September 2020 McDougall MWL Weigh-In Group

[whereamac]

Here are my "results" for the week:

Weight change +/- in lbs - -0.2lbs
Points from the MWL Checklist where I succeeded this week - I really increased my whole starches. I've found that plain baked potatoes really work for me as an afternoon snack and are easy to prepare at work - just microwave and go!
Points from the MWL Checklist that need greater attention - I eat out for lunch a lot and so while it's easy to eat vegan, it's harder to control fat. I avoid the fattiest foods I can (e.g. stay away from avocados, etc.) but I know that some of what I order/end up eating (we do a lot of communal eating in HK) has fat added during the cooking process. I try to help this by not ordering fried food whenever possible and making sure I don't eat any other fats any other time (e.g. no fats used in home cooking, no nuts (not even the 2-3 almonds I like to have in the afternoon).
General impressions & observations / resources to share / sources of excitement / requests for input & support - yoga has restarted here in HK the last two weeks (after two months of not being available because of COVID-19 third wave restrictions). I'm really enjoying that exercise. Also, after two weeks of not having a Diet Coke or similar, I had one early this week and, I don't know if it was mental or physical, it made me feel ill after a few sips. So I threw most of it out and haven't had anything like that since. Feeling really good about that.

[josietheschnauzer]

Thank you "expat" and Lesley! Nice to have our "Thursday", and your Friday news from New Zealand and Australia! We are truly an international group. I will be on a road trip from Sept. 22 to October 18. So after tomorrow's weigh in, I am not sure when I will report in. It is my hope that I will not hit the Pleasure Trap.

[Waterfit]

Weight on 9/18 107.8
Weight on 9/11 108.4
Weight on 9/4 110

Loss - .6

Forgot to post last week due to being out of town so loss of 2.2 lb Yippeeee!

I finally got to my goal weight last week even with going out of town camping. I took all my own food. However I wouldn't mind getting to 105 which would be 2.8 more lbs to go.

I

[Wfpb2020]

July loss - 9.4 lbs
August loss - 2.8 lbs
9/4/20 - .8 lbs
9/11/20 - 1 lbs.
9/18/20 - 2.6 lbs.
Total Loss: - 16.6 lbs

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes
2) Follow the 50/50 plate method; Choose fruit for desert. Yes
3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. Yes
4) Eliminate all animal foods 4/7 had 3 non compliant meals
5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods. Yes
6) Eliminate any added oil. Yes
7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products, puffed cereals, popcorn and dried fruit. Yes
8 ) Don’t drink your calories. Yes
9) Eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve/stuff yourself. Yes
10) Aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily. Yes.

a huge amount of yard work probably compensated for the 3 non-compliant meals. Overall, feeling better about meal planning and getting some recipes under my belt (literally).

[josietheschnauzer]

Weight: 102.8 No Change
Following are my check points from this week. I leave Tuesday on a road trip back west to New Mexico and Colorado through Tennessee, Arkansas, and Texas going out and through Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, and Ohio coming back. I am taking a big cooler, baking at least 15 potatoes, making little salads in baggies, packing lots of single serving carrots and celery for "chomping", and only taking apples for my fruit. I am staying in "suites" with kitchenettes and will shop in groceries when I run out of real food. I sound prepared, and I guess I am. I am just worried that when I get home to New Mexico..... I will try and be as prepared as I can! In addition to the food, I am concerned about my daily exercise. I hope to stop every day before it is dark, but plan on exercising before I leave in the morning. I will try and post from the road. Thank you!

1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. YES, SALADS THIS WEEK USING BABY SPINACH.

2) 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. YES

2) Choose fruit for desert. A LITTLE TOO MUCH FRUIT ON A COUPLE OF DAYS. I BOUGHT A BOX OF FRESH FIGS WHICH ARE VERY GOOD AND EASY TO OVER CONSUME. THAT IS WHY I AM ONLY TAKING APPLES ON MY ROAD TRIP. I HAVE NEVER OVEREATEN THEM.

3) 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. YES

4) Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood). YES

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy). YES

6) Eliminate any added oil. YES

7) 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. YES

8 ) Don’t drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages). YES

9) Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself. YES, THIS WEEK. I DIDN'T STUFF.

10) Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking). YES, FINISHED MY VIRTUAL RUN/WALK THROUGH SPAIN. NOW ON ROUTE 66 FOR ONE AND WITH MY RUNNING GROUP, ON A RELAY OF 10 AROUND THE WORLD. REDUCED MILEAGE TO 5 MILES A DAY. WORRIED ABOUT EXERCISE ON MY TRIP.

[josietheschnauzer]

Here I am again. Please Mark, add me to the October list if you don't hear from me before then. Thank you very much.

[Abe]

Weight Change: -.5 lbs.

Weight-loss two weeks in a row! I am sticking with including Jeff's recipes into my meals and the Bowflex Max Trainer. The Max Trainer is super challenging and I might have given up on it if I had not lost weight twice in a row.

MWL Points:

1. Start meals with soup or salad.
2. Follow 50/50 plate volume.
   I had three or four meals this week that were predominantly starch, rather than 50/50.
3. Eliminate sugar and salt.
4. Eliminate animal based foods.
5. Eliminate higher fat plant foods.
6. Eliminate oil.
7. Eliminate higher calorie dense foods.
8. Do not drink your calories.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself.
   I have really made some improvements in this area, but I think that I still eat a bit more than I need to because I am worried that I will get hungry before I am able to eat again while working.
10. Avoid being sedentary.
    Keeping up with my Peloton bike and the BowFlex Max. Alternating most days between the two, sometimes doing some calisthenics instead.

[CindyD]

Female, age 51, 5'8"
SW July 6, 2020: 211.7

Sept 11, 2020 180.6
Sept 18, 2020 178.9
Result: -1.7
Since July 6: -32.8

All 10 points under control currently! I may have had 3 fruits a couple days, but I'm ok with it. I tell you what, Costco frozen wild blueberries if you can get them.

I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos, everyday people talking about weight loss. It's true that it is SO HARD to see our own progress. Much of the time I feel just as large as when I started, even when looking in a mirror. Photos help, though - I highly recommend them. (Nobody else has to see!)

Many, many thanks to Mark and wildgoose, and Dr. Novick of course, and other folks who check in with all of us and help us all be more successful in this forum. I really believe it makes a difference. I am trying to find some local vegan or plant-based groups and there are some, but they are pretty quiet due to the pandemic. Thank you guys! You are appreciated.

[frowsyowl]

Weight Change: -1.4 lbs

Successes: Did well on 50/50, exercise and starting lunch and dinner with soup/salad or fruit.
Needs work: Prep! I felt well prepared until about Tuesday or Wednesday and therefore also got into some high calorie density things, and salt. Had kind of cram last night, and was a bit off this morning.

When I weighed this morning, I thought I had only lost .6 (mega disappointment) because I was comparing to last Saturday's weight, so I will just weigh Friday mornings and use that to report to a local Saturday group that I do.

Plan...Plan....Plan...Plan...Plan....Plan

[kirstykay]

Weight Change -0.6

Feeling great! Had a really good week, eating wise. Still dealing with a lot of personal stuff in my family, but I am working on controlling the things I can control and letting go of the things I can't and focusing on gratitude and finding joy. I find that when I'm eating well, I am more capable of doing those things well. It's astounding to me that getting that one thing right in my life (the food) leads me to being more able to get the harder things right.

I feel very good about the 10-Points this week. I feel like they are becoming second nature to me at this point.

1. Start meals with soup or salad. Nope -I'm letting this one go for now and not feeling bad about it.
2. Follow 50/50 plate volume. Mostly
3. Reduce sugar and salt. YES - Feeling good about where I am with this. I don't feel the need to eliminate it.
4. Eliminate animal based foods. YES
5. Eliminate higher fat plant foods. YES
6. Eliminate oil. YES
7. Eliminate higher calorie dense foods. YES

Hope everyone has a great weekend!
8. Do not drink your calories. YES
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don’t starve yourself and don’t stuff yourself. YES
10. Avoid being sedentary. YES

[Creaky]

08/15/20 Start: 267
09/04/20: 265.4 +3.4
09/11/20: 261.1 -4.3
09/18/20: 258.2 -2.9
Total Change: -8.8

1. Soup before meal: I've tried to do this requirement. It's an extra thing I have to prep and do. I tried making my meals soups but as they sit in the refrigerator it absorbs the water as they are more like a stew than soup. I add a bit of water before I microwave it. I'm not going to worry about this one for now. I'm doing well without it. Maybe later it I need the pre-loading, I'll pick it up.
2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals:
3. Desert = Fruit:
4. Little added sugars and added salts:
5. No Animal Products:
6. No higher fat plant foods:
7. No added oil:
8. No Processed Food/Dried Fruit:
9. Don’t drink your calories:
10. Eat when Hungry/Don't stuff myself:
11. 30 minutes exercise/day:

Good week foodwise. Helps when you eat the same thing every day.. Stressful at work, but kept eating on plan and moving forward. Another three day weekend in front of me, so I have food prepped and will do some cooking this morning to stay ahead of everything. Hard part is the shopping as I'm used to treating myself when I shop. I go with a list and stick to that list.

[Amberlina]

09/018/2020 - weight 150
Weight change +/- in lbs - (-1)
Total loss since 7/7/2020: (-10)
Points from the MWL Checklist where I succeeded this week- #2 and #7- I cut more calorically dense food out of the menu this week and I did my plates up 50/50 style.
Points from the MWL Checklist that need greater attention- exercise..again I need to find the time. Lots of Dr. appts. For my little one lately.
General impressions & observations / resources to share / sources of excitement / requests for input & support- I kept it really simple this week and noticed that it was a lot easier to throw things together. I mainly did potatoes on one side and frozen mixed veggies on the other. The only thing is that I am feeling a bit bored of the flavors and need to make some seasoning mixes or sauces to help with this. I have a ton of them in my little excel spreadsheet cookbook that I am keeping.

[GreenFroG]

Hello everyone,

Weight Change: -1.4 pounds
Current weight: 146.0

Checklist:
1) Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit. Yes
2) Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals. Choose fruit for desert. Yes
3) Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. Yes
4) Eliminate all animal foods. Yes
5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods.Yes
6) Eliminate any added oil. Yes
7) Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods. Yes
8 ) Don’t drink your calories. Yes
9) Eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Yes
10) Avoid being sedentary/ 30 minutes of exercise daily. Yes

Felt like I did fairly well this week on the checklist and was happy that the scale showed the results! Worked on my goals of #9 and#10 from last week. Paid more attention to when I was full and put the leftovers in the refrigerator. I actually had to do this a few times during the week, which is a new behavior, as I usually just finish the plate. Learning when to stop will be something I will continue to work on. Also, I am working on making my exercise routine a natural habit, which will take time.

This next week we will be out of town, so I will not be able to post next Friday. I have made some food "care packages" for myself to take to the restaurants and hope I am prepared for eating out. I have learned a lot from everyone's posts who have traveled over the summer and I read Jeff's list "Packing food for the Plane". Thank you to all of you who have shared your struggles and successes. My goal will be to stick to the checklist as much as possible!

Have a good week and I will look forward to reading all your posts upon my return.

[rlechols]

Weight last week: 142.5 lbs
Weight this week: 142.0 lbs
Loss of 0.5 lb

How I did on the checklist:

1. Start with soup/salad/fruit: 7/7
2. Follow the 50/50 plate: 7/7
3. Reduce or eliminate salt and sugar: 7/7
4. Eliminate animal foods: 7/7
5. Eliminate higher fat plant foods: 7/7
6. Eliminate oil: 7/7
7. Eliminate higher calorically dense foods: 5/7
8. Don't drink your calories: 7/7
9: Eat when hungry and stop when full: 7/7
10. Avoid being sedentary: 7/7

I had another great week. The only thing that snuck in (which seems to happen a little every week) is a piece of bread or a tortilla on 2 days. I am once again surprised that the scale continues to creep down very slowly. I am only a pound away from 80 lbs total lost and am looking forward to hopefully hitting that by the end of September!! We are taking an RV vacation starting next Tuesday, so my exercise might look different during that time, but I am packing my IP and my favorite staples so it shouldn't be too hard to keep up my way of eating while gone. I will check in next Friday for accountability but probably won't have a weight to report since I won't have my scale. But no worries, it will go great. Keep up the great work everyone! It's totally worth the results you'll get in the long term.

[texaslil]

It has been a so-so week as far as adhering to the 10 points, I could have been more strict, but I fell victim to cravings

lbs last week: 179.2
lbs this week; 178.6
lbs lost/gained: -.6

1. Start with soup/salad/fruit: No, but I have been having salad with my meals

2. Follow the 50/50 plate: Yes
3. Reduce or eliminate salt and sugar: mostly. I don't cook with salt but add on my plate. I only have sugar in some of the sauces I use, like a hot sauce I use
4. Eliminate animal foods: 100%
5. Eliminate higher fat plant foods: Here is where the cravings got the best of me.. this week I had avocado, popcorn and a cashew based stroganoff
6. Eliminate oil: had oil in the popcorn...
7. Eliminate higher calorically dense foods: see above
8. Don't drink your calories: one smoothie
9: Eat when hungry and stop when full: ate too much at several meals...
10. Avoid being sedentary: 6 out of 7 days

ok going over what I wrote above, I'm surprised I lost any weight, but happy that I did! Hopefully, I can be more adherent next week.

Thanks for any and all feedback and all of your support!