The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2022 Group

[Mark Cooper]

May 2022 RESOURCES
This section will be updated throughout the month with links to useful resources, as they are added to the thread.

Orientation Information for Time & Adherence:
The Behavioral Path to MWL Success
MWL 10-Point Checklist
MWL Program Guidelines
Calorie Density: How To Eat More, Weigh Less and Live Longer
MWL Recipes
SNAP Meal Template

1- 28 oz Can No Salt Added Tomatoes
1- 16 oz Bag Frozen Mixed Veggies (any type)
1- 4 oz Frozen Green Leafy Vegetables (collard, turnip, mustard, etc)
1- Around 200-250 Calories of a Cooked Starch (Brown rice, Yam, Potato, WW Pasta, etc)
1- Seasoning (to your preference)

200- 250 Calories Of Starch options
~ 1.25 to 1.5 Medium Potatoes
~ 1.25 to 1.5 Cups (Cooked) Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
~ 1 to 1.25 Cups (Cooked) Brown Rice

The Road to Success: Creating Healthy Habits
The Pleasure Trap: Dr. Doug Lisle at TedxFremont
How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind with Dr. Doug Lisle
Dr. Doug Lisle on The Ego Trap
Dr. Doug Lisle: The Story of Willpower – What it Is & How it Works
Dr. Lisle's Three Top Tips for Dietary Success
Jeff Novick, RD - Nutrition & Health FAQ: Answers To The Most Asked Questions
A Review of the Rules & Guidelines for Reading Labels
Passive Overconsumption: The Unintended Intake of Excess Calories
Can You Really Eat As Much As You Want?
Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them
Top 10 Reasons for Lack of Success
Dining Out and Travel Food
Exercise, Health & You: How Much Is Enough?
Optimum BMI? / Optimal BMI - redux
Building Self-Efficacy
You Are Not Broken
wildgoose - How I determined my "goal weight"
Amy's Giant List of Links to Dr. Lisle's Lectures

[Mark Cooper]

Here are a couple of passages from Jeff's threads on intermittent fasting that I found interesting, and, IMO, applicable to the practice of MWL more generally:

In a recent discussion on one of the latest IF studies, my long-time colleague Jay Kenney, PhD, RDN, said this,....

“Nutrition science is about what to eat. It gets complicated when that focus shifts from what to eat to how much to eat and/or when to eat. Knowing when to eat is simple and knowing when to stop eating is simple. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are comfortably full (not stuffed). Calorie restriction (CR) & IF (and other forms of time restricted eating) complicates when (and sometimes also how much) one should be eating because it proclaims you should not eat even when you are hungry or you must stop eating before being satiated. CR as a means of weight control or as an attempt to induce longevity or slow aging complicates how much one should eat. If one understands how different foods impact disease risk factors and satiety/kcal, one can change what is being consumed in order to treat and prevent disease and maintain a healthy body weight and likely live a longer and healthier life. Pitting will power against the hunger drive is very hard to sustain over time and is likely a major factor promoting the development of most eating disorders. ”

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.

The problem is, to do this in our toxic food environment, is nothing short of brutal. Literally. It puts pressure on family relationships, relationships with friends, social interactions, dining out and restaurants, travel, work, etc., etc. We are social creatures (most of us) and like to fit in and get along, so to do this, puts a great strain on fitting in. And, todays current climate of information overload, clickbait and social media, everyone is an expert and makes it hard to figure things out.

[BambiS]

5-5

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


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, 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


10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes, got out for a couple walks and rode my cubii

Victories, comments, concerns, questions
Even though I had a good week, I had a small gain. I had shoulder pain and took Vulterin this week, possibly holding water? I don’t like to take it but was waking up in pain.
I’ll keep plugging away!

[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
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 and avoided all the teacher appreciation junk. I felt especially good about it when my colleagues were all saying they had a stomachache from eating the lunch provided and I felt good. I am traveling again this weekend and it’s to a festival I’ve been going to all my life that is very associated with food and not the healthy kind. I have been planning both mentally and physically though so I am optimistic I’ll do good.

[carwex]

Hello to all the courageous MWL adherents,
Here's 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. Yesbut a little almond milk in porridge and tea.
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes
7. Eliminate all higher calorie dense foods. No. I had a piece of bread
8. Don’t drink your calories. Yes
9. Follow these principles whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Yes.
10. Avoid being sedentary. No I was sick this week, although was able to go
out for short walks.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Last week I did not report. I was feeling down and by Sunday I tested positive for covid - second time round. There seems to be a real uptick in cases the last few weeks. I was offered a newly developed medicine from health services for older people who may have compromised systems. I declined, knowing that my health because of the MWL could not be better. I was housebound this week but my adherence to the MWL was good and it gave me quiet time to get things done around the big move. I have not gained any weight. I’m hoping to get back to swimming this week.
A great thanks to Mark for all the extras like links to shares from other McDougallers from other parts of the forum. It makes for rich reading. Or articles from JeffN. I appreciate it.
Carol

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - Excellent adherence! I'm sorry you were experiencing that shoulder pain, and I hope it is feeling more comfortable (or soon will, if it's still bothering you). There are so many different factors that can influence or affect any single scale reading, unrelated to losing or gaining body fat, and it can be exasperating trying to identify some particular cause.

there are many things that can contribute to daily weight fluctuations, including changes in glycogen, water, fiber, stools and salt.

Adherence to the recommended pattern of behavior over a sufficient period of time results in attaining and maintaining a healthy weight, so rest easy knowing that your diligent focus on the recommendations will produce the results you seek. The prevailing trend over time tells the real story. If you look back at your weight changes over the months you have been following the program, you will likely see a fair amount of "noisy" fluctuation, but the broad, prominent trend is heading downward, no? I know the little bounces can feel discouraging, and it isn't easy, but try to put your trust in the process, and your own diligence and attention, and carry on that path. As you said, "keep plugging away!"

Rebecka22 - Awesome! Kudos to you for dodging all that "appreciative" junk, and consequently avoiding the attendant stomachache. Safe travels and enjoy the festival! If you feel like sharing, what do your plans for navigating the weekend look like?

carwex - My sympathies to you, feeling ill is never fun, and I would imagine that is especially true through a bout with COVID-19. I'm so happy to hear you feel confident in your health, and I wish you an easy and brief recovery. Thank you for your very kind words; I'm delighted to know you are finding enrichment in the various linked resources. Take care, Carol!

[Gimmelean]

McDougall Post for week ending 5/6/22

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.
Yes, but much less “driven”.

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: I “casually” had some whole wheat pita and some nuts this week and it was not out of control. I know I need to completely eliminate those foods now before they control me.
I took your suggestion Mark and decided that if I wound up in the kitchen after dinner that I would have steel cut oats with blueberries and Saigon cinnamon. It was filling, very good, felt like a cheat, but was adherent. Having it cooked and ready in the fridge was the key.
I batch cooked barley, brown rice, quinoa, and steel cut oats at the beginning of the week. Made lentil soup, Jeff’s curried sweet potato burgers as mini burgers, and Miyoko’s quinoa salad recipe found on this site. It was a really interesting and different way to serve quinoa. I adjusted the dressing to reduce sweetness. Smoked paprika in the dressing recipe was different and very good.

I’m eating really well, feeling good, and not gaining weight. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this kind of balance before despite a lifetime of trying.I’m admittedly a little tired of cooking. Every day doesn’t have to be a home buffet this week, and I’ll stick to simple.
I hope everyone has a good start to May. I’m looking forward to your posts, resources, and feedback to stay the course!

[Gabby7]

Hello,

I’ve been away for a bit had some health issues and traveled and looking to get back on track and lose the last bit of weight. I have read the rules and am ready to join for next week’s update.

[Mark Cooper]

I’ve been away for a bit had some health issues and traveled and looking to get back on track and lose the last bit of weight. I have read the rules and am ready to join for next week’s update.

Sounds good; I look forward to seeing your self-assessment next week.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Fellow MWL'ers!!

Hope that everyone is having a great week! Happy Mother's Day!!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes. I consistently preload B/L/D. Have been enjoying Romaine lettuce, persian cucumbers, rainbow carrots, tomatoes of all sorts, radishes, bell peppers. Also fresh and frozen fruit.

2 Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches.
Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes.
Lots of potatoes, rice, starchy soups, beans, Jeff burgers 50/50 with roasted veggies, salad, fruit.
Made simple meals and kept prepared ingredients easily available.


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 salt on potatoes at times. That was really it for the week.

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!!!!!!!!! Successfully steered clear of the peanut. Ridiculous though it may seem, I think my long-winded post about this last week helped me keep clean!

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 didn't stuff or starve.
I snacked a few times when hungry on roasted potato that I didn't 50/50.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes.
* 6/7 days walked outside. Day I missed had an appointment at lunch when I usually walk.
* Exceeded my steps goal by 1.9K steps / day (same as last week, which seems like I may be sand-bagging on my goal).


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Thank you, Mark for sharing your experience with removing certain foods last week. Very helpful.

Everyone, thank you for sharing your progress!!! Wishing you all much success at continuing to build healthy habits.

Have a spectacularly starchy week!!!

Best,
Stephanie

[Noella]

Hi Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose and Team MWL,
Happy May! Starting a new month feels excellent, and Spring is bursting here in southern Canada. The leaves are beginning to come out, and hundreds of Saskatoon bushes are in full bloom, displaying their lovely white blossoms and encouraging me towards a new season of healthy living with their beauty. I have been listening to videos by Dr. Lisle this week and realize how important it is to stay out of the ego trap. Also, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn explains that what we put into our bodies can either damage and harm or restore and repair. We get to choose.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and fruit. -Yes! I love this! This week it's been lots of arugula salads with cherry tomatoes.
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. - So straightforward! It's the simplicity of the Jeff Novick placemat that helps me to succeed. The variations are endless to be creative within this easy-to-follow structure. My husband just realized how brilliant this system of meal planning is. It's wonderful to have his help with meal planning and batch cooking. It saves time and energy to follow the 50/50 plate method.
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. - I listened to a video with Dr. Goldhammer. He mentioned sodium increases osteoarthritis discomfort. Really!? I did not know this! I will be going even easier with the salt shaker.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
6. Eliminate any added oil. - Yes! I'm committed to Dr. McDougall's idea that "the fat you eat is the fat you wear."
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.):-DWhole grains are more satisfying. I had spelt, farro and oats, whole grain wheat pasta, whole grain basmati and hulled barley this week. Barley is the most filling grain. Just a little bit is satisfying.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). I'm pretty good on this; I got one tiny glass of Reisling yesterday. The last time I had wine was last December. It has never been a problem, so I know it won't bump me out of my healthy groove. [color]
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until comfortably full. Don't starve yourself, and don't stuff yourself. [color=#0000FF] Yes! This week was much more mindful and relaxed, and satisfied. I did eat lots of leafy greens this week, and that seemed to help me feel more satisfied without overeating
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Much better this week. I did a little every day! [/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

[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]

Gimmelean - I applaud your efforts; you are really demonstrating what a solid prep routine looks like, and what an asset that can be! Glad to hear the oatmeal & berries hit the spot (I LOVE Saigon cinnamon, too; it has such a lovely, rich flavor).

I’m eating really well, feeling good, and not gaining weight. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this kind of balance before despite a lifetime of trying. I'm admittedly a little tired of cooking. Every day doesn’t have to be a home buffet this week, and I’ll stick to simple.

Reading this brings me great joy. What an amazing feeling, right? Onward!

Gabby7 - Cheers! See you for the next reporting window.

VegSeekingFit - Fantastic, Stephanie! You are getting this lifestyle really "dialed in."

Ridiculous though it may seem, I think my long-winded post about this last week helped me keep clean!

That doesn't seem at all ridiculous to me. I think writing down our thought process can be very valuable for concretizing our train of thought and bring things into focus; I think it is a great way to really scrutinize our overall practice and approach to challenges. Have a great week!

Noella - Happy May & a BIG for your ongoing, consistent efforts! The burgeoning spring in your locale sounds very lovely. I think it is absolutely wonderful that you and your husband are both "on board" with Jeff's meal "formula"; I'm sure having that unified effort focused in the right direction is a great boon toward adherence. Getting in a manageable amount of activity each day seems like a good path toward habituating that behavior. This post collects a variety of links from Jeff's many discussions relating to leafy greens, which may be of interest.

[Mark Cooper]

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

Mark's Replies for May 6 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for May 6 - Part 2

Hello, everyone! I'm so happy to have you all here reporting, participating, and getting May off to an excellent start!

Since many of you are very much "veterans" of this way of eating, I thought this would be a good time to direct you toward an astute post from Jeff that I've found to be meaningful:

Get A Life! : )

To give you a teaser, here's what Jeff writes near the beginning of the article, "In regard to healthful living and the principles we teach, there is one piece of advice I got that really helped me that I have shared here a few times." Who doesn't want to read more about that, right?

Likewise related to our ongoing discussions is this fascinating thread:

High Quality Foods: How To Optimize Your Food & Nutrient Intake or How Much Kale Does It Really Take To Reach Nutrient Nirvana?

I hope you enjoy the reading.

I wish you and your loved ones a very Happy Mother's Day, in all ways that are applicable, and hope you have an awesome, adherent week to come!

[Rebecka22]

BambiS - Excellent adherence! I'm sorry you were experiencing that shoulder pain, and I hope it is feeling more comfortable (or soon will, if it's still bothering you). There are so many different factors that can influence or affect any single scale reading, unrelated to losing or gaining body fat, and it can be exasperating trying to identify some particular cause.

there are many things that can contribute to daily weight fluctuations, including changes in glycogen, water, fiber, stools and salt.

Adherence to the recommended pattern of behavior over a sufficient period of time results in attaining and maintaining a healthy weight, so rest easy knowing that your diligent focus on the recommendations will produce the results you seek. The prevailing trend over time tells the real story. If you look back at your weight changes over the months you have been following the program, you will likely see a fair amount of "noisy" fluctuation, but the broad, prominent trend is heading downward, no? I know the little bounces can feel discouraging, and it isn't easy, but try to put your trust in the process, and your own diligence and attention, and carry on that path. As you said, "keep plugging away!"

Rebecka22 - Awesome! Kudos to you for dodging all that "appreciative" junk, and consequently avoiding the attendant stomachache. Safe travels and enjoy the festival! If you feel like sharing, what do your plans for navigating the weekend look like?

carwex - My sympathies to you, feeling ill is never fun, and I would imagine that is especially true through a bout with COVID-19. I'm so happy to hear you feel confident in your health, and I wish you an easy and brief recovery. Thank you for your very kind words; I'm delighted to know you are finding enrichment in the various linked resources. Take care, Carol!

I planned and packed all my food. The biggest obstacle was that we always do a run then go watch the parade and while there eat at the food booths which would have zero compliant options and very few vegan options. In the past I would eat fried food followed by ice cream, but this year I kept a cooler in the car with my salad, pasta and veggies and planned to walk back up to the car while others were eating their festival food. I’m trying to make the tradition a little more about the run and family time as my youngest grows up. I also made and brought food for the barbecue after at my aunts house. I think the biggest help has been just planning in my head how it would go and sticking to it.