BEGINNERS MANUAL For my friend.
In the beginning, we are told, there was a garden and so it is that when we think about beginning a whole food plant-based way of eating, we need to revisit the garden.
When I first started following The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss, I knew I needed to lose weight quickly enough to keep the momentum going so I wouldn’t get discouraged. It wasn’t that I chose the MWL book over any of Dr. John McDougall’s other books, but it was the book that was given to me knowing I needed a fast plan and that is what worked for me.
When we listen to a choir of voices, it is easy to “play” one “authority” against another until we find the plan which will give us the excuses we want to continue eating toxic food.
Perhaps that is why I decided to put Dr. McDougall’s MWL Program to the test and follow only that plan to the best of my ability so that I could determine if it worked. If I played around with it, the results would not be any more accurate than a sloppy scientific experiment.
I was desperate in July of 2016. It is true that I was already down 25 pounds from my all time high of 282 in 2011, but that didn’t matter when the doctor told me I had to lose 70 pounds before he could even refer me to an orthopedic surgeon to see if I qualified for knee replacements. I weighed in at 257 and was going to give it my best shot. I wanted quick results so my painful knees would not interfere with my desire to continue traveling the world.
Eating a plant based diet is very simple. These are my guidelines:
First of all, I learned the joys of batch cooking. Why would I want to start from scratch for every meal when I could reheat a plateful of food in the microwave for one minute (or maybe a bit longer) and have a meal?
Here’s what I try to have on hand at all times:
1. Steel cut oatmeal: I follow the directions on the package of oats but make 8 servings at a time. After cooking the batch, I pour the oatmeal into an oblong container (which has a lid) and after it cools, I cut it into 8 sections much like you would a baked product. (Notice I do not name the sweets because it just might trigger us wanting it, ha). This lasts for 8 days unless you are sharing it with others.
2. Potatoes: Potatoes are another staple that can be cooked in batches in the Instant Pot (or any other way) for 15 minutes with a cup of water. I don’t use a trivet nor do I poke holes in them. They can “rest” in the pot for hours after cooking and be warm when you return from any excursion or used after releasing the pressure.
3. Sweet Potatoes are my new favorite food. I started out cooking them in the Instant Pot but really find roasted ones orgasmic. I put them on a tray (can use parchment paper to eliminate any crusty juices) and roast them in the oven at 400 degrees for an hour.
4. Rice: I prefer brown rice but white rice is not a deal breaker. Asians have led healthy lives eating white rice. I cook my rice in the Instant Pot while singing a 3:2:22:10 jingle. 3 cups of water, 2 cups of rice, cook 22 minutes and release pressure after 10 minutes.
5. Beans: Do you know how many different beans there are? I sure don’t but I do know that I like Mayocoba, Pinto and Garbanzo beans. I like lentils too but forget to make them so these three are my staples. See my
Instant Pot Quick Cooking Chart for details.
Once you have these 5 groups taken care of, you can add fresh or frozen vegetables and fruit to your plate and you have a complete meal in a very short period of time. These foods can be presented on a plate, in a bowl, added to salads or eaten with your hands.
Spudfit Taylor has proven that we can live on potatoes alone (he did that for a whole year) and very successfully, I might add, so any other food you add to your plate besides a potato will be a bonus.
Is that simple yet? Have your plate be ½ starches (potatoes, rice, beans or corn) and the other half green and/or yellow vegetables and you’ve got a good place to start.
You might want to know what to drink? Well, there is warm water, cold water, water with a squeeze of lemon, water with herbal tea or filtered water if you want to get fancy.
There is no need to drink calories when we can use those calories by eating fresh food which we get to masticate. That means, we get to spend time chewing the whole food which is a lot better than having a machine chew it for us.
Eating from the four food groups: Fruit, Vegetables, Grains and Legumes makes it simple. Eating food in its whole form is important.
By choosing foods from these four categories, we realize we have all we need. Questions always arise about exceptions but if you ask yourself “Is it a vegetable, a fruit, a grain or a bean” you will know the answer. Get over it. It is that simple. You are on a journey to clean up your palate, your view about food and create a new healthy body. Weight loss is an added bonus.
We think our lives will collapse if we can’t put something on our salad. I keep that simple too: 3 parts Balsamic vinegar, 2 parts Dijon mustard and 1 part lemon or orange juice. I use ¼ cup as the measuring tool and that makes enough to fit into my 12 oz squirt bottle.
This dressing is also good over Brussels sprouts, green beans, broccoli etc. Condiments are allowed as well but by now you know how to read labels and watch for sugar, salt and oil content.
I prefer to focus on what we CAN eat and not list the no’s.
Suffice it to say that if it is not a fruit, vegetable, grain or legume, consider it toxic to you. When I pass the bakery section in a store, I cross my arms in front of myself and say “poison”. When I go past the dairy and meat cases, I add up all of the money I am saving by not even having to think about any of that. I do not look for vegan substitutes. I am simple. Substitutes often have excessive fat in them and that is what I want to eliminate from my body.
If you just don’t know how to enjoy a potato by itself, in a salad or in a soup, they are great buried under salsa, beans, dipped in mustard and/or a “safe” BBQ sauce.
EDUCATION
Reinforcements are necessary as is support. Be sure to join a positive oriented group – not one where the people seem to be looking for loop holes to following a radical plan.
What really helped me in the beginning was watching documentaries. If we don’t get scientific information about what are the real needs of our diet, we fall prey to gimmicks. Of course we have all wanted to find the magic bullet – the one that will not cause us to give up any of our favorites…but that is a myth. Instead of looking for a quick cure, decide what you want and pay the price of being honest with you and learn from others who have been successful – not just successful but sustained over time. (I don’t qualify for the 5 year suggested period of time, but I am worth listening to.)
DOCUMENTARIES I LIKE:
Forks Over Knives, What the Health and The Game Changers
I was initially told to read success stories but I figured they were all fake. They are not. My story is posted on Dr. McDougall’s website (drmcdougall.com) as “Esther’s New Life” with a follow up story as well.
RESOURCES:
For beginners I suggest getting well acquainted with Dr. McDougall’s website. ALL of his information is free. He has a good search bar where you can type in any health issue and get solid information that you can trust.
Dr. McDougall has a team of experts supporting his program. Dr. Doug Lisle is a psychologist who has helped us a great deal in learning that we are not weak people with no will power. We learned that it is normal to be drawn to the most calorie dense food in our environment. So, you say, what is the answer?
Get rid of all processed food or anything which has been a “go to” when you are under pressure or stress. (As you get some of this under your belt, you may look for podcasts on YouTube or you can buy “The Pleasure Trap”.)
Jeff Novick is an expert on nutrition so when you are not overwhelmed with so much new, exciting information, check him out on YouTube too. Learn the tools of his calorie dense chart and you will understand why sticking with the four food groups is the answer to ingesting foods too high in calorie content for a successful journey.
Dr. Anthony Lim is on Dr. McDougall’s team too and he has podcasts too which are informative and helpful. He helped me realize after hearing my story that I did not need to put myself back on levothyroxin for my thyroid for which I had been medicated for over 30 years.
Chef A.J. is a great source too even if all you learn is that “If it is in your house, it will be in your mouth”. A clean environment is the best antidote to “slipping” off the wagon. She is a real chef and provides great support for “food addicts”.
There are many additional doctors that I love too but this is all about helping the beginner and not getting overloaded with too much information.
MENTAL HEALTH:
Perhaps as important as anything is our mental health. What we think about, we bring about. If we don’t have a positive, energetic attitude, how would we expect healthy patterns to develop?
When we realize we are the creators of our own life, we are the ones who put food onto the end of our fork and we can be the ones who pat ourselves on the back and forgive ourselves when we screw up, we find that there is no one else to blame. Blame and shame never lead to success. We must be kind with ourselves and know that we are all babes in learning a totally new way to live and eat. There will be times when we make less than best choices and when that happens, I have found that having a potato be my next bite goes a long way to getting back on track. One error can be immediately changed. Binges are not productive. We still have to face what set us off looking for comfort in the first place. The problem will be patiently waiting for us anyway.
I say, “No guilt, only learning”.
I have found that it is not why I eat, when I eat, or how much I eat that is the issue. The only thing I have to consider is WHAT I eat. As long as I stick with the four food groups, I will be fine. I may overeat one day but that doesn’t matter. It all averages out.
Seek first your health. It is not what I did but what I have learned. If we eat the right food, the weight loss will be a positive side effect.
Keeping it simple,
Esther Lebeck Loveridge – “Esther’s Nutritional Journal" Author of "From Donuts...To Potatoes".
