[GearGirl]

Ok, so it's still February but our old thread seems pretty far back, and E2L is so great for the Spring and Summer I can't wait!

For anyone who is new to this thread, this is the Eat to LIve diet/lifestyle from the book by Dr. Furhman.

The thing that is different for me about E2L is that it is so healthy, based on sound science, and you can eat as much as you want of certain foods so you can feel full not starving. I really think it is the healthiest way to live. The hardest thing for me is sticking with it since it is pretty strictly vegan among other things.

I actually thought I might try a low carb variation called the Belly Fat Cure, so I read the whole book and reviewed some youtube stuff on it, and I just had this nagging little voice in the back of my head. I re-read E2L, and I'm so glad I did. I don't want to be thin just to be thin, I want to be healthy. Dr. Furhman pretty clearly goes over why some of these other diets are really, really unhealthy in the long run in a way that really speaks to me.

So, I'm back in. I hope you guys will join me. Monday is March first, I'm going to try to eat healthy over the weekend, but I'm starting the 6 week program on March 1st, and I am going to stick with it with very few if any modifications (I usually keep one cup of coffee and maybe an occasional glass of red wine). That gives me the next few days to stock up the kitchen and get ready. Who's in?

 

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

i'm here! I pretty much am wrapping up the first 6 weeks, but I didn't have the book for the first 4 weeks and cheated way too many times, that I wasn't really on the 6 week plan, but more like the life plan with the 90% rule. That being said, I am down over 12 pounds, and I am thinking I will try again to do the 6 week weight loss plan with very few cheats starting monday, I am super happy about losing the weight, but I know that the number could have been higher if i had stuck to it a little harder. I too, am not vegan, so i think that makes it way harder. But I can see a difference in my energy level and my pants, so I know it is working well eventhough i haven't been on it 100% like I would like. Another great thing about restarting in March is there are no scheduled family parties or anything major going on until easter, so i think that will help me get through it with less cheating. I have re-read the book and am ready to start weight loss again in March!

 

[GearGirl]

I was thinking that about March too, nothing planned!

 

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

week 7, 164 lbs, down 2 more pounds, I've lost a total of 15. Things are going okay, i have cheated some this past week, but no eating out, and no parties, so the cheats are much smaller at least. Sometimes my cheat equates to eating more nuts than allowed, other times it's a few crackers while i'm getting some for ds, but nothing too bad. On valentine's day i let myself have a whole cheat day and i felt awful that evening and the next, so i know now not to completely cheat a full day or it will mess me up and give me stomach and head aches. What does everyone think about fuhrman's ideal weights? Reading the book, he doesn't take bone frame into consideration and according to the book I should be 127 at 5'8". Right now my aim is to get to 140, which is even a stretch for me as the lowest I've been since 15 was 147. But I also plan to continue to stick with it and may be surprised that my body can and will get below 140, because dr.fuhrman says in the book, 'your not in control of your ideal weight, your body is'. So I try to think about that when I feel that I cannot obtain a slim weight.

 

[firewoman]

Hi all you ETL's! I have just started ETL and was wondering if anyone here has followed the plan while nursing. I have a 5 month old and would like to be sure my milk supply stays up. Will I be consuming enough calories to ensure she has enough milk? Do you think there are any modifications I need to make?

 

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

Quote:

Originally Posted by firewoman Hi all you ETL's! I have just started ETL and was wondering if anyone here has followed the plan while nursing. I have a 5 month old and would like to be sure my milk supply stays up. Will I be consuming enough calories to ensure she has enough milk? Do you think there are any modifications I need to make?

hi! the first time I did E2L, i was still breastfeeding my toddler, though he was also getting tablefood by then so it wasn't his only food. If i remember correctly, you are suppose to eat more nuts and avocado while nursing. I just read disease proof your child and it had blurb in there i just can't remember the exact amounts. I know when i was nursing also I would try to eat 1 avocado a few days each week and a few ounces of nuts each day.

 

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

week 9: down over 20 pounds now! weighed in at 158.6, so excited, still got about 20 more pounds to get to my goal weight!

 

[firewoman]

That is just so AWESOME!!! Congratulations! How is your energy level? I'm really looking forward to getting some youthful energy again.

On the ideal weights, I have a big problem with giving blanket ideal weights based solely on height. I hate BMI's for that reason. My husband and I both have dense bones, not big, just dense and heavy. I'm 5'2" and am quite small at around 117-120. The book says I should weigh 103. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! When I graduated from high school I weighed 109 and was TINY. There is no way I could have weighed 6 pounds lighter healthfully. I think you really have to consider your body composition.

 

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

Quote:

Originally Posted by firewoman That is just so AWESOME!!! Congratulations! How is your energy level? I'm really looking forward to getting some youthful energy again. On the ideal weights, I have a big problem with giving blanket ideal weights based solely on height. I hate BMI's for that reason. My husband and I both have dense bones, not big, just dense and heavy. I'm 5'2" and am quite small at around 117-120. The book says I should weigh 103. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN! When I graduated from high school I weighed 109 and was TINY. There is no way I could have weighed 6 pounds lighter healthfully. I think you really have to consider your body composition.

thanks

yes i agree, in the book it says i should weigh 127 for my height, but my aim is 135-140, i don't like that bone frame/density isn't considered either.

 

[GearGirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ILoveMyBabyBird week 9: down over 20 pounds now! weighed in at 158.6, so excited, still got about 20 more pounds to get to my goal weight!

That is so cool, I am going to try to motivate myself, I keep stopping. I would LOVE to be down 20 pounds!

I think according to Dr. Furhman I should weigh about 118. I weigh about 45 pounds more than that, so I have no idea if that is realistic or not. I do know pre-kids I weighed about 138 and felt like was at a pretty normal looking weight. I can't remember ever being 118. I'm kind of setting that as a possible goal, but I can't seem to make myself lose any weight, so I'll be happy getting back to 138 as a first goal!.

 

[Naughty Dingo]

Hi Mamas,

My DH and I just started the E2L program. I am doing it for health and weight loss, and he is going along to be a good sport (though probably supplementing with sausages at work LOL).

My youngest finally weaned at age 3, and I am feeling a shift in my energy towards myself again. Yay! I have been trying to lose the baby weight unsuccessfully for 3 years and haven't felt like the time is right until now.

I am active, I run marathons, and have a race in 9 weeks. It would be really nice for my body to not have to carry so much extra weight. This would help with my recoveries and my speed. I am about 25 pounds heavier than I was when I got pregnant with my youngest, probably about 30 pounds heavier than my ideal weight.

I've been feeling old and tired and having a hard time balancing kids, work, home, fitness. I've also been anemic for about 3 years and am aggressively working on correcting that with diet, iron, and acupuncture. I am getting better and am feeling the energy levels climbing. I made a huge shift in my life and now get about 8 hours of sleep per night. it is amazing what those 8 hours do to make me think things are possible.

So anyway, one of my big challenges with E2L is managing not to eat random stuff when I am at home feeding the kids. I think I need to have readily available fruits and salads that I can grab if I need it. Do you guys invest some time into prepwork at the beginning of the week? I was looking at the old thread and appreciated the menus you posted. Thank you!

Oh and also, where does alcohol fit in this plan, haven't found any reference? I try to limit drinking to the weekends anyhow but do lurve my glass(es)of wine with the husband.

I am hoping the community of this thread can give me an extra boost and let me keep riding this wave of self motivation.

OK, have a great day!

ND

 

[zubeldia]

Hi e2livers

I've not posted on here for a long while but I have sort of been following it for a long while. I'm already vegan so it's fairly easy to follow, however loosely, the plan. But I eat more grains and more processed stuff than I am sure is suggested....

But, I just finished a half marathon and I am now wanting to get back on track. Mostly it is to feel better. I am nursing my almost 10 month old, and whilst I don't know my current weight, I think I have lost a few pounds. I didnt lose any weight for a long time and so decided to quit weighing. I think I am someone who holds onto weight while nursing... I'm also trying to lose a few vanity pounds, which take a long time.

I have in recent history weighed the suggested weight (something like 115 pounds) and I honestly looked much too thin. I am aiming for around 125 (I was 138 last time I checked). But I'm really going to focus on eating as healthy as I can.

ND, lovely to see you here.

Good luck with that marathon! I, too, have a difficult time snacking on others' food

I'm planning on posting regular menus... would be great to revive this thread.

Zub

 

[Naughty Dingo]

OK ventured into the land of the green smoothie. It was good and the kids liked it too. Bonus!

ND

 

[alison77]

Great to hear about so much success with E2L! Congratulations everyone! I'm going to get back on it after about 1 mo of my newer diet plan, which basically is don't eat when you're not hungry, which helped me lose probably about 5 lbs. That said, I've been trying to follow E2L on it, and have been upping the proportion of my diet that is fruit, but haven't been doing as good with salads. But now that the weather is warming up I am starting to crave them a lot so it's definitely time. I have about 10 lbs to lose and am hoping that I can do that over these next 2-3 months at the same time as I get back into exercising (after recovering from a knee injury). I love to see recipes if anyone wants to share, and my new favorite (which I'm not sure what dr. fuhrman would say) is almond milk, so plan to start that in my green smoothies on Monday

 

[CrunchyKnitter]

Hi! I just found this thread via a search on Fuhrman. I am looking to lose about 40 lbs of "baby weight" and "stuffing my face" weight and bought this book yesterday! I can't wait to get more into it and I imagine I will "officially" begin the diet sometime this week (when I finish the book), but I'm already trying to build my meals around fresh veggies and fruits, and limit meats (we just bought some fish last night that I'm still going to eat for dinner tonight). I am already dairy and gluten free.

Glad to join you all!

 

[CrunchyKnitter]

Oh, I do have a question...as I'm not to the diet plan part of the book yet, but I did notice when flipping through it says no meat and no dairy, but then lots of reviews I'm reading say there are vegetarian and non vegetarian recipes and meal plans.... if you can't eat meat or dairy on the plan, wouldn't that make it a vegetarian diet (or vegan if they also say to not eat meat based broths, honey, etc.?) So I guess what I am dying to know, before I get to this part, is what ARE you allowed to eat that makes it a non veggie diet if you so choose?

 

[alison77]

CrunchyKnitter - what I interpret the veg/non-veg to be is that once you've done the 'intensive' phase, Fuhrman suggests that 90% (about) of your calories come strictly from E2L diet but that the remaining can come from whatever you want and this is where you could put meat or dairy in.

 

[VeganCupcake]

Hello all, I'm joining you. I have gained a bunch of weight since my DD was born because I eat terribly. I also could use some increased health!

It is not easy for me to chomp on a pound of leafy greens each day. I didn't even come close today, but I did have a green smoothie and lots of steamed veggies.

I'm nursing my toddler, so I'm interested to see what the balance will be between losing weight and maintaining my milk supply. I am happy to eat more nuts and avocado, but I wonder what that will do for my weight loss.

 

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

okay my 2 weeks of going off plan is ending today. I was still good about eating my normal breakfast and eating a salad at least once a day, but i was letting way too many cheats in as far as sweets go. That's what happens when you have an easter gathering people don't take their leftovers. Baked goods are my weakness, with chocolate a distant second and ice cream isn't even allowed in my house at the moment. My cheating mainly was due to parties, not planning and just be lazy, plus my weight plataeued and that discouraged me. Anyway, I need to restock the fridge with lettuce and fruit today or tomorrow and get back in gear. I've lost about 20 pounds so far and still want to lose at least 10-20 more hoping for 25. So my short-term goal is to keep cheating to a minimum until my friends wedding may 1st, wouldn't mind being down another 5 pounds by then too.