The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 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 - May 2023 Group

Postby Hjklost55 » Fri May 26, 2023 3:56 pm

May 26, 2023

Hello MWL T&A group, Hope everyone is well and having a great 3-day weekend. I am home this weekend, and currently have a big pot of potatoes in one instant pot, and brown rice in the smaller pot. Going to make a batch of “Jeff’s Bean Burgers” as soon as the rice is done. I am doubling the recipe and will freeze some. They are so handy to have on hand.

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
YES, still make a pot of soup every few days. Really liking it cold now.

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, this is the easy one. Looking at the meat counters in the supermarket make me physically ill. Haha :mrgreen:

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.
NO, wish I could say YES, but have to be honest. It was much better, but not 100%. I think I had 2-3 times where I ate until stuffed. It is usually more like 7-10 times :-D So small victory. Striving for 100 % next week. I have been asking myself: Am I hungry? Before I eat, and during my meal…. “Have I had enough?” Before I eat seconds of anything. It seems to be helping me be more aware of my eating.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
YES, Pickleball 5 days a week. And walked our green belt near the swollen river.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Overall had a good week. I am in the process of getting ready to go to the summer home until the first of October and have been making and freezing beans, rice, burgers, etc. My routine will change considerably when we go there, so will have to make some adjustments in food and exercise. But I am confident that I will make that happen.

Mark, thank you for the great comments you always share with the group. And the links to all the resources. I really enjoy reading and re-reading the material. As far as my “mind-chatter”, it is hard for me to explain. But it feels like I am ALWAYS thinking about food. I definitely don’t go hungry. :lol: Quite the opposite. I have a hard time feeling satisfied so back to the “volume eating” problem that I have. I have been reading a lot about “mindless eating” and I think that fits me pretty good. That is why I have been trying to incorporate the “am I hungry” and “have I had enough” questions. I have to continue to be aware, and work towards finding that peace with food. It is better because of this lifestyle, but not in control yet.

Have a great, healthy week everyone,
Holly
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2023 Group

Postby VegSeekingFit » Fri May 26, 2023 5:58 pm

Hi Team Time & Adherence, :)

Hope everyone is doing great! Here is my week in review…

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

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 loving the same meals / eating pattern. Pretty much on autopilot for B/L/D (except for switching up the fruit / veg/ beans). ❤️

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!

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes. 7 /7 --- lots of walking and pickleball. Super excited that my PB lessons start next week!!! Also, got an email on a league called “The Pickle Spears – Up / Down Split” which I had to join just to understand!!! :lol:

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Wildgoose – Appreciated your post on adherence fatigue very much ❤️--- read it a few times! I love the richness of your example --- and it makes so much sense to include decision fatigue in this context (light bulb moment for me…)!

On the “mind chatter” topic… Periodically the peanuts that still live in our pantry taunt me… I just tell them ---“NOT TODAY, peanuts… I Ain’t Missing you at all”!!! For good, bad, or indifferent --- I KNOW the impact of opening the door to that for me --- hello 20 lbs. :shock:

Had what could have been an awkward social food moment this week. My wonderful co-worker baked cookies for me (birthday this week) and told me that she didn’t let her kids have any so there would be more to share at work. I just said --- wow, these look awesome --- I’m not hungry right now, but can I just take a couple for later --- wrapped them up and brought them to my husband who appreciates cookies. Considering this win / win. :cool:

Wishing everyone a wonderful long weekend!!

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 - May 2023 Group

Postby Taters » Sat May 27, 2023 5:59 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 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. Normally this is no problem for me but I had a work dinner at an expensive steak house and I would be lying if the thought of partaking in a filet didn't cross my mind.

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). Yes. I had a salad at the steak house but ordered it without the nuts and did not eat the avocado that was served on it.

6) Eliminate any added oil. Mostly. I'm sure my dinner at the steak house had oil in it.

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! There was one evening where a thought came in that cereal would be good to have, but since I have completely eliminated cereal from the house, I didn't act on it. Thank you for your support on this, Mark!

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). Yes, no wine for me at the steak house, but the temptation was there.

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. It's watermelon season and I did overeat it 1 day.

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

Comments etc: I just love this synopsis from Wildgoose last week:

None of this is new. It’s the same advice that’s been posted here over and over. Figure out what MWL food you like, learn simple techniques for cooking it, plan, and keep a clean environment as much as possible. Make the right decisions easy, make the wrong decisions hard. And minimize the amount of decisions you have to make. Get in a deep grove and stay there. If you stray, get back on track right away, without drama. Make adherence automatic. Thinking about too many options tires your brain, so structure your adherent life so you’re thinking far more about life than about adherence.

This week I found myself out at that work dinner. I was really proud of myself for not giving into temptations because they were definitely there. I ordered a salad and a portabella mushroom app for my dinner. I'm sure that dish had oil in it, but I was able to avoid any animal products and higher fat plant foods.

Mark - Thank you for linking those posts in your response last week. I'm going to take some time this weekend to check them out.

I hope you all enjoy the holiday weekend!
Rachael
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2023 Group

Postby Ejg » Sat May 27, 2023 6:09 am

I went camping with my daughter last week and so didn't post anything. Got sick as soon as I came home and so that affected things a bit this week

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. probably less than 50% on this, I was sick and didn't make a whole lot of salad this week
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. I ate lots of corn and potatoes this week but didn't dilute with green and yellow vegetables
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). No, I was quite sedentary this week!

feeling much better today so looking forward to a good week! Happy spring
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 - May 2023 Group

Postby Greens » Sat May 27, 2023 8:44 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 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. No. Had 1 meal at pizza restaurant, red sauce, no cheese, veggies no oil brushed on. But there was oil in sauce and when crust was made.
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 Restaurant meal.
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, dog walking in the dunes twice daily.

Happy Memorial weekend team time and adherence! Love the warmer weather and fresh produce.

Comments, concerns, questions: I recently stopped writing everything I eat in a booklet. I had been doing it for a few months. I’m wondering if others here utilize this as a double check to avoid food amnesia and increasing compliance. I am down to the last 12 pounds I want to shed and know I have less wiggle room for straying from guidelines. Short term vs long term desires. I know I get better results when I adhere better to guidelines, obvious no?

Thank you all for what you share here!

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

Postby Gimmelean » Sat May 27, 2023 10:04 am

Post for week ending 5/26/23

Greetings everyone.

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. It’s easy to grab some fruit that’s washed and ready either on the kitchen table or in my work tote. I’ve been buying much less but the best quality stuff I can find. I keep a huge container of raw veggies in the fridge and take a container with me to work every day. It’s best not to put cut, perishables that will go bad in the batch.

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.

Victories,Comments,Concerns, Questions:
I have found relatable magic in EVERYONE’s posts the past few weeks that is helping me to get back on track. I started lapsing when I had to return to work at the office at the end of 2022 and could no longer completely control my environment as I could when working exclusively from home. I thought that I really had mastered every aspect of the MWL checklist and lost weight I was never able to lose before. Fortunately, despite a few months of setbacks and relearning, I am still at the lowest weight of my adult life thanks to this program and this group.
-Holly, cold soups in the heat and Jeff burgers are a great idea. I often substitute any batch cooked grain I have in the fridge for the oats; brown rice, quinoa, oat groats, barley, etc and it works great.
-Happy belated birthday Stephanie. What a beautiful way to compliment your cookie chef for her consideration while serving your own needs. My birthday will be celebrated tomorrow and if my kids insist on buying a cake, I’m going to try the same thing. Last year they really listened and did not buy a cake. The prior year, they substituted a fruit tart with the best of intentions.
-Eric, there can be a fine line between when interpreting malevolence or indifference. Sometimes the ones we love are our biggest saboteurs because it’s difficult for them to see us change.
-Rachael, I also love Wildgoose’s post; my synopsis of your synopsis- make right decisions easy, make wrong decisions hard, deep groove, no drama. (like a Michael Pollan food mantra)
True unity and Taters- a belated welcome to the group.
-Rebecka, - those pleasure trap triggers have really bogged me down too. Awareness of them is the first step and stopping them as you have is the best outcome.
-Marilyn, aren’t big clothes a wonderful revelation? I donated them once I realized that I was rolling up the waistbands and got rid of permission to go back. That realization took a very long time.
-Holly and Beth, I also benefit from self talk to overcome my food mind chatter, mindless eating, and have been trying a technique that seems to help conquer the really difficult moments: ( Dr. Lisle calls cravings part of the extinction curve when trying to change a habit).
Awareness/ WIFM/ Flip it.
1. awareness that I am doing something or headed towards it
2. Ask myself what’s in it for me? Name the pros and cons
3. Choose the action I’m going to take. Flip it to the right one.
I’m also occasionally guilty of telling myself that if the light turns red when I get to the corner, I don’t have to go to the gym.
Mark, Wildgoose, Jeff- you are wonderful moderators.
See you in June!
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Re: The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2023 Group

Postby Lizzy_F » Sat May 27, 2023 11:01 am

Hello Time & Adherence Family!! Here goes for this week...

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. It’s interesting. I asked both Dr. McDougall & Dr. Lim about this quite some time ago. Neither had much of an answer. When I go SUPER low on salt – i.e. Zero or very, very minimal added salt, I end up with leg cramps at night. When I use modest amounts of salt (i.e. salting the surface of my food and using some condiments that contain salt) the cramps don’t happen at all, or are minimal. This has been going on for a long enough period of time (a full year) that makes me feel pretty confident about this salt connection. I’m curious if anyone else has had this experience, or has any ideas? I believe my salt intake is within Dr. McDougall’s & Jeff’s guidelines. And I KNOW we are not an ”SOS Free” Program (and I’m not trying to make it one, LOL!). I’m just bringing this up because it has been going on for so long, and I’m curious if anyone else has experienced this. I’m also thinking that if I HAD joined an “SOS Free Program” to get this going, I probably would have given up a long, long time ago because those cramps are no joke. I also asked my local doctor about it and she of course immediate told me I should be taking calcium and magnesium supplements, which of course I declined.

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! Strictly MWL this week!

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’m going to claim victory on the “don’t stuff” front. I actually left a small amount of food on my plate last night at dinner. That has been SUPER hard for me to do (even when I am definitely comfortably full). Baby steps!!

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I feel SO GOOD about this area. I’m so glad I finally went to the orthopedic doctor and started PT. My therapist is working with me to construct an exercise program that is appropriate for my knee. It’s amazing what a relief it is to have professional guidance on what I’m doing. So I am spending a lot more time on various stretches and other PT things than I am doing what I typically consider “exercise.” And I can’t go for walks every day – I must have a non-“jarring” day in between. But I AM encouraged to do either elliptical (which I can do at home) or recumbent bike (which I can do at the gym) on the days when I am not walking. So this is working out really well. My knee has felt GREAT after my PT sessions and I will be sad when those end after 4 weeks of 2X per week.

Victories, etc: This week felt awesome from a food perspective! I ONLY ate foods I love that love me back, which of course are all MWL compliant foods! I have a new love affair with Hawaiian Sweet Potatoes. I sure wish I could get those locally. I had to order 19 pounds from the mail order place. By this time on Monday, they will all be gone LOL and I will be back to Japanese Sweet Potatoes. Those are only carried at one grocery store anywhere near me, and they don’t put out very many at a time. I stalk those babies like a heroin addict looking for a fix! When they have nice big ones, I buy all the big ones. They must think I’m crazy. I also love my PT driven exercise program and that feels like amazing forward progress! I will probably get a gel shot when I see the doctor next time after PT is done.

Questions: See salt related question above.

Mark - thank you as always for your feedback!

Goose - I love the story you shared about getting your plans disrupted (I too HATE that!) and the importance of keeping it simple, having MWL food ready, and making the bad decisions harder. So much good stuff packed into that story!! Thank you!!
Beth

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

Postby Noella » Sat May 27, 2023 11:25 am

Hi Mark,
The past two weeks have been challenging in regard to MWL as we have been travelling . My husband is supportive, so it's always great to eat at home, and I can easily ensure I have veggies and starch at every meal. However, it's extremely challenging to get the basic starches and vegetables foods when we travel and stay in hotels (or even when we stay with relatives) that cannot easily accommodate my diet or understand it. So this week's analysis clearly shows the frustrations I faced at each meal while we were away. To reduce the challenges, I usually had just two meals daily: brunch and dinner. Some points are easy enough, if the meal is a buffet, it's possible to select a limited number of foods that fit the criteria. My best and healthiest meal on our entire trip was at the airport on our way home yesterday, and I appreciated how delicious it was while also being McDougall approved. I ordered a number of sides, and everything came oil free: steamed broccoli, salad, black beans, rice, salsa.

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. :nod: This point is the easiest one for me to follow and perhaps it is the most helpful one for me. It gets me started healthfully at each meal. It establishes the foundation. I can build a healthy meal on it. I feel successful at the start! in restaurants, airports and buffet meals its possible to do this step and reap the rewards.
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. :| This point is way trickier. Sometimes it helps to order an extra side of rice or baked potatoes to get enough starch. Most times, the veggies are too few, so again, ordering an extra side of steamed veggies helps.
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. :| Processed foods that aren't MWL approved seem to have one flavour you can count on: salty!! I tasted some cheese (see#4), and salt was the main flavour!
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). :eek: I did my best to remove visible cheese or asked for the cheese to be on the side so it was easier to avoid. I know that some of the very rich, high-calorie-dense things I chose to eat (like crepes) included butter, cream, and eggs. Travelling in Quebec, it is challenging to avoid these.
5. Eliminate all higher-fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). :nod:
6. Eliminate any added oil. :eek: Added oil and butter! It was everywhere! A beautiful baby leaf kale salad at an elegant breakfast buffet breakfast glistened with oil. Yes, I still decided to have a large serving of the beautiful kale salad to get my greens. However, I truly do not enjoy oil on my salad anymore, for health reasons AND for personal flavour preference. At the same breakfast, I had Quebec-style maple syrup baked beans; they had added butter/fat to the beans, too, and would have tasted better to me without the added oil. This experience inspires me to learn how to bake a MWL-adherent version of baked beans without added oil now that I'm back home.
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. :eek: See #4 I chose to eat a couple of croissants and crepes.
8. Don't drink calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). :eek: I had three glasses of wine over the two weeks I was away with my daughter. It was because of the social pressure and just wanting to belong. I'm not one of those people who doesn't care what others think of me. Relationships are important to me. I'm highly sensitive and need extra love and belonging - especially from my daughter. I had travelled such a long distance to see her, and I never want anything other than distance to come between us. Drinking the wine seemed like a good choice at the time. Looking back at this behaviour today and recognizing my high need for love and belonging, I could have 'pretended' to drink the wine, and it would have had the exact same effect socially.
9. Follow these principles, eat whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself, and don't stuff yourself. :nod: This was easy enough.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). :eek: Lots of sitting at airports, on planes, trains, cars, etc. I didn't try with enough effort to get daily exercise. I did take my exercise clothing and shoes with me, and I did look at the exercise facilities at each hotel...but other than swimming, I didn't use any of the equipment.

Well...reviewing my MWL behaviours via the checklist today was eye-opening! Could I have done worse? Yes, I definitely could have done much worse on this trip but could I have done better? Clearly, yes, I also could have done better in several important ways. I'm not perfect; nobody is. I am learning about myself, my strengths and my weaknesses.

My clothes/belts feel tighter after a winter of not cross-country skiing due to breaking my arm last December and extensive leisure travel. The cross-country skiing, which usually extends into mid-April really does help to keep my waist nice and slim. One winter off from skiing proved that! Well, I haven't really been weighing myself since the focus here on this discussion board switched to emphasizing monitoring our daily behaviours rather than using the scale. I find that simply measuring my waist once per week tells me everything I need to know - and right now my belt is saying I've gained some weight back.

I'm travelling to stay at a seaside cottage for two weeks in June, and our focus for this trip is strictly relaxation, healthy eating and exercise: walking, swimming, paddling, and cycling. We'll be preparing our own healthy meals, and I'll be back into the MWL groove I enjoy most.

One REALLY great bonus of being within a normal weight range is the delightful feeling of being slim in a bathing suit. I LOVE swimming, especially so at the resorts we recently stayed at. I didn't feel embarrassed about my figure at all as I was getting in and out of the pools, so it was a more enjoyable and relaxing experience than pre-MWL.

Thank you to everyone who contributes to this discussion board. It's so helpful to read your posts. THANK YOU!

Best regards to everyone,
Noella
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Reporting for this week's Assessments is now CLOSED

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat May 27, 2023 1:09 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 May 26

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat May 27, 2023 2:30 pm

trueunity - Hang in there! I think it is natural to feel somewhat flustered and overwhelmed when it seems like our efforts toward behavior change aren't being reflected by the measure we have selected. The best article relating to the situation you describe is Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them; the primary advice I take from that article would be to take the focus off reading the scale and apply that focus toward adhering to all the recommended behaviors as closely as is feasible for you: Adherence across Time. I'm sure it will feel uncomfortable and difficult, but try not to worry about what the scale might say, relax, and just concentrate on excellent adherence. Being mindful about eating more slowly, really chewing and savoring a meal, has been a useful practice for some participants, too. Some other questions for reflection I have are "What do you do to manage stress or cope with feeling overwhelmed?" "Why are you making the effort to make these changes in behavior?" What are your most important goals, and why are they important to you?" "How do you know when your are comfortably full? What does that feel like in your body? How does that feel different when you 'force down what is on your plate'?" "What would happen if you didn't clean your plate?" "Is there an experiment you could try that feels to you like it might help?" I know how much these challenges can feel like an alarming emergency while we are facing them, but try not to lose sight of the positive things you have accomplished. I'm confident you will get this figured out with some time, experimentation, assessment, adjustment and reflection. :)

Rebecka22 - Fantastic results! You are clearly demonstrating that you can maintain excellent adherence when your environment is aligned with that goal. :thumbsup: Of course, it is much more difficult to create that alignment in spaces that are outside our control, and efforts in that direction may always be subject to substantial obstacles and constraints. Experimenting with tools and techniques to help support us in those uncontrolled environments, we can keep what works, discard what doesn't, and gradually build a toolkit that gives us the best odds for success. When everything eventually falls into place, you will know it, and you'll know how to do it again and again. Carry on!

BambiS - Woo-hoo! Great work and no "exceptions"! That seems like important progress. :D Keep it up!

Hjklost55 - Really good progress! And great work preparing for success in your summer environment. :nod: I think the self-awareness questions you are using to help yourself find "comfortably full" are outstanding, and they seem to be helping, right? The only thing I might consider adding to that, Holly, is a trigger to include a "check-in" with physical sensations: how do I know when I'm full? What does it feel like? How does that compare to what I'm feeling at present? &c. Since you describe it feeling like you are ALWAYS thinking about food, I'm curious about the substance of those thoughts - are they planning for the next meal, worrying about a possible lapse, thinking about what sounds appealing to eat, wondering if you are hungry? Does it feel like you are perseverating? Do you feel anxious? Or, are they more often thoughts about sensations - tastes, aromas, colors, favorite flavors? Specific foods? What are some things you typically do to self-regulate or manage stress? Do you have a favorite "go-to" activity for that? Maintain your exemplary thoughtfulness and effort and I'm sure you will eventually have that feeling of control and peace you desire. Have an amazing week!

VegSeekingFit - Awesome! "Autopilot" is serving you well, Stephanie! :D I think the sort of positive, intentional self-talk you describe is a great tool for responding to "mind chatter." Very cool win and non scale victory in that social situation; well done and thank you for sharing it. Happy Birthday and enjoy your pickleball lessons!

Taters - I think you did an admirable job managing that work dinner; the pride you are feeling seems well-deserved, Rachael! :thumbsup: And you were able to come home to an environment well-aligned with your intended pattern of behavior, so that is definitely a win! Unindulged temptations are a step along the path toward forbearance and liberation from temptation. Keep at it! :D

Ejg - Sorry you've been feeling poorly, Eric, and glad to know today has you feeling much better! Under the circumstances, your adherence looks pretty solid for what felt manageable. Happy spring to you!

Greens - Continuing progress, Marilyn! I kept both a food diary and a behavioral journal for an extended period of time, and found both to be an invaluable tool for maintaining adherence and surfacing hidden issues or items of concern. I also took pictures of everything I ate for quite a stretch of time.
Greens wrote:I know I get better results when I adhere better to guidelines, obvious no?
Yup! Adherence across time produces the results! :D

Gimmelean - Hooray! Big progress getting back on track! And congratulations on all the worthwhile outcomes you have attained and maintained. :nod: I hope you have a great time celebrating your birthday; I always look forward to my "fruit boquet" which has become a birthday tradition for me. Thank you very much for sharing the Awareness / WIFM / Flip it technique - seems like an excellent tool!

Lizzy_F - That week looks as awesome as it felt, Beth! :thumbsup: I'm so happy to know your physical therapy has been going well and feels beneficial. I know how much of a difference that can make. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE Okinawan/Hawaiian sweet potatoes - they are my all time favorite food. Yum! I have never experienced any cramps associated with my salt intake, but if you are within the guidelines suggested by Dr. McDougall and Jeff and that seems to help I can't think of any reason to change things (unless some other, contradictory health issue arises). Keep doing what works for you and loving the foods that love you back!

Noella - A really thoughtful and honest self-assessment report; kudos to you! In regard to this way of eating, travel is certainly one of the most substantial challenges, right? I love what you wrote here:
Noella wrote:Well...reviewing my MWL behaviours via the checklist today was eye-opening! Could I have done worse? Yes, I definitely could have done much worse on this trip but could I have done better? Clearly, yes, I also could have done better in several important ways. I'm not perfect; nobody is. I am learning about myself, my strengths and my weaknesses.
Very astute. Learning and doing at least a little better each time is a path toward continuing improvement. Your June plans relaxing into a MWL groove in your seaside cottage sound divine. Keep doing the best you can, and enjoy your journey!
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In Closing,

Postby Mark Cooper » Sat May 27, 2023 2:41 pm

That brings May to a close, and onward we march into June! :eek:
Admirable efforts all around and many thanks to all participants.
I'll post the new thread for June on Tuesday, May 30.

No links this week, but I would like everyone to take some time to consider what tools, methods or activities they turn toward when feeling stressed, overwhelmed, or otherwise in need of comfort, or a means of coping or self-regulation. What do you typically do? Does it seem to work? How do you feel about your primary coping mechanisms?

The technique Gimmelean described seems pretty useful to me.
Gimmelean wrote:Awareness/ WIFM/ Flip it.
1. awareness that I am doing something or headed towards it
2. Ask myself what’s in it for me? Name the pros and cons
3. Choose the action I’m going to take. Flip it to the right one.


If you're in the midst of a long weekend, enjoy it! May you find comfort in happy memories of loved ones who have departed, and may we all remember those who sacrificed themselves in service to others. :)

Take care & be well!
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