The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - March 2023 Group

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

Moderators: JeffN, f1jim, carolve, Heather McDougall

The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - March 2023 Group

Postby Mark Cooper » Tue Feb 28, 2023 4:43 am

MARCH 2023 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
Some of Jeff Novick's Quick and Easy Recipes
Jeff's Simple Recipes on Facebook
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
Calorie Density & Satiety In Action
Amy's Giant List of Links to Dr. Lisle's Lectures
User avatar
Mark Cooper
 
Posts: 2174
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:17 am
Location: Princeton, NJ 08540

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

Postby BambiS » Thu Mar 02, 2023 11:17 am

3-2


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.
Not an eventful week. I’m going to try to get in more green vegetables this week, fresh kale.
User avatar
BambiS
 
Posts: 128
Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2021 9:32 am

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

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:07 am

Hi Team Time & Adherence, ❤️

Marching into March!!! Hope everyone is having a great start to the month! :-D

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Always for breakfast, rarely 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. Still eating oatmeal or buckwheat with frozen fruit for breakfast. For lunch, making either a plate or bowl of various starches with salad veggies and fruit --- love this (and each one is different and only takes like 10 minutes to put together). Lots of soup / salad / fruit / potato for dinner. Eating a ton of split pea soup and also Mary McD’s chipotle black bean (recipe on this website – I add corn, carrots, and celery). Had the perfect 50/50 plate at lunch out at PF Chang’s --- Buddha’s Delight steamed (hold the tofu) with brown rice – easy!

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, no starving and no stuffing.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
No, 0/7. My leg is getting better, but not yet up to par. Gives me time to consider how best to avoid down-time in the future --- like brisk walking outside in the flats of Illinois is a pretty safe activity for me – so will pick up there when the time is right. I guess push-ups and crunches have also never caused me to get injured either!

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
All are comments! :)

Thank you so much, Mark for insightful and positive comments every week. Your words of wisdom and support are much appreciated!!!

I understand that if any of us missed Wednesday’s presentation live by Dr. McDougall (from Mark’s closing message last week) that it will be published to his official YouTube channel over the next week to watch at your leisure. It sounds like a great one!!!

Eric – Loved the story you shared last week about how your dinner party went!!! Great how you were able to bring your own food and nobody was phased about that. Sometimes it is uncomfortable to just ask … but what an awesome outcome!!! Hope that you had an amazing birthday!

Gimmelean – You always have the best one-liners!! Love it!! ❤️ With your story of eating (or NOT) in Germany, I had to chuckle because at the end of my dining experience --- think they threw the breadbasket at me…

Holly – You make veggies sound amazing!! Loved your story on how you avoided the dreaded cookie!!

Waving a huge “hi” to everyone!!! Thank you so much for sharing your experiences here --- helps so much! :D

Borrowed the below from my girlfriend --- love this thought and it reminded me of how much this group inspires me!!
Image

Hope that everyone has an excellent upcoming week!!!

Best,
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
User avatar
VegSeekingFit
 
Posts: 1324
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:21 am
Location: Illinois

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

Postby Rebecka22 » Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:07 am

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. NO
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). NO
6. Eliminate any added oil. NO
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. NO
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). NO
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. NO
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

Well this week I found myself once again testing the idea of eating out, eating vegan junk food and generally making off plan choices. I did this for three days, felt terrible, and finally got back on track. I wonder if I always felt this terrible eating like this…headache, stomach ache and still eating more. I definitely feel so much better when I stick to the checklist, so back on track now.
Rebecka22
 
Posts: 192
Joined: Wed Sep 30, 2020 2:18 pm

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

Postby Lizzy_F » Fri Mar 03, 2023 8:11 pm

Hello Club Time & Adherence! I hope everyone is off to a great start of the new month.

I can't believe it's already March! I am in a MUCH better place this week - more on that below!

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 - reduced, not eliminated. I feel I have come a long way with salt use. I still occassionally sprinkle a little on my food. But condiments are an area that I feel I'm ready to do more work on. It's hard to find condiments that meet the salt guidelines (as we all know!). Thus far, I have accepted the high sodium levels in condiments, and tried to by very mindful about not adding any additional sodium to a meal where I'm also using a condiment containing sodium (i.e. ketchup on my baked taters). I finally decided to try some of the California Balsamic flavors with the idea of replacing some of my salty condiment use with vinegar instead. So far this is working well. These vinegars really are delicious (and the customer service is excellent!) - I feel good about supporting this small business. I will need to be mindful about quantity, as I have to be mindful of with pretty much everything! I haven't tried it yet, but next week I plan to make simple BBQ sauce mixing the smoked hickory flavor with NSA tomato paste. I'm hoping I will like it enough to begin replacing at least some of the salty ketchup with a no salt BBQ sauce that actually tastes good. Others seem to really like it, so I hope it ends up being a step in the right direction for me as well. I'm not looking to eliminate sodium - just looking for some sodium reduction in my condiment game.

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

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

6. Eliminate any added oil. YES

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

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

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. I think I ate a bit too much today. My food tasted delicious to me and I think I kept eating because I liked it instead of because I was still hungry. This is still an area I have to be very mindful about. I would say I did YES on 6/7 days.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES!!! 6 days this week I did 30 minutes or more of intentional exercise. One day was frightfully busy from get up time to lay down time. I still consider it an active day because I was on my feet for most of it, and logged over 17,000 steps! This has been my most inconsistent area of the 10-point checklist. One week does not a new habit make, but I’m happy to be moving in the right direction!

Victories: I have been in a really sketchy place mentally for the last few (several?) weeks. Depressed, fearful, skirting around the edges of the Pleasure Trap. I am so thankful for the internet, and for all of our McDougall team who provide so much content for us here, on YouTube, etc. I came across an interview of Dr. Lisle that was a game changer for me. There weren’t any new topics in this video. He referenced the Pleasure Trap and the Ego Trap which he certainly covered during the 12-day program, and I have also seen/heard those lectures in other places over the years. In this particular interview he was asked about getting back on track. Something about the way he explained what it is like to be “caught between the Pleasure Trap and the Ego Trap” just really spoke to me and was a lightbulb moment. I realized that was EXACTLY where I was. Stuck somewhere in between the two. His suggestion was to step the expectations back, and just pick a goal that feels very attainable, such as 3 days of clean eating. So that is exactly what I did. I challenged myself to 3 days of very simple and clean minimally processed foods. (the foods that are the focus of the MWL program!) I challenged myself to hit every one of these MWL 10 points for 3 days in a row. After that, all bets are off. But I felt I could JUST DO IT for 3 days in a row with no deviations over near the side of the road by the CRAP ditch. What a difference that made! I don’t know why that one particular section of that one video made such a difference. But it did, and I feel like my old self – back on track! I am SO grateful to feel back in a good place mentally with this program.


Questions: What helps you get back on track when you feel yourself slipping away, whether that is with actual food choices, or just feeling mentally checked out of the MWL game plan?

Comments:
Bambi – looks like you are moving right along on cruise. That is where I want to be again! I have never really figured out how to prepare fresh kale. How do you like to do it?

Stephanie – I’m sorry to hear that you are dealing with an injury! I hope you heal up soon. We are sure getting teased with the weather lately! I hope outdoor walking season will be here to stay very soon!

Rebecka22 – I can relate to getting off track and feeling bad – for me the mental bad feelings are worse than the physical! Is it that way for you? I’m joining you in the “back on track” club! Congratulations on your annual physical, and on maintaining your weight loss. I am ALWAYS encouraged by people who report that level of success, despite not being perfect 100% of the time. The ego trap is so real for me!

Gimmelean – From your post a couple weeks ago, I can totally relate to what you say about “the times when it feels so challenging to maintain what feels like basic adherence.” I wish I better understood in myself what triggers me into the dark place. I’m just grateful to feel like I’m back on track – I hope you are in a better place as well! From last week, I’m not sure if I’ve seen the Dr. Lisle lecture you mention about cravings / cues. I need to give that a listen!

Artista – I can also relate to what you said a couple weeks ago about the higher calorie density / portion control schemes never working for me. I finally feel like I’m developing a better understanding and acceptance of myself as just a volume eater, who needs more food to feel satisfied than the average person. I’m beginning to see this as the reason some people can succeed on portion control type programs and people like me rarely do – and especially not for the long haul. I’m finally seeing the simple math. I talked to a woman the other day who has to be careful to not eat too many non-starchy vegetables, because she typically eats about 3 pounds of food per day. So if she goes overboard on veg, she comes up short on starch due to being full, but then is trigged to high calorie density foods later. As someone who typically eats more like 6 pounds of food per day, I have completely different issues! Anyway, this is such a journey of self-exploration, isn’t it? Congrats on your strong weekly report last weekend! Mini-trampoline always looks like fun to me. Are you ever afraid you will step off of it and hurt something? (I am a complete clutz with things like that!!)

Noella – I can relate to having lessons that I have to re-learn again and again, such as your experience with ice cream from a couple weeks ago. I wish I could burn these experiences into my brain so I don’t make the same mistakes over and over! I am in the Midwest waiting impatiently for spring! I am envious of your farmers markets! I love your comments from last week about the importance of remembering our “whys.” I need to spend some time reflecting on that topic!

Ejg – I would have a hard time if I had to be around goldfish crackers! Good for you moving quickly past it (from a couple weeks ago). From last week, I just wanted to say I can totally relate to that too full feeling you describe. That is a big issue for me and I really have to just keep working on it. Happy Birthday! And congrats on tossing the Swedish fish. The pleasure trap is so seductive, isn’t it?

Greens – From 2 weeks ago - I totally hear you about the harsh critic in my head!!! From last week – did you get your thermos situation figured out? I used to take hot meals to work with me and used a Thermos brand – I think this one? https://www.amazon.com/THERMOS-Stainles ... C98&sr=8-8 One thing that seemed to help keep the food warm a little longer was putting plain piping hot water in the thermos and letting it sit for a few minutes to warm up the inside of the thermos. Then I would put the heated food into the already warm thermos.

Marilyn – sounds like you have come up with some useful methods of prepping vegetables. I was just thinking about that today as I spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen chopping. I do like getting it done before there is crunch time. I don’t always do it when I first get home from the store, which would probably really make all things much easier! (and reduce waste in the back of the drawer as you mentioned!) Congrats on your progress getting smaller in your saddle!

Mark – thank you so much for your kindness and compassion. Your thoughtful replies and suggestions mean a great deal to me. I grew up in an environment where love felt conditional on performance. That was the perfect setup for a huge experience with the ego trap, and that has been somewhat of a lifelong battle ever since. Giving myself the gift of unconditional love always feels challenging – I just have to keep working at it! I also appreciate your reflection on “experiments.” I believe my inner child is looking for ways we can try to “get away with something.” If I am honest with myself, I really do already know what types of things work OK for me, and what types of things don’t. So why I want to step in the same hole again and again is beyond me! Something has radically changed, though, with McDougalling. I haven’t fallen off into the ditch and disappeared. This has NEVER happened before – staying in the game like this!
On adherence fatigue – thank you for copying over Jeff’s wisdom on that. “Not being able to indulge in all food around them” has definitely been a contributing factor lately. Part of what helped me in my 3 day “reset” was making sure to prep compliant foods that I ADORE!

Stephanie – I appreciate you so much! Your caring personality always shines through. I’m so grateful we are on the same path here.

Holly – you are such an inspiration!!! You GO girl!

Thank you all so much for being here and for sharing this journey! It helps so much to know I do not have to do this alone.
Beth

"Long-term sustainable change is what we are really after." ~Jeff Novick
User avatar
Lizzy_F
 
Posts: 925
Joined: Sat Jul 20, 2013 11:21 am

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

Postby trueunity » Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:21 pm

A 10-POINT CHECKLIST FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS (MWL)

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Mostly. Breakfast always has steamed veggies, Lunch starts with a salad and Dinner is either a salad start or cut up raw vegetables.

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 Always

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

6) Eliminate any added oil. Absolutely 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). Mostly but never juice or sugar sweetened drinks

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 workout daily for at least 30 minutes
trueunity
 
Posts: 30
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2023 5:52 am

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

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri Mar 03, 2023 10:12 pm

Lizzy_F wrote:

Questions: What helps you get back on track when you feel yourself slipping away, whether that is with actual food choices, or just feeling mentally checked out of the MWL game plan?


Beth!!! :-D :)

I totally appreciate you!!! You are a wonderful role model for all of us and an amazing person!!! So glad to have met you through McD!!! :)

Wanted to share my thoughts for your ? .... I bet Mark will have phenomenal answer... but just going to share for me ... (non-phenomenal!!)...

It has helped me so much to read James Clear and how to make change part of yourself!!! So, I just consider myself someone that will love to follow MWL!!! And, this is so helpful with mindset!!! In all honesty, I have never felt better in my life than when doing this!!! (Means that I have no interest in stopping this!!!) I don't look at any "end-date" when I may fall into vat of peanuts... Just try to do my best to not do so!!! I am NOT perfect and never will be... Going step by step...

I try to find joy in what I am doing --- and I do sometimes think folks (not McD folks) are limited with crap ... where we (McD folks) have rainbow colors, tastes, textures to explore. I LOVE to eat the rainbow and LOVE what I am eating...

There is so much joy to be had in eating this way!! Also, if I stray --- just get right back on track.... I LOVE all of Mark's and Wildgoose's posts --- so helpful for understanding how people adopted this way of eating.... I LOVE JeffN posts too... (but that is not a fair comparison!!)... :)

I hope that you find an answer that resonates with you .... because I also suspect that this is personal / may vary by individual...

Wishing you the best,
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
User avatar
VegSeekingFit
 
Posts: 1324
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2015 9:21 am
Location: Illinois

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

Postby Greens » Sat Mar 04, 2023 12:02 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 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). No, for one meal had veg sushi at Safeway.

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 Had to resort to spinning as the wind and rain made the beach less appealing.

Victories, challenges, comments. I had some pretty strong cravings this week. Not really sure why but was able to wait them out. I keep hearing Doug Lisle promise that they will diminish if I continue not to feed them. Maybe it was because the weather kept me inside more and was wanting the entertainment food used to give me.

Thank you Mark for your consistent guidance in the group. Thank you all for your openness and sharing your experiences. It is so helpful in figuring how to apply this simple but not always easy guidelines.

Marilyn
Greens
 
Posts: 84
Joined: Wed Mar 20, 2013 10:50 am
Location: Grayland, Washington

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

Postby Noella » Sat Mar 04, 2023 1:57 pm

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES! This is a nicely established habit!!!

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! Easy for me!

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! I do not miss these often high fat/oil, sodium and sugary sweet foods and I truly prefer the taste of MWL approved foods. I much prefer whole wheat pasta, for instance. I often buy the Italian Rummo brand.

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! Well, I still eat a lot of food at each meal but because it is lower in calorie density I don not ever feel stuffed or have an upset tummy.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES, I am doing my best to be active. This has been tough. I usually nordic ski about 400 km each winter but with my broken wrist I have been at home a lot and so much more sedentary and my waist is up an inch. The cross-country skiing is great for feeling fit and feeling slimmer. Really looking forward to the weather warming up and the snow melting away to get out walking on dry paths and trails.
User avatar
Noella
 
Posts: 282
Joined: Tue Mar 31, 2020 10:52 am
Location: Canada

Reporting for March 3 Assessments is now CLOSED

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Mar 04, 2023 2:00 pm

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

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.
User avatar
Mark Cooper
 
Posts: 2174
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:17 am
Location: Princeton, NJ 08540

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

Postby Artista » Sat Mar 04, 2023 2:46 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. 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). Not perfectly. I missed 2 or 3 days of exercise.

Victories, Comments, Questions, Challenges: I’m so sorry to be late in posting my report for the week. It’s been a crazy busy week. We’ve been managing care for my mom and working on moving her into an assisted living facility. There’s just been a lot to do related to both of those things plus trying to keep up with other responsibilities for this month. As a result I missed a few days of exercise, I just ran out of time on those days. Obviously I need to plan better! But I’m enjoying being back following MWL and participating in the Time & Adherence group. Mark, thank you for all your wonderfully encouraging comments and thought provoking questions!
User avatar
Artista
 
Posts: 234
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 10:22 am

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

Postby JeffN » Sat Mar 04, 2023 2:49 pm

Lizzy_F wrote: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. I feel I have come a long way with salt use. I still occassionally sprinkle a little on my food. But condiments are an area that I feel I'm ready to do more work on. It's hard to find condiments that meet the salt guidelines (as we all know!). Thus far, I have accepted the high sodium levels in condiments, and tried to by very mindful about not adding any additional sodium to a meal where I'm also using a condiment containing sodium (i.e. ketchup on my baked taters).


In regard to salt, the main salt guideline of 1:1 is for main items. For condiments I say it can be up to 4x. The purpose of these guidelines is to keep our total salt intake under 1000-1500 mg/day. That is the main issue, Yes, there are some condiments that would make that hard to do but my guess is those are not the ones you are using as we become very sensitive to these tastes..

One thing you can do, if you want, is to keep track of the total for the day for a few days and see what your total is. I had someone do this recently, who was convinced their intake was way to high, who kept track for a few days and found they were quite a bit under 1000.

In regard to California Balsamic, they do have added sugars and one could surpass the sugar guideline for the day with them too.

I did the math on them here….

https://www.drmcdougallforums.com/viewt ... 7&#p627247

I hope this helps and you are able to find a solution. :)

In Health,
Jeff
User avatar
JeffN
 
Posts: 9412
Joined: Tue Jan 08, 2008 5:56 am

Mark's Replies for March 3

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Mar 04, 2023 3:02 pm

BambiS - You have been super-consistent in your pattern of behavior! :D Kudos! Enjoy the fresh kale!

VegSeekingFit - Fantastic adherence! I'm glad to know your injured leg is continuing to improve, Stephanie. :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing your tips for building an adherent 50/50 plate at P. F. Chang's; it sounds great!

Rebecka22 - I applaud you for being mindful of your body's response to this week's "tests" and getting back on track! I think it is really interesting when the sensations of feedback from our body give us such a strong signal; it is fascinating in the face of those powerful and unpleasant feelings to consider how many of us used to eat that way all the time, and how many in our society still do. Better to feel good, right? :)

Lizzy_F - Really excellent progress to start this new month! :thumbsup: I am SO happy to know you feel like you've arrived back in a good place with your relationship to the program and your ongoing efforts, Beth. I think it's great that you found that particular interview with Dr. Lisle, and it spoke to what you were experiencing in a way that had such a positive effect on your thinking and offered a useful framework for you. Sometimes fortune smiles on us, right? Jeff responded to your observations and concerns about condiments here.
Lizzy_F wrote:What helps you get back on track when you feel yourself slipping away, whether that is with actual food choices, or just feeling mentally checked out of the MWL game plan?
When I think back over times when I've struggled, there are two things that come immediately to my mind for how I would get back on track. The first is taking time to assess WHY I'm adhering to this particular pattern of behavior and what I'm hoping to achieve by doing so. For me, this is an especially powerful motivator since I'm managing a chronic illness with no known cure and very few particularly effective treatment methods. This way of eating really does make an ENORMOUS difference for me in terms of managing chronic pain, as well as minimizing many other symptoms. Second, and perhaps the most POWERFUL action I've used to get myself back on track, is to take action in my immediate environment to make it support what I'm trying to achieve. That includes eliminating troublesome things, making sure my favorite recommended foods are readily and easily available, and, when appropriate, creating environmental triggers for positive action, like immediately taking a walk after lunch, or setting up my food prep station on the kitchen counter before bed so it is ready to go the next morning. The environment we inhabit and move through has an undeniable and extremely potent effect on our behavior.
Lizzy_F wrote:Part of what helped me in my 3 day “reset” was making sure to prep compliant foods that I ADORE!
Exactly right! :D

trueunity - Welcome! That looks like a pretty solid initial self-assessment to me! How are you feeling about things? Any particular tools that are working really well for you? Any specific area where you would most like to focus? Keep at it!

Greens - Great work, Marilyn! :D I'm glad you were able to weather the storm of those strong cravings. They do fade with time, but it seems like the length of that time is almost always longer than any of us would wish, right?
Greens wrote:Maybe it was because the weather kept me inside more and was wanting the entertainment food used to give me.
I thought this was a really interesting observation. I know for many of us, finding adaptive, harmonious ways to self-regulate can be a BIG piece of the puzzle. It was definitely essential for my own process and recovery. The typical social patterns that many of us experience and adapt often model food experiences as a commonly accepted means of socializing, coping with stress, expressing love or affection, &c. That isn't a bad thing on its face, but it can become maladaptive pretty easily, particularly when those experiences are centered around calorie-rich, highly processed, hyperpalatable foods. It can be a challenging and complicated path to navigate. Keep doing the best you can! :)

Noella - Fantastic adherence! I know how much you enjoy skiing in the winter, so I can imagine not being able to participate right now is disappointing. :nod: Doing the best we can within the context of our particular circumstances is all we can reasonably expect of ourselves, right?
Noella wrote: I still eat a lot of food at each meal but because it is lower in calorie density I do not ever feel stuffed or have an upset tummy.
This made me think of myself! The volume of food I eat can be shocking to "regular" people, but my tummy still feels happy and comfortable. :) Onward!
User avatar
Mark Cooper
 
Posts: 2174
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:17 am
Location: Princeton, NJ 08540

Summary for March 3 Reports

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat Mar 04, 2023 3:11 pm

Hi, everybody! Here we are at the start of another month, with new daily opportunities to strengthen our practice, learn about ourselves, consider what we want the contours of our lives to be, and work toward building them. :)

Since our societal food environment and its ever-present Pleasure Trap triggers came up in this week's discussion, here are a few threads I feel relate to that discourse.

Triage Your Health Efforts: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Cut The CRAP! Highly processed foods dominate US grocers

The Pleasure Trap Trigger Foods

Have a great week!

Take care & be well. :D
User avatar
Mark Cooper
 
Posts: 2174
Joined: Fri Jul 13, 2018 8:17 am
Location: Princeton, NJ 08540

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

Postby Artista » Sat Mar 04, 2023 3:27 pm

Lizzy_F wrote:Artista – I can also relate to what you said a couple weeks ago about the higher calorie density / portion control schemes never working for me. I finally feel like I’m developing a better understanding and acceptance of myself as just a volume eater, who needs more food to feel satisfied than the average person. I’m beginning to see this as the reason some people can succeed on portion control type programs and people like me rarely do – and especially not for the long haul. I’m finally seeing the simple math. I talked to a woman the other day who has to be careful to not eat too many non-starchy vegetables, because she typically eats about 3 pounds of food per day. So if she goes overboard on veg, she comes up short on starch due to being full, but then is trigged to high calorie density foods later. As someone who typically eats more like 6 pounds of food per day, I have completely different issues! Anyway, this is such a journey of self-exploration, isn’t it? Congrats on your strong weekly report last weekend! Mini-trampoline always looks like fun to me. Are you ever afraid you will step off of it and hurt something? (I am a complete clutz with things like that!!)


Hi Lizzy! My experience is very similar to yours. I never thought of myself as a volume eater but when I tried a portion control approach to eating that included more calorie-dense foods like nuts & seeds, I couldn't do it, I got too hungry. So I must be a volume eater. That's why MWL works for me, I can eat when I'm hungry and when I do, I don't end up eating too many calories. I've never weighed how much food I eat in a day but I may try that, it would be an interesting experiment. I've been thinking that if I can't succeed in following MWL on my own, I may sign up for the 12 Day. I've been really impressed by the success you, Stephanie, and others have had after attending the 12 day. I so admire how you continue to stick with it and show up even when it isn't easy. You can't help but succeed for the long-term with that much of determination! About the rebounder, I've never fallen off of it but I used to wonder about that. It's a fun way to work in 30 minutes of exercise when the weather is too bad to go outside, and it's easy on the joints. Sometimes I watch the news while I'm rebounding so I don't get too bored.
User avatar
Artista
 
Posts: 234
Joined: Sun Jan 28, 2018 10:22 am

Next

Return to Maximum Weight Loss Program

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 16 guests



Welcome!

Sign up to receive our regular articles, recipes, and news about upcoming events.