The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - December 2023 Group

[BambiS]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Some days, I do well at breakfast. I struggle other 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 most days


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).
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

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 intent exercise

Victories, comments, concerns, questions good week,
You asked how I felt about my current MWL state in your reply. I’ve been struggling for a year without progress. I don’t know if it’s since lockdown ended, I had more control, and I can get out more, or my mom moved back in town from Florida. She has a tendency to be blunt with words and I get hurt easily and it causes stress.
I did well at first, then hit a plateau.
I haven’t had meat, but haven’t had sweets here and there. I’m sure that is the issue and not getting daily mindful exercise.
I need to keep my heath in mind and not stress eat, which has always been an issue.

[Starflower]

Hi Mark and team!

I’d like to rejoin the group. It’s been a very challenging and stressful month. I went completely off track, and am feeling the effects - sick and in pain. The only thing I kept to was no animal products. At least that’s one, right? Maybe I can make it ten next week.

Thank you for being supportive! Onward!

Bambi, do I ever get it about stress eating! Hang in there!

[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

Another good week. Lots of planning. I am struggling with the temptation of holiday treats and drinks, but I am just taking it one day at a time and relying on planning ahead to keep saying no. Also reminding myself that I feel better when I don’t eat it.

[Jennifer-L]

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
No, I need to work on this.

2). Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals.
I'm pretty close! I think it averages out.

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,)
Yes

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu,soy).
I had a higher fat day for my belated Thanksgiving dinner, which was Sunday. It's been hard to stay on track since then.

6) Eliminate any added oil.
I'm always a yes, but this week I'm a 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.
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).
I need to get this back in my day. After a big bout with plantar fasciitis, I backed off and I need to work back up to it. The PF is mostly better, so I need to give it a whirl.

Victories,Comments,Concerns,Questions:
Thanksgiving dinner, although most of it was on plan, was just a big problem for me mentally. I was down a pound this morning so I think I recovered pretty well, but the head hunger stinks.

[CUgorji22]

Hope everyone's having a great weekend so far & enjoying the holiday season!!

*Guidelines:
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Compliant 

- Victory: I surprised myself this week by making sure I had fruit or salad ready to go BEFORE sitting down to eat.

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. Compliant 

- Victory: As the week progressed, I felt satisfied with my 50/50 plate and didn't want a "dessert."

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. Compliant 

- Victory: Previous to this month, I was  eating processed vegan foods, packed with salt & sugar. I was fearful I would have terrible cravings...I didn't.

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

- Victory: Even though my family eats animal products, I do not buy a lot of dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood which reduces the temptation factor. 

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

- Victory: I chose not to buy these things, this week, to help me not be tempted.

6. Eliminate any added oil. Not Compliant 

- Reason for Non-compliance: I quickly went through the motions when preparing a dish.

- Decision to adhere: I must get oil out of my house. That's the only way I won't use 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. Compliant 

- Victory: I chose to not buy high calories dense foods, this week, to avoid temptation.

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

- Victory: This week I focused on drinking water & unsweetened tea. HUGE step for me!  

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself. Compliant 

- Victory: I feel great about my portion sizes and can now predict how much I need to be satisfied, which blows my mind (in the best way-lol!).

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Not Compliant 

- Non-compliance/reason: I had a debilitating headache one day.

- Decision to Adhere: I want to make sure on days I cannot physically exercise, I don't let that steal my motivation the next day. That wasn't the case this week BUT likely to happen if I don't identify it as a possible problem.

- Victory: I had a scheduled phone chat with a friend Friday morning. I decided to walk while talking on the phone instead of sitting down for the length of the conversation. We ended our call and I kept walking; I walked for 1 hour. It felt great!!

*Weight Change: 4.0lb loss*

*SUMMARY/THOUGHTS*
I was so encouraged this week because my body knew exactly what to do. Jumping back in and following the guidelines was easier than I expected, although I wasn't 100% compliant with every guideline...I got really close! At the start of the week, I was bracing myself thinking it would be really emotional. I assumed I would feel "depraved" or very hungry because of my overeating and poor food choices prior to this month. The reality: I felt freedom. It's actually more stressful to have SO many vegan choices...esp choosing between all the "plant-based" versus "vegan" food labeling. I felt free this week to simplify my eating and eat the same foods throughout the week. Batch cooking helped! I feel great about my weight loss this week because I was intentional about eating and exercising! It's good to be back & have my husband's support as well! 

[Artista]

Hi Time and Adherence Team! So grateful to be part of this group.

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.  Most of the time I did but I forgot a couple of times. This week I’m going to wash and prepare some raw vegetables to have on hand to eat before meals. I think that will help.

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

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

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

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

6) Eliminate any added oil. Yes

7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e. bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. 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). I missed one day of exercise this week mostly due to being busy.

Comments:
This week went pretty well overall. Eating and preparing food fell into an easy rhythm and didn't seem like a struggle. There are a few areas that still need improvement and I’ll work on those.

Mark, I thought about your great questions from last week about the dinner I had with my family. Here are my thoughts:

Are there any new things you feel like you learned during that time? Not being distracted by food fears and obsessions gave me the freedom to really enjoy and appreciate my family. The other thing I learned was that even though I was able to not let the choice to have desert turn into a week long binge, I noticed that it did cause cravings during the following week, which made it seem less of a good idea to go off plan with the dessert.

Any tools you relied on that felt essential? In what aspects do you feel most successful? It really helped to bring a lot of food for myself and others. I was also successful in that I was able to put a boundary around my one errant food choice and not let it turn into a bigger problem. But, as noted above, I would’ve been better off if I could’ve avoided that food choice in the first place. My nephew made a separate desert with no animal products because I’m vegan, so I had a some. There was that pressure of not wanting to disappoint him or seem ungrateful for his extra efforts but also, TBH, I was feeling a little wishy-washy with my convictions. I wanted to join in and not be afflicted with parsimonious self-denial. I want to look for ways of being expansive and indulgent in those choices that are right and wholesome and not in the ones that are harmful, regardless of what the people around me are doing.

Anything you might do differently in the future? I hope to make different decisions in the future. I think just having more conviction and less of “maybe I will, maybe I won’t” thinking will help. Exactly how I would respond, I’m not quite sure. I really appreciate how respectful some of my family members are of my dietary choices, they just don’t understand them fully. I’ll have another chance to practice around Christmas time. I don’t want to make others responsible for having the right food available for me. I’ll just have to practice saying “looks great but no thank you”, and bring my own food if possible.

Welcome back Starflower!

Bambi, I so get the stress eating thing, also the sweets. I’ve found that even a small amount of sweets will flip the switch for craving more.

Have a great week everyone!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

Hope everyone is surviving (and thriving) through the month where it seems like the world is celebrating the holidays all month long with all things food. We have an annual event next week at work called “Miss Piggy Days” where folks sign up to bring dishes and everyone tries to outdo everyone else. I usually bring a fruit and / or vegetable tray --- but this year I will miss it – as I am playing at a club Pickleball event. I will miss our work holiday party as well for that event. So far, I am doing just fine eating what I normally do and enjoying time with family and friends. Last year I found the holiday social events overall a bit overwhelming. I do have strategies to successfully navigate these events in mind and one of them for this year is to limit the time spent at each event. Wishing everyone well as we each take time to celebrate but keep the focus on the people and off the food.

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Mostly. Remains at about 2/3. I am planning to achieve 100% for the upcoming 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.
Yes. Mostly the same meals – oatmeal and fruit, brown rice / corn / beans and salad veggies, potatoes and veggies or whole wheat pasta and veggies. Have been eating more sweet potatoes this week – subbed for my regular Yukon golds. I am enjoying them!

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, I think so.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes – 7/7. Walking, strength training, pickleball. This week I am signing up for various park district opportunities for Winter 2024 – mainly pickleball (surprise!).
Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Mark – I always value the material you share at the end of each week. Last week’s links were amazing and quite helpful. Thank you!

Gimmelean – Appreciated reading your experience with Mary’s Mini and how you were able to reset. Way to go!

Bambi – I so relate to what you shared on stress eating. Wishing you well as you work through.

Starflower – Welcome back!!

Rebecka – I am with you on the planning and dodging the holiday food. I love what you said about taking it one day at a time and considering how much better you feel when you avoid the treats.

Jennifer – Great to see you join us! Good luck with getting back to exercise after PF. I have also been managing through the PF since this summer. I’ve found that rolling my foot over a frozen water bottle helps a bit.

Chesca -Awesome to see you back!

Artista – I really relate to what you said about your nephew making something special for you and then feeling obligated to eat some. I have the hardest time when someone goes out of their way to try to accommodate my diet --- and it is so nice that people try, but so rare that they would provide something on plan. I guess I am “lucky” that most of the time this doesn’t happen for me.

Wishing all a wonderful week!

Cheers,
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 - I think you deserve credit for persevering, even when you have felt stuck. You haven't backslid completely into the standard American diet, and that is important. It can feel really difficult to remain dedicated to the changes we are trying to make, especially if we don't feel supported by some of the people in our close circle of daily life. As Jeff discusses in Why We Hit Plateaus and What We Can Do About Them, plateaus reflect a state of metabolic equilibrium, and to break through them we need to adjust the overall calorie density of our diet, which means making adjustments to our prevailing pattern of behavior. In other words, focusing on closer adherence to the recommended behaviors. In my experience, it can really help to reduce the number of "decision points" that occur on our path through an adherent day by making things as simple and effortless as possible. That way, we simply have fewer opportunities to get off track. It also really helps to arrange our immediate environment to support and encourage the behaviors we want to enact, and hinder or discourage those things we are trying to avoid. Also, it always helps me when I reconnect with my "why": "Why am I pursuing these changes and outcomes? What do I ultimately want to achieve? Why is that important to me?" Keeping your desire to support your health at the front of your mind definitely makes sense as motivation. Making these changes isn't easy, but you have been tenacious! Keep at it!

Starflower - Welcome back! TODAY is always the best day to get started or restarted, and 1/10 isn't zero, right? Have you been putting together a plan for supporting your progress in the days ahead? Planning to succeed doesn't guarantee our success, but it sure makes it more likely!

Rebecka22 - Planning ahead while taking things one day at a time, staying mindful of how much better you feel when you are adherent, and getting lots of practice at saying "NO": great practices for winning the struggle with temptation! Wouldn't it be nice if at this time of year the cultural traditions revolved around loads of delicious fruits, veggies and starches? Until that day, we can only continue to do our best and stay in touch with our values. Steadfast and strong!

Jennifer-L - I know what you mean about certain contexts or events being "mentally problematic." What do you feel was driving that "head hunger"? I know for me personally, the immediate environment can influence my thoughts and impulses in powerful-seeming ways. Keeping Thanksgiving dinner mostly on plan could be viewed as a victory though, right? Any ideas for how you could best support yourself in staying on track in the days to come?

CUgorji22 - It's exciting to know that this week felt encouraging, Chesca! I really appreciate the way you structured your self-assessment, with victories, reasons for non-compliance, and decisions to adhere; it seems like a really useful reflection tool and a great way to turn assessment toward taking action.

I assumed I would feel "deprived" or very hungry because of my overeating and poor food choices prior to this month. The reality: I felt freedom. It's actually more stressful to have SO many vegan choices...esp choosing between all the "plant-based" versus "vegan" food labeling. I felt free this week to simplify my eating and eat the same foods throughout the week. Batch cooking helped!

Thank you so much for sharing that experience! Jeff's thread on When Vegan Is Not Enough may resonate for you. Awesome that you have support from your husband! Carry on!

Artista - I'm delighted to read that this week felt like it went well and you were able to establish a productive routine that didn't feel overly effortful. I think your plan to wash and prepare raw veggies to have on hand is a solid step in support of adherence, too. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts in response to my questions, Nancy! It seems you learned things of real value, made some useful observations, and had a really rich experience.

Not being distracted by food fears and obsessions gave me the freedom to really enjoy and appreciate my family.

It brought me joy to read this!

I want to look for ways of being expansive and indulgent in those choices that are right and wholesome and not in the ones that are harmful, regardless of what the people around me are doing.

I think that's a great way to frame things and you are spot-on. I think it is fantastic that you mentioned Christmas time as "another chance to practice"; that is exactly the way I approach things, too. Keep practicing!

VegSeekingFit - Surviving and thriving! That is our hope, right? It seems like that club Pickleball event is a real win-win for you, Stephanie; it's a fun activity that also excuses you from some potentially frustrating gatherings. (At least that would be my take on it, were I you, but I realize that I might be a little antisocial! ) I'm happy to know you found the links from last week were helpful.

I have the hardest time when someone goes out of their way to try to accommodate my diet --- and it is so nice that people try, but so rare that they would provide something on plan. I guess I am “lucky” that most of the time this doesn’t happen for me.

I can really relate to this, too, especially in earlier times. After all these years of practice and adherence I have almost everyone "trained" to just ignore me and know that I'll fend for myself. Cheers!

[Mark Cooper]

Onward we go toward year's end! Kudos to everyone participating here; you are an inspiration!

Facing some of those days ahead that are potentially cold, dark and long, I thought it might be nice to share some of the inspiring stories and experiences from others along this path. I hope you enjoy the success stories linked below.

Tamara M. Lost Over 142 Pounds, Reversed Type 2 Diabetes

Thomas Lost Over 140 Pounds and Regained His Health

Beth F. Didn’t Think an Online Course Could be this Powerful
Unless I'm mistaken, Beth F. was one of our comrades as a past participant in this group.

Elizabeth TeSelle: Beyond Veganism
I really relate to Elizabeth's story and her experience and practice of MWL.

At this time of year when we're called upon to bring joy and cheer to those around us, don't forget to be kind to yourself, too! Have a lovely and successful week to come! Take care & be well.

[Drew*#]

Hi Mark and all in the MWL behavioral group. I have been quite busy the last month plus a week and missed out! Hoping to join in again next week with a report that will end up being more consistent. A doctor of mine who I saw this week told me that to avoid things that are not recommended for me, I need to get rid of the things that would be tempting to me. I have a few challenges in this regards, but will do my best going forward. The first step will be to get rid of the things that are clearly not fitting in the 10 principles for MWL. Fortunately, I am firm about certain things such as following a vegan diet. So if there are items with any of non-vegan ingredients left over, they won't be a temptation. Hoping to get back on board for a longer stint...a longer effort to lose and keep the weight off and hopefully move towards better health.

My plan for the first meal of the day, Monday through Friday, will be to have a lot of veggies that are steamed or water fried along with a whole grain or potatoes. It will help to spend more time listening to some of the resources here and those that are out there that are following the same methods.

Thank you...now to look at the comments from Mark and others to catch up...

Drew

[BambiS]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Some days, I do well at breakfast. I struggle other 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
Most days


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. I had popcorn

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). I got in a few walks

Victories, comments, concerns, questions good week,
Thanks for the link on plateau’s, it was helpfu. I’m doing my best to get through the holidays, then cracking down in January. I’ve found that I haven’t wanted to do step 1, start meals with soup, salad, or fruit, I should, I’d be fuller.

[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

A solid week. Today is my last day before the whole family gets two weeks off for Christmas. Looking forward to time with family and extra sleep! Hope everyone has a great week navigating this holiday season.

[Gimmelean]

Post for week ending 12/15/23

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes. Intentionally trying to cut back on fruit.

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,)
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 mostly.

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:
Hello MWL team. I missed posting last week and glad to be back and accountable. This was a good week for the most part. I’m taking some much enjoyed, end of year staycation time off from work. It’s so much easier to stay adherent in my own environment especially with some extra time to batch prepare foods outside of my autopilot range. I love the suggestions for all of your go- to foods. While not always as easy in the real world ( family-work-socializing- traveling) it’s still reinforcing to have some success to keep building on. The best news is, I had an annual wellness exam with lab work recently. My doctor said that thanks to my commitment to a healthy diet and exercise, my numbers look good and have even improved. I’ve NEVER been told that before. That’s what I’m going to keep focusing on during the most challenging times.***Thank You***

[CUgorji22]

Hope everyone's well and feeling festive this season!

*Guidelines:
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Compliant 

- Victory: I discovered frozen fruit this week...lol! We usually have heaps of frozen fruit in our freezer for smoothies; my kids LOVE smoothies! By accident, one of my kids left a bag of mango chunks in the fridge, not the freezer. I was just about to get huffy-puffy but decided to taste a chunk to see if the half-bag was ruined. IT WASN'T! The slightly thawed chunks were so good & refreshing! Since we're traveling next week, I didn't want to buy a bunch of fresh fruit that may or may not get eaten before our trip. I was able to use slightly thawed frozen fruit as a starter option this week, which was great. 

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. Compliant 

- Victory: This became very natural this week as I built my plate, each meal.

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. Compliant 

- Victory: Working well! I have eliminated adding sugar.

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

- Victory: I had a few temptations, as other people ate dairy products in front of me. I did not compromise!

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

- Victory: I have purposely stopped buying avocados and tofu.

6. Eliminate any added oil. Compliant 

- Victory: I put oil out of convenient reach and only used it one time for my family (food I did not eat) to complete a recipe. This is HUGE for me!!

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. Compliant 

- Victory: Pleasantly surprised that I wasn't tempted/swayed by the holiday goodies that surrounded me this week. I feel like I'm walking into the holidays prepared because of the guidelines. 

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

- Victory: I've been focusing on more water.  

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself. Compliant 

- Victory: This week, this guideline was a little tricky for me. I have gotten used to feeling satisfied (not stuffed) since jumping back into the Group. One night, I felt full, which felt weird. It wasn't uncomfortably full but I struggled to figure out how close I got to the line. An interesting situation.  

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). Not Compliant 

- Non-compliance/reason: I've worked out everyday, this week, except yesterday (Friday). I did not have a clear fitness plan for my very full day.

- Decision to Adhere: On super packed days (like yesterday), I need to be proactive to schedule my fitness plan BEFORE those days come. I rely on my phone calendar to keep my day flowing. A scheduled workout time on super busy days will help me remember to follow the schedule. I had an "I'll figure out as the day goes" attitude, which obviously didn't work.  

- Victory: I continue to use scheduled phone chats with friends as opportunities to walk. I schedule them early in the morning which helps me start my day with exercise. 

*Weight Change: 1.6lb loss*

*SUMMARY/THOUGHTS*
Overall, I was intentional about my week! (That feels good to type.) I think the biggest challenge was a heavy schedule yesterday. It didn't feel right to go to bed without completing my exercise for the day but I had to focus on what I could learn rather than carrying deep regret. My biggest victory this week was having food prepared & ready to eat, on-the-go! My kids had several appts + activities this week...more than usual. I ended up taking lunch with me in the car a couple times. And I had everything I needed, including my starter. I had to make it work...AND I DID!! We had days this week that normally would have resulted in a drive-thru episode, with me trying to make vegan modifications. No drive-thru episodes this week AT ALL! I only ate food/meals I prepared according to the guidelines. This week really built my confidence that I can be a Mom on-the-go AND compliant to the guidelines. It's not one or the other. (Honestly mind-blowing!)

We plan to hit the road on Monday. We will travel for 2 weeks. A little nervous about eating on the road but I have started planning. My extended family booked our housing. I asked for a kitchen. They said I will have one. We'll see...

Thank you, Mark, and everyone in this Group for your support
-Chesca