The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - November 2022 Group

[Mark Cooper]

NOVEMBER 2022 RESOURCES
This section will be updated throughout the month with links to useful resources, as they are added to the thread.

Orientation Information for Time & Adherence:
The Behavioral Path to MWL Success
MWL 10-Point Checklist
MWL Program Guidelines
Calorie Density: How To Eat More, Weigh Less and Live Longer
MWL Recipes
SNAP Meal Template

1- 28 oz Can No Salt Added Tomatoes (or broth for those who don't like tomatoes)
1- 14 oz Can No Salt Added Beans (which is about 1.5 - 2 cups)
1- 16 oz Bag Frozen Mixed Veggies (any type)
**optional - 1/2 cup Frozen Greens
1.5 to 2 cups of a *Cooked* Starch
~1 tbsp. Salt Free, Dried Seasoning/Spice

The Road to Success: Creating Healthy Habits
The Pleasure Trap: Dr. Doug Lisle at TedxFremont
How to Lose Weight Without Losing Your Mind with Dr. Doug Lisle
Dr. Doug Lisle on The Ego Trap
Dr. Doug Lisle: The Story of Willpower – What it Is & How it Works
Dr. Lisle's Three Top Tips for Dietary Success
Jeff Novick, RD - Nutrition & Health FAQ: Answers To The Most Asked Questions
A Review of the Rules & Guidelines for Reading Labels
Passive Overconsumption: The Unintended Intake of Excess Calories
Can You Really Eat As Much As You Want?
Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them
Top 10 Reasons for Lack of Success
Dining Out and Travel Food
Exercise, Health & You: How Much Is Enough?
Optimum BMI? / Optimal BMI - redux
Building Self-Efficacy
You Are Not Broken
wildgoose - How I determined my "goal weight"
Finding The Sweet Spot: Balancing Calorie Density, Nutrient Density & Satiety
Amy's Giant List of Links to Dr. Lisle's Lectures

[Hjklost55]

Hello, I am Holly. I did the 12-day McDougall program in November 2021. I need accountability. I am going to start posting daily. I am determined to get this right!!! I know the program. I believe in the program! Now I just need to stay the course! I know a couple others who have said this forum has helped them stay focused. SO…. Here I am! Thanks, Holly K

[Mark Cooper]

Hello, I am Holly. I did the 12-day McDougall program in November 2021. I need accountability. I am going to start posting daily. I am determined to get this right!!! I know the program. I believe in the program! Now I just need to stay the course! I know a couple others who have said this forum has helped them stay focused. SO…. Here I am! Thanks, Holly K

Welcome, Holly! I'm glad you found our group. Be sure to review the Orientation information and follow the directions therein for joining the group. Wishing you all the best!

[VegSeekingFit]

Holly!!!

Super glad to see you here!!! You are in the best place!!

Cheers,
Stephanie

[Hjklost55]

Thanks Stephanie and Mark…. I CAN DO THIS!!!!!

[Hjklost55]

Mark, I have read and understand the orientation material and I’d like to join the group. Thank you for the consideration. Holly

[Mark Cooper]

Mark, I have read and understand the orientation material and I’d like to join the group. Thank you for the consideration. Holly

[Lizzy_F]

Hi Holly!!! SO GLAD to see you here! WE CAN DO THIS and it is sure easier and more fun doing it together!

[BambiS]

11-4

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Most days


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.
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). Most days

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: I did struggle this week with Halloween treats in the house. I usually pick stuff that I don’t like to hand out. It’s over and done, I’m back on track. I have a January goal I’d like to hit.

I am thinking of getting myself some California balsamic vinegars, any recommended flavors?

[Ejg]

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. I got lazy on this one this week, and was not as diligent as i have been in the past.
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. big fail on this one, continued to eat canned chilis/tomatoes that have salt, albeit within the condiment limits circulated a few weeks ago.
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
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). yes

Not sure why but this week, the attention to daily discipline was less than what its been in the past, mostly with respect to making sure half my plate at every meal was filled with half green/yellow vegetables. I will make that a priority moving forward. On a positive note, big thanks to those who made me aware of how to bake potatoes in the pressure cooker....game changer! Takes a fraction of the time. week over week change: 0, cumulative change: -6

[Noella]

Hi Mark, Jeff, Wildgoose and everyone participating on the behavioural path to MWL success for November!

I am excited to be here this month. Welcome, Holly…I hope you feel supported from week one, as I have. This forum is fun, encouraging and informative.

Why am I feeling excited about these MWL guidelines? Because I feel like I did back on day one again. It's a new month with new possibilities! I think about the renewed potential November brings. While I know I must make more changes and take more responsibility (self-efficacy), I believe it is possible with MWL, and I expect to see continued improvements in my health. I have been at equilibrium for several months; I haven’t gained or lost weight. I see these months as a success because I have established a solid foundation of healthy habits to build upon. I’m ready to reclaim my power and figure out what needs to change to make further weight loss progress. So here I am! I am prepared to analyze the guidelines each week this month to figure out how to do this.

1. Start each meal with soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes...ALWAYS! I'm keeping my fruit to a reasonable daily serving. (This is helping me, as I have binged on fruit until NOW, thinking it was okay because it is so healthy that I can eat it ad libitum!) I eat unrestricted servings of salad ( instead of fruit) and enjoy raw veggies before meals.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. Yes...ALWAYS! I look at my plate and balance my starch with veggies! I eat unrestricted servings of delicious non-starchy vegetables balanced with starch. I’m trying to emphasize my leafy greens like chard and kale. .
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...NEVER add sugar or maple syrup while cooking or at the table; Salt: YES...NEVER add salt while cooking, and ALWAYS use a reduced amount of salt or condiments with salt at the table. I'm ever vigilant about salt because it can be troublesome for me. I need to face the fact that salt does make me overeat.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). Yes...NEVER eat dairy products, meat, or eggs.
5. Eliminate all higher-fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes...NEVER Even though these rich, high-calorie foods are available for others in my family to enjoy, I am usually not tempted. I keep these somewhat out of sight in a drawer of our fridge and consider these items as healthy but too rich in calories for me.
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; even though these rich foods are available for others in my family, I am usually not tempted. These items are kept on one shelf of our fridge and one section of our pantry to make it easy for me to know and remember that these items are , not for me.
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 trying to be aware and vigilant on this one.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I remain embarrassed to admit I need more effort.

I'm so thankful to be part of this group. It helps strengthen my commitment and dedication to be within a normal weight range/BMI. I want to stay in this healthy range and make progress to keep getting healthier!

Thank you, Dr. McDougall, Mark, Jeff, Goose and everyone who gives support and shares their MWL knowledge, suggestions and experiences on this forum. Your written words are read with care and are greatly appreciated.


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

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

Happy November!!! Hope everyone’s month has gotten off to a great start!

Lots of great energy here already!!! YAY!!!

Wow, loving Beth quote from above --- “WE CAN DO THIS and it is sure easier and more fun doing it together!”

Noella --- LOVE LOVE this from your report ---“I feel ready to claim my power to make the necessary changes.” --- awesome post! You go girl!!

Anyway, here is my weekly check-in:

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Rarely.

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! Ate lots of oatmeal and fruit, potatoes, veggie / bean soups, rice and veggies, and sloppy lentils and corn this week. Loving the Envy apples. Also, the frozen chopped kale is great to add to any soups (who knew?)!

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.

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 – I always follow this one.

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. Loving the “crunch, crunch, crunch” when walking through the leaves! Made friends with my phone’s flashlight app due to the morning darkness. Some of the more macabre Halloween decorations (think things hanging from trees) were getting to me! Better in the light!

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Thanks Mark, Jeff, WildGoose for this group! It is fantastic to have a place where we can all practice these behaviors together! Thanks to all fellow members for sharing! You all inspire me!

“Enjoy the journey and try to get better every day. And don’t lose the passion and the love for what you do.” – Nadia Comaneci

Hope that everyone has a great upcoming week!

Best,
Stephanie

[Hjklost55]

Hello Everyone, and thank you for allowing me to join this MWL group. Asking for your patience while I try to navigate the forum. LOL Started on Tuesday November 1st.

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. NO. I struggle with this a little because I have been using bowls for several months. Realized my 50/50 looks more like 2 plates 100/100

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES I don’t add any sugar, but occasionally add Everything Bagel seasoning which has some salt in it. Will try to cut back more.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES, haven’t had any animal products for years.

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). NO. I had a pot of soup already made that I had added soy curls into. So I finished it off and then made a new pot of soup. NO CURLS IN IT!! So on track now.

6. Eliminate any added oil. YES. Don’t use any 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. YES

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). NO I drink about 16 ounces of a raw kombucha drink daily. It has NO added sugar and is 50 calories per 16 ounces. Not sure if that is allowed?

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. NO this is where I struggle. I am a volume eater. And don’t feel satiety. I am trying to cut back on volume. Any suggestions would be welcomed.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES. I play pickleball for 2 hours a day Mon-Fri. Now just need to focus on getting out on Sat and Sun.


Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Overall, I feel pretty good. I need the interaction and accountability. I have several of the 10-pts mastered, and realize which ones I desperately need to focus on. Thanks again, and hope everyone has a GREAT weekend.

Take Care,
Holly

[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. 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. 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). YES
This week went much better. Having the afternoon snack prepped each day has really helped so I’m not too hungry when I get home. It was a stressful week and I definitely thought about stress eating, but I didn’t. I’m traveling this weekend but was able to pack all my food. Hoping I packed enough… I hope everyone has a great week!

[Ellen Withrow]

Hi, Everyone. Happy November. Thanks for your response last week, Mark.
Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. NO
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. NO
Choose fruit for desert. 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. NO. My salt and sugar intake increased this week. I ate a jar of vegan Kimchi on my white rice.
Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). I ate avocados this week and peanuts in two Cliff bars. I did not eat seeds, tofu or soy this week.
Eliminate any added oil. NO. I ate a Your Pie cheeseless vegan pizza. I also ate three packages of olive oil gourmet potato chips and two peanut Cliff bars from a vending machine -- all were consumed while I was out-of-town on Wednesday.
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. Two peanut Cliff bars, three single-serving packages of gourmet olive oil potato chips, and cheeseless vegan pizza.
Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). I drank six 20-oz Pepsi-Colas this week.
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
My weight is up 1 pound this week