Meal Mentor

I Weighed Myself Daily & This Happened...

THE SCALE IS A BIG LIAR.

(There, I said it.)

A lot of people email me discouraged by their “super slow” weight-loss or are curious how long it takes to lose, say, 15 lbs on the meal plans.

A couple things:

Losing 0.5 to 2 lbs per week is ideal and healthy for an adult, even though some might call that slow.

“Reality” weight-loss TV shows have warped our expectations and what they’re doing on those shows is not healthy.

(Turns out it’s not sustainable either, since most contestants gain it back.)

Most of us slowly and steadily gained, and that’s exactly how we’ll lose it, too.

The important aspect of “slow” loss through the meal plans is that you’re PERMANENTLY changing your lifestyle and creating long-term success.

The closer you get to your healthy weight, the slower loss will creep.

There is also a smaller margin for error when you start zeroing in on your goal.

For example, when Scott and I first went vegan, we didn’t eat very healthfully (very “progress not perfection”) and we still lost weight initially, even eating Boca burgers, French fries, Earth Balance and Coconut Bliss ice cream.

Eventually we plateaued and cleaned up our diet, but it wasn’t until we started using the meal plans consistently, that we broke our barriers and kept the weight off.

I yo-yo dieted for years, constantly gaining and losing the same 10 lbs.

Once I’d maintain my weight loss for a while, I would start being less strict with myself, allowing vegan junk food in -- ”everything in moderation!”

And I’d “moderate” UNTIL my clothes felt snug.

Then I’d return to my stricter diet, lose the weight, and start all over again!

I finally got sick of the 10 lb circuit, committed to nutritional excellence, and have stuck to the meal plans (and kept the weight off!) for 2 years.

There are oodles of hidden culprits that can sabotage you when you’re on your own.

Your weight is not a good measurement for weight-loss.

Especially once you’re nearing the end of your loss -- it’ll bounce dramatically.

Measurements are the way to go, as well as a pair of pants that you don't wash or wear, but keep in the closet for a weekly check-in.

I weighed myself everyday for a month, being diligent to do it at the same exact time every morning, after full urination and elimination, and there were several times where I gained or lost as much as 2 lbs day-to-day, which is physically impossible.

See for yourself:

You cannot physically gain or lose 2 lbs of fat in a 24-hr period!

There's just so much flux going on…

When I posted my experience in the private Facebook group for annuals, Leah left this great comment:

(P.S. Annual sale tomorrow -- one day only!)

AND if you exercise, the scale is completely unreliable because you have no way of knowing if it’s fat loss or muscle gain or inflammation.

Moral of the story? Don’t use the scale to track -- it can be one of many ways you keep accountable but it should never be your ONLY method of measuring progress, especially for the last 20 pounds.

I Was Stuck at 140lbs and Then I Did This… (Before/After Pics!)

Last week Ashley shared in the forums, “I think 150-ish is where my body wants to naturally rest if I eat everything I want to, but there's still more fat there than there should be."

I had the exact same experience.

Even when I was perfect, not "cheating" with vegan junk, I couldn't break the 140 lb barrier.

140 is in the "normal" range for my height, but I still had fat. It wasn’t a vanity issue: my stomach was hanging over my pants and I constantly had chafing issues with my legs and arms from rubbing. I wasn’t comfortable.

Then I had my body-fat measured: I was at the tippy top end of what was considered "healthy" even though I was at a "healthy" weight!!

Yet I kept listening to all the plant-based experts who say, “You can eat as much as you want. As long as it's plant foods, especially whole foods close to nature. Don't count calories.” So I did not.

I ate lots of potatoes, lots of brown rice, lots of big “gorilla” salads, lots of kale and other greens, tons of carrots and other veggies, some beans, and fresh fruits.

I even spent $8,000 on personal trainers and TRX classes!

But I couldn't crack the 140 lb barrier.

I wondered what was wrong with me...

But the truth is I was told I could eat a lot -- and that I SHOULD eat a lot -- eat as much as I wanted… eat until I felt "full," so I did.

I ate and ate.

(Then I ate some more because I “worked out.”)

I quickly developed a habit of having 4 plates of food at a meal, all the while patting myself on the back for being so healthy.

But when I GAINED 7 pounds in three weeks following the all-you-can-eat plant-based approach, I had a “Coming to Jesus” moment.

I was eating perfect foods, but waaaay too much for my biological needs.

When I first started doing the 1,200 calorie meal plans strictly, I thought the weight I was losing was from my occasional “cheating” with oil and vegan junk foods, and I still do think that was some of it.

BUT when I broke the 140 lb barrier, and broke it EASILY, I knew there was more to it.

Because even without ANY oil or vegan junk in my diet I couldn't do that.

I then lost another 5 pounds, eventually another 5, and a little while later 2 more.

I then maintained that weight for TWO YEARS.

(I’m still in shock, as I was chronically a yo-yo dieter before.)

Before strict compliance with the meal plans-link (but plant-perfect) vs. me last week.

I absolutely, 100% believe being able to break 140 (and keep it off) is the result of 2 years using the meal plans consistently

AND finally coming to terms with how much I need in a day, and that it can't be a free-for-all.

At least not for me.

I HAVE to pay attention to total calories, too.

Plant foods don’t have “magic calories” that don’t count.

There is still a cumulative effect.

And that excess is still excess.

Many members left comments to Ashley’s post saying they have had (or are having) the EXACT same experience, so I know my experience is not a freak outlier.

Here are a few of their comments:

To be clear, I don’t believe weight-loss is purely about counting calories.

It’s NOT a simple math formula of calories in (consumed) versus calories out (burned).

WHAT goes in the mouth is far more important than how much you eat (total calories).

Intuitively you know 100 calories of carrot cake isn’t the same as 100 calories of carrots…

…so we can’t plug them into the same math formula or expect our bodies to treat them equally.

There’s no running off a bad diet... just like your car isn’t going to run on the wrong fuel no matter how hard you put the pedal to the metal.

AND if you put too much fuel in the gas tank, it’s going to spill out.

I think the clincher for me was when I had my metabolism tested along with all the other professional (expensive) fancy testing that sent electrodes through my body to tell me exactly how much bone, water, muscle, fat, and poop I was...

The tests said…even with moderate activity, on a day-to-day basis I would not need more than 1507 calories. and that was WITH activity -- if I just sat on my butt all day it was way way less.

I said to the lab girl, "But that’s so little food!" I refused to believe it was right! She told me “The human body is like a Prius: very efficient. It's not a gas-guzzling Hummer."

Coming to terms with portion sizes and total calories, sticking to the meal plans and not trying to wing it was how I got over the hump.

It didn’t matter that I only ate steamed vegetables, I wasn’t going to lose weight overeating.

As you get closer to your healthy weight, it gets more tricky and there is a smaller margin for error.

And I’m not just talking from my personal experience or my husband’s -- this echoes hundreds of experiences shared by our meal plan members in the chats and forums.

Soo if YOU have hit a plateau or you’re FRUSTRATED, follow us.

I can’t recommend the meal plans enough.

No guessing, no room for error -- just doing.

Get the results you want step-by-step.

P.S. The scale is also a big LIAR. It’s NOT a good way to track weight-loss, especially once you’re within your last 20 lbs. TOMORROW I’ll share what happened when I weighed myself every day for a month.

UPDATE: A few people emailed and asked what my thoughts on Dr. McDougall’s teachings, based on these experiences.

Dr. McDougall says “The fat you eat is the fat you wear” and I believe him…

But in the same breath, all foods, even kale and bananas and rice, contain a little fat naturally.

So if I’m over eating (and I was) that fat is going to add up. It’s why I think I was still wearing so much of it despite my perfection.

In fact, even when I was only eating vegetables, it wasn’t uncommon for me to exceed 15% fat. If I also had beans that day, I could easily reach 20% fat (and that’s when I was zero oil, nuts, seeds, olives, etc.)

SO my “low fat” diet wasn’t very low fat after all if I was chronically overeating.

I guess that makes us both right :-)

P.P.S. Join the Meal Mentor newsletter (it's FREE!) Click here to signup!

Reaching Your Weight-Loss Goal Podcast

TGIF!

A new podcast is up and ready for you!

In this episode Laura (my copilot!) shares her INCREDIBLE journey from back surgery (that left her on bed rest eating TV dinners for a year) to reaching her ultimate weight-loss goal with the meal plans. But more importantly, this bride-to-be doesn’t just look good, she FEELS amazing! AND she’s helping others feel good too as a massage therapist! (She also dishes a few tips on how massage therapy can help you feel your best, especially if you’re chained to a desk at work all day!)

Laura’s honesty is incredibly refreshing (she admits to yo-yo in weight!) and her advice for pushing through and making minor tweaks for the last hurdle is spot-on. You’ll just love Laura!

Get the current meal plan now.

P.S. Join the Meal Mentor newsletter (it's FREE!) Click here to signup!

Visual Illusions -- How Your Plate Hijacks Your Hunger

Are you using the wrong plates?

Because even if you pick the perfect portion size…

Putting it on the wrong plate can hijack your thoughts and make you feel unsatisfied!

For example:

Image via Mo Illusions

Crazy right? One feels ABUNDANT and the other plates signal deprivation!

Stuck with BIG plates? Always fill half with salad or broccoli :)

Plate COLOR can also hijack your brain!

If the color of your food is the same color as your plate, you’ll feel less satisfied.

All the more reason to load it up with some GREENS!

Another study also concluded that plate rim widths and rim coloring can affect our perception of food portion size, too!

Overwhelming to think about, I know, but isn’t it also EMPOWERING?

To know using a smaller plate can help you feel satisfied?

That’s easy enough!

AND as you learned yesterday: smaller containers can help with satiation too!

Meal planning is a necessary part of tacking the portion problem.

Pre-storing your servings helps you create boundaries,

AND it helps satisfy so you don’t fall victim to external cues that cause you to overeat!

Now, you can take all these tips and run with them…

But if your sense of portions has been warped by restaurants and commercials (and a whopping 96% of America’s chains fall way outside the USDA recommendations), you might want to consider food rehab.

Use the meal plans as an educational tool to help learn what a portion really is.

The longer you stay on them and use them consistently, the more you’ll KNOW what a portion is.

You’ll know EXACTLY how much to eat or serve yourself.

You already know you can’t rely on your will alone -- environment plays a HUGE part.

BOTH ways!

STOP the overeating and portion distortion for good with this week’s meal plan.

P.S. Join the Meal Mentor newsletter (it's FREE!) Click here to signup!

Portion Size Problem?

Ever have jury duty?

I did last month, AND on the very first day, security took my lunch!!

(Apparently glass tupperware is a weapon.)

The next day I packed the same lunch in small, 1-cup plastic containers.

(You know, to appease security.)

6 little containers instead of 2 big ones, and curiously, I didn’t finish my lunch.

I packed the same lunch AGAIN the next day, and didn’t finish again.

Then jury duty was over and I had the last serving of Bang Bang Chickpea Pasta for lunch at home.

And I ate the whole thing no problem.

WHAATTT??

Why did I eat it all on day 1 and day 4, but not the other two?

Did jury duty make me that nervous?

Not exactly.

The small containers created boundaries.

I had to stop eating to open the next container, a pause that gave me a chance to assess my hunger and satisfaction.

Most of us rely on external clues to tell us when to stop eating… like an empty plate.

Or in my case, an empty container.

This is one reason why it’s not a good idea to eat straight out of a bag or directly from the pot of food.

You should always pre-portion or pre-plate, then step away from the food source when you eat.

(Not having food ON the dinner table has made a huge difference with my overeating tendencies!!)

Another reason I LOVE the meal plans: portions are already decided for me.

I don’t have to guess or eyeball… because as we learned earlier this month, humans are TERRIBLE at estimating calories and portions.

The meal plans are an educational tool for you.

The longer you stay on them and use them consistently, the more you’ll KNOW what a portion is.

You’ll know EXACTLY how much to eat or serve yourself.

You won’t be victim to external cues that force you to overeat (more on that tomorrow!)

For now, I want you to start learning true portion sizes.

Download your free handy guide to serving sizes (below)!

Busy Mom Podcast (& Parenting Tips)

A new podcast is up and ready for you!

In this episode Kim (my copilot!) shares how switching to a plant-based diet helped her avoid gallbladder surgery and lower her cholesterol.

A mom of 2 teens as well, Kim shares her strategies for making it work when you’re BEYOND busy, including quick-n-easy meals she makes (and her kids make!) when she doesn’t have time to cook or prep ahead AND how you can get kids on board with a plant-based diet.

Don’t miss her AMAZING parenting tips or her testimonial of the power of positivity for coping with OCD!

Kim is also my dazzling co-host for the new Meal Mentor book club! Have fun getting to know her :)

Get the current meal plan now.