I've been doing the MWL plan this week and I'm feeling SO good! I lost 25# a few years ago with "McDougalling" and as much of it has returned, I'm back on the wagon.

Anyone else?

I have been on MWL for 6 weeks and have lost 36.5 pounds, stopped taking all insulin and medications and feel 10 years younger. It is so worth it to me

Would y'all like to explain what this is?

I'm interested in reading the plan but I haven't as of yet. I do know the basic gist of it.

Here is one of the books:
http://www.amazon.com/Mcdougall-Prog...dp/0452266394/

The website also has some good information:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/

Basically it is a lowfat vegan diet emphasizing legumes, whole grains and veggies. I believe fruits are somewhat restricted (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Hello, CraftyeLadye! Great job!

Nelie is pretty much right on. McDougall has a couple of different plans, both of which he describes as "starch-centered", and one is outlined in the book Nelie linked (12 Days to Dynamic Health) and he also has a book called The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss.

This site explains the differences between the two --
(apparently I can't post links until I have 25 posts... remove the spaces and add the triple W if you'd like to see)
fatfree. com/ diets/mcdougall.html

The MWL plan was created after Dr. McDougall found that many dieters needed a little extra help, so the MWL plan eliminates the flour products and richer/fattier vegetable foods like nut, soy, and avocados which are allowed on the regular (12-day) plan.

I am constantly amazed at how the weight comes off almost effortlessly despite never counting calories or grams of anything or even monitoring portion sizes -- I eat a LOT and often and am never ever hungry... and if I get hungry, I eat!

Here is the website Julie was referring to:

http://www.fatfree.com/diets/mcdougall.html


Also, for some recipe ideas, here is a great site:
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/mwl/index.shtml

I've never tried McDougall, although I do have the book (the MWL plan one). I think my one issue with the MWL plan is that, when I read the book a while back, it seemed to take the "all fat is evil" approach. But that might be because it's geared for maximum weight loss. I know for myself I need to add some fat (not much - I'm fine with a tsp or two of olive oil a day, maybe a little avocado) to feel satisfied, especially when it comes to salad dressings (I don't do well with the fat-free stuff).

It sounds like the regular plan is a little more liberal with added fats, though. Can anyone tell me what the restrictions are on that for the regular plan?

Tam

The regular plan also excludes added oils; oil is fat and Dr. McD believes we get enough fat which naturally occurs in plant foods and adding it to our diet is unnecessary.

You could give it a try as written - without the added oil - and if after a week or so you feel awful, add your tsp of oil and reassess how you feel and if you're still able to lose weight. Not every body is the same, and yours might function just fine with that added little tweak to the plan.

Regarding satisfaction with foods, you might find if you look back at the book you have, you'll see that Dr. McDougall's plans aren't about counting calories or limiting portion sizes, so if you've eaten your healthy meal and you're still hungry, you can simply eat more and you'll be fine. I find that when I need something to "stick to my ribs" I have a big bowl of oatmeal (I add raisins, applesauce, and a sprinkle of brown sugar), refried beans (canned fatfree) and salsa with some brown rice, or some veggie chili atop a baked potato.

Let us know how it goes!

I began a McDougall plan on the 20th of this month after trying the ETL program and felt I had to quit it (ETL) because the greens were giving me stomach aches after a few days.

Well, I guess it still counts as a McDougall plan but I'm doing a Mary's mini diet and am LOVING it! I really like McDougall's plans and I think they are perfect for me. I am thrilled with his wife's diet here. I'm feeling great and have lost 2.5lbs when nothing else was helping.

Hi - I am new to McDougall (and this website), and saw your post. I like the food on the 12 day diet I found on line, but I am always hungry. I thought you had to portion control. I hope I'm wrong

Anyone else still on the McDougall program?

I'm not, but I just watched McDougall's video The Starch Solution, and it's really interesting! I'm curious, and would like to read more about potatoes/starch and it's effects on insulin resistance or people with PCOS. I just saw your stats - you're doing great!!

I'm not, though I'm vegan and eat a wholefoods diet. I snooped around his website not long ago and read lots of his articles. Many of them made good sense. Some of them, however, struck me as absolutely nutty, particularly the ranting about how all fat is evil. He is deliberately ignoring the large body of research showing the benefits of essential fatty acids and distorting evidence to suit his own ends, which is unprofessional and does not make me trust him. He will cagily refer to evidence of where fats can be helpful (e.g. omega 3 oils for anti-inflammatory purposes), but then deny it in the next sentence, usually with no evidence whatsoever.

Example of said ranting:

Not a day goes by that I don’t hear someone say to me, “My diet is completely vegan, but I am still 40 pounds overweight.” The oily sheen on her face and hair are a clear give away that she hasn’t been willing to stop adding the half cup of extra virgin olive oil to her spaghetti sauce. from here.

There is a difference between cutting out all nuts, seeds, avocados, cooking oils and so forth, and the other extreme of putting half a cup of oil into a serving of pasta sauce. I tried eating at 10% fat temporarily (suspected gallstones, and the GP gave me the wrong instructions by mistake) and it is incredibly restrictive, difficult, and miserable. I had to start making my porridge with half water because even that amount of soya milk was bringing the fat up, I couldn't put a small sprinkle of sesame seeds into my miso soup, I had to cut out tofu, I couldn't use my usual 1/4 tsp of oil for stir-frying a big pan of veg, I couldn't take even 2g of EFA supplements for help with pain and energy levels, and my little treats of 4g pieces of dark chocolate a few times a week were out of the question. 10% is the level where you have to start fretting about how much fat might be in the oats you're eating for breakfast. I didn't become overweight because of eating a reasonable amount of fat in a healthy vegan diet, I became overweight because I got ill, couldn't exercise and lost track of what I was eating.

I'm also not happy about the sarcastic tone of that paragraph, the unpleasant blaming of people who are overweight and treating them like idiots. Incidentally, even on a relatively low-fat diet of about 26% of calories from fat, I'm still having substantial problems with dry skin. It's also possible to have painfully dry skin and still get a shiny nose!

Also, apparently modest doses of vitamin supplements will kill you, according to this wonderful authority! Overdoses are harmful with some nutrients, yes, and usually massive overdoses that are many times the level of overdose that would cause harm from a prescription medication, but I am aware of quite a lot of research showing that normal doses are frequently beneficial. I certainly haven't found any reputable sources showing that a basic multivitamin will actually kill you.

More bad science:

n November 2, 2004 results of an analysis of 19 studies involving 136,000 people concluded that the overall risk of dying was increased by taking vitamin E pills at commonly consumed dosages (400 IU).6 Taking this much vitamin E for 5 years could increase your risk of dying by 5%.

Funny, I thought everyone's risk of dying was 100%? 400IU is not a commonly consumed dosage. The RDA for Vitamin E is 8IU, and having just checked six popular multivitamin supplements, the amount of Vitamin E contained in those ranges from 7.5IU to 60IU. I've just had a search through separate Vitamin E supplements on the Bodykind website, and while 400IU is available here and there, it is very far from being the norm. 100IU or less seemed to be the most common amount. McDougall is implying that a mammoth overdose is what is routinely taken, which is a long way from the truth. It's like saying that paracetamol [acetominophen] is bound to kill you because commonly consumed dosages cause a slow and painful death, when by "commonly consumed" you mean "500 times the recommended dosage" (and actually, paracetamol can kill you at twenty or so times the recommended dosage).

Meanwhile, have a random article on how vitamin supplementation is beneficial, rather than harmful, to cancer patients. There are lots of them about.

He's really not someone whose opinion I trust.

Hi all,
I was surprised to see this thread until I scrolled through the responses and saw that I had responded in 2008!

Since then, I've actually been on McDougall on and off for the past year (but the regular plan - not MWLP). Right now, I've been back on it for about 6 weeks. I've lost 6 pounds so far (I would have lost more but I had a bad binge week a few weeks ago ).

Overall, I do like it and much of what McDougall says makes sense to me. I do agree with Estofia that he can get a little ranting with the "all fat is evil" mantra, but I've learned to ignore it and go by my instincts. Sometimes I do add a little fat (usually a little olive oil or some tehina in my hummus) and still keep my fat low (around 12% as opposed to the 10% that he advocates). So far I've been feeling pretty good with it. My migraines have very much cleared up (though I still feel "headachy" most days) and I feel more energetic and clear-minded.

It's nice to see so many people doing well with McDougall. Incidently, there is a very active message board on the McDougall site with a lot of nice people with some helpful information and recipes. I visit there often.

Tam

Has anyone followed the McDougall plan from a previous diet which was identical apart from the very-low-fat business? I'm curious about how much of the good effects people report are from the extreme low fat, and how much are from the rest of the diet.