Dr. McDougall Advanced Study Weekend Trailer

McDougall Advanced Study Weekends are dedicated to broadening the understanding of plant-food based nutrition and conservative medical care. The impressive guest speakers present new opinions and research to our sophisticated audiences.

Even though we call them "advanced study," these educational events are designed for the benefit and enjoyment of those just beginning on the road to better health, as well as medical and nutrition professionals.

The entire Advanced Study Weekend experience is available for video download at a fraction of the cost of live attendance HERE.

When you sign up you will be able to watch the lectures individually, and over again, for 120 days.

Note: The videos will be available in easy-to-watch Flash form

Assembling food and fuel to pack into cooler and boxes for our camping trip to Yosemite! From the upcoming Fit Food Quickies™ Cookbook.

True to my promise to report in on how I fueled the heady and grueling ascent to the top of Half Dome n Yosemite last week (see How A Busy Woman Trains To Climb Yosemite's Half Dome) I'm here to report that we did the whole darn thing on our usual, easy prep fare.

That means piles of plants and potatoes, big bowls of grain, fistfuls of fruit, beautiful grainy breads and colorful beans, and a few nuts and seeds thrown in for fun, flavor, and rib-sticking gusto for long days of hiking.

Eating this way for years has defied the "need lots of protein for muscle and energy" myth that I've seen disproven over and over again.  As a matter of fact, the more I learn, the more it is clear that the very edibles we have been led to believe by the four food lobbies as "building strong bodies" can be crippling to our health and sap our vitality.

Cramming The Cooler

Packing for a 4-day camping trip, when you are used to lots of fresh and fibrous foods as we are, just takes a little more planning – and space – than the cheese and salami route.  Not a problem.  It took one giant cooler and 2 large cardboard boxes, along with my backpack brimming with sandwiches, apples, and snap peas  for the journey en route.

Along with and including  the starter staples as in the image at the top of the page, I packed:

• 2 quarts of brown rice that I cooked in the rice cooker and then froze as part of the "ice" for the cooler
• 1 dozen large fuji apples
• 2 dozen bananas
• several cups of steel cut oats and rolled oats
• raisens
• bag of grapes
• cans of cooked beans
• loaves of bread
• large bag of tomatoes
• jar of peanut butter and jam
• 2 bags baby carrots
• 2 giant bags of snap peas
• McDougall soup mixes – about a dozen
• Annie Chung noodle soup
• almond milk
• flax seed
• Lara Bars

A Day in the Menu

On our big trek day to Half Dome we had a typical day's eats.  As that is pretty fresh (shall we say emblazoned?) in my memory, let me run through the day.

Plant Powered to the top of Half Dome

Breakfast:

Our launch time out of camp was planned for 6:00 a.m., still flashlight time in Yosemite Valley, so I needed to prep breakfast the night before and store it in the bear locker.  I took a couple of cups of rolled oats, a handful of raisens, and soaked it in the pot overnight.  In the morning, a quick heating of same delivered two steamy, sweet bowls of grain which I topped with a full banana each, scoop of flash seed, sprinkle of sucanat, and splash of almond milk.  Full tanks, and ready!

For the hike I packed and we ate through the course of the 10 hour trek, round trip:

• two hummus, tomato, and avocado sandwiches  on sprouted grainy bread
• two peanut butter and banana sandwiches
• four giant fuji apples
• 4 lara bars

Of course, we packed several quarts of water.   As we neared the challenge of the last "sub dome" (I call it a pyramid, a giant stair-step process up to the base of the dome) and the haul up the cables themselves,  I ate my two apples to get more glycogen packed in my  muscles, already sponges to absorb more stored energy from the exertions early on.  This proved to be a good strategy as I never ran out of juice.  Just got a little winded.  After all, we were at nearly 9,000 feet.

Mission Accomplished!

Our arsenal of eats proved to be perfect for the day, we had enough to go on and even came back with a couple of the Lara Bars.   And ten hours later, after crashing into camp,  we caught our breath, and then treated ourselves to veggie burgers and salads at Yosemite Lodge.

What are your tricks for packing and eating healthy on the run or camping?  Share your ideas in comments below!

Did you notice how trim Bill looked in Chelsea's wedding photos? With the motivation of his daughter's recent wedding festivities still in clear memory, Mr. President Bill Clinton is on a trajectory to stay trim So far he's down 20 pounds.

According to Clinton, Regular exercise and a near-vegetarian, plant-based diet are at the core of his program to "ensure he gets to enjoy any future grandchildren".

A far cry from the days Mr. Clinton used to pop into a burger joint for a Big Mac break while on a jog loop from the Oval Office.  You go, Mr. President!

John McDougall, M.D., Lani Muelrath

Lively debate (they don't agree on everything). Spirited discussion (everyone kept their sense of humor). And perhaps surprisingly (there were plenty of eggheads in the mix) clear education.

The Advanced Study Weekend (ASW) proved to be thrice its weight in information gold.  If you wanted solid, don't-give-me-hype-or-quack nutrition science, that is.  Something you can wrap your head around AND sink your teeth into.  Literally.

The presenters roster read like a Who's Who from my nutrition bookshelf and web archives;  Dean Ornish, John Robbins, Dr. John McDougall, Jeff Novick, RD, Doug Lisle, author of The Pleasure Trap.  And that was just for starters.

Everyone proved to be heavy on thought provoking to entertaining, and usually both.  Everything from McDougall to Piraro.  Yes, Bizarro's Dan Piraro, long time animal welfare advocate was our Saturday night entertainment.

The program was intense, with barely breathing space between sessions.  But that didn't stop the McDougall camp from preparing endless, bountiful buffets for each and every meal.  What an unimaginable treat to be able to dive into a food line and not have to ask after what the cook might have dumped into the pot.  Yes, it matters.

You see, the delicious never quit. Besides a colorful salad bar and all the veggies you could

Catching up with John Robbins, Diet for a New America

ask for, there were potatoes (mashed or baked or latkes?  You name it!), pizza, lasagna, shepherd's pie mountains of salsa and bowls of gravy and dressings, burritos, and hey – a dessert table with brownies and ice cream.  Nothing with a face or a mother anywhere.  Nothing swimming in oil to spoil your figure and yet keep your appetite unsatisfied. Eating this way, hungry and full can be your guide.  Just like it should be.

As a matter of fact, true to form, I ate my fill.  And, um, not the 80% rule, more like the 110% rule because I was having such a ball NOT being the cook.  My attitude was "More of everything!"

With just a few shy of a dozen guest speakers with varying opinions, you might think that a "nutrition" weekend would close leaving you with more questions than answers.  Certainly, the presentations opened new windows of thought opportunity.

Dr. Dean Ornish shared about the Medicare win: inclusion of the Ornish program for heart disease

Yet I came away with new respect and reinforcement for what I have found to be an optimal diet for fitness, staying trim, excellent energy, and vitality to match.  It's the foundation of the eating guidelines you recognize from my Booty Camps.

Whole foods.  Mountains of quality whole grains or starchy vegetables with piles of veggies.  Throw on a cup of beans or legumes for the day, and decorate it with a couple of fruits.  Sprinkle on some nuts or seeds.  Save all the rest for decoration, condiment, or feast occasions. There you have it.

For a  review of the weekend events and a slide show of the headliners to boot, go to my Healthy Living Column at examiner.com.

You'll find the slide show at the end of the article, just click on one of the photos and click your way through.

With Bizarro's Dan Piraro right after his show tonight

Another AMAZING day here at the Advanced Study Weekend in Santa Rosa.   Since yesterday's check in, I already have about 5 more stories to tell.  And it's so late I really should just turn out the light and catch some zzzs but there's such a full agenda again tomorrow, the backlog will be enormous!

Let's start with the end of the day. Dan Piraro of Bizarro fame had us rolling in the aisles with his after-dinner show tonight.  Briefly?  A hilarious life story told in slides, and a take-no-prisoners jump right into a boatload of Bizarro cartoons with Piraro's strong environmental and humanitarian vegan message.  You've seen it in his work.  We got to see a pile of them all at once with inside anecdotes and spontaneous hilarity.

Dr. Michael Greger, US Humane Society

Other stories from today?  Oh, man!  Where to start?

Breakfast with Dr. Michael Greger (left), Director of the Humane Society of the U.S.  Full of energy and ready to go with an amazing arsenal of research reports from the Clinical Journals, Michael educated and entertained us TWICE today with a wildly informative and entertaining presentation which he delivered game show style.

The facts and jokes were so fast and furious I didn't have time to keep up with my notes!

Dr. John McDougall took stage early today with a jam-packed presentation about diet and Multiple Sclerosis.  Deeply woven into the presentation was his work with Dr. Roy Swank, his mentor and inspiration from decades ago, who pioneered investigative research into the connection between diet and M.S.  A moving, and quite technical  presentation, though quite clear, in Dr. McD's usual well-illustrated style.

Dr. Daphine Miller delivered a fascinating and colorful piece about her work The Jungle Effect: The Healthiest Diets from Around the World.

Daphine Miller and John McDougall grab some chat time before her sho

Daphine traveled all over the world spending time in medical practice, volunteer work, and pure investigation to find out the health secrets of selected cultures and discovered several commonalities:  whole foods, simple traditional edibles from their gardens and farms, sense of community, and simplicity.

She had some amazing photographs from Peru, Crete, Camaroon, Iceland, and more.

More surprises! I shared a meal with Ann and Larry Wheat (below) , owners of Millenium (world famous vegan restaurant in San Francisco!) 

Their restaurant (long-standing success at 16 years and running!) according to the buzz is THE place to go for a good meal in San Francisco, no matter what your dietary persuasion.  I've got a copy of their menu and more details so that I can put together a great feature for my Healthy Living San Francisco column at examiner.com.  Watch for that!

Oh!  Millenium chef Stephanie Boston did a LIVE cooking presentation with Savory South Indian Breakfast Foods.  And passed around samples.  Indian food?  BIG fan.  Perfect.

Jeff Novick, R.D., amazed us all with his presentation on "Nuts and Health:  What the Science Really Says".  How he gets all the facts from the papers organized into simple graphs, logical interpretation, and with his usually entertaining and humorous flair is always impressive.

More to tell but it's almost tomorrow and we start EARLY around here.  Tomorrow Dr. Dean Ornish, Doug Lisle, John Robbins, more Jeff Novick and John McDougall and Hans Diehl.  Whew!

With the adorable Jeff Novick, R.D., my Nutrition Consultant

The McDougall Advanced Study Weekend is underway!  Minutes after my arrival I ran smack dab into Jeff Novick, RD, my Better Bodies for Busy Women Nutrition Consultant.  Jeff is on the weekend's agenda with 2 presentations.  First, he'll be presenting the findings from his recent research and paper on "Nuts and Health:  What The Science Really Says".  And I can't wait to hear his "Calorie Density" presentation once more.  Always enlightening – and funny.

Dr. McDougall opened the conference with a presentation based on his brilliant paper on colonoscopy – of course after all kinds of good humor about "pre-dinner" topic choice!

Dinner was amazing, and I had the privilege of sitting at the reserved Forums table along with Jeff (Nutrition Expert at McDougall Health and Medical Center) and several other friends from forums.

Reservations! Table for forum friends (l to r) Linda, Terri, moi, and Jim (see Jim's story in video lower on page)

I think we all went back for seconds. Well, at least I did, and I wasn't the only one elbowing the fast-flying trays of veggie lasagna.  Oh, and there was Shepherd's Pie, yams with peanut sauce, summer squash, all the salad, beans, and other fixin's you could want, 2 kinds of soup, tabouleh, and oh! ice cream and brownies for dessert.  And I didn't have to cook a minute!  Ya- hooooo!

THEN (I can't believe how much has happened already) I met Ann Wheat, owner of the very, VERY famous Millenium Restaurant in San Francisco.  I'll track her down tomorrow for more conversation.

Off to evening festivities then with Dr. Hans Diehl, the creator of the brilliant CHIP program – Coronary Health Improvement Program – that has changed the lives of tens of thousands all over the country through a specific curriculum that teaches

eat foods AS they are grown – and exercise, stress reduction, and balanced living.  I've been wanting to meet Dr. Diehl since presenting at the local CHIP program and seeing the impact of this powerful program.

Tomorrow's itinerary is jam packed.  And of course more great food!

"Health isn't everything, but without it, everything is nothing"  ~ Arthur Shopenhauer.

Heaps of whole foods keep your hunger satisfied and keep you trim; brilliant! That's today's filling yet slimming lunch, above

In "Numbers UP On The Scale?  Don't Panic!" I gave you the skinny on how I transformed my relationship to the bathroom scale from one of "fight or flight" to mutual respect.

The scale can be your friend, as trendy as it may be to say otherwise.  And if you are afraid of the bathroom scale, it's time to take a look at THAT.  Because making the scale your friend can be a very helpful tool when it comes to weight management.

Dietary Guidelines Pave The Simple Solution Path.

Since I know that nutrition is number one when it comes to weight management (see You Can't Out train A Bad Diet), I thought back to my eats the last couple of weeks to find where this slight gain might have come from.

It is, after all, all about calorie density. The simple solution is to pare down foods high in calorie density – that means a high amount of calories per pound of food – and to nudge your selections back in the direction of low and overall moderate calorie density with vegetables, starchy vegetables, whole unprocessed grains, fruits, and legumes.  This crowds out the culprits while keeping you happily well fed.

You look at what you have been eating that may be creating weight challenges due to its calorie density.  For me, looking back the past couple of weeks, it was not hard to find:

• Tahini sauce on my veggies more often than usual
• Champagne on a couple of occasions
• Extra rounds of grainy bread
• Slices of avocado (on the grainy bread) more often than usual

Each of these on their own might not be enough to make a difference.  But put them together, and they end up making a difference.  Reality!  I got it!

Here's The Immediate Action I've Taken

When the scale goes UP, I just make sure that I have plenty to eat that will reverse the gain, so that I can shed the extra lbs without hunger and with complete satiety.  Quickly and easily. It works like a charm.

Here's what I did today to insure success:

Rinsing potatoes - 3 varieties - to bake in a big batch

1. Fired up my rice cooker with a big new batch of brown jasmine rice
2. Pressure cooked a new big pot of black turtle beans
3. Soaked and scrubbed a dozen potatoes:  red, gold, and sweet – to bake today

I'll can the avo and tahini for now, save the champagne for down the road a bit and replace most of the bread with rice, other whole grains, and potatoes for a few days.

That's all it will take. And this will match my requirements of being well-fed, eat according to appetite, and stay up with my usual, time-saving workout strategies.

Simple solution.  Piece of cake.

Do you have a strategy for taking action if or when the scale nudges up?   Share about it in comments below.

And I promise to report back in with the success of my FitDream Food Plan.

© Lani Muelrath 2010

We've been known for our no carb left behind romps through Italy. Like this find of grainy pizza crust "senza formaggio" and piles of chopped fresh tomato we scored in Cinque Terra.

What do YOU do with appetite swings?

I just go with it.

Back in the old "count, weight, measure" days, we operated on the assumption that every day would be a match energetically and with appetite.  Know what I mean?

Sorry sister, ain't the truth in real life.  Our bodies have all kinds of reasons – most which we  probably know nothing about – for swinging our appetites.

And if we eliminated or seriously made a dent in the dastardly diet-slammers such as highly processed foods, rich pastries, desserts, fiber-free dairy, and other agents of sabotage to natural fullness, then we are free to go with the appetite flow without fear of weight gain.  Trust me.

Case in Point

If it brings confidence and comfort that it IS possible to eat according to hunger and fullness signals without gaining weight endlessly and forever – and to actually use it as an effective tool to keep you trim – Ill give you an example from my eating life.  Here is my food journal – best I can recall – from the past 2 days.

Yesterday

Breakfast:

• Big bowl of muesli with crispy rice cereal and flax seed, 2 kinds of peach and blueberries, splash of rice milk

Mid-morning:

• green plum.  Perfect

Lunch:

• pile of romaine with kidney beans
• sandwich with 2 slices of whole grain bread with thick chunks of tomato and pickles

Afternoon.  Nothing.  (Unusual!)

Dinner:

• giant ear of corn

Today:

Breakfast:

• Bowl of hot muesli, ground flax seed, fresh peaches, splash of rice milk.

Mid morning:

• plum

• nectarine

• rice cake with sesame butter, and
  

  Snapshot of today's tabouleh; from my upcoming FitFood Quickies Comford Food Cookbook

• several scoops of the tabouli salad I was making for lunch.  Yeah, it almost didn't make it.  To lunch.  The tabouleh I mean. Click HERE for my easy tabouleh recipe.

Lunch:

• pile of baby spinach with big scoop of tabouleh with garbanzos all over the top

• sandwich with 2 slices of whole grain bread with thick chunks of tomato and pickles

Afternoon:

• no hunger until dinner, as well satisfied in the morning

Dinner:

• corn on the cob

• cauliflower with veggie chorizo

• bruschetta of chopped tomato on wholegrain bread

Later:

• huge bowl of watermelon chunks

So, what's with the appetite shifts?

Who knows. Both days I took a long leisurely morning walk.

Yesterday I did my Bar Method workout after the walk.

Sherry and a 4 - legged treasure

Lani, I'm not really surprised but have to say that your organization and thoughtfulness with McBooty Camp are unparalled. Everything is so organized!

I feel fabulous!

I was just thrilled this morning when looking in the mirror.

Even with a far from perfect participation level, I have:

• In these 2 weeks of McBooty Camp, lost 7 – 8 lbs.
• Significant firming and toning through the torso and lower lats, obliques and lower abs due largely to Fit Quickie #1, which surpasses my previous favorite abs exercise! We're talking highly visible toning and tightening
  
• A renewed commitment to working out and some new ideas on how to introduce variety. I feel like I look good which is 95% of the battle to looking good!
• It is like all of a sudden, people are noticing me. I keep getting compliments in a way that I've never experienced.

I count that is pretty darn good given the many distractions I've had over the two weeks.

I've learned that just minor changes in nutrition can lead to big results

Even though I haven't been able to participate fully, I am soooo very glad I at least started and did what I could. I would be at the same place I was almost 2 weeks ago if I hadn't just jumped in with both feet.

PLUS I was thrilled when I stepped on the scale today and did not gain anything back during the girls trip last weekend! Actually, I think I've lost a little more but it just isn't showing up on the scale yet.

Kudos to Lani for orchestrating such a great program!

~ Sherry R., Houston, TX

If transformation can truly take place in 2 weeks, the women in the July Better Bodies for Busy Women Break Free McBooty Camp have proven it.  Once again.

Here's what makes the difference. The power of:

• the focus
• the team pull
• intensive, laser coaching
• intention to dive into massive overhaul using the most powerful success tools in a telescoped time period
• the accountability
• the targeted body shaping
• the regular activity
• the simple, clear, no-hunger dietary guidelines
  

What an honor to work with this amazing group of women.  We rolled up our sleeves and got some serious work done, making huge strides in embedding new tactics, strategies, and attitude.

Results are still coming in, but I don't want to wait a minute longer in sharing some of them with you, my valued reader.

I'll let them tell more of their own stories.

Sharon

My closure to the McBooty camp:  today I weighed in and am  down 6.4 pounds by my math in 2 weeks!

I am now 1.4 pounds from being  the lowest weight I have managed to achieve in 8 years.  (I did lose down to my goal weight 1993, shortly after my son was born, using Jenny Craig – and I stayed at that weight for about 5 minutes, was hungry all the time and sick of the prepackaged food.)

I feel very enthused and confident that using the principles I have learned and continue to learn from Lani and my fellow MCBooty Camp and FitDream Fusion peeps that I will reach my goal of 145 lbs, size 8.  My size 14 jeans are getting loose! Yay!  After comparing my measurements that were taken at the beginning , I have lost a total of 3 inches in 2 weeks.

Lani, thank you so very much for the nutrition DVD. My husband was watching it yesterday and is just all over it, much to my surprise! My son will be here tomorrow and we are going to watch it together as a family.  I am looking forward to continuing on with FitDream Fusion.

Sharon Mack, Paralegal,, Rocky River, OH

Janice

Lani, thanks for a great class. It really  expanded my ability to do harder & more intense exercise. I now have increased confidence for reaching goals and being active. I also lost 1.8 lbs.

I loved the daily audio.  It was this quiet little whisper in my ear of things to focus on. I liked both calls and found them very helpful. Obviously I was all over the forums!  Your responses to all of my posts was unexpected and I felt very loved and cared for.

I liked the resources made available – and that you responded to my thoughts about goals by providing more info.  That was really helpful.

Looking forward to seeing you in the FitDream Fusion forums!

Janice Nelson, Redwood City, CA

Paym

Even though McBooty Camp came at a very busy time for me,  I not only kept on track with exercise, but I lost some weight.

As a matter of fact, this now brings me to 22 lbs lost since jumping into FitDream Fusion and applying the tools.

A pair of jeans are literally falling off ME – REALLY – I FINALLY understand how someone CAN have their jeans fall off their butt!

The daily audios certainly spoke to me.  I found myself listening and taking notes for future reference – and so much was so relevant to what I'm going through or doing right now!

The energy level was wonderful to be a part of.

The Teleclasses were AWESOME.

Thanks Lani!~ Paym  Bergson, Entrepeneur,  Paym Bergson Enterprise  Trainer/Writer, Toronto

I am proud I did the two week McBooty Camp even though it was such a busy time!  It was a short enough program to commit to,  and I got great support and results.  I feel more motivated and determined to continue eating this way and keeping up with exercise.

More results:

• I lost 3.5 lbs,

• I have increased energy and better sleep.

• I feel thinner:  I tried on clothes that fit looser in the stomach, waist and thighs.

• I have better control of my eating through your guidelines

• I think the Fit Quickies, which were new for me, are very effective in a short time.

Overall I feel more in control of my eating and  I think the dietary plan is a great program to jump start.  It made me very mindful of eating healthy without oils, cheese, and dairy products.

I feel better about myself and more empowered to move forward and I hope I continue to see progress.

I was very impressed by  the details of the program and support. The daily messages were great! The tele class kick start was very helpful to increase motivation and help me get organized.  The Q and A was  very helpful at addressing individual concerns.

I think McBooty Camp is a great program, because it is short, very well organized, motivating and supportive and Lani is awesome in giving individualized feedback in a very professional, timely and warm manner.  The support of the group is great, too.  For someone who is feeling stuck, this is a great jump start program, with actual results in a short amount of time.  Thanks Lani.

~ Maxine Becker, Cupertino, CA

Want to be sure to know when the next McBooty Camp is scheduled?

Go here NOW and let me know!

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