The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - September 2022 Group

[Noella]

Hi Mark, Wild-goose, Jeff and all MWL Time and Adherence Participants,

Report for Week of Sept. 16-23, 2022, --I was late posting for last week, so, to redeem myself by writing my report right on time this week!
1. Start each meal with soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes... fine tuning though....Trying to keep my fruit to a reasonable number of servings per day, which is very challenging. I overdo it with favourite fruits...like Concord grapes.
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 stop them. Yes I do sprinkle on salt, but not much and I use Herbamare sea salt which I really enjoy the flavour of the added herbs.
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. I bought some cookies meant for "entertaining" and I tasted one, and then another... clearly ca't be left alone with cookies. The easiest thing for me is to not have these in the house - ever!
8. Don’t drink calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes I will give myself an A+ on this one! I pretended to drink a glass of wine at a social event, bringing a glass to my lips from time to time, (with my sister; she has always been slim and she has no understanding of how difficult it is for some). It was cowardly of me, yes, but it worked as I didn't have to get into a conversation about food with her. I haven't seen my sister since before I lost weight, yet she made no comment or compliment on my weight loss. I need some ideas and practice on things to say to in challenging social settings. Maybe Wildgoose would write out a list for us...
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). I walked my one of sister's two huge and powerful (untrained) rescue dogs; or should I say he walked me!? He pulled me along from one place to sniff to another. He lunged at things of interest to him, jerking me dramatically, almost pulling me over at times. The following three days my knees hurt - probably from all of his sudden jerking of the leash, so it clearly wasn't the wisest thing for me to try to walk a dog like that. What was I thinking? It does plant a seed in my mind that I would quite possibly love walking a well-behaved dog, though. I have seen people happily cross-country skiing with well trained canines on a leash, too.

Best regards,
Noella

Ejg: I eat HUGE servings of starch, and usually have two-three servings at dinner time. My favourite is wholegrain pasta. If hungry at midnight I might have more! I find the steel cut oats are more filling than rolled oats. Hulled barley is really filling, too.

“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

[/quote]

[squealcat]

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

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:This week went MUCH better than last week. I am looking at my MWL tracker right now and see mostly all checkmarks ! Last week Tuesday and Wednesday were my toughest days. I admit there were two spots (lunchtime) that were NOT checked and that was #5 and #7 on Wednesday. I had to figure out what to do about those snacks at my daughter's house. I packed a cold lunch and stored it in their lower level fridge. I stayed down there the entire time just moved next door from Felix's room for my hour lunch. It worked like a charm BUT I knew if I had my plain foods, I would be looking for something else and mess up the whole day. I had my usual large salad but the dressing was not quite right, I made another dish to have with it that wasn't along with MWL but more Starch Solution. Next week I will do the same but plan to change it up more like MWL each week as I get more confident and know I can do this.

I had a "blip" yesterday but quickly jumped out of the little ditch and the rest of the day was fine. I am really concentrating on treating myself well with LOTS of understanding. I have copied down a quote from a book I am reading called Tiny Habits "I change best by feeling good, not by feeling bad". I know from experience that when I get really down on myself, I don't accomplish anything !

Thank you for your thoughtful questions last week (by the way) ! I have continued to think about them ALL week ! Am interested in what you have to say !

-Marilyn

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time and Adherence!

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Mostly no. I did do this a few times.

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. Mostly oatmeal and fruit for breakfast. Mexican salad for lunch with fruit. Tons of potatoes, corn, sloppy lentils, Jeff burgers for dinner. Got a couple of great things at Farmers Market this week --- best was tomatoes and peaches!!! Will be checking it out again tomorrow as thinking there's only a few weeks left that they'll be open..
Here's one of the Mexican salads...



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).
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. No starving or stuffing.


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 briskly
Had to double fleece this morning --- was at 45 degrees (coming right after 88 degrees). In the spring, this would be almost shorts weather!!


Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

So, going to add just a couple of more comments on Mark's questions...

Markers of Progress -
*Have lost about 50 lbs., 8 BMI points, 5 jeans sizes. Feeling great!!!
*Will take blood tests in November to compare to last November. Not really concerned - #'s were ok (I had been following MWL already almost 6 months).
*Sleep great and wake up (almost) with a bounce. Get up by 6 (lots of times earlier) even when I could sleep in. I actually want to get up and moving...
*My feet want to move and move faster. As compared to discrete last year average (where for 7 months I did do MWL), current year-to-date average steps increased by 5.6K. I can jog across streets without perceived increase in heart rate (it's bum knee that stops me from running more than this)...
* Better skin, hair, fingernails... wounds heal faster (like cut, scrape, etc.)
* No headaches or random body aches, etc.
* Clockwork digestion.
* MWL helps me to cope with anxiety. For most day-to-day things, I have zero ... which is a long way from where I started. (Mostly calm and unbothered now...) Select situations are a bit tougher - continue to work through mindfulness / meditation as well...

I did expect that following MWL would result in ultimately achieving healthy body size / weight and feeling better in general. However, the impact on my mood and energy levels is almost magical. I would be motivated to continue to keep going even if only for that reason. Obviously can't quantify, but I am predominately HAPPY as a clam... (not that I was sad, but I was not walking around smiling for no apparent reason...)

How do you situate your goals, achievements and struggles?
I think that I have learned the most when I struggled a lot (although painful!)... For me, this was mostly in the 5/7 arena where I was looking for a less than optimal way to handle "just say no to that stuff"... Coping techniques I finally landed on (with LOTS OF HELP, thank you, Mark) are ones that can work in other situations too and make me more confident about being able to handle what may be "to come".
I am super appreciative of wonderful support received from McD team (thank you, JeffN) and from participating in support groups (including this one). This has really helped me to increase self-confidence in ability to just keep going. I have benefited by the generosity of others in offering expertise and sharing real life experiences. Nice night to feel completely on your own island.


How I am feeling like I am doing at present time - Mostly feel pretty terrific... "Moving right along..."

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=mo ... ORM=WRVORC

Wishing everyone a wonderful week!!!

Best,
Stephanie

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 9/22/22

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.
No. Had salad dressing twice.

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, I had some 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.
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,Questions,Challenges: 8/10 successes. Not a perfect week, but considering a huge change in my work routine, it was was ok. I still did my best not to let go of all of the good MWL habits I’ve worked so hard to cultivate.

Sometimes success is very natural and sometimes it’s really a surprising challenge that seems to come out of nowhere. Rereading the MWL orientation materials, the links to articles you’ve posted, watching the videos, and seeing how others are dealing with the same issues are so helpful to reinforce what seems to be eluding me.

In summary, in a MWL context, success to me is feeling good before, during, and after eating.


Have a good week everyone!

[Lizzy_F]

Hello fellow travelers on the Time & Adherence highway!

Reporting in - just under the wire!

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes for lunches & dinners. No for breakfast which is all-in-one bowl, when eaten.

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. Reduced, not eliminated (salt). No added sugar this week.



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. 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. I feel better about my awareness level and behavior this week.



10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). It is what it is. (inconsistent) The good news is that my movement just from daily living remains above 10,000 steps per day on average. So at least there is that!



Victories: New low on the scale this week. BMI is now 23.1. I have read a number of posts from Jeff on the subject of BMI (as provided by my Support Specialist for homework) and it seems that in general, a BMI in the 18.5 – 22 range is optimal. So I’m keeping my eye on that and hope to lose a little more weight to get me firmly into that range. The 10-point checklist has been such a great tool in my progress to better health overall and a healthier BMI! May the progress continue with the help of this tool for behavioral change!


Comments: Stephanie I love your food pics!! I will come back to read all the other reports - I confess I'm behind on that. I also have the "success" questions printed out and have been giving thought to that. I just need to type up a response and then will post it. Sorry - it's been a cRaZy week!


Concerns: I feel I am becoming less attached to the idea of “3 squares (meals) a day” and more attached to just the idea of eating when hungry. (and making improvements as afar as stopping when comfortably full, not stuffed) I was pretty busy this past week, in addition to battling a cold. I found that I was really only hungry for one meal on several days. Does anyone see this as a problem? (I am not striving to eat less meals – only striving to do a better job of eating when hungry and stopping when full). If I have days where I am only hungry for one meal, I’m just wondering if that is an issue of concern. I do think this week was a bit of an aberration rather than a “trend.”


Questions: See above concern.

[moonlight]

Hi everyone! I hope you are having a good week. Mark, thank you for posing the questions. And thanks to everyone that answered them. Here's a summary of my last week. I missed last week's check in because I was working long hours through Friday and Saturday.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Maybe 50% 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.Maybe 70% of the time
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. Maybe 70% of the time
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).Maybe 50% of the time
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Maybe 70% of the time
6. Eliminate any added oil. Maybe 50% of the time
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. Every day I have eaten bread, I think. This will be hard to break!
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Maybe 20% of the time -- lots of room for improvement!!
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Maybe 50% of the time
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Lots of exercise. I've started swimming. I go 4-6 days a week. I also hike.

What does "success" look like to you?
Sincerely working toward the goals set out for myself. And, if I continuously don’t meet the goal, recognizing that changes need to be made as to how I am approaching the goal, either redefine the goal or take on smaller steps to achieve it. Just don’t give up. Regarding my eating and exercise plan, success will be following the 10 pt checklist with ease.

What markers, milestones, or other signifiers do you use to view your progress?
Short-term objectives toward the goals. This involves planning smaller steps to reach the goal if it is a big goal. It always includes a plan. I keep track of achieving the smaller objectives that I’ve made for the bigger plan. For my eating plan, I have learned that I must record the 10 pt checklist every day to help me stay on track. I know I won’t be 100% the first week (speaking from experience) and the checklist gives me a tool to measure progress.

In what context do you situate your goals, achievements and struggles?
I do much better with my goals if I share them with others. I have rejoined this group. I’m in a women’s group that meets weekly with the goal of addressing areas in our lives that need improvement. And today I put the 10 pt checklist on the kitchen table and announced to my husband that I planned to follow the guidelines again. Announcing to my husband my intention will help me stay on track because I don’t want to appear as a failure. I keep the checklists in a notebook. I can look back on them and see when I was humming along and what I was eating at that time.

How does it feel like you are doing at the present moment, and what informs that feeling?
Well, with regard to my eating plan, I am still trying and not giving up. Today I have put the checklist on the kitchen table. The last two weeks I have not been doing that and just feeling defeated when I stray. The checklist gives me better perspective on what I’m getting right rather than emphasizing the times I stray.

I hope you all have a great week. Thanks to Mark, Goose, and Jeff for the hard work to keep this forum inspiring and productive.

[JaBee]

Hello to all,

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes, 7/7
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, 7/7
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, 7/7
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes,7/7
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes,7/7
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes,7/7
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, 7/7
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes, 7/7
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Yes, 7/7
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes, 7/7

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Grateful for compliant week due to simple meals, keeping busy during triggering moments, and the helpful suggestions from all of you, thank you so much. Hope to continue to make progress. I am motivated, encouraged by everyone sharing experiences

In reference to the items Mark posed last week;
—Success to me is no longer being a ‘slave’ to and obsessed by the scale which is why I choose to weigh once a month. I’m trying to focus on health and am confident the weight loss will come. Also, I view success as showing up and posting even when my adherence hasn’t been acceptable to me.
—I measure my progress based on how I feel, how my clothes fit and my energy level. In last couple of years clothing size has gone from 2XL women’s to size medium 10-12, no longer have chronic sinus infections. Adult acne cleared and I have tons of energy.
—I situate my goals, achievements and struggles on my long term reason for adopting this lifestyle which is to be healthy given my present circumstances.
—Currently, I feel I am making progress as I continue to struggle with others in my family not eating this way but as many of you have proven, it’s possible to eat this way even if you have to do it alone. I continue to strive for progress given perfection is elusive.

[Drew*#]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.****Yes, mostly.
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, mostly.
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. **** 5/7
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).*** 6/7
6. Eliminate any added oil. ****Yes, mostly
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 but working on it
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). ****Yes, mostly.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.**** Yes, mostly
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). ****2/7 (going on a long walk today, yoga tomorrow)

I am somewhat on track with the program here and have started making a recipe that includes rice, red beans, crushed tomatoes, celery, paprika, and perhaps a small amount of other ingredients that are plant-based and do not include oil. Time is somewhat of the essence as I am trying to lose a pound or two each week before my scheduled operation 6 weeks out. Finally found a doctor in my network that will remove the mesh and do a Bassini Style repair for recurrent Inguinal Hernia. I plan to add some daily exercise to the mix and cut out nutrient dense bread and replace with rice or other grain for most meals.

I am working on the checklist to be more exact...

No gain and no loss since last time. Weight is 184 lb per weigh-in.

[Mark Cooper]

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

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Mark Cooper]

Ejg - That seems like a great week!

I might have to start adding oatmeal back in because I don't think the point is to feel hungry and deprived, but to find something I feel I can stick with for the long-term.

Correct.

I don't actually think I'm hungry, because my "test" is to ask myself "am I hungry enough to eat salad and potatoes? If not, then you aren't really hungry."

Seems like a solid test to me. Carry on as you have been and I'm sure this period of "white-knuckling" will pass in due course. Happy fall!

BambiS - You are a veritable dynamo of organization! Keep doing the best you can, aiming toward sustaining the recommended pattern of behavior overall.

Rebecka22 - Woo-hoo! 10/10! Kudos to you for leaning on your planning and preparation as a support during a week where cravings were rumbling. Congratulations to your daughter on her graduation (and to you, as well)!

Noella - I'll second your A+ for that social event, and I don't think you were cowardly at all! Whatever gets us through a situation in a way that we can feel good about is a win in my book. I generally have an easy out for gatherings where people question or challenge my behavioral choices - I just tell them that I have to avoid all sorts of things to effectively manage my chronic disease. I've never had anyone quibble with that. I completely agree with your sentiment that the easiest way to avoid an especially tempting thing is to not have it in the immediate environment, that way our willpower isn't constantly being "tested." Canine skiing sounds like an adventure!

squealcat -

This week went MUCH better than last week. I am looking at my MWL tracker right now and see mostly all checkmarks !

That is fabulous, Marilyn! You got Tuesday checked and reined in, now to master Wednesday, right? The plan you describe for moving toward that seems sensible, and a good way to build your confidence over the weeks ahead.

I am really concentrating on treating myself well with LOTS of understanding. I have copied down a quote from a book I am reading called Tiny Habits "I change best by feeling good, not by feeling bad". I know from experience that when I get really down on myself, I don't accomplish anything !

Thank you for sharing this! I think self-compassion is a really essential part of the formula for success.

VegSeekingFit - It seems like you are doing really well, Stephanie! Congratulations on your achievements and your ongoing adherence!

I think that I have learned the most when I struggled a lot (although painful!)

I think this was the case for me, too. While it isn't always fun at the time, big challenges can offer big opportunities for growth (when we practice self-compassion, persevere, and aim for continual progress with consistent evaluation and adjustment). I LOVE THE MUPPETS!

Gimmelean -

I still did my best not to let go of all of the good MWL habits I’ve worked so hard to cultivate.

This is what is always most important, right? A big change in routine is almost certain to present challenges, but you have experience with the tools that will allow you to adapt and overcome given time and adjustment.

In summary, in a MWL context, success to me is feeling good before, during, and after eating.

I love this as a metric!

Lizzy_F - Hitting a new low this week! Congratulations!

I feel I am becoming less attached to the idea of “3 squares (meals) a day” and more attached to just the idea of eating when hungry.

That seems like a meaningful development. Given the context you describe, I don't think having only one meal on some days is a problem. If you found that you were only eating a single meal every day, consistently, that might be something worthy of a closer look and some consideration and analysis. "Whenever hungry, eat of the recommended foods in the recommended fashion" is one of the foundational principles that guides us, right?

moonlight - I think "checking in" with the checklist daily is an excellent practice and I imagine having it on the table as a direct, visual reminder will be a great way to start to "anchor" some of the patterns of behavior you are in the process of building. You have gotten started again (which can often be the hardest step to take), you are heading in the right direction, and now it is a matter of turning 70% into 80, 90, or 100, 50% into 70, and 20% into 50 (and so on).

The checklist gives me better perspective on what I’m getting right rather than emphasizing the times I stray.

I think perspective is really important, both in knowing where we are right now AND for recognizing and appreciating the actual progress we are making. Keep at it!

JaBee - Awesome progress!

Grateful for compliant week due to simple meals, keeping busy during triggering moments

Both really excellent practices! One of the things I find valuable about aiming for progress: Progress can be part of a plan that is born from our current context. We can look at what is working and build on that, look at where we're struggling and devise a strategy to apply (and test that out), &c. "Perfection" often feels like something apart from us and disconnected from our lived experience. Whatever we can imagine "perfect" looking like, that vision rarely suggest a clear, achievable plan for attainment. I think from the far end of things looking back, "perfect" might just look like the sum of a lot of "imperfect" progress, conscientiously managed over time.

Drew*# - Wishing you the very best outcome in the upcoming procedure and with all your preparatory efforts! The recipe you describe sounds delicious. Focusing on calorie dilution by eliminating the calorie rich foods and replacing them with adherent starches is a sound strategy. The pattern of behavior described by the MWL 10-Point Checklist is the surest path toward a healthy weight, so the closer you can get to that pattern, the better your results are likely to be. Keep aiming for cumulative progress toward closer adherence.

[Mark Cooper]

**NOTE: edited after I realized I had omitted one of my question & answers. **

WOW! The quality of the discussion over the course of this week really knocked me off my feet! Thank you to everyone who participated for all your amazing responses! If you haven't taken the time to go back and peruse the discussion, I really encourage you to do so (here's a link to where wildgoose started things off). I found reading through everyone's thoughts about "success" to be a truly profound experience. Something that seemed particularly significant to me: while there were many different ideas, measures, and situations described, ALL of them seemed completely appropriate and relevant to that person, and IMPORTANTLY, to my mind they all describe a very healthy and reasonable assessment of what "success" looks like. That feels important.

As promised, my own responses are below. I want to note explicitly that these are just my personal thoughts and ideas, and not necessarily any kind of "model" for anyone else. I think you all gave some of the best answers I could imagine, and you've certainly inspired me in a powerful way. I am so thankful to be a part of this group.

What does "success" look like to you?
With respect to my health and behavioral pattern/choices, my model of "success" is pretty simple and surely familiar:
SUCCESS = ADHERENCE + TIME

Jeff often refers to the MWL program as the program for Maximum Health, and I sincerely believe this to be true (at a minimum, it seems true for me in particular), so my mental picture of "success" is occupied by that pattern of behavior, now and on into the future. I also try to keep in mind Jeff's "health formula":
Health = CR-ON + appropriate exercise/fitness + adequate rest, relaxation & sleep + adequate sunshine + emotional poise + pure air + pure water

That is pretty expansive, right?!? Speaking more generally, and more from the "emotional side of things," a lot of my thoughts about how to frame success, and particularly how to differentiate that frame from my, sometimes maladaptive, inclinations toward perfectionism are discussed in this post.

The earlier discussions of direction, mindset and motivation are spurring me to share some thoughts on the perspective I use in driving myself forward and encouraging ongoing progress.

My personal default tends to be aiming toward perfection, but that path is clearly fraught with troubles; we humans are imperfect by our very nature, so if our goal is perfection we are guaranteed to fall short. Circumstances also sometimes intervene, making perfection unattainable despite all our efforts. Often the very best we can do still won't measure up against "perfect."

It seems advantageous to me to forfeit perfection as a goal, and instead pursue excellence. I can put forward my best efforts each week to do an excellent job working on the fundamental principles, behaviors and skills that are important and relevant to me. When I inevitably make mistakes, I try to exercise self-compassion, recognizing it's OK not to be perfect and that mistakes are a natural part of the learning process, as Jeff has so eloquently said.

5) BE PERSISTENT AND WORK HARD: Success is a marathon, not a
sprint. Never give up.

Like in all things, there will be some setbacks on the road to
health, and some difficult times ahead. This IS part of the
process. Relapse/setbacks do not equal failure, they are part
of the process of change (and success) that we all go through.
You will also encounter some obstacles. These are not there
as a sign for you to quit, but as a challenge to strengthen
your commitment to reaching your goals.

I think perhaps the difference between the pursuit of excellence vs. perfection is differentiated in our response to mistakes and obstacles - when I was seeking perfection, and made a mistake I often tended to "knock over the table" and give up for that day (or days or week ). That usually left me depressed, with a lot of practice at giving up, but very little practical experience overcoming obstacles or learning how to mitigate future mistakes.

In pursuing excellence, mistakes and failures can provide an opportunity for growth; I can learn something each time, surmounting that obstacle (usually not on the first attempt) and be better for it. That feels like the path to mastery - not being perfect or free from mistakes, but navigating situations with confidence and poise, knowing how to apply the fundamentals, recognizing what "doing the best I can" looks like in a given situation, and striving to do even better next time. That may be a goal that is always just out of my reach, but I find the chasing of it inspiring.

What markers, milestones, or other signifiers do you use to view your progress?
For me, the fundamental answer for this question is fully summed up in this post.

There are many biomarkers used to help determine/evaluate someones health.

These include (but not limited to)

BMI,
Waist Circumference
Waist to hip ratio
Waist to height ratio
Percentage Body Fat

Total Cholesterol
LDL
HDL
LDL/HDL
Total Cholesterol/HDL
Triglycerides

Blood sugar
insulin

Etc, etc

BMI is just one marker, as are all of the rest, and no one marker alone can predict someones health outcomes. And, they are just markers.

Or as the old saying goes, they are "fingers pointing to the moon" but not the "moon" itself.

I still think the "plate test" is the best test there is

Particularly, that very last bit. For me, the "plate test" is paramount.

But what is more important and what I feel to be the most important test, is what I call the "plate test." Very few people know about it yet it is one of the most effective tests and simple and easy to do and very inexpensive. You can even do it at home.

Here is how you do it.

When you sit down to eat each meal, look at your "plate" and see if it passes this "test", the "Plate Test."

Are at least 95% of the calories on your plate coming from unrefined unprocessed fruits, vegetables, starchy vegetables, intact whole grains and/or legumes? Are there at least 12-15 grams of fiber coming from whole natural foods? Does it meet my guidelines for sodium? Are any "exceptions" being kept to less than 5% of calories?

If your meal passes this "Plate Test", then I think that is the most effective test you can ever have done and the best indicator of your future health and longevity.

That is my favorite metric, largely because I tend to frame any of these "fingers pointing to the moon" in terms of "what would this information cause me to do differently?" It is my belief that the pattern of behavior described in the MWL 10-Point Checklist is the very best for maintaining my health and well-being, so if I have ADHERENCE through the passing of TIME, what would I want to change? (Assuming I am happy, feeling well, maintaining positive relationships, &c.)

I would be remiss if I didn't also mention that, in my case, another measure that I can't realistically ignore (even if I might like to sometimes) is the state of my disease progression/remission. As I've mentioned in the past, CRPS/RSD has no known cure at present, and very few treatments that are scientifically proven to be effective. Sadly, diet doesn't seem to be a curative, either; however, maintaining my adherence to MWL DOES seem to make it much easier for me to control and manage my symptoms and achieve something like a "normal" life (at least normal for me ). I have good times and bad times, and I've had to come to a kind of "radical acknowledgement" that "doing my best" still doesn't always mean I will be free from the effects of this disease. But IT DOES make that much more likely, and that is important. SO - a pretty powerful motivation for me.

In what context do you situate your goals, achievements and struggles?
For me, the most important context at present is my overall health and happiness, informed by my past experience with this way of living and my current sense of self-efficacy (if that makes sense). I try to view things not in terms of "how much I can get away with" or "the least restrictive," but rather "what pattern of behavior do I believe, informed by an understanding of the best applicable science of which I'm aware, is most likely to deliver health and well-being?" I also try to situate all my efforts within the context of what feels challenging but achievable for me at present, trying to be mindful of the fact that I do have a chronic illness with which to contend. It isn't always easy, but I try to treat myself compassionately under any circumstance I'm facing. I attempt to frame challenges as opportunities to learn, and struggle as a force that strengthens my practice.

How does it feel like you are doing at the present moment, and what informs that feeling?
I guess I feel like I'm doing pretty well! All my biomarkers fall in a healthy range, my MWL 10-Point Checklist is 10/10, and I'm passing the plate test everyday. My pain is minimal and I experience very few symptoms from my disease. I feel healthy, fit and capable. Perhaps most importantly, I'm happy! I feel connected and loved in my daily life, I feel like I make a positive contribution to my "tribe", and I really enjoy my daily routine. I have things to which I'm looking forward, and new goals toward which I aspire. All in all, I can't think of much more that I would ask for than all of that.


Again, THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH for your generous and open participation in the discussion. You're the best!

Have an amazing week, take care & be well!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi to All!!

Thanks for sharing thoughts here... I am 100% enriched in my own understanding of this program by what everyone shared!!! This was awesome!! Really appreciated comments from all!!! Resonated with me 100%!!

Totally connect with certain things... Like, YES!!! Success may be just showing up and reporting (could not agree more)... Best believe that I personally floundered on a couple of points for many weeks and it was pretty tough to be like, yeah, boo... still no... But, help here got me to a better place... so, it is possible!! Just keep going!!!

In spirit of above, which some folks have alluded to... It may take many "baby steps" to get there. And that is super great.... (although, it won't likely feel like that at the time - like maybe from point A to B could have 20 stops...)... Just keep going!!!

"Slave to the scale"... OMG!!! Many times I wanted to throw that puppy out the window!!! Agree with JaBee... just follow the checklist... You'll get there...

Hey Mark Cooper!!!! THANK YOU for this exercise - top-notch thread!!! I personally found a good bit of clarity by taking a step back and considering these points... I am going to re-check here in a couple of months --- some elements seem to be iterative / fluid to me. I would doubt that my "What", "Why", "How" would change, but maybe "Where you are and how you rate that"... (Sorry, had to dumb it down for myself...)

So many things that you shared that I relate to... and appreciate you 100%!!! You keep us going!!! I am wishing you the best with managing CRPS (so sorry you have to do that!)... Super appreciated how you mentioned that we all answered as individuals and no wrong / right answer. Also, not to just copy your answers as a model... (but they were so good!!! )... Finally, McD himself says that the Program won't cure everything, just help you be the best health you can...(like Rheumatoid Arthritis vs. Osteo...) So, also going with maximize future potential health... (where a couple things I have will be managed, not cured...)

Totally wishing everyone a wonderful week!!! Hope we may see more conversation on Mark questions...

Cheers,
Stephanie

[MakeHealthLast]

Hello Mark,

This is Health 1st; I participated in the MWL weekly check-in last + earlier this year. Unfortunately, I forgot my password for Health 1st, + also the information for the e-mail account that I had set up specifically for joining the McDougall Forum. I have no way of proving this, other than giving the name of the e-mail provider.

I wrote an entry in my journal this weekend (+ since), but I don't know if it's allowed for me to continue it or if I have to start a new one. I am sorry for these problems...I seem to be the "Problem Child" of the Forum.

I would like to re-join the Group starting with this coming week, the last check-in of the month. (I'm so glad it's been reformatted + focuses on our behaviours to make lasting changes, + not our #'s on the scale! ) I have re-read all the information + look forward to really working the checklist into my everyday life so that I can once + for all conquer* all my bad habits + reclaim the health I once had. My body desperately needs it!!

Thanks, Mark!

* or at least securely grasp/implement the tools needed to make significant life-long positive health habits. I realize it could very well be a battle for the rest of my life.

[Mark Cooper]

MakeHealthLast/Health 1st - I think it should be fine for you to continue using your journal. I will look forward to your check-in this week!

[MakeHealthLast]

MakeHealthLast/Health 1st - I think it should be fine for you to continue using your journal. I will look forward to your check-in this week!

Both sound great! Thank you, Mark!