The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - November 2022 Group

[louie3084]

Thanks for the quick reply Mark. I will head on over and start my journal!

[BambiS]

11-18

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Not very much


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
Some days


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

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). Some days

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I’m back to work in the office 2 days a week right now. I found it hard to stick on plan due to not eating much early and mid day, I didn’t preload. I feared having gas and waited to eat until lunch. I am trying to avoid gassy foods in office days and had steel cut oats, zucchini, and berries. I am most likely moving my retirement up to age 65 in September. With my husbands immune system, I never did get out much. Work will not keep me home.

[Rebecka22]

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. NO
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
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). NO
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

Didn’t do great this week. Less stressful week, but gave in to chocolate, pretzels and a mocha and a hot cocoa. Still a little sick and not feeling 100% which is impacting my usual ability to make better choices. I need to try the hot water, but haven’t convinced myself of it yet. One positive is that I kept doing better, so didn’t just stay making consistent bad choices. In last weeks reading one thing that stuck with me was, “Making this a lifestyle is our goal. Anything less is making this a lifelong struggle.“ I this k I h been making things more of a struggle lately. I am planning for Thanksgiving so hopefully good planning will help me stay on track. I am thankful for everyone here and hope you all have a great week.

[Ejg]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Mostly but not 100%. Traveled for work this week and so the schedule got thrown off. More below
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. No
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. No
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). No, I ate a few packs of salted peanuts during breaks at my meeting.
6. Eliminate any added oil. No. I was awash in added oil this week
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. avoided all the cookies and chips that are readily available when you go to these kinds of stuffy work engagements
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
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). no

This past week I had to travel for work, which I used to do all the time but haven't since March 2020 due to Covid. I guess its going to start back up again. All things considered I started the week off pretty good. The lunches were catered and I ate tons of salad and fruit, didn't eat any of the meat dishes, but the potatoes and green beans were pretty loaded with added oil and salt. I suppose I should've planned ahead a little better and simply packed my lunches. In the evening, I hit up the local Whole Foods and got tons of salad and beans at the prepared foods bar (when my employer gives me a per diem I will gladly spend it at Whole Foods, but good gracious is that place expensive!!). By the last day I started to get word that my absence at evening dinners was noticed, so I had to stick around for the last one. I still just ate salad and potatoes, although I was starting to get pretty hangry by the end of the day and ate a few packs of salted peanuts. Somebody in our group said they were going to get Mexican food when the dinner was over and I thought "Great! I will gladly come, I'm sure I can get a mountain of black beans and rice!" I guess I didn't fully understand where we were going because the plate that appeared in front of me, while certainly containing black beans and rice, was dripping with added oil. However this didn't stop me from eating the entire thing (plus the chips that were in front of me). My body clearly was not used to it and I got very sick for the entire next day, and hardly ate a thing. Lesson learned, next time I have to travel for work, I will simply bring my lunches with me. Live and learn. I don't trust the scale number for this week since I still haven't eaten much since I got back, so I didn't get too excited when I saw that I "lost" 3 pounds. week over week change: -3, cumulative change: -9

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

Hoping everyone enjoyed the week! I did --- except for my weather complaints that are just what they are in “late fall / winter” in Chicagoland, IL… Trying to find my inner polar bear (but not sure that she exists).

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Rarely. Reason is that I am maintaining. I do like pre-loading. Perhaps will be doing this more over the winter when I am thinking my movement may just decrease due to inclement weather. My Apple Health App is already warning me of this!!! Annoys me a bit… (Health App – You took less steps this week than last week; me – ok, dude, live here and take same steps!!!) I have been pacing in house, but not the same.

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. Consumed a serious amount of starch / veggie soup --- SOUP SOUP SOUP!!!! Oats or other whole grain cereal with frozen fruit for breakfast. Mountains of potatoes. Whole wheat pasta in the spirit of SNAP. Sloppy lentils. Various veggies and fruits.

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. For this week, added within the guidelines for both. Remaining cognizant here. Rarely add sugar – this is usually in the form of BBQ sauce, but measured.

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.
Yes –didn’t stuff or starve. Following this eat recommended foods, recommended fashion when hungry guideline. This isn’t always consistent (timing, volume) for me on a day-to-day basis, but feeling ok about that.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes. Walked briskly 7/7 days outside (see above for complaints!). Will be looking at indoor options too --- seeing the need.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Wishing all of the folks in US a Happy Thanksgiving next week!! Also, wishing all of our non-US compadres an amazing weekend!

Always like to think about gratitude at this time of year. Love the spirit of Thanksgiving holiday – always have. Sharing a quote by one of my favorite authors (love her sisters too!):
“For my part, I am almost contented just now, and very thankful. Gratitude is a divine emotion: it fills the heart, but not to bursting; it warms it, but not to fever.” – Charlotte Bronte

I am grateful for this group – thank you!

Best,
Stephanie

[Greens]

Hello Time and Adherence Team! Have loved reading previous posts and am looking forward to future insights.

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 desert. 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.

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). I stopped putting soy milk in my coffee and on oats. This was not as hard as I thought that change was going to be. However I did have a small amount of “cheese sauce” that did have as one of its ingredients soy milk. So no

6) Eliminate any added oil. Yes

7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. Yes.

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

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

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). 5/7 days

It wasn’t until I finally kept a food diary that I realized how much of the higher fat plant foods (in the form of soy milk, tofu, sesame, soy yogurt, and cashew sauces) and flour products (muffins) I was having. My amnesia about this surprised me. We didn’t eat out this week or have company staying over which was helpful to me in staying compliant.
Marilyn

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 11/19/22
Greetings MWL Time and Adherence community.

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- Chips, cake, and bread became my downfall this week. Nothing special at all about tortilla chips at midnight. The cake looked beautiful but was not really good at all. The bread was an Afghani flatbread that I know was made with oil but never had before. Why did I do that?

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:
This week was going very well and adherently until Thursday. Five great days out of 7 isn’t terrible but it really does feel that way at the moment. I am back on track NOW.
For those in the US, a wonderful Thanksgiving to you and your families. I plan to have all the MWL foods I love prepared and ready to serve by the day before so I don’t envision the day to be any more challenging than each and every day. Fortunately everyone else enjoys MWL foods and will prepare anything in addition. Lots to be thankful for. Have a good week everyone.

[Lizzy_F]

Hello Team Time & Adherence!

Report for week ending 11-19-22

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. Reduced, not eliminated


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. Yes, with the caveate that I am still working on the “clean plate club” mentality.


10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I fell off this week on exercise. Next week I am having a minor elective surgery, so will not be able to exercise for several days. But I know what works and will get back to my system as soon as I can.

Victories: FOOD! My food was good this week. I have proven once again to myself that I do best when I keep it simple, and keep it potato strong.

Comments: I had a good conversation with my Support Specialist this week about the energy balance shifting that has taken place across this journey of weight loss (as Jeff describes so eloquently – our “margin for error” gets narrower the closer to ideal weight we get). I have a deeply ingrained habit of cleaning my plate that has been with me since childhood. I also really have trouble with feeling “fullness.” I can eat and eat! So I really do want to be more mindful of whether or not I am stuffing myself. Part of me feels like I haven’t been, and another part of me is not so sure. Tiffany coached me about eating some, then waiting a short time (i.e. 20 minutes), then eating more if I am still hungry. We’ve had that discussion before but I really don’t feel like I’ve made progress in that department. I want to make sure I am approaching this topic in a healthy manner, and not from a mentality of “restriction” which would absolutely backfire. I fine line indeed.

Concerns: This time of year, this year, feels disruptive to me as noted in last weeks report too. I feel like I am struggling a little to keep my healthy routines going in the face of the changing weather (in the space of one week we went from a day where the high was 75 degrees to a night where the low was in the teens!), holiday planning and hoopla, elective procedures, etc. I just keep telling myself it will all settle down soon. A positive take away is having deep gratitude for the positive routines that are helping me get to a much healthier place! So I’m hanging on!!


Questions: Did anything about your food or your routines change when you got to your goal weight? (Stephanie, I see that you are doing less pre-loading now but also balancing that strategy with your exercise patterns) I don’t know for sure whether I am *there* or not, but am probably close. (Current BMI 22.1) Weight seems to be stabilizing at my current level of calorie intake and activity. I am not planning on changing anything about my food unless I figure out some compelling reason to do so. As stated previously, I want to get consistent with modest daily intentional exercise, but that will likely never be “barn burning” type exercise LOL!

Mark – thank you so much for your feedback to me personally, and also the group feedback and suggested reading about compliance. GREAT STUFF! I especially like the quote from f1jim that was inside one of Jeff’s threads that you linked. PROFOUND. You are becoming such an important part of my journey and I really appreciate the time and effort you put into this group.

WELCOME to this weeks newcomers!! It works if you work it!

Ejg – Love your attitude and “summer bodies are made in winter!” You mention the northeast which is very broad, but I hope you are not being adversely affected right now by the heavy snow in NY State. I no longer travel for business, but used to be a Road Warrior. Your report this week about your experience traveling made my heart ache – I can so see that happening in the world I came from. (“Your absence at dinners has been noted! You need to show up! You need to do what everyone else is doing!”) My heart goes out to you as you figure out how to stay compliant while navigating all that. Hopefully your situation / work people are not as bad as mine used to be!

Louie3084 – You asked what others do to stick to this. I’m still new on the path, but one of the things that is ESSENTIAL for me is FOOD PREP and keeping it simple. I always have cooked starches (mostly potatoes for me) prepared and in the fridge at all times, and plenty of frozen non-starchy veg in the freezer. I make a large pot of veg soup once a week or so, and always keep a stash of that in the freezer. So a simple meal of low calorie density soup, potatoes and veg comes together in minutes. That is my saving grace on hectic days!

Big hello to all other fellow travelers. Wishing all US friends a Happy Thanksgiving. My husband and I are just laying low, so no issues related to larger gatherings are in the offing! I will be potato-ing on as normal!

[Ellen Withrow]

Hi, McDougallers! I like the way this forum helps me examine my choices. My gains and losses are no mystery.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
I started majority of my meals this week with simple salad (two romaine hearts, two chopped green onions and sliced Kalamata olives packed in water). I love eating this salad!

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.
Mostly No.
I ate fruit for dessert (watermelon, grapes, pears) or sometimes Japanese sweet potatoes/Hannah yams (starch) for dessert. I started meal with salad, but I forgot to pay attention to the 50/50 plate method this week.

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.
I ate added salt in the Kalamata olives (but did not eat reduced-sodium soy sauce this week). I consumed a lot of industrial fructose in the Pepsi-Cola and Coca-Cola.

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

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
No, I ate avocado with my rice/pico bowls. I ate Kalamata olives on my salad.

6. Eliminate any added oil.
No, I ate 3 vegan blueberry scones (which contain oil) while shopping at Whole Foods Market on Monday. No other added oils.


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, 3 vegan blueberry scones, 7 avocados, and a 6.35-oz jar of Kalamata olives this week.

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). No, I consumed eight 20-oz bottles of Pepsi/Coke this week.

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

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

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
I travel to the largest nearby city every Monday where three of my elderly loved ones are getting medical care. The access to this city's Whole Foods Market is helpful because I purchase Japanese sweet potatoes, Hannah yams and other fresh produce not available where I live.

Unfortunately, the vegan blueberry scones in WFM self-serve pastry case are irresistible to me. This is the third week that I have eaten three scones while shopping. I walk in the store and my feet take me directly to the pastry case.

In the second half of this week I took a hiatus from soda and got a headache this morning. I was grocery shopping at Walmart just now and made it to the checkout without any soda. The Pepsi case was right next to my checkout, and I grabbed two Pepsi-Colas at the last second. Drank both and my headache is now gone.

I gained 2 pounds this week.

[Noella]

Hi Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose and everyone participating on the behavioural path to MWL success forum,

1. Start each meal with soup and/or salad and fruit. Yes...ALWAYS make sure to do this step and keep it very simple to ensure that I do!
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. Yes...ALWAYS! I balance the starchy with the non-starchy for every single meal! I don't measure, but I look at it visually and ensure it has enough.
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. Sugar: Yes...I NEVER add sugar while cooking or at the table; I ALWAYS use a reduced amount of salt and generally add it as needed from a pre-measured maximum daily amount.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes...NEVER eat dairy, meat, seafood, shellfish or eggs.
5. Eliminate all higher-fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes...NEVER eat these, and I am never tempted, either, as they don't appeal to me, so it's easy.
6. Eliminate any added oil. Yes...NEVER
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...NEVER
8. Don’t drink calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes...NEVER
9. Follow these principles, eat whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself, and don't stuff yourself. Yes...ALWAYS
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes Always trying to do at least the minimum

I've been enjoying using Jeff Novick's acronym BYOBB to ensure I REMEMBER to emphasize these five cholesterol-lowering foods:
B - BEANS,
Y - YAMS,
O - OATS,
B - HULLED BARLEY,
B - BERRIES

“Day by day, you’ll be making your best effort at creating better health. And day by day, you’ll find yourself looking better, weighing less, and feeling more energy and confidence. It doesn’t happen without effort. But that’s what makes it great. You earn the right to be healthier, happier, more vital, beautiful, and alive. Enjoy it. You deserve to look and feel great.”
― John A. McDougall, The Mcdougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss

Best regards,
Noella

[Mark Cooper]

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

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - Wishing you all the best in navigating and managing your return to the office. I can imagine how that situation would be particularly challenging; keep experimenting, doing your best, evaluating the results, and adjusting and you will sort out an adapted routine that works for you in this new situation. Best to your husband and congratulations on your coming retirement, which I hope will be a very happy occasion for you and your loved ones.

Rebecka22 - Feeling sick certainly doesn't make anything seem easier, right? Hoping you make an easy and complete return to full health.

One positive is that I kept doing better, so didn’t just stay making consistent bad choices.

That is great; recovery from a lapse is an important and valuable skill to develop. Finding a pattern of behavior that we are able to be content with maintaining AND that delivers the results we desire is the heart of the matter. I think to get to that point, we have to adjust our routine, environment, and perspective so that, with practice and adjustment, the struggles fade away. Putting together a solid plan for Thanksgiving can only help, right? Planning to succeed makes success that much more likely. Have a great week!

Ejg - It seems to me that you've learned a lot from this week's challenges and obstacles, Eric! Any novel experience that pulls us out of our established routine is likely to present challenges, so it makes sense that travel makes adherence feel more difficult to maintain, especially if we don't have much recent practice in how to successfully practice MWL while traveling. As you observed, preparing, packing and bringing your own food is probably the surest way to surmount most of the obstacles, although the Whole Foods food bars can often be a viable alternative, as can some of the possibilities Jeff discusses in his Dining Out thread. The sort of "Dining Out Cards" described here can be helpful, too. Feeling so miserable after an oil-laden meal is a pretty powerful sense memory to associate with your "lesson learned." Hope you feel much better soon and have a less difficult week ahead.

VegSeekingFit - That good groove you've established continues forward, Stephanie! Whether or not you find that polar bear, I hope you are able to stay comfortably warm. It seems to me you have been and are approaching maintenance in a thoughtful way and with appropriate attention; as you continue to "fine-tune" your routine to serve your needs moving forward, the practice and experience you accrue should start to make things feel more comfortable and quotidian. That quote from Charlotte Bronte is really beautiful; thank you for sharing it!

Greens - You are off to a pretty outstanding start, Marilyn! Keeping a food diary can be quite revelatory, can't it? I certainly found it to be a very useful tool. Having this week relatively undisrupted by obstacles is always a blessing, and it offers some time to plan for the days when those disruptions will inevitably appear, right?

Gimmelean - Kudos to you for bringing yourself back on track! I would agree with you that when assessing 5 great days out of 7, it is worth giving just as much weight and attention to the things that made those 5 days successful as we bring to analyzing what was different about the other 2 days. We shouldn't let our stumbles and challenges overshadow and erase all the things we do well, right? Was there anything different about the context of those 2 days?

The bread was an Afghani flatbread that I know was made with oil but never had before. Why did I do that?

Does your intuition point you toward an answer to this question? Was it just the novelty, or was the situation (or the overall progression of that day) more complicated?

I plan to have all the MWL foods I love prepared and ready to serve by the day before so I don’t envision the day to be any more challenging than each and every day.

Sounds like an excellent plan; I will be doing the same, myself. Enjoy and have a great week!

Lizzy_F - Excellent adherence! Keeping your menu simple and "potato strong" definitely seems to be working for you, Beth!

I want to make sure I am approaching this topic in a healthy manner, and not from a mentality of “restriction” which would absolutely backfire.

I think this is SO important; it seems to me that when feelings of restriction or deprivation become prevalent it can be really disruptive to our efforts. Speaking for myself, my routine didn't really change at all when my weight settled to its current point of equilibrium. I was (and still do) pursue MWL for reasons other than weight, as I've discussed in the past. I do pay some attention to making sure I don't drop down into an unhealthy BMI, which has occasionally been a concern for reasons related to my condition (i.e., there have been times when my appetite was very poor and I had trouble eating "enough" food, but this has always been related to CRPS symptoms and has only happened on rare occasions). Thanks for you kind words, both for myself and our comrades here! Wishing for the very best outcome in your upcoming surgery.

Ellen Withrow - Hi, Ellen!

I like the way this forum helps me examine my choices. My gains and losses are no mystery.

I think this is a very astute observation. When we are able to have a clear picture of our prevailing pattern of behavior, confusion and mystery vanish.

I travel to the largest nearby city every Monday where three of my elderly loved ones are getting medical care. The access to this city's Whole Foods Market is helpful because I purchase Japanese sweet potatoes, Hannah yams and other fresh produce not available where I live.
Unfortunately, the vegan blueberry scones in WFM self-serve pastry case are irresistible to me. This is the third week that I have eaten three scones while shopping. I walk in the store and my feet take me directly to the pastry case.

Do you have any ideas for how you might break or interrupt this conditioned pattern of behavior? Could you bring along some of the recommended foods, particularly starches, and eat right before you enter the store? Or perhaps attach some other new behavior, more congruent with your goals, to your entry into the grocery (like heading immediately to the produce section, getting your items and directly going to checkout)?

Noella - WOW! You are doing great! BYOBB = YUMMY, right? I love the quote from Dr. McDougall in your post; thank you for sharing it! Carry on!

[Mark Cooper]

YAY! Congratulations on completing another whole week of practicing the pattern of behavior recommended for MWL! You efforts are inspiring and admirable.

May everyone who will be celebrating have a very Happy Thanksgiving, and one that is a success in regard to their own important goals. To those for whom it will be just another day, enjoy that, too!

Here are a couple of recent links from Jeff:

An addition to the thread Exercise, Health & You: How Much is Enough?

A previously referenced study designed to estimate the percentage of United States adults who accurately assessed their diet quality has been formally published.

I thought I would close this week by quoting Jeff's "Thanksgiving Thoughts". Take care & be well!

Happy Thanksgiving! - A Few Thanksgiving Thoughts
Jeff Novick, MS, RDN

Thanksgiving is often thought of as time of feasting and indulgence and, for many, it means a time of overindulgence. As food is central to many of our celebrations and our health, I want to share some personal thoughts on Thanksgiving.

Throughout history, many cultures have enjoyed great feasts to mark the important and joyous occasions of the year. These feast days traditionally occurred only a few times a year and any overindulgence was confined to these few days of celebration. However, today, the spirit of celebration and the notion of a "little indulgence" have been taken to extremes as more and more Americans treat every day and every meal as a holiday and a time to overindulge.

Over the past 40 years, rates of excess weight, obesity and related health problems have increased rapidly. Today, almost three-fourths of American adults and over one-third of children and teens are obese or overweight. This extra weight increases an individual’s risk of developing many chronic illnesses such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and cancer. Every day throughout the year, American meals tend to provide portions that are too large and have excess fat, salt, sugar, and calories. A large disparity exists between recommendations for a healthful diet and actual food consumption habits. Excessive intakes of salt, solid fats (major sources of saturated and trans-fatty acids), added sugars, and refined grains often replace intakes of healthful, nutritious foods, making it difficult for people to achieve recommended nutrient intake while controlling calorie intake. The negative health effects of these eating habits are further compounded by the sedentary lifestyles of many Americans.

Commitment to a healthful diet is one of the most important components—if not the most important component—of an individual’s overall health and well-being. A healthful diet is one that emphasizes minimally processed fruits, vegetables, starchy vegetables, intact whole grains and legumes, and limits the intake of salt, saturated fats, added sugars and sweeteners, solid fats and oils and refined grains. The key to achieving and maintaining a healthful weight—during the holidays and all year-round—is to live a healthful lifestyle on a day-to-day basis that includes healthful eating, regular physical activity, and stress management.

Following is one of my favorite food quotes of all time, and it comes from the book The Life We Are Given by George Leonard and Michael Murphy. I think it has a powerful message that is appropriate for this time of the year.

"Finally, how we eat, just as is the case with how we exercise, stands as a fundamental expression of our embodiment and is thus important to our practice, not merely for the benefits it might bring but for its own sake. To eat with full awareness turns us toward a diet that is both good and good for us. It rejoins us with the matrix of our existence and can inspire us with thanksgiving for the everyday wonder of food, the everlasting miracle of the life we are given."

The holidays are a time to celebrate, give thanks and, yes, perhaps for some of us, to even overindulge a little. It is important to remember, however, that Thanksgiving is just one meal on one day and is not the start of a month–and–a–half-long celebration. The very occasional indulgence on the very occasional holiday (i.e., the actual day and meal itself) will most likely not be damaging to overall health and well-being for most of us if healthy eating and exercising take place on a regular, consistent, daily basis throughout the rest of the year.

The holidays are times to focus on family and friends—not just food. Catching up and sharing laughs with loved ones will allow you to feel the spirit of the holidays more than a second helping of pie. If you do indulge a little to celebrate, be careful and do so without throwing all caution to the wind or hurting yourself. And remember, your body is never not watching!

So, during this upcoming holiday season of thanksgiving and celebration, let's not forgot to take a moment and reflect, celebrate, and give thanks for those things that are truly the most important and of the most value to us... our lives, our health, our friends, and our families.

Have a happy and healthy Thanksgiving.
Jeff

[Hjklost55]

Hello Everyone, and Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate.

OMGOSH….. WHERE did the week go? Seems like I just posted on here yesterday.

Ok, just realized I missed the cutoff…. Been chasing my tail all week. But here is my assessment anyways.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
YES…. I have been eating soup about 3 times a day. I make a new pot of veggies soup about every other day. LOVE IT!!

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 have been eating a plate of potatoes with my soup at every meal. Wonder if I need to add more veggies with my starch. I usually eat two bowls of soup though.

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.
Greatly reduce, YES, eliminate NO, still working on this. ugh. Sometimes I just feel like I need some salt on my potatoes.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
YES… This hasn’t been an issue for several years. YAY

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
NO…. Actually had a very small amount of tofu on a salad this week. But that isn’t a daily occurrence.

6. Eliminate any added oil.
YES…. I haven’t had oil in the house for years. So not a problem.

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 eliminated some crackers that I used to eat. That was a pretty big accomplishment. Because I was eating them daily. But don’t miss them any longer.

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
YES…. No more kombucha drink. Thanks to Jeff Novicks’ post on those. Thanks Mark for sharing that one. (AND all the others you share also)

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
NO… I still overeat, but at least it is the good stuff. I have started having 2-bowls of soup and 1-plate of potatoes. Previously I was doing just the opposite. So that is a plus in my book. Trying to eat in the Present… So I am more aware of what I am doing, and not just mindlessly eating.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
YES… got 6/7 this week. Played pickleball 2 hours a day for 4 days….. so that makes up for the one that I didn’t get out. Right? Lol

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: My biggest challenge is going to be Thanksgiving dinner at some friends house this week. I’m taking 2-bean burgers, some no oil hummus with veggies, (for an appetizer) Family Harvest Salad with Pomegranate & Orange dressing (Cooking with Shayda) and of course my potatoes. Will take some fruit for desert. My plan is to STEP AWAY from the appetizer counter, and go sit someplace else! Haha. My scales have FINALLY moved in a favorable direction, and I feel great. Need to stay the course!

Loved Rebecka22 comment, “Making this a lifestyle is our goal. Anything less is a lifelong struggle.” I have previously yo-yo-ed for years. But I feel more in control now.

Have a great week everyone, sorry for the late post.
Holly

[Hjklost55]

PS….. I am also grateful for this group!!!