Mary's Mini
dreamer12151
Posts: 1,031 Member
I plan on doing a potato Mary's mini starting next week. I've done my own reading, research and planning for it, so I'm not wanting to hear the "ooooh, so unhealthy, I could never do it" kind of posts. I am aware it is only a short term reset deal, not meant for a long term all-in type plan. I need to get control over myself again, so that is why I am doing it.
I was just wondering if anyone has actually done a MM (or more!) and what you found to be helpful when it comes to doing one, completing it and, more importantly, at the end incorporating other foods back into the meal rotation?
And in case you are wondering what it is, this website breaks it down: https://www.brandnewvegan.com/articles/what-is-a-marys-mini
I was just wondering if anyone has actually done a MM (or more!) and what you found to be helpful when it comes to doing one, completing it and, more importantly, at the end incorporating other foods back into the meal rotation?
And in case you are wondering what it is, this website breaks it down: https://www.brandnewvegan.com/articles/what-is-a-marys-mini
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Replies
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Be careful.
The website you've cited says this: "Whole, starchy foods, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc actually have all the macro and micronutrients you need."
Technically, potatoes do have a wide array of the macro- and micronutrients that we need. But that doesn't mean that eating them exclusively will give you those nutrients in the proportions that your body needs them. Take lysine, an essential amino acid, for example. One medium sweet potato has lysine, but only about five percent of your daily requirement. So you'd need to eat an awful lot of sweet potatoes to get enough. I realize this is just a ten day plan, but I'd be very cautious about taking nutritional advice from a website with such a poor understanding of nutrition.
For a supposedly vegan website to recommend the elimination of nutrient-rich vegan staples like fruit, tofu, avocado, and nuts -- even for ten days -- makes me sad.11 -
To put the lysine thing in context, this diet is also eliminating some of the most lysine rich foods in the vegan diet -- beans and seeds -- almost ensuring insufficient lysine intake during the "Mary's mini." I consider it incredibly irresponsible for a doctor to recommend a plan like this coupled with false information about potatoes being able to meet all your dietary needs while you're losing weight.6
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Will eating only potatoes and some limited veg for ten days (or more!) give you control over yourself?
Are you open to being convinced there's another way?7 -
I know you say you want people who have tried it to comment, but really how many people would even try such a "plan?"
What are you trying to "reset?" Is it about over-eating and/or cravings or something? How do you plan to fill in the missing nutrition? Supplements?
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Almost all of the "single food diets" are unwise (and unnecessary). Just cut the calories and see what happens!7
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dreamer12151 wrote: »I plan on doing a potato Mary's mini starting next week. I've done my own reading, research and planning for it, so I'm not wanting to hear the "ooooh, so unhealthy, I could never do it" kind of posts. I am aware it is only a short term reset deal, not meant for a long term all-in type plan. I need to get control over myself again, so that is why I am doing it.
I was just wondering if anyone has actually done a MM (or more!) and what you found to be helpful when it comes to doing one, completing it and, more importantly, at the end incorporating other foods back into the meal rotation?
And in case you are wondering what it is, this website breaks it down: https://www.brandnewvegan.com/articles/what-is-a-marys-mini
As you are no doubt already figuring out, you probably aren't going to find many (if any) folks here who would do a plan like that. I certainly haven't. I'm not sure how you are currently eating, but if you do decide to do this for 10 days, and you do so successfully, I would suggest that you introduce foods you have cut out for that whole period very slowly, starting with small quantities and adding a bit more every day. A drastic swing in eating habits can wreak havoc on your digestive system.
Regardless of whether you follow this plan or not, another great way to get control of your eating is to treat figuring out your behavior like a science experiment. There is always a "why" our eating gets out of control, but it's not always obvious. I found that in addition to really carefully logging my foods, putting notes in about how I felt during the day and making it a goal to figure out why I went off plan when I did really helped! I made it a goal to log everything before I actually ate it, and it forced me to think about why I was about to log a snack or second helping that didn't fit. Once I started to see a pattern and figured out what was going on in my dang head, ways to troubleshoot became more obvious. :drinker:9 -
The reason I was planning it was because I am out of control again with my eating. No matter how I try to rein it in, I do well for a while, then "crack" and the next thing I know, I'm adding cheese to everything, munching on chips, adding that little "extra" something....and the pants that used to fit are now tight. The scale is creeping back up & I don't want it to go any further up.
The deal for this Dr. McDougall based plan is to bring you & the tastebuds down. To give you back control. It's not forever, only 10 days. Yes, I do take supplements, and would still take them. And I would still drink my tea (with soy milk & stevia), so I would not be 100% compliant. Something to help break the bad habits.
I have found that, since moving back to the midwest, it has been a lot more difficult to stick with a plant based eating, and junk foods (yes Oreos & chips, I'm talking to you!) are easy to munch on while studying.1 -
How do you know after 10 days you won't return to your old eating habits. And, if you don't buy Oreos and chips they won't be available for you to eat.3
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_A._McDougall
Copy & paste of my favorite lines in there:
There is no scientific evidence that McDougall's diet is effective.
His eponymous 1983 diet book, The McDougall Plan, has been described as a fad diet by medical experts
Reviewing McDougall's book, The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss, nutritionist Fredrick J. Stare and epidemiologist Elizabeth Whelan criticized its restrictive regime and "poor advice", concluding that the diet's concepts were "extreme and out of keeping with nutritional reality".
Nutritionist Kurt Butler has criticized McDougall for making extremist diet recommendations.[10] He noted that McDougall does back up his claims with studies from medical journals but his interpretations are often at odds with the authors of the studies he cites.[10] Butler commented that "McDougall's followers risk deficiencies in protein, phosphorus, calcium, iron, zinc, vitamin B₁₂ and perhaps other nutrients.
McDougall's suggestions that dairy products cause leukemia and multiple sclerosis, is not supported by scientific evidence.
In other words, homeboy is a total quack and his "diet" is pure, unadulterated BS. But hey, "bring your tastebuds down" for 10 days if you want to, but I 100% guarantee what you are hoping will happen, won't actually happen.11 -
dreamer12151 wrote: »The reason I was planning it was because I am out of control again with my eating. No matter how I try to rein it in, I do well for a while, then "crack" and the next thing I know, I'm adding cheese to everything, munching on chips, adding that little "extra" something....and the pants that used to fit are now tight. The scale is creeping back up & I don't want it to go any further up.
The deal for this Dr. McDougall based plan is to bring you & the tastebuds down. To give you back control. It's not forever, only 10 days. Yes, I do take supplements, and would still take them. And I would still drink my tea (with soy milk & stevia), so I would not be 100% compliant. Something to help break the bad habits.
I have found that, since moving back to the midwest, it has been a lot more difficult to stick with a plant based eating, and junk foods (yes Oreos & chips, I'm talking to you!) are easy to munch on while studying.
I would say if you think your two options are "bringing your tastebuds down" and eating more calories than your body needs from sources like chips and cheese and Oreos, then doing the "Mary's mini" does seem like a smart choice.
The thing is, those aren't the only two choices. McDougall makes his living trying to convince us that, but there are other options out there.
There's all kinds of ways to get the amount of calories your body needs that don't involve cutting essential nutrients out of your diet (and yes, even if you're supplementing, you're probably not going to get the lysine you need on this plan -- even multi vitamins don't have absolutely everything that we need).
I think everyone here is absolutely sympathetic with the feeling of being out of control of your food intake and desires. Most of us have been there. I certainly have. But for me, the strategy of switching back and forth between deprivation was killing my progress and it wasn't great for me nutritionally. As a vegan, I'm extra concerned about this plan because it's so nutritionally inadequate.
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SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »For everyone telling the OP how unhealthy this is, please check your ego. OP literally asked you not to comment on that. If you can't keep your ego in line, at least try refraining from pushing it on others. OP deserves their space too.
I'm not vegan, but I'll do an egg fast to get back on keto. I usually don't eat eggs for a while after that. It's VERY effective for weight loss for me, but I often get the urge to binge when I finish because of the severe restriction. I do find that I otherwise take smaller portions afterward though. Best of luck to you!
OP has her space. Nobody here has the ability to force lysine-containing foods into her body against her will.
It's not ego to note that a plan is blatantly nutritionally insufficient and unlikely to address the root cause of unwanted weight gain. OP can do with that information what she will, but I'm not the type of person who is going to just sit on my hands and bite my tongue when someone is asking for help and I think I have relevant information.10 -
SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »For everyone telling the OP how unhealthy this is, please check your ego. OP literally asked you not to comment on that. If you can't keep your ego in line, at least try refraining from pushing it on others. OP deserves their space too.
I'm not vegan, but I'll do an egg fast to get back on keto. I usually don't eat eggs for a while after that. It's VERY effective for weight loss for me, but I often get the urge to binge when I finish because of the severe restriction. I do find that I otherwise take smaller portions afterward though. Best of luck to you!
OP has her space. Nobody here has the ability to force lysine-containing foods into her body against her will.
It's not ego to note that a plan is blatantly nutritionally insufficient and unlikely to address the root cause of unwanted weight gain. OP can do with that information what she will, but I'm not the type of person who is going to just sit on my hands and bite my tongue when someone is asking for help and I think I have relevant information.
I was talking about space for their discussion, not their eating habits. Their food choices are 100% theirs. It's egotistical to feel you HAVE to tell them your opinion when they specifically asked not to hear it. They weren't asking for what you're giving, so keep it to yourself! Plain and simple.
The space for the discussion is still here. Consider the ego you're demonstrating in trying to control who should be allowed to express an opinion here. I don't recall anyone asking for what you're giving either. OP is an adult with the capability to read opinions that don't mirror hers and then decide whether she wants to regard or disregard them.11 -
I’ve never heard of Mary’s mini or Dr. McDougall, but I have eaten kind of like this.
When I was younger, I had stomach problems. My Dr. said we could start doing tests right away, probably ending in exploratory surgery, skip the tests and go right to the surgery, or I could start with a very bland diet (boiled potatoes, no butter or salt and limited amounts of dry toast). It was certainly boring! After about a week, I added boiled carrots, then slowly added more vegetables and then other foods. It temporarily cured my stomach problems.
I don’t remember how much weight I lost, but I did lose some. I was 5’10” and weighed about 150 at that time, so it wasn’t important.
It wasn’t hard for me, and I don’t think it hurt my overall health. But I had super-motivation.
A few times after that when I could feel the same stomach problems coming back, i quickly went right back to my boiled potatoes every time.
Again, I can’t say if it’s good for weight loss, but I can certainly emphatically say I’m glad I did it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat if those symptoms ever come back!
Good luck! I won’t encourage you to try it, but I wish you the best if you do. I hope it helps make your journey easier.4 -
Hey there, I’ve not done this but did my own thing. It started off with slim fast, then I basically took that idea and then decided to fast mornings with keto coffee and had a soup 140-170 calf and a broth about 40 and then a sensible dinner. ( I was having a lot of digestive problems at the time and eating was not feeling to great on my belly so there fore the soup) and aimed for 1200/1400 window. And snack like granola. I felt this helped me get into the right frame of mind to move onto diet and to rest my digestive system a bit. I did that for two weeks.3
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SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »For everyone telling the OP how unhealthy this is, please check your ego. OP literally asked you not to comment on that. If you can't keep your ego in line, at least try refraining from pushing it on others. OP deserves their space too.
I'm not vegan, but I'll do an egg fast to get back on keto. I usually don't eat eggs for a while after that. It's VERY effective for weight loss for me, but I often get the urge to binge when I finish because of the severe restriction. I do find that I otherwise take smaller portions afterward though. Best of luck to you!
OP has her space. Nobody here has the ability to force lysine-containing foods into her body against her will.
It's not ego to note that a plan is blatantly nutritionally insufficient and unlikely to address the root cause of unwanted weight gain. OP can do with that information what she will, but I'm not the type of person who is going to just sit on my hands and bite my tongue when someone is asking for help and I think I have relevant information.
I was talking about space for their discussion, not their eating habits. Their food choices are 100% theirs. It's egotistical to feel you HAVE to tell them your opinion when they specifically asked not to hear it. They weren't asking for what you're giving, so keep it to yourself! Plain and simple.
The space for the discussion is still here. Consider the ego you're demonstrating in trying to control who should be allowed to express an opinion here. I don't recall anyone asking for what you're giving either. OP is an adult with the capability to read opinions that don't mirror hers and then decide whether she wants to regard or disregard them.
It's cool, we can let the mods sort it out. Maybe preaching is allowed here, but in the forums I generally use, it's seen as rude AF. I mean, OP already said they were disregarding opinions like yours and didn't want to be bothered with hearing them again, so you're coming across as basically saying, "I know what's better for your body than you do--hear my opinion anyway!" Just something to think about.
I'm unclear what you think the mods have to sort out, but I encourage you to disregard my posts if they're not to your taste. Or read them and dwell on them! Either way, it's up to you. I completely understand you'd rather I not make them.7 -
SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »janejellyroll wrote: »SufficientRichardVerve wrote: »For everyone telling the OP how unhealthy this is, please check your ego. OP literally asked you not to comment on that. If you can't keep your ego in line, at least try refraining from pushing it on others. OP deserves their space too.
I'm not vegan, but I'll do an egg fast to get back on keto. I usually don't eat eggs for a while after that. It's VERY effective for weight loss for me, but I often get the urge to binge when I finish because of the severe restriction. I do find that I otherwise take smaller portions afterward though. Best of luck to you!
OP has her space. Nobody here has the ability to force lysine-containing foods into her body against her will.
It's not ego to note that a plan is blatantly nutritionally insufficient and unlikely to address the root cause of unwanted weight gain. OP can do with that information what she will, but I'm not the type of person who is going to just sit on my hands and bite my tongue when someone is asking for help and I think I have relevant information.
I was talking about space for their discussion, not their eating habits. Their food choices are 100% theirs. It's egotistical to feel you HAVE to tell them your opinion when they specifically asked not to hear it. They weren't asking for what you're giving, so keep it to yourself! Plain and simple.
The space for the discussion is still here. Consider the ego you're demonstrating in trying to control who should be allowed to express an opinion here. I don't recall anyone asking for what you're giving either. OP is an adult with the capability to read opinions that don't mirror hers and then decide whether she wants to regard or disregard them.
It's cool, we can let the mods sort it out. Maybe preaching is allowed here, but in the forums I generally use, it's seen as rude AF. I mean, OP already said they were disregarding opinions like yours and didn't want to be bothered with hearing them again, so you're coming across as basically saying, "I know what's better for your body than you do--hear my opinion anyway!" Just something to think about.
I'm unclear what you think the mods have to sort out, but I encourage you to disregard my posts if they're not to your taste. Or read them and dwell on them! Either way, it's up to you. I completely understand you'd rather I not make them.
They can sort out if preaching is allowed. I've asked. I'd love to hear your ideas and encourage you to share them, just in a respectful way that stays on topic. 😬 I guess we just agree to disagree on what is tactful, okay?
Once you're done chiding me for not using your preferred tone, the thread can get back on topic. You decide when you're ready.5
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