Not a newbie at all...looking for some guidance anyway

[Blossom]

Hello,

I don't want to bother you with my "history of suffering" and try to make it short.
(But first: I am no native English speaker, so please forgive me if I don't use the correct words.)

I just turned 32 and had weight issues since the beginning of my 20s. At the age of 26 it was the first time I suffered from hurting seizures, had to visit several doctors but none of them could find anything to explain. I did some investigation on my own and found out that my seizures started immediately after moving together with my boyfriend, who was (and unfortunately still is) an excessive meat eater. When I told my doctor about this he just laughed at me and said "Well, then try out a vegetarian or even vegan way of eating". So I did.

I came across The Starch Solution.
The concept was easy, understandable and foolproof to adopt. I lost weight, I felt great, I didn't have any seizures anymore. But then my doctor told me, I couldn't eat like this because it would be too dangerous. So I switched back to dairy, meat, fatty foods and gained weight, felt weak and had seizures again. The doctor told me a connection between my seizures and my food is impossible and gave me a lot of painkillers for a daily intake. So I switched back to The Starch Solution and again I lost weight, felt great and no hurting seizures occured. I did this switching thing again and again, to prove my doctor and myself that there is a connection and now he is convinced.

So, everything seems to be fine - why am I here?
Although I have the feeling I 'know the rules' sometimes I feel like 'playing the game wrong'.
I am always insecure about serving sizes or if I can have fruit as a snack. I usually have oats with blueberries in the morning and always ask myself which quantity is okay and which is too much. "Eating until full" doesn't work for me either, as I could literally eat 4,4 lbs cooked potatoes without problems in one sitting. Because I could and sometimes even do, I don't really lose weight anymore on this way of eating. My biggest problem is that I am so used to that huge portions that I 'need' them now. If I eat less, you really don't want to cross my way lol...

I know there is this calory dense thing but to be honest it's confunsing me.
What I need would be some kind of specification, like "eat that quantity of this and the amounf of X of that" and so on.
I know that doesn't exis tand depends always on individual habits but maybe there are some guidelines I can refer to??

[Willijan]

Hello,

I don't want to bother you with my "history of suffering" and try to make it short.
(But first: I am no native English speaker, so please forgive me if I don't use the correct words.)

I just turned 32 and had weight issues since the beginning of my 20s. At the age of 26 it was the first time I suffered from hurting seizures, had to visit several doctors but none of them could find anything to explain. I did some investigation on my own and found out that my seizures started immediately after moving together with my boyfriend, who was (and unfortunately still is) an excessive meat eater. When I told my doctor about this he just laughed at me and said "Well, then try out a vegetarian or even vegan way of eating". So I did.

I came across The Starch Solution.
The concept was easy, understandable and foolproof to adopt. I lost weight, I felt great, I didn't have any seizures anymore. But then my doctor told me, I couldn't eat like this because it would be too dangerous. So I switched back to dairy, meat, fatty foods and gained weight, felt weak and had seizures again. The doctor told me a connection between my seizures and my food is impossible and gave me a lot of painkillers for a daily intake. So I switched back to The Starch Solution and again I lost weight, felt great and no hurting seizures occured. I did this switching thing again and again, to prove my doctor and myself that there is a connection and now he is convinced.

So, everything seems to be fine - why am I here?
Although I have the feeling I 'know the rules' sometimes I feel like 'playing the game wrong'.
I am always insecure about serving sizes or if I can have fruit as a snack. I usually have oats with blueberries in the morning and always ask myself which quantity is okay and which is too much. "Eating until full" doesn't work for me either, as I could literally eat 4,4 lbs cooked potatoes without problems in one sitting. Because I could and sometimes even do, I don't really lose weight anymore on this way of eating. My biggest problem is that I am so used to that huge portions that I 'need' them now. If I eat less, you really don't want to cross my way lol...

I know there is this calory dense thing but to be honest it's confunsing me.
What I need would be some kind of specification, like "eat that quantity of this and the amounf of X of that" and so on.
I know that doesn't exis tand depends always on individual habits but maybe there are some guidelines I can refer to??

Your story was very interesting and entertaining. Thanks! But to your problem: there are the guidelines for Dr. McDougall's Maximum Weight Loss, which you can find out about on this site. He specifies about how much to eat of starchy foods and how much of low-starch vegetables and fruits to achieve faster weight loss.

I don't have experience with using MWL (Max. Weight Loss), since I was not overweight when I started the diet. But I wanted to lose weight and I have lost about 17 lbs. And I have done it by manipulating the calorie density of my food, along with planning meals that make me happy.

So what I'd recommend is to just keep eating the starchy foods you like, but increase the quantity of non-starchy vegetables. You can start at any quantity you want. You do have to keep yourself happy enough with your food to stay on the diet (unless you have an urgent health problem, as many do). You will find that what people say is amazingly true, your tastes will change.

I personally love desserts as well as potatoes. I have always disliked most vegetables. Now I like them, after being on the diet for about 6 years and changing things gradually. For instance, the other day I needed a snack while traveling to town for shopping unexpectedly. Took a paper bag full of cold steamed broccoli! Delicious! I have always hated broccoli plain.

Just keep doing the diet, experimenting with new foods and combinations, and it will work.

[Blossom]

Thanks for your advice.
I will try to increase the non-starchy vegetable - shouldn't be a problem, since I am already a huge fan of vegetables.
My only vice is lettuce in all forms. I don't need dressings, but a lettuce without any oil isn't meant for me.
That's why I usually keep it out as a dish and only use single leafs here and there. I call it eatable decoration.
So "my greens" are usually kale, spinach, broccoli...

I haven't tried MWL so far either, but maybe I can find some inspiration over there.

[frozenveg]

Thanks for your advice.
I will try to increase the non-starchy vegetable - shouldn't be a problem, since I am already a huge fan of vegetables.
My only vice is lettuce in all forms. I don't need dressings, but a lettuce without any oil isn't meant for me.
That's why I usually keep it out as a dish and only use single leafs here and there. I call it eatable decoration.
So "my greens" are usually kale, spinach, broccoli...

I haven't tried MWL so far either, but maybe I can find some inspiration over there.

Blossom, rest assured that there is no requirement to eat lettuce! I'm not a big fan of it, either. The greens you ARE eating are very nutritious ones, so keep doing that!!

[Dougalling]

Hi
Make half your meals (breakfast,lunch and dinner) leafy greens. This will fill you up and cut down on calories. Good luck !

You can also use cronometer . com temporarily to see how much you are eating.