The Behavioral Path to MWL Success - February 2024 Group

[Gimmelean]

Mark- thank you as always!
Stephanie thank you for remembering the kitchari recipe which Mark was kind to post after you mentioned it.
Bambi your version looks wonderful and I’m going to try it as soon as I have some room in the fridge.
I now quadruple the powdered/ground versions of all of the spices in these recipes and store in a jar. No more chomping on seeds and so much faster to dump 3 tablespoons into the pot vs. digging and measuring from 8 jars. My spice cabinet, like my tea cabinet, looks like a tsunami swept through and I keep buying more! We grew fennel seeds on my lawn, I have fenugreek, and black cumin too. Wish I could share

[BambiS]

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.
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 good week, nothing eventful

Another great week, nothing eventful. I did find watermelon at a reasonable price today! My greyhound loves it too. A nice change to eat.

[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

I would be lying if I didn’t say I was tempted by all the sweets this week, but I just took it one day at a time and each day I was able to stick to my plan and make healthy choices. Hope everyone has a great week!

[rlechols]

Hello group! I am back after regrettably missing the last 2 check ins.
I had to fly out west for more family emergencies and sun up to sun down the hours were occupied with trying to deal with the issue at hand and not get behind on my job since I don't get any vacation coverage. I'm back home now gratefully, but there are still so many challenges! Another very difficult trip is planned for March as well. For now I'll report on just the last week and pick up from here. I'm glad to be back.

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). Not 100% on this.

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. Not 100% on this.

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). No. Not 100% on this. I never drink soda but I had a glass of orange juice.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. Still working on this one sometimes. I rarely need second helpings but sometimes the enjoyment of the food gets me back for seconds. I need to breathe and give it 10 minutes before deciding to go back for more.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). I didn't get exercise every day this week. So many other demands interfered. I did go for several long walks and a 3 mile run but missed several days.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
After my trip I have been emotionally and physically exhausted. But I'm ready to resume my norm and look forward to a better week next week. I do have to say how grateful I am that during stressful times I can fall back to the Starch Solution. It is easy for me to maintain that while under stress and then refocus and regroup for MWL adherence once again. I feel like there is a McDougall plan that works for every phase of my life and keeps me strong and healthy!

Have a great week!

[Gimmelean]

MWL Post for week ending 2/16/24
Hello MWL Team.

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,)
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.

11)Posting before the close of the week
Yes.

Victories,Comments,Concerns,Questions:
While I don’t always have a huge amount of time to batch prep, when I do, it almost always lends itself to a higher likelihood of success for the week. Last Sunday I roasted a head of cabbage. Just rinse it, leave the core on and slice in thick slices with a cleaver. Add herbs and spices and roast on a baking sheet at 425f for 20-30 minutes. In the same oven I roasted Brussels Sprouts, small potatoes and sweet potatoes. Very little effort. Every week I make barley and whole oat groats for my husband’s breakfast in the instant pot. He has the same routine with berries and fresh papaya every day. I also made an instant pot of Harira with a lot of extra veggies to make it more of a 50/50 dish. It’s red lentil and chickpea stew with Moroccan spices. I didn’t feel as if I was missing out on anything, never felt hungry, a huge volume of MWL compliant food and it worked this week. One day at a time! The results I remind myself- energy is good, mood is good, and will pay off in good health for the long term.
Have a good week everyone.

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Around 50%. I didn’t count 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.
Yes. I really love my meals. Always oatmeal and fruit this week for breakfast. For lunch and dinner had a vegetable stew (heavy on the potatoes and carrots) and Mexi Soup over brown rice. Also enjoyed split pea soup and sweet potatoes. I usually eat with salad (favorite raw veggies on a plate) and fruit.

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).
Mostly. EXCEPTION this week was that I ate a raisin wheat bagel at a shower I attended along with fruit.

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 still try to be mindful to stop eating at satiation. I think sometimes I do eat a bit past that point.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
5/7. Again a busy work week (so less time). I did take a walk outside 2 days at lunch when it was in the forties and sunny. Felt amazing!

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

I appreciate Gimmelean raising the topic last week on how it may feel self-centered to meet own needs with so many other competing priorities. Mark – I really loved your answer on not considering this as a bilateral choice and your other thoughts. Personally, I have failed / fallen off of McD plan before when I was a caregiver pulled in multiple directions and working full-time. I do believe that it is important to ensure our own health in order to better be able to help loved ones / fulfill other responsibilities. I try to make most of my meals quick, easy, and portable so that I don’t seek out other options. I can 100% relate to that feeling of walking between the raindrops.

Hope everyone has a terrific week!!!

Best,
Stephanie

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - Wow! This month seems like it is going great for you; your dedicated efforts are admirable! Finding a nice price on watermelon sounds like a wonderful treat. YUM!

Rebecka22 - Big congratulations to you! Having a solid plan and taking things one day at a time is an astute approach to these seasonal challenges, I think. How we behave and the actions we take in the face of temptation or when under pressure can really "stress test" our established practices, right? Keep at it!

rlechols - I'm so happy to have you back, Rachel, and so sorry you are having to deal with such stressful emergencies, and with challenging constraints, too! I imagine that feels very depleting. Having the regular McDougall program as a well-habituated "fall back" that you find easy to maintain even when other aspects of life are challenging and stress-inducing means you always have that good, solid foundation beneath you.

I feel like there is a McDougall plan that works for every phase of my life and keeps me strong and healthy!

Great observation! I agree. Wishing you all the best outcomes with everything ahead of you!

Gimmelean - Fantastic efforts and the assessment to match! Thank you for outlining your prep this week; it serves as an excellent illustration of how to achieve maximum flavor and satisfaction while minimizing effort.

I didn’t feel as if I was missing out on anything, never felt hungry, a huge volume of MWL compliant food and it worked this week.

This has been a key concept for me. I really strive to have foods I really love and find appealing ready to go and easy to access.

The results I remind myself- energy is good, mood is good, and will pay off in good health for the long term.

Wonderful results, and a great practice to take a moment to appreciate and acknowledge them. Onward!

VegSeekingFit - Pretty solid for a busy week, Stephanie! I'm so happy you had the chance to get outside and enjoy those sunny days; I'm sure that nice turn in the weather was very welcome.

I try to make most of my meals quick, easy, and portable so that I don’t seek out other options.

Seems like a really sound strategy to me. Feeling pulled in multiple directions and/or having several competing and important demands or obligations feels like one of the hardest things to manage in one's life. It can feel so overwhelming, and all we can expect of ourselves is the best we're capable of doing in that moment. Carry on making your way between those raindrops as best you are able!

[Mark Cooper]

My congratulations to everyone who participated this week! Your dedicated efforts are inspiring!

Gimmelean shared a nice rundown of her batch prep in her report.

Last Sunday I roasted a head of cabbage. Just rinse it, leave the core on and slice in thick slices with a cleaver. Add herbs and spices and roast on a baking sheet at 425f for 20-30 minutes. In the same oven I roasted Brussels Sprouts, small potatoes and sweet potatoes. Very little effort. Every week I make barley and whole oat groats for my husband’s breakfast in the instant pot. He has the same routine with berries and fresh papaya every day. I also made an instant pot of Harira with a lot of extra veggies to make it more of a 50/50 dish. It’s red lentil and chickpea stew with Moroccan spices.

That inspired me to pull some other descriptions and examples related to batch-cooking that have been featured here in years past. Great inspiration and fodder for ideas, I think.

An appropriate and adequate practice of (adherent) food preparation is really an invaluable contributor to ongoing success with this program. Gimmelean, VegSeekingFit, and CindyD all offered up different examples of what that might look like this week:

I continued to batch cook grains; steel cut oats, barley, and bulgur this week to build 50/50 bowls, salads, stuffed peppers. I used frozen ratatouille as a whole wheat pasta sauce. I’ve got a container of red lentil chili in the freezer to do the same next week. Cooking and eating well is the key to maintaining my hard earned weight loss and was key to getting here.

I have continued to make the same things (roasted potatoes, pots of rice, Jeff burgers, split pea soup, sloppy lentils, Mexi soup, roasted veggies). I have fresh and frozen produce prepared to easily incorporate into compliant meals very quickly. Have been enjoying Saturday Farmers Market produce selection. When I get home, cutting up the various veggies and roasting them. Slender asparagus is a new to me veggie that I am liking in that mix!

My current Instant Pot staple includes red lentils, red onion, red bell pepper, red cabbage (or cauliflower), one can no salt tomato sauce or paste, frozen garlic cubes, curry powder, ginger, turmeric, cumin. (I just throw stuff in, I don't measure.) Plain or over rice.

Having adherent food prepared, available and easy to access is one of the most important prerequisites for building a successful and durable practice of MWL.

Attention to food preparation and batch cooking seem like common threads through many of this week's reports: BambiS batch cooked some yummy cauliflower soup, Lachoffman kept a big salad ready to go in the fridge and fruit close at hand, Rebecka22 used frozen veggies to make a quick and easy 50/50 plate, Obadiah prepped brown rice and beans on an every other day basis, and Gimmelean made lasagna on the weekend for serving through the week. Being able to easily assemble an adherent meal whenever hunger strikes makes success SO much more attainable.

I think the observation below really shows how simple changes can make a real difference in our behavior. Keeping adherent foods "in sight" helps (as does keeping troubling items out).

I bought a fruit bowl, now fruit is in one place and in sight.

Likewise, a solid routine for food preparation is a great support for adherence.

I batch cook the oatmeal in the crockpot and then put it into containers so it is ready to heat up in the microwave in the mornings.
I try to batch cook my food on the weekends, so then I often fix half the plate with pre-cooked food and the other half with fresh vegetables that I can steam in the microwave. We got a big bag of fresh oranges, so I have been having oranges for dessert.

* Key for me is planning, shopping, preparation to make starch, veggies, fruit easy to grab and incorporate into any meal.
* Finished week 3 of eating oatmeal for breakfast... (and I do love it!!!)
* Have roasted many potatoes, made oven fries, made a few pots of brown rice.
* I made a few pots of soup / chili / beans this week - Split Pea Soup, Creamy Beany (from this web-site), Black Bean soup (from this web-site), Red lentil chili.

Another great point here:

it reminded me how important it is to always have a couple choices of satiating foods ready to eat, like roasted potatoes, cooked rice or precooked pasta that I can eat with some veggies on those rare times I suddenly I get hungry.

Already, I'm seeing quite a number of excellent tools and practices surfacing here. To highlight just a few:

* I have been eating "finger food" salad where I just pile some combination of greens, tomatoes, carrots, persian cucumber, broccoli, bell pepper on a plate (liking this right now more than the bowl of salad).
* Also, I have been preparing pans of roasted vegetables and eating them cold for a "salad".

Every morning, my husband (an extreme early bird!) batch-prepares brown rice, potatoes/sweet potatoes/delicato squash, steel-cut oats for us to add the starch balance to each of our meals. We like cooking so we have made pots of marinara sauce/soup/lentil stew for this week. We use our favourite family recipes and make these without added oil and salt. Two years ago sautéing onions and other veggies without oil was a shocking and new experience for us; now it’s our normal cooking habit . . . When we travel I take enough roasted potatoes to last the first three days. I even add pre-roasted potato to my salad at the restaurant, if needed.

I have been making large batches of soup when I'm in the mood to stay in the kitchen and cook. I then freeze it in 4 cup containers. This is so very helpful to stay compliant for lunch and dinner.

I made a big batch of Mary McDougall's zucchini soup and portioned out the soup into small bowls for easy grab and go . . . Batch cooking my greens has become my new norm!

I’ve gotten into the habit of saving vegetable scraps, peels, onion skins in a slider bag in the freezer and then making a homemade vegetable broth in the instant pot with at least 3 cups of the mixture. Makes beautiful broth with little time or work needed with my Instantpot . . . Key to this long post- plan-shop-prep and having it all available in advance to grab helps me choose the the right foods when I’m hungry, stressed, or tired and less likely to make any choices at all.

May you have a week filled with healthy comforts, new discoveries, and successful efforts! Take care & be well!

[BambiS]

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.
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 good week, nothing eventful

Another great week, I’ve been enjoying watching the Summit broadcast. Lots of great information.

[rlechols]

Hello Time and Adherence Team!

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). Close! One day was not 100% on this.

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 got planned exercise many days, but not all. I did strength training, jogging, and some long walks on a few warm days.

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Pretty good week, lots of stress again, but trying to roll with it. No weight loss or gain.

[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 celebrations included sugar and salt.
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). NO
6. Eliminate any added oil. NO
7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit. NO
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). NO
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. NO
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES

I was on break this week and the cravings were so strong and eventually got me. I did only have three days off so my goal of no more than 36 days for the year is helping me to refocus. With that I am happy to be back on track hopefully for a longer stretch. On a separate note, I usually post from my phone, but for the last two weeks when I try and post it says my IP address has been blocked and won't let me post. Is there something I can do to fix this? Thanks!

[VegSeekingFit]

Hi Team Time & Adherence,

1 Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Lots of times – between 1/2 and 2/3 of 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 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.
Mostly. Had a lunch out with a friend – again CPK – had the Smashed Pea & Barley soup which is definitely a sodium bomb. Didn’t salt / season other foods that day.

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

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

6 Eliminate any added oil.
Yes.

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

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

9 Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
I continue to be mindful to stop eating at satiation.

10 Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
YES! Had a blast playing lots of pickleball – the best week I can remember since moving inside. Also, keeping consistent with strength training 2-3 times a week. Again, had a couple of lunch times where I was able to walk outside in unseasonably nice weather. YAY to that!

Victories, comments, concerns, questions:

Awesome share last week, Mark with all of the prep routines from prior weeks!!! ❤️

I am calling a victory on a recent lunch where I met a friend at CPK. I was able to get the off-menu salad that I asked for – kept it really simple – just said that I would love just lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. So, YAY – received exactly that!

Wishing everyone a marvelous week ahead with lots of healthy food, activity, and smiles!

Best,
Stephanie

[VegSeekingFit]

Rebecka - I had same message about my IP address on my tablet. I just tried 3 times and it let me post finally. It said I was blacklisted

[Gimmelean]

MWL Post for week ending 2/23/24
Greetings MWL Team.

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,)
No- slipped and “tried” some cheese. It was very salty and no desire at all to repeat eating more.

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.

11)Posting before the close of the week
Yes.

Victories,Comments, Concerns, Questions,
I had a week of “use it or lose it” vacation time to use up from last year and was off from work this past week. For once I had no particular plans and it was very nice to de-stress and organize a bit with a break from routine. However, I did not focus on my food prep routine either and wound up picking and choosing on the spur of the moment. Not a good thing. And I’m not going to guilt myself into failure. So here’s my game plan for this week; a mini of sorts to reset in an easy way. I’ve been buying potatoes and sweet potatoes and haven’t been cooking them. I will prep them along with the fresh vegetables (broccoli- Brussels - asparagus) that I didn’t cook either and heat/crisp them all up in the air-fryer for quick meals. When sweet potatoes and veggies are reheated this way they feel more like a decadent snack and everyone loves them in my household.

Have a good week everyone!
PS Also experiencing technical difficulties with the site or would not have been late.

[Mark Cooper]

BambiS - Another great week to close out a great month for you! I applaud your efforts; keep it up!

rlechols - Excellent progress, especially during another stress-filled week! Kudos to you for finding ways to manage and support your intentions. Keep rolling with it as best you can!

Rebecka22 - It is always nice to be back on track and feeling hopeful, right? Strong cravings can feel so overpowering at times. I think it is great that your goal for 2023 served to refocus, motivate and direct your efforts; that is exactly what goals should do. I had that same message when trying to post last week. I'm not sure what the cause has been, but I'll reach out to see if Jeff has any information about it. Like Stephanie, I just clicked the submit button multiple times and it eventually worked. I apologize for these technical difficulties. Cheers for your perseverance!

VegSeekingFit - Solid way to close out February! Being able to look at the foods available from a restaurant and figure out a satisfactory order or request AND successfully get that off-menu order is definitely a victory worth recognizing. I feel like you have become quite astute at making the best of a given situation, being flexible and adaptable, and having enough regard for your own efficacy to take action and make things happen. It makes me smile! Have a marvelous week!

Gimmelean - I'm so happy you had some time to destress and relax a bit! Your observation about situating our behavioral choices in the "spur of the moment" making for shakier results is spot-on, I think. Kudos to you for not falling into counterproductive self-recrimination; your game plan for the week ahead seems solid to me. Sorry you've been facing those technical issues, too. Have an amazing week!