Eating To Live--April

[witch's mom]

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd start a new thread for April. I've love to be able to say Spring Is Here, but it most definitely is not here in Northern California.

For those wishing to reference the March thread, go to http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=417598

Happy April, everyone! I'm off to make my morning smoothie:

Berries
Orange
Flax seeds
Probiotic powder
Spinach
Soy milk

[moonshine]

Thanks, witch's mom. Had a bad day yesterday, but trying to let go of it and get back on track without judgement today. Am sick, so not as excited about food as usual, but hopefully it will pass quickly!

At least spring is popping up here, even if it is to get cool again.

[HaveWool~Will Felt]

Hang in there moonshine!!! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

witch's mom, thanks for starting the new thread....

183 this morning!!!

[SandyBeachBums]

I'm wondering what you use to carry your food everywhere. I'm a college student and I have two really full days this quarter, so I can't come home for eating. I try to eat at least two big salads a day. But, with the hot weather coming I'm not sure how to transport it. I was going to buy one of those laptop lunches, but it's not salad friendly.

[ombra*luna]

Spring is here at least today it was! I see it's expected to be in the 20s tonight, though. Today was gorgeous.

SandyBeachBums (great name btw) I had a big tote bag that I bought for carrying groceries home from the store, and just carried my enormous amounts of food to work in that.

OK, I'm starting up again, got a quarter watermelon in the fridge and will bring that to work tomorrow. I've been eating entirely too much yucky garbage, and will be having surgery in about a week so I want to be as healthy as possible.

[tempestjewel]

Jumping in to subscribe!

Just got back from Thailand on Friday. Had a BLAST, but definitely not E2L. I tried to eat as much veggies as possible, but I mostly just ate what my in-laws served. I didn't put any weight back on though, so that made me VERY happy.

Back to full-time E2L tomorrow morning! I'm excited to feel better again. I'm also hoping I'll drop some more weight!

[newcastlemama]

Good quote for discipline!!

Witch'smom--I know!! The weather in Norcal: is making me nuts!!! I just checked out 10 books from the library to try and make the best of it...I am also cooking a lot of bean soup..

tempestjewel--glad you're back and that you stayed at your weight!!! That's awesome!

I am making something out of northern beans tomorrow that are soaking right now. I also got this book "100 Ways to Motivate Yourself" fromt the library....and well, it's motivational!!!

I also heard a quote from a disables cross-country skier that will really help me with discipline...when she feels in pain in a race she thinks "Don't get attached to the feelings" Like--I don't feel like eating salad, excersising (which I am still not allowed to do), cooking, ect....Make your unpleasant feelings unimportant...great advice.

[hu*singing*mom]

I've heard lots of good things about E2L. I have requested the book from the library and look forward to reading more about it. How long have some of you been following this style? And how is it working? What do you find the most challenging?

[Stephane]

Week 2 Day 2...I'm down 5.5 lbs! That is absolutely the most I've ever lost in a week. It's like a miracle!

"Don't get attached to the feelings" Like--I don't feel like eating salad, excersising (which I am still not allowed to do), cooking, ect....Make your unpleasant feelings unimportant...great advice.

I really like that quote! I am loving this plan, even though I'm struggling to follow it 100%. Try, try again! I succumbed to candy yesterday, but I'm back today. Sugar is my downfall. We went to the store yesterday and stocked up on veggies, so I'm going to try a couple recipes. I started getting bored toward the end of last week. Figuring out the cooked veggies is hard. At first I was doing canned veggies, but got concerned about the sodium.

[ombra*luna]

Originally Posted by hu*singing*mom

I've heard lots of good things about E2L. I have requested the book from the library and look forward to reading more about it. How long have some of you been following this style? And how is it working? What do you find the most challenging?

Hi! I was following it pretty closely from June 1st of last year through about Thanksgiving, and then had a pretty non-ETL winter. I'm back though. Me and my watermelon.

I lost about 30 pounds and have not regained it. I felt a lot better when I was doing ETL and had brought my blood sugar down several points (can't remember exactly but it was significant). I had a hard time getting through the winter on apples, bananas, and long-travelling lettuce that was high priced and had no flavor. I'd say that was the biggest challenge. Oh, and actually getting all the food in.

[moonshine]

I started the first week of June and stayed on plan more or less until the holidays. I had trouble getting back, but largely because of stomach problems that made my stomach completely distended. It is slooooooooooowly getting better.

The hardest thing initially was getting used to buying so much produce, but I had it easier than some here because I started in the summer. Then was getting used to cooking without oil, although I am totally fine with that now. Getting through the winter months was a bit rough, but mostly manageable. Now my struggle is with eating off plan occassionally, and being able to get back on the saddle quickly without all the emotional repercussions that only prolong the agony.

I had lost 19 lbs, but gained a few back, although now am at a total of 17. Am hoping for another 10 which would have been beyond my wildest imagination prior to E2L. I love this way of eating because I am eating the least processed foods ever. It has also rubbed off positively on my kids, which is great to see. Also nice is that if you do go off plan, you don't immediately gain all the weight back.

[newcastlemama]

GOOD FOOD- Guiltless Gormet Spicy Balckbean Dip with Carrot chips

[newcastlemama]

Originally Posted by hu*singing*mom

I've heard lots of good things about E2L. I have requested the book from the library and look forward to reading more about it. How long have some of you been following this style? And how is it working? What do you find the most challenging?

I always say it is the first time in my life I can be full, healthy and skinny! First trimesteer pregnancy got the best of me and I gained 10 pounds.(I had an MC) Now I am back . I lost 20 pounds of stubborn baby fat in November and felt great. Dh is now on board and it is much easier!

[HaveWool~Will Felt]

I am about to post before pics and current pics...they are amazing!!!! Talk about inspiration, not only to myself but for others too!!!!

[muttix2]

Well, I'm doing ok. I am soooo tired, I guess I'm detoxing. I definitely can use that quote, I get way too attached to the feeling (I don't want to eat another darn salad!). But, I bought some tofu and will be trying out my first meal with it tomorrow. Ok, I never got back to the thread last month so these replies are referring to that:

allgirls, thanks for the welcome back I think that is what I'm going to do (bring a HUGE salad), and I'll probably bring something to microwave if I get the chance but it will just be my back up. I totally feel your pain on the cheese thing, I never really noticed before E2L how much of food is covered in cheese.

moonshine, that's so cool that you're down to such a low weight. I hope your stomach issues fully resolve.

Ok, I'll do more personals tomorrow.

[bravofrenchie]

I had a major cheat yesterday. It was the first time I've really cheated for a whole month. I kept vegan, but it wasn't exactly uh, healthy. Back on track today. I love how healthy I feel! My friends and co-workers have noticed that I'm happier, more energetic, and I smile more.

[witch's mom]

Allgirls, where are you? I miss your daily posts.

[francesca'smom]

just subbing to the new thread. I'm still not really on track. I'm working on some underlying issues about not WANTING to lose weight, because I keep sabotaging myself even though I felt so much better while I was on E2L.......

[HaveWool~Will Felt]

OK, so I have lost 7 pounds since starting E2L...that includes over a week of vacation where I know I did not loose anything.
So since I wanted to start the 6 week time frame over...today is considered day 2.

yesterdays menu:

Smoothie:
banana
med. orange
half a basket of strawberries
1T ground flax seed meal
low fat soy milk

Huge salad
1T 15 cal. dressing

lentil & brown rice bake, 1cup
steamed asparagus, spinach
big salad with 1T 15 cal dressing

3-32oz water
1 cup coffee, black

[mariposita]

i'm interested in learning more about this. i tried to do a search here for "eat to live" but the search terms are too short and they didn't provide results. i'm sure this has been covered before many times, but could someone link me to some other threads that explain the basics of eat to live? my library doesn't have it so i'd like to know more before buying. thanks!