Hello Mark + Everyone,
You'll see that I definitely still haven't had my act together, but then again that's what this Group is all about...the journey, not perfectionism; if we had our acts together all the time, we wouldn't need it! I just wanted to be upfront that I still wasn't always fully committed to MWL like I was in the past, should be, + will be within the next day.
Weight change +/- in lbs: Not sure how this will be tabulated, but here are my stats:
Last MWL Entry 9/3/21: 258.40
Highest weight since then, 9/17/21: 278.90
Weight yesterday, 9/24/21: 271.10
1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.----No.
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) th minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.----About 60% of my meals this week were 50/50. About 90% of me meals included vegetables.
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.----Since I obviously was totally off MWL, even McDougall, for some weeks, this week I have reduced sugar + salt consumption compared to those totally off weeks. But will improve!
4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).---Again, improved from last couple weeks, but still did have some dairy + items that included egg whites. Have not eaten any kind of meat for decades.
5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).----Did have avocados once + fake meat that contained soy once.
6. Eliminate any added oil.----Again, much more improved this week, but definitely room for improvement.
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.----Same reply as to #6.
8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).---One time had a small juice box of 100% juice lemonade. Otherwise no calories from drinks.
9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.----Got too hungry a few times because of a very busy week. Over-ate 1 time. Otherwise doing good with this #.
10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).----7/7! "Lol", the only # I did 100%. I'm still experiencing some pain + discomfort, so I sometimes only get about 25 minutes in + I cannot walk briskly yet but have increased the speed as lack of pain allows.
Victories, comments, concerns, questions:
Well, I am definitely not the poster child of success! And this really all has been a mind game. I don't necessarily feel a physical pull towards eating non MWL items. I think it's the inner spoiled child wanting that supposed freedom to be able to eat a few potato chips or a cookie. But I have learned a lot + even though my weight has gone up + my health has declined (absolute worst part), I feel like I am better off now than I was all the years I succeeded but then failed for months + months on end. I'd write more but I have 2 minutes to post this. Not proofread. I truly plan to get 100% back in the game within the next day. It's like I'm clawing my way back. Thank you for your patience + understanding!!!