I agree....there's a lot of time involved in getting veggies and fruits ready to eat but I think it's all worth it. Since we're not eating out nearly as often, I hope the expense of buying the produce is still less than what we were spending. Feeling better is the motivator!

I find this way of eating less expensive than when I was paying close to $15.00 for 2 steaks. I hated paying the price for meat.
Now i can get a whole bag of apples, oranges and potatoes plus salad fixings for about the same price as 2 steaks.
I shop very carefully now and if I can I buy all my grains in bulk.
As stated before we don't eat out much so I also save there too. Not buying junk or snackie foods has helped.
Prep time, I don't mind since I like to cook and am retired I do have time to play with my my food more.

Thanks
 

A firefighter vegan diet? I am so there! It sounds like a health conscious, single woman's dream come true. I digress, thanks for all the great information. I incorporate vegan recipes pretty regularly and I am now experimenting with raw foods because the ingredients are getting easier to come by. When I first became interested in raw food diet I read a lot of people do an 80/20 balance. 80 raw - 20 cooked. I think for me it would be a good goal. My father had high cholesterol and heart disease, I really don't want to face the same problems. Now if I can find a vegan firefighter to give me pointers...

Does anyone here follow Dr. McDougall? I tried, but was not losing weight. I wonder if I was eating too much. This bothers me, because I lost more than 50 pounds 12 or 13 years ago following Susan Powter, and one of her gurus is Dr. McDougall, so there is definitely something amiss with me. I am doing the first phase of Fat Smash now -- it's vegetarian -- and am doing well.

I really only have a little more than five pounds to go at this point.

I am seriously trying to do McDougall diet, I try to eat lots of fruits and veggies, and cut out all fats and oils. my problem in following the plan is i love my soy milk and yes peanut butter.
so far I have lost 10 lbs. I know this works, and I feel so much better just doing the diet the best I can.

mcdougall allows fruits? I thought it didn't or limited them heavily.

MLW allows 2 fruits a day, the original or 12 day plan allows more fruit. Iam doing the 12 day to start, then working my way to the more restricted MWL plan.

An outline of the plans:


John McDougall, MD
John McDougall has two formal dietary plans that he recommends: the 12-Day Diet and the McDougal Plan for Maximum Weight Loss (MWL). Both of these plans are nearly vegan, based solely on grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans. The MWL plan is for those persons with stubborn weight problems that don't respond to the 12-day diet and severely limits consumption of grain products other than grains cooked whole -- even bread made from whole wheat is eliminated.



The Twelve-Day Diet
Food Guidelines
DON'T EAT:
Milk (for cereal or cooking)
Milk (as beverage)
Butter
Cheese
Cottage cheese
Yogurt
Sour cream
Ice cream
Eggs (in cooking)
Eggs (for eating)
Meat, poultry, fish
Mayonnaise
Vegetable oils (for pans)
Vegetable oils (in recipes)
White rice (refined)
White flour (refined)
Refined and sugar-coated cereals
Coconut
Coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and black teas
Colas and un-colas

NOT ALLOWED ON THE TWELVE-DAY DIET, BUT ALLOWABLE OCCASIONALLY AFTERWARD:
These high-fat plant foods (high in natural vegetable oils) can be used occasionally and/or in small amounts after you have completed the twelve-day diet and regained your health and appearance.

Soybeans
Soybean derivatives (tofu, tempeh, miso, high-fat soy milk)
Nuts and nut butters
Seeds
Olives
Avocado

McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss
Foods you should eat

All whole grains and whole-grain cereals, such as brown rice, corn, oatmeal, barley, millet, and wheat berries; many packaged grain cereals, puffed grains, and other healthful cereals.
Squashes, such as acorn, butternut, buttercup, pumpkin, and zucchini.
Root vegetables, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams.
Legumes, such as peas, split peas, black-eyed peas, string beans, and such beans as chick-peas, lentils, and adzuki, navy, pinto, and black beans.
Green and yellow vegetables, such as collard greens, broccoli, kale, mustard greens, cabbage, various types of lettuce, and watercress; celery, cauliflower, carrots, and asparagus, and tomato.
Fruit, such as apples, bananas, berries, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, and pears. (Limited to two servings per day.)
For most people, simple sugars, salt, and spices used sparingly at the table rather than in cooking.

Avoid the following:
All red meat, including beef pork, and lamb. All are rich in fat, cholesterol, and other harmful constituents.
All poultry and fish. Poultry has about the same amount of cholesterol as red meat, while fish varies, depending on the type. Some fish are higher in cholesterol than red meat, others lower.
All dairy products, including milk, yogurt, and cheese. All are loaded with fat and cholesterol. Low-fat dairy products are not recommended because of potential health hazards, including allergies, childhood diabetes, arthritis, and lactose intolerance.
All oil, including olive, safflower, peanut, and corn oil. Oil is simply a liquid form of fat.
All eggs. Eggs are abundant in fat and cholesterol.
Nuts, seeds, avocados, olives, and soybean products (including tofu, soy cheese, and soy milk). Soybean products are high in fat, unless they have been specially processed (low-fat varieties are also not recommended).
All dried fruit and fruit juices
All flour products, such as breads, bagels, and pretzels. The less a food is processed the better it is for weight loss. Flour products are composed of fragments of grain, or relatively small particles, which increase absorption and slow weight loss.

Holy restrictive! No tea, coffee, olive oil, nuts, or soy, and only 2 servings of fruit per day? Spices used sparingly?

You are a much stronger person than I.