The Mcdougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss
Drawing on the latest evidence about nutrition, metabolism, and hunger, an easy-to-follow weight loss plan places emphasis on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet while explaining how weight is lost and gained. Reprint.
3 Stars Great, if you are willing to be a quirky vegan…
Being a vegan is already considered kind of quirky. Add to that the fact that Dr M says to avoid things like carrots and soy products. Too strict for my taste. However, veganism is an incredibly healthy way to eat, and this diet works… if you can do it.
2 Stars Too restrictive. Better options elsewhere.
The diet plan advocated by this book is a high carbohydrate, low protein, low fat, vegan diet. It is further restricted by not allowing any flours or products made from flour, or higher calorie vegan foods such as nuts or avocados. It also doesn’t allow any dietary fat at all beyond what naturally occurs in the food. This leaves you with things like potatoes and other starches, brown rice, salads, vegetable soups, and chowders. Sounds yummy, right? It gets worse. The few included recipes are bland, boring, and uninspired. If you follow the meal plan you’ll be eating endless salads and one mushy steamed vegetable dish or soup or chowder after another. You won’t be able to use any of your old recipes. Incredibly, this plan makes a normal vegan diet seem luxurious by comparison because vegans are at least allowed bread, pasta, nuts, seeds, tofu, avocados, and dried fruit. This eating plan would be hard for most ordinary people (much less vegans) to follow for long without feeling deprived and wanting to cheat. If you do follow the plan and achieve results, it will be through sheer will power.
The claimed benefits of such a plan would be to help you lose weight without feeling hungry. He discusses the evils of all dietary fat to an extreme. He never mentions current medical opinions that some dietary fat (especially Omega 3) is recommended. He also claims that following his plan can have have all kinds of benefits from improved skin, teeth, and bones to better body odor and sexual performance. He does cite some research to back him up, but of course fails to mention that there are also a lot of studies out there that would refute his findings.
I’m sure some people have found success with this plan, through sheer perserverence. But why suffer with an extremely limited meal plan? If you are considering a plant based diet to lose weight I think you’d be a lot better off finding a good vegetarian or vegan cookbook and then tweaking those recipes of unnecessary fat. You’d still get the benefits of a plant based diet without the severe restrictions of this plan.
3 Stars The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss
I am finding this program extremely difficult. I feel deprived, have tons of cravings and just moody. I have been doing it for 3 weeks now and those feelings have not subsided. My husband on the other hand is not having any problems with it.
5 Stars Best Diet Book Ever!
I’ve only been on the diet for one month and have lost 17 lbs. I feel great and am even starting to exercise again. The key is sticking to the diet exactly. No fatty nuts, avocados, olives or soy. I’ve discovered my body works much better without that stuff anyway. I feel so good, I don’t miss those foods a bit. I’m also sleeping much better now and have more energy throughout the day. People ask me what I’m doing, and when I say I’m on a 100% vegan low fat diet, they always say “I could never do that”. I bet they’d be surprised at how easy it really is. No calorie counting, no portion control, just eat from nature’s vast selection of grains, vegetables and fruits whenever you’re hungry. By the way, you aren’t constantly hungry when your body is getting the nutrition it really needs. Simple!
5 Stars A good place to start.
In my entire adult life, and I am over 50, the only way I have been able to keep my weight where I want it is through a low fat mostly vegan diet. I read The McDougall Plan 18 years ago and did great on it for years. Then I went off it when I was depressed through the illness of a person close to me and I gained 40 pounds. Now I am going back on it. I feel so much better eating this way.
This book is good for general information and to psyche yourself up; you need to psyche yourself up because it takes a lot of effort to change your eating habits. It isn’t as good for recipes, although it has some good ones. You will want to get some other books for more recipe choices. My favorite is Gabe Mirkin’s Fat Free, Flavor Full because he has recipes from places such as India, Spain and Latin America and many more that give variety of flavor. I just don’t use his recipes with seafood or milk products, but he has plenty of fantastic ones that are good for McDougall’s plan.
The Mcdougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss
Drawing on the latest evidence about nutrition, metabolism, and hunger, an easy-to-follow weight loss plan places emphasis on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet while explaining how weight is lost and gained. Reprint.
3 Stars Great, if you are willing to be a quirky vegan…
Being a vegan is already considered kind of quirky. Add to that the fact that Dr M says to avoid things like carrots and soy products. Too strict for my taste. However, veganism is an incredibly healthy way to eat, and this diet works… if you can do it.
2 Stars Too restrictive. Better options elsewhere.
The diet plan advocated by this book is a high carbohydrate, low protein, low fat, vegan diet. It is further restricted by not allowing any flours or products made from flour, or higher calorie vegan foods such as nuts or avocados. It also doesn’t allow any dietary fat at all beyond what naturally occurs in the food. This leaves you with things like potatoes and other starches, brown rice, salads, vegetable soups, and chowders. Sounds yummy, right? It gets worse. The few included recipes are bland, boring, and uninspired. If you follow the meal plan you’ll be eating endless salads and one mushy steamed vegetable dish or soup or chowder after another. You won’t be able to use any of your old recipes. Incredibly, this plan makes a normal vegan diet seem luxurious by comparison because vegans are at least allowed bread, pasta, nuts, seeds, tofu, avocados, and dried fruit. This eating plan would be hard for most ordinary people (much less vegans) to follow for long without feeling deprived and wanting to cheat. If you do follow the plan and achieve results, it will be through sheer will power.
The claimed benefits of such a plan would be to help you lose weight without feeling hungry. He discusses the evils of all dietary fat to an extreme. He never mentions current medical opinions that some dietary fat (especially Omega 3) is recommended. He also claims that following his plan can have have all kinds of benefits from improved skin, teeth, and bones to better body odor and sexual performance. He does cite some research to back him up, but of course fails to mention that there are also a lot of studies out there that would refute his findings.
I’m sure some people have found success with this plan, through sheer perserverence. But why suffer with an extremely limited meal plan? If you are considering a plant based diet to lose weight I think you’d be a lot better off finding a good vegetarian or vegan cookbook and then tweaking those recipes of unnecessary fat. You’d still get the benefits of a plant based diet without the severe restrictions of this plan.
3 Stars The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss
I am finding this program extremely difficult. I feel deprived, have tons of cravings and just moody. I have been doing it for 3 weeks now and those feelings have not subsided. My husband on the other hand is not having any problems with it.
5 Stars Best Diet Book Ever!
I’ve only been on the diet for one month and have lost 17 lbs. I feel great and am even starting to exercise again. The key is sticking to the diet exactly. No fatty nuts, avocados, olives or soy. I’ve discovered my body works much better without that stuff anyway. I feel so good, I don’t miss those foods a bit. I’m also sleeping much better now and have more energy throughout the day. People ask me what I’m doing, and when I say I’m on a 100% vegan low fat diet, they always say “I could never do that”. I bet they’d be surprised at how easy it really is. No calorie counting, no portion control, just eat from nature’s vast selection of grains, vegetables and fruits whenever you’re hungry. By the way, you aren’t constantly hungry when your body is getting the nutrition it really needs. Simple!
5 Stars A good place to start.
In my entire adult life, and I am over 50, the only way I have been able to keep my weight where I want it is through a low fat mostly vegan diet. I read The McDougall Plan 18 years ago and did great on it for years. Then I went off it when I was depressed through the illness of a person close to me and I gained 40 pounds. Now I am going back on it. I feel so much better eating this way.
This book is good for general information and to psyche yourself up; you need to psyche yourself up because it takes a lot of effort to change your eating habits. It isn’t as good for recipes, although it has some good ones. You will want to get some other books for more recipe choices. My favorite is Gabe Mirkin’s Fat Free, Flavor Full because he has recipes from places such as India, Spain and Latin America and many more that give variety of flavor. I just don’t use his recipes with seafood or milk products, but he has plenty of fantastic ones that are good for McDougall’s plan.