The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss

I have trouble maintaining my weight. At one point I was 50lbs overweight and I think I tried every diet out there. Keto diet, low carb, paleo, special K, calorie counting, portion control even Mediterranean. All fail. To be fair Mediterranean isn’t a diet, but I found out that yes, olive oil does make me fat. When I switched to the McDougall diet it was like all my prayers were answered. The weight just melted off. I have zero self control when it comes to food. When I’m hungry I must eat now! And portion control? Forget it! I eat, and once I start it’s impossible to stop before I’m full. So. The trick is to eat lower calorie density food that is highly satisfying. I find that a plate of beans and rice with steamed vegetables fills me up every bit as much as a plate of chicken breast with Mac n cheese. Through years of trial and error the McDougall diet is how I eat now, it’s the only diet that actually works! I eat when I’m hungry. Stop when I’m full. And I stay thin and energetic. I highly recommend.

I keep coming back to this book for a reason: it works! Between using this (and Mary’s Mini) I can regain control of my weight when I go off track. It’s tenets are simple, science based, and effective, calorie density in foods, eating for health, and reducing or eliminating consumption of processed food, oils, and animal products.The results are undeniable and quick. While I utilize The Starch Solution now in my everyday life, I’ll always refer to this book as I need to. I’ve recommended it to anyone who is serious about weight loss and health.

I am 58 and have been noticing my weight is increasing year by year due to a slowing metabolism and medications that cause weight gain. I weighed 138 a year ago and now weight 151. I bought the book to give me a restart. Realized that I have been eating too many nuts, and too many sweet treats. The program is focused on eating healthy--salads with lots of vegetables and whole grain products, no oil salad dressings, potatoes both sweet potatoes and russet potatoes, and only two servings of fruit. (I do apples, pears, or melons). I have already dropped a pound in weight. Nice to get a reset. McDougall also recommends more exercise and time with friends and family.

At this point, I have read a fair amount of books on the whole foods plant-based diet, including John A. McDougall's most famous book, The Starch Solution. I've also read books written by T. Colin Campbell, Chef AJ, High Carb Hannah, Rip Esselstyn, and Douglas N. Graham. To be honest, I wasn't expecting to learn a whole lot of new information from The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss, especially since The Starch Solution is typically heralded as McDougall's best book. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that I was completely wrong—this book has a lot to offer, even for the most nutritionally-educated among us!Starting out in the beginning of the book, McDougall makes it clear that this is not an all-or-nothing program. Obviously, the more strictly one adheres to the program's advice, the more weight will be lost. But since change is a process and takes a considerable amount of time, he advises that we pat ourselves on our backs for every healthy choice we make, and use our lapses as learning experiences. I especially liked his dedication at the beginning of the book: "To those who suffer needlessly in order to look great." I can definitely relate to that sentiment!McDougall assures the reader that "The desire to appreciate your body and make it beautiful is one of the most natural and wonderful urges in life." However, "even more fundamental is the urge to eat, which, after all, keeps us alive." These natural instincts may seem to be at odds with one another, but McDougall asserts that they can work together to produce a beautiful-looking body at a healthy weight. In his opinion, the cultural view that they are in opposition with one another is simply a delusion that happens to also be self-destructive. Without the strong desire to eat, we might give up food for some other activity, which would result in malnourishment and possibly even death by starvation. The strength of our hunger drive is necessary for our survival as individuals as well as the survival of our species. Hunger has driven many people to perform great acts of courage as well as also ghastly acts of barbarism. In other words— the hungrier we become, the more likely we are to lose control of our actions. It's time to stop blaming overweight and obese people for their hunger drives, because hunger is completely normal and necessary for survival.Contrary to popular belief, our bodies mainly crave carbohydrates, not fat or protein. In fact, the secret to satiation is carbohydrate consumption. And that doesn't apply just to full-grown adults—it includes children as well! McDougall states, "Even in childhood, the nutrient our bodies need more than any other is carbohydrate. Adults need approximately 35 times more carbohydrates for energy than we need protein for growth, and 800 times more carbohydrate than fat." McDougall goes into great detail in Chapter Three about the benefits of carbohydrates on our health. The rest of the book covers several various topics, including how the fat you eat is the fat you wear, the importance of fiber (which is only found in plants) in the diet, the role that insulin plays in promoting obesity, what constitutes the "Maximum Weight Loss Program", the physiological reasons that women lose weight slower than men, the (small) role that exercise plays in weight loss, the effects that alcohol and coffee have on weight (and overall health), how sleep deprivation can be beneficial, and shopping and food preparation. The book ends with a lot of tasty recipes for people who need some meal planning inspiration.Overall, this is one of the best books on the whole foods plant-based diet that I have read, if not the absolute best. I would definitely recommend reading this over McDougall's The Starch Solution, even though I would recommend reading that one as well. The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss goes into more detail and may be a better fit for people who are specifically looking for information to help them lose weight. I definitely recommend reading this one if you get a chance. It's relatively old (originally published in 1994), so it may even be available at your local library for free!

The high-carbohydrate, low-fat diet is an interesting approach and I'm quite convinced that it can work well for healthy people; and it's also been shown by scientists to be at least equally effective for weight loss as a low-carb diet. My understanding is that the combination of high-fat and high-carbohydrate diet is the most dangerous one for blood sugar problems and obesity. Many raw vegans especially seem to thrive on the high-carb low-fat approach. It is important to make the case for this approach and I do agree with this book that complex carbohydrates are important for sustained energy - I just prefer to get mine from raw oat groats (raw porridge) and bananas, not cooked starches. The book makes many important points that are being overlooked in today's low-carb craze. My low-carb experiments did not work well but eating raw starchy carbs seems to be the perfect solution.I do have major objections to some aspects of this book also. 1) If you have digestive problems (e.g. not enough enzymes in the intestines, bacterial overgrowth (SIBO), pathogenic organisms in the gut/ parasites, etc.) then eating lots of cooked carbs can make it worse. Also with IBS the FODMAPs can cause problems, e.g. inulin can irritate the intestines because the bad bacteria feed on it and produce too much gas. McDougall should warn people in the book about these matters, instead of strongly advocating the diet to everyone (he does talk about Celiacs, however). 2) No diet is suitable for EVERYONE. Most diet books (including this) don't make this clear and therefore they are all not only wrong but dishonest. They typically tell the case histories of those people whose diet success was most extreme. These are isolated cases and distort the picture to the reader. Diet books should explain the full range of responses different people have had to the diet. 3) Too much leeway for including high GI carbs, sugar, etc. into the diet. Although the basic diet outlined seems very healthy (perhaps a bit more protein should be allowed for), there is a mention that white rice, a bit of sugar, etc. are acceptable occasionally. I think this advice can backfire for a lot of people, especially if they have blood sugar issues (high insulin) or fast carbs trigger cravings.I do think this book can help a lot of people but not everyone. There is plenty of room for improvement also, however. I'm really looking forward to another high-carb advocate book that is more realistic and practical, covering different responses by different people.In my opinion the healthiest diet is wholefood, has a lot of healthy complex carbohydrates for those whose gut can tolerate them (low GI), reasonably low fat but not in excess (perhaps certain conditions require a more strict approach), adequate protein, includes only small quantities of animal products (though with good effort vegan may be perfectly healthy also), has lots of fibre (important) and raw vegetables, some fresh fruit, takes into account individual food intolerances, is adjusted to any health conditions and imbalances the person may have, with a view to strengthening the system over time to eventually be able to eat a good variety of the foods described above.

Having watched a few videos of Dr McDougall's talks on health and nutrition, I was itching to read this book. It didn't disappoint. The advice is so simple and obvious, it's laughable. As a former low carber(for 10 years) who never lost weight unless I ate absolutely no carbs, not even the 20g allowed, I was convinced that this plan would make me gain weight (high insulin blah blah). I have read all the low carb books out there, I was in touch with the research plus I was a member of low carb blogs and podcasts but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stick to any sort of low carb regimen and I just wanted a different strategy on losing weight that didn't involve giving myself headaches and being tired all the time. After I read The McDougall Program For Maximum weight loss, I was shocked that I was losing so easily when according to low carb science I should be gaining weight at a phenomenal rate!Now that I have all the low carb propaganda out of my head, I can see nutrition clearly without the low carb clouded view. Carbs don't make you gain weight, they are the most satisfying foods on earth and exactly what your body needs. It's in fact the carb-fat combination that makes you gain weight and prevents you from losing. In the past I could eat countless slices of bread and butter and never feel full. Numerous cookies, potato fries, cakes galore and Chinese fried rice and I'd still be hungry. Even at home when I was trying to be 'healthy'. I would have some steamed rice with no oil added beef stew(I didn't think the fat in meat counted!) and be surprised that I wasn't losing weight. Duh! These are all fat-carb combinations!Today I am completely satisfied with a plain slice of toast or maybe a teaspoon of fruit puree. A bowl of creamy oatmeal (made with water of course) is enough to keep me full all day, I even forget to eat lunch! And best of all, I don't have any cravings for the foods I used to think I loved (ice cream, cake etc). Now that I am getting all the carbs my body needs, I am no longer dying for a sweet after a rich meat laden supper. I am glad I am now eating not only a diet that I enjoy and is allowing me to lose weight effortlessly, I am now eating a sustainable diet and I am no longer involved in the unsustainable industry that 'grows' and kills 50 billion animals for food each year.Watching the film 'Earthlings' cemented my decision: A vegan I became after reading Dr Mcdougalls book and a vegan I shall always remain!!!

Took a while to arrive, but I'm reading it now and its a great book- even though I'm a vegan I can see why I'm not dropping any weight just from reading a few chapters of this book- even though it's second hand it's in great condition- very happy

I'm familiar with Dr. McDougall's teaching about starch based diet. I fully agree with his opinions and hope more people will buy this book and learn the best way to lose weight and keep it off. Not only health benefits but personal satisfaction lays in this life style.

It's John McDougall enough said!!!