EAT TO LIVE

Maybe I can
>concoct a shake out of soy milk and protein, just to be safe.
>
>
I like to make "dreamsicle" shakes (though I haven't for a while). I use vanilla soy milk and orange juice about 1/2 and 1/2, then use a scoop of vanilla protein powder.

I like to mix proteins, to not overdo on any one source (and also because there has been some info about isolated soy protein and concentrated soy protein---though not soy foods like edamame and tofu and soy milk--perhaps increasing risk for breast cancer), so I like soy milk mixed with a rice protein powder. A vegetable protein powder (mostly from pea protein, I think) is also available.

A nice morning protein boost could be a soy milk shake with fruits and some protein powder.
 
Janice, it is very smart of you to ease into this diet and I will say I never thought my DH would go Vegan either, but he does need to loose weight and get himself heathly as High Blood Pressure can be a problem for him, and the fact that his father had Bypass surgery about 8 years ago. You are right in staying away from especially the trans fat as it has to be the worst. I didn't use any Olive Oil for the 1st 6 weeks but I had some in the last few days and will still limit it. No, I haven't had any animal protein and I haven't missed it as I thought I would. Recently even my sister was interested as I was feeling she had thought I was just going on a fad by doing the Vegan diet and now she wants to get the book!..:)...For my Height 5'4" Dr Fuhrman says I should weigh 111, which I feel is low for me. I feel the best, running at 118-120, my DH thinks I should get to 115 but I really don't want to listen to him...:)...I am at 120 and will continue eating alot....if the weight come off it does but I feel now that would be completely by P90X and running....I have soymilk, fruit, flaxseed and protein powder shakes evey morning...I love them!!!....I'll keep you posted and I hope you do well....Carole
 
Oh, WOW, was I totally overwhelmed at the health food store this morning!! I felt so "out of my element" that I almost walked out, leaving my cart full in the store. I started to think really negative, like, "What am I thinking, I can't do this!". I don't know the first thing about natural food products. I can read labels with the best of them in the grocery store, but start talking siken tofu and and the "right" bread, and I am all lost. The only thing I ever looked at before was fiber grams and trans fats.


Obviously, I can't go instantly to eating a perfect diet according to Dr. Furhman. A major problem for me is knowing how to cook. I don't cook anything now, so it will be even harder when I try to experiment with ingredients that are foreign to me. I totally overpurchased on the vegetables......Lord knows how I am going to get them all down. HA! I also got some brown rice (which is a no-no on the diet) and a veggie soup mix with a whopping 20 grams of protein!! I got stone cut oats, which I have never tried before. It is amazing how little money you can spend on veggies! I felt like a success....that is until it rots in my fridge!:)


But, I am not going to try to be "perfect" and I did get some things that I have never tried before and all the purchases were overall healthier than what is in my fridge right now. So, it looks like I may have to take baby steps, omitting meat in a few meals at first rather than all together out. I think a smarter thing for me to do just try to eat as many veggies as I can and pick one recipe, once per week, that I can experiment with that is vegan. That way, I can go get only those ingredients, instead of buying a bunch of stuff that I have no idea how to prepare and what to mix with.

That is one thing about this book....it makes sense, but who can totally transform to it instantly going from the typical American diet?? And I eat atleast marginally better than the typical American!!!! So, I will up the fruits and veggies. At this point, I fear I will just have to get them down any which way, since I got so many!!LOL!!

Some people spend money on clothes? Nope, not me, produce! (And then of course most of it other than the fruit rots because we end up going out to eat instead). I have to be a smarter shopper!!!!!

Overwhelmed, discouraged, BUT sensible and hopeful....
 
AND...


Dr Fuhrman believes that cheese of any variety is the food of the Devil. While I cannot totally disagree, how does he expect you to go the rest of your ENTIRE LIFE without consuming a cheese product? Give up pizza??

I don't want to end up labeled a total freak, so maybe I can have my sinful meal once per week or something. He is soooo against that in the book, but oh well..what do you all think??
 
Dr Fuhrman believes that cheese of any variety is
>the food of the Devil. While I cannot totally disagree, how
>does he expect you to go the rest of your ENTIRE LIFE without
>consuming a cheese product? Give up pizza??
>
> I don't want to end up labeled a total freak, so
>maybe I can have my sinful meal once per week or something. He
>is soooo against that in the book, but oh well..what do you
>all think??
>

Everybody has to do what they can do, and what feels right to them. Fuhrman is not the boss of you..you are! I, for one, have probably not had cheese for 15 years. And I have had pizza in that time. At first, it was regular pizza parlor pizza, with no cheese (yes, people will look at you strangely, but maybe not as strangely as they used to, because they are more aware of allergies?)(I quickly discovered that cheese really covers up the fact that some ingredients are not too fresh. "Not so good" pizza tastes really aweful without cheese, but "great" pizza is fine without it.) I also get some pizzas from the health food store that have no cheese (after all, in Italy and other European countries, cheese is not mandatory on pizza). Amy's is one brand that makes some cheeseless pizza. You can also make your own pizza.

There is a book called "The Uncheese Cookbook" (I think the latest version is "The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook") that has recipes for vegan cheese substitutes that are supposed to be much better than the manufactured ones you can buy (which are mostly pretty gross and rubbery, IMO). I haven't tried any recipes, but a friend of mine, who says she wants to go vegan but will have a hard time giving up cheese, is going to try.
;)
 
I think the reason he says to be strict the first 6 weeks is for the most weight loss! I believe if you take those baby steps and just eat more fruits and vegeys and cut back on the animal protein and are doing P90X you will loose weight and be heathier in the long run. Therefore you might loose weight a bit slower if you don't go totally Vegan....I do agree..it was very hard those first 2 weeks. I wondered many times if it was right especially with the criticism I received when I said I was going vegan! But I have really felt so much better and I have really enjoyed getting better results now that I have cleaned up my diet. Why the hell is it anyone's business but mine! So, I don't volunteer info, I only speak when asked..(well,sometimes)..:)...and my DH got some pepper jack cheese made from soy protein and he loves it....:)....Carole
 
Carole,

So were you really strict the first 6 weeks? Any indiscretions:) ? Iordered the book online yesterday and went to the bookstore to look at the basic principles behind the book. I'm soo glad I heard about this book. For the last 7 years I've been thinking alot about what Iput in my body. As you can imagine it's been quite a struggle as DH isn't really commited to eating healthier. I'm wondering how in the world to eat a pound of lettuce and a pound of cooked green veggiesin one day. I was thinking I would have 1 day a week where I would eat whatever I want but I'm not sure I want to do it. I do want to see what my results would be if I was pretty strict. I say pretty strict because I'll probably eat more of some things then he recommnends. Yesterday I had:

Breakfast:pancakes
lunch: salad
snack:grapes
dinner:black beans and rice
snack:salad
snack:ANOTHER salad and 2 crescent rolls

I think for my first day that was pretty good. I didn't read the principles of the book until later in the day(before dinner) so I just tried to make good selections forthe rest of the day(I wish DH hadn't baked the rollsx( )

I'm thinking if I continue like this that I'll still have good weightloss. Maximum I think would be 17lbs but 10 would make me very happy.

Valerie
 
I'm not a massive cheese fan, though i like it now and again, but its too processed for me. Butter i like and use it alot. Is whole, real and isn't procesesd (heated, etc...). I eat alot of fat. Actually the more fat i eat the better i feel and the less hungry. I had 5 eggs for breakfast this morning with spinich and wasn't hungry until 1pm, breakfast was at 7:30am which is unheard of for me going that length of time.

Wayne.
 
Dr. Fuhrman comments that one pound of raw grean leafie veggies is only one head of Romaine a day. That is easy for me!! That is about the size of the salad I eat anyway when I eat one. Now the cooked veggies? That is a whole nother story!!


Well, I had steel cut oats for breakfast today for the first time. What a mess!!! Had no idea they were going to blow up in the micro! They lost a lot of water, so I think they were way undercooked, but not too bad. I could handle those with just a tiny bit of butter. I put blueberries in it but did not like it that way. I can't believe how much healthier they are for you than good ol' Quaker. 8 grams of fiber! WOW!!!
I did bring a leftover chicken breast for lunch, but TONS of veggies. I am not just going to throw my old food away, so I will ease in. Thanks for all the feedback you all have given me. I hope to be only partially successful as you all!!

Good Luck!!
 
Janice,

I remember reading that. NOw that I think about it,it's very doable. It would probably take about 3 salads a day for me though to eat all that lettuce.

Here's to success!

Valerie
 
I really love the ETL plan -- I'm doing the 6 week plan (did it 2 weeks, lost 6 pounds, had a month hiatis, not by intent, just weak -- not far off -- mostly just ate more grains, but I stopped losing the weight, BUT was thrilled that at least I didn't gain back) and am now resuming for the remaining 4 or maybe will go for 6 again.

But my overall view of the book isn't that I will be a vegan for the rest of my life -- it's that Dr. Fuhrman is saying "Here's the optimal way to eat" and has us try it the strict way to cleanse the body and to have a speedy weight loss, then adds in more grains, more fat, and even talks about those who will want to incorporate some animal products later on. I have been non-dairy before reading his book because my allergies and asthma have a lot more problems when I eat dairy (just found this out in the past couple of years and it helps with hayfever season tremendously) -- I've also TRIED to be non-sugar and learned from Marilu Henner's books how to cook with natural sugars and do that for my children. But I found I couldn't lose weight or at least it was at the speed of a slowly dripping faucet, so once I tried controlling my grains a bit, I was doing much better. So I guess what I'm trying to say is that I plan to be in the 90/10 group that he talks about where you eat ETL 90% of the time, but have an occasional something else. I don't plan for those somethings to include dairy or sugar or even white flour (can't control myself with the stuff), but I'm sure I'll have chicken and eggs from time to time and maybe some baked treats with non-refined ingredients.

Also, someone mentioned that you can only have 1 cup of beans. That's the starting point. You can have as many beans as you'd like (which for me isn't a ton, but I'm learning).

What works best for me with the cooked vegetables is making up some huge pot of soup (with beans even! :) ) -- If I have some soup and a salad in the fridge, then I can find yummy vegetable options whenever I need to fill up (in the past that meant cookies or cereal or something grain and sugar related).

Regarding cheese -- I thought I could never live without cheese either. I love it in Mexican food and in Italian foods (especially pizza). But after getting away from it, the smell is SO strong and the taste (yes, I've succombed to pizza with the cheese a few times) is too strong too. Your body moves away from it when you go without for awhile. I can eat tacos w/o cheese now and it's just fine. And I find the homemade pizza w/some wheat in the crust (have a great recipe), lots of sauce and lots of veggies is really great.

I used to think I needed pizza once a week and found that doing this, I could NOT lose weight at all, in fact I was gaining (Cathe workouts and all), so that just doesn't work for me (a la Dr. Phil here :)). I've even taken the cheese off of what I order for our family and something from the cheese seeps into the sauce and I've had hayfever attacks from it all night afterwards. Just not worth it. *sigh*

This has been really fun to read through this thread (I printed it out to read in bed last night :D ). Keep the conversation going! I could use all the support I can get through these 6 weeks!
 
Also remember that ETL preaches the 90-10 rule. So if you want cheese, you can have it. But it should only take up 10 percent of your calories for the day, and the rest of your eating should be on-plan.

Personally, the plan is way too strict for me. But the knowledge that he shares has definitely inspired me to eat more fruits and vegetables and less meat, which is a good thing. :D
 
Valerie...yes I was strict as far a vegetarian. I did have some vegeys (Red Lobster) that I didn't know would come soaked in butter! I also had some potato salad with probably too much mayo. But those 2 were a bit unavoidable. Your day didn't look bad yesterday except I would add more fruit. Probably the only thing I falter on is the pound of cooked green vegeys but I go overboard on the fruit! And I have no oroblem with 2 salads a day.

Renee..I think we talked thru the VF board as I am SBGrunner there. Glad you found this forum and have looked thru this thread as there is alot of info here. Kathryn has some very good insight already being a vegetarian. (she is also a pro P90X'er...) I also have at least 2 cups of beans a day, my favorite right now are Pinto beans!

I even lost another pound as of today. Now I am down 17....amazing. I am so glad to hear so many of you getting the book and trying it out. I honestly think it is so very important to your health even if you are not a strict Vegan. Little steps...:)...Carole
 
Carole,

If you don't mind. Would you list what you eat on a typical day? I looked at the 7 day meal plan in the book but i have forgotten what was listed(I can't wait to get my book).



TIA,

Valerie

Thanks for the other responses as well.They are very encouraging.
 
>Also remember that ETL preaches the 90-10 rule. So if you
>want cheese, you can have it. But it should only take up 10
>percent of your calories for the day, and the rest of your
>eating should be on-plan.
>
>Personally, the plan is way too strict for me. But the
>knowledge that he shares has definitely inspired me to eat
>more fruits and vegetables and less meat, which is a good
>thing. :D

Yeah, I liked that he brought up the 90/10 concept -- makes it not seem so strict or eternal or something. As for the strictness overall, it is tough, but I find that once I get my mind in sync with my actions and visa versa, I can do it pretty easily. It's just getting them to both behave! :)

Another thing I realized while reading it the first time through is that he talks about this 6 week plan like it is geared to the sedentary or those who may struggle with exercise at first. So this made me tailor it to my needs knowing that I exercise vigorously at least an hour a day. So if my grains end up being a cup and a 1/2 or something, I'm okay with that :9 I do have to keep track of the grains though or I won't lose weight (and I've got about 8 more pounds of baby weight to go).

naughtoj -- I enjoyed your Health Store experience -- that's about how I felt when I first started doing Marilu's Total Health Makeover plan (no-dairy, no meat, no sugar, food combining -- I ended up eating too many refined carbs this way, but it worked well for maintenance -- had problems with food combining when on vacation, eating out, etc.) but anyway, it can be overwhelming. There are ways around all the mysterious ingredients. Just start with something like soy milk or tofu or something that you want to cook with (make smoothies with soy milk or a creamy soup with it or something). Also, I found gold in a McDougall cookbook that I bought on at Costco years ago (didn't know it was Vegan, just thought it had quick recipes), but it's called The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook -- all recipes can be prepared in 15 min. or less -- I add eggs to some recipes, although they give substitutes like flax, I think. But I've learned some great bean recipes, how to make mayo out of tofu, etc. THey have great sauces, etc. It may be on half.com or something if it's OOP.

I guess my point is that you don't have to cook or prepare a ton. I have 6 kids and to spend time cooking (used to love it in college -- now that I have the kids to do it for, the thrill is gone for some reason). But you can arm yourself with a few staples and even have snack foods to draw from. Just take it as you can and you'll do great.
 
Valerie, I don't mind at all. This is a typical day:

Breakfast: 2 cups of assorted frozen fruit partially thawed, 3/4 cup soymilk, I scoop vanilla whey protein powder, 1 T ground flaxseed, blended.
Lunch: 2 to 3 cups diced watermelon, and maybe an appleor other fruit, a salad consisting of 3-4 cups romaine lettuce and spinach, 1/2 a tomato, a thick slice of onion cut, some mushrooms, 1 cup of beans, and 1/4 of an avocado cut up. I use Spectrum Natural Zesty Italin dressing.
Dinner: 2 cups of some kind of soup from the book (or a tofu recipe), salad about the same as the lunch one, 1-2 cups of a vegey (zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower).
Dessert: Another smoothie I split with my DH, consisting of 1 banana, 2 cups assorted frozen fruit partially thawed, sometimes a scoop of the whey protein powder, 1/2 cup of vanilla soymilk.
Anytime if I get hungry I usually snack on any fruit of maybe some beans and if I feel I need some more fat I have a few raw walnuts. I am so glad to start this in the summer as the fruit is great...that might become a struggle in the winter... x( ....Carole
 
Thanks Carole!

Yes the fruit is great. DH just brought home 2 watermelons. Iknow what I'll be having for breakfast tomorrow.:) Your menu looks yummy. I was having a very strong craving for a luna bar but I ate dinner(rice and beans) and that took care of my craving. I'm baking brownies for my babysitter this evening. I will definitely have to remember the benefits of this way of eating to resist them! Not because Ihave to but because I want to.

Take care.:)
 
The watermelon here has been wonderful. Wanting to eat right is a very big step...good for you! Something I forgot is I do have one cup of coffee a day and occasionally a half of a balance bar if I have a tough workout coming...:)...Carole
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top