I'm back from my trip and back on the program. I tried my best to do it while eating out, but I came back 2 lbs heavier...not sure if this is just water weight or what. Hoping it is, from all the salt, etc of restaurant foods and that it will drop off in a few days.

We'll see...

I have been doing well and feeling quite happy about being able to stick to this. I was listening to the CD's this past weekend and my husband heard part of it. He was intrigued and looked through one of the books ... he thought it sounded great and is now on board as well.

That's great, CT! I should look up the audio books... I like the idea of listening to them when I need a bit of a boost.

Wildflower, I'm sure the 2lbs will drop off in no time. Let us know! I'm anxiously awaiting Friday's weigh in. I'm trying not to weigh myself daily, like I did the first week. I was just too tempted. Last time I weighed, I had lost 9lbs. I started the Thursday before last. So Friday will be my two week weigh in.

Glad everyone's doing well! I've been pretty good about sticking to it, and I feel great. I'm not eating as much raw greens as I should, I guess. I haven't weighed this week, but my clothes are feeling looser so something's happening. :)

It took a week, but they dropped off. I am upset I am where I was 2 weeks ago, but I guess it's better than a gain.

I've had the stomach flu the past few days so added some grains back in (was entirely eliminating them before). Can't stomach the thought of raw veggies right now so had some brown rice with grilled veggies for lunch.

Overall, we like this plan and plan to continue it past the 6 weeks (this is the start of week 6 for me). In the first 3 weeks I went from 145 to 138, then back up to 140 and back down to 137. I went slightly off plan due to travel for work...tried to stick with it but still went up a few lbs that easily dropped off.

I will post my final weight for the 6 weeks at the end of this week and then before I leave on vacation the 30th. We did this plan to lose some weight for vacation and it's working. We'll pick it back up when we get back in mid October.

:carrot:

:carrot: I've officially finished the 6 week challenge!!! :carrot:

Starting Weight: 145 (August 15)
Ending Weight: 136 (September 26)

Things I did:

Avoided pasta entirely
Avoided dairy entirely
Avoided eggs entirely
Avoided rice, wheat, bread, quinoa and any other grain with the exception of having rice maybe twice, oatmeal I think once, popcorn once, and corn 3 times. I did not eat the 1 cup per day that was allotted for grains.
Avoided Oils, butters, etc entirely
Avoided all processed foods
Avoided all sugar, maple syrup, agave, juice, etc.

Things I ate more of than I should:

Nuts, nut butter, avocado, olives I did not limit to the few ounces a day the book says

I had dried dates a few times when I wanted sweets (dried fruits are off limits first 6 weeks)

I continued to eat salt

I had alcohol on occasion and I had coffee on occasion, but with stevia and unsweetened almond milk.

There was one week when I traveled for work that I was technically off plan (although I tried my best to stay on). this was in the middle of week 3 to the middle of week 4. I went up 2 lbs that week. From week 4-5 I lost 2 lbs, and from week 5-6 I lost 2 more.

Hey wildflower looks like you had great success with this program! Congrats!

I am thinking I need something more restrictive than my typical calorie counting. These last 9 lbs won't come off... mainly because I let myself indulge in nibbling and grazing on things like chips and chocolate.

Can someone sell me on Eat to Live?

Already a vegetarian, but my big caveat is I live in India, where eating raw veggies is a no-no. I do it anyway, with things like bell peppers and tomatoes, and red cabbage. Will it be difficult to abide by the E2L requirements if this is an obstacle for me?

Thanks!

Hey INDIBLUE I found it...thanks for the link.

Wondering out-loud if this "diet" is to become vegan? If it is that will be something my brother wouldn't achieve...or so thinks me...lol

Starting my first six weeks...
 

Hey everyone!
By chance, this weekend, I came across this thread and read through every, single post. At the end of reading, I decided I wanted to post here every day for the next six weeks to document my attempt at doing ETL for the next six weeks.

Not only do I want a place to write about how I did, but my hope is that I can give ideas and shared experience as much as I have taken from all of those who posted before me.

A bit about my background:

As you can tell from looking at my user details, I am extremely heavy. With the exception of taking medication for hypothyroidism, I haven’t experienced any other health issues. However, it makes sense that health issues will manifest at some point if I don’t start decreasing my weight.

For the past three years, I’ve been doing a lot of research on eating raw fruits and veggies. During that time, I have consumed over live food than I ever in my life. The thing is, I also continued to eat a lot of crap.

For the past three months, I’ve been juicing a lot—drinking about two quarts of green juice a day. It has made a huge positive impact on my life. Most notably, mind is so clear. While the numbers on the scale aren’t decreasing, I feel so much lighter.

Every day, I would have the intention of starting a juice fast. In the morning, I would drink my juice and feel awesome, but then by early evening, I was so hungry. I could have drank more juice, but I wanted something that made me full. That’s when I’d order pizza, Chinese, etc, etc.

Last week, I came across a YouTube channel of a guy who is doing a juice fast. In his videos he mentioned Eat To Live and how he was a patient of Dr. Fuhrman’s. I got curious and went to Amazon to check out the book. I had seen it before, but never gave it a closer look until now.

I listened to the audiobook, did more research and decided to try the six-week plan to see where it takes me.

Here’s how I’m adjusting things as I begin:

-I really don’t like eating salads (as in, veggies mixed with greens), but I do love green smoothies. I’ll be making green smoothies rather than salads. I do vow to seek out some salad recipes that I can get excited about eating.

-I really don’t like brown rice and will be eating Jasmine rice for awhile as I ease myself into acquiring a taste for brown or wild rice.

-I will be using hemp seed rather than flax simply because I have two bags of hemp seed that need to be used up. I’m confident I can get just as much benefit from hemp seed as flax.

-Even though Dr. Fuhrman advises against juicing, I’m going to drink a cucumber/celery/apple/lemon blend each day. I love juice too much to not have some each day.

I’ll be on the treadmill for a minimum of an hour a day, every day. I also want to make a video diary and, after I (hopefully) lose some weight begin posting the videos on YouTube.

If anyone out there wants to join me, I’d love to connect. If you’re just reading my posts, I hope you get something of value from them.

I saw my brother yesterday and he is doing pretty good on it so far after a couple of weeks. A slight blip when he had to go out of town for a few days w/o notice but just a minor one.

Hi Indiblue -

While Dr Furhman is big on giant raw salads, I personally think you can do the plan with cooked veggies. Just make sure you steam them or use a tiny bit of Pam (or indian equivalent) so you don't add any oils/ghee/fat/butter.

I know you are already veg, so I think the important thing in following the plan would be to not eat any oils, grains, sugar (including dried fruits and processed juices), dairy and eggs. Limit starchy veggies like potatoes to 1 cup per day. Buy unsweetened soy / rice / almond milk.

We cook a lot of our veggies and I don't think it effects weight loss. I think giving up processes foods, grains, dairy, sugar and oil is what helped me lose weight.

Good luck to you - I'm back from my 2 week holiday and we are continuing with Eat to live (the 6 week initial strict period).

Here is an example of my meals from today:

7 AM - Tea with unsweetened almond milk

9 AM - Banana and cashews

11 AM - Raw veggies - grape tomatoes, carrots, green olives

12 PM - Lunch of cooked pumpkin stew

Dinner will probably be a veggie salad. i don't make the 1 lb of raw greens per day he recommends, although we are going to buy a juicer to try to get them in that way. Most of my salads are veggie based without the greens. Last night we had a salad of cooked mushrooms, red onions and tomatoes. I added garlic, thyme and oregano for seasoning.

Are you sure that Dr Furhman advises against juicing? From reading the book I assumed he was advising against drinking prepackaged juice - like Tropicana Orange Juice or apple juice, as there are no vitamins left and it's mainly just fructose.

I also watched the film, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" (Probably what you watched on youtube?) and now we want to get a juicer to have juices at some meals.

I know Dr Furhman doesn't have a problem with green smoothies. I've been making them on the plan with spinach, banana, unsweetened almond milk and stevia. They are fantastic. I also did see some juice recipes on his FB, or I thought I did...

I was (desperately) hoping this would be the case--that he was only referring to prepackaged juices--but alas, he is referring to all juice.

Within his program, he's all about the need for fiber coming from healthy sources. When you juice, you're taking out the fiber. I've read in several places that he is accepting of a short juice fast before starting the six-week program, but not to make juice a mainstay in one's every day eating routine. I've also read he advocates using veggie juice for soups.

Juicing has had such a huge positive impact on my life that I can't see myself completely giving up, but for the time being I will lessen my juice intake while giving more whole foods a try.

Thanks wildflower!

I have one additional question. I'm concerned about the levels of protein I would be intaking on an E2L diet. I track my food and usually add eggs, tuna (I do eat sea food), or steamed shrimp to days when I'm not hitting my protein targets of 30% a day. I find it quite difficult to get near this target when only eating tofu, beans, and veggies.

Do you have any perspective or advice on this? Would adding in a low carb, no sugar protein shake be an absolute no-no? Or maybe I don't need 60-90 g of protein a day like I've been aiming for...

Thanks!

Dr. F doesn't completely outlaw juicing, especially after the weight loss phase. From his blog on preventing cancer,

""Here are the seven most important dietary steps to take:
....
4. Drink fresh-squeezed vegetable juice two or three times a day, made with carrots, beets, tomatoes and greens (kale, collards, wheat grass, mashe, and cabbage). This provides the broadest spectrum of cancer-fighting nutrients. Only use organic vegetables for juicing."

And, if you subscribe to his website (very low cost per month), you'll see other references to juicing. It's very true he is against drinking large amounts of fruit juice because of the potential for weight gain.