Mary's Mini Webinar

Starts out with a commercial for the 3-Day Intensive in May. I wish they would have one of these in the NYC area - I would make it a point to attend it, for sure!

Down to the nitty gritty:

ONE starch for all three meals (and snacks, if necessary) for 10 days. No switching around from one day to the next, one meal to the next. Potatoes OR sweet potatoes OR brown rice OR quinoa OR any other grain, like corn. Dr. McD and Mary did seem to prefer potatoes over all the other starches, though.

Beans are not to be eaten during a Mary's Mini. Since they're restricted because of their high protein content it won't be possible to be satiated or get enough calories on beans for a Mini. Since they're a starch, they're not to be eaten with any other starch on the Mini, as per the one-starch only rule.

Condiments, spices, herbs, and dressings are okay, no gravy or sauces. Nutritional yeast is okay to use as a condiment.

Eat your starches and don't worry too much about the vegetables. Keep it simple. Maybe grab a salad with your lunch, or green beans, or green peas, or broccoli or kale (or any other non-starchy vegetable) with dinner. Don't get hung up on details.

You DO NOT have to eat the same starch/veg combination each day. For example, if you have hash browns with onions and mushrooms for breakfast one day you do not have to eat hash browns with mushrooms and onions every day, as some Star McDougallers were telling people. 

Eat as much as you need to keep you satisfied until your next meal. Eat as many potatoes as you want. Eat as much rice as you want. Eat as much of any starch (so don't load up on veggies) as you need to be satiated. There's no limit as to the amount of food to eat on the Mini, just the variety. Starch is king!

No fruit on the Mary's Mini. Why? Dr. McDougall says it's because it tastes too good, with a big grin on his face. But a bit of sugar on your food is okay, such as brown sugar on rice for a rice Mini's breakfast.

The Mini is supposed to be boring and monotonous, he says over and over and over again. Don't make the food too tasty.

While the Mary's Mini was designed as a simple restricted diet to jumpstart weight loss when you hit a plateau, it's okay to stick to it long-term.

Non-Mini tip - Use the Search on the McDougall web site. That will answer just about ANY question anyone has, find any recipe you're looking for. It's your best friend when it comes to eating the McDougall food plan.