Hi, I'm new!

[LosingIt]

Hi guys!

I've read a few posts here the last couple days and I've decided to join in.

I've been vegan for almost a year (in a couple weeks it'll be a year), but still a junk foodie. I gained all my weight as an "omni", lost about 30 pounds just going vegetarian (December 2008), then gained some back (to 290) over the couple years going from vege to vegan and discovering all the junk food. It only took that long to go vege->vegan because of cheese addiction, but we're over that now! I've been low fat for 5 days and haven't weighed myself but I FEEL so much better!

My ultimate desire is to be a low fat raw vegan. Making this step to low fat cooked has already made such a huge difference.

I have a couple concerns:
I try to eat a lot of fruit and will continue to... I guess this isn't much of a question. Unless anyone knows a good reason I shouldn't eat fruit-- though I think I should ask that of someone coming from the other side. I know everything that is said about insulin/sugar, yet without the fat that doesn't seem to be a problem. The fibers in fruit slow the digestion and the starches we eat need to be turned into sugars to be utilized anyway. I understand why not to have fruit juice, but I don't get the concern with whole fruit and limiting it to 3 a day? Low fat raw veganism, my ultimate goal, is basically McDougall but with raw foods (and mostly fruit-- many other raw foods are high fat or too low calorie)... anything wrong with that? Anything wrong with mixing the two?

My next concern is that I eat a lot this way. On the raw food side, eating a lot is encouraged. Eating 3k calories or more a day was always my goal if strictly low fat raw. On McDougall + fruit I'm probably eating 2-3k, mostly from potatoes, fruit, and squash. Now, I haven't read MWLP but I've read 12 days and a little bit about MWLP on this site. Undereating on raw led to binges and I don't want to go back to that, but is eating that much on McDougall going to work for weight loss? I know fat is stored much more easily than carb (as fat), I just need some reassurance that I'm not totally overdoing it and if I am, what to do. I'm not eating that many vegetables; mostly fruit and potatoes. Steering clear of grains for many reasons but occasionally I have oatmeal (but I hate it without sweetener! Brown sugar was my favorite; Agave seems better for me but I haven't seen it mentioned, are there good & on-plan sweeteners for oatmeal?) and rice cakes are a good snack. Might add rice but definitely no gluten for me... I'm rambling.... What vegetables are quick and tasty? Nuking potatoes and eating raw fruit are way too convenient!
And actually since I think of it, I've been eating less the last couple days than I did the first three. Maybe it just took getting used to. Still should add more veggies, I need some ideas!

So yeah, there's my life story. Thanks for watching.

[TominTN]

Hi, LosingIt! Welcome.

There are two "tricks" I use to increase my veggie intake.

1) Each day I eat a mix of lentils, corn, diced tomatos, and greens. So I get in some leafy greens there. These are from frozen. I fix it on the weekend -- cook a pound of lentils, mix in two pounds of frozen corn, two cans of low salt diced tomatos, and a pound bag of frozen greens (collards, spinach, whatever). This is just my take on Jeff N's SNAP idea.

2) As part of my supper supper I'll nuke a 12 or 16 oz bag of frozen vegetables, sometimes mixed, sometimes just brocolli, sprinkle on some seasoning (crushed red peppers, or a curry blend) or some kind of sauce for flavoring, and chow down. It's very convenient and quick and as my tastes have changed, has become a yummy part of my repertoire that I look forward to.

With regard to fruit, here's a thread that may help explain the thinking about it: viewtopic.php?f=22&t=13953

Good luck! And keep us posted on your progress.

[Effy]

Hey LosingIt.

I was lurking on this site for a while but decided to make an account to reply to this thread because I am in a similar situation.

I have weight to lose which I hope to accomplish with MWL but would like to be low fat raw vegan in the future when I don't have so much extra weight and can exercise more.

I've been eating lots of fruit and although I haven't started MWL officially yet (I tend to binge before bed ) I was concerned about this. I eat around 1,200 calories a day and about half of them are from fruit (before I start cheating, anyways). I'm worried that the fruit is the reason why I'm binging and perhaps that's why MWL limits it? Being an aspiring LFRV I don't want to blame my beloved fruit but I'm wondering if there's a connection.

So yes, I'm also wondering if these two lifestyles can be mixed.

[LosingIt]

Effy,

Eating 1200 calories a day would make me binge too! I think that's too low for a low fat/low protein diet because that is actually too low in protein. 1200 is the lowest limit that "conventional" eaters recommend but I think most low fat/low protein people wouldn't go that low because where conventional eaters have to limit what they take in, we get to get enough. At least on strict 811 that would never fly!

I lost 4 pounds last week eating 2-3k calories (like I mentioned), still eating sodium (not any table salt, but bbq sauce on my potatoes that had lots of sodium), AND it was the week before my period where I usually gain a few pounds temporarily. I think you can up the calories! Even if you don't lose, not binging and staying low fat would definitely help your health. I know it helps my sanity!

I read the thread about fruit but I simply don't agree that findings on fructose apply to fruit. That's like testing the effect of adding starches to the diet by adding cups of flour! I don't think anyone here would agree with those findings. It doesn't ever test the effect of fructose with truly low fat diets and/or the fructose/glucose blend found with fiber and vitamins in whole fruits. More needs to be found.

I'm liking what I'm doing but I'll still add more veggies. I didn't even think of frozen ones, really, haha.

[Effy]

Thanks for the reply LosingIt!

When I first tried 811 I was doing around 2-3k calories but you're right, even on a cooked diet 1,200 probably isn't enough. Afterall it'd be better to lose weight more slowly eating more calories than aiming lower, binging, and not losing anything!

I've been eating lots of frozen veg myself - it's awesome. It's so cheap, too. A 2 lb bag of broccoli cuts is like $1.25 for me. The only grains I eat (well, ideally LOL) are from the McDougall Right Foods cups (LOVE those things, lol) so I take a big bag of frozen stir-fry veg, let them cook in a nonstick pan, then add in a McDougall miso ramen cup with water and let the water cook out. I'm addicted to this meal...and coincidentally I don't binge/crave anything other than fruit after I eat it. It's got a fair amount of sodium (about 600mg total I think) but it's an even trade considering all of the nutrients from the nice veggies.

Have you tried Spaghetti squash? It's kind of a pain to make but yields a lot of squash and you can mix it with lots of other vegetables. My mom also once made butternut squash "fries"...she added oil but I bet you could do without. I oughta look that up!

I think if you stick to McDougall-approved foods it's very hard to overeat, just like with 811. You'll eat as much as you truly need I guess. And if you find you need to reduce your calories it'll probably be easy to swap out a potato for a yellow or green veggie.

[Rob]

Welcome to the forum! I can respond to some of your questions.

Fruit - I've been on the McDougall Plan for over 15 years and have found that too much fruit tends to raise my triglycerides. I love fresh fruit, but try to keep it to 3 pieces per day.

Raw Vegan - I love raw veggies and enjoy a jumbo salad 2-4x per week for lunch (balsamic vinegar for salad dressing). However, the McDougall Plan is starch based and you have to cook most starchy foods. I could go into a long explanation but Dr. McDougall says it best in his excellent lecture that is available on this website for free online viewing:

http://drmcdougall.com/video/starch_solution.html

Eating Too Much - If you adhere to the McDougall Plan most individuals will gradually settle in at their appropriate body weight. For those having a more difficult time with their weight or wishing to have more rapid results, here is a link that describes the MWL program:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/pdf/pdfmc050100nl.pdf

Vegetables - Vegetables are the accompaniments for the McDougall starch-based diet. I love veggies and find that variety in the types of vegetables and the way they are prepared really 'makes' the meal. For example, tonight we had:

- Spaghetti squash (baked)
- Sweet-sour Swiss chard with currants
- Red beans with yellow bell pepper

We prepare a lot of simple traditional ethnic dishes: Mexican, Italian, Chinese, Thai, Japanese, Indian, Mideastern, European, etc. We also do a lot of experimenting. We always keep a range of fresh veggies on hand: eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, acorn & spaghetti squash, yams, bok choy, Swiss chard, bell peppers (red, yellow, green), brussel sprouts, asparagus, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, garlic, and cabbage to name a few. It helps to have a good cookbook on hand that focus simply on vegetables.

Other Ingredients - We stock over a dozen varieties of dried and canned legumes. It helps to have a few types of fresh mushrooms. Fresh spices add a lot - we try to keep fresh ginger, parsley, cilantro, basil and a few others on hand all of the time. Limes are great for Mexican and Thai dishes.

Classic McDougall Meals - Over the years we've really enjoyed the McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook. It is a treasure of ideas on preparing fabulous meals with just a few ingredients in a short amount of time.

Good luck on your McDougall journey!

[LosingIt]

Thanks for the replies!

I went and stocked up on tons of veggies. I looove squash so I got about 10 butternuts and a spaghetti (I've never had that, so I only got one! hehe). I'll eat a whole squash a day! I also got tons of spinach, asparagus, potatoes (of course), broccoli, cauliflower, carrots... everything yummy. I even found a local supermarket that has McDougall's Right Foods soups and got some to try! It's funny, I looked at the ingredients and noticed there wasn't any oil before I realized what brand they were! I think I'll save them for emergencies as they're expensive and have salt and stuff, but they look good.

I did really well today, ate tons of veggies and lower calories than usual.
And
I have SO MUCH ENERGY!
I was going to put off exercise until I felt better because I had so many symptoms of adrenal fatigue. I think it's time. That was fast.

Effy! Join me in eating more!

[Rob]

I have SO MUCH ENERGY!
I was going to put off exercise until I felt better because I had so many symptoms of adrenal fatigue. I think it's time. That was fast.

You make a great point. The standard recommendation for overweight people is to exercise more rather than change the foods they eat. However, when I was overweight, fatigued and feeling lousy, I didn't feel like exercising. When I began eating the right foods on the McDougall Plan, I had more energy, lost weight - and not only felt like exercising - I looked forward to it. I now find it hard to sit down for very long. This morning was no exception with a full hour of working out with the 'McDougall's Medicine' DVD playing his outstanding lecture on the 'Molecules of Life'.

My caution would be not to overdo it and work up the frequency and intensity of workouts gradually.

[VeggieSue]

1) Each day I eat a mix of lentils, corn, diced tomatos, and greens. So I get in some leafy greens there. These are from frozen. I fix it on the weekend -- cook a pound of lentils, mix in two pounds of frozen corn, two cans of low salt diced tomatos, and a pound bag of frozen greens (collards, spinach, whatever). This is just my take on Jeff N's SNAP idea.

Tom,

I made your SNAP meal for dinner last night. With the addition of a lot of rooster sauce (srirracha), my husband loved it and went back for a second large bowl, but I found it a bit bland. It may have been my corn - supposedly super-sweet corn had no flavor at all. I still have a 3-quart Pyrex full of leftovers in the freezer for a meal next week, so I'll doctor it up with even more spices (I used a salt-free garlic-herb mix) and maybe add some flavored tomatoes, like Rotel.

What do you add to yours, if anything?

Even with the blandness, I can see making this meal again, especially now that I have a local source of organic lentils at a price comparable to the bags of Goya in the grocery stores. Thanks for the recipe.

[azalealilac]

About having more energy... I understand that. I used to be afraid to run for fear of falling. Now I am no runner but I can take very short runs easily. I also used to sit in my recliner a lot. Now I only sit a little with the baby or to read to the children. I just am ABLE to do more. I don't even do that much deliberate exercise. But I have 7 children and I also usually take short walks.