26 lbs lost - 6 weeks on Eat to Live

I am planning on starting this tomorrow. I've logged everything into my diary for tomorrow and plan on working out to get rid of those extra calories. I also added in 2 tbsp of coconut oil for health benefits and I'm only over my calories due to this. I'm also planning on consuming cow's milk until I can add in a milk alternative. I have at least 100 pounds to loose so this will be a drastic change in my lifestyle. I'm looking forward to it!

Do you absolutely have to eat this way all the time? I want to lose 30 pounds, but be able to still eat in a healthy manner. I'd like to continue eating in a Mediterranean diet kind of way, while still being able to eat some sweets once a week or so.

Or does it just mess up all of your progress?

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Hi, I'm in week two of ETL and I'm already noticing the results. Could you please recommend a good book on cooking greens? Thanks!

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I just started ETL last sunday. I lost 14 pounds this week and that is FANTASTIC, but I feel like I'm going to barf if I have to eat one more salad or cup of vegetable bean soup. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, I have always loved vegetables, but the thought of one more day on this diet is enough to make me cry. I've tried lots of different spices, but can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. My whole family is following the diet, and I seem to be the only one having this much trouble. Any suggestions?

I think you have to get really creative with cooking.

I proposed ETL to my fiance in July and he was all for it, despite being a committed meat eater. Well, he managed to stick to it, and has lost 30 pounds over the last four months (without moderating his beer consumption), while I fell off the wagon due to work-related stress and actually gained about 10 pounds (mostly due to drinking and late night snacking). Part of the reason why he did so well is that he is happy to eat a giant mixing bowl of salad for lunch everyday, while I get bored with it very quickly. So now that I am back on the wagon, I'm also committed to cooking creatively because I'm not going to spend the rest of my life eating a mesclun mix salad every day!

In addition to LOTS of vegan cooking websites, the three cookbooks that I've found to be quite helpful for both vegan recipes and for easily modified vegetarian recipes are:

1. Eat, Drink and Be Vegan - this is great for cooking during the week - the recipes are pretty straightforward and don't call for many specialty ingredients. Also, each recipe suggests complementary dishes, so it is easy to put an entire meal together.
2. Veganomicon - these recipes are more complex, and can take a while to put together. It's more of a weekend cookbook, although the first section has good straightforward advice on ways to prepare basics (root vegetables, beans, etc)
3. Jerusalem - this isn't a vegan cookbook, it is a Mediterranean cookbook. Although these recipes call for a lot of ingredients and are time-consuming (another 'weekend' cookbook), everything I have made from it has been AMAZING - including the last hummus recipe you will ever need. Many of the recipes are meat free, or easily adjustable, and leafy green and beans feature prominently. They are quite oil-heavy however, so if you are on the strict 6-week plan, you will have to make adjustments.

The other piece of advice I would offer is to make a large pot of really flavorful stock on Sunday so you have a good base for cooking without oil and for making soup. I fill a roasting pan with vegetables, throw them in the oven for an hour, and then use them to make stock (and once they are strained out, I use them to make a vegetable soup base). I keep it in a pitcher in the fridge, so I can easily pour some out when I need to.

I began following the "Eat to Live" program about 5 weeks ago. I have lost 10 lbs. so far, have a lot more energy. PLUS: I used to get much more frequent headaches & migraines (I attribute this to giving up all soda, including diet), and I had carpal tunnel in my right wrist/hand, which used to ache. I no longer have carpal tunnel symptoms.
I also credit my success to the fact that before I began this program (and I only did because a friend of mine gave me her book to read), I saw a great documentary "The Peaceable Kingdom" - about 5 farmers who gave up farming and now run animal sanctuaries, and all are vegans. When I saw the slaughter of animals in that film, I ran out of the room. I was so affected.
I give everyone here SO much credit! As others, I have not found the program to be difficult at all. also - the weight has come off, so far, from my belly region. That is good, because a 'large belly' is a sign of poor health. I have about 25 lbs. more to go, and want to stay with this as a way of life.

I Love eat to live!

I highly recommend any of the a Happy Herbivore cookbooks for easy, quick, low fat plant-based meals. You can also check out her blog/web site/a Facebook for ideas. I have not gone fully plant -based, but these recipes are helping!