Cheryl -- I'm like you -- I'm not a big lover of vegetables. But I've come a long way. I used to only like corn and potatoes
(back in the days before we knew they were actually starches) and now I really do enjoy some homemade veggie soups and salads (and pretty much any grilled vegetables that restaurants serve). But I just haven't figured out how to motivate myself to make something vegetable when I'm hungry. I really just want to grab a cookie or something (or make several dozen and eat to my heart's content).
I haven't gotten past that eating for comfort thing in the afternoons, but I know that I can.
I've done ETL successfully once for about 2 weeks and I can tell you that I've never been more in tune with my body as far as hunger goes. And certain body ongoing ailments that I have (eczema, allergies, even pelvic floor problems) vastly improved when I was on it. One of the fun perks was that I always felt like I had a good taste in my mouth. Even when I woke up in the morning, my mouth tasted fresh and sweet.
What broke me of the ETL roll that time was making homemake wheat bread -- it was all wheat, but it sent me on a "needing more" when I'm sure I didn't mode. This didn't happen when I ate my wheat cracked in hot cereal (with flax, raisins, and cinnamon -- so yummy). But the bread got me really off track.
The next time I succeeded with it was only a few weeks before my surgery in July and I made a conscious decision to just go off of it because I wasn't sure I could manage it in the hospital, in recovery (had to spend a lot of time in bed, etc.) and so forth. But I never was able to get myself to stick with it after that (it's been 6 months).
Soooooooo, I need some mental help in getting myself to feel happy with doing this. I plan and prepare, but then I go into the kitchen and "wish" that I could have something different. I'm still in the mode of making myself eat even fruits (which I love) for a snack instead of some variation of a bread -- and I really have to brace myself for opting for a vegetable. So I have a lot of growing to do.
I have found a few good and fast recipes I like for the bean intake -- that too hasn't come naturally. But I know I can work my way into this. It just takes tons of focus and a good overhaul of my attitude that this isn't a death sentence.
I know that I feel good this way and that (like you said) -- this is the ultimate in clean eating. But I just have to get at least a week of doing this to help my brain change to appreciating eating this way instead of feeling sorry for myself.
Truly, I often sit at the computer, evaluate my eating, make my goals, feel so secure and convinced in them, then I take a few steps to the kitchen and want to eat something else instead.
So if anyone has any tips on how to grill vegetables like they do in restaurants (I know Mollie Katzen has a way to roast vegetables that's good -- you need some olive oil though) or some yummy way to eat that Organic Spring Mix (dark green salad mix from Costco) -- I'd love to hear about it. I haven't found a salad dressing that is low in oil that I like yet. I do have a Pampered Chef recipe that uses Orange juice that's yummy, but it has oil too -- probably not as much as most commercial dressings, but maybe I could just not use too much.
I was reading on that ETL forum on that vegisource website last night that others have problems with hunger, cravings, and such once they have any grain variation (like I did with the bread) other than the pure grain. That seems to be the case with me too. I do really well if I eat fruit in the morning, the cracked whole wheat cereal for lunch, fruit for any snacks thereafter and then I lose it because I don't want to turn to a vegetable for a snack or dinner (unless I Have a soup already made). I need to motivate myself for that better.
Sorry to ramble, but I just thought I'd let you know the specifics of how I need help here.
(and I did a great Cathe mix today -- CTX PC cardio + C&W Timesaver all weights afterwards -- loved it!)
