (no salt)
Fresh Garlic, Basil, Oregano
Lasagna Ingredients:
1 lb frozen chopped spinach
1/2 lb frozen mushrooms
1 lb frozen zucchini
1/2 lb frozen carrots
1/2 lb frozen onion, pepper mix
2 sweet potatoes baked
Filling:
Mashed sweet potatoes and thin with warm water while veggies thaw and then mix thawed veggies in with the mashed sweet potato to make the filling
Assembly:
1/2 cup sauce on bottom of pan
1 layer whole grain noodles
1 1/2 cup sauce
1/2 sweet potato/veggie mix
1 layer noodles
1 1/2 cup sauce
1/2 sweet potato/veggie mix
1 layer noodles
1 1/2 cup sauce
Cover with sliced tomatoes
Bake covered for 45 minutes at 375

[BambiS]

3/25

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes, no issues here.

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 did better 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. 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, I was mindful


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


Victories, comments, concerns, questions
I finally had a nice loss this week, thrilled I’ve lost over 31 lbs with the group and 41 total since September. I’m starting to get compliments.

[Rebecka22]

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES This continued to be a habit.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES I stuck with my regular frozen veggies again this week. Wondering if I need more variety. I find it hard to find too many options of non starchy frozen veggies.
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 No problems again this week!
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES I am committed to this one so it’s easier for me.
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES No problems here this week either.
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES No eating out and nothing processed.
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 No bad cravings this week.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES No big cravings here this week either
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 find I’m needing to eat an extra time some days, but seems fine.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES I continued to do well with this one.

Overall another good week. Last week you asked what about my resolve during Lent did I think was most helpful and honestly I think it’s knowing the end date, which obviously doesn’t help too much. But one other piece is the fact that it’s just a given part of my life, and that I can definitely carry over. The more I choose these behaviors, the more they will become a given part of my life too. I hope everyone has a great week!

[Mark Cooper]

josietheschnauzer - It sounds like you managed that birthday/retirement outing in a considered manner, and in a fashion with which you felt comfortable. Kudos to you for choosing fruit for dessert instead of birthday cake! I'm glad to hear Jeff's Lasagna was a success for you; it really is remarkably easy to make, isn't it? I miss the cherry blossoms! I'm sure Washington looks quite beautiful.

BambiS - Excellent effort! Congratulations on that 41 pound loss since September; enjoy the compliments, that is a significant achievement.

Rebecka22 - Awesome week! The frozen veggies we eat most often in my house are "California" or "Normandy" mixes with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. We also enjoy brussels sprouts, green beans, asparagus, pepper/onion mixes, collard greens, kale and spinach - all from frozen. Since having a clear and known end date is something about Lent that feels useful and valuable to you, it might signal that you could have some success by running specific, time-bound "experiments" playing out shifts in behavior, adding new habits, or just trying new things.

One other piece is the fact that it’s just a given part of my life, and that I can definitely carry over. The more I choose these behaviors, the more they will become a given part of my life too.

That's seems like an astute observation to me, and I definitely agree. Have a great week!

[carwex]

Hi Mark and all the MWLers,
He's my report of the week:
1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES, still cold here so making plenty of soup.
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 although I seem to be making it more 60-40 on the starchy side.
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 Did reach for bread a few times this 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 although I think I may be stuffing some of the time.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Getting less exercise this week as the pressure to stay at home and GET THINGS DONE grows as the time nears to move house.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Mark asked why my second week of guests was more difficult than the first. The answer was in jeff’s article that you referenced about health foods and the answer is “concentration” but not in the sense of concentration of sugar in the health foods, rather the constant preoccupation or concentration of my thoughts on food and what to prepare next that would make everyone happy. This sometimes happens at parties or meals at friends where there is a lot of food around. For the first 2 hours I can resist and by the 3rd hour of exposure I am weakened and the addicted part of the brain seems to take over. The solution is to remove oneself from the food after the meal. With guests I need to pare down the number of meals I have to make for them or limit their visit.
I thought last week I would get right back on track as soon as my guests left but it has been harder than I expected. The food prep is simpler and there is less danger of non-compliant foods making in-roads but I am doing a lot of “grazing”, popping food in my mouth while preparing or when just passing the kitchen. It’s not because I am hungry. It’s because I want something in my mouth when I think or see food. I used to call it the “seafood diet” (see the food, want the food, eat the food). I am also quite under stress around this move. Stephanie refers to it as the emotional side. I’m making progress but the list of things to get done grows daily. Stress always makes me want to eat more. So while I am being compliant I am lacking what George Ohwelll referred to recently: Grace. That lovely feeling of not wanting more food and being satisfied with the plan as written. But as I write I realize that things really are better - with the food and in my progress, so let’s forget perfectionism and just do the best we can each day. Grace will return when I am ready to accept it. Meanwhile I am trying to concentrate on improving the 10 behaviors.
Noella: Puttering with fancy dishes has always been a turn on for me so long ago decided that the “great cook” ideal had to go. I recently discovered a great dessert for me and the normies: Baked apples and while my recipe is not 100% adherent it’s enough for me. I take the Granny Smith apples and cut a slice off the top, then core them. Into the core I put raisins and walnuts. I know- not compliant- but each core is so small that one whole walnut and a few raisins is all that goes into a serving. Then I sprinkle brown or demarra sugar over the tops and into the pan. Not a lot but enough to give a sweet taste. Add a little water to the pan and throw in a cinnamon stick or two. Bake at 180-190 degrees Celsius (350-375 F) until they collapse. I usually start with a foil cover and then remove it half way though. Once they cool down a bit, I serve with a dab of vanilla ice cream for whoever wants it. Everyone wants it but I find it easy to resist the ice cream part because the apples themselves are such a treat. My answer to apple pie and ice cream.

Here's to a productive and adherent week to everyone.

Carol

[George Ohwell]

It sounds like everyone is doing well this week. Congratulations. and thanks for the lasagna recipe Josie, that looks great! My week was good except for one slip:

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.
One day I had some dates and nuts. now there's a way to gain back all that weight I lost! It is WPFB crack, like Jeff says.

4. Eliminate all animal foods:
yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods:
yes except for the dates & nuts episode.

6. Eliminate any added oil:
yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products, popcorn and dried fruit:
again, the dates and nuts episode

8. Don't drink your calories:
yes

9. Eat when hungry & until comfortably full. Don't starve and don't stuff:
I felt overfull on the dates/nuts day.

10. Include 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily:
I'm on a road trip so I missed a few days with the long drives.

I'm planning to get right back on track this week!

-George

[Gimmelean]

Greetings!

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. I made a huge pot of Kitchari. Brown rice and mung bean based soup/ stew with lots of fragrant spices. Adding 4 cups of chopped, non starchy vegetables made it a good 50/50 balance meal to grab and reheat all 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.
Yes

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
No. I ate cheese.

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’m really surprised at myself. I stress ate with a vengeance which of course went from raw vegetables to tortilla chips and cookies. Always after dinner at the kitchen table.

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, until item 7. I was not hungry when I ate non-adherent foods.

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:This was not the best of weeks for me adherence wise. I’m so glad to post here because it makes me aware of just how much I’ve strayed. With this structure I know exactly what I need to change which helps eliminate guilt tripping because guilt is counter productive. This was was a very stressful week after returning from two weeks off from work and saying goodbye to loved ones I haven’t seen since the onset of the pandemic. In the grand scheme, the triggers weren’t the worst of things but triggers just the same. I tried to destress with exercise, yoga, and meditation, but as I’ve done for a lifetime, found myself turning to food. I’ve been gradually slipping and making excuses that I’ll snap back but haven’t put in the effort. Adherence and accountability are so important in order to maintain the success I really worked hard to achieve. This week my goal is to focus on items 4,7,&9 and change the outcomes one day at a time before those bad habits have an insidiously deeper grip on me. I have what I need in my refrigerator, know what to prepare, and will close the kitchen after dinner. If I could put my hands on some danger tape as a table runner I would. Have a good and successful week everyone!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. I mainly ate salad this week as a preload (for B, L, D), but also used fruit or soup a couple of times each. Various raw veggies are stored in refrigerator for easy grabbing. Also, have a broad selection of fresh and frozen fruits.

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes.
*I have eaten a bunch of different breakfasts this week - from potato waffle, to split pea soup, to beans and nuked yukon golds with a bit of salsa. I always start with a salad and add a bowl of fresh melon. Delicious!
* I have eaten a simple "Lazy Girl Lunch" a few days this week. Start with a plate of Romaine leaves and other raw veggies then fruit and roasted potato slices.
* For dinner, have enjoyed a few times Red Lentil Chili 50/50 with lettuce with a fruit starter. Sometimes other veggies also and / or potato slices.
**** I have followed the recent dialogue on fruit and I have read all of the various background threads to keep this guideline in perspective. Understand that Dr. McD restricts fruit to 2/day for MWL. I have not prioritized reducing my fruit at this point (not eating "copious amounts" or binge-ing), but will keep this in mind as a future opportunity. Should I be "unsmiley" for this point on the checklist?? (But I kept it smiley for now, since I feel like I am "within the spirit" of the guidelines (while still exceeding this threshold, but not looking to "cheat"?)


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 haven't eliminated, but reduced. I do use some garlic salt on potatoes at times. I don't generally use sugar, but did have 1.5 T BBQ sauce with some potato slices once this week which was a nice "treat".

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!

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.
I continue to be mindful to eat when hungry (before becoming super hungry).
This week, I snacked a couple of times on a few slices of roasted potato. Next week, I will 50/50 the potato.
The potato has been a nice crutch to help me to crawl out of the 5/7 ditch.


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 5/7 days walked outside about 45-75 min each day (did take 2 rest days, 1 was a rain out where I paced inside)
* Just missed my step goal by about 400 total steps - BOO to me - should have monitored this better!!

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

* Please see comment on #2 re: fruit....
* Feeling better each day on ability to adhere to #5/7
* Still worry about coping mechanisms for future Pleasure Trap encounters. Will work hard to try not to be discouraged and to nip it in the bud as quickly as possible (before it becomes ingrained).
* My personal impact of a "justa" (to borrow from Wildgoose) - my "justa" handful of peanuts or pretzels (or both ) bad habit that sneaked in... By cleaning this up about 5 weeks ago, have lost 7 lbs. in that time (when I had been in "behavioral equilibrium")...
* HMM... so not worth it to me -- and I will try to remind myself of this before consuming any non-recommended items

Elsa -- I love your questions to self!!! I may borrow your approach for formulating some questions for when I may be considering any non-recommended food item.... Thanks for posting again that lasagna recipe -- and glad it worked out well for your group!!!

Bambi -- Congratulations on your awesome results!!! Woo-hoo!!!

Rebecka -- I can so relate to your comment about being able to have more resolve with an "end date". Trying to wrap my head around not having an end date for compliance ... or I know where that will end up for me... Keep going!!

Carol -- You are a MWL hero for keeping on as you are going through the moving stress!!! Think how much easier it will be when you are "re-settled"!!! I like your "seafood diet" description....

George -- Congrats on your excellent progress!!!

Gimmelean --I totally agree with you on "with this structure I know exactly what I need to change which helps eliminate guilt tripping because guilt is counter productive." I have a really hard time with that part of it. It sounds like you have some great coping structures. Wishing you well in moving forward this week!!

Thank you to everyone for this community!!! We are small but mighty!!! Extra thank you to Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose for all of the support.

Hope that everyone has a wonderful week!!! Best wishes to all as we work to build behaviors to support lifelong weight maintenance. Don't forget to eat your starch and get some sunshine!!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[Noella]

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 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 (x-country skiing)

I had an excellent MWL week. I watched the Dr. Doug Lisle video about the conditioned cram circuit, and it was just what I needed to stop overeating fruit. My weekly MWL assessment is such an excellent opportunity for self-reflection. Today, I decided to commit myself to nurturing and caring for myself better than Ai ever have before. I imagine the many ways I give generously to my work, husband, daughters, grandsons and friends, etc. I have just realized that I don’t seem to be nearly as generous, understanding, or kind to myself as I am to others. For instance, my self-talk can be critical. Also, I will buy lovely gifts for others and not even blink an eye over the cost. But not for myself; I am incredibly frugal, altering and mending my old clothes as I lose weight. I need to change my mindset, care for myself more, and treat myself more generously by being more understanding, thoughtful, and complimentary. Mark Twain said, “I can go two months on a good compliment.”

Best regards,
Noella
C.W. 148

[Mark Cooper]

The window for reporting this week's behavioral results has officially closed.

The remainder of my replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Mark Cooper]

carwex - Considering the daily demands and stressors associated with preparing for your move, it seems to me that you are managing things pretty darn well, Carol! What you describe, in regard to the "cognitive load" that so often accompanies our practice of this way of eating in the prevailing social, cultural, economic, and dietary environments will ring very true for many participants, I think. It is related to, and in line with, Dr. Lisle's lecture explaining The Story of Willpower – What it Is & How it Works.

As I write I realize that things really are better - with the food and in my progress, so let’s forget perfectionism and just do the best we can each day.

That is inspiring to hear, and an apt approach toward facing challenges, in my opinion. Cheers for a productive, adherent, graceful week ahead!

George Ohwell - One lapse on a single day, in an otherwise successful week, means you were diligent enough not to allow that "slip" to become the first in a series. What would you say precipitated the choice to have the dates and nuts? Was something different about that day or time? Situational changes or a shift in routine or environment? I have to imagine the road trip was a factor, no?

I'm planning to get right back on track

That is what's most important, right? Kudos to you for staying focused.

Gimmelean - Greetings to you! The Kitchari sounds delicious. Was yours similar to this recipe? I agree with you that guilt trips and self-recrimination are maladaptive and counterproductive. When we are hit with very stressful events, nearly all of us have that tendency to revert to familiar coping strategies, and the habits of "a lifetime" have a tendency to be pretty "sticky." As you observe, when we are facing what feels like burdensome resistance and we start to let things "slip" when confronted with obstacles, the answer to that problem begins with accountability and thoughtful self-assessment. None of us are perfect, and the strength of consistent assessment is in giving us a clear, accurate picture of the situation, and pointing us back toward success. As you wrote, you know what to do; treat yourself with compassion, arrange your routine and environment to support what you're trying to achieve, and take it one meal at a time.

VegSeekingFit - Hooray for another awesome week of diligent effort, Stephanie! It seems clear to me that you are bringing a thoughtful, considered perspective to your fruit consumption, and I would agree with your sense of following the "spirit" of the guidelines; SMILEY it is! It is really exciting and inspiring to see how your sequence of effort, assessment, adjustment, and refocused effort has been able to "bury" that "5/7 ditch." It is fascinating to see the concrete evidence for the effect of a little "justa" here and there; 7 pounds serves as a powerful illustration of the fundamental principles, right? Onward, in the sunshine!

Noella - Woo-hoo! That's 10/10, Noella! Excellent week, for sure! I absolutely LOVE your committed intention to nurture and care for yourself as thoughtfully as you do others, with kindness, generosity and understanding. I really think it is something ALL of US need to hear and consider from time to time, so thanks to you for sharing it with us! May you carry that joyous mindset forward into another month.