Sunday Support Group: Six Weeks (OT)

This might be a little hard to see.

To order a new belt yesterday, I had to measure the old one. And when I laid it out on the kitchen counter I noticed that the buckle-marks on the belt chronicled my recent weight loss—I lost ~55 pounds in the first half of 2020, and have maintained it since then. You can see how that last mark, just to the right of the last hole, is rather faint. I had to have this belt cut down last Summer, and three new holes (the ones on the right) punched.

Simple?
How I did it seems rather simple now. I tried to get 80% of my calories from whole plant foods and time-restrict my eating. Nothing to it.

How I eat now is that I basically follow Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen—here's the introductory video, and the free Android/Apple app is called "Dr. Greger's Daily Dozen." (Note the spelling of "Greger.") Here's a page with a longer list of videos.

I've written about all this before, but I'm trying to encourage you.  :-)

Easy weight loss
The magic trick is to time-restrict your eating. At least that was the key for me. This is what makes healthy eating and jettisoning the blubber easy and effortless. Simply pick a rigid window of time in which you'll do all your eating every day. Outside of that window, eat nothing. Ingest nothing but plain cold water, and be strict about it. Inside of that window, eat all the good food you want. Actually, as long as you're eating good food, you should eat as much as you can. I was so used to the idea of "calorie restriction" or "portion control" as an integral part of weight-loss dieting that it took me time and effort to overcome that mindset. But if there's one truth to weight-loss dieting, it's this: calorie restriction diets never work. Eat too little and you risk being hungry, and that's bad. So load 'er on in. Eat up.

What I found is that you can "train" your body to only expect food at certain times, and at other times you simply won't be uncomfortable because your body isn't expecting to be fed. My "window" is the seven hours from nine to four every day, although the actual span from my first bite to the last is often shorter than that. You can use an eight- or nine- or ten- or even a twelve-hour window if you want—just end your eating at least two hours before bedtime (three is better). I'd recommend ten or less.

Those of us with dogs know how it is. If you feed your animals on a regular schedule, they will know when it's dinner time. And they'll let you know in no uncertain terms if you forget! It's because they get hungry when their bodies anticipate food. Well, we humans are the same way. Train yourself, and you'll get hungry when it's time to eat, and you won't be hungry during the other parts of the day.

Be strict about this, or it won't work. Easy to say.

The DD
If you've got all sorts of encrusted beliefs about plant-eaters, what I'd say is...don't worry about it. Just do it. Just do it while you're losing the weight if you want to. Personally, I think that anyone who can follow the Daily Dozen with 100% compliance for six weeks will be hooked, because of how much better you will feel all the time. I found it absolutely astonishing. But suit yourself. If you want to, do it for six weeks and then go back to steaks and cupcakes. Food isn't ideology.

And if you think it's too hard to switch over, I get that too.

Unfortunately, when people say "try WFPB for six weeks," it's not quite that easy. You might not be able to just snap your fingers and switch over completely. First of all, it's tough to work out what you'll actually eat and how to fix it; and secondly, your gut needs time to adjust. The #1 nutritional deficiency in the developed Western world is fiber, a nutrient critical to the maintenance of adequate gut flora, and there are a thousand different kinds. If you don't eat fiber-rich foods, your gut might not be able to handle a sudden glut of fiber-rich foods. If you have trouble with beans, for example, start slow and eat some every day. Eat a salad every day, and put three beans on the first one, four on the second, until you work up to a spoonful or two every day at the same time. Your body will adapt. You're not that different.

S+S+S+Sv
Here's how to switch over to a WFPB or Daily-Dozen-type diet: start with breakfast. Once you've worked out what to eat for breakfast that's in tune with the DD, eat that way for a few weeks and then start working on lunch. After you've got that worked out, start on supper or dinner or whatever you want to call your last meal. Only then can you really clean everything up into 100% compliance and start your six-week experiment. It might just take a while, is all. If it does, can't be helped.

Personally, what's been crucial for me has been to have a "go-to" that's easy and convenient. What saved me are the "Four S's": smoothies, salads, soups, and steamed vegetables. Each of these sound like they're the same thing, but of course each of them is infinitely variable, so I don't get sick of them.

I've only recently developed  a robust dinner meal. It's super easy and convenient. What I do is start with the healthiest canned supermarket soup I can find (the thing to watch most closely is the sodium—canned soups are mostly loaded with it. Here's one that isn't, and there are more). I keep a container of cooked brown rice in the fridge, and I always have a can of pre-cooked beans and a can of organic petite diced tomatoes going in the fridge as well. Starting with the can of soup as flavoring—which can be one of any of a number of kinds—I add a ladle or two of brown rice and a couple of spoonfuls of beans, microwave it until it's hot, then add a finely diced clove of garlic and a couple of spoonfuls of diced tomatoes. This takes only a few minutes to fix, it's different every day, and it requires very little work. And it's as tasty as the soup it starts out as.

Of course I don't eat this every day—some days I'm feeling more adventurous, or have the energy to cook something more involved, or I've made homemade soup for the week—but you need a fallback for when you have nothing and don't feel like cooking.

Because my window for eating is only seven hours, I'm usually not hungry for the last meal anyway. I eat all I can, but often I don't want all that much.

What if you can't?
Probably the biggest impediments for most people in settling on a window of time for time-restricted eating are social customs and work schedules. I get that. I'm single and my own boss, so if I want to wrap up my last meal at 3 p.m. it's not a big deal. And I don't have to cook for picky kids or a meat-eating mate. Do the best you can.

Just remember that eating is a challenge for your system, and your body needs time to process the food you've eaten—so give it as long a continuous rest every day as you can. It needs it. It will repay you with better health, more energy, fewer aches and pains, better sleep, and a greater sense of well-being. It's been more than worth it for me. And it's not even hard!

I really do urge you to watch that short video. A good first step. Another excellent introduction is the movie Forks Over Knives.

The bottom line is: whatever else you eat, your body needs plants. Plants are the only source of fiber, the original source of protein (what, do you think cows eat meat?), and the ammunition for autophagy. There are thousands of phytochemicals in plants that your body simply needs in order to keep you healthy and humming along, in myriad ways. Food is medicine. Give your body what it really needs, and you'll feel it—you won't need me or anybody else to convince you of anything.

Go for it!

Mike

Book o' This Week:

Pulitzer-prizewinner Isabel Wilkerson's greatly lauded book Caste: The origins of our discontents, a rare non-photography-related recommendation, might be the book of the historical moment in the United States. The above link takes you from TOP to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Original contents copyright 2021 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Rodger Kingston: "Great post! I've been doing something similar for four and a half years, since a stroke in July 2016, and so far I've lost (and kept off) about the same 55 pounds as you.

"My belt photo, similar to yours, measures 10 inches between the longest and shortest holes. I've looked at the video and other materials you suggest, and it may well be a better way to go. Thanks!"

James Kelley:

Mike says: The following might be the longest comment I've ever "featured," but all the people who are bored by this subject have long since stopped reading anyway, so for those of us who are left, here goes...

adamct: I know there are people who dislike these posts, but I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your posts played a significant role in convincing me to adopt a WFPB diet, and the results have absolutely shocked me. I went from being over 250 lbs. to around 175–180 lbs. But it's more than just weight loss. I have a family history of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer's, and a WFPB diet significantly reduces my risks of developing those as well.

"There are a few points I want to add to what you said:

"1. Dieting doesn't work. I'm fully convinced of that. The only thing that works is a long-term lifestyle change. I knew that headed into this, and it is what I wanted. A diet focused on counting calories or restricting portions of whatever is doomed to fail because it is inherently short-term, too complicated, and based on depriving yourself. I eat as much as I want, whenever I want. It's just that I make sure that I am eating healthful food. I don't pay any attention to calories or portion size whatsoever. That is sustainable.

"2. I've been amazed at how easy the switch was. The hardest part about making the switch to a WFPB diet is making the decision to do it. Once you do, you will wonder why you didn't do it earlier. There is a lot of angst and pop culture telling you that the switch is hard—it isn't. Along those lines, I would caution that not everyone will find adjusting to a high-fiber diet hard. I don't mean to imply that nobody will, but don't let yourself be put off my Mike's comments about the adjustment. I make a pretty radical switch and didn't have any digestion issues at all.

"3. You don't need to time-restrict your meal times. If that helps you, go for it. But studies seem to show that the primary benefit of time-restricted feeding is just that people eat less, not that there is any real magic to time-restricted feeding per se. Eating 2,000 calories within eight hours isn't any different from eating 2,000 calories within 16 hours. But eating 2,000 calories in eight hours is very different from eating 3,000 calories in 16 hours.

"4. When I eat, I eat enormous amounts. I make salads that would normally feed a family of six. [Me too —Mike the Ed.] But...it's all salad. The total calories just can't be that high and I never think about them. Instead, I think about all the nutrients I'm getting and how good my food tastes. But when I'm not eating...I'm not hungry. In fact, I am rarely hungry these days, whereas when I was eating the Standard American Diet (SAD), I was hungry all the time. It is amazing that you can eat this way, lose all this weight, improve your health, and not be hungry.

"5. I would encourage you to avoid all meat, dairy and eggs, other than trace amounts that are in pre-made, primarily plant-based foods or that are 'hidden' in vegetarian or vegan meals eaten in restaurants. I could go on at length as to why, but I'll just say two things here: 1.) the science shows that even small amounts of animal protein significantly increase your risk of various diseases, and 2.) it is easier to avoid all meat, dairy and eggs, than it is to limit yourself to 'some' meat, dairy or eggs. Part of what is hard about dieting is forcing yourself to make decisions: is it OK if I eat a cookie, if I only eat half, or limit myself to one? Is it OK if I have a ham sandwich, if I omit the mayo and have it on whole wheat bread? Is it OK to have an egg with my oatmeal? Part of the benefit of adopting a strict WFPB diet is that it is so much easier from a psychological perspective to not have to make those decisions. You are establishing bright lines that relieve you of having to make constant decisions, testing your willpower, and deprive yourself of what you 'want.' Going all-in may seem harder, but it is actually easier.

"6. The 'whole foods' part is really, really important. You could subsist on potato chips, french fries, donuts, white bread, etc. and be a vegetarian, even vegan. But it wouldn't be healthy. Consuming whole foods is what makes this approach to diet work. For this reason, I don't eat any of the vegan 'substitutes' out there. [Me neither —Mike the Ed. again.] I don't eat meat-substitutes, vegan cheese, vegan sausages, etc. All of those products are highly, highly processed. Why trade one set of highly processed foods for another set of highly processed foods?

"7. I went pseudo-vegan a while ago and lost some weight, but it wasn't dramatic. When I cut out bread, pasta, potatoes and rice, I dropped weight so quickly it shocked me. I encourage you to do the same. I'm not anti-carb (I'm decidedly pro-carb!), but I make sure that I'm eating complex carbs from whole-food sources. I'll eat beans, lentils, nuts, whole grains, you name it and I'll load up on it. But avoid the bread, pasta, potatoes and rice, even though they are vegetarian/vegan.

"8. Calories are not calories. You can eat 2,000 calories on the SAD diet and 2,000 calories on a WFPB diet and still wind up losing weight on the WFPB diet. In fact, you can eat more than 2,000 calories on a WFPB diet and still lose weight! Why? Lots of reasons, but here are a few:

—Your body absorbs more of the calories in a SAD diet than a WFPB diet. You literally excrete more calories, undigested, on a WFPB diet. Just because you eat foods that theoretically have more calories, doesn't mean your body actually absorbs them and processes them.

—It takes energy to access energy / store energy. Your body can absorb and store the calories from a SAD meal pretty efficiently. It takes a lot more energy to break down, access and story the calories in a WFPB diet. So even if you consume the same amount of calories, the net amount of calories stored by your body on a WFPB diet will be lower.

—Adopting a WFPB diet is associated with a faster metabolism and higher body temperature, meaning you burn more calories just by, you know, existing.

"I could go on, but I know this can get tedious. Anyway, thanks for getting the word out and helping me, Mike, I am in your debt.

"P.S. Oh, and one more tip: be careful about buying new clothes as you lose weight. I started as a size XL (sometimes XXL). When I became a size L, I had to toss my entire wardrobe and bought a new wardrobe in size L...

"...But I kept losing weight. I blew past size L and am now generally a size M (sometimes even a size S) and had to replace my entire wardrobe yet again within a few months. If I had waited a few more months, I could have saved a fair amount of money.

"On the other hand, buying a new wardrobe as you lose weight is incredibly rewarding and satisfying!"

John Camp: "In addition to Caste, I would suggest White Trash: The 400-Year Untold History of Class in America, by Nancy Isenberg. (Also available on Amazon—the books are actually paired there.) I think White Trash is the better book (I've read them both). Caste was an interesting book but seemed to me to be almost a semantic argument. Wilkerson insists on the importance of caste, but in practical terms, she seems almost to use it as a synonym for race. I think her book would have been more pointed if it had just been Race: The Origins of Our Discontents and didn't have this artificial construct imposed on it. I think the distinction lies in the fact that Isenberg is a professional historian and Wilkerson is a professional journalist, which affects their approaches to the subject matter, Isenberg being more rigorous, Wilkerson a better writer and more emotionally effective. Both books are well worth reading."

Barry Reid: "I'd like to concur with adamct. I appreciate the diet/liefestyle posts and they have provided encouragement as I have lost 44 lbs. over the last two years."

Mike replies: That is excellent. Strong work! And another way to think of that weight loss: that's two years you weren't gaining weight. Strange to say, but most overweight and obese people are not just overweight and obese—they're also actively gaining weight. That's one thing that finally got my attention—I tipped the scale at 273 and thought, "where does this stop?" I clearly saw myself reaching 300 lbs., then 315, then 325, and so on. Right now I haven't lost any weight for seven months, but I haven't gained any, either.

David Maxwell: "Well, here is another 'thanks for these posts' comment. I know you catch a lot of flack for not 'staying in your lane' (interesting, given that this is your blog), but for me they are the most valuable posts that you make. I have read a number of WFPB books that you have recommended and am fully convinced. I have been meat free for over two years, but struggle with the rest of it. Dairy is a major weakness. But I have recommitted myself and am now three weeks into a true WFPB diet. I enjoy it! Most of my meals are prepared on the slow cooker as that fits my lifestyle the best. I am fortunate to have a very supportive wife who eats what I prepare and also works to accommodate me when she cooks.

"Unfortunately my activity level is not what I would like it to be given that I am not currently working and watch my nearly three-year-old son full time. I bought an exercise bike a few weeks ago but haven't developed a habit yet.

"I have been weighing myself daily and it isn't always encouraging. I am slowly trending down, but there is a lot of variation on a day to day basis. Like weighing two pounds more this morning than yesterday despite eating a normal amount with no junk. Is this normal? I am very consistent—weigh in the same clothes and before going to the bathroom first thing every morning.

"I am optimistic that this type of lifestyle will be the solution to my weight and energy struggles. Thanks again Mike!"

adamct replies to David: "David—YES. That is completely and utterly normal. I have no idea how it's possible, either. I'm sure it has something to do with water retention and bowl movements and the timing of your last meal and black magic, but whatever it is, it is totally normal. And annoying as €£¥%. Stick to it. Weigh yourself daily but compare where you are after a month to where you were when you started. Hang in there, man. It's worth it."

Mike replies to David: I agree it can be frustrating. I stop losing weight—they call it "plateau-ing"—for weeks or even months at a time. That's what the record shows.

Are you eating any sugar? Overt or covert? Any alcohol? Be aware that many supermarket foods have added sugar these days (it's the perfect industrial additive, except for the wee detail that it's disastrous for public health). The body is a scavenger, and will use the easiest source for energy and pack away the rest as fat. I weigh myself morning and night and it becomes obvious which foods are conducive to weight loss and which aren't. For instance, nuts, which are loaded with fat, barely move the needle. But white bread, which is vegan and traditional and seems harmless, will make my weight shoot up very noticeably and stay up for days. It's very interesting that eating the same amount of white bread and real whole-wheat bread (both from the same Mennonite bakery) have very different results on the scale for me. White rice vs. brown rice, ditto. Even small amounts of candy set me back after a couple of days.

Oil is the other thing to watch out for. Many WFPB doctors recommend no oil at all. Chinese takeout—very bad. It's totally vegan, but it's loaded with oil. It's easy to sauté without oil at home, but there's a trick to it and it has to be learned.

Keep in mind the ideal rate of weight loss is a pound a week or less. That's barely detectable beneath the everyday fluctuations. But it's 52 pounds in a year! So don't be discouraged.

The way I think of the scale is, it's just data. I don't look to it for encouragement. I just gather the data. It's very tempting to skip the weigh-in when you know you've pigged out on something unhealthy and you suspect the number on the scale is going to punish you. But that's how people give up and start to regain. So just gather the data and don't worry about the day-to-day. If you have a bad day food-wise, have a better day the following day.

And don't forget, unlike many bad-for-you weight-loss diets, this way of eating is great for your body and your health. It will pay dividends over the long run in better blood work numbers, lower blood pressure, lower disease risk, better overall health, and a feeling of well-being, whether you lose weight or not.

Comments

[c.d.embrey]

Unlike Mike, I do not have a sweet tooth. I'd starve to death long before I'd drink a smoothie.

I eat nothing with added sugar. Recently I threw away a Family Sized box of Kellog's Raisin Bran, because it's now lightly frosted—Yech!

[David Bennett]

Can we go back to more interesting cameras now? Please!

[Dave Millier]

You don't need to convince me of the value of plant diets - I've been a vegetarian for well over 25 years.

However, your time based approach won't work for me - I'm a grazer. Not because I'm hungry but because it's a stress/boredom release and a momentary mood lifter. I also have IBS/allergies that cause weird ructions in the digestive system that I find indistinguishable from hunger pangs.

Where I do agree with you, is that calorie restriction diets tend to be counter-productive. They work while you can stick with them but that tends not to be long term. It's soul destroying to slog your way to a 30 pounds weight lost only to put it all back on (and more!) over the next months. Better to go with the all you can eat approach but stick to vegetables with few calories. Carrots and peas for example, can be eaten in whatever quantity you want!

With these things, be grateful for any approach you can make work. For most people, it's very difficult.

And here's a question: some people never have weight problems, never watch their food or pay attention to controlled eating. How does that work? There are about 4000 kCals in a pound of fat. If you over eat by, say 50 kCal per day, in 10 years that would add up to a weight gain of c. 45 pounds. If you under ate by the same amount, you would lose 45 pounds (starve to death?). The unlikelihood of someone being able to eat exactly the right number of calories every single day without any regulation astounds me. How is it done?!

[c,d,embrey]

My relatives taught me how to eat. No guru needed.

Many of us have Grandmothers, Aunts or Mothers who make/made tasty and nutritious meals.

I've been eating fiber and antioxidants before they became trendy. Because of meat rationing during WW2, I've eaten a lot of rabbit (not everyone is addicted to red-meat).

I had a Salmon Burger (high protein, high omega-3 fatty acids, and high in vitamin D) for lunch the other day. Today's lunch was Red Beans & Rich with Sausage today. I naturally eat healthy, because of what I learned at home.

BTW I don't have Diabetes, or a Cholesterol problem, and can still do crunches at 80something.

I wonder what the GOAT (Tom Brady) has on his menu?

[Colin]

"Food isn't ideology" - I know that what you mean is that 'the food you eat isn't ideology', but I feel impelled to disagree with what you actually wrote. As a lifelong vegetarian who finally turned vegan last year, I have to say that meat eating is an ideology and that ideology is both barbaric in terms of the appalling conditions and pain imposed on our fellow animals and truly harmful to our planet's ability to support human life in the way the meat industry works. With very best wishes to you from a bleak snowy London!

[Richard Parkin]

You must stop this eating plan now! If you lost 4 stone in the first 6 months of last year I calculate you will have vanished entirely by the middle of next year assuming you started at 16 stone :).

[Luke]

A WHOLE CLOVE of garlic? Yow.

Yep, I read the whole post.

[darr]

" ... I add a ladle or two of brown rice and a couple of spoonfuls of beans, microwave it until it's hot ..."

You are killing some of the nutrients by microwaving. Get yourself a good porcelain/enamelware saucier to heat up your food. Your body will thank you for it.