Etl Six Weeks Again Please
 

Hi everyone I hope you all had a good few months. I'm starting the Eat to Live 6 week plan again and I was wondering if we could start this thread again. I have gained about 5 pounds in the last month or so. I did really well when we where doing it together.I'm starting on Thursady but if you want we could start the 6 weeks offically Sunday. What do you think I really miss it and you guys.

:hug: G

what diet is this? I'm not familiar with it

Good moning are you a bon jovi fan I love that song thank you for loveing me:D Eat to Live is a a vegan diet by Dr. joel Fuhrman.
HEar are the guide lines
hope you want to join in

UNLIMITED (eat as much as you want)
raw vegetables (goal: 1 pound daily)
cooked green vegetables (goal: 1 pound daily)
beans, legumes, bean sprouts, and tofu (1 cup daily)
fresh fruit (at least 4 daily)
eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, onions, tomatoes

LIMITED (not more than one serving per day)
cooked starchy vegetables or whole grains (butternut or acorn squash, corn potatoes,rice, cooked carrots, sweet potatoes, breads, cereals) (1 cup max. per day)
raw nuts & seeds (1 oz. max. per day)
avocado (2 oz. max. per day)
ground flaxseed (must consume 1 T per day)

OFF-LIMITS
dairy products
animal products
between-meal snacks
fruit juice, dried fruit

after the first 6 week it's less stricked and a few things are added like dried fruit and such

Hi. I'm new here- just registered in fact!

I have been searching for some support in doing the six week plan and would love to join you. I will start tomorrow (Thursday) as well. I have been trying stick with it all week - I need accountability!

Can I join you?

welcome pumkinseed you sure can join. I would recomend you get the book Eat to Live or vist Dr. Fuhrmens web site. the best thing is to rember is keep it simple fruit for breakfast salad with beans for lunch and salad with cooked veggies for dinner. www.fatfreevega.com is a wonderful site and has lots of good eats (hehehe alton borwn is comeing on tv now) under the recipes click on ETL and it has the guidelines and lots of recipes. When would you like to have a wigh in each week or would you? This is going to be wonderful we're going to stay motivated an lose that weight. talk to ya soon

G

Thanks for the welcome. I am excited to have a buddy!

I have read the book (got it from the library) and visit the fatfreevegan website all the time. LOL. That food in the blog looks so yummy!

I do plan to weigh in regularly, but I have a scale addiction so I am going to try to limit myself to 2x per week. If we count this as a start day we can weight on Thursdays or I'd be happy to do another day if others join in.

I am ready to do this, by the book - no little bites of this or that - it all adds up!

can we have our weigh in on Wednesday as I have a TOPS take off pounds sensably meeting. I'm glad you have read the book. I love fat free vegan it's really handy just pick a recipe and print I have not found one I didn't like yet. I have done well so far today and am feeling very motivated :carrot: . I going to go to the gym after I leve my moms. I take care of her while my brother is at work then go home. How are you doing? I think the tlb (tastes,licks and bites) will be hard. HAve you been veggy long? I've been since January and except for a few slipps I've done well. I think cut back my carbs will be a little hard for this go round. I hope your haveing a good day.

G

Good morning.

Wednesday is as good as any other day for me to weigh in.

I had an ok day yesterday. Slipped up with some popcorn that I made for the kids for snack (at least it was air popped) - I think because the salad I made for lunch was not that tasty. I find that the better the food tastes the more satisfied I am.

I was veggie (lacto-ovo) for 8 or 9 years way back. Then started eating a more omni diet while I was preganant but over the past two years I found myself eating meat etc less and less. I just don't care for it. I also find that diary and eggs creep me out a bit. Unless it is in the form of cheese or icecream or a rich dessert - none of which I really need to be eating ;)

I hope to have a better day today, I need to watch the carbs myself I go way overboard with that stuff.

Have a good day!

Hello how are you doing. For myself not so well I really wish I wasn't such a stress eater. today I went out to dinner grilled cheese and yesterday alot of rice based dishes(I cooked for my mom) I'll get back on track tomorow. I just have to rember progress not perfection. I hope your doing better.

G

Good morning. I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

I did OK, not great myself - but I am happy that my diet has improved significantly. I am eating so much better, I am getting creative with my salads/veggies instead of overdoing the pasta etc. I also feel better!!! I figure that even if I am following ETL 80% that is OK and it is better to ease into it and do something that I can stick with instead of something that I will be frustrated with and give up on.

I am looking forward to weighing in on Wed! I am trying so hard to stay off the scale but I am an addict!!

I understand the scale issue I think I have some of the same tendensy. I'm doing ok for my birthday my mom got me a lap top lunch box made famuse by the vegan lunch blog so I used it today. It's realy quite nice and holds more food then I thought it would. My stress level is up today not sure why just is. I think TOM is comeing soon. And some days dealing with my mom is kind of stressful. I do in home care for her but I'm not sure how long I'll be able to keep this up it is very stressful as we don't always get along. Anyway I hope you have a wonderful day.

G

Good morning!

I hope you are feeling less stressed today. It must be difficult! Have you tried yoga? I always feel so good afterwards, energized and relaxed at the same time!

Yesterday was another not so great day for me. I way overdid it and just felt full and bloated all day. The funny thing is it was all food that is OK in moderation, starchy veggies etc. but I have gotten used to eating lighter (salads etc) and I just felt so yucky after the heavier foods. A few weeks ago overdoing it would have involved lots of chocolate or chips. I shouldn't complain!

I am looking forward to the weigh-in tomorrow!

:carrot: Good morning,
Yes I'm feeling better today less stressed I've been doing well not 100% but still better then a few weeks ago same as you. I too am looking forward to Wednesday. I'm also looking forward to this weekend I'm going to a styx consert and also a TOPS raily I'm really looking for it. I hope you have a good day.
G

Styx! LOL!!!!! I used to have the album Paradise Theater(yes I said album - my kids don't even know what an album is!)!!!!

Hope you have a good day. I weighed in this AM first thing and I am down 2 pounds. I'll take it!!!!! Especially considering that I ate pizza last night (between the salt and the fat I am surprised I didn't gain) - I ate really well the rest of the day, but dinner was late so I was hungry and the rest of the family was eating pizza and it was hard to resist! My new motto is that small changes are better than no changes. I hope that seeing some results even if I am not following the plan 100% will help be resist those cheats a little better.

Hope your weigh in goes well!

It's for my DH's birthday;) Styx is his favorite band we have seen them 2x this will be our third. We also met Tommy Shaw at the air port last winter dh was so excited. I'm glad to hear you did well 2 pounds is wonderful :carrot: and who can't resisted pizza this is a progress thing . I see it as a life style change and in life pizza or in my case gilled cheese happens not everyday mind you but I'm not going to feel bad about it once in a while. If we deprive oursleves all the time it and worry about every little thing it's not liveing and we would be letting the food have a life. Anyway I'll get off my soap box:soap: (always wnted to use that little guy lol) I too had a good week with a 2.5 pound lose. I think this is going to be a really good 5 more weeks. shale we set a weight lose goal for the week? like on celeberty fit club? " your target weight lose for this week is>" sorry I've been watching way to much tv lately.

Have a good day

:hug: G

Hi! I hope you have a good weekend - sounds fun!

I'm up for a goal/challenge this week. I love to drop 2-3 pounds next week. I don't want to set an unrealistic goal but for me 2-3 pounds is doable and having that to work towards might be just what I need.

I am feeling so motivated right now - I have a fridge full of veggies and am looking forward to cooking them up this weekend!! I actually turned down ice cream yesterday because I just wasn't hungry for it - that has never happened before! I told myself that if I really want it I will have it, but if I don't really want it to wait until later!! It worked!!!!! I didn't feel deprived and I felt so in control...... yippppeeeee :carrot:

no to Ice cream that is a big woohooo :D you go girl. I'm going to shoot for two this week too but TOM is here and I'm haveing a cheese issue :cheese: meaning I want it. but I think I'll try your aproach if I want it I can have it but I don't have to have it now.;) you know with halloween comeing up that means pumkins and roasted pumkinseeds yumo. Do you make your own? I saw a tv show with Paula Dean tonight and she garnished the dish with pumkinseeds it was a chicken molea recipe but it very well could have been veganised. I have realised that almost any meal can be veganised. nayway I'll talk to ya on Sunday tomorrow is going to be to long to get on the computer till late.

G

Wow! I got slammed this weekend by some monster PMS!!!! I felt as if I was watching myself on TV or something and even though I was yelling at myself to stop eating I couldn't hear it (if that makes any sense). Dh was eating chips and other snacks - I kept grabbing handfuls. I ate WAY too many nuts and pasta. It was so weird. At least I didn't eat a whole batch of cookies! Ugh - I hope I don't gain this week :(

I feel so much better this AM and I plan to get back under control. I felt so yucky after eating so much that I am looking forward to my light breakfast of fruit. Although a sprinkling of pumpkinseeds would go well with that. Did you know that you can roast the seeds from other winter squash? I do it with acorn or butternut squash whenever I cook one. Yummy!

I hope you had a good time this weekend!

hello I'm sory you had such bad PMS I had mine last week so I understand. When I was really stricked on ETL no sugar no caffen very few refinded stuff I didn't have any PMS Hopefully next month will be like that.

I did have a really good weekend. Styx was great and the TOPS meeting was fun. I did have alot of sodeum this week end and it showed up this morning my fingers are all tight and swollen yuck.

I hope week can get it together for Wednesday.:dizzy:

Talk to ya soon.

:hug: G

So how did you do at your weigh in today???

I almost didn't weigh in this AM when I realized that I ate and entire package of nuts over the weekend :^: !!! With my scale obsession I couldn't stay off and weighed-in at the same as last week. Sigh, but I know I was eating way too much fat/salt/limited foods. Need to keep those nuts out of the house entirely - I love to sprinkle a couple on salads, they add so much texture./flavor but I can't keep to the limited amounts. At least they are gone now.

I have decided that since I start to obsess about the numbers on the scale, I restrict what I eat - which leads to getting too hungry, then I give in to temptation and over do the stuff I should be avoiding. I am going to set some non-weight related goals for next week. (Of course I hope that you will set weight goals for yourself if you want - I'd love to cheer you on and see your success!)

Here is what I am going for this week: I will eat three healthy meals a day. I will not worry about calories, or how much I am eating as long as it follows the basic ETL principals. (I probably do not follow the plan exactly but I do what I think will work for me long term.) I will listen to my body, and eat only when I am hungry, but not wait until I get too hungry. I will not even think about losing weight - just eating well!

Gotta go get the day started!

Hello,
I think you have a wonderful I idea. It's important to do what is best for you and work the programe to you advantage. I'm excited beacuse I'm going grocery shoping on Saturday and will stock up on ETL fair. I did not lose this week wich I expected. I have decide to not keep candy in the house any more wich means getting ride of my privet stock. It's just a triger for me. and no more cheese. Cheese is not on programe and it's not really good for a person ayway. I wish you great luck this week. I'm going to make a blended salad for breakfast tomorow. I'll let you know how it tastes.

talk to ya soon G

Oh my! I'm sorry you didn't lose this week. Since I decided to stop worrying about losing I am eating better at meals and am stronger about not giving in to temptation! I guess I need to take the focus off the weightloss in order to lose! I have one pair of pants that are too tight, so I am setting a goal to be able to wear them comfortably. I'll be trying them on every week to see how they fit.

Let me know how about your blended salad - I am always looking for new ideas! I went to a farmers market and bought the the freshest, yummiest fruit and veggies. All sorts of things I haven't tried before - can't wait to cook it all up!

I hope you have a good week, I am feeling really optomisitc. I feel good, feel lighter and have lots of energy!

Happy Wednesday!

I haven't been around much lately - I see that you haven't either. How was your week? I always start out well, but lose it as the week goes on. I know I ate to much but I did my best to keep the foods ETL and healthy! I know over the weekend I was out alot and didn't eat as well as I could have. I felt it too - the heavier/richer foods really make me feel slow and bloated.

I decided to weigh in this AM and am down a pound. I'll take it.

Hope everything is going well with you.

hello I;m sorry I have been MIA for the last week I needed time away from every thing I haven't done much. I'm feeling much better now. It has been a liitle difult to stay on ETL because of the lack of groceries we have but hopefully we will be better next week. I hope your doing well. We got our pumkin but we are waiteing to carve it till Sunday. I' am really sorry. I hope we can continue this thread.

G

Hi. Glad to see you still around. I am still plugging away, just trying to eat well. I know I am eating more breads etc than I should but I am also trying to eat more veggies so overall I am eating healthier.

Hope this week goes well for you.

I'am doing better this week thank you. I to am eating to much bread but I'm eating veggies and fruit so I'm not worried. I hope you are doing well did you try on your pants yet how are they fitting? I have not tryed on my goal dress in a while I might tomorow. have a good week.

:hug: g

Is this still going on? I switched to veganism about six months ago, then slowly drifted back to vegetarianism (lacto-ovo) but have slowly moved into eating unhealthy (lots of dairy for protein, "fake" protein sources, less veggies and fruit) and I want to try this as a way of getting back to veganism and eating whole foods. I do have some weight to lose but I'm mostly focusing on healthy eating and veganism than weight loss at this point.

I'd love a place to post my menu and check in. I'm doing the plan almost to the letter but I'm adding a bit more healthy fat (just another serving) because I know it will help keep me full. I'm not much into ultra-low fat diets, especially if it's good fats I'm eating.

Tam

Good morning!

Welcome Tammay! The more support the better I say!

I have been busy so I haven't checked in here much and as a result I have been less motivated to make good choices and didn't lose this week (although I did overdo the salty foods yesterday and that I am sure does not help!)

I did try on my goal pants and I probably could wear them although they are still a bit tight. I think another 5 pounds or so and they'll fit perfectly!

I have been eating pretty well. I have finally accepted that if I really want something I am better off just eating it (if it is on the healthy side) otherwise I just feel deprived and end up bingeing on something worse. Yesterday I really wanted some vegan cornbread with my chili and I had it even though I had already eaten my "starchy food". I think that helped me stay away from dh's chips last night :D

Hope you had a good week!

Hello- I'm new to this site and new to ETL. I just finished reading the book last night but have been doing a "trial week" before starting the 6-week program. The reason for the trial as I had not finished reading the book before I wanted to start so was not doing it exactly right. So, bottom line is that I'm starving despite the fact that I am eating huge amounts of fruit and veggies. I'm hungry as I eat and after I eat. Anyone of you doing the six week part have this problem? Does that feeling go away? I also am having some headaches and some just "weird" kind of like dizziness but not quite which I think is basically detox. My diet was not that bad previous to this- I'm now just eating much less of the oil and whole grains and added way more fruit and greens. Just wondering if anyone felt this way at the beginning?

Yesterday's menu:

Breakfast: Mixed fruit (equals about 3-4 whole fruit)
1 cup coffee with a spash of soy milk

Lunch: a huge salad of mixed greens with baked tofu, carrots, roasted bell peppers, roasted sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and a fat free roasted bell pepper dressing (home made)

Dinner: Large amount of cooked turnip leaves with garlic and onions sauteed in vegetable broth and 1 cup of bulgur pilaf with veggies.

Today:
Breakfast: mixed chopped fruit salad
2 cups coffe with soy milk

Lunch: Mixed salad greens with 1 cup of chickpeas, carrots, bell peppers, sprouts, mushrooms and snap peas and fat free raspberry vineagrette. 1 bananna

Dinner: Will be a fat free sweet potato soup and steamed broccoli and more salad


Any comments/ ideas/ suggestions?

thanks

Hi BootHouse, welcome.

I have that problem sometimes as well, but now I feel really great with lot sof energy. If you want to stick to the plan closely how about adding some of the good fats like nuts or avacado? It could be that you are just not getting enough to eat. Or add a bowl of veggie soup to your salad at lunch, it might help fill you up.

I find that sometimes I am better off just eating a salad with a small amount of fat or some extra grains if I am hungry because then I don't break down and binge on junk. My weight loss is really quite slow as a result of not following the plan exactly so I don't recommend that, but I am eating mostly veggies and fruit along with some whole grains and legumes and that is still a healthy diet - I know I'd end up snacking on something worse if i didn;t adapt the plan to my needs.

Good luck I hope the icky feelings pass soon.

Thanks Pumpkinseed, It's good to hear that I'm not the only one who feels this way and that it should go away. I have since done some web searches and see that indeed, these symptoms are probably from detox. Also, seems that you are also right that I'm just not eating enough so I'll be adding more beans and some nuts. I am also eating flax but just forgot to write it in. It just seems so weird to be eating such a large volume of food and to still feel hungry. I went to costco last night and stocked up an fruit and veggies and containers to put them in. So far, this diet has also turned out to be very expensive which I really had not considered. I generally try to eat organic but-wow- I just can't afford it.

We had a fantastic dinner last night of steamed broccoli, a baked portobella mushroom and one cup of whole wheat pasta (no other grains during the day) with a lentil sauce. So far today I feel fantastic.

I will continue to post my progress- this is a great place to do it. Hubby is supportive and following the diet as well, though he's eating a bit of the non-approved foods during the day. I guess I'll have to buy a scale, something that I generally stay away from. But, I fugure this will be the best way to actually track how the diet is working.

I'd love to see what you all are eating so that I can get some ideas on how to mix it up a bit.

Hi everyone,
wow welcome to the new people. I'm sorry I wan't on line much last week as I had to work at a job with no computer acess boo :( . I'm sorry you didn't lose last week pumkin this week will be better. I'm so glade you can get into your goal pants stick with it and the pants will be falling off before to long. :)

Hi Boot House my sugeestion is to keep it simple. I always have my grain with fruit in the moreing then salad with my beans at lunch and salad with cooked veggies at night. just rember keep it simple.

I promise to be around more life has gotten 100% better.

talk to you all soon
:hug: G

Good morning everyone. I hope you all had a good weekend. Mine was miserable eating wise :mad: . I am not sure why I let myself eat stuff I know I shouldn't, sometimes I get into these moods where I can't control myself. I ate a ton of pasta, chips and salsa, even some candy. Once I start I just can't stop! I think the carbs are a trigger for me because I was eating oatmeal for breakfast over the weekend. I'll go back to my giant bowl of fruit in the morning and see if that helps.

G I like your idea of keeping it simple. I think I need to do that. Sort of a schedule for eating: fruit for breakfast, soup/chili/beans and salad for lunch and a nice cooked veggie and salad for dinner.

Anyway sorry for thowing myself a pity party, I am back on track today. I think I really need to be strict with myself and stick to the plan exactly no more bending the rules!

good moring everyone,

I have not done to welll this week end eather. I had cheese and eggs. but I have to say the eggs made me feel quite ill maybe beacuse I hadn't had them in a few months. today mom is very sick and I'm over at her house I think I'll have some soup for lunch and I'll be home for dinner I used my crok pot to make bean over night and I think they turned out good.

Pumpkin I can relate to how something can through you off. carbs can do that for me too but also sweet carbs. All weekend long I wanted a soda at least 6 differnt times and it made me a little testy.

just rember progeress not perfection.

:hug: good luck tomorow

G

Yikes! I got slammed by Halloween, and have had the munchies since Tuesday. I am working hard to get back on track today and eat clean to get the sweets out of my system. We did have a great time trick or treating though - our entire neighborhood is out and it is nice to see everyone before we all hibernate for the winter!

Hope everyone else is having a good week.

Hi Everyone, Just wanted to check in for this week. I had a good week despite several obstacles. I seem to have gotten over the detox part and felt really good at the beggining of the week. No headaches or dizziness and had a lot of energy. But, by mid week it was TOM and that comes with a lot of pain (which is one of my motivations for losing weight- MD says exta weight adds to this).
Also, Halloween was a major obstacle- but I got through it without eating a single piece of candy! There was a catered Halloween party at work that I felt obligated to attend since they made sure to have vegetarian food there just for me (and apparently that is a big deal). They had a burrito bar so I was able to eat some beans (but who knows what was actually in them), a salad (which I'm sure was not a fat free dressing) and some fruit. They also had a chocolate fountain for dessert, which I was able to avoid and just eat the fruit. I was really good and very proud of myself.
Yesterday I was at a conference all day and brought my fruit for breakfast with me and my salad at lunch. I went to a resturant with my buddies from work, but just brought the salad in with me and no one kicked me out, so I guess they didn't mind. Dinner was at the Cheesecake factory, so that was really hard to find something I could eat. I ended up getting edamame for the appetiser, a side salad (dressing was not ETL) and chicken lettuce wraps, minus the chicken and noodles. That was fab- just raw veggies and some dipping sauces. My splurge was a cocktail. And no, I did not have cheesecake.
The rest of the week was strictly ETL. Sorry for the long details, but I have to share the with people whom I know undedrstand how challanging this is.

It's working, though. I am down 8 lbs in the past almost two weeks. I'm hoping to lose two more over the weekend so that I will have a nice round 10 for the two weeks. Yeay, that feels really good.:carrot: My clothes are feeling baggy. Darn, I may have to buy some new ones.

woohoo you go girl. I'm afraid I have done very poorly. but starting right now I'm going to shoot for 100%. I have an Idea what if we post our menus each day? That way we can be morre accountable. Saturdays are very strange days for me because about working a grave yard shift the night before. My goal for the week is to eat only one serving of bread and soy products a day.

I hope everyone is doing well.

G

Hi everyone, things have been crazy here and I haven;t had much computer time. Also haven't been able to cook much so I've been eating whatever is easy to grab. Back on the wagon so to speak. I want to be really good leading up to Thanksgiving next week. I think if I am eating clean it will be so much easier to enjoy it in moderation.

I'll post my meals for today"
Breakfast: a banana, bowl of pineapple
a bit later: another banana
Lunch: big salad with all sorts of veggies, some chickpeas and a couple of crackers. Dressing had some fat (tahini) but I don't use much.
Dinner (planned): roasted butternut squash, green beans, salad

Hope everyone is having a good week!

Newbie: New to ETL
 

So, I failed at my last diet plan (LA WeightLoss), which was a very expensive mistake. The main problem was that I wanted to eat more natural foods, and those candy bars they practically force you to consume are loaded with sugar and unnatural ingredients. So I lost my momentum and here I am, at my heaviest weight yet: about 237 lbs.

I used to be vegan in high school and quit around sophomore year of college, while I took a hiatus due to mental health issues. Now I'm thinking of giving it another shot. I hope this thread is still somewhat active although the last post was back in October.

I'm going to try the recipes from the FatFree Vegan Website, because I've attached her feed to my LiveJournal and all her things look yummy, albeit not suitable for this diet, but she says almost all can be converted, so I'll give it a try.

Thanks in advance for the support and encouragement that I know I'll receive.

Take care. Happy Holidays and God Bless!:elf: :snowglo: :rudolph: :wreath:

Welcome and welcome back
 

Hello Gaia and my fellow ETLer’s I think this is the perfect time to reconnect and recommit to an ETL life style as of Monday January first. I commit to 6 weeks of Eat TO Live 100% who is with me lets get on track for 07. It's going to be a wonderful year.

Love G
:moo: cows are friends not food