Losing 15 pounds a month

[lilliangimmelli]

Hello,

In reading the McDougall Program for Maximum Weight loss it states that you can lose up to 15 pounds a month. Has anyone followed the program to a "T" and lost a nice amount of weight with it?
Thanks
Lilly

[Kime]

I don't think many people would lose 15 pounds every month. Maybe the first month for some people. I seem to be losing about 5-6 lbs a month now, but I only want to lose about 17 more pounds and the closer to your goal the slower you lose, at least for most people.

Take a look at this

http://www.drmcdougall.com/stars/nettie_taylor.html

[Lacey]

When I had my serious weight loss following Dr. McDougall's plan back in 2002-2003, I lost ten pounds per month for the first five months, then seven the sixth month. The last 13 took about two months for a total loss of 70 pounds.

My guess is that the speed of weight loss depends on how much one needs to lose and for me at least it did slow down after losing the first fifty.

Unfortunately, I slowly starting adding back in oils. Not really on purpose, as I wasn't adding oil to my cooking, but I started eating out a lot more, where it was harder to control oil in my food, and started eating nuts and avocado again. (I was going through an extremely stressful time and was away from home a lot due to taking care of a terminally ill loved one.) Fifty of the 70 pounds I lost stayed off, but I slowly gained twenty back. In the first ten weeks of 2010 I have lost 18 pounds. Not nearly as fast as the original weight loss, but I had a lot less to lose.

I want to lose more than the first 70 pounds I lost. That weight loss was wonderful but still left me at a size 12 or 14 jeans. And I want to be thinner again, as I have been almost all of my life. I don't believe I will be seeing ten pounds per month, but I am very happy with the 1 - 2 pounds per week loss I have been having.

Probably more than you wanted to know.

[Katydid]

Between 2000 and 2004 I lost 150 pounds on the MWL program. That averages 3 pounds per month, more at the start, less at the end. But what I came to realize was that I wasn't on a diet. I was changing my life forever. There was no going on or off, there was only doing my best and learning from the experience.

[VeganMom]

But what I came to realize was that I wasn't on a diet. I was changing my life forever. There was no going on or off, there was only doing my best and learning from the experience.

EXACTLY. Me, too, me, too!

[MaryW]

When I first tried McDougalling back in 2003, I lost 25 pounds in 2 months. Then I stopped following the plan and gained all the weight back plus some. I've been following the plan this time since January 2009 and I've lost about 45 pounds. (My weight has gone up and down some over the last 14 months.) That works out to almost 4 pounds per month. Actually, I've averaged 5 pounds most months, with a few problem months (mostly November and December!). I still have a lot of weight to lose.

Five pounds per month might not sound like much, but the important thing is that I'm sticking with it and making lasting changes. I weigh less now than I have weighed in many years. Yes, dropping 15 pounds in a month would be nice. But you can't treat this like a "diet" which you follow for a couple of months to reach your goal weight and then go back to your old ways. Remember, slow and steady wins the race!

[kirstykay]

What an interesting question! I've been doing this faithfully for about 5 weeks and I have lost about 11 pounds since Feb. 12th. You got me thinking, though...I want to take this on as a personal challenge this month. I'm going to do the plan "to the T" like you said, and see if I can lose 15 pounds this month, starting today. In thinking about it, I've noticed a few things I could tighten up, like only eating the 2 fruits a day that are allowed, I usually have 3 or 4. Also, what are the ratios in the MWL book for rapid weight loss? I don't pay much attention to those, but in order to lose the 15 lbs in a month, I'm pretty sure I need to. I loaned my book out to a friend so I can't look it up. Is it 1/2 green and yellow veggies to 1/2 starch?????????? That's what I remember.

The third thing that I'm pretty sure is a must for this rate of weight loss is the exercise. I exercise 4-5 days most weeks, so I will make a point during this month not to miss any of my exercise sessions. I know the book recommends walking at least 30 minutes a day, so for this to work at the rate he describes, I think that is necessary.

So, anyone up for a challenge and want to do this with me? It could be fun!!!

[afreespirit]

kirstykay, I have the MWL book from the library, and found the answer to your question about proportions of starches to veggies. It is on page 168 in Chapter 15:

PORTIONING FOR MAXIMUM WEIGHT LOSS:
Moderate approach--two-thirds starch and one-third very-low-calorie dishes
Rapid approach--one half starch and one-half very-low-calorie dishes
Hasty approach--one-third starch and two-thirds very-low-calorie dishes

I can't take you up on the walking challenge right now. My knees are so bad I can hardly stand.

MWL book also reminds us that women lose more slowly than men, but that in general ppl can expect to lose 6-15 lbs/month. I think Jeff says that 1% a week is reasonable.

[kirstykay]

Free Spirit,
Thanks for the answer to my question! Sorry to hear about your knees. Hopefully, the more you're on the MWL plan, the better your knees will feel. My mom just had both her knees replaced, and my goal is to never have to. I've read people on this site who say they've been cured from their arthritis. I have noticed some of my knee pain diminish...Hope yours does!
Thanks again for the numbers, and the reminder of the range of weight loss that we can expect. I think that sounds pretty realistic.

[afreespirit]

kirstykay--Well, there's a goal we share--to never have knee surgery! I sure hope I can avoid it and know my knees will get some better as the weight comes off---the question is how much better. It isn't always weight alone that makes them go bad. My dad also had both knees replaced and he was never overwt.

Anyway, it is encouraging to hear that you are having good results so far and less pain. Hope the replacement does its job for your mom. Thanks for the good wishes, and keep up the good work!