Hard time with oil

[NWT]

I have been following starch solution for 2 weeks. I do not weigh myself but clothes are looser and energy is high. My question is - am i seriously undermining my success? I am having a hard time giving up 2-3 tbs of oil per day.

Other than that I am compliant.

Thank you for any help you can offer.

[viv]

Congratulations on following Starch Solution for two weeks and feeling energetic! If you are following the Starch Solution with only a little oil each day, you are doing great! While it is best to have no added oil, having a little will not undermine your success. As Dr McDougall says if you are following the diet 90% of the time, you will have 90% success. Keep going and don't give up, you are doing the very best thing possible for your health, and one day you will wake up and not want the added oils.

I have been on the Starch Solution for over four years, and it took me a year to give up cow's milk in my tea. Now I have tea with almond milk and love it.

Viv

[Bougainvillea]

It took me 16 days to give up my oil. I had just made up a great batch of "vegan" fresh basil pesto with nutritional yeast (thought it was great I wasn't using parmesan cheese LOL) and extra virgin olive oil. Then, I learned I shouldn't even eat olive oil.

What? Waste all that great, homemade pesto? Not on your life! LOL. But, I promised myself after I finished the pesto - on whole wheat pasta at least - that that was it for me with oil.

I haven't had any since - but I also have not thrown away that beautiful bottle of extra virgin olive oil. Somehow I haven't been able to part with it yet - but I haven't used it either. Maybe I'll do that tomorrow.

I will tell you, though, that when I stopped eating oil, I lost twice as much weight! The first 16 days - with oil - I lost 2 pounds. The next 8 days without oil - I lost 4! That's pretty good incentive.

Plus, I just don't eat things that scream at me that they need oil. Just don't even go there. Like, there's no way I will eat a baked potato yet, because I'm going to want it swimming in fat. But, I'm happy to eat cut up potatoes simmered in veggie broth. Whatever works, eh?

[Dougalling]

Hi

Get the oil (which is 100% fat) out of the house. If it's not there, you can't use it. Watch Dr. McDougall's "No Oil" youtube video as many times as necessary.

[McEvoy09]

Hi I'm very new to this. What does everyone use instead of oil when stir frying certain veg?

[Drew_ab]

Hi I'm very new to this. What does everyone use instead of oil when stir frying certain veg?

Water or low-sodium veggie broth.

[Bougainvillea]

Hi I'm very new to this. What does everyone use instead of oil when stir frying certain veg?

Yeah, you just don't cook that way. What I did as far as an Asian "stir-fry, is I simmered veggies in some veggie broth that I had on hand - happened to be a combination of carrot and celery and cabbage broth (I keep all the broth I get from cooking veggies). Then, I added some soy sauce and garlic and ginger and hot sauce and some corn starch, to turn it into an Asian veggie broth, and put it over rice.

The trick, by the way, to thicken with corn starch is to take some of the hot veggie broth out of the pot with a cup of some kind, then you stir in some corn starch into the hot broth in that cup, stir with a fork until it's dissolved, then add it back into the veggie/broth mixture while it's bubbling.

[Vegankit]

Hi I'm very new to this. What does everyone use instead of oil when stir frying certain veg?

I found this video helpful - and there are others if you google stir fry with water https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Sv1wXU_gLo The key is getting your pan hot enough. I always add sweet onions first because as they cook they release juices - then I add other veggies. Often I don't even have to add any liquid - but I keep some close by ready to pour in if needed. The one veggie I've had trouble stir frying is eggplant (aubergine) but I discovered that it's tastier to steam it first then add near the end of cooking in time to heat it up. If I'm making a sauce, I add the liquid ingredients at the very end of cooking and briefly with just enough time to heat the sauce and thicken. Doing it this way the veggies are more like stir fried in oil rather than steamed consistency. It will never be exactly as oil fried but pretty close.

The trick, by the way, to thicken with corn starch is to take some of the hot veggie broth out of the pot with a cup of some kind, then you stir in some corn starch into the hot broth in that cup, stir with a fork until it's dissolved, then add it back into the veggie/broth mixture while it's bubbling.

Bougainvillea, to avoid lumps, dissolve your cornstarch in the smallest amount of cold water or veggie broth, not hot/warm. Stir to form a smooth slurry. Add slurry to moderately heated pot so you can distribute the slurry evenly then turn up the heat to thicken. Adding cornstarch to hot veggie broth can cause it to form lumps that are difficult to break up - best to avoid the lumps completely.