The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

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

Postby Artista » Fri Feb 24, 2023 11:32 am

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Hit and miss with this one. :-D Yes, most often raw vegetables, sometimes fruit.

2). Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. :-D Yes.

3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts.  This includes gourmet sugars and salts too.  If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. :-D Yes. I avoid sugar and minimize salt. I use mostly fresh produce or NSA added products and sprinkle salt lightly at the table.

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

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

6) Eliminate any added oil. :-D Yes.

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

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :-D Yes, at first I missed the unsweetened soy milk in tea and on oatmeal, but I’m getting used to it now.

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full.   Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. :-D Yes, I’ve really been paying attention to this one this week and I do think I’m eating a little less as a result and I feel better.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :D Yes! Very proud of this one. Getting 7 days in a row of exercise has been a challenge for me in the past but being in this group has helped me to make sure I get this one in each day. Exercise this week has been: walking, strength-training, yoga, and jogging on a mini-trampoline.

Victories, Comments, Questions, Challenges: I appreciate the accountability of the group. It has really helped to dial up my daily awareness of and commitment to each of the guidelines. I'm feeling better, my food cravings have calmed down, and my appetite seems to be working appropriately again. I’ve been thinking about adherence fatigue this week. I don’t really have any good solutions at this point. When I started following MWL last summer I was full of determination to stay on course for the long term and not give up in a few months, but that’s exactly what I ended up doing. I don’t have confidence anymore that I can determine how I will feel and what I will do in two, three, or six months. For now I’m just focusing on each day as it comes, trying to remember every day to renew that commitment to follow this way of healthy eating and lifestyle. I enjoy reading everyone else's reports in this group, it's so helpful to know that others are on this journey with me, especially helpful to see those of you who have successfully kept to this way of eating for months at a time, even years. You all are an inspiration!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

Postby BambiS » Fri Feb 24, 2023 12:29 pm

2-24


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

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 good week, nothing eventful.

Nothing eventful this week. I did stop by the farmers market, they had limited stuff. Whst I did get had a much better taste than store bought!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

Postby Ejg » Fri Feb 24, 2023 12:59 pm

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. yes started with salad for lunch and dinner, breakfasts included fruit or cut up peppers. so yes for this one
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, really made an effort on this one this week and feel like I ate a ton of steamed broccoli and cauliflower
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. there was one or two times this week where I realized that, even though it was all healthy food in compliance with the above, it may have been a bit too much because I felt REALLY full. will just try to be mindful of that moving forward
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). yes

feel like I had a very good week. I got invited to a "dinner party" (host's description, not mine) and was feeling pretty anxious about how I was going to navigate. In the end, I politely asked the host (a coworker) if it would be excessively awkward if I just brought my own food (salad, steamed broccoli, and kidney beans). He said it was no problem and luckily it was all a bunch of hippies who I don't even think noticed. So that was a win. Today I celebrate the 25th anniversary of my 21st birthday and my daughter gave me a box of Swedish fish as a present. I didn't have the heart to tell her I wasn't going to eat them so thanked her, drove her to school, then came back and dumped the whole box straight into the garbage can outside.
Temptation is there to "cheat" a little bit on my birthday but keep telling myself that will be totally counterproductive and I've found that as positive decisions get made over and over and over, learning to make the right choice gets reinforced, and it becomes slightly (VERY slightly) easier each time. 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 - February 2023 Group

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Feb 24, 2023 8:39 pm

Hi Team Time & Adherence, ❤️

Hope that everyone is doing great! Can’t believe that next week we are on to March --- spring is (almost) in the air!!!

We had a nasty ice storm the other night and lost power for several hours (along with at least 100K neighbors). The tree branches were super-heavy being covered in ice --- when a small one fell onto our roof --- sounded like a whole tree! Thankfully this was in daylight and could confirm that the roof wasn’t about to come down…

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Always for breakfast, infrequently for lunch, mostly for dinner.

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. Pretty consistent this week with hot whole grain cereal (mostly oatmeal) with frozen fruit for breakfast, huge starchy salad for lunch, soup / salad / fruit / potato for dinner. I love all of these meals!

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).
No – had about 1/3 avocado on a salad eaten out at restaurant. Not Pleasure Trap area for me – or I wouldn’t have touched it (I guess I could have left it on the plate anyway!). Back on point. Salad also had white rice and black beans (probably not NSA)… but I didn’t record any other boo’s for that.

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, still not starving or stuffing… always eating when hungry. Mostly, this is 3 meals for me --- think I have adjusted portions a bit to have HUGE lunch (sometimes it takes me a few takes to finish; other times it is inhaled!)….

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Mostly - 5/7 days. Brisk walking – indoor track, treadmill hills, outside. Had tons of fun playing Pickleball for the first time (THANK YOU, Holly!) and also shooting baskets / dribbling in the gym (like I had the whole gym to myself with MANY baskets!). Have “benched” myself for now (so a boo!) due to injuring leg– very minimal pain, but it is not right. Sometimes I feel so great following this checklist that I momentarily forget that my enthusiasm far exceeds my fitness level. Something to work on…

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Some comments on the Adherence Fatigue topic.
So, I combed through this thread a few months ago (I think I was looking for trouble and not sure why). Anyway, think this is a great topic. Love the thread --- Jeff’s examples and Wildgoose’s response in particular in this thread resonated with me. After ruminating on this for a bit, feel pretty ok here (but understand that this isn’t an all-encompassing list)… Regardless, I put in the not worrying about category – just be aware --- (for me --- best not to worry!!)…

For me, I have a secret weapon of being as disagreeable as they come (a la Doug Lisle’s “Perfect Personality” lecture) --- don’t want to fight / debate / argue with anyone, but honestly do not give a hoot if anyone thinks I should eat “X” instead of salad / baked potato (like why would they care). Mostly I have found that if you don’t make a big deal out of something, folks don’t even notice what you do (they are primarily self-focused). If folks do notice / say something, then I have also found that having a sense of humor helps. Similarly, I think to JeffN / Doug Lisle posts on how to communicate where the goal is really to deflect the focus of conversation to another topic.

Example I would share --- was in Hamburg, Germany maybe 6 years ago for work --- not following MWL checklist, but totally was no meat, dairy, oil… Guy who arranged dinner was “bargaining” with hostess for something I could eat (I was one of a few clients he wanted to keep happy) --- mostly folks wanted to eat huge schnitzel plates… anyway, she says loud in a thick German accent… WHO is this “super vegetarian”… and I just went up and announced myself as “super vegetarian” --- not a spot that I like to be in, but even all of these years later I can LAUGH about it…(was really hilarious!)…

Other thing that helps me is planning / bringing own food. I just assume that this is needed and I have all kinds of choices available to just bag and bring. Not a big deal. If I don’t need it, throw it back into refrigerator.

I think the above covers maybe 1-6 examples from Jeff post…

7 is exercise --- doesn’t bother me at all --- actually something that I like a great deal and used to do --- have found perfect time for…. Not tiring.

8 --- well, not sure … but I don’t sweat it!!! (I know what peanut butter sandwich eating will result in… Lesson learned!!!) :mrgreen:

Wishing everyone the best of weeks! Spring is ALMOST here!!!! Thank you to everyone for the group!!! LOVE it!!! ❤️❤️❤️

Cheers,
Stephanie
"Just put one foot in front of the other and don't worry about the length of the path.
Once you get on that path, and the longer you stay on it, there eventually will come a time when you will not turn back." - Martina Navratilova
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

Postby Gimmelean » Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:04 pm

Post for week ending 2/24/23

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).
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- cookies but much better this week in reducing bread and flour products.

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,Concerns,Questions:

Much better this week. Not all yeses but gradually getting back there.

Mark you asked, “Are there any steps you can imagine taking to shape or intervene in the environment so as to support what you are wanting to achieve?”

I revisited Dr. Lisle’s video on understanding food cravings and the cues which trigger them. He drew a graph with extinction bursts ( the cravings and intensities ) on the extinction curve (frequency) to show how cravings will get stronger when you don’t give in to them, then diminish over time with a LOT of perseverance. For example, after eating dinner he said that our own extended stomach can be the cue which triggers a craving for a sweet dessert even though we’ve had a satisfying meal. Using this technique, I’m hoping to become more aware of what sets me off course at work so I can figure out ways to avoid getting derailed.

I also re-read Wildgoose’s post where she told us that nothing will happen if we don’t give in to eating that fatty, salty, thing that we feel we must have.

- Beth, science based explanations are very helpful to me too in many of the same ways they help you.

Mark thank you for your uplifting comments!!!
“I know you always continue trying, so I also know you will get there given time. Onward!”

-Artista, welcome back.

-Eric, happy belated 25th anniversary of your 21st birthday. I got dizzy when I read that. Plus, you probably remember that Weebles wobbled too but they never fell down. I really commend you for throwing food out that doesn’t serve you. Foods that aren’t good for us aren’t good for anybody. I’ve got to do more of that too.

Stephanie, very relieved to hear that your house is intact. I laughed when I saw your adventure in Hamburg. We must have been at opposite tables. The server said no to everything I asked for so I wound up not ordering at all. My son was thrilled because he was treating and I lowered the bill for him.

I am glad that we have a 365 day ongoing Truth about Weight Loss Summit happening right here. A great week ahead everyone.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

Postby Greens » Sat Feb 25, 2023 11:27 am

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
:-D 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. Yes

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

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

6) Eliminate any added oil. Yes

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

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

Spent some time thinking about adherence fatigue and keeping my simple systems in place so adherence is the default. Does anyone have a suggestion for wide mouth thermos that keeps soup hot for hours? Mine is underperforming.

Thank you all for sharing your experiences. So helpful to see how others negotiate our toxic food environment.
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

Postby Lizzy_F » Sat Feb 25, 2023 11:57 am

Hi fellow time and adherence travelers! Hope everyone had a great week last week, and is heading for a strong finish to February! Here is my report for the past week. We'll call it the good, the bad, and the ugly!

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes – per the parameters previously discussed.

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 for sugar and salt (reduced, not eliminated). I did have some artificially sweetened things this week which is just not a slippery slope I really want to ride. One of my goals for next week is to clean that up.

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 – used some soy milk in a recipe.

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). No – had plant milk & artificial sweetener in some coffee this week. Like peas and carrots, only unhealthy! Not a path I want to keep traveling.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. I still struggle with this one sometimes. Volume eater until the bitter end of time!

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). No. I seriously can’t wait for the weather to warm up. I know I need to address my activity level on a year ‘round basis, and since I live in the Midwest, that means I have to JUST DO IT in the winter too!! But it will sure feel easier when I can walk outside comfortably again, and I am really looking forward to that. Another thing that is energizing me is being a part of the Silver Sneakers program starting on 3/1. There are tons of gyms in my area that are in the network. I have several friends who belong to various gyms and like to walk. So a few of us are making plans instead of meeting up for coffee to catch up, etc., we can meet at a gym and walk and talk – treadmill or walking track, etc. I hope that will help – but I just need to get my rear in gear no matter what.

Victories: I don’t feel particularly victorious this week. I can do better cleaning up the little stuff. (which I need to do so things don’t start to unravel)


Comments: I’ve been spending quite a bit of time this week listening to Chef AJ’s Truth About Weight Loss speakers. It is always great to hear Team McDougall’s 12-day team (Dr McDougall, Dr Lim, Dr Lisle, Chef AJ, am I missing someone? I think I might be), but I’m also hearing some other good speakers that are not in conflict with the McDougall program that I can tell, but explain things in different ways that are helpful for me. As an example, my husband is a strict low carb dieter to control blood glucose. While Dr. McDougall speaks to this, I appreciated the WAY that Dr. Khambatta explains the biomechanics of keto v. WFPB no oil, etc. I feel like a light bulb went on, and that I now have some great ammo when the right time comes around my house! I would really like to see my husband become curious and consider a different approach, but of course nagging would never work and would probably have the opposite effect. So I need to choose timing very carefully. But I first have to have the right ammo, and now I think I do. I have also really enjoyed the success stories – those are always inspirational and Chef AJ put together a great lineup of those! The talk about fiber going on right now is really interesting too. I normally tune out most everything that is not McDougall – I don’t want to confuse myself. (so some speakers I am skipping where there are, to my way of thinking, enough differences to fall in this category, aka Dr. Furhman) Anyway, a good experience for motivation and some new ways of understanding important topics.


Concerns: I feel like my inner child is still in there stomping her feet and trying to convince me to conduct various experiments that I just don’t need to be conducting (i.e. artificial sweeteners and plant milk in coffee). So I intend to have a squeaky clean week as we wrap up February, and head into March!
Last edited by Lizzy_F on Sat Feb 25, 2023 1:43 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Beth

"Long-term sustainable change is what we are really after." ~Jeff Novick
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

Postby Hjklost55 » Sat Feb 25, 2023 12:45 pm

Post for week ending 2/24/23

Hello, hope everyone had a great week. Can’t believe it is almost March. I too am looking forward to spring.

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
YES, I have been preparing a lot of fresh cut veggies. I start with them every meal. Carrots, celery, jicama, cherry tomatoes, orange peppers and romaine lettuce.

2). Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
YES, After my fresh veggies, I have 1/2 potatoes, and 1/2 broccoli/cauliflower or zucchini. It would seem boring to most, but I look forward to the same old thing day in and day out!! LOL

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, not a problem this week.

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
YES, this one is easy anymore! :-D

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…. YAY, had a cookie incident, but I DIDN’T give in. I got home one afternoon, and when I opened my screen door, someone had put a HUGE Valentine cookie in my door. I about had a heart attack…. :eek: I had a ton of emotions and feelings running through my brain, INSTANTLY…. It just so happened, at the same time, an Amazon delivery guy showed up at my house. I traded him the cookie for the package he was delivering…. Got it out of my sight immediately. Disaster avoided!!!

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.
MOSTLY, still have a few times when I stop eating that I realize I am probably over full…. Maybe not STUFFED, but maybe too much. This is an ongoing adjustment that I need to continue to work on.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
YES. Continue with my Pickleball, and BeachBody workouts. Yesterday, I also went snowshoeing in the mountains. It was a beautiful Blue Sky day, and had a great time.


Victories,Comments,Concerns,Questions:
I continue my Mary’s Mini/MWL combination incorporating all the 10-Point Checklist. And limiting my fruit intake. (I can binge on most fruit) To my surprise, the scales continue to go down, and I feel better and better EVERY day! Both emotionally and physically.
My new favorite vegetable is spinach mixed with broccoli slaw. I microwave it and then add a squirt of lemon juice and some Dijon mustard. I may have told you that last week. But can’t remember. I could eat it every meal. I saw an article from Dr Michael Greger regarding the thylakoids in spinach and other leafy greens. They suppress the appetite and help with weight loss. So… I have been buying a huge bag of spinach a couple times a week. It can also be frozen just “as is” in the bag. Then just crunch it up. It’s awesome.

I love the simplicity of potatoes/vegetables. Hope everyone has a great healthy week.

Take Care,
Holly
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

Postby Noella » Sat Feb 25, 2023 2:01 pm

Hi everyone! Hi Mark!

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.
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 A little walking or daily movement each day and lots and lots of very serious wrist exercises 5 times each day. I want to get full range of motion back! This is tough but I so want to be able to kayak, ski and well, all sorts of things require full movement in the wrist.


Victories,Comments,Concerns,Questions:
Thanks to all for contributing your victories, concerns and questions this month. The month has gone so quickly! This week I realized how important it is to know, clearly, exactly why we want to get healthier. I started with the idea of taking excess weight off to help my knees. It's become so much more!! Now I have so many reasons for following this way ion eating. Better skin, less (almost none!!) eczema, happier digestion, no pain in my hands/thumb from osteoarthritis, better sleep, plus the bonus that it's better for the environment! So many reasons.
wishing everyone the very best at upholding these healthy MWL guidelines as we head into March.
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Reporting for February 24 Assessments is now CLOSED

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Feb 25, 2023 2:08 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 February 24

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Feb 25, 2023 2:49 pm

Rebecka22 - Congratulations on the positive feedback from your physical exam and on your successful efforts! Your diligent, thoughtful and ongoing practice is clearly paying off. :D

Artista - Fabulous efforts, Nancy! :thumbsup:
Artista wrote:I don’t have confidence anymore that I can determine how I will feel and what I will do in two, three, or six months. For now I’m just focusing on each day as it comes, trying to remember every day to renew that commitment to follow this way of healthy eating and lifestyle.
This feels like a useful framework to me. By attending to things day by day, you keep your focus on the areas that are most relevant to success AND the activities over which you have the greatest agency. I think confidence starts to appear at the end of a long string of those individual days accrued in sequence; one runs into obstacles, figures out how to adjust for or overcome them, and continues forward. :)

BambiS - Consistent progress! I'm glad you were able to enjoy some tasty fare from the farmers' market. Yum!

Ejg - Really awesome progress this week, Eric! Kudos to you for finding a way to successfully navigate that "dinner party" and for productively managing the accompanying anxiety. :thumbsup: Happy birthday! I'm really impressed with your commitment to maintaining a pattern of behavior that is congruent with the goals you value. :nod: I very much agree with you that the accumulation of a long series of congruent choices serves to habituate, "normalize", and make easier the accompanying behaviors. Carry on!

VegSeekingFit - I cannot wait for spring to arrive! Glad you were able to weather that storm and come through OK, Stephanie. I think you are wise to trust your intuitions and physical impressions around your injury; I hope your recovery is easy and manageable. I really identified with what you wrote about disagreeableness being a "secret weapon," especially this bit:
VegSeekingFit wrote:don’t want to fight / debate / argue with anyone, but honestly do not give a hoot if anyone thinks I should eat “X” instead of salad / baked potato
I feel like that really describes where I'm coming from with this, as well. I don't want to be combative, and I wish everyone the very best in the endeavors that matter to them, but I'm not looking for "input" into choices I associate with my personal values. You absolutely are a "SUPER vegetarian"! As you describe with just assuming you'll be bringing your own food, I think the more we can normalize these behaviors for ourselves, rather than thinking of them as unusual or extraordinary, the easier they become to maintain. Have a great week!

Gimmelean - Excellent progress! Applying Dr. Lisle's framework for managing cravings to possible cues in your work environment seems like a fruitful avenue to pursue. :nod: Let us know how it goes. I really love the post from wildgoose you referenced, it is a favorite of mine.
Gimmelean wrote:I am glad that we have a 365 day ongoing Truth about Weight Loss Summit happening right here.
:lol: This definitely brought a big smile to my face! Have a great week!

Greens - Solid efforts! I think you are really on the right track in regard to adherence fatigue, Marilyn: "keeping simple systems in place so adherence is the default." I think making our preferred pattern of behavior feel normal, easy, and everyday is a viable bulwark against adherence fatigue. Here's a post where Jeff writes about the thermos he uses.

Lizzy_F - Definite progress from last week! I applaud your recognition of the capability to do better, particularly in attending to the "little stuff," but don't discount the things you are getting right this week and from day to day. :) When that "inner child is in there stomping," what is the new information those "experiments" are meant to elicit? From my perspective, I try to differentiate between things I believe I NEED TO DO for my health and well-being (various experiments, interventions and trials can help me figure out how to make these things work), things I MIGHT LIKE TO DO for some particular reason, often social or interpersonal (experiments here can show me what the results of this thing are for me, whether it actually feels "worth it", and/or whether it really achieves what I imagined), and things I "COULD" DO (which often might amount to "could get away with"). In my experience, experiments in that latter category rarely offer useful information. Rather, to my mind, they keep nudging us away from normalizing the overall pattern of behavior that we know works for us; instead, we're chasing the lure of some hypothetical, perfectly tested, least obtrusive pattern of behavior that we never actually catch. It's also pretty easy to stumble and fall along the way. :) Kudos to you for declaring your intentions to make the transition into March a "squeaky clean" success! :D

Hjklost55 - Awesome adherence! Your MWL-adherent, Mary's Mini-inspired, simple and focused routine is really working for you! That spinach and broccoli slaw dish sounds really appealing to me. Thanks for sharing. What an amazing, well-adapted resolution you were able to bring to your "cookie incident" - a big THUMBS-UP for that! Onward!

Noella - Excellent efforts and an outstanding week! I completely agree with your point about the importance of having a clear, specific vision of WHY we want to make these changes and maintain these behaviors. :nod: Often those reasons will broaden and develop over time, in my experience. You DEFINITELY have a substantial and powerful list of reasons for adherence; importantly, many of them are outcomes you've attained, so you are directly experiencing those benefits. Enjoy them! :D
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Mark Cooper
 
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Summary for February 24 Reports

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Feb 25, 2023 3:00 pm

That's our final check-in for February! Next time will be our first for March, beginning on March 3. I'll post the new thread on Monday, and I hope you will all be joining me there. :-D Thanks so much for making February such a successful and lively month of practice, discussion and contribution. It was really great! Big applause to all of you.

No new readings came to mind this week, but there is something I think will be interesting to WATCH coming up: Dr. McDougall will be delivering a new lecture on his YouTube channel at 10am Pacific on Wednesday, March 1. It's called Hunger: An Unbeatable Friend - Why Diets, Drugs and Surgeries Fail. That definitely sounds interesting to me. :-D

Have an amazing week, everyone! Take care & be well!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

Postby JeffN » Sat Feb 25, 2023 4:24 pm

Gimmelean wrote:I am glad that we have a 365 day ongoing Truth about Weight Loss Summit happening right here.


Mark wrote: This definitely brought a big smile to my face!


Beautiful!

I love it!

Jeff
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2023 Group

Postby Lizzy_F » Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:12 am

Mark - thank you so much for your feedback as always! I value your presence and involvement on the path I am traveling. Excellent food for thought regarding my "inner child" (or rebellious spirit, or whatever that thing is!)

Later yesterday after posting my report, I watched a video of Doug Lisle addressing the topic of "getting back on track." I had a HUGE aha moment while listening to him speak on this subject. While I have heard him talk about the "ego trap" many times, something about the way he framed it in this particular presentation really hit home to me. He talked about getting caught somewhere between the "pleasure trap" and the "ego trap." That spoke volumes to me, and I think describes where I am right now - stuck somewhere between those two things. While I have not taken a head first dive, full-on into the Pleasure Trap, I think the ego trap is a HUGE issue for me right now, and if I don't figure out how to shift things, I will end up head first into the Pleasure Trap, and that is absolutely NOT where I want to go. It was amazing to notice a feeling of intense relief as the lightbulb moment happened. There is a lot to be said for feeling like I finally understand what my struggle has really been for the last few weeks, so now I can focus on how to work my way out of it.

Dr. Lisle's suggestion was to just focus on 3 days completely on-plan. So that's where I'm starting. And coincidentally, will take me right up to the start of the new month. But for now I'm only focused on three days.
Beth

"Long-term sustainable change is what we are really after." ~Jeff Novick
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