March 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Thread

[wstokes]

-2

[laurag]

Same weight

I drink diet coke I know there is the the pleasure trap aspect of why I shouldn't drink it, is there another reason for not having it?

I really appreciate all the moderators and participants I have been a little quite here for a while but I read and so love all the information

[rlechols]

Today's weight: 158.5 lbs
Loss of 1 lb

Reflection on the week: I didn't have anything off plan except for the weekend, when I ate some popcorn and a few homemade whole grain muffins (flour and peanut butter).

I got all my workouts in, both weight training and cardio 5 days a week.

Feeling good and hoping to lose more next week. The loss is consistent but slow.

[Mark Cooper]

Abe - Big congratulations on a successful week and on your 30 lb cumulative loss to date! I've got to imagine those newly recognizable wrinkles feel like a fair trade for all the benefits from your hard work. Isn't it eye-opening to see the noticeable and tangible effect from a "sodium-bomb?" Great observation.

moonlight - I'm glad you found those links and Nettie's story applicable. It seems to me that tackling the various levels of that possible "hierarchy of foods" that don't support health and weight-loss goals is more or less what the points of the MWL Checklist are effective at addressing. I think your breakdown of this week's choices shows that you have a pretty clear understanding of the changes to get back on track. It might be worthwhile to consider writing down or otherwise specifically outlining for yourself some clear actions you will take to support those behavior changes. It can be hard to break these patterns, so I think it helps to make it as easy for yourself as you are able.

Annette -

I'm going to make myself a checklist and print it out for this coming week and really focus on it.

I think that is a really great idea! To quote Jeff from the start of the year -

Weight is an outcome based on behaviors (the 10-pt checklist). Monitoring outcomes without monitoring and adjusting behaviors, doesn't work. So, I think the 10-pt checklist is an important focus as they are the behaviors that will lead to the desired outcome.

The reason I continue to request participants to assess each week with respect to the checklist is with the hope that it will be brought into close focus at least once a week for everyone. I really believe the more each of us is willing to use it in our own lives, the more success we are likely to have. I think it can be helpful to not think of those "problem areas" of behavior as failures, but rather that the checklist reveals the areas of opportunity available to support progress toward one's goals. They tell us what changes we can make to see reasonable progress, then we just have to decide if those changes are "worth it." Thanks for doing your "homework" , and try to take a moment to acknowledge to yourself that you've already taken the first steps by reversing a trend of weight gain, and giving yourself a clear-eyed map of behaviors that will reward your attention.

MaryP - Kudos on a great week, and congratulations for achieving a "49-year low!" Thank you for sharing that achievement! As Jeff covered in his post above, I think you are successfully meeting the guideline with regard to salt. To speak to my own daily behaviors, I pretty regularly sprinkle a bit of salt over my food at the table (~1/2 tsp total in any given day) and I consider myself to be in compliance with the MWL 10-Point Checklist. Way to go getting your routine of exercise habituated! That is such a rewarding feeling.

Big thanks to Jeff for so clearly addressing the distinction between NO S-S vs. LOW S-S, the thread linked and Dr. Lisle's video on the topic are both absolutely worth taking the time to read and view.

Chuck - Interestingly, when I first looked at your report my eyes went right to your "scoreboard" and my immediate thought was that this week must have presented you with some challenges. I think it's been a punishing week for many of us (I know it has been for my wife and I). I think your thought that health-supporting behaviors may be more important than ever given the current situation is well-observed. It can be valuable, I think, when feeling the pressure of these stressors to set aside a moment to consider our reasons for living a health-supporting life, and how we might deal with stress in ways that do not involve counterproductive behaviors. A big to you for putting in the time and work to make your breakfast and exercise routines "second-nature." Those consistent adherent behaviors over a sufficient duration of time are the real building blocks for success.

wstokes - Kudos! What would you say worked for you over the course of this week? Were their areas that were more difficult? Any MWL behaviors that have become easy and routine during the course of your efforts?

laurag - Diet sodas can definitely be a trigger for the Pleasure Trap. Dr. McDougall provides a thorough examination of a variety of concerns in the newsletter article: Artificial Sweeteners Are Unnecessary and Unwise
Jeff discusses artificial sweeteners in this thread, and diet sodas specifically in this thread.

Rachel - Congrats on another good week! I think you've averaged right about 1 pound per week over the duration of this year, which is great. Consistency is key, and feeling good is, of course, the most important thing.

[ltolar]

3/13/2020 Weigh-in: -0.6 lbs

[MaryP]

Chaz, sorry you are sad this week. I hope next week brings you joy. I think you hit the nail on the head about eating healthy during these trying times. I believe it will help us a lot. My husband got the flu a week ago. It is almost gone. I eat a lot healthier than he does and I have minor congestion, no fever, no sneezing and no cough. If I have what he had, it is extremely mild.

Try not to lose hope. A lot of the news about this virus indicates that for most people, even if you contract it, it will be mild. Only time will tell. In the meantime, stay the course. It will only help in the long run!

[MaryP]

Thanks for the clarification on salt. I have never been a big sodium eater but when I try to give it up entirely, I can't seem to do it. I have always like highly flavorful food and use a lot of herbs and spices. If it is not flavorful, I start looking for food off plan. Being able to eat some salt, takes the pressure off!

[kirstykay]

Stayed the same this week.

[wildgoose]

Okay, I have never officially evaluated myself, and I know I'm not doing what I should. Right now I'm not in a mentally "comfortable" space, and it's something I need to focus on. I'm going to make myself a checklist and print it out for this coming week and really focus on it. I know it won't be perfect, but it can definitely be busy. I'm sitting on a bunch of stress right now, and I am a stress eater.

Annette, I've been thinking about your situation much of the week. You’ve got so much going for you, and you’re making a lot of progress. You also say quite a few things that resonate with me and my journey. So I’ll throw out a few random thoughts, and you can see if any of them make sense. If they don’t, feel free to ignore!

Stress. I get that. Stress is usually cyclical, but when it builds up, it’s a real problem. One that seems to have a default solution of EAT!!

OK. Eat. Eat starch. Eat the most comforting starch in your world. I make mashed potatoes out of Yukon Golds (they taste more "buttery" to me), and I heat up a can of (no salt, no sugar) peas. Yeah, the mushy ones. But I loved them when I was six, and I still do when I’m in need of "comfort food." Now I’m not crazy enough to think that this meal would appeal to anyone but me, but can you imagine a starch-based meal that you could use?

The other antidote I use for stress is control and minimize. Control what’s easy, let go (at least for the time being) of what’s not, and minimize the number of balls you’re trying to juggle. I don’t know about the stressors in your life, but since you’ve done a great job with your checklist, I’ll stick my beak in and give you my take on managing that....

A 10-Point Checklist for Maximum Weight Loss

Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. This is easy, I don't necessarily start a meal but it's always included. Breakfast always has fruit in my oats, a giant salad at lunch, and veggies at dinner

Easy is good. I never did the sequencing thing either, where you start the meal with the less calorie-dense food, but it does work if your weight loss stalls. For now, though, this is a big win and doesn’t need any attention.

Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.I'm pretty sure I meet this recommendation most of the time.

Two for two! Excellent, let’s move on.

Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them. I do not meet this recommendation. I still add salt to my meals. I don't add sugar, though I add a touch of stevia powder to my oats, oats taste like glue to me without the salt and stevia. I'm not sure I can break this one yet. I occasionally eat ketchup with my fries, which has a lot of sugar.

Jeff gave you good feedback here. Don’t aim for no salt/sugar unless either or both are a problem for you. You’re doing just fine on this one in limiting your intake.

But if oats taste like glue to you, have you tried other kinds of oats? Rolled oats, especially the quick-cooking kind, taste like wallpaper paste to me. Steel-cut oats (particularly Bob's Red Mill steel cut oats) don’t. I eat them with banana and blueberries, and I don’t put sugar or salt in. That may not be the right brand or type of oats for you, but you might want to experiment with other kinds of oats to see if you can get better results.

And ketchup with fries? Definitely. But I make my own. The recipe is simple, and it has no salt or sugar. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to share.

Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). I have accomplished this quite easily. Occasionally I have a greek salad with feta (and oily dressing though). The only other dairy is occasionally a bit of raita at the Indian restaurant. Oh crap, we went out for Mexican the other night and it had a lot of cheese on it, though it was vegan. So fatty and cheesy. Okay, dairy is still on the menu, when out, but not at home.

OK, let’s flag this one. You’re really close to having it nailed, but dairy is something that is still adding a lot of calories and fat (not to mention the multitude of other reasons not to eat it). If you can come up with a strategy to eliminate the cheese (easier said than done, I know), that might be an area where you could make significant progress. And if you want more motivation, Dr. McDougall takes on Elsie the Cow in this video from 2009 — well worth watching.

Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).I still have ground flax or chia with my oat, and occasionally eat avocados and tofu. I have soymilk on my oatmeal and in my coffee. I still eat nuts and need to stop

Yes, you probably are too high in fat here. You might contemplate at some point picking one of these and seeing if you can eliminate it. If it were me, it would probably be the nuts or the soymilk, but mull it over and see what sounds doable to you. Don’t try for all of them at once — way too much stress. And don’t try any of them if you’re also working on getting rid of the dairy. The dairy is more problematic.

Eliminate any added oil.Um...mostly, but I do add a touch of oil when tempering spices for Indian cooking.

Minor issue. Not awful, not outstanding. Can be worked on in time. I’d put this one lower on your list.

Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.Any bread I eat is bread I've baked, it is not 100% whole grain, and I don't bake as often as I'd like. I make one loaf and then not another for a few weeks. I did have some crackers this past week, that is not my norm. I did not have raisins.

Same comment as for the oil. No, bread isn’t MWL, but it can easily be part of the regular McDougall plan. So in the grand scheme of things, this isn’t as urgent. You’re right, it’s a one-frown issue.

Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). I drink soymilk in my coffee, and lately have been having wine again. Ouch....I fail

You didn’t fail, you made a less than optimal choice and got less than optimal results. It’s all fixable. Perhaps the wine is easier to fix than the coffee, since you’ve done it before?

Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. I easily eat when hungry, and starving just doesn't fit into my vocabulary....I'm an eater. I have to be careful not to overeat. But I'm getting better at that. I do eat under stress, my stress is really high right now

I’m an eater too. And stress eating is definitely an issue for me as well. My recommendation is to eat regularly, especially the starches. If you can work on ditching the dairy and the wine, you’ll be able to eat more starch and still lose weight. It all boils down to calorie density. If you can get the overall calorie density in your diet down (and eliminating dairy and wine would help considerably), you’ll have more success.

Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking) I'm pretty good about exercise. I enjoy going to the gym, doing exercise classes, walking the dogs. I've had a neck injury flare up recently that is hindering me a little bit.

Good for you! I wish I could say the same about myself. The exercise will help with stress management too. Just take it easy if you’re dealing with an injury.

I gave myself smiley faces for what's going well, more for things I don't feel I need to work on, less as it goes down the line. Frowny faces for not so good, more for really bad. I know I need to work on this. I've avoided this exercise, because it feels too much like homework to me, and the reality is then right in my face. That and the scale.

Yes, this exercise is homework, but it tells you a lot. The overall picture, at least from my perspective, is much more positive than negative. You’re doing a lot right. Your diet is just too calorically dense. Fortunately, you have some good targets that, if you can deal with them, should help quite a bit. Don’t try to fix everything at once, just take aim at one or two of the bigger things and see what you can do.

What do you think? Does any of this resonate?

Goose

[VGuzman]

Hi all,

Starting weight: (1/3/2020) 125.2 lbs.
Last week's weight: (3/6/2020) 118.0 lbs.
This week's weight: (3/13/2020) 116.2 lb. loss of -1.8 lbs.

I struggle with overeating at meals, and I have been making some progress with only eating till I am comfortably full. I have been able to do this when I save and put away the food I would of eaten to not let it go to waste.

I hope you all have a good week.

Good health to all,
Vicki

[NomeOslo]

Weight Change - lost 0.6 lb

3/06 - 140.4
3/13 - 139.8
Goal weight: 110 lbs

It took the full week, and there were ups and downs, but I think I'm back on track. I ate out a couple of times this week, and made some bad choices there (all plant based, but contained oil, and bread). I don't think I was eating enough starch with my salads (which was the main meal) but realized this about half way through the week, and started slightly decreasing the size of the salad to have more of a half and half plate (otherwise I was too full for enough starch). I too had some ketchup with oven fries, and will be looking for a better alternative.

On a positive note, I've really enjoyed my daily afternoon walk, and even had a few evening walks to enjoy our nice weather.

AnnetteW: We also love Indian food, but I don't use oil to temper the spices. There are loads of websites showing how to cook Indian food without oil, but this site explains exactly how to do that, and still get all the flavor.

chaz01: Bravo for continuing to try to eat well in spite of the negative news we've all heard. I hadn't really thought about my own efforts in relation to it, until I read an article from an emergency physician on CNN. It was a very encouraging one about what we CAN do in our fight against the corona virus. Basically he said (besides the very important WASH YOUR HANDS message), "maximize your health now... Exercise, weight loss, a healthy diet and good sleep are certainly beneficial to your body." It actually encouraged me in getting my own act together, and focusing on the healthy habits I know make me strong. I read the article here, https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/10/opin ... index.html.

wildgoose: Thanks for your post to AnnetteW, it was helpful for me too. Thought I'd mention, my comfort carbs are mashed potatoes with green lima beans and corn. And I'd like to have your ketchup recipe, please and thank you.

JeffN & Mark: I really appreciate the time you spend, reading and posting things for our benefit. They're both educational and encouraging.

[Abe]

Mark I am interested in hearing about your ketchup solution. I think that I have tried all of the healthy and WFPB bottled ketchups available for sale, and have not found one that tastes like ketchup should. I miss Heinz.

[JaBee]

Down .7 this week
Not sure what happened as kept all 10 points
Will continue to focus on adhering to guidelines and maintaining good habits as in it for life

[JaBee]

CORRECTION: I remember what I did differently this week, had at least 3 breakfast oatmeal items with dried dates - not MWL compliant and could be reason for result.

[Drew*]

Weight change on Friday: 173 lb …-+1 lb
Down 12.2 lb since January 2020 start date (plus calculation from week before January).

Success: made great batch of longevity soup that was quite thick with California Blend as recommended by Mark, peas, and collards. I also added quinoa and a couple small containers of beans. It was tasty and a good addition to other foods that I ate such as soups, noodles, and greens.

Challenge: Last week I said I was on a religious fast during the days. I decided after talking with my doc about my symptoms and discussing things with my wife that I would not to do so. Also, I realized that I might have been doing a fast out of tradition and nostalgia and therefore decided to eat again on a regular basis. Another challenge is getting adequate exercise on a daily basis.

Impression: I feel a lot better eating when hungry especially when eating per the MWL, which was most of the time.

Other impression: Heading to an indoor track or outdoor track after getting a few groceries (if there are any in the aisles). I live in Washington State where there has been a run for the grocery stores by some people making it difficult to find certain items.

Comments: Weight gain this week was expected because I likely had low water weight and I was not perfect with MWL. Time to be a bit more precise this week with positive goals…