Eat to Live diet by Joel Fuhrman
 

Is anyone else having success with the Eat to Live plan?

It essentially recommends a vegan diet without processed foods and limited grains, where the goal of the diet is to maximize the nutrient to calorie ratio of foods (obviously veggies, especially greens are the most nutrient dense and meats/cheeses have virtually none).

General guidelines are to make it a goal to:

• eat one pound of raw veggies per day (mostly leafy greens),
• one pound of cooked veggies per day,
• at least four fruits per day,
• at least one cup of legumes (beans/pulses) per day,
• up to one cup of soy milk or tofu per day,
• no between meal snacks,
• only eat if hungry.

A final note is that one should follow the 90% rule with this recommendation, where you should be following the recommendations 90 percent of the time with 10 percent of allowable deviations.

So, is anyone else out there having success with this diet? I love it. It has totally revolutionized my eating and I have lost 30lbs in 5 months. I frequently have cheats, but up to the point allowable in the 90% rule. I also feel this diet will be sustaiable for the long term and I look forward to striving to eat this way for the rest of my life. No more counting calories.

Please share your stories.

Thanks,
ChaiKitty

I think this is the diet that Whole Foods features. They send you e-mails that explain different aspects of the diet over a few weeks' time to introduce you to the concept and give suggestions. I got the e-mails but didn't want to switch my Weight Watcher/fitday habits over to something else. However, I can see that you can do WW (most fruits and vegetables are 'free' in WW) and this diet, too. So, I'm glad I kept the e-mails.

That's interesting, Kathy. I had no idea. That is also really great, in my opinion, since I think the diet really encourages a return to fresh produce... as opposed to a mostly processed foods diet like most American's have.

For me, I have lost weight with counting calories before (some 50-60 pounds in 2004/2005), but this new way of dieting with Dr. Fuhrman's plan of trying to eat tons of raw veggies, cooked veggies, and beans, has been really liberating. I no longer go hungry between meals -- in fact, I don't even snack between meals. I also didn't know it before, but I am also a salt addict. I always thought before that I was eating a healthy diet, but after listening to Dr. Fuhrman's books I have realized how wrong I was.

Anyhow. All the best on your journey, Kathy. Thanks for the reply. :)

-Chai

Great job on the weight loss ChaiKitty! :)

I am not doing the Eat To Live diet but that is how I eat anyways. It's the "outside aisle" shopping concept basically. I am a vegetarian so I eat some dairy.

I usually just eat when I am hungry. I do not eat breakfast because I am not hungry until I have been awake for a few hours. I just drink coffee.

I eat the veggies cooked or raw. It depends what I am in the mood for. I'm a low carber so most of my carbs come from fruit this time of year. My favorite right now is grilled pineapple! :D


I would guess that's from a scale made from the authors/WhFoods preference because eggs, Greek yogurt, dark chocolate, honey, olive oil and salmon (plus many more) are also nutrient dense "superfoods" just like select veggies and fruits. ;)

I've been on this diet for two years (and going strong or should I say "plant strong"). I went from 136lbs to 111 and have loved the diet. I've been maintaining for over a year now.

This diet has truly liberated me from my food addictions. Unlike other diets that can give you weight loss but fail to provide the nutrients your body needs, I never feel hungry nor the need to overeat and I meet all my RDAs with only occasional supplement for Vitamin D and B-12 (when I don't consume a natural dietary source). I also never get the painful stomach pains I used to have either (that I used to think were IBS)....

ChaiKitty! - You summarized the eating plan very well. The only thing I would add, is that Dr Furhman has also done work on an "ANDI" Score guild (together with Whole Foods) that gives even better data on the nutrient density of specific foods... so that people can make even better choices on what specific foods in each category are best... But that's just to make the diet even better. The basic plan is great.

I've been looking for other members using Fitday and this eating style to share a our journals. Let me know if you're interested...

stamatiaa -- woohoo! another Furhmanite! I am really excited that you mentioned that the diet has liberated you from food addictions because I am slowly starting to notice the same thing for me. I use to be on the "six small meals a day" bandwagon and could hardly go 3 hours without some sort of snack. Now I am totally free and just eat a big breakfast, lunch, and dinner full of veggies, beans, and fruit. It really makes me feel good. Giving up my coffee/caffeine is something I want to do next...

Unfortunately, I have not used FitDay to log my food on this diet. I usually only use the weight tracker and message boards.

But I am curious to know, do you have any vegan cookbook or blog recommendations?
I just bought the Happy Herbivore cookbook after drooling over it at Barnes and Noble for the past few weeks. But I'm always on the lookout for other easy, healthy (by Fuhrman standards) cookbooks.

By the way, thanks for the information on the ANDI score guide. I had no idea that he played a role in it's further development. That's great! :) Any way to make the diet more accessible to more people is an accomplishment in my mind.

The recipes on the Whole Foods Website look good...and include a lot of recipes for greens...which is unusual - Recipes @ Whole Foods Market | WholeFoodsMarket.com

I keep it simple - big salads with stews, bean soups, raw, steamed and roasted vegetables, greens (boiled, in stews, and raw), fresh fruit, raw seeds and nuts... small portions of wild Alaskan salmon, wild and sustainable tuna, cod, shrimp, sardines, and a very rare egg from local pastured organic eggs... Of course it’s easy to keep it simple when the produce is in season and amazing!

I also incorporate a lot of the traditional greek recipes from my family... During traditional greek Lent, all animal products and all oils are excluded from the diet during holy week...

ETL is by far the best eating plan I have every been on. I followed it to the letter from April 1st to May 31 and lost 20 pounds. I also never felt hungry. The caffeine withdraw was tough the first couple of days too. I was a heavy coffee drinker, high sodium user, and big meat eater, but ETL changed my life. For the past 6 weeks I have added a few more serving of chicken and fish a week. I will use a drop of olive oil to saute garlic and onions too, the water saute method was a little rough for me to get used to. I figured if this modification allows me to enjoy meals, I would do it. April 1st I weighed in at 212, today I am 186 and feeling better every day!

Hello gemini23nj!

Congratulations on your success. I love this diet too and the best part is that I don't want to ever stop eating this way. I don't think it's ever a good sign if you're on a diet and can't wait to get-off of it. That kind of weight loss is, IMO, unsustainable.

Did you see the Dr.'s appearance on the movie Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead? (It’s available on Netflix.) I couldn’t believe it but even my husband was enthralled by it.

Did you see his recent PBS Special? (It's available on PBS website too, I think.) I recorded it for my sister and it really struck a cord with her. She's been struggling with her weight.

So for my ETL today, for lunch, I had a huge spinach salad (with raw broccoli, carrots, and yellow summer squash) and a great soup made from escarole greens and pinto beans (with some onions, carrots, celery, parsnips and winter squash). I also had a large serving of cooked (boiled) amaranth greens.

Thank you! I have not seen the Dr. Furman Shows, but read the reviews. I follow him on facebook and have read his books. My trainer is a huge advocate so I continue to learn each day. I just got home from the supermarket with great produce. Have a nice day!