The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

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Reporting for May 13 Assessments is now CLOSED

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat May 14, 2022 1:02 pm

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

The remainder of my replies and the weekly summary will follow.
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Mark's Replies for May 13 - Part 2

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat May 14, 2022 1:26 pm

carwex -
carwex wrote:My covid experience was quite mild and I returned to normal in less than a week.
That is great news, Carol! Glad to hear it. Here is Dr. McDougall's general article, under Common Health Problems, discussing fatigue; it may be of interest, given what you describe experiencing. Also, wildgoose responded here, in case you missed it. The experiment you propose seems like a reasonable thing to try out, and just see how it goes.
carwex wrote:I managed to get right back on track the next day by analyzing what went wrong-mainly I had gotten too involved in the challenges of life and less concerned with my own preservation. I have a morning routine which includes writing, meditation, and food planning. For lack of time I neglected to use this tool for a few days. Bad idea. I need to get my head screwed on straight in the morning lest the day’s activities send me into a tizzy.
Taking the time to figure out a likely chain of causation seems like an excellent approach to take in the wake of a lapse; it sounds like you revealed some important and valuable information about what tools seem essential for your own personal practice. :nod: Ever onward, always learning! :D

VegSeekingFit - Thicker hair seems like a lovely non-scale victory, Stephanie!
VegSeekingFit wrote: I do believe that I have slow incremental forward progress, but am not quite there yet.
The thoughtful and intentional forward progress is what is most important, keep that up and you'll reach the end you seek by and by. Eating the recommended foods first, when faced with temptation and the positive, adaptive self-talk and framing of the experience seem like important achievements.
VegSeekingFit wrote:Still not sure why I am so attracted to dry, salty, calorie dense foods
I would encourage you to make this a series of questions, (Why am I feeling a desire to eat these specific foods at this particular moment? What am I feeling in my body? What will happen if I do or don't eat them? If I eat something else instead? How would I describe my current context?) that you pose to yourself. What does your intuition reveal to you about this? I think you are doing an exemplary job of working through these challenges in a considered, informed fashion. Keep at it!

Gimmelean - Cheers to you for receiving that observation from your neighbor in the complimentary spirit in which, I imagine, it was intended! :-D
Gimmelean wrote:Eating flour based products tends to be the biggest driver of weight gain for me, so eliminating them by following MWL has made the difference. Has also been a challenge that has gotten easier after a lifetime of bread. There’s a lot to be said about our time and adherence approach. It took time and commitment to change habits I took for granted and often with a lot of frustration.
Thank you for sharing that, it seems like a valuable realization to have made. What you describe is very much in accordance with what my own experience has been, as well.
Gimmelean wrote:eating this way, even splurging on the finest stuff, is nowhere near the figurative and literal cost of consuming animal products and oils.
This seems like salient point, too; those figurative costs, in particular, can be pretty hard to bear, right? In health!

Gabby7 - Awesome! Feeling surprised about how well things went seems like a very nice surprise, indeed! I imagine your effort to keep things simple, your attention to preparation and establishing a solid routine, and your focus on letting food be fuel for your body, while finding other activities to meet your other important personal needs, were major contributors to this "easy-seeming" week. Carry on!
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Summary for May 13 Reports

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat May 14, 2022 1:40 pm

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

Mark's Replies for May 13 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for May 13 - Part 2

Wow! Really amazing efforts and progress is documented in the reports above. I'm so impressed with the thoughtful, diligent, and measured overall approach that is shining through in all the assessments. It feels to me like many of you are in a good groove, operating from a solid foundation, and are now in the phase of "fine-tuning" your practice and "filing off the rough edges." If you haven't yet achieved all the results you desire, know that you are on your way; remain steadfast, keep learning and growing, and you will find that you have built a meaningful, health-supporting way of life for yourself.

The discussion thread that feels most appropriate to our current conversation is one I have returned to often, and I think it merits a second look now (or, possibly, third, fourth or fifth look! :lol: )

Compliance on a Healthy Diet

That entire thread has a great deal to offer, in my opinion.

Carry on the good work, everyone, and have an excellent week!

Take care & be well. :D
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby Noella » Mon May 16, 2022 4:06 pm

May 13th, 2022
Hi Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose and Team MWL Time and Adherence,

First of all, my apologies for the late reporting on my adherence to the MWL guidelines for May 6-13th. I was travelling and missed the deadline; then, I procrastinated without a deadline. I have been keeping up with reading everyone's posts, though, and also read the lengthy thread on compliance that Mark recommended. It is a very worthwhile reading. It has so much to think about. The fact I became obese in the first place still troubles me, and learning how to undo it and change my lifestyle enough to tip the scale literally in the other direction has been excellent. I learned so much by being part of this group. It helps with my compliance to learn so much from Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose, and all participants. Thank you. Here is the part from Jeff's compliance thread that spoke directly to me:

Self-efficacy is the extent or strength of one's belief, perception and convictions in one's ability to complete tasks and reach goals.
I think that may be *the* individual characteristic/trait that makes all the others possible, at least in the current environment, because while the program itself is easy, doing it in this world is very difficult. Without a "greater degree of self-efficacy," it becomes even more difficult if not impossible due to the lack of social and environmental support for this way of life.

These many forums, especially this one, provide the virtual social and environmental support I need to succeed with this way of life. Thank you so much for all you do to encourage and teach us!

Here is my report for last week:
1. Start each meal with a soup and salad, and fruit. :-D I enjoy eating salads before every meal and snack.
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. :-D I'm keeping our meals incredibly simple when we travel for four days this week: steel-cut oats with fruit for breakfasts and greens and beans bowls topped with sliced baked potatoes, tomatoes and salsa. :-D
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 stop them. :-D I'm trying my best to go easy on the salt - always aiming to add as tiny as possible, so just a pinch on my dinner time meal. Hoping I don't ever need to eliminate it.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :-D
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :-D
6. Eliminate any added oil. :-D I had half a serving of roasted veggies at a little vegan cafe this week. They had oil added to the mix. It was the first oil I had had in months. The roasted veggies tasted good because of the oregano and other spices and didn't need added fat. My palate has changed, and I enjoy, possibly prefer, vegetables without the added fat.
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods, including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, and air-popped popcorn, dried fruit.):-D bread tempts me from time to time as it's in the fridge for my husband. I'm usually okay to leave bread alone. I have had a slice about once every season, and each time I give it a try, it doesn't taste as delicious as I remember it tasting, so I'm becoming less interested in it.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :-D
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until comfortably full. Don't starve yourself, and don't stuff yourself. :-D
I'm more aware all of the time. It';s nice to eat large quantities of low-calorie dense foods and feel like I can eat adlibitum.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :-D I am travelling to Ottawa, Canada's capital, this Thursday for four nights. I have booked an Airbnb with an outdoor swimming pool, and it's within walking distance (a 30-minute walk) to everything we need to do. I will get a minimum of a couple of hours of walking every day, possibly much more. So exercise will be excellent on this trip. [/colour]

[color=#0000FF]My May focus is:
More Vegetables! MWL Guideline #1 and #2
More Movement! MWL Guideline #10


[color=#0000FF]Best regards,
Noella
145 pounds
95 pounds lost as of May 6th, 2022


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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby BambiS » Fri May 20, 2022 7:28 am

5-20

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Most days

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. Had a couple marshmallows that my mom sent home for my dogs. Sweets will always be an issue for me. I can’t have them in the house at all.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes, not an issue here

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes, no problems

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, no problem

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

yes, but I’ve been going up and down for well over a month now.I asked my doctor about a goal weight, he said your body will let you know.
I’m not ready to settle at this weight, I’d like to loose more, not necessarily go to 22 bmi.


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

Yes, rode my cubii, but beginning to think it’s not enough. I am going to watch my heart rate to be sure it’s staying in the zone.
I have been peddling on and off during my work day, I don’t think it’s keeping heart rate up.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions
My physical was great, my A1C was 5.5, an improvement since 8/21. Improved cholesterol, specifically LDL. Blood pressure was okay, the doctor didn’t say anything bad, but I want it better. It runs in the 130’s /80’s range.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby Rebecka22 » Fri May 20, 2022 8:05 am

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
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 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
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 I am good here.

I had a good week. I have got into the habit of planning simple meals for myself on nights I make things I don’t eat for my family which has become a lot easier than trying to recreate something close to what they’re eating. I also was not tempted by the treats for my moms birthday this week, so that was nice as I know that’s not always the case. I hope everyone has a great week!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby carwex » Fri May 20, 2022 9:53 am

My report for this week:
1. Start each meal with a soup or salad. Yes
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method, ½ starch and ½ vegetables. Yes
3. Reduce or eliminate added sugars and salts. Yes, eliminated from cooking.
4. Eliminate all animal foods. Yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. little almond milk in tea.
6. Eliminate any added oil. Tes
7. Eliminate all higher calorie dense foods. Yes
8. Don’t drink your calories. yes
9. Follow these principles whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Yes.
0. Avoid being sedentary. Yes, doing a lot of walking, xi gong and hopefully tomorrow swimming.

This was a good week for the MWL. I went back to my mornig routine of writing, meditation and meal plans and that seems to point me in the right direction for the day.
I was hot on the hunt for the holy barley and thought I found it. It was unhulled barley and no matter that I cooked it for over 2 hours and it was soft, the texture of the husks remained and felt like a mouthful of straw. I will continue my search but in the meanwhile not sweat the details as Jeff suggests. I am eatng many more sweet potatoes however. Question: Does that include purple potatoes also?
Thanks again Mark for posting the earlier conversations from the forum between JeffN and MikeyG. They are pretty fascinating because they touch on much larger issue of public health and how to effect change. I believe that a factor in Esseltyns success with his group is the fact that he as a surgeon from prestigious Cleveland clinic was the guiding presence in the group. I have had a similar success in adherence with a periodontist who works very closely with patients. I even congratulated him on his method by citing Esseletyn’s way of working.

As far as the experiment in fatigue goes, I am feeling better but don’t know if it’s from the new breakfast regimen or just better rest. Thanks to Wildgoose for sharing her experience with fatigue and breakfast. It helps to get feedback. I wil definitely try another grain like buckwheat for breakfast. What has helped tthis week is cooking congee which is a savory rice porridge that Chinese and other Asians eat for breakfast. I add a little stock plus Asian veggies dried mushrooms,and various seaweeds. Delish.

I am reviewing the habits which keep me adherent. I will share next week. Would love to hear from others what actions and habits keep you adherent.
Carol
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby CindyD » Fri May 20, 2022 10:07 am

Hello! Hooray summer weather, about 78 this morning in Illinois.

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. 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). Mostly, see 6.
6. Eliminate any added oil. Mostly, but for work lunch two days I had a low cal vegan frozen meal from Amy's*, which has a little oil and soy.
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 pretzels in the house means no pretzels in my mouth.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes, I think so. I add oat milk to my Dandy Blend in the morning, but I don't drink it otherwise.
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, partly due to a noisy upstairs apartment neighbor, I am getting up about 20 minutes earlier and walking the dogs for longer in the morning. I was already walking them several times a day but this longer walk is nice.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Not too much trouble scaling back to MWL guidelines this week, lots of potatoes and some lentil Instant Pot dishes. Late night snack of apple! As I mentioned in my previous note, after losing 70 pounds with this group through last June or so, too many higher calorie foods had crept back in (mainly pretzels, popcorn, and soy products but also some processed vegan foods), and I gained about 18 pounds back. This first report covers about a week and a half and also about 3 pounds back down, woo!

*Amy's Brown Rice Black Eyed Peas and Veggie Bowl, 290 Cal
https://www.amys.com/our-foods/brown-rice-black-eyed-peas-veggies-bowl
I think this is a good option for emergencies. But, not compliant - includes some oil and soy.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby JeffN » Fri May 20, 2022 10:50 am

CindyD wrote:*Amy's Brown Rice Black Eyed Peas and Veggie Bowl, 290 Cal
https://www.amys.com/our-foods/brown-rice-black-eyed-peas-veggies-bowl
I think this is a good option for emergencies. But, not compliant - includes some oil and soy.


Hi, thanks for checking in

In regard to the product, not only is it not MWL complaint, it would not pass for the regular program. It is 31% fat, the sodium is 2:1, and it contains oil. I would not recommend this at all.

Remember, little indulges turns into big set back over time. That is how it starts.

The best thing is to always make extra and have back-ups in the freezer

There are also healthy complain options, that are also MWL compliant, but that is not one of them

For example, McDougall low sodium cup of soups are great (use half the seasoning packet). Cascadian farms (and others) has compliant frozen bags of beans, grains and veggies.

https://www.cascadianfarm.com/product/f ... l-peppers/

https://www.cascadianfarm.com/product/f ... chickpeas/

We can do better!
Jeff :)
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby CindyD » Fri May 20, 2022 12:27 pm

JeffN wrote:*Amy's Brown Rice Black Eyed Peas and Veggie Bowl, 290 Cal

I would not recommend this at all. Little indulges turns into big set back over time. That is how it starts.

Jeff


Hi Jeff! Thank you kindly for the info and reminder. I will take this off the menu.
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Mark's Replies for May 20 - Part 1

Postby Mark Cooper » Fri May 20, 2022 1:39 pm

BambiS - Great report from your doctor's exam; congratulations on achieving those results! If you feel like you have hit a plateau, the best steps to take are described in Jeff's post concerning Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them. Focus on adhering to all of the recommended behaviors, with a particular eye toward any possible small "exceptions" or irregularities that may be consistently slipping through the cracks. Regarding adequate exercise, this is a great thread: Exercise, Health & You: How Much Is Enough? Onward!

Rebecka22 - Another awesome week! :D Great thought to plan a simple, easy meal for yourself on those occasions when you're also preparing and serving non adherent foods. I agree with you about that being easier than trying to conjure a satisfactory "copycat." (I would say it is often more satisfying, as well). Carry on with your estimable efforts!

carwex - Kudos to you, Carol, for resuming your morning routine and producing a good week through your efforts! I love purple sweet potatoes! The Okinawan / Hawaiian variety are my all-time favorite food. YUM! I'm happy to know that you are feeling better and less fatigued. You are hitting all my favorite foods this week! I love congee and eat it on many mornings each week. Delish, indeed. I look forward to your review of the personal habits that help make adherence feel attainable for you. Speaking for myself, starting my day with exercise and focusing on keeping my meal preparation as simple and effortless as I can are two major points that I feel serve me well.

CindyD - YAY for summer weather! It is wonderful that you have found yourself able to resume the recommended pattern of behavior without too much difficulty; having adherent foods on hand, ready, and easy to access is definitely key. :thumbsup: So is, as you observed, getting the most troublesome foods out of the immediate environment. Much like the Cascadian Farms products that Jeff linked, I have seen Birds Eye Steamfresh packs of Brown Rice, Broccoli & Carrots, that work for a really quick adherent meal (although one has to read the labels, as they also sell lots of packs with non adherent additions, too). Keep at it!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby Gimmelean » Sat May 21, 2022 7:57 am

McDougall Post for week ending 5/20/22

Hello Everyone!

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).
No. Some nuts

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.
Not entirely- yet. Still working on this point to be 100% adherent every day.


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,QuestionsChallenges: I batch cooked grains- this week barley, steel cut oats, and brown rice. I discovered that after cooking them in the InstantPot, they can all be rinsed in a fine mesh strainer with cold water which separates the grains very nicely and gets rid of the gluey texture. I thought they would disintegrate but they don’t. I made whole wheat pasta, a lentil soup, roasted jewel yams and vegetables( essentially a refrigerator clean out). For next week, we went to the produce store and got broccoli raab, Swiss chard,and dandelion greens to go with the BYOBB’s. ( Jeff’s fantastic list of foods best for lowering cholesterol- berries, yams, oats,barley, and beans).
Mark, the links you provide to Jeff’s articles are so helpful. Jeff’s comments and reflections reinforce my commitment to this way of eating and most specifically to this program. Not only has it worked for me to successfully lose weight, but July will mark two years that I’ve maintained by being a participant here. I’m amazed at how Jeff has challenged almost every one of the PCRM doctors for gaps in their studies in a most refined, science backed, and respectful way, and continues, after all of these years, to unwaveringly do more of the same. I am grateful to everyone in this forum for all of your support and teaching by sharing your tips, tricks, and challenges. Plus the habit of weekly journaling and documenting here provides a feedback loop that continues to open my eyes about my food choices and relationship with food.
Have a good week!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat May 21, 2022 9:10 am

Gimmelean wrote:Stephanie-Thank you for the Cornell Merlin Bird app idea. I put it on my phone and love it. I have 2 cockatiels and a yellow nape Amazon which qualifies me as a crazy bird person, but love to see the birds outside my kitchen window. We put suet cakes and seed in feeders year round and it’s always interesting and fun to see new ones. My kitty is an avid bird watcher too ;) ;)

Hi Gimmelean, :)
YAY!!! Glad that you like the app!! Love that you have birds and enjoy the ones outside!!
My cats like to watch them too - it's like feline television... :lol:
We feed the birds year round as well - have to keep it squirrel proof though... Have been waiting (impatiently!) for the hummingbirds to arrive. I make them a sugar solution and really enjoy them in the warm weather.
Cheers,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby Noella » Sat May 21, 2022 9:17 am

REPORT FOR May 20th, 2022
Hi Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose and Team MWL Time and Adherence,

Travelling this week makes me feel anxious at times so I've been trying to keep to the basics as much as possible:
JeffN wrote:
Our program is simple, very simple. So simple it becomes difficult. Just eat commodity simple staple foods as close to their natural state as possible (rice, beans, corn, oats, fruits, and vegetables) and get a pair of sneakers and move. That’s it. Adjust to your personal health situation if necessary.



Here is my report for this week:
1. Start each meal with a soup and salad, and fruit. :-D This is MUCH trickier when travelling but I am doing my best! Once we arrived at our destination we went to the market and bought greens, cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes. The only thing that needs refrigeration are the greens and happily, these fit in the mini-fridge at our Airbnb.
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. :-D I'm keeping our meals incredibly simple as we are travelling for four days this week: steel-cut oats with fruit every morning for our breakfasts and greens and beans bowls topped with sliced baked potatoes, tomatoes and salsa for lunch. ( I brought the salt-free salsa and baked potatoes with me and these are in the mini-fridge, too. :-D
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 stop them. :-D Easy enough... we didn't bring any salt with us this week.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :-D
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :-D
6. Eliminate any added oil. :-D My daughter is a medical doctor and while visiting at their house for dinner each evening all of the meals are nutritious, low to no added oil, and no added salt. They don't have a salt shaker on the dinner table either! My daughter is very vigilant about sodium and reads labels conscientiously. They cook things like lentils and rice, bean chilli and whole-grain pasta with veggie-rich no oil added marinara sauce etc. so happily oil isn't a problem on this trip. They seem to be cooking mostly our way for the days we are here visiting, which is very thoughtful and lovely for us.
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods, including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, and air-popped popcorn, dried fruit.):-D None of these !!
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :-D Staying with water!
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until comfortably full. Don't starve yourself, and don't stuff yourself. :-D I love how simple this health tip is!
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :-D We are walking several km every day. My knees are complaining but not over the top painful if that makes sense. They do not hurt when I am at rest and are recovering nicely between walking stints. Cross country skiing definitely suits my knees better than walking but My pace is keeping up not too badly. The distance between our Airbnb has listed as 27 minutes on my apple maps app but I walk this distance in 23 minutes. My dream is to be able to walk 'briskly' one day. My ultimate dre4am would be to be able to run or jog a short distance. Sometimes I get discouraged and think I will still need to get my knees replaced other days I feel encouraged because I'm walking- something that I could barely do before I started eating this way.

[color=#0000FF]My May focus is:
More Vegetables! MWL Guideline #1 and #2
More Movement! MWL Guideline #10


[color=#0000FF]Best regards,
Noella

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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat May 21, 2022 10:37 am

Hi Team Time & Adherence!!! :)

Hope that everyone is having a great week!!! Was super excited last week to find the local Farmers Market open - and scored some great produce - including screaming ripe strawberries and flavorful bell peppers. Also, green leaf lettuce, shitake mushrooms, onions (red, yellow, green), yukon gold potatoes, broccoli, skinny asparagus... lots of delicious stuff!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
:) Yes. I consistently preload B/L/D - mainly with salad. Enjoyed many of the same veggies / fruits as prior weeks and also was excited to have a bounty from the Farmers Market! I have not preloaded all snacks (quantifying at 5 times this week had potato slices only).

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 - all meals, not the 5 potato snacks.
Still following similar routine and batch cooking potatoes, rice, beans, split pea soup, sloppy lentils, pasta.
Made a huge Pyrex of roasted veggies from Farmers Market. Cut them super small - skinny asparagus, green onion, red bell pepper, shitake mushrooms... YUM! Will try a different concoction this week.
Keeping ingredients ready to grab in the refrigerator makes it simple to assemble a compliant meal.


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, reduced not eliminated. Used a little seasoned or onion salt on potatoes at times. Also, twice had 1 TB Teriyaki California Balsamic (yes, balsamic crack) on roasted veggies / salad. This is sugar to be used sparingly. I didn't use sugar on anything else this week.

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

5 Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
;) There was again one occurrence where I fell short on 5 and 7 (same problem food - or trying to be non-food items).
Getting better with eating potato first and using positive self-talk instead of becoming discouraged.
Was able to "fight off" two other occurrences with the potato.
Considering below questions from Mark to help to nip this in the bud.
Am completing a "mindfulness" web-course in my work health app --- which had a relevant point on the "Thinker" and the "Doer" parts of your brain and how they aren't always working in a synchronized fashion.


Mark Cooper wrote:
VegSeekingFit wrote:Still not sure why I am so attracted to dry, salty, calorie dense foods
I would encourage you to make this a series of questions, (Why am I feeling a desire to eat these specific foods at this particular moment? What am I feeling in my body? What will happen if I do or don't eat them? If I eat something else instead? How would I describe my current context?) that you pose to yourself. What does your intuition reveal to you about this? I think you are doing an exemplary job of working through these challenges in a considered, informed fashion. Keep at it!


Also, I keep trying here... Taking a portion of Jeff's quote from a reply to Cindy on a different food item --- but I think the concept is relevant to me here as well... Thinking that little "cheats" can easily snowball. I have done that experiment before - so aspiring for 100% going forward!

JeffN wrote:
Remember, little indulges turns into big set back over time. That is how it starts.


We can do better!
Jeff :)


6 Eliminate any added oil.
:D 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.
:| See #5.

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 didn't stuff or starve.
Again, I snacked about 5 times when hungry on roasted potato that I didn't 50/50 or pre-load. I am not prioritizing changing this yet until I am a bit more secure feeling on #5/7. But, yes -- I do intend to eat the recommended foods in the recommended fashion...


10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes. :)
* 7/7 days walked outside. One of the days was with a hooded sweatshirt, parka, umbrella....
* Exceeded my steps goal by 2K steps / day .
* I still need to prioritize resistance training and becoming at least a bit more active.


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Thanks, Mark for sharing the Compliance on a Healthy Diet thread. Like others have commented, I found this impactful in many areas and is information that I will continue to reference. Noella mentioned the Self-Efficacy concept / factor in success and I also find this intriguing and wonder how to build skills in this space (or are they inherently present or absent?)... Carol highlighted the larger issue of public health and how change can be introduced. Thinking that it would be lovely if environment was more supportive of healthy eating with more choices of the recommended foods.

Bambi - Congrats on awesome doctor visit!!! You are doing great!!!
Rebecka22 - I so agree with you on it being simpler to put together compliant meal with a blank plate - instead of trying to make a non-MWL dish compliant. You are on fire with 10 / 10!!! :-D
Carol - Your congee sounds really good!! If you are looking for other breakfast ideas, I have found that I do best with a bit of legumes included --- for instance, I will have a salad, fruit, and potato with a bit of smashed Mary McD beans or split pea soup.
CindyD - Hi - I am in IL too!! :) Wanted to say YAY to you for joining to get on track. Awesome results you have had!!!
Gimmelean - Your food always sounds so delicious!!!! Thanks for sharing these ideas!
Noella - thanks for sharing your travel tips! It sounds like you are doing great!

Huge thank you to Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose and all participants!

Hope that everyone has a wonderful and compliant week!!! I can't believe only 1 more check-in and we are already to JUNE!

Best,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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