After topping the scales at 288 I decided it was high time to lose the weight. I have tried being a vegetarian before, but I did it wrong. All I did was replace meat and other bad food with processed low-fat foods and more and more bread.

I recently watched the documentary, "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and was thoroughly impressed with the information provided by Dr. Fuhrman in the film. I have since started reading his book "Eat to Live" (about halfway through) and adopted a nutritarian lifestyle.

I no longer eat any processed foods, meat, bread, rice, oils, milk, sweets, etc. And have vamped up my intake on fresh/cooked veggies, fresh fruit, nuts and seeds, and beans.

After only two days of changing how I eat (and I hadn't even cut out caffeine completely yet) I noticed a dramatic change in how my skin feels. I almost can't keep my hands off myself

I am only on day 5 so far, but I feel amazing. I am caffeine free as of today. Yesterday I had some minor withdrawal headaches but today I am headache free.

The best part about being a nutritarian is that I don't have to worry about counting calories. I follow Dr. Fuhrman's food pyramid and eat about 50% veggies, 25% fruits, and the remainder is split between nuts/seeds and beans/legumes (though I shift more of that towards beans/legumes).

I have been trying to lose weight on and off since my late teens. Every failure ended up me in gaining more and more weight. I've tried so many diet plans from Atkin's, Weight Watchers, South Beach, Mediterranean, etc etc... Nothing worked. I was always hungry. I would lose a little and then plateau for months and then I would give up and gain it all back.

I hated keeping track of calories... it is my bane... I hated feeling half starved... and I hated having to over-analyze every thing I ate.

With my new Eat to Live lifestyle I am free to eat. It has made me love eating instead of dreading it. I have a renewed love for cooking and I am always in the kitchen cooking now instead of simply slapping some meat and bread together.

One day I will be fit and trim. One day I will be able to run and run. One day I will be able to look at myself in the mirror and be proud of my body.

That day will come soon =)

Laifierr I think you've chosen an excellent way of life. No gimmics, very healthy. Very simple. Dr. F's followers have great success health-wise, which is what it's all about.

I've tried the plan and fell off a couple of times. Still, I benefit from what I learned - a veggie-heavy diet. You inspire me to get back on track today.

So far, I really like Eat to Live. It is very simple and easy to follow and I don't need to worry about counting anything.

All I really do is have to decide what fruits and veggies I want to eat throughout the day and that's about it. I usually figure out how to prepare it right before the meal time.

Today for dinner I had a big salad (prepared yesterday), steamed some asparagus and zucchini in my rice cooker, and then had an apple.

After all that I have a nice full feeling and I feel good about myself. =)

That's great.
Remember the beans/legumes.
It is a great program....

I had my beans earlier today

I think I'll try getting in a pound of cooked veggies in today...I don't have a scale, but...

I like Dr. F's plan too, but don't follow it strictly. I like to incorporate more whole grains and starchy vegetables than the plan recommends and use a little bit of olive oil here and there in my cooking, but I think the focus on whole foods with lots of veg, fruit and beans/legumes is great. Glad to hear it's working so well for you.

I also enjoyed the film "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead", still haven't gotten around to getting a juicer but I am intrigued by the idea of a juice fast. I think I'd want to wait till school is out of session and I'm not training for a race before doing anything that different though.

I want to get a juicer as well and try out doing a juice fast. But I need to save some money up so I can get a good one. I have a feeling that I will be using it daily even if I'm not on a juice fast.

I just weighed this morning and I have lost 7 pounds in my 1st week following Dr. Fuhrman's Eat to Live lifestyle.

It makes me incredibly happy knowing that I am losing weight and not even trying. I don't count calories -- heck I have no idea how many calories I even ingest -- and I eat as much as I want, usually enough for the initial full feeling. This is the easiest weight loss solution I have found.

I also have PCOS and IR and I know cutting out all the processed foods really helps with that, too.

I may have to try that plan. I have the book but have not read it yet. Last night I was thinking about the possibility of going Vegan.

I follow some of the same principles (focus on veggies, fruits, and beans, lots of salads) but I do add some oil in my plan (though no nuts). I just find that a no-oil added diet plan doesn't work well for me. I tried the McDougall plan for a while but kept slipping off. I don't think it was the fact that the plan focuses on whole grains and potatoes either, as I never felt hungry on it. I don't eat a lot of fat in my diet (about 20%-22%) but it is higher than what Fuhrman and other in that same vein recommend. However, it's working for me so far.

Tam

Saw an eat to live special on pbs recently and immediately bought the book. Havent read the whole thing yet, but i more or less did the plan for two weeks a few months ago. Its ridiculous how good i felt! I didnt even need coffee. I fell off because it was too much work to plan and cook ahead. I typically eat two meals a day at my desk, and am always running late so grab and go got me.
But i just got one of those high speed blender "extractors"! Day one of juicing with it and ive already had 2 big green smoothies. I think this is the only juicer that fuhrman would approve.

Looking to get back on nutritarian now that i have a 'fast food' option i can take with me, so wish me discipline!

Day 5 with no dairy i miss you cheese!

So weird- I've just started with green smoothies after watching "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead." I actually posted about it in the calorie counters forum on here but didn't get much as far as responses. I did some googling, and I think for me, the juicing isn't the way to go, just because I still don't understand why it would be less beneficial for me to drink the fiber/pulp, too.

The last three days, I've been making green smoothies for breakfast and lunch and then eating dinner with my husband (he's low-carb, and he does eat meat, so do I). I've lost almost 5 lbs.

I like the smoothies because I didn't have to buy a juicer and they do keep you full for a long time. I've made several really delicious ones (would love to share recipes if anyone wants). Also, I never thought I had GI issues before, but since I've been doing this, my stomach feels different- like, actually good. I think maybe I just hadn't noticed how uncomfortable I was before!

I started the "eat to live" plan a little over a month ago and have lost over 20lbs (despite my PCOS, insulin resistance, hypothyroidism and extreme difficulty losing weight in the past!)

I feel the same way you do-- After years of battling health problems, side effects from medications that never solved anything, and horrible experiences with (MANY) doctors-- I finally feel like I am beginning to gain control over my health and will one day be free of all meds and feel GOOD again!

I'm heading back to that after allowing a lot of junk back into my diet over the last year or so, and the results have been about 40 pounds gained, tripled cholesterol and blood sugar almost creeping out of normal for the first time ever. And more. I'm sick, tired, and fat and it has to stop.