[indiblue]

Go, Suzanne! My ETL is modified slightly too (to include up to 113 calories of dark chocolate, .25 c of milk and 1 tbs sugar for coffee). I also have cut out the grains completely (except for 1/2 c of oatmeal before 1 hour+ runs) because I don't do well with eating grains moderately. Check back often and let us know how it goes!

Agreed, jansan. 90% of my meals are homemade. I hate eating out now- it's so stressful. My fiance is really understanding and we try to minimize the number of times we agree to go out to eat because it's so hard to stay OP. That said, we are expats with a) a close group of other expat friends whose birthdays and going away parties it would be really rude/conspicuous for us to skip and b) many local friends who are always getting married/having events/holidays, etc. It's a lot more difficult here to pass on going out than it is in the US, but I'm trying.

Yesterday was PERFECTLY on plan. Ate:
120 g pureed cauliflower + some 2% milk
180 g roasted beets
1 serving roasted red pepper soup (homemade)
10 almonds
40 g dried figs
1 apple
1 67-cal square dark chocolate
huge stir fry for dinner: 250 g broccoli + 200 g tofu with 1 tbs sesame oil + soy sauce
a few dates for dessert (thanks Wildflower for the idea- dates and figs are working great for me)

Happy veggin', you guys!

[Suzanne 3FC]

I agree it needs to be liveable and I'm a believer in tweaking I may include more oil than the tsp allowed by the plan, though I do want to work on that. I may include a little agave nectar or sugar from time to time as well.

This morning I had a fruit salad for breakfast which included fresh fruit as well as sliced baby spinach.

Lunch: vegetarian chili (I make my own and freeze it). It's just fire roasted tomatoes, onions, peppers, 3 kinds of beans and a special seasoning. It's fat free and tastes fantastic.

Later:
Kale chips I'll measure the oil and see how little I can get away with and still eat a fair amount of kale. I didn't choose to eat this for my diet but rather to encourage my granddaughter to eat something green. We watched a video of a little girl making them and it encouraged Mikayla to want to try them as well.

Meal: One bunch of swiss chard, sauteed in a few drops of water and served with a dash of balsamic vinegar. 1/2 cup of baked tofu cubes. I might roast a beet to go with it.

Probably also later to reach veggie goal - Big salad of spinach, tomatoes, onions, peppers, 1/2 cup beans and salsa for the dressing.

I regret not starting the day weighing my foods but will do better tomorrow. It's really hard to get a whole pound of raw and pound of cooked! The last time did ETL I stuck to it well but had a hard time getting enough calories.

[indiblue]

Suzanne and others, what do you think about moving this thread to the General Diet Plans forum? For one, it's not just for vegetarian chicks, and folks who don't identify themselves as vegetarian may not think to wander over to the Vegetarian Chicks board to look at ideas for plans. Second, since he permits fish on secondary stages of the plans, it might appeal to people who wouldn't otherwise consider it under the label "vegetarian."

Just a thought

[jansan]

I also am neither vegan, nor even vegetarian. He actually allows meat on occasion. But even if he didn't 'allow' it, I'd eat it. Once in awhile. And I'd definitely eat fish. I probably average 3 to 4 lean animal protein dinners (chicken or fish) each week.

Suzanne, I am not familiar enough with your story to know if you are wishing to lose weight or not. But if you aren't, the book says you can eat more grains/potatoes and carbs in general to reach greater caloric intake.

I also am one who eats more oils, but I do measure them carefully and don't get carried away. Over the years I have never been able to eat salads without some in some form, and his nut dressings just don't quite do enough.

What I have found over time is that I am becoming more compliant with more things. After almost 3 months, I really do like what this way of eating is doing for me.

ps... it does feel as if we are down in the basement here.

[Suzanne 3FC]

I'm in it for heart health Long boring story - I've been very concerned about my health lately due to a heart condition. (I've had it for 25 years but I'm getting ready to turn 50 and realize I'm not as invincible as I might have hoped ) I watched Forks over Knives and learned about Dr. Esselstyn and also watched the Dr. Gupta's special on CNN with Bill Clinton and learned he followed Esselstyn's plan. I bought his book but it is far too restrictive for me to follow I know from experience that if I try to force a drastic lifestyle change that I won't be able to stick to it, and I have found that easing into a new lifestyle works better for me. At one time, I had the same thought about ETL. My food patterns evolved over time as I eliminated first land animals then sea animals. By the time I finally tried ETL, I was ready and it was easy to follow.

I think that if go back to ETL for a while that I can gradually evolve into Esselstyn's plan. Right now I eat too much oil (actually not much but Dr. E allows none), more grains and starchy vegetables than I should, and I do eat some sweets. I eat mostly vegetables but my balance is still all wrong. ETL should help me get it back in check and then I hope to keep evolving towards Esselstyn's program.

How about instead of moving this thread to diet plans that we start a fresh one over there? This one is kind of long and was started in 2009

[indiblue]

I'll go start one under General Diet Plans right now

[jansan]

If you start a thread elsewhere, could you please post a link to it here - or I will never find it.

Thanks.

I have more to say re Suzanne's last post, but it's late and it's past my bedtime.

[indiblue]

Here it is!
http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/gene...rt-thread.html

[blkbarbie25]

I actually did this a fews months ago and lost 6 pounds durning the 1st week....