The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - May 2023 Group

[trueunity]

May 12 - May 18

A 10-Point Checklist for Maximum Weight Loss

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

Yes, normally cooked veggies or salad. I haven't found a soup that I can make yet that helps with weight loss. Every time I make soup I gain weight. I think its because I have no control over the portion I'm having. I usually have oatmeal for breakfast and I normally put a banana in my oats.

Question: If you start the meal with fruit is there a certain amount of fruit or a type of fruit that's better than others? When the goal is weight loss?


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 and I think I'm going to try the fruit for dessert technique, since I'm not usually hungry after dinner.

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes

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

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

Yes...in whole form. There has been a little soy milk or a little oatmilk in the morning, but only 3 days this week. For now on I will be having all my coffee black.

6. Eliminate any added oil. Absolutely Always

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, accept for my Morning Coffee which is where the soy / oatmilk comes to play from #5. Only 3 days this week. The rest of my days, my coffee is black. This week: I have had 3 zero sugar drinks, one Rockstar Energy drink (25 calories) and 2 Diet Mt. Dews ( 0 calories) I know these are not good for me. I know that they are chemical storms that interfere with my goals. Working on cutting them out.

Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full.

Yes....Mostly. Sometimes I eat past full and wish I would have stopped earlier. Mentally I know that I have reached my limit, but physically I can still see it on my plate and I go into a sort of FOMO. The same thing happens with fruit I believe as I sit here written this post. I share food with other family members and I fear that they are going to eat it all before I have some, so I eat when I'm not hungry.

9. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.

Yes and no. I never starve myself, but I do have times were I eat a bit to much. I still have issues with the clean plate syndrome. I have a tendency to eat past full.


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

Absolutely YES!! Fitness is my therapy.

528 exercise minutes for the week
85,221 steps for the week


Weight this week: --1 pound

SW: 135
CW: 134
GW: 115

Fruit intake:
22 pieces for the week

Sunday 5/14 I had 4 bananas, apple, and a serving of strawberries.

Tuesday 5/16 I had 4 bananas, apple

I'm working on the reduction of fruit. I have put into place a new habit of having no more than 3 servings a day. Since 5/17 I have only had 2 servings each day.

I'm open to any suggestions you may have to help with this process! I want to be a good steward with the time I have left here on earth and taking care of my body is one of the ways I get to. Thank you for everything.

[Rebecka22]

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. 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. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

This week I didn’t do as good on my travel. I packed enough food for all my meals on the road and in the hotel, but I gave in to road snacks and party treats. I also had several mochas between the two eight hour drives. Once I got home I struggled a little with the pleasure trap, but one area of improvement was that I didn’t feel out of control at any point. I was able to eat one cupcake and be done, etc. I am back on track now. I think adherence fatigue is definitely an issue for me. It’s strongest during travel and special events. I think it’s going to just take time and adherence to get me there. I would say the fact that I didn’t feel compelled to eat it all once I started was an improvement. With time maybe I’ll be like you Mark and I wont even want it anymore. I hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for all the support.

[Taters]

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

2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. Yes

3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. Yes

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

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

6) Eliminate any added oil. Yes

7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. No. I got into Life cereal Saturday evening. And what I mean by "I got into it," was that I ate 3/4 of the box. I did so well all week avoiding it. I feel some shame around it. I think it's stemming from knowing that I should have thrown it out or asked my husband to take it to work with him but I didn't. Now it's officially out of the house and I'm going to try really hard not to buy anymore cereal. It's just too hard for me to have it in my environment right now.

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 - the night I had the Life cereal I was overstuffed. I had already eaten my dinner and then got into that.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Yes, daily walk or 2.

Comments, victories, etc: I tend to feel Adherence Fatigue the next day after a big event or social situation. Typically, I can adhere to the checklist during the event without a problem however I find myself struggling the following day. It's then that thoughts such as "What's the big deal if I eat that?" or "I will have a normal serving and then put it away" pop up and I have a difficult time adhering to the program. I find that this is when I slip and I'm back in the Pleasure Trap. I haven't found a solution that works for me. I guess I'm just glad I don't find myself having to attend big social events often!

...After some reflection perhaps the solution is just ensuring that my home is completely clean when I return back from an event. That way I'm not inclined to give into those thoughts of just having a "normal portion," etc. The more I think about it, what an obvious solution!

I hope you all have a great weekend!
Rachael

[Greens]

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 for 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. Eating out, tofu came in the dish when I ordered the veggie pho although it was not listed on menu. When it is right in front of me it is hard to pass up.
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

Challenges, concerns, and comments: Even though restaurants are minefields, I like going out with family and friends. This week I was reminded why I keep the number of them I go to limited. When something I like but avoid is in front of me I can cave. At home I can indulge my desire for variety without going outside the guidelines of MWL.

This week when I took our puppy to her class I was on the floor with her for the tunnel obstacle and almost lost my pants. I think pretty soon I need to go shopping or wear a belt. This is a better problem to have than wondering why I wasn’t shedding pounds before following guidelines. Progress.

Thank you all for sharing here. Mark and Jeff, thank you for your insights shared here.

Marilyn

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 5/20/23

Hello everyone.

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

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

3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts.  This includes gourmet sugars and salts too.  If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes

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

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu,soy).
No. I find that I have been snacking on nuts which became tempting again after not eating them for quite a long time. I am working on not eating mindlessly because it starts with nuts and can become anything in sight. Replacing nuts with another food doesn’t work for me. Eating enough of well prepared adherent foods and then leaving the kitchen is the best solution.

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 threw away an entire cabinet of stuff I should not be grazing on. I was tempted more than once to peek into that bag and didn’t.

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:
Regarding adherence fatigue:
I felt much less frustrated with my attempts to get back on track after a sustained lapse after reading Jeff’s thread on adherence fatigue. Mark, thank you for posting it. Getting back on track isn’t happening overnight but is happening gradually for me. No instant gratification - just lots of time and adherence.
I hope everyone is doing well and looking forward to summer.

[Hjklost55]

May 20, 2023

Good Morning MWL Time and Adherence

WOW!!! Time seems to be going by fast. It’s been another week already, and this month is 3/4 over. Hope everyone is having a great week.

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
YES, Actually have a new pot of soup on stove right now. I find it is such a simple thing to prepare. Always have it available. Also discovered this week that I like it cold. Kinda like a gazpacho. I was working in yard, and it was hot out. Came in and thought…. UGH, don’t want hot soup. So, had a bowl of cold soup. It was delicious.

2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
YES

3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
YES

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

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

6) Eliminate any added oil.
YES

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

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

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
NO…. This is my TOTAL downfall. I keep saying it week after week. I need to STOP THE INSANITY…. Goal for the week is to be able to say YES on this point next week. Have a new saying to ask myself each time I am eating. AM I HUNGRY??? Before I start eating, and HAVE I HAD ENOUGH??? After my first normal size serving. Thank you Beth for sharing that with me. (Now if you were just sitting on my shoulder every meal)

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
YES, Still playing pickleball. Also went for a beautiful hike yesterday up to an old mine here in Idaho. The elevation gain was 1300 ft in 2 miles, so…. It was pretty straight up. Haha. I’m a little sore today, but pleased with the accomplishment.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions: Other than the comments mentioned above, I had a pretty good week. I realize that I need to keep my starches very simple. I’m not good with options right now. Therefore, I eat potatoes, potatoes, potatoes. LOL Having been raised on a potato farm in Idaho, and grew potatoes all my life, that is pretty natural for me. Scales are stable which I am happy with, but still need to focus on the middle or lower end of my BMI range.

I have had this conversation with Beth before, so going to throw it out there for the group. I feel like I have the food dialed in as far as the type of foods. But my “mind chatter” regarding food is still out of control. How do I calm that? Been trying some meditation, but find it really hard to focus. Maybe that just takes more practice??? Any suggestions from the group of things that may work for you, I’d LOVE to hear them.

Have a healthy week everyone, So appreciate this group!!!
Take Care,
Holly, eating more potatoes in Idaho

[Lizzy_F]

Hello team time & adherence! Mark, thank you so much for always posting thought provoking and informative links in response to both individual and group level reports each week. I love "going down the rabbit hole" of informative links whether the material is the first time or the hundredeth time I am reading it. This forum is such a treasure trove of support for this way of life, in a world that seems full of pot holes!

Here is this weeks report:

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 – see dessert

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 – see dessert

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 – Husband had a birthday related “keto dessert” thing in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks. I successfully left that alone, even though it was hard. I finally decided to make a dessert of my own which was Starch Solution compliant, but not MWL compliant. That hit the spot and I moved on. Husband is thankfully not much of a “dessert person” so this situation is not a regular occurrence (thankfully!). I am OK with this compromise (within my own head) so long as it is truly an occasional thing, which so far it is a once in a year thing IIRC LOL!

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 am working diligently on this point. I feel like a do a good job waiting for hunger to eat meals – with the exception of times when scheduled activities drive meal times rather than strictly hunger driving meal times. (i.e. eating a meal before I leave the house when I know I will be gone several hours). The “enough” part is a work in progress. I fell like I have spent much of the past year like a “deer in the headlights” on this issue. Now I feel like I am breaking it down into more understandable parts to at least figure out what is really going on. Example: I tried an experiment this week where I attempted to leave two bites of food on the plate (with the complete understanding that if I realize I am still hungry after a short time – 5 or 10 minutes – I can eat more food). I COULDN’T DO IT. Leaving even a small amount of food on my plate is a real mental hurdle that I was not able to overcome. That has NOTHING to do with hunger. I couldn’t do it, even when I was definitely full. (on one occasion, borderline uncomfortably full). So I haven’t quite figured this out yet, but I feel hopeful that I’m at least working on something in this area rather than just spinning my wheels week after week. I have always joked that I am a charter, original member of the “clean plate club” but this experiment took my understanding to a different level, I think. Has anyone else recognized this in themselves? What did you do with the information? I feel like I have a couple of options that come to mind. I can continue working to leave a couple bites behind – I’m sure if I force this issue it will eventually get more comfortable (like any new behavioral habit). I can also put a more concerted effort into taking smaller portions initially (knowing I will eat ALL of it anyway!) and then gage hunger before taking more (which is another behavior that I feel I’ve talked about often, but I haven’t really done the hard work on yet). Any other thoughts or suggestions?

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I am also doing some evaluation of my thoughts and behaviors in this area. I realize my pattern is to do the exercises I love and am comfortable with (routine & habit) when my right knee feels good (walking, rebounding). When my knee is NOT up for those activities, I get angry and frustrated, and just shut down. It’s like I’m angry that my body is letting me down. Fear is also a factor. I think it would be more helpful if I can spend more time in gratitude that my body has carried me so far in life. I am also grateful that despite having serious problems in my right knee, there are a LOT of days where it DOES feel good enough to do things I enjoy, and even on my worst days I am still able to do what I need to do to operate successfully in my life. Additionally, rather than just be angry, frustrated, and doing NOTHING for exercise, I could be finding things I CAN do on days when I am not able to walk or rebound. Chair yoga, upper body resistance exercises, etc. etc. I have not fully explored Silver Sneakers and the resources there, and there is SO MUCH out there on Youtube. There is truly no good reason to keep making excuses (allowing my inner child to pout and rebel!) in this area.

Victories/Concerns, etc: I feel really good about the processing I have done this week on points # 9 and 10. I am also trying to transition to a place where I am focusing on bigger picture issues (like 9&10 currently) rather than worrying over issues such as the dessert decision where at this point anyway, it’s not at some problematic level. I can easily get distracted on a less significant point, and use that to neglect a more important point. The saying comes to mind “don’t major in minor things.” (If I were making SS, but non MWL desserts on the regular, then it would be a major thing in my opinion). Perfectionism also is something that backfires on me. I do way better when I give myself permission to make choices, and then evaluate how those choices are working out for me. In my assessment, my current choices around #9 and #10 are having a much more negative impact on my progress than one dessert (with the clear understanding that the dessert thing does not turn into a regular habit).

I really want to start getting this done on Friday so I can be more relaxed with it. But here I am again just under the wire! Hope everyone had a great MWL week, and is looking forward with optimism to the week ahead! I am!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

Happy weekend!!! I am excited that our local Farmers Market has opened for the season --- picked up some screaming ripe strawberries, heirloom tomatoes, and various lettuce this morning.

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Sometimes – usually this is various raw veggies on a plate.

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. This week again eating (and enjoying) the same things (oatmeal, brown rice / beans / corn, potatoes with fruit and veggies)! ❤️

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 stuffing and no starving.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes. 7 /7 --- daily walking and pickleball. Still loving both!

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Thanks, Mark / Jeff / Wildgoose for the fantastic education and support here. Thanks, fellow T&A’ers for sharing your journey! I am grateful for this group!

Mark, appreciate you sharing Jeff’s thread and your input on the Adherence Fatigue topic. I tried to answer the questions that you posed last week.

1) What are your thoughts on adherence fatigue?
Thinking it is like a black storm cloud to steer clear of… Seriously, I consider it a risk to be aware of / mitigated as its impact may result in severity from a single lapse to complete relapse to off-program.

2) What do you think might cause it?
Weariness over time from swimming upstream perhaps. Somehow then thinking that it is more challenging to stick to healthy behaviors (that are different than society) than to regress back to prior behaviors.

3) Has it been an obstacle for you?
Primarily not so far. I did have a point in time where I was pretty discouraged from seemingly not being able to avoid eating the peanuts in my home (husband’s). I was tired of myself but was ultimately able to move past this (with lots of help from Mark to think this through / remediate). Additionally, I do get annoyed at times that it can be so (stupidly) difficult to obtain ANY on plan food at places when out. Lastly, I am not comfortable in a "pile on" of questioning which rarely happens (but can expect it with one particular group).

4) What have you done to deal with it or how have you avoided being derailed?
Follow advice from JeffN / McD Program to keep program simple and sustainable!!! Love what I eat --- eat what I love… To manage lapses, engage in self-care and positive self-talk (while evaluating options to better handle). Keep environment as clean as possible (considering above-mentioned peanuts “not food for me”). Continue practicing behaviors… Also, I am independent / not a conformist and not bothered at all by not doing the same thing / thinking the same thing as everyone else. Have heard “Stephanie marches to a different drummer” all my life (among other things)!!! HA! So, that helps. Additionally, it really doesn’t bother me to plan / prepare ahead with own food, etc. Furthermore, I always remember my “why”!

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and avoids fatigue in practicing of the MWL behaviors!

Best,
Stephanie

[Mark Cooper]

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

My replies and the weekly summary will follow.

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - Not a bad week at all! It was a nice thought by your mom to make "healthy" muffins, even if the ingredients missed the mark in regard to MWL, right? This stuff can be tough for people to understand, but sometimes they get it, eventually. I think it is excellent progress that you were able to get right back on track afterward. Maybe eating some adherent foods in advance of a visit there could be helpful?

trueunity - Your progress continues! Something that I found helpful in dealing with the urge to "clean my plate" and "fear of missing out": when you know you are comfortably full, immediately take any leftover food and put it in a container in the refrigerator, with the knowledge and agreement that you can have it as a snack if you want, whenever you feel hungry. You could even put your name on it, if you think someone else might take it. Perhaps that might work with the fruit, too. Take a selection of the fruits you like, and separate them into containers labeled with your name, so you know they won't "vanish."

Question: If you start the meal with fruit is there a certain amount of fruit or a type of fruit that's better than others? When the goal is weight loss?

If weight loss is the focus, the most suitable fruits to use as a preload would be those that are more calorie dilute and fibrous; e.g., berries, apples, pears, oranges, grapes, cherries, rather than bananas or passionfruit, or others that are relatively more calorie dense. On fruit more generally, there is some great information in this thread. Keep at it!

Rebecka22 - I agree that not feeling out of control or going into a freefall of lapses is important progress and a meaningful improvement! Being able to manage all the obstacles, complications, and temptations that accompany traveling was one of the biggest challenges for me, too. Definitely something I struggled with for quite some time. I can still vividly remember the first trip where I felt like I navigated things completely successfully, which felt like a significant achievement. Interestingly, after that single success, I never had any trouble again; it was almost like I "proved to myself" that I could make it work so, from then on, I did. I think you are right, that the underlying answer is adherence across time, and adjusting strategies when they fail or bump against unforeseen obstacles. You can get there!

Taters - Aside from the cereal, that looks like a pretty solid week of adherence, Rachael! I think the feeling you describe of temptation in the aftermath of a big event or social situation, with accompanying challenges requiring diligence and determination to overcome, will feel familiar for many participants. It is as though our "willpower" is depleted, leaving us more vulnerable in the wake of those efforts. Dr. Lisle discusses some concepts relating to this in The Story of Willpower – What it Is & How it Works. I think your reflection that having a home environment that is fully aligned in support of your important goals that you can return to after an event could be a great help. I can very much relate to the experience you describe with dry cereal. It was definitely a food where I just couldn't moderate my consumption. It seemed like every time I would have even a taste, I'd end up eating the whole box. Ultimately, after quite a lot of struggling, I decided it just wasn't a food I wanted to include in my personal menu. Years later, my family eat cereal almost daily, and I don't feel tempted, but that certainly wasn't the case in the beginning. Time, adherence, and experience can really reorient the way we relate to these things, I think, but it usually isn't easy and it takes however long it takes. Carry on!

Greens - Nice progress, Marilyn! I totally get what you mean about something being really hard to pass up when it is all prepared and sitting right in front of you. Balancing our desire to maintain a particular pattern of behavior in service of our health goals against the need for belonging and social connection can feel overwhelming sometimes. Building and maintaining meaningful relationships is important for our wellbeing, too, right? We all have to sort these things out in a way that is appropriate to our unique situation, and our own values. Usually, I bring along my own food (even to a restaurant), or eat in advance, so I can devote my full attention to socializing without being distracted worrying about finding an adherent menu item. I realize, though, that not everyone would be comfortable doing that, nor might it always be necessary. The key is to figure out what works for us, given the specific outcomes each of us seek. Ever onward!

Gimmelean - Great progress! I'm happy to know you are feeling more at ease on your path back toward closer adherence. You are absolutely right that it rarely happens overnight, but it can and does happen over time. Instant gratification would certainly feel nice, but we work with what we have, right?

Hjklost55 - Definitely looks like a pretty good week to me, Holly! I would be curious to know more specifics about that "mind chatter," if you feel comfortable sharing; the strategies I might suggest could be different depending on the content and context of the self-talk. The first thing that comes to mind though, is don't go hungry. I know that seems like counterintuitive advice when you are aiming for a lower BMI and you feel like eating past the point of "comfortably full" is an ongoing challenge, but I think feeling satisfied is a key contributor to "peace of mind" around food. Dialing down calorie density through the application of the principles is often more useful than perseverating about the "appropriateness" of a particular portion size. I'm not saying that is what you are doing, but I thought it was a point worth bringing into the conversation. I'm excited and curious to hear other participants thoughts on the topic of intrusive thoughts in relation to food, ideas for quieting the chatter, and well-adapted tools for self-regulation. By the way, I love cold soup, too. Enjoy the Idaho potatoes!

Lizzy_F -

I feel really good about the processing I have done this week on points # 9 and 10.

Me, too! It seems like you are in a positive state of mind and you are doing good work. I can really relate to what you describe around feelings of fear, anger and frustration in response to my body not "cooperating" with me on MY schedule. I think your intuition is sound that cultivating gratitude and appreciation for all one's body has done over the years, and all the times when it serves our needs without complaint, could be helpful. I have often used chair workouts, like those in this YouTube playlist, when a standing workout seemed out of reach for me. Your thought about taking slightly smaller initial portions seems like it makes sense and could be worth testing, if that "clean plate" impulse feels overpowering right now. Keep us updated on how things are going, be kind to yourself, and just keep doing your best!

VegSeekingFit - Awesome efforts, Stephanie! I think your thoughts and observations about adherence fatigue are right on target.

What are your thoughts on adherence fatigue?
Thinking it is like a black storm cloud to steer clear of… Seriously, I consider it a risk to be aware of / mitigated as its impact may result in severity from a single lapse to complete relapse to off-program.

I particularly echo your sentiment here; I think you are right that this is something we should all take seriously, because its impact could be quite severe. Great information about how you stay on track, manage lapses and maintain motivation!

[Mark Cooper]

Just one more weekly check-in for May! Fantastic efforts everyone! Let's bring this month to a strong close!

I want to highlight this part of Stephanie's report; I think it includes useful ideas and concepts that all of us might find useful.

What have you done to deal with it or how have you avoided being derailed?
Follow advice from JeffN / McD Program to keep program simple and sustainable!!! Love what I eat --- eat what I love… To manage lapses, engage in self-care and positive self-talk (while evaluating options to better handle). Keep environment as clean as possible (considering above-mentioned peanuts “not food for me”). Continue practicing behaviors… Also, I am independent / not a conformist and not bothered at all by not doing the same thing / thinking the same thing as everyone else. Have heard “Stephanie marches to a different drummer” all my life (among other things)!!! HA! So, that helps. Additionally, it really doesn’t bother me to plan / prepare ahead with own food, etc. Furthermore, I always remember my “why”!

A few more links related to mindset and perspective: this one about not overcomplicating things, this one about how to approach the program and where to focus, and this one discussing the "common denominator" of success.

Hope you find these helpful!

Have a great week! Take care & be well!

[wildgoose]

For me, adherence fatigue and decision fatigue go together. Minimize one, you minimize the other. I thought about this when yesterday didn’t go so well.

A tradesperson who had been scheduled for day before yesterday didn’t show up on that day, but he arrived unexpectedly yesterday. That pushed back all of my plans for the day (and I am not good with having my plans changed at short notice). Hence I was a grumpy Goose by late afternoon, with chores undone because of the change in plans, rushing to get the bathroom cleaned (another of my least-favorite chores) before the end of the day. I was tired and cranky, with a sore back and nothing planned for supper — an open invitation to the little imp on my shoulder to say "oh, just order from [fast food place that delivers] and be done with it."

Now I had a Decision to make: plan and cook supper, or order in? Reaching for the app on my phone would have been easy, but… I had deleted the app for that fast food place, and for the delivery service, months ago. So I achieved one objective, make the bad decision harder. That gave me just enough time to engage the rational part of my brain and figure out a fast, minimal-work, healthy supper. However, I was still grumpy and still thinking in the back of my mind how much better that unhealthy fast food might have tasted. That’s adherence fatigue.

Today will be better. I cut the decision process way down. Made a SNAP meal (beans, brown rice, tomatoes, onions, broccoli, garlic) and divided it into microwaveable dishes. Cleaned and prepped a fruit mixture for dessert. Voila, supper solved. No decision fatigue, because there’s no decision to be made. Minimal adherence fatigue, because there’s no residue from a potentially bad decision cluttering up my brain. Simple, straightforward, stress-free compliance. With the added advantage that tomorrow is taken care of too, because SNAP meals make lots of leftovers.

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.

All of this develops over time, of course. And time is cumulative, even if it’s not consecutive (so if I have a less-than-ideal day yesterday, I have a better day today, and even my worst days now are immeasurably better than the "normal" days I was having years ago).

Goose

[trueunity]

May 19 - 25 check in!

A 10-Point Checklist for Maximum Weight Loss

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

Yes, normally steamed veggies or salad. When I have fruit, first thing in the morning it's usually in my oatmeal. But sometimes it's eat alone fruit an hour or so before my first meal as a pre-work out snack.

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, I think that I over eat, with the 50/50 plate. I believe that the plates I make are 50/50, maybe I just put to much food on my 50/50 plate and that's why I'm not losing weight. I have tried loss volume but then I end up hungry. I have have tried more volume and I end up to full. I can't seem to find the happy medium with my meals. Maybe, I'm eating to many times a day?? Is it possible that 3 meals and a couple of snacks is just to much food for me at my current energy level? With my current job, which I'm on my feet for 8 hours a day and my 60 to 90 minutes of working out each day, I don't have any more energy to put into movement to get the scale to move downward.

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).

Absolutely Always

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.... except for yesterday 5/25 I had 2 corn tortillas.

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

Yes.... except for yesterday 5/25 I had a 20 calorie zero sugar Rock Star energy drink.

I do drink coffee (black) which has minimal calories.

Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full.

Yes....I believe that I'm doing this, but at the same time maybe I'm doing it wrong. Maybe what I think is hungry really isn't. I usually eat before I go to work which is around 6:30 - 7:00 am, then some times I eat a snack at break around 10:30 am, lunch is always at 12 - 1 pm, I don't usually eat on my second break at 3:30pm, I come home and I try not to eat till dinner which is normally between 6:30 - 7:00 pm. Then I try to be done for the night since I got to bed between 8:45 - 9:15 pm.

This is a concept that I struggle with, I have the tendance to over fill my plate and then force down what I put on my plate. Instead of being in charge and stopping / putting away food for later. Mentally I know that I'm not hungry anymore and I also know that if I get hungry later, that I can eat again. I know that there's no chance that I'm going to starve.....so why do I do this?

9. 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).

Absolutely Yes!

550 exercise minutes for the week
70,618 steps for the week


Weight this week:

SW: 134
CW: 134
GW: 115

Fruit intake: 23
Doing my best to reduce my fruit intake. I think the over consumption has been hindering my weight loss.

Self reflection:

I noticed on days when I'm tried, exhausted, or overwhelmed, that I eat more fruit than I normally do. Which is usually the same days when I have zero sugar energy drinks.
This happened yesterday, I had 6 servings of fruit and a rockstar to try and pump my up cause I was falling asleep at work.

I also noticed that I'm self sabotaging. I let the number on the scale affect my life. I let the number control me, but not in a way where I don't eat. More in a way were I see a number I'm not happy with and I tell myself that today your going to do better, so that tomorrow, or next weigh in I lose weight. Then I over eat and at next weigh in I reflect a weight gain. I so badly want to get this excess weight off, but I don't want to starve myself to get there, but I'm not seeing any other way. Nothing I seem to do is working. I'm flustered and overwhelmed and don't understand what I'm doing wrong.
I read all the books, watch all the podcast, read the articles but still stuck. There's no way that 134 is my bodies happy spot, I'm 45 and only 5'2. There has to be something that I'm missing. "Help"!!

[Rebecka22]

1.Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert. YES
3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. YES
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES
6. Eliminate any added oil. YES
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. YES
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

Back in my controlled environment and doing better this week. It’s so much easier to follow the behaviors when your environment supports your choices. Thankful for a successful week and I wish everyone else a great week ahead.

[BambiS]

5-26


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


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.
Reduced

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.

I had a decent week, went to my moms and avoided sweets!
Hoping everyone has a nice Memorial weekend.