The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - June 2022 Group

[CindyD]

Hi everyone and welcome new folks!

For this past week:
1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES - sometimes it's an extra bowl of steamed veg before a meal, rather than strictly a salad.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. 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). YES
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products YES
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). No, I added some plain oat milk to my Dandy Blend several days.
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 missed last week because I was out of town Friday. I did well out of town - packed a baked potato and bell pepper strips for travel. Bought pre-cut fruit and apples at the grocery store, and mostly had white rice and steamed veggies for meals. I did have one Chinese dish with some oil but overall pretty good!

Good progress since I joined the group. Down about 8 pounds total since my recent high about 5 weeks ago, and about 11 pounds away from my low weight doing MWL in 2020.
My current Instant Pot staple includes red lentils, red onion, red bell pepper, red cabbage (or cauliflower), one can no salt tomato sauce or paste, frozen garlic cubes, curry powder, ginger, turmeric, cumin. (I just throw stuff in, I don't measure.) Plain or over rice. Or some pearly barley, which I got and made because people were talking about it here.

[Artista]

Thank you, Mark, for the welcome and letting me join the group!

MWL 10-point checklist

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.   5/7. There were two times earlier in the week when I forgot to start dinner with soup, salad, or fruit. A couple days ago I made a huge bowl of salad with lots of different vegetables and then divided it into pint-sized jars so I have a small salad ready to eat before a meal. That seems to be working pretty well. It’s still a new habit I need to work to keep in mind.

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 desert. Yes. I used to eat the vegetables first then wait until I got hungry again before eating the starch. I noticed on Jeff’s list of “hacks” to the program that aren’t recommended is “Delaying the starch component of a meal.” So I’ve been putting them both together on the plate in a 50/50 ratio.

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 think my tastes have adjusted to not using salt or sugar. I no longer miss them. Occasionally, I might use a little soy sauce if I’m making something that just seems to need that flavor, but that’s not very often.

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes, this is one thing I don’t miss.

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). 6/7 I ate a spoonful of natto last Friday which is made from soy. Traditional soy products like tempeh, soy milk, and edamame, were probably the hardest things for me to give up in following MWL, but I’m getting used to it.

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. I have a slight allergy to wheat so I learned to go without bread and other flour products before this. Dried fruit was a little harder to give up but it’s one of those things I tend to overeat if it’s in the house, so I’m not keeping it in the house.

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes, this one hasn’t been too difficult, other than giving up the soy milk I used to add to a cup of tea.

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full.   Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. 6/7. This one has been a bit of a balancing act. When I begin my meal with soup or salad, I can’t eat as much of the starch & vegetables, so I need to remember that and not put too much food on my plate.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes, before I started keeping a daily tally of the MWL 10 points, I was more hit and miss with exercise. Keeping the daily journal has really helped with that.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
I think for the most part it was a successful week. I sometimes miss the foods I gave up but not as much any more. I’m still getting used to some of the things like remembering to begin a meal with soup or salad or fruit. It really helped to get all of the food I shouldn’t eat out of the house. I have the same question that Starflower did about snacks, do they need begin with soup/salad/fruit and follow the 50/50? I most often eat a piece of fruit when I'm hungry between meals but I'm trying to not eat as much fruit, or sometimes I'm too hungry for just a piece of fruit. So I was wondering if I ate a potato, for example, in between meals, would I still do the sequencing and the 50/50?

Wishing everyone a successful week!

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - That is awesome! I'm looking forward to seeing how this month shapes up, too. Carry on!

Starflower - It seems like you are off to a great start! Enjoying the food and building a solid, sustainable routine are important parts for making things work. I'll respond to the question regarding snacks at the bottom of this group of replies. Keep up your admirable efforts!

Rebecka22 - The ability to create a successful week for ourselves, especially when it doesn't feel easy, is a real testament to one's dedication and, perhaps more importantly, the durability of one's practice. Do you feel like there was some particular development or change in the situational context of this week that made adherence feel more arduous to achieve? I am definitely ready for summer, too; Posey and I got a head start with some fun pool time on Monday!

CindyD - Kudos to you for doing so well while you were away from home; travel can be challenging! It appears this week was another solid effort, as well. My congratulations for all the progress you've been making. That current "Instant Pot Staple" sounds wonderful!

Artista -

I think for the most part it was a successful week.

Based on your self-assessment, I would agree, Nancy! I imagine the degree to which you miss those foods that are eliminated for MWL will continue to lessen as your adherence over time marches forward. I completely agree with you about how helpful it is to have an environment that is arranged and curated in support of the goals we are trying to achieve. Best wishes for continued success in the days ahead!


Regarding the question about snacks:

As Jeff discusses in the quote below, the application of the recommendations may require some situational judgement, but the more recommendations one follows, the greater the benefit.

The MWL guidelines are guidelines, not black and white rules and are based on the principles of calorie density, satiety, fiber/kcal, food form, chewing, etc. etc. The more you do, the more you can benefit.

Starting meals with a soup, salad and/or fruit, helps to lower the overall calorie density of the meal and increase the overall satiety. This helps to decrease the overall caloric intake without giving up any weight or volume of food, which usually increase. Hence the saying, eat more, weigh less. Eat more food in volume/weight while eating less calories. Some will start with huge salads and/or soups, some will have small ones. Some have both, some have none. It is a guideline but all based on the science of pre-loading. Fruit is included because it works better for breakfast for many. However, many people like “savory” breakfast and have oatmeal with vegetables.

While using these as a pre-load work, they also work as part of the meal (50/50 plate) which is based on the science of dilution. Some may end up needing to do both to hit their goals, same may need to do one or the other.

This is probably MOST important when faced with a plateau or some other instance where results are lacking, so it might make sense to assess one's actions within the context of the results you are experiencing.

The situational context matters, too; I recognize that there will be occasions where a simple snack feels more appropriate than assembling a full "meal" with preload, 50/50 plate, &c. Likewise, in some situations the most important thing may be choosing whatever adherent food is most likely to help one avoid choosing a non-adherent item within the context of that given moment. Does that make sense?

Speaking personally, if I were going to have a snack, I would do my best to make it something that satisfied the 50/50 recommendation, for all the reasons Jeff mentions in the quote below. I think one important, but sometimes overlooked, aspect of making MWL work is to be very sure to include adequate starch throughout the day, so making snacks 50/50 can really help with that.

So ... if optimizing weight loss is my goal ... and I'm legitimately hungry, or really munchy and want a snack ... which would be better? Popcorn? Fruit?

IMH(P&P)O, and based on calorie density, of the two, I would say fruit. However, vegetables would be a better choice and/or a meal of 50% starch and 50% vegetables (and/or fruit) by volume. A meal of 50% starch and 50% vegetables by volume would have a very low calorie density. So, a bowl of 50% oatmeal and 50% berries by volume or a bowl of 50% rice and 50% veggies by volume may be the better choice. You get the starch to help satisfy you and the fruit and/or veggies to help lower the calorie density.
. . .

Remember, this is not a vegetables based diet but a starch based diet. Diluting the starches with vegetables and/or fruit to lower the calorie density is the best solution.

I hope that answers your questions; if not, feel free to expand on any further concerns and I'll do my best to clarify.

[carwex]

My report for this week:
1. Start each meal with a soup or salad. Yes sometimes both
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. YES
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes
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. I have to be sure to fill up in order not to lose more weight.
10. Avoid being sedentary. YES have been walking and swimming

A warm welcome to all the newcomers and returnees to the June forum.

This week I got results of blood tests : the good news is that my cholesterol has decreased. Well under 200 now but not close to 150. I attribute this change to: more sweet potatoes (still looking for the elusive whole barley) and switching to savory porridge (with vegetables rather than fruit). But who knows for certain. I am holding steady at a low weight.
I am continuing to write a list of behaviors which make compliant eating more attainable for me.
• First is my commitment to this forum, where I always get the feedback and support I need to go on for another week. It also keeps me accountable.
• My environment at home is free of non-compliant foods. husband eats differently but the few things that I find tempting are always placed out of sight since I am susceptible to visual signals
• Same thing outside the house-can be very toxic but I try not to hang out at places where smells and visual cues are rampant . For example we are now in a 3 day weekend celebrating a harvest festival. But instead of emphasizing the lovely fruits and vegetables, the dairy industry has succeeded in transforming it into a cheese fest. It's wall-to-wall dairy products. And I have turned down a few invitations. I'd rather be home with my own compliant food.

That’s enough for today. More to come.

Carol

[Gimmelean]

MWL Post for week ending 6/03/2022

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).
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.
Not entirely. Danger zone. My goal for next week is to finally say yes here.

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. The food will still be there later. Amazing how many small pieces of leftovers are wrapped up in my fridge that I wind up tossing. I was never a person who could leave one bite on the plate before.

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

Victories,Comments,QuestionsChallenges:
I celebrated my birthday this past week and for the second year in a row, told my family that I did not want a cake. Last year was an argument. Although everyone did their best to tempt me, I didn’t give in. This year instead, I asked for a generous variety of fruit from the produce store which everyone is still enjoying going on week 2. They brought me a huge box with doubles of everything. White and yellow peaches and nectarines, sweet white strawberries and red ones too. Plums, pears. Cosmic crisp apples. Didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything and while the first time of asking for no cake seemed contrived, I really meant it this time. I never had white strawberries before and if you see them, be sure to try them. If I’m not going to feel good before, during, and after I eat something, it’s not worth eating.
I continued to batch cook grains; steel cut oats, barley, and bulgur this week to build 50/50 bowls, salads, stuffed peppers. I used frozen ratatouille as a whole wheat pasta sauce. I’ve got a container of red lentil chili in the freezer to do the same next week. Cooking and eating well is the key to maintaining my hard earned weight loss and was key to getting here.
Thank you for maintaining and participating in this group and for your endless education, support, consideration, and thoughtfulness. I’m really grateful to be here.

Have a good week!

[Chumly]

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes. I do this most of the time.
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. Most of the time. I have had the Esselstyn corn muffins on two occasions.
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). NO. I have been recovering from Covid and haven't had the energy to exercise. I'm hoping I can start next wee.

I got weighed at the doctors office May 22 and my weight was 261 lbs. I was at the doctor's yesterday and my weight was down to 252!!

Michael

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi MWL'ers!!!

Happy June!!! It is exciting to see all of the energy here already! Big hello to everyone and welcome to new folks!

Thanks, Mark for sharing a great quote and thanks, Michael for the book recommend. Have placed this on hold.

Appreciate the questions and Mark's explanation on snacking with regard to pre-load and 50/50!!! That helps clarify!!!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. I consistently preload meals - mainly with salad (sometimes with 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 - all meals. I have continued to make the same things (roasted potatoes, pots of rice, Jeff burgers, split pea soup, sloppy lentils, Mexi soup, roasted veggies). I have fresh and frozen produce prepared to easily incorporate into compliant meals very quickly. Have been enjoying Saturday Farmers Market produce selection. When I get home, cutting up the various veggies and roasting them. Slender asparagus is a new to me veggie that I am liking in that mix!


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.

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).
Except one instance. Was not my usual exception. Meal out (Buddha Bowl) which could have been perfect MWL EXCEPT for about 1/2 cup of edamame (was even 50/50 BROWN rice with raw kale, cabbage, watermelon radish). I was ok with that because this was the closest that I could get and it isn't something that will become a problem, habit, etc. Well, also it had perhaps some oil (in vinaigrette dressing). Next time I will pack fruit, potatoes, veggie --- because there is nothing else even remotely "do-able"...


6 Eliminate any added oil.
See 5 above

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, I managed to avoid the calorie dense stuff!!!!

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.


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


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Thanks, everyone for sharing your journeys!!! Carol - loving your top behaviors for compliance! Great idea!

Also, so appreciate this group. Thanks - Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose --- and all participants. Thinking this is the best thread on the internet...

Wishing everyone a wonderful and compliant week!

Best,
Stephanie

[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 - That looks like a fantastic week, Carol; congratulations on your improved cholesterol measures! I am in complete agreement with you about the importance of arranging one's environment so as to make adherence easier, rather than more difficult. If only our broader society felt the same way, right? Avoiding more public and social environments that our intuition tells us are likely to present significant challenges for us seems like a useful practice. Another thing that has helped me has been decoupling the idea of social interaction from its attachment to food; I try to focus on what I really want out of a social engagement - in my case that is connection, compassion and comradeship, not a meal. Thanks for sharing your strategies, and I'm looking forward to reading the "more to come."

Gimmelean - Happy birthday! And nice progress this week! The fruit-filled celebration you describe is right in line with my favorite birthday "feasts", as well; it sounds wonderful.

If I’m not going to feel good before, during, and after I eat something, it’s not worth eating.

I feel like this is a really important, often-overlooked principle - thank you for sharing it. Your batch cooking and food prep practices continue to be an inspiration! Have a great week!

Chumly - You appear to be off to an excellent start, Michael! I imagine it feels pretty great to be seeing all that progress on the scale since May 22, right? Keep at it! Was there a particular situational context surrounding those occasions when you ate the muffins? Some change in environment or routine? Or just an incidental craving?

VegSeekingFit - Cheers, Stephanie! I agree with you that we are really having an exciting and energetic start to this month! The Buddha Bowl you describe having while dining out does sound very close to being MWL adherent, indeed. I've occasionally been lucky in requesting and receiving plain balsamic vinegar for a dressing in restaurants, but I SO wish more establishments would include oil-free dressings/sauces on the menu. As you note, you did your best in the moment, and can go forward with the knowledge of how to be even more prepared in the future. Like you, I've ultimately arrived at the practice of just bringing along my own adherent food if I'm planning on eating; if the restaurant ends up having something acceptable, I just consider that a nice bonus.

[Mark Cooper]

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

Mark's Replies for June 3 - Part 1
Mark's Replies for June 3 - Part 2

Woo-hoo! What a fantastic way to begin this month! A round of applause from me to all our participants!

An appropriate and adequate practice of (adherent) food preparation is really an invaluable contributor to ongoing success with this program. Gimmelean, VegSeekingFit, and CindyD all offered up different examples of what that might look like this week:

I continued to batch cook grains; steel cut oats, barley, and bulgur this week to build 50/50 bowls, salads, stuffed peppers. I used frozen ratatouille as a whole wheat pasta sauce. I’ve got a container of red lentil chili in the freezer to do the same next week. Cooking and eating well is the key to maintaining my hard earned weight loss and was key to getting here.

I have continued to make the same things (roasted potatoes, pots of rice, Jeff burgers, split pea soup, sloppy lentils, Mexi soup, roasted veggies). I have fresh and frozen produce prepared to easily incorporate into compliant meals very quickly. Have been enjoying Saturday Farmers Market produce selection. When I get home, cutting up the various veggies and roasting them. Slender asparagus is a new to me veggie that I am liking in that mix!

My current Instant Pot staple includes red lentils, red onion, red bell pepper, red cabbage (or cauliflower), one can no salt tomato sauce or paste, frozen garlic cubes, curry powder, ginger, turmeric, cumin. (I just throw stuff in, I don't measure.) Plain or over rice.

Having adherent food prepared, available and easy to access is one of the most important prerequisites for building a successful and durable practice of MWL. And, I observe that there were numerous mentions throughout the self-assessments of keeping things simple, attainable and consistent. That sentiment is very much in line with one of my favorite of Jeff's articles:

The Road to Success: Creating Healthy Habits

In the same context, I also want to (again) highlight Some Random Thoughts On Successful McDougalling by geo. I think it is an excellent thread with many useful thoughts on offer. Enjoy!

Wishing you all an amazing week of progress, learning, and success. Take care & be well!

[Artista]

Mark, thank you so much for sharing the information on snacking, it’s very helpful!

[Chumly]

Hi Mark,

Thank you for the encouragement! I was struggling with cravings for dessert. I have these in the freezer and I want to have them for times when I'm really struggling with cravings. I am trying to have McDouglas compliant food on-hand for times when I'm really struggling with cravings. I don't do well with all-or-nothing thinking so I have food available that is compliant with the standard plan if not MWL. I hope to get to a point where I don't feel the need to have them but I have had troubles in the past if I become to restrictive.

I have prepared lots of starches and vegetable dishes this weekend in preparation for this week. I have plenty of fruit available for dessert.

Michael

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence!!

Hoping that everyone is having a great week!!!

I was thinking about the 10 Point Checklist this week --- and I am super-motivated to continue!! Why??? I feel pretty TERRIFIC!!! I stated early on that I will do this for the long haul ---- and it is reinforced!! (Why, would I switch foods to not feel terrific??? ) So, keeping on !

So, some parts have been hard for me --- but I will get the better of them!!

For low-hanging fruit...

VegSeekingFit - Cheers, Stephanie! I agree with you that we are really having an exciting and energetic start to this month! The Buddha Bowl you describe having while dining out does sound very close to being MWL adherent, indeed. I've occasionally been lucky in requesting and receiving plain balsamic vinegar for a dressing in restaurants, but I SO wish more establishments would include oil-free dressings/sauces on the menu. As you note, you did your best in the moment, and can go forward with the knowledge of how to be even more prepared in the future. Like you, I've ultimately arrived at the practice of just bringing along my own adherent food if I'm planning on eating; if the restaurant ends up having something acceptable, I just consider that a nice bonus.

I have purchased small balsamic vinegars to take to restaurants. I have also designated a bag (old unused running bag) to hold food that is compliant. Smaller (and less obtrusive) and more than my Igloo lunch sack that I can bring (where expected that I am BYOF). I will also include durable / portable fruit (like banana, apple, pear), roasted potato, Jeff burger, raw veggies. All items are easy to grab and pack --- so this doesn't have to be a point of failure.

On my harder points, I am making progress on my 2 "bad" 5/7 items. I have taken the offensive and am designating an "after-dinner" snack. I don't always eat it.... Trying to go with #9.... But this is helping!!!

Wishing everyone the best --- and KEEP GOING!!! If you have challenges with one (or more!) of the checklist items, YOU CAN FIX IT!!! It may take "time & adherence"...

Thank you to this Community for being there!!! Best wishes to everyone for a fantastic week!!!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[Mark Cooper]

Hi, Everyone! I hope your week is going well.

I'll be travelling later this week to attend a memorial in Washington, so wildgoose will be handling the upcoming check-in. You can all make your self-assessment reports as usual. Wildgoose has an appointment on Friday, so she will answer any questions, respond to reports where appropriate, and summarize the week on Saturday, June 11. For those of you who may not be familiar yet, she is a real expert when it comes to making this way of living work over the long-term; you are all in for a treat! Enjoy, take care & be well!

[BambiS]

6-10

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


Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I had a great week, weight stayed the same though.