very new here and to this program.

[tinabru]

Hi all,
I just read about this program this morning before work. I don't know how, being 51 years old, and trying so many programs, I missed all this. I do believe this will work for me as I am a vegetarian, almost vegan, and I love all the foods that I have seen mentioned. I am going to try to get the book at lunch time, but was wondering if someone could post a very simple, everyday menu from things I may already have on hand so that I don't have to wait to start till I go to the supermarket.
I had oatmeal with banana for breakfast this morning and don't know about lunch yet.
Can anyone help me out? thanks
tina

[CarolSoprano]

Welcome, Tina! I'm turning 51 as well this year and began McDougall (again) 2 weeks ago. I've lost 6.4 lbs. to date and feel absolutely wonderful.

If you look on this website, Dr. McDougall's whole program is here for you. Here's a link to his program:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/free.html

There are links on that page to the All-You-Can_Eat Cookbook, which has a 12-day meal plan (breakfast, lunch and dinner). I'm not sure all of those meals are Maximum-Weight-Loss (MWL) friendly, but they should get you started.

There's also a wonderful listing of MWL recipes from Dr. McDougall's newsletters that one of the people on this site kindly put together. Here's the link:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10076

Here's a sample day for me:

Breakfast: steel-cut oats (1 serving), banana, tea w/tsp. sugar
Lunch: Spanish rice (brown rice, tomatoes, green pepper, onion, garlic, veggie broth, spices), zucchini/tomatoes/onions/garlic/mushrooms (I dry-saute everything in a big frying pan in a little veggie broth until the veggies are softened)
Dinner: Large baked potato (or sweet potato), veggies (whatever I happen to have in the house)
Snack: apple

That's pretty much what my day looks like. The portions are substantial, and I'm never hungry, and I'm losing weight. Pretty cool, huh?

I also make oven fries from either regular or sweet potatoes. I cut 3 or 4 of them into bite-sized chunks, sprinkle with pepper, garlic powder and rosemary, and bake them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for about 50 minutes. You can also sprinkle sweet potatoes with cinnamon, which makes them taste like sweet potato pie! Yummm!

Hope all this helps and, again, welcome!

[Attom]

Welcome! This program does work and I have experienced it (and am experiencing it) for myself. It's amazing! The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. Good luck to you and I know you will do great!

[tinabru]

thank you so much, for the welcome and all the information.
tina

[Faith in DC]

Also On Jeff Novick's board is a sticky called SNAP. That recipe is about as easy as you can get and it's up to you on how to create it.

I tend to eat fairly plain and simple - I always have oatmeal, and two fruits for breakfast. Lunch is usually a salad and a soup (this week it's leftover butternut and vegetable), and dinner is rice and veggies and some soy sauce or braggs and chili peppers or maybe a potato, veggies and marinara or a whole wheat pasta and veggies and marinara. I sometimes do heavy soups like last week a five bean that I seasoned cajun. This week I'm making sauerkraut and new potatoes. So see the sky is the limit.

[tinabru]

thanks Faith. I think I am going to do great on this program..I love all these foods. Thanks for your reply.
tina

[Kime]

I like steamed sweet potatoes for breakfast. Fast and easy.

Sweet & Savory Chili is another one of my favorites. It is on Fatfree Vegan. I leave out the chili's because I don't really like them and I leave out the honey because it is sweet without it. I always double the recipe because I use the leftovers for lunches. You will notice that most recipes that say serves 4-6 really only make 2-3 servings in reality. You have to make your servings big enough to satisfy. http://www.fatfreevegan.com/stews/889.shtml

My husband really likes the Quick Black Beans. http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2010nl/jan/recipes.htm You can keep the ingredients on hand for something that you can throw together quickly when you don't have much time to get the food ready. With a little cooked rice and a quick salad you have a great meal. I have a rice cooker and I make sure I always have cooked rice on hand ready to heat up or throw into something I am making.

Since you mentioned in another post that you have quite a bit to lose you will probably do well on the regular plan until you have lost an encouraging amount of weight, but later if you find that you plateau or are not losing as quickly as you would like to you might want to switch to the Maximum Weight Loss (MWL) plan which excludes flour products like pasta and bread. Most people can add these things back in to a certain extent after they reach the weight they want, but they slow down the weight loss process when you are trying to lose.

[tinabru]

Thank you kime! I will have to try that chili..I really appreciate the time everyone took to post messages for me.

[kirstykay]

Here is a clickable list of MWL legal foods with recipes. Just remember to keep it simple, and you'll do great!

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10076

Also, a list of guidelines that I keep posted on my fridge as a reminder:

Program outlined in the MWL book, page 60.

1. Eliminate All Animal Foods
2. Eliminate All Oils
3. Eliminate All High Fat Plant Foods: Nuts, Nut Butters, Seeds, Seed Butters, Avocados, Coconut, & Olives.
4. Eliminate All Flour Products
5. Eat Whole Grains and Potatoes
6. Eat Legumes
7. Make Green & Yellow Vegetables One-Half to One-Third of your meal
8. Eat Uncooked Foods
9. Restrict Fresh Fruit to No More Than Two Servings a Day, and Avoid Dried Fruit, Fruit Puree, and Fruit Juice
10. Use Simple Sugar Sparingly

Guidelines for Healthy Eating in MWL book, page 67.
1. Eat until you’re satisfied
2. Graze
3. Allow time for digestion
4. Chew foods thoroughly
5. Restrict variety

[tinabru]

Wow KristyKay!
Thank you so much..I am printing that out and keeping it in my wallet, on my fridge, in my car!!
(am I really going to drop weight eating this way? I am having a hard time believing it)

tina

[CarolSoprano]

Tina, I am 50 years old (soon to be 51), and I have about 50 lbs. to lose total. Losing weight has never been easy for me - I'm one of those "slow and steady" weight losers. Well, since February 15 (in just over 2 weeks) I have lost 9 lbs. by doing the Maximum Weight Loss Program 100%! 9 lbs. while eating all that I want, never being hungry, and not getting too much exercise (not recommended, but that's the reality).

For the first 2 weeks I did "Mary's Mini", which is a mini-program where you pick a starch and eat only that for every meal along with green and yellow veggies and 2 fruits. I picked potatoes (sweet and regular), and in 2 weeks I dropped almost 7 lbs.

If you're interested in kick-starting your program with Mary's Mini, here are the links to the newsletters which describe the plan:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/june/marys.htm

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/july/marys2.htm

But you don't have to start that way - I just thought it would be helpful for me to limit what I was eating for a couple of weeks and then transition to MWL. If you commit to doing the MWL 100%, you'll lose weight. Just read the many stories, testimonials and posts here and you'll be convinced!

[TwinB]

Here's a good thread that addresses your questions:

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15976

(no need to double post, you'll get plenty of replies with just one)

[tinabru]

TwinB..thanks for The warm welcome..