Eat to Live - Dr Fuhrman

amberellen12

What do you think of his eating plan?

I’ve been reading his books and watching his DVD’s. It makes a lot of sense to me and he backs up his claims up current scientific studies.

Just wondering what the rest of you think.

TeaBea

Are his "scientific" studies peer reviewed? Most named diets aren't. The "science" is probably more along the lines of.....this worked for me (lots of variables unaccounted for).

https://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/eat-to-live-diet-review

This sounds like a lot of extra work. Would this be a diet that you would enjoy, and continue after you've lost the weight? Weight loss is just the first step, you also want to consider what maintenance will look like.

janejellyroll

I tried it a few years ago and wound up feeling really hungry and run down. I need more fat to feel satisfied and energized.

Now that it's been a few years and I've learned more about nutrition, I find that Fuhrman seems to regularly over-state what the evidence actually shows for the benefits of his way of eating, as well as over-stating the risks of eating a diet that doesn't match his plan.

GottaBurnEmAll

I like some principles of eat to live like the emphasis on vegetables and whole grains.

I don't like how low protein and fat it is, especially in the first few weeks. I feel that way for a few reasons. Fat is necessary for hormonal regulation and health. Some vitamins are also fat soluble and all of those veggies are best consumed with a bit more fat in the diet. As for protein, dieters need more than is usually recommended to preserve lean mass while losing weight. The parameters of Eat To Live fall far short of even the minimum recommended amount of .6 grams per pound of body weight. You need more (.8 - 1 gram per pound) if you're exercising.

Furthermore, there's no mention of calories. That's a big one. It's possible to eat more than you are burning even eating that way if you don't find that particular way of eating very filling. This could be particularly true if you are prone to be more satisfied by eating protein and fat than you are volume.

My advice? Take the good idea to eat a lot of vegetables from the plan. Incorporate that into a balanced eating plan that suits your needs and is within a calorie limit that will have you reaching your goals.

snickerscharlie

TeaBea wrote: »

Are his "scientific" studies peer reviewed? Most named diets aren't. The "science" is probably more along the lines of.....this worked for me (lots of variables unaccounted for).

https://www.webmd.com/diet/a-z/eat-to-live-diet-review

This sounds like a lot of extra work. Would this be a diet that you would enjoy, and continue after you've lost the weight? Weight loss is just the first step, you also want to consider what maintenance will look like.

From that link:

"Fuhrman says it’s best to avoid alcohol if possible, but you can have one drink a day if that will help you stay on the plan."

I would need waaaaaay more than one drink to feel good about eating like that.

nowine4me

@amberellen12 if you want to eat WFPB, you don’t really need to follow a specific plan. Just eat plants and enough calories. Make adjustments once you get the hang of it. If you’re trying to lose weight, same advice - but track calories.