
The McDougall Program is a plant-based diet that centres around starches, fruits and vegetables. The diet excludes animal products, including red meat, poultry, dairy, eggs and fish. The program recommends eating four meals a day, with a piece of fruit as a snack, and exercising daily. The diet encourages eating starches, such as potatoes, rice, legumes, whole grain pasta and quinoa, which make up at least 50% of your plate.
Characteristics | Values |
---|---|
Starches | Should comprise at least 50% and up to 90% of your plate |
Starches | Include nutrient-rich foods like potatoes, rice, legumes, whole grain pasta and quinoa |
Starches | Can be seasoned with your favourite sauces and seasonings |
Meals | Should be kept simple with a few of your favourite dishes |
Meals | Can include ready-made foods |
Meals | Can include one fruit before and one fruit after |
Meals | Can include oatmeal with ground flax, cocoa powder, blueberries and soy milk |
Meals | Can include air-fried slices of polenta topped with black bean and veggie soup |
Meals | Can include potatoes, cooked, boiled, mashed, or baked |
Meals | Can include tea and coffee |
Meals | Can include whole grains and whole-grain products like pasta, tortillas and whole-grain bread |
Meals | Can include a wide assortment of vegetables and fruit |
Meals | Can be seasoned with spices, sugar and salt |
Exercise | Can be as simple as a daily walk |
Excludes | Animal foods, including red meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs and fish |
What You'll Learn
Starches should make up at least 50% of your plate
The McDougall Program is a plant-based diet that focuses on starches, fruits, and vegetables. Starches should make up at least 50% of your plate, and up to 90%. This includes nutrient-rich foods like potatoes, rice, legumes, whole-grain pasta, and quinoa. These foods are important for satisfying hunger, providing energy, and supporting overall health.
To follow the McDougall Program, make starches the centerpiece of your meals. For example, you could have oatmeal with ground flax, cocoa powder, blueberries, and soy milk for breakfast. For lunch, try air-fried polenta slices topped with black bean and veggie soup. You can also add your favourite sauces and seasonings to make these meals taste great.
The McDougall Program is a plant-based diet that excludes animal foods, including red meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, and fish. These animal-based foods provide toxic levels of fat, cholesterol, and protein, as well as infectious agents and harmful chemicals. Instead, focus on whole grains and whole-grain products, such as pasta, tortillas, and whole-grain bread.
In addition to starches, the McDougall Program includes a wide assortment of fruits and vegetables. You can eat one fruit before your meal and one fruit afterward. You can also snack on fruits throughout the day.
Remember to keep your meals simple and take advantage of the convenience of ready-made foods. You can find a list of canned and packaged foods that are compatible with the McDougall Program on Dr. McDougall's website.
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Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables
The McDougall diet is a plant-based diet that focuses on eating starches, fruits and vegetables. The diet recommends eating plenty of fruit and vegetables, which are rich in vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and fibre. These foods are essential for a healthy body and can help to satisfy hunger, provide energy and support overall health.
To eat more fruit and vegetables, try adding them to your meals or eating them as snacks. For example, you could have a piece of fruit for a snack or add some berries to your oatmeal for breakfast. You can also include a wide variety of vegetables in your meals, such as air-fried polenta topped with black bean and veggie soup for lunch.
The McDougall diet recommends keeping meals simple and using ready-made foods to make things easier. You can add your favourite sauces and seasonings to make these meals taste great. Just be mindful of the amount of salt and sugar you use, as these should be kept to a minimum.
When planning your meals, focus on including a variety of colourful fruits and vegetables to ensure you're getting a range of nutrients. Aim for at least 50% of your plate to be made up of fruits and vegetables, with the remaining portion consisting of starches and whole grains.
By following these guidelines and incorporating plenty of fruit and vegetables into your diet, you'll be well on your way to adopting the McDougall diet and reaping the health benefits that come with it.
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Use spices and seasonings to make meals tasty
Dr McDougall's diet is a plant-based one, excluding animal foods such as red meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs and fish. Instead, the diet focuses on starches, including nutrient-rich foods like potatoes, rice, legumes, whole grain pasta and quinoa. These foods should make up at least 50% and up to 90% of your plate.
To make these meals tasty, Dr McDougall recommends adding your favourite sauces and seasonings. The diet also includes plenty of spices, usually with small amounts of sugar and salt, to enhance the flavour of food.
For example, Dr McDougall recommends oatmeal with ground flax, cocoa powder, blueberries and soy milk for breakfast, and air-fried polenta topped with black bean and veggie soup for lunch.
You can also eat one fruit before your meal and one fruit afterwards.
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Eat when you're hungry and stop when you're comfortably full
The McDougall diet is a plant-based diet that focuses on starches, fruits and vegetables. It's recommended that starches make up 50-90% of your plate, with nutrient-rich foods like potatoes, rice, legumes, whole grain pasta and quinoa.
The diet encourages you to eat when you're hungry and stop when you're comfortably full. This means listening to your body and only eating when you're experiencing actual hunger, rather than cravings or a desire to snack.
To help you understand the difference between hunger and cravings, it's suggested that you eat only potatoes for seven days. You can eat as much as you want, but nothing else – no salt, no condiments, just plain water and maybe unsweetened tea or coffee. After seven days, you'll be able to tell the difference between hunger and a craving.
The diet also recommends that you eat one fruit before your meal and one fruit afterwards. You can also add your favourite sauces and seasonings to your meals to make them taste great.
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Exercise can be as simple as a daily walk
The McDougall Program is a plant-based diet that includes whole grains and whole-grain products (such as pasta, tortillas and whole-grain bread), and a wide assortment of vegetables and fruit. It also includes starches, which should comprise at least 50% and up to 90% of your plate. These include nutrient-rich foods like potatoes, rice, legumes, whole grain pasta and quinoa.
The McDougall Program is a diet of plant foods, which means it excludes animal foods, including red meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs and fish. These foods provide toxic levels of fat, cholesterol, protein and, very often, infectious agents and harmful chemicals.
The secret of the McDougall Program is to keep it simple with a few of your favourite dishes and take advantage of the convenience of ready-made foods. You can also add your favourite sauces and seasonings to make these meals taste great.
Dr McDougall recommends eating when you're hungry and stopping when you're comfortably full. He also suggests eating four meals a day and sometimes a piece of fruit for a snack.
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Frequently asked questions
The McDougall diet is a plant-based diet, so you can eat whole grains and whole-grain products (such as pasta, tortillas and whole-grain bread), and a wide assortment of vegetables and fruit.
The McDougall diet excludes animal foods, including red meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs and fish.
The secret of the McDougall Program is to make starches the centrepiece of your diet with various fruits and vegetables added to the mix. You can also eat potatoes, cooked, boiled, mashed or not, or baked. Only potatoes, no salt, no condiments, for 7 days. Choose sweet or white, but not both during those 7 days. Eat as much as you want during those 7 days.
To make these meals taste great, just add your favourite sauces and seasonings. You can also drink your greens if you have trouble eating them with a fork. Throw them into a nutribullet (spinach, banana, oat milk etc).