Ouch C&P, hope your foot heals quickly.

Carla, great thread title! I am glad you pay attention. I always forget about starting a new thread. Good luck with your car shopping. A walking club is a great idea too.

Your girls weekend sounds great Karrie! What do you plan to cook this weekend?

Day 6 at 100% on the 6 week plan is in the bag. The first week has gone really well. I have only had a few times where I thought I was getting snacky and I just powered through. I am drinking a lot of herbal tea at the office throughout the day and that helps a lot. I am going to weigh myself on Sunday since I'll have the first week done, but I can definitely tell that I've lost by the way my clothes feel.

Breakfast and lunch today were the same as usual. Dinner was leftover tofu from last night and a cole slaw of sorts. I had a bag of cole slaw so I whipped up some rice vinegar and soy sauce with ginger and garlic for a dressing. When I dished some out I topped with toasted sesame seeds and black pepper. It was pretty good, but could have used a little sweetness to counter some of the acidity. Next time I'll throw the dressing in the blender with a date or a tablespoon of raisins. I didn't have any cooked veggies today so I'll have to make sure I get those in tomorrow. For dessert I had an orange and a pear. Really grooving on fruit this past week.

Have a wonderful trip Donna! Hope you are feeling better.

Carla, I've noticed oranges are seriously good right now too. I just bought a whole bag of them to enjoy this week.

So, results of week 1 on the 6 week plan ... 6.8 pounds! Ready for week 2! I'd like to start getting some regular exercise this week. We're finally, finally getting some more help in the office starting next week. I'm sure hoping that I will have a little more free time and be less exhausted and stressed soon. In the meantime, heading to the office as usual today.

C&P, you are welcome here whether you are full on ETL or not! One off day doesn't mean anything in the big picture. If you are really struggling with ETL you might want to check out the Engine 2 Diet. It is similar but a lot more starches allowed. I tend to eat a bit more Engine 2 when I'm not on the ETL 6 week plan, because I love my starches! But they are still whole foods... potatoes and other starchy veggies, whole grains, no oil, etc. I did the Engine 2 - 7 Day Rescue for a while last year, and it really helped me get back into the WFPB mindset when at that time I felt like I was struggling too much with ETL. I've been vegan for a long time, but there's a lot of good vegan junk food these days and I got into some baaad habits.

Donna, hope you had a good flight to Italy and that you left your cold behind. I forget if you said, how long are you staying?

Carla, WOOHOO on the 3.2 pounds! Your meals sound so good. It takes some dedication to commit to the shopping, prepping and cooking.

Today I switched up breakfast - nuked 1/2 cup oats with some water then topped with a chopped pear, a few walnut halves, a small handful of frozen blueberries, sprinkle of cinnamon, tablespoon of chia seeds. It tasted so good after over a week of smoothies. Not that I don't like smoothies, but it was a nice change of pace.

L - big ol' salad same as usual, an orange

D - leftover red lentil kale soup, not sure whether I'm going to have a piece of fruit. Worked late and getting a late dinner so I want to keep it light since it's nearly bedtime already.

Mihani - Wow! So happy for you - your week one weight loss was amazing! I am staying off the scale for now because it was not moving down, as it normally would when I follow the 6 week plan. It turns out, after 6 months or so of nothing, I must have been premenstrual - because my old friend arrived yesterday. But I'm just sticking to the plan. About to eat an apple instead of the sugar cookies that are sitting in our kitchen at work.

C&P - I'm glad you are sticking around. We are not perfect in any of this and, as you said, so many good ideas and yummy recipes are shared here.

Carla - So great to hear that you lost 3.2 lbs! Nice going. You and Mihani and killing it. I'm going to start sharing my meal plan here like you guys do.

Donna - Have a great trip!

Karrie - Hope you enjoyed your girl's weekend. I love hanging with my daughter when she's home from college.


My meals today:

Breakfast - Rolled oats, banana, seeds, raisins
Lunch - Navy bean & kale soup
Apple
Dinner - Mushroom barley soup (yes I'm making it again!)/ salad with walnut balsamic vinaigrette

Carla, definitely feeling better since I got my hair done. Last time was before Thanksgiving and I was getting pretty scraggly. Your meals all look scrumptious. Glad you are finding some new places you are enjoying walking.

Thanks for that link, Pat. I will definitely be trying that soup. I just turned 54 last month! It seems weird. I feel like my parents were a lot more grown up at this age than I feel lol. Skiing sounds like fun, I've never tried it. I'm a bit klutzy so it would probably be a bad idea.

B - same smoothie
L - steamer bag of broccoli & cauliflower with soy sauce and nooch, an orange and a pear
D - chard and arugula sauteed with water and garlic and then tossed with a little balsamic, side of cheezy chickpeas and brown and wild rice, a pear

I still haven't managed to get into the exercise groove. I hope things will settle down a little next week. Going to have to make a priority.

Did it warm up at all today Carla? We got some blustery snow and cold again today. Ugh! C'mon Spring! I still haven't tried the tu-no salad. After the 6 week plan is up I will give it a try. I'm trying to keep things very simple and that sounds too tempting to overeat to me.

I've been eating nearly an entire bunch of greens almost nightly. My pants were loose today. My knees aren't achy. It's working.

B - smoothie same as usual
L - sliced tomato, steamer bag of broccoli with soy sauce and nooch, an orange (After making my salad this morning for lunch I ran out the door without it and had to eat steamer veggies for the third day in a row. I am NOT forgetting my salad tomorrow!)
D - sauteed mustard greens and kale, leftover cheezy chickpeas and rice, a grapefruit

Hi All! Was thrilled to see a community for ETL minded people! After a three year hyatus from the program, that left me 30 lbs heavier than whe I was on, I’m back at it, determined this time to stick with it. I’ve already lost 8 lbs and feel great.

My three years off the program was due to I took up distance running, along with the myth running gave me permission to eat what I wanted. What a mistake that was. Still running. Difference is now I’m determined to stay on track diet wise.

Is anyone else a distance athlete, willing to share your eating regimes for those long workouts (over 6 mile runs). Any advice on how to stay nurourished is appreciated!

Woohoo Karrie! Well done!

Hiya RunningMaven... welcome to the group! I was going to suggest Matt Frazier too. He even tried ETL himself. I recall reading his experience with it.

Sounds like a busy weekend coming up Carla. I'll definitely be trying the tu-no salad when I'm done with the 6 week plan. Your meals today sound great.

Today was my most difficult day so far. I didn't get enough sleep, today was stressful, I was fatigued. That added up to hunger and I even wandered into the kitchen a couple times and opened the snack cabinet, but I didn't give in. I drank a couple cups of herbal tea, lots of water, and made it until I got home and had dinner. I am heading to bed early tonight.

B - usual smoothie
L - big 'ol salad with power greens, arugula, carrots, tomatoes, avocado, balsamic and nooch, 2 tangelos
D - leftover cheezy chickpeas, rice, and sauteed greens, some steamed broccoli, an apple and a few walnuts

I wondered how the blue cheese would turn out Carla. That would be a tough imitation. I love potatoes! I haven't ever tried making a shepherd's pie but there are a lot of recipes that look good. Did you get a lot of yard work done? I haven't added vanilla to my smoothies lately, I should try that again. Sometimes, if I remember, I throw a dash of cinnamon in there.

I didn't go to the office today. I am so behind on housework that I decided to take a day and do some minor home repairs and cleaning, lots of laundry, grocery shopping and hardware store, prepping for salads, etc.

B - usual smoothie
L - big ol' salad, last of the rice and cheezy chickpeas
D - sliced apple and orange sprinkled with cinnamon, a wasa cracker with almond butter

I was so busy with the house today I didn't get around to lunch until 3:30 so I was't too hungry for dinner and decided on fruit. I did make a Dr. F salad dressing today instead of my usual plain balsamic. It is good!

1/4 cup raisins (I didn't have any so I used 2 dates)
1/4 cup balsamic
1/2 cup water
1 tsp dijon
1 clove garlic
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 cup walnuts
Blend until smooth.

The salad dressing recipe looks great! I think I'll give it a try this week. Congratulations on the weight loss!

Ya, but your blip was WFPB. It could have been worse!

Way to go Carla... almost 20 pounds!! I bet your follow up appointment with the doctor is going to show a big improvement. Did you find a car? The bad thing about yesterday was that I have apples, oranges and pears at the office, I could have eaten fruit with a small amount of nuts and it would have kept me on plan.

C&P how are you doing? Is your foot better?

Back on track today. Usual smoothie breakfast and salad with an orange at lunch. All the way home I was thinking of the big huge bunch of collards in the fridge, and what to do with them. I got home and made a lentil stew that turned out tasty. I sauteed onion, celery and garlic, then threw in a bag of lentils, a container of veggie broth and a couple cups water, cumin, turmeric, thyme, smoked paprika, no salt seasoning and black pepper. Once the lentils were done I added chopped collards and cooked just until wilted. It's cold today and this is a perfect dinner. Will have a grapefruit for dessert.