The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

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The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Mark Cooper » Tue May 31, 2022 6:31 am

JUNE 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
Last edited by Mark Cooper on Wed Jun 15, 2022 7:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Mark Cooper » Tue May 31, 2022 6:33 am

Welcome, everyone!

I recently came across the quote below, and thought it was quite appropriate to our efforts here in the group. :-D
“Before you try to increase your willpower, try to decrease the friction in your environment.”

-James Clear
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Chumly » Tue May 31, 2022 9:13 am

Mark Cooper wrote:Welcome, everyone!

I recently came across the quote below, and thought it was quite appropriate to our efforts here in the group. :-D
“Before you try to increase your willpower, try to decrease the friction in your environment.”

-James Clear


I highly suggest James Clear's book Atomic Habits. It has a lot of good techniques to establish healthy habits and breaking unhealthy habits.

Michael
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Starflower » Tue May 31, 2022 10:48 am

Hello Mark! I read the orientation posts and followed the May thread. May I join the June thread? All of the non-MWL foods in my pantry will be used up, given away or thrown out before tomorrow. I’m ready to give it my best effort to make the guidelines ingrained habit, and hopefully lose some weight in the process. Thank you! Wishing a successful June to everybody here!

Starflower
This journey is one of constant small adjustments. Nothing is ever static, no matter how long you've been eating this way. If something isn't working, you tweak it and make small changes until it works better.
- Wildgoose
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Mark Cooper » Tue May 31, 2022 3:43 pm

Chumly wrote:I highly suggest James Clear's book Atomic Habits. It has a lot of good techniques to establish healthy habits and breaking unhealthy habits.
Hi, Michael! I very much agree. :)

Starflower - Welcome! Glad you'll be joining us this month. Arranging and adjusting your immediate environment so that it supports your efforts is a great way to start. :thumbsup:
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby LoverOfPines » Tue May 31, 2022 8:09 pm

Hi Mark, Michael , Starflower (and anyone else joining this thread) ,
I’m looking forward to having this space for connection , support and accountability as I give into the MWL lifestyle AGAIN! Being gentle with myself as I know it’s more than just the food I’m trying to overcome….it’s the self love, body image, trauma, habits, comforts, social constraints, other family members etc etc …..last year I committed to this lifestyle for a few months and lost 10 kg. I have since put it all back on again and currently sitting at 118.4kg. Somehow this time feels much more emotionally charged. My partner and I have recently taken up a daily gentle yoga practice and I am just crying every day and feeling so much ‘stuff’ come up. I’m thankful for the journey though and am committed to finally releasing this ‘weight’ (physically, emotionally and energetically).

Looking forward to daily check ins and supporting each other :)
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Mark Cooper » Wed Jun 01, 2022 4:20 am

Hi, LoverOfPines! Please be sure and review the Orientation information for the group, if you haven't done so already. Everything you need to know is included therein. :)
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Artista » Wed Jun 01, 2022 7:40 am

Hi Mark and participants in the MWL group. I would really like to join you all for June. I’ve followed MWL at different times but never for very long, I’m really hoping this time I can make it permanent. I started a daily food journal in the journal section of the forums but I’m feeling like I could benefit from the group context. My long term health goals are to lose 10-15 pounds and lower my cholesterol, but my main focus is to just get all of the 10 points right, one day at a time. I’ve reread all of the excellent orientation information and checked out some of the other resources you listed. Those are so helpful. Thank you for your ongoing leadership of this group and all the great feedback you provide.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Mark Cooper » Wed Jun 01, 2022 8:06 am

Artista - Hello! You are most welcome in the June group, and we are very glad to have you. :D
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Chumly » Wed Jun 01, 2022 11:08 am

Hello everyone!
I am looking forward to joining all of you this month and helping (or be helped by) you! I have been a member of this sight for years, but have never managed to follow the plan 100% more than a few days at a time. I have been following the McDougall diet 100% for the past week. I have included a few items that have been McDougall compliant but not MWL. I am feeling better and I have hopefully lost some weight. I am a 51-year old male that is 5'11" tall and 258 lbs. I recently had a sensation of chest pressure that I have seen the cardiologist about that might have been a mild heart attack. He is reviewing my earlier EKG's and I have a stress test scheduled for next week. It was a wake-up call for me! I need to follow the plan 100% and I am focused on following MWL as strictly as I can to maximize heart disease reversal and weight loss. I cleaned out the junk from my house and have spent the past 2 weekends preparing beans, grains and starches.

I do have a question about one item I've prepared. I made some corn/vegetable muffins from Dr. Esselstyn's: The Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. It does contain cornmeal and chickpea flour, but has a lot of vegetables in it. Does this qualify as MWL?

Regards,

Michael
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Mark Cooper » Wed Jun 01, 2022 3:54 pm

Chumly wrote:I do have a question about one item I've prepared. I made some corn/vegetable muffins from Dr. Esselstyn's: The Prevent & Reverse Heart Disease Cookbook. It does contain cornmeal and chickpea flour, but has a lot of vegetables in it. Does this qualify as MWL?
It's great to have you joining us this month! The muffins sound like they would be suitable for the regular McDougall plan, but would not meet the MWL guidelines. Really the only "flour products" that satisfy the recommendations for MWL are those that absorb a lot of water in the cooking process, like whole grain pasta or polenta.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Chumly » Thu Jun 02, 2022 11:13 am

Hi Mark,

I understand. I keep them in the freezer. I will probably eat them from time to time. I struggle with cravings for baked goods. They would be a good option when I find myself struggling and want something quick and tasty.

Michael
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby BambiS » Fri Jun 03, 2022 5:01 am

6-3

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, 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).most days, I took advantage of being off work and painted, a lot of stretching and arms over my head! I also started jogging in place.


Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I had a great week, a nice loss. looking forward to see this month’s losses.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Starflower » Fri Jun 03, 2022 7:58 am

6/3/22

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes, except for one 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. Yes. I mistakenly used sweet corn as my 50% starch at first, but Jeff left a note explaining that doesn’t work for most people. Adding a heavier starch worked.

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). I never eat these.

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). I only had water, coffee and tea with nothing in them.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. The first day I tried to fit all my food into three meals, but I was too full. Eating small amounts more often worked better.

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


Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Thank you for welcoming me to the group! I only started MWL on Wednesday, and I’m surprised to feel improvement in just a few days. I enjoy the food and the simple guidelines.Thank you for the support and guidance here!

Question: Does the first guideline apply to snacks, or can a snack be just a piece of fruit or some raw vegetables?
Last edited by Starflower on Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:18 am, edited 1 time in total.
This journey is one of constant small adjustments. Nothing is ever static, no matter how long you've been eating this way. If something isn't working, you tweak it and make small changes until it works better.
- Wildgoose
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

Postby Rebecka22 » Fri Jun 03, 2022 8:11 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, but I really wanted chocolate.
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, but I really wanted all of these foods.
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 successful week, but it wasn’t easy. I know it was possible because I didn’t give in last week. Hopefully this week will be easier. Almost to summer vacation and I am so ready! Hope everyone got to enjoy some finally warmer days.
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