The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

For those wanting to learn about and follow the McDougall Maximum Weight Loss Program. You can also join our monthly weigh-ins.

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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

Postby Rebecka22 » Fri Jan 27, 2023 7:00 pm

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

Back on track this week. There were moments where I really wanted the comfort of going to Starbucks but staying prepared helped me avoid it. I hope that with time I won’t need to feel like I’m missing something and that I need to keep finding out again and again that I feel better with these choices.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

Postby frowsyowl » Sat Jan 28, 2023 8:41 am

Good Morning

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Mostly--continue to find fruit the most workable for me right now. Soup when I have some made.

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--not perfect, but good work. I tried the Shredded Salad from the McD app, and although it was a little complicated to make, most of the ingredients last quite well and I looked forward to eating them at lunch. Continued to use frozen vegetables most of the time with dinner.

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--it started with needing a "treat" because it was Friday night and I had to suffer through the grocery store ;) Then I needed a treat on random weeknights (I tried to stay with a small-medium portion and non-fat) but then Thursday and Friday really indulged.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). No--Thursday/Friday. Thursday conventional cookies and gas-station treats and Friday I finished off my husband's Friday pizza (which I'm not usually that interested in anymore?)

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). No--Small amount of peanut butter Friday morning.

6. Eliminate any added oil. No--Thursday treats, Friday Pizza, etc.

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--Treats, pizza and toast Friday morning.

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). No--Smoothie, Friday a.m. breakfast.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. No--Did really well until Thursday afternoon.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). No--Got off track with this. Various excuses. Have signed up for a group program next week at our YMCA, so hopefully can leverage that into being consistent.

Victories, etc: Until Thursday, was feeling more confident about things, and I guess I can still mark those as accomplishments--I have found that I like eating oatmeal with berries with either an orange or banana as a pre-load. and a little maple syrup. Don't mind having that on repeat. I also like the salad I had and will repeat that this week with lunches. And probably a vegetable soup.

I have to find solutions for:

needing a 'treat'...Friday nights especially. I tend to want something different to eat than what I've been having during the week. The 20th, I had an Amy's meal which was satisfying, but had oil/salt, this week I rolled a bag of frozen rice and vegetables in Nori rolls that I had in the pantry, which was at least interesting if not well-done.

being off my routine--I didn't have any days off this week to throw me off, but did have to drive to a work meeting. I was busy and forgot that I had vegetables left in my lunch bag and ended up stopping for crap both on the way there and on the way back. I have another meeting like that next week, so I will either bring a snack with me, or leave my cards at home--I guess both would be better!

Basically maintained my weight this week.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

Postby Greens » Sat Jan 28, 2023 9:37 am

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. No. Missed preload 2 meals when traveling.
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. Had 3 restaurant meals while traveling.
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. 1 restaurant meal had avocado. Easy to push aside the fried tortilla strips but enjoyed the avocado.
6. Eliminate any added oil. No…restaurant
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. Had a couple glasses of wine with friend.
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). 6/7

Really enjoyed my brief trip, good conversations, seeing where we were going for horse event. I had almost forgotten the feeling of heartburn that oily restaurant foods bring. Good reminder. Easy to get back to groove when home. While it’s nice to have meals prepared by someone else it’s better to feel well. Glad I packed some foods for trip. Wished I had packed more.

Mark thank you for the articles on the BROAD study. It is so like MWL. Such good results.

Continue to be encouraged by reading fellow team time and adherence reports. Love reading the incites and progress. Thank you all for sharing.

Marilyn
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

Postby Ejg » Sat Jan 28, 2023 10:07 am

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. mostly, there were a couple meals where I didn't have my vegetables cut in advance and was too busy to cut at 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. mostly yes on the 50-50 but definitely ate more than 2 pieces of fruit per day (somewhere in the world, mangoes and cherries are in season so they're cheap and plentiful at my friendly local grocer)
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. for some reason that I can't recall I bought a container of salt a few weeks ago and used it once or twice in my lentil soup this week.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). no I had a couple handfuls of my daughter's goldfish crackers which contain dairy, see 7 below
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 I had a few handfuls of my daughter's goldfish crackers. Instead of having them in my basement pantry where they're easily accessible I'll move them to a much harder to access spot, in the cabinet over my refrigerator (which is a pain to get to). I reckon that while simply not having it in the house is probably best, there are likely going to be occasions (like this one) where I'm going to have to have some system in place to not reach for them
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


I haven't stepped on a scale for a week or two and I've found that in the absence of getting feedback in the form of a number on a scale, it has forced me to pay much closer attention to the habits. Minor infractions here and there are probably easily overlooked when the scale feedback is moving in the desired direction (down) but in the absence of this feedback, its forced me to take a hard look at the habits and daily disciplines. When these are in place then I'm sure weight loss takes care of itself. I've also found that when threads or other resources (videos, papers, etc) are shared in this forum and I take the time to follow up on them, compliance tends to be better. Probably has something to do with continued reinforcement of a set behaviors that I'm striving for. I dunno. Have a good week
Though it feels malevolent, resistance operates with the indifference of rain and transits the heavens by the same laws as the stars. When we marshal our forces to combat resistance, we must remember this.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

Postby Gimmelean » Sat Jan 28, 2023 10:18 am

Post for week ending 1/27/23

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).
No. Nuts

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- cookies, 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: while not perfectly adherent, I’m at a point where I am very much aware of what the “right” foods are to feel terrific and maintain my weight loss in the most healthful, sustainable way possible for me. It’s all too easy to let new and good habits slide when the habits of a lifetime are still hardwired. Reviewing the MWL orientation resources at times like these are helpful reinforcements to remind me of why I’m doing this and why some times, foods, and situations are challenges. All in all, I’m in a much better place even with lapses than I was when I first began MWL. Stick with it!!!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

Postby Noella » Sat Jan 28, 2023 12:00 pm

Hi 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, 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 calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes
9. Follow these principles, eat whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself, and don't stuff yourself
Yes
10. Avoid being sedentary; do at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
No. hardly any exercise this week; I have had a serious cold with a cough.

Inspirational quotes:

“If you want something you have never had, you must be willing to do something you have never done.”

— Thomas Jefferson

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

— Confucius
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

Postby Hjklost55 » Sat Jan 28, 2023 1:17 pm

Week ending 1-27-23

Hello Everyone, Hope you all had a good week. It seemed to go by really fast!! :)


1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
YES I am having a salad now before every meal. Love my fresh veggies.
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. Potatoes and broccoli….. I have limited my fruit for now, it makes me want MORE!! :)
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 calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
YES
9. Follow these principles, eat whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself, and don't stuff yourself
SOMETIMES……This is still my biggest challenge area. But I have actually several times felt full and stopped. So maybe I am FINALLY adjusting to the Fullness cue!!
10. Avoid being sedentary; do at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
YES, still play Pickleball 5/7 days a week. Then trying to incorporate some walking on the weekend. I converted a bedroom into an exercise room. Added a TV and an exercise mat. Already had an elliptical . I have a favorite game show I like to watch. My new commitment…. Can’t watch the show unless I am on my elliptical! AND MOVING!!!! LOL

Victories, Comments, Questions, Challenges: Overall I had a GREAT week. I feel good and have had a lot of energy. I have been following the Mary’s Mini for 13 days now, While still adhering to the MWL 10 Pt checklist. I have limited choices of foods, and am keeping it VERY SIMPLE. As Dr Lisle would say: “I don’t know, but it seems to be working for me.”

Hope everyone is doing well,
Take Care,
Holly
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

Postby Hjklost55 » Sat Jan 28, 2023 1:25 pm

Want to again thank everyone for their support….
“There is strength in numbers. Find your tribe.”
This is my TRIBE!!!! :)
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Reporting for January 27 Assessments is now CLOSED

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Jan 28, 2023 2:11 pm

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

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.
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Mark's Replies for January 27

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Jan 28, 2023 2:48 pm

BambiS - Fantastic breakdown and assessment of the tools that have been most helpful to you, as well as those situations that present the most significant challenges. :nod: Like you describe, keeping my focus on health and well-being is definitely something that has served to support my motivation and adherence. I can imagine how great you must feel to have reached a point, through your sustained efforts, where previously-needed medications are no longer necessary. Big congratulations to you!

VegSeekingFit - Positive and encouraged! What a great frame of mind to inhabit, Stephanie! :D Reimplementing the preload to your meals, along with your consistent, diligent adherence to all the other recommended behaviors, seems like a reasonable experiment to test and see how that goes. It is just a matter of "Finding The Sweet Spot," right?
VegSeekingFit wrote:honestly, not looking at the scale number with any emotion at all. Progress!
Really important and meaningful progress, in my opinion! :D

Rebecka22 - Awesome progress! :thumbsup: Staying prepared seems to me to be THE most important tool for supporting adherence.
Rebecka22 wrote:I hope that with time I won’t need to feel like I’m missing something and that I need to keep finding out again and again that I feel better with these choices.
Speaking from my own experience, I don't feel like I'm missing out on ANYTHING anymore, but it was a long (and to be honest, arduous) journey. AND, I had to learn and RELEARN the lesson you describe MANY times before it stuck, so you shouldn't feel alone in that regard. :)

frowsyowl - I want to affirm your decision to take note of your accomplishments, Jennifer, especially in the context of a this week's challenges. Finding some specific meals and foods that feel manageable and satisfying is a really important piece of the puzzle for making these behavioral changes attainable. Finding good options for breakfast and lunch is definitely a victory in my view. In regard to those times when it feels like you need a "treat", are there possible options within the context of the recommended foods? That idea has really worked well for me: when I'm marking some special occasion or want a meal to be "special", I have some preferred, adherent choices that I really love. For celebrating my birthday, instead of a cake I have a fruit bouquet. A favorite special dinner with my family is Jeff's lasagna. Something that can also be helpful is finding "treats" that aren't related to food, like getting a massage or some other comforting activity. As you outlined, making adjustments for past obstacles so as to be better prepared in the future, is the best way to prevent "being thrown off" one's routine. As you continue your practice, assessing, overcoming obstacles and achieving reasonable goals, you build self-efficacy; it seems to me that as one's confidence builds, various obstacles start to feel less intimidating and disruptive. Give yourself time and grace, and keep doing your best with an eye toward progress over perfection. :)

Greens - I'm so happy you enjoyed your trip, Marilyn! Those good conversations and time spent in loving community are so valuable, right? It is great that you were able to get right back on track in the wake of detours while traveling.
Greens wrote:While it’s nice to have meals prepared by someone else it’s better to feel well.
I certainly agree with that! :-D Onward!

Ejg - Nice progress, Eric!
Ejg wrote:Instead of having them in my basement pantry where they're easily accessible I'll move them to a much harder to access spot, in the cabinet over my refrigerator (which is a pain to get to). I reckon that while simply not having it in the house is probably best, there are likely going to be occasions (like this one) where I'm going to have to have some system in place to not reach for them
This seems like a great idea to me; let us know how it goes.
Ejg wrote:I haven't stepped on a scale for a week or two and I've found that in the absence of getting feedback in the form of a number on a scale, it has forced me to pay much closer attention to the habits. Minor infractions here and there are probably easily overlooked when the scale feedback is moving in the desired direction (down) but in the absence of this feedback, its forced me to take a hard look at the habits and daily disciplines.
This is a fascinating observation; thank you for sharing it.
Ejg wrote:When these are in place then I'm sure weight loss takes care of itself.
That is definitely consistent with my own experience. Have a good week!

Gimmelean - I think being in the position of feeling comfortable, knowledgeable, and mindful about the behaviors that best support health, well-being, and happiness leaves us standing with firm footing. Maintaining a harmonious and compassionate frame of mind, and attending to lapses with poise and efficacy are really significant achievements. Stick with it, indeed! :nod:

Noella - I absolutely love the sentiments expressed in the quotes you shared! Great stuff! Sorry you have been beset with a cold - that is never fun. Kudos to you for maintaining solid adherence in spite of that. :thumbsup:

Hjklost55 - Woo-hoo! Cheers for your great week! Feeling good is the best result of all, right? From my perspective, keeping things VERY SIMPLE and manageable is nearly always a sound strategy; I'm delighted it seems to be working so well for you, Holly. Carry on!
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Summary for January 27 Reports

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Jan 28, 2023 3:21 pm

And just like that, JANUARY is nearly over! It feels to me like the year just got started, and we're already heading into the second month! :eek: Kudos to everyone who participated in the group this month. I will post a new thread for February 2023 on Monday; I hope to see you there!

Below are a few of the things I've been reviewing and considering this week.

From this thread -
JeffN wrote:In a recent discussion on one of the latest IF studies, my long-time colleague Jay Kenney, PhD, RDN, said this,....

“Nutrition science is about what to eat. It gets complicated when that focus shifts form what to eat to how much to eat and/or when to eat. Knowing when to eat is simple and knowing when to stop eating is simple. Eat when you are hungry and stop when you are comfortably full (not stuffed). Calorie restriction (CR) & IF (and other forms of time restricted eating) complicates when (and sometimes also how much) one should be eating because it proclaims you should not eat even when you are hungry or you must stop eating before being satiated. CR as a means of weight control or as an attempt to induce longevity or slow aging complicates how much one should eat. If one understand how different foods impact disease risk factors and satiety/kcal, one can change what is being consumed in order to treat and prevent disease and maintain a healthy body weight and likely live a longer and healthier life. Pitting will power against the hunger drive is very hard to sustain over time and is likely a major factor promoting the development of most eating disorders.


Relatedly, from another thread -
JeffN wrote:Obesity researchers finally figured out why most of the Biggest Losers (& other calorie/portion restricted diet & high volume exercise programs) that aren't based on calorie density/satiety, fail. Turns out the main reason they fail is people get really hungry due to reduced food & calorie intake:

"While energy expenditure adaptations have often been considered the main reason for slowing of weight loss and subsequent regain, feedback control of energy intake plays an even larger role and helps explain why long-term maintenance of a reduced body weight is so difficult." - Dr. Kevin Hall

The solution is to follow the principles of calorie density which will help reduce appetite/hunger levels by providing more satiety per calorie.


Here are two excellent articles I read this week; the latter lays out a reasonable approach to the situation the former illustrates.

Walnuts & Satiety: A Tale of Two Perspectives

Science vs Sensationalism: A Simple Lesson in Critical Thinking

This reply from November 2021 felt related to some of the discussions we've been having this month:
Mark Cooper wrote:
Health 1st wrote:Mark, wildgoose, others, how do you mentally deal with possible having non-MWL things + yet getting right back on track + not letting the accidental or purposely done slip bother you that you put something so unhealthy in your body
In the past, this was something I really struggled with, as do many participants I would imagine. It seems to me that this feeling of self-recrimination goes hand in hand with the common societal view that weight loss is about "self-control," "moderation" and "limitation" (perhaps even "deprivation"). What changed things for me was a true realization that my success or failure within the context of a given circumstance was not a product of my self-worth, but rather a result of a meeting between my practice/routine, my environment, and the situation. Our goal is to attain and sustain adherence to the recommended pattern of behavior over time. Our prevailing pattern of behavior is the key determinant of our results. If we have a "failure point" and our pattern of behavior deviates from what is recommended, it says nothing about our worth (and doesn't, in and of itself, necessarily say anything about our health, either). What it does tell us, is we need to make some changes or adjustments to our practice - our routine needs to be modified, or our environment needs to be altered, or both. With those changes made, we move forward in a fortified position, and with each "failure point" and adjustment our practice becomes more effective and more resilient. We also build confidence. What is important, then, about a "slip" is LEARNING from it, so that we adjust our environment and routine to support our future success. This is an iterative process over the long haul, and, when applied consistently, it leads to lasting success. I can honestly say that I don't actually have any "slips" anymore, because I've been practicing this way of eating for a long time, optimizing my routine, and it is durable and well-tested. But, that didn't happen overnight, and it took a substantial period of focus and effort. I think this earlier post I wrote also speaks to this question, and may speak to you.
Mark Cooper wrote:I think people tend to underestimate how much that toxic food environment is stacked against all of us. The convenience stores, groceries and restaurants are replete with calorie rich, ultra-processed, unhealthy "foods," supported by an unceasing (and increasingly targeted) advertising machine. Untold dollars and resources are expended devising and presenting more and more insidious "food traps" to ensnare us. No wonder it's a struggle! The problem isn't you! As Dr. McDougall would say, "It's the food!" Taking all that into account, it seems essential that we stack the deck in our favor. The people who are able to successfully practice this WOE long-term, the people who make adherence "look easy" have actually invested enormous amounts of time and effort to shift the balance to be as much in their favor as possible. They have a plan for how to succeed, tested by trial and error, time and effort. To paraphrase Jeff, "things may not always turn out the way we planned, but we increase our odds of success by planning to succeed." If we take it as a given that we can't be successful, or don't try, we are planning to fail. This lifestyle only starts to feel "easy" after all that work has been put into making it so. Don't fault yourself when this is hard, but don't fool yourself into thinking it will ever get easy without putting in A GREAT DEAL of work.


It occurred to me today that basically the entirety of our behavioral approach applied in this group is established in one single thread. All the fundamentals are there. :shock:

I'll close this post, the week, and this month with one of my favorite quotes from Jeff -
JeffN wrote:Our program is simple, very simple. So simple it becomes difficult. Just eat commodity simple staple foods as close to their natural state as possible (rice, beans, corn, oats, fruits, and vegetables) and get a pair of sneakers and move. That’s it. Adjust to your personal health situation if necessary.

The problem is, to do this in our toxic food environment, is nothing short of brutal. Literally. It puts pressure on family relationships, relationships with friends, social interactions, dining out and restaurants, travel, work, etc etc. We are social creatures (most of us) and like to fit in and get along, so to do this, puts a great strain on fitting in. And, todays current climate of information overload, clickbait and social media, everyone is an expert and makes it hard to figure things out.


Take care and be well! :D
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Re: Summary for January 27 Reports

Postby frowsyowl » Sat Jan 28, 2023 4:49 pm

frowsyowl - I want to affirm your decision to take note of your accomplishments, Jennifer, especially in the context of a this week's challenges. Finding some specific meals and foods that feel manageable and satisfying is a really important piece of the puzzle for making these behavioral changes attainable. Finding good options for breakfast and lunch is definitely a victory in my view. In regard to those times when it feels like you need a "treat", are there possible options within the context of the recommended foods? That idea has really worked well for me: when I'm marking some special occasion or want a meal to be "special", I have some preferred, adherent choices that I really love. For celebrating my birthday, instead of a cake I have a fruit bouquet. A favorite special dinner with my family is Jeff's lasagna. Something that can also be helpful is finding "treats" that aren't related to food, like getting a massage or some other comforting activity. As you outlined, making adjustments for past obstacles so as to be better prepared in the future, is the best way to prevent "being thrown off" one's routine. As you continue your practice, assessing, overcoming obstacles and achieving reasonable goals, you build self-efficacy; it seems to me that as one's confidence builds, various obstacles start to feel less intimidating and disruptive. Give yourself time and grace, and keep doing your best with an eye toward progress over perfection. :)


The lasagna does look interesting--have you had luck freezing it?

Your response reminds me...I almost didn't post today, but I'm so glad I did! I have to continually remind myself, in this and in other areas, that just because I haven't succeeded or improved yet, I shouldn't despair that I never will...Thank you Mark!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - January 2023 Group

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jan 28, 2023 7:50 pm

Hjklost55 wrote:Want to again thank everyone for their support….
“There is strength in numbers. Find your tribe.”
This is my TRIBE!!!! :)


Hey Holly!! :-D

YES --- with you (and all of us here)... Can't love this enough!!!

Cheers,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Re: Mark's Replies for January 27

Postby VegSeekingFit » Sat Jan 28, 2023 7:59 pm

Mark Cooper wrote:VegSeekingFit - Positive and encouraged! What a great frame of mind to inhabit, Stephanie! :D Reimplementing the preload to your meals, along with your consistent, diligent adherence to all the other recommended behaviors, seems like a reasonable experiment to test and see how that goes. It is just a matter of "Finding The Sweet Spot," right?
VegSeekingFit wrote:honestly, not looking at the scale number with any emotion at all. Progress!
Really important and meaningful progress, in my opinion! :D



Hey --- thank you, Mark!!! :) YES --- totally feeling positive and encouraged with the checklist --- I hope everyone else is as well!!! Appreciate your feedback more than you can imagine --- so, thank you a ton for that and for all that you do for this group!!! You rock!!! :D

I am totally cool with finding (new?) sweet spot... thinking for me... that this may morph as we go (if we change Calories in, Calories out equation) ... like I had it ... and now I find it again... But, pretty great with that --- as I understand what to do!!!

Wishing all a phenomenal week!!! All in for February!!!

Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Re: Summary for January 27 Reports

Postby Mark Cooper » Sun Jan 29, 2023 7:43 am

frowsyowl wrote:
The lasagna does look interesting--have you had luck freezing it?

I have never tried freezing it; however, it works well and tastes great when refrigerated and reheated, so I wouldn't expect that freezing would be a problem.
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