First week - please help/advise!!! Thank you

[Miss_Mac]

Hello all Mcdougallers!

I am very new to the starch solution, a couple of days in! Although I have been researching for a while before taking the plunge. I would like some advice and I have some questions for anyone willing to help me.

I'll give a little backstory about me, I am 26 and in the last year have gained around 45lb due to many reasons, but it has left me extremely fed up. I have managed to lose 1 stone through healthy eating, but still, need to get rid of 45lb. I seem to be stuck on the same weight, I usually lose around 4lb in a week then seem to gain it back. Currently 13:12.

I have rapidly changed my lifestyle in the past year, I do not eat sugar or sweeteners (aside from natural sugars in fruit, in which I do have a good amount of each day.)

I do not eat processed foods, I am now transitioning into a vegan lifestyle. I do not use oils to cook with.

I am finding it hard to lose weight! Since starting the starch solution I seem to be gaining weight! I am not eating a lot, but I know I probably need to exercise as at this moment in my life I am not very active.

Here is an example of what I have eaten:

day 1:
around 3 litres of water
oats - made with water/cinnamon/ginger
1 x banana
pineapple stick
tea with oat milk - no sugar/sweetners

homemade bean burritos on whole wheat wrap x 2
with salsa

same again for dinner x 1

2 x bananas

1 bowl of cherrios

plenty of green tea with lemon


--------------------------------------------------

I am going to cut out the cherrios as I couldn't believe how much sugar is in them, and really I just like my oats for breakfast.

I am going to have set meals through the day and try to exercise at least for 20 minutes per day until I get into the swing of it. how does one start to love exercising?


Could anyone give me an idea of their mealplans for maximum weight loss?

For example, somedays I like a liquid breakfast, which usually is 3 x bananas, water and some oats blended. Would this be okay?

Thank you so much

[Earl_UK]

Potatoes and lots of them, with a bit of other greens to taste / preference, really cant go wrong on that.

I have a regular breakfast and have not changed it in years except added more oats the flax and spices.

100g Oats 2 tbls Ground Flax seeds, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp of Turmeric healthy grind of pepper. With either Blueberries Strawberries or a Banana

Midday meal changes lots and a random fruit normally has Broccoli, Mushrooms and Onion in some way

Evening is normally a Soup (vegetable or Lentil) with 2 slices of wholegrain bread and a random fruit

I don't track my water intake but do food diary via chron-o-meter as im doing lots of gym work and liek to keep an eye on weight vs what i have eaten, and gym results.

[yoga&wellness]

Before I offer my opinions, just know that I'm new to plant based eating as well. For this reason, my opinions are worth exactly what you've paid for them.

As far as exercise goes, try to find something you enjoy doing. For me it was yoga. You can start small and build to a rigorous exercise routine. Set small goals each day, and at the end of the week/month/etc. evaluate again and add another small goal, continuing to build.

If I were you, I would eliminate liquid meals like smoothies, etc. I know a lot of people are fans of them, but by blending everything together you're disrupting the fiber content so you don't feel full for as long.

How much label reading are you doing? Salsa bought from the store often has sugar in it, and wraps (that I've looked at anyway) have so much stuff I can't even pronounce that I stay away from them in general. Try to find a quality corn tortilla with few ingredients to use instead. (Also, what is a pineapple stick? If it's dried pineapple I'd cut that out. The sugar may be natural but it's so concentrated you may as well be eating teaspoonfuls of straight sugar.)

I believe that for the first few weeks you should not limit yourself as far as calories. If you're eating real, whole foods just eat until you're bursting. Your appetite will regulate as you adjust to the new foods you're eating. Stay off the scale, measuring, comparing, etc. for the first few weeks and just focus on how you feel.

[Dougalling]

Hello
I'm thinking your WW tortillas will have oil in them. Try ww pita instead.
You will need to eat a lot in order to get all your nutrients.
See https://www.drmcdougall.com/wp/wp-conte ... -Book1.pdf

[frozenveg]

Miss Mac, I agree with the other posters that you may be needing to tweak the stuff that you're eating, and actually eat more of less calorie-dense food than you are having now. For instance, I found that during my weight loss years, I had to really minimize my consumption of beans (legumes) because beans seemed to hinder my weight loss. Also, Dr. M has said that a cup of legumes per day is about the limit, because they are so high in protein. I would suggest trying to stick to potatoes--any kind--and whole grains, like rice, barley, and quinoa, which don't have as much protein per serving, as your main starches.

And yes, check the label on those wraps--flour tortillas almost all have oil in them. You can find corn tortillas that are just corn meal and water, but they are less useful as wraps, since they don't stay quite as flexible.

You may find it valuable to check out the top topic in the Maximum Weight Loss thread: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=26620

It contains a lot of the basics for speeding your weight loss along. I followed the regular program for about the first 5 months of my journey, then I switched to MWL, as it is called, and it took about a year to get to my goal weight. I got very comfortable with not having bread, crackers, cold cereal, and so on, and I rarely had air-popped popcorn and rice cakes, both of which are very calorie-dense, despite their airiness. I also dropped any idea of smoothies--drinking your meals--because, as y&w said, it leaves you hungry sooner, and it allows you to consume a massive amount of calories in a very short time, rather than letting your mouth and throat have the activity of eating.

As far as loving exercise--well, that may happen and it may not. I, like yoga&wellness above, have come to absolutely love yoga--it suits a certain personality, if I can be so bold--but I also make myself do some walking. You may never come to love any kind of exercise, but just do some! I have heard some McDougallers just say they decided that's it's a daily thing ike tooth brushing or changing your kids' diapers--you may not love it, but you do it because it needs doing!

So, good luck on your weight loss journey! Keep us all posted on your progress! You can do this!