I completed my 1st ever Mary’s Mini diet this month! I loved it and it truly wasn’t that hard to follow at all.

Are you wondering what the Mary’s Mini is? It’s a simple diet created by Mary Mcdougall. If you’re not familiar with Mary, she’s Dr. Mcdougall’s wife and she’s brilliant. The Mcdougall’s promote a Starch based diet. If you’re interested in more information about their views a good book to read is The Starch Solution.

As far as the Mary’s Mini goes it’s a diet used by many in order to regain control over their eating patterns, shed some weight quickly, and reset their taste buds. The idea behind the simple diet is that you pick one starch and only eat that one starch for 10 days along with a variety of non starchy vegetables. You would eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It gets boring but the diet works. You will only eat when you truly are hungry and the endless snacking will stop. Things that you once craved will no longer interest you. I found I became very conscious of my body’s cues and fueled it accordingly. I ate until I was full and only ate when I was truly hungry.

While on the mini we are allowed to have light condiments on our food which makes our meals so much easier. She allows things like ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, vinegar and hot sauce. We have to use them sparingly but they are allowed on this diet which I thought was very helpful.

So what isn’t allowed on this diet? You can’t mix starches while on this 10 day diet. You can’t have any oil at all! Remember to check all the ingredients on your condiments because oil is in a lot of them! We are not allowed to consume any fruit for 10 days as well on this diet. Food is meant to be on the boring side and it would be very easy to overeat fruit if it were allowed. It would taste like true candy and it would get hard to control those portions accordingly. It’s only 10 days so I don’t think it’s the end of the world. Another thing to watch out for in condiments is refined sugar. That’s also hidden in way too many store bought sauces and dressings.

I tried out the potato mini because I found that I was eating when I wasn’t even hungry. I became a snacker and wanted to regain some control over my eating patterns. I also couldn’t believe how fast my taste buds reset. By day 3, I couldn’t drink my beloved dark roast coffee anymore. I started drinking a weak coffee or a coffee alternative called Dandy Blend. I also lost 7 lbs in 10 days which was shocking since I was eating a ton of food! Overall I had great energy, felt I enjoyed all my meals, became more mindful of my eating habits, and the bloating in my tummy disappeared. I felt great! So good in fact that I want to try completing a rice mini next!

Whole Starchy foods like potatoes do indeed have all the micro and macro nutrients that we need in order to stay healthy. Dr. Mcdougall assures us that this is a perfectly healthy diet to try and we shouldn’t be worried. He talks about this in the webinar which I will attach in this post for your reference.

I’ll also add my 1st Mary’s Mini video where I explain what this simple temporary diet is and how to complete it properly. If you haven’t already Subscribed to my YouTube channel please consider doing so. I appreciate your support and hope you find the information helpful. I will include handy charts to help you along the way if you choose to try out the Mary’s Mini. I created a simple non starchy veggie list as well as a list of approved starches.

Here is a helpful Mary’s Mini Webinar which might be useful to you as well. It’s loaded with information and resources. The Mcdougall’s answer most commonly asked questions in this webinar and offer other important information as well.

I just want to note that I’m not a doctor or health expert. I wanted to document how I felt trying out this diet in case others might want to give it a try too. I feel that it’s great to get other opinions on diets before trying them out yourself. If you try it out I suggest that you take to your doctor and keep them in the loop before you get started.

Dr.Mcdougall has all the medical information you might want to read up on if you think this diet is worth a try. I suggest watching the webinar and checking out his website. It’s a wealth of knowledge and you can also read up on the Starch Solution lifestyle he promotes as well.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/education/webinars/webinar-03-24-16/

Let me know if you decide to try this diet out or if you know anybody that has done it. Comment below or on my YouTube channel. I’d love to know! Let me know if you have any epic Mary’s Mini recipes that you want to share too. I’m curious about what others eat while on a mini.

Have a wonderful week everyone!

Health, Joy & Positive Vibes

Debbie

~VeganMommyDee~