The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - July 2022 Group

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

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Jul 29, 2022 2:46 pm

Hi Team Time and Adherence! Happy end of July.... :)

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
:) Yes. Still mostly salad / raw veggies - sometime fruit. Loving cantaloupe this week. Also, loving purple cauliflower, Romaine lettuce, and carrots... ok, baby cukes too... :lol:

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.
For starch, I ate a ton of: whole wheat pasta, Sloppy Lentils (made with red and double veggies), potatoes (lots of YG and red) mainly microwaved (time was short!)
Added raw or roasted veggies and fruit to the 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 in cooking or product; at table only). I used salt a few times on potatoes.

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).
:-D Yes.

6 Eliminate any added oil.
:nod: 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.
:D 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 keep recommended foods READILY available to snack on (as needed). I pair up a starch with a fruit / veggie. I did snack a few times this week when hungry between meals.


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 briskly (took a rest day, but counting full credit here due to time....)
Many days took two walks. Liking a 6:30AM and a lunch time walk. The weather has been beautiful except a couple of rainy days (but not stormy)...


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Still is working great for me to focus holistically on the Checklist. I am still kind of amazed on how that has changed my mindset and enabled me to be more relaxed about the whole process (and increased adherence at the same time).

I so appreciate reading everything shared on this thread!! This is such a fabulous community... Thank you!!!

Hope that everyone has an excellent week!!!

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 - July 2022 Group

Postby kirstykay » Sat Jul 30, 2022 6:40 am

1. Start each meal with a soup or salad. YES - it's working to snack on raw veggies while I cook, and fruit for breakfast
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method, ½ starch and ½ vegetables. YES
3. Reduce or eliminate added sugars and salts. NO
4. Eliminate all animal foods. YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. NO
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie dense foods. NO
8. Don’t drink your calories. NO
9. Follow these principles whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary. YES - walking and strength training

It's good to be back from my trip. I have struggled to get back on track this week. Mostly, I've been struggling to get out of the pleasure trap. I recognize that this is what I'm dealing with, so I'm pressing through it because I know I can get to the other side of it. I'm so encouraged by so many here who are living there and so happy. I know I will be one of them soon. It's not easy though. I am soooo tired of this back and forth and constant battle with myself. Thanks to everyone who is sharing your success and also those who have specifically reached out to encourage me.

This week my challenge will be oral surgery on Thursday. There will be several days where I can't eat anything hot and must eat only soft food. I plan to make banana ice cream and sweet potato pudding, also some thick smoothies to eat with a spoon so I can do 50/50 fruit/veg. I think 3 days of that and then I can have soft things like mashed potatoes. The 5 days before my surgery, though, I can work on being more compliant and staying away from pleasure trap foods. I really want to turn this around and start seeing the success I know I can have.
"Remember, It's the food." ~Dr. McDougall

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

Postby Gimmelean » Sat Jul 30, 2022 8:57 am

Post for week ending 7/29/22

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).
Yes

6) Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air popped popcorn, and dried fruit.
No- had some pita bread

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.
No- first time in a long time I find myself driven to start grabbing odds ends after dinner when I’ve finished very well planned and prepared meals. I would have felt much better avoiding recreational eating before bed. I’ll either vow to close the kitchen or have a fruit snack if I’m really hungry. I’m going to try delay techniques posted in prior weeks. I can do that!

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

Victories,Comments,Questions,Challenges:
Thank you for your comments last week Mark. It took a long time for me to develop self efficacy along with daily positive self talk which have been so important in reaching and maintaining success with weight and food choices. In fact, motivation is my personal 11th point on the checklist. I love this quote because it’s true!

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing. That’s why we recommend it daily.”
— Zig Ziglar

Have a good week!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - July 2022 Group

Postby Artista » Sat Jul 30, 2022 10:48 am

Hello Time & Adherence Group!

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :| Mostly, I forgot to do this at a couple of meals.

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 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. :-D Yes

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :-D Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).:( No. I used a small amount of soy milk in tea and a few tsp. of flaxseeds in oatmeal.

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. :-D Yes

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :-D Yes

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

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :) Almost daily, I exercised 6 out if 7 days.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Being away from home while visiting my mom went really well. I took a lot of food with me and was able to prepare all of my own food. My mom enjoys my cooking and doesn’t have food in her house that I would find difficult to resist. The problem this week was drifting back into those two habits of a Tbsp of soy milk in tea and 2 or 3 tsp of flaxseeds in oatmeal. The tea is often bitter without the soy milk and I still fall into thinking that the flaxseeds are important health-wise, but I’ll work on those two things this week. :)
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - July 2022 Group

Postby Noella » Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:12 am

Hi Mark, Wildgoose, Jeff and all MWL Participants,

I had a successful week following the MWL guidelines. I'm enjoying the summer fresh fruits and veggies!

1. Start each meal with soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :-D
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. :-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
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
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. :-D
8. Don’t drink calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :-D
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself, and don't stuff yourself. :-D
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :-D

As I reflect on July, I am happy. The tendonitis in my foot is gone. We have been doing lots of walking this month, and it is going well. My knees let me do up to about 12000 steps, then they gradually become reluctant to go further. At that point, I need to take lots of rest and accept that my walking speed needs to be relatively slow. My dream goal is to walk more of a 'spring in my step' :nod:; (or even run a short distance) but mainly to be able to walk for a longer duration before my knees say to stop. I know that losing another 5-15 pounds would help my knees perform better, and even with following MWL, I can't seem to budge my weight from this lengthy weight-loss plateau...yet... I hope to figure out what needs to change going forward with time and adherence. Two years ago, I could barely walk a few steps into the grocery store while leaning my excess weight on the shopping cart for support; I've come a long way with my knees since then. Maintaining my mobility is key to my motivation to choose healthy lifestyle habits that I can keep forever.

I hope everyone has a great week!
Best regards,
Noella

“What I am about to tell you is so utterly simple and true that it may deceive you: Health feels better than sickness. You will be happier at your ideal weight than you are overweight. You will be proud of yourself. You’ll have confidence. You’ll feel so many good things that right now you cannot imagine, and I cannot describe. But the net effect is that you’ll like yourself a lot more. You’ll look in the mirror and actually like what you see; you may even love what you see. You will have honored the person within yourself who longs to be healthy, beautiful, and free of all those burdens that being overweight brings. Life will not be perfect, but it will be better.”
― excerpt from The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss


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

Postby CUgorji22 » Sat Jul 30, 2022 11:40 am

Happy Saturday to all :-D

*Guidelines:
Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. No
**For one meal, one day this week, I started eating without my starter. I left it on the kitchen island & didn't put it at my place setting...UGH! I stopped eating, grabbed my starter, ate it then finished my meal. 

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

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

Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes

Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes

Eliminate any added oil. Yes

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

Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes

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

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

*Summary:
I feel great about this week!
- I have enjoyed starting a few of my meals with fruit...which is not usual for me. I really enjoy eating soups as my starters but with high temps fruit has been satisfying. I usually think fruit is best after a meal but I like the option of fruit as a starter.
- This is probably the 4th time I've participated in the Forum and this is the first time EVER I can report "Yes" for Guideline #10!!! WOOHOO!! I was determined this week & it worked! One thing that's really helped me is seeing windows of opportunity with fitness. A friend called one day; I thought the call would be brief (I was seated at the beginning of our call) but it wasn't so I jumped on my stationary bike. I was able to get in the exercise time I needed that day AND fully participate on my call. Made all the difference! 
- I lost 1lb this week. My weigh-in yesterday was 132.4lbs @ 5'6.5" - I'm 45 yrs-old. I feel awesome about my weight! Being in the Forum this month has lowered my weight; I started this month at 140.4 lbs. 
- When I went to TX recently, my family was concerned about my weight; they think I've lost too much weight; I have been diligently focusing on my health/weight for the last 4yrs. I explained to them I am approaching the bottom of my "ideal body weight" range. But the truth is my family members are obese so my weight loss seems extreme to them. And we openly talked about that. My husband & I also talked to them about their "funny" comments about my physique. I feel good about the defined tone I have from strength training; they see it as "too skinny." Their comments were discouraging and hurtful. It was so nice to openly discuss it, as a family, and receive apologies.    

*Reflection:
I dedicated this week's efforts to my Dad. Tuesday was the 1st anniversary of his passing, I really pushed myself this week with intention, esp with my exercise. But I didn't struggle as much as I thought I would. My mindset is now fixed on compliant eating and deliberate behavior patterns. The Guidelines are becoming a way of life...not just a checklist. 

I watched my Dad struggle for years with several health challenges that ultimately (combined) hastened his passing. It is important to me that my children don't witness my health decline in the same way. Watching my Dad die (over 25 days in Hospice) taught me a lot....and so has this Group!

Hope you are back to good health, Mark! So grateful for your weekly support. Have a fantastic weekend. 

-Chesca
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Mark's Replies for July 29

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Jul 30, 2022 1:00 pm

BambiS - Definitely seems like a good week! :thumbsup: This is such a fabulous time of year for fresh produce, right? Enjoy!

Rebecka22 - Considering that you were travelling, I think you had a pretty great week! :nod: Kudos to you for letting the non adherent desserts pass you by. I am feeling quite a bit better, thank you for asking. :) Have a great week!

Lizzy_F - Great progress, Beth! It must feel really exciting to approach that "healthy" BMI milestone, right? Nice work navigating jury duty, and wishing you the best adjusting to your braces.
Lizzy_F wrote:But I definitely want to be cautious about moving to far in the opposite direction – going hungry would end in a bad way, I think.
I think you are wise to be cautious in this regard, you definitely don't want to go hungry. :nod:
Lizzy_F wrote:I feel like this week was a success even though it was not “perfect.” That in and of itself is a victory!
I agree! A pretty IMPORTANT victory! :D

carwex - Woo-hoo! Congratulations on those 25 pounds, Carol; those are the kind of results we would hope to see, right? I know that is a well-earned victory. You make an astute point about calorie dilution, rather than "portion control," being the important distinction for successful, lifelong weight management. Wishing you a safe, easy journey, and all the best navigating the transition to your new locale. :)

VegSeekingFit - You seem to be really flourishing in this good groove, Stephanie! I'm so happy that your new, relaxed, holistic mindset is working for you. Carry on! :D

kirstykay - Hang in there, Kirsty! Getting out of the Pleasure Trap is almost always a struggle, but you know it can be done, you have done it in the past, after all. Just put your focus an making that "next right choice." I think your plan for managing your oral surgery seems appropriate, and as you observed, the interim days are a great time to focus on adherence so you'll be in a great position to face that upcoming challenge. You'll get there. :)

Gimmelean - Really excellent point about motivation, and the interplay between self talk, perceptions of self-efficacy, and the experience of success. I love that quote. Let us know how things go with those techniques for dealing with "recreational eating" before bed. Have a great week!

Artista - Very nice progress, Nancy; especially considering the time away from home! I feel like this post from Jeff offers a really nice, simple perspective on omega 3's.

Noella - Congratulations to you on the resolution of your tendonitis, and on a really good month, overall! :D You have come a long way in the last few years, right? Keep attending to the recommended behaviors, with an eye toward fine-tuning overall calorie density, and you will break through that plateau, given time. Cheers to motivation, mobility and healthy lifestyle habits that we can keep!

CUgorji22 - You have a lot to feel great about, Chesca! Kudos for your hard-won success, and especially in including exercise! I'm so happy you were able to have an open discussion with your family around body image, and that it came to such a satisfactory resolution. I hope you were visited by many happy memories of your Dad this week. I'm feeling quite a bit better, thank you so much for asking. Enjoy your weekend!
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Summary for July 29 Reports

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Jul 30, 2022 1:00 pm

Hearty congratulations to all our participants! I feel like July has been a really amazing month, absolutely filled with learning and growth, and it is your dedicated, ongoing efforts that made all of that possible. It is really inspiring to see everyone demonstrating how achievable and effective these behavioral changes can be, with thoughtful effort. It is fun to "bask in the glow" of all the victories on display, big or small. :D

The new thread for August will be posted on Monday, and I very much hope to see you all there!

In the meanwhile, have a great week, keep up your diligent efforts, take care and be well!
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