Bringing our A-Game in April!
Carla_wfpb
Posts: 1,372 Member
Mihani, I think you're being too hard on yourself...Dr. Fuhrman himself probably wouldn't give you a big red X for the day you had a whole avocado! 
Great job staying on plan. I love the sticker idea. I have a bunch of stickers around here somewhere that I should dig up and use.
Batching day today. I did about half of the recipes yesterday so today should be pretty quick. We're redoing a previous week (Cuban). This week is supposed to be a week of salads and it looks really good, but there are a number of things in there that don't appeal to Joe, including mustard-heavy dressings, so I'm going to do that meal plan another time when he's visiting his family. The last time we did Cuban week, a recipe called for Jackfruit, but it wasn't available near us, so we used the suggested substitute of mushrooms. It turned out fantastic. This time, the Jackfruit was in our local store so we decided to try it. It looks kinda gross tbh LOL Kind of alien with large seed pods.
I'm ordering my treadmill today. It will take a few weeks to ship, and then Joe and I will have to figure out how to assemble it. Super excited to try out all of the up-to-date features.
B - smoothie
L - salad w/ baked tofu, curry dressing, few raisins
D - leftovers from the week, probably the BLT & salad combo. it is so good
S - mango or pear
Great job staying on plan. I love the sticker idea. I have a bunch of stickers around here somewhere that I should dig up and use.Batching day today. I did about half of the recipes yesterday so today should be pretty quick. We're redoing a previous week (Cuban). This week is supposed to be a week of salads and it looks really good, but there are a number of things in there that don't appeal to Joe, including mustard-heavy dressings, so I'm going to do that meal plan another time when he's visiting his family. The last time we did Cuban week, a recipe called for Jackfruit, but it wasn't available near us, so we used the suggested substitute of mushrooms. It turned out fantastic. This time, the Jackfruit was in our local store so we decided to try it. It looks kinda gross tbh LOL Kind of alien with large seed pods.
I'm ordering my treadmill today. It will take a few weeks to ship, and then Joe and I will have to figure out how to assemble it. Super excited to try out all of the up-to-date features.
B - smoothie
L - salad w/ baked tofu, curry dressing, few raisins
D - leftovers from the week, probably the BLT & salad combo. it is so good
S - mango or pear
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Congrats on the new treadmill Carla! Will be hard to wait a few weeks, but it sounds like you've discovered some good trails for outside walking. I have two cans of jackfruit that people have given me, haven't tried it yet though. Now I'm scared lol. Do you think that you will get any more chickens eventually? I don't know if there's any way to keep them safe from coyotes and other predators. Poor li'l chickens.
L - romaine and spring mix with the cashew Caesar dressing, a tangerine
D - broccoli, asparagus, leftover mustard greens, grilled marinated portobello mushroom (yum!), two wasa crackers, some blueberries and an apple with the last of the chia seed pudding and a couple walnuts. I marinated the mushrooms in a mix of balsamic, garlic, pepper and no-salt seasoning. Grilled on my George Foreman then sliced and put on top of my greens with a drizzle of balsamic glaze.
20 minutes on the treadmill and 10 minutes light dumbbells when I got home from the office... not much but I figure even a little is better than nothing. I am mostly just trying to get myself back in the habit, even if I only do 20 or 30 minutes.0 -
Karrie, grats on the weight loss! Fantastic first week. Those lemon pie date balls sound good! I'd love the recipe if you don't mind. I probably can't trust myself with them now, but it's nice to have a few options for special occasions. I am saving all the recipes I acquire on CopyMeThat.com.
Mihani, nice job on the treadmill & with the weights. I think 20-30 minutes a day is excellent.
Donna, are you back yet? We miss you around here!
My weight loss for the week is 0.9 lb. A little disappointing but there's always some ebb and flow. I cheated and weighed myself a few days ago and I had more weight loss then. The Easter week meal plan was a little more decadent than normal weeks, and the rainy weather probably didn't help (less walking).
Today
Smoothie
Salad w/ sauteed greens, lemony beans, and baked tofu
Pear or Mango if I need a snack
Smoky Black Eyed Peas and Sofrito Collard Wrap
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Awesome loss bringing you into April, Karrie!
Still almost a pound Carla, that's great! I keep telling myself on the weeks I have only lost a pound, that's about what you are supposed to expect, so we're way ahead of the game.
No treadmill tonight. I have work to do and need to get upstairs to my desk. I am shooting for exercise at least 4 days a week for April. Eventually I want to be walking every single day, but with work how it is I'm not going to set unrealistic goals.
I've settled into the 2 meals a day groove. I just don't feel that hungry after nearly completing the 6 weeks. I eat a big salad at lunch, the container is 7 cups and it is full, and a serving or two of fruit, and then I'm fine until dinner. I eat a pretty big pile of veggies and beans at dinner. Tonight was leftover asparagus, broccoli, portobello, with spicy brown mustard. I have discovered that I really like brown mustard on my veggies! Also had a tangerine and a few walnuts, two wasa bread crackers.
I have the new Dr. Barnard Cookbook for Reversing Diabetes written with Dreena Burton. I have several recipes bookmarked and will be trying a new recipe this weekend. I've kept things very simple for the 6 weeks and I am ready for some more exciting flavors.
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Mihani, 2 meals a day is hard core! Nice that you're in the groove with it. I don't know that I've ever had brown mustard, or maybe I know it under a different name. I'm looking forward to hearing about the recipes you try in the Reversing Diabetes cookbook. I keep eyeing it online, but I can't justify it right now with all the recipes I'm getting each week on the meal plan.
I went for a walk yesterday and realized that I was really in need of one. I feel the mood boost afterward. Just a few rainy days in a row and I get into stay-at-home mode. I have to force myself to go out and do things. I signed up for an art class at the local art center and the first class is this Friday. I'm a bit nervous about it, but it only meets once a week. It will get me out of the house and hopefully get me out of this creative slump I've been in!
My "official" weigh in day is Monday, so I don't get to record this loss, but I am down another 1.6 lbs since yesterday. I'd forgotten to weigh myself first thing on Monday so maybe that had something to do with my results. I'm hoping that loss (and more) sticks around for next Monday!
B - smoothie
L - tuno salad over greens
S - orange or mango
D - Picadillo stuffed peppers and pineapple jicama side salad0 -
Good luck with your class, Carla. I keep telling myself I need to do something like that, just to get out of my work/home routine once a week if nothing else. Woohoo on another 1.6 pounds!!
Have arranged to leave work at 3:00 or 3:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays (barring unforeseen events) so I can get home and treadmill and get dinner at a reasonable time. I brought work home, but at least this way I can get some treadmill time in before dinner and be up at my desk by 6:00.
Usual salad and fruit for lunch. Dinner will be leftover broccoli and asparagus plus some great northern beans, an apple and some blueberries. I'm going to make a double batch of the cashew Caesar for my salads the next week. Hooked on that stuff. I may also cook up a batch of collards with onions and mushrooms for tonight.
And way to go Karrie! Hopefully you join the April thread soon.
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I'm joining this April thread. I was a member before and now I had to rejoin. I'm staying in the 120's by eating Plant Based.
B- toast, peanut butter, All Fruit, green tea
L- broccoli, beans, stuffing (left overs)
S- fruit
Good luck everyone and reaching your goals!1 -
Hiya JD... that is awesome you are staying in the 120's. How long have you been plant based?0
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November 1st, it'll be 7 years that I decided to go Vegan. I first saw Joel Fuhrman on PBS, bought Eat to Live, and after reading the book, it was the plan for me!0
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Hi JD, fantastic that you're staying in the 120's! Welcome back
Going for a walk with my mom before the rain hits, so I'll post again later.1 -
We didn't beat the rain, so we had an abbreviated walk. I went to a running store and got a pair of New Balance running shoes that fit me really well. I also found a sports bra with lots of support that's comfy. Score!
B - smoothie
L - missed it while out
Snack - half of a stuffed picadillo pepper
D - Shredded Jackfruit Cubano sandwich on sprouted bread w/ a side of pickled slaw0 -
JD, did you have a lot of weight to lose when you started ETL? I wandered far from ETL the past couple years and gained back quite a bit of weight, so I'm working my way back down the scale. In my last week of re-doing the 6 week plan to get a start. I found it easier this time around than in the past, not sure why.
Carla, how was walk with your mom?
L - big ol' salad with Creamy Cashew Caesar Dressing, a tangerine
D - leftover broccoli, asparagus, great northern beans, two wasa crackers, and made a skillet full of sauteed purple and green kale, bowl of grapefruit, blueberries, chia seeds, a few raisins
I'm really surprised how much I'm enjoying greens all on their own lately. I just saute/steam in a little water with garlic and maybe some other spices, and usually add a little balsamic or soy sauce toward the end.0 -
Oops, your post snuck in before mine, Carla. We actually had some snow here today again. Ugh! How was the jackfruit? I need to give that a try soon. I have two cans of it.
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Mihani, no I didn't have a lot to lose, about 10 lbs.0
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It seems like everyone I know is low-carbing! I'm the only Vegan I know!
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Hahahahahaha im so dumb. I didn’t realize I was in the wrong thread for DAYS!!!0
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LOL... I got a kick out of it Karrie!
I don't think I have any real life friends who are vegan either JD... a few vegetarians but even they thought it was crazy when I said I had gone from vegetarian to vegan lol. I thought giving up cheese was going to be impossible, but after a few weeks I quit thinking about it, and 6 years later the idea of cheese kind of grosses me out. I just decided one day that I was going to do it and that was that.
L - big salad with Creamy Cashew Caesar Dressing
D - Threw in a pot on a whim... can of great northern beans (not drained), can of sliced mushrooms (drained), couple tablespoons of nooch, pepper, chili powder. Brought to a boil then wilted in a huge pile of baby spinach. It was really good! Had a bowl of that with the kale leftover from last night and a couple wasa crackers. Apple and blueberries with chia seeds for dessert.
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Welcome to April, Karrie I figured you had the last thread bookmarked or something like that.
I don't any other WFPB people in person either, with the exception of my husband. But a restaurant owner in our town is opening up a 2nd location with more space and when he asked on Facebook for food suggestions, a surprising amount of people requested more vegan food, so I'm excited about that!
Worked all day and didn't get in a walk. My treadmill hasn't even shipped yet, and I re-read the email and it takes 12-14 days to arrive AFTER it has been shipped. Bah! Getting impatient here, especially with all of the rain we're having. It is supposed to rain from now through until Monday.
B - smoothie
L - tuno salad on mixed greens, pickled slaw
S - pear
D - "cheesy" sprouted grain quesadillas and black bean soup0 -
Hello!
I have been reading and catching up on posts. I am inspired! Everyone is doing great! I am so sorry about your chickens Carla. That would upset me too. The farm next to where I was staying had geese, ducks and chickens all together. The geese honked and hissed at everyone who walked by.
I got back from a month in northern Italy last night. I was only up 3 lbs. It was NOT hard to stay off meat, gelato and most sweets. I did have wine with lunch and dinner, several vegetarian pizzas that were delicious and pastas. In Northern Italy the food is much lighter, not the heavy, cheese laden pasta or pizza. The pizza is very thin crust and whole wheat pizza an option. One of the favorite places I went to made a pizza with small apples, leeks, mushrooms and artichokes. I know it sounds weird but it was delicious. Another dish almost all Osterias serve is a side dish of grilled vegetables for $4-5. It usually includes a slice of zucchini, peppers, egg plants, artichokes, etc. I would have that with a simple salad and way to much bread.
I swam in the Aviano pool 2-3 x week. Walked or hiked with dogs every day. I actually feel stronger. One of my friends who is a RN and a massage therapist gave me a great massage focusing on the sore hip. I have 3 really close friends still living there as well as Sarah the vet. Brooks and I and a friend went to Tuscany for 4 nights with the dogs. I stayed a month because Sarah went to USA for a conference and to see her parents and then at the end of March she went back to obtain a small rescue dog that was seized and face was very beaten up. It was a rescue group in the states she had worked with that asked her about taking this dog. It is a Patterdale terrier and she had one as a child. Really cute little guy but he has been through a lot. Sarah ate vegetarian with me the whole time. I appreciate she honored what I was trying to eat. We also had lots of wine though.. My other good friend is stuck in a bad diet and constantly would ignore that I did not want meat or cheese . The pizzas have very little cheese and they make a good white pizza with olive oil and vegetables.
I will try not to flood the site with too many pictures. It was a wonderful trip but good to be back home.
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Hi all. I'm still in the midst of catching up with all the posts. I haven't checked in for a couple weeks nor have I been eating well (I think I fessed up about this a couple weeks ago and then jumped right back off the band wagon again). Last night I was eating cheese laden pizza with the family and took one look at my husband's face and realized I've got to stick to my goals. He's a hawk with my health nowadays. It's not that I'm craving or preferring junk food - in fact, I'm not enjoying it at all. No, I just get weary of the prep and making separate meals, etc. This eating lifestyle would work perfectly if I had a chef. I'm considering purchasing an Instant Pot as so many of the videos I watch (like Jill McKeever) swear by them. Maybe it would make food prep less frustrating since I'm making separate meals for myself.
Anyway, I'm back here for inspiration and motivation!
Donna, your trip looks like it was wonderful! Love the village scenes. Old world charm! Love the dogs as well.
You mentioned too much bread. That would be my downfall as well! My daughter had a friend over yesterday - a German foreign exchange student - and I asked what food from home she missed the most. She said it was definitely bread. American bread is seriously lacking in quality. Maybe it's the kind of wheat we bake with?
Hope you all have a great weekend! I'm stocked up with veggies and plan on prepping them this morning so that I'm ready for the next few days.
Jacque
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Hello Jacque -
You know change does not happen over night and you will eventually learn a few basic meals to fall back on that are easy and healthy. There will be ups and downs. Upon a lot of self reflection during my walks with dogs....I am facing a few truths for this year: I am turning 60. My father died at age 63 of a heart attack. My mother lost her vision at 65 due to macular degeneration. Another aunt with colon cancer died in her 60's. These diseases are all age. genetic and food related. I still feel rather young and want to ride bikes, hike more and travel.
I find having a lot of fresh food around helps as well as fruits, hummus, carrot and celery sticks. Plus fancy carbonated waters such as La Croixs. Funny because when I go to Trader Joes I usually buy one or two premixed salads for the times I am too tired or hungry to go into much preparation....Brooks usually "steals" them.
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Donna's back YAY... we missed you! Beautiful pictures making me totally jealous! You do so well when you are on your game, I have no doubt you will get right back to good habits, and I'm always impressed with how active you are.
C&P great tips from Donna, and also it really helps not to try too hard to cook every meal at first. I'll be honest I've never made it through the entire 6 weeks on the strict plan before, but it has been really easy this time. I haven't made much anyone would call a recipe other than soup a couple times. Mostly I have just been eating a big salad at lunch and a big bowl of sauteed greens and/or other veggies with beans for dinner. I haven't been eating breakfast the past week, but when I was it would be oatmeal, a smoothie, or just some fruit and a few walnuts with chia seeds. Keeping it so simple was a game changer.
Tomorrow will be the last day of the 6 weeks and I'll weigh in on Sunday. I plan to keep at the strict plan for a while yet. I still have a long way to go to get to my ideal weight. I will make a few allowances after this for a glass of wine now and then or a little splurge like some sprouted grain bread. I've been avoiding bread the entire 6 weeks because I just don't trust myself with it.
L - big salad of romaine and arugula with Cashew Caesar dressing
D - Bought an artichoke and going to figure out what to do with it lol... also think I'll make another pot of the great northern beans with mushrooms and spinach. That was really good. Sauteed rainbow chard.
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Welcome back, Donna! Great pictures. Fantastic job of pretty much maintaining weight while in Italy. Did you see anything new/ go anywhere you hadn't when you lived there? Nice that you had friends around to spend time with.
Jacque, I have an Instant Pot and love it. I use it every week with the meals I batch...for things like rice, beans, and soups. When I'm on an oatmeal kick I do that in there, too. Making food ahead is the best way for me to stay on track.
Mihani, grats on completing all 6 weeks!! That is so impressive. I'm not sure I've made it past 1 week of being totally on plan with the 6-week strict plan. Are you going to buy yourself a new item of clothing or do anything else to celebrate your success?
There's actually a break in the weather today and the sun is even peeking out right now. I got in a 30 minute walk during lunch. We might get lucky tomorrow afternoon as well. I would like to do a longer walk tomorrow, but I'll have to see how my hips and lower back are doing. They've been really acting up the last few days and I think its from doing a bunch of work at my computer. Hopefully the walk today helps. I am making a physiotherapy appointment next week.
This weekend we will be eating with my family to celebrate some birthdays. We are bringing our own main dish, and I'm making the dressing for everyone's salad. I haven't decided which one yet, likely either the tahini-crack or the creamy curry. The tough part will be saying no to the birthday cake!
Breakfast - smoothie
Lunch - tu-no salad over mixed greens, hummus, bite of Joe's hummus bagel!
Snack - orange or pear
Dinner - cuban-caribbean bowl0 -
I batched my meals this morning since Joe and I will be out tomorrow most of the day. I cooked and he did the dishes. It kept us both busy! This week we're having Tom Kha Soup with Cilantro Brown Rice, Korean BBQ Pizza, Crispy oven-fried cauliflower salad w/ mandarin oranges, toasted sesame dressing and crunchy noodle &almond topping, Teriyaki Tofu Tacos, and a Yum Yum Noodle Bowl! Looking forward to trying it all.
Shopping for a few birthday gifts this afternoon and stopping at Whole Food for some sprouted grain pitas for the BBQ pizza. If we have enough oomph and it isn't raining, we'll squeeze in a walk too.
B - smoothie
L - tuno over greens
S - pear
D - leftovers from the week0 -
bisky- beautiful pictures! Thanks!1
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Feels good when the prep is done Carla! Have fun tomorrow.
Last day of the 6 weeks. My reward will be the 4 pairs of dress pants that I really want to wear again and are just a little too snug for comfort and don't look quite right yet. So my plan is to mostly stay 6 week plan strict for another 10 pounds. Went to the office for about 6 hours today now doing some laundry and going to start on a little cooking. Used up the last of my salad stuff today so I need to prep veggies, and I think a nice pot of lentil soup, and clean up my chard and collards ready to cook tomorrow and Monday. It is cold, and we actually got some snow again last night. It's mostly gone already, but come on... it's spring! Tax time will be over in another week and then I'm taking a weekend off.
L - romaine, arugula and baby spinach with Cashew Caesar
D - small salad, lentil soup, leftover sauteed kale (I made kale last night instead of the chard), fruit with chia seeds
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Week 6 results: 1.2 total 16. I'm happy with that, and even happier I managed to get through a whole 6 weeks. I had 4 days where I overdid it a bit on grains, avocado, or walnuts, but other than that I was 100% for the 6 weeks. I have proven to myself I can live without alcohol, bread, crackers and pretzels, etc. Sweets have never been a big temptation for me although I like a little dark chocolate now and then, but I avoided that too. I'm going to keep at 100% for at least another week, then move to slightly more life plan a couple days a week after that.
Plan for today will be a repeat of yesterday except adding shredded beet and carrot to my lunch salad and will be cooking collards tonight since I ate all the kale. I am going to try to add a small salad to dinner every night too. It was easier for me to just eat a big salad at lunch and my cooked veggies at dinner, but I should be eating salad at dinner too.1 -
Mihani, congratulations on a job well done!
Carla, your menu sounds amazing!
The weekend is going well. Having eaten too many refined carbs, etc, for a couple weeks I’m finding that I’m “hungry” a lot right now. I know it’s a hump I’ll get over, though.0 -
C&P it took a couple weeks before I got over the "I'm hungry" all the time feeling. I had to break the habit of thinking everything was a symptom of being hungry and indulging it. Now I really can tell when I'm hungry and I don't think much about food when I'm not. Quite a change! It's very freeing. I still once in a while think about snacks, especially at work where there is a cabinet full of pretzels and crackers which are my favorite things, but they are fleeting thoughts and I just keep busy and ignore the impulse.0
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Ugh, I accidentally closed my browser window in the middle of a reply.
NOT typing it all again. Sorry... 
What can I say. It's Monday...0
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