Well Ben, if you check back in, I'm sorry to see you go so quickly. I know this plan will work for you, but I hope you find good results from F2F too.

Thanks, JBrum. I'm not giving up completely on E2L! I will eat PLENTY of veggies and fruit (nutrient dense, right?) and limited amounts of dairy, meat and carbs. I am a "all-or-nothing" kind of person, and that's what I want to avoid. I can see myself going full force into bad foods if I don't include moderate amounts of the things I like to eat. That's just me. :dizzy:

Ben, just a few last thoughts......
-follow the same basic plan but add some fish or chicken a few times a week.
-eat more nuts/seeds
-try the soy protein powder (mine is 90 cal/20g protein) it tastes good.
-eat some eggs
There are modified plans in the book that will still produce great results. I know you're a big guy, don't take that wrong either, who exercises, so you will need more calories than I would, but don't be fooled into thinking you need too many calories. You won't go into "starvation mode" and there are many very healthy, if not vegan, protein sources that can keep you satisfied. It will get better!!

Hello
 

Hi everyone! Been on the Eat to Live for a few days now and so far, really like it. Eating so many veggies can be a little rough though. But I feel so good! Giving up meat and dairy isn't too difficult especially if I can see the results. Would love to hear how others are doing and if you're sticking exactly to the plan. I'm not but pretty close!
Amy

Hey all!
I just became a vegan for ethical reasons this past sunday and I'm feeling great! Could anybody summarize what this Doctor's 6 week challenge consists of?

In addition to not consuming animals or animal products, I've cut out white flour, grains, and sugar, caffeine (< 3 servings/week, used to be 5/day!) and sweetener. I get 3-4 servings of whole grains per day, 2 of meat alternatives (beans/lentils, none of that processed soy crap lol), 1-2 of B12 fortified soy milk, 2-3 of fruits and 3-4 of veg. Is this plan any different from what I'm doing? If so, how?

Ben - sorry to see you go. I like the suggestion JBrum put out there for you;) Good Luck to whatever you decide. You can do it!!

JBrum - I'm glad you post regularly too, I would be lost if I didn't have the support and motivation. Thanks!!!

okiemom7 - I am finding I can't eat all the veggies and fruit. I'm am trying to eat as strict as I can and have not went off yet, but I'm just not able to eat that much. lol Here is what I have done this week. for breakfast I have a banana, snack I have a clementine, then I have a nice size salad with organic lettuce, carrot shreds, 1/2 cup bean and a fat free dressing, for snack I will have an apple or celery sticks, then another nice size salad for dinner. I try to get in at leat 8 cups of water a day too. I know it is very boring what I eat, but I need to keep it simple so I will stick to it:)

WannabeNurse - I am doing the strict version of E2L. It kind of sounds like you may be doing the modified version??? I haven't really looked at that part in the book yet.

Today I am feeling a little dizzy. Not sure why. Just off.

Forgot to post my weigh ins. I'm a daily weigher..lol

My weigh ins are:
Day 1: 228
Day 2: 225.5**-2.5
Day 3: 224.5**-1.0
Day 4: 223.5**-1.0
Day 5: 223 **-0.5

WannabeNurse & Okiemom--Welcome to our little, but steadily growing group!

WannabeNurse---(This is pasted from fatfreevegan dot com)
Eat to Live 6-Week Plan
From the book Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss by Dr. Joel Fuhrman

UNLIMITED (eat as much as you want):
•all raw vegetables, including raw carrots (goal: 1 lb. daily)
•cooked green vegetables (goal 1 lb. daily)
•beans, legumes, bean sprouts, or *tofu (minimum 1 cup daily in total of these)
•fresh fruit (at least 4 daily).
•eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomato and other non-starchy vegetables, cooked and raw (unlimited)
*Beans should be eaten daily; tofu should be eaten less frequently.

LIMITED (not more than one serving):
•cooked starchy vegetables OR whole grains–Maximum 1 cup per day (butternut or acorn squash, corn, sweet potato, brown rice, cooked carrots, whole grain breads*, whole grain cereals*)
•raw nuts and seeds (1 oz. or 28.5 grams a day) or 2 ounces avocado
•ground flaxseed (1 tablespoon a day)
•soymilk, low-sugar preferred–Maximum 1 cup a day
*avoid breads and cereals as much as possible

OFF-LIMITS:
•dairy products
•animal products
•between meal snacks
•fruit juice, dried fruits
•salt, sugar

NUTS and RAW SEEDS, but not ground flax, are optional for obese or overweight persons while they follow this weight loss plan. People who have difficulty losing weight may also eliminate the starchy vegetable/grain.

I really suggest you read the book though, there's so much more to learn about, you know, the why instead of just what.


Jenset & Okiemom, are either of you drinking smoothies? Jenset, you eat a banana for b-fast usually, right? Combine it with some water or soy/almond milk and a couple handfuls of fresh spinich and maybe some berries, etc . I can easily get 6oz of spinich in a big smoothie without it tasting "green". It puts a dent in the 1lb raw veggies and unlike juicing, every bit of what you put in that blender goes into your glass.

Hi! I am back. My body still hasn't recovered from the breast cancer treatment. My immune system won't recover. I have been fighting mono, then pnemonia and now mono again. I have been having a personal pitty party and gained back 3 of my 21 pounds. But, I am not giving up. It is even more difficult because I can't exercise. If you are interested, a local place here sells all natural bean soups. They save me because I don't have the time to cook from scratch all the time, plus I am not a very good cook. I did ask and they ship so if you are interested the website is Sierrasoups.com. My favorite is the Split Pea. Your progress is inspiring me to get back on track.

G2BH, I am glad you checked back in, I've been wondering about you.
Only if you want to share, but are you currently undergoing treatments? I know it's hard to stay on track "diet" wise when you feel like crap, but I also know that you will do it because you know that you have to eat well to help your body through this.

:getwell:

I'm a little confused.
 

I just read ETL by Dr Fuhrman and I'm a little confused by the 6 week program. To the best of my knowledge, the 6 week program is limited to a pound of raw veggies, a pound of cooked veggies, some legumes and nuts for 6 weeks.

Is it just me or are you supposed to follow those Exact rules for a 6 week program, without any special recipes, sauces, bean cakes, smoothies, soups, etc? Isn't that what differentiates the 6 week program from the time after 6 weeks when he lists all of his favorite recipes, etc.

IOW if you can eat all of those recipes from the start, why is there a 6 week program in the first place? Why just start calling it the ETL program period??

Thanks for clearing this up for me.

Danny, I will try to be quick...the 6 wk plan is as pure as it gets, simply fruit, veggie, bean, flax...no animal, period. It is meant to "detox" your system & jump start weight loss. The recipes in the back, while healthy, aren't necessarily animal free, some contain dried fruits, or higher amounts of cereals/grains, etc. that will maintain a healthy weight.

The veggie totals cited on the 6 wk plan are goals to strive for. If you are hungry, you can eat more than a lb of raw and/or cooked veg., the idea is to flood your body with nutrients for very few calories. It's the veggies that do it.

As far as the question about bean cakes and smoothies...if you make your own bean cakes only using beans/veg, then by all means go for it, and smoothies, IMO, are perfect. Fruit, flax, a little soy/almond milk (and spinich), blend & enjoy.

Jbrum,

Thanks for your kind response. Perhaps I was not explaining my question enough.

Are you allowed to use the recipes during the 6 week program or do you eat the veggies in the plain form, cooked and steamed. If so, how different are you supposed to eat after the 6 week program?

OK Danny, I can not speak for every recipe in the book, but I feel like many of them are meant to be used after the 6 wk "jump start" plan in order to maintain ideal weight/slowly lose more weight.

The book says, for 6 weeks, keep it simple, for example...B-fast: fruit Lunch: salad w/ beans Dinner: salad w/ 2 cooked veg. and fruit for dessert.

The whole book is about what to eat forever, but there are about 4 pages that relate to the 6 week plan. I posted the basics 4 days ago, check out the OFF LIMITS section. Use any recipe you would like as long as it adheres to those guidelines.

Does that answer your question or have I dodged it again?

Thanks JBrum. You never dodged my question, it's just that the certain part of the book, The 6 Week Program, seems to be interpreted differently by everyone on the board. I see it as a detox period where you can eat those certain foods, (The ones you listed) but maintain it literally as one pound of greens, one pound of fruit, one cup of legumes daily, etc. others see it as they can eat that stuff but make nice dishes, smoothies, soups, etc out of the same material. That's where the confusion was.

Also I wonder how it's going to work for me. I am not overweight (6ft, 185), but I have 3 stents due to coronary artery disease. My Friend recommended ETL for me. I wonder if I would lose too much weight or my body would naturally adjust for it's own weight.