My 6 week journal--Eat to Live

DAY 4---APRIL 12, 2013

Breakfast
Wasn't hungry at all this morning, as I ate very late last night- around 1030 or 11. I had a small handful of grapes and about a liter if water. Shamefully, I had peanuts for a snack while posting out in the ambulance. It was that dang "not planning" thing again. I should have had some carrots or fruit with me. I ate about 6 oz., won't be doing that again. Lesson learned.

Lunch
Really wasn't overly hungry for lunch either. I was letting my black bean patties cook while I made a salad. We ended up getting a call and I grabbed the bean patties and shoved them down on the way to scene. I'm feeling it now.

I made them with mashed black beans, chopped garlic, chili pepper, and black pepper. Fried over medium heat until crispy. The outside looked like tuna patties, kind of crispy. Good. However, eating enough of them to equal 3/4 of a can of beans with no greens before has really messed up my insulin levels. I felt it spike then crash, but I'm coming out of it now. I also have had a couple bananas in the past couple hours.

So far, I've been messing up today. I need to plan better and start making more things ahead. I even got mushrooms to add to the bean patties, and I stinking forgot to put them in!

Dinner
Finally, I got to eat clean. Big salad, Italian blend-radicchio and romaine, of course topped with my mashed beans. I much prefer to buy heads of lettuce and prep them myself, but I didn't have anywhere to store the leftovers, so I just bought a bag of lettuce from the Kroger store here in town. I couldn't eat it all, as I got full quickly. It was a 10 oz bag, so maybe 1 1/2 or 2 oz left in the bag.
 
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Okay Brian, as a way to make your life easier here my shopping list and recipes for my three main go to sides.

My three Basic Side Dishes are; Mashed Beans, Spinach, and Sautéed Mushrooms. I have these for Lunch & Dinner 5 or 6 days a week. I’ve been eating them for more than 8 months and I haven’t gotten tired of them, I doubt I ever will.

My Shopping List:
1 large Onion
1 head of Garlic
2 Lemons
2 large cans of Progresso Beans (1 lb. 13 oz. each)
2 packages of frozen Spinach (chopped, cut or leaf)
1 package of frozen Pearl Onions
2 packages of fresh Mushrooms (10 oz. each)
Chicken Stock (unsalted)
Olive Oil
Garlic Powder

Total time prep to finish 30 minutes for all three.

In a large pot put in about an inch of water and put on high heat to boil.
In a colander put the frozen Spinach and the Pearl Onions, put over the pot of water and cover, and lower the heat to medium. Steam until the spinach his heated through (10 to 15 minutes).
Season with; garlic powder, fresh ground nutmeg, black pepper, Mrs. Dash or lemon zest.

Chop or dice the large Onion, half goes to the Mushrooms and half goes to the Beans.
In a large skillet, over medium heat put in a little Olive Oil, after a minute or two put in half of the chopped onion. Sauté for about 5 - 10 minutes.

In a large sauce pan, over medium heat put in a little Olive Oil, after a minute or two put in the other half of the chopped onion. Sauté for about 5 - 10 minutes

Brush off the Mushrooms, chop or slice and when the onions are tender add the mushrooms to the skillet. Stir in with the onions and allow to cook over medium heat, partially covered (10 minutes).

Season with; garlic powder, black pepper, or Mrs. Dash .


Mashed (or pureed) beans are a staple of my personal meal plan. The way I make them is; I dice an onion (maybe you could grate the onion on a box grater) and sauté in a little butter and olive oil, add some crushed red pepper flakes and crushed garlic. When I smell the garlic (only takes about 30 seconds) I add 2 large cans (1 lb. 13 oz,) of rinsed Progresso beans. I stir the beans with the onion and garlic and then add chicken stock (1 cup to a 1 1/2 cups). I toss in some fresh herbs (tyme, rosemary) I let the beans simmer and get really tender, about 10 minutes. Then I puree them in a food processor. This makes about 8 portions. They're very filling and a good source of fibre and protein. Very little fat and no salt. They taste great hot or cold. Much more flavour than mashed potatoes, pasta or rice. Anything I might put over potatoes, pasta or rice I can put over my mashed beans.

In the begining you’ll be surprised how filling these dishes are. Eventually you find that these make about 8 portions of each side. These sides could be your complete lunch or dinner during the First Six Weeks along with your Large Salad and your fruit. “Eat To LIve” does allow for 12 oz. of meat or fish per week, (that’s not 12 oz. a day that’s about 2 oz. a day). I went without for my six weeks and never missed it.

My salad will be in a bowl big enough to serve four. In it I’ll use whatever lettuce looks good, celery, onion, cucumber, mushrooms, tomato, carrot, apple, pear, raw cashews, fresh or fire roasted red pepper. NO CROUTONS or BACON BITS.

My salad dressing is; 1 tbs. Ground Flax seed, 2 tbs. of Red Wine Vinegar, 2 tbs. of Organic Apple Juice, 1/2 tsp. Dijon Mustard and a dash of Mrs Dash. I shake it up in an empty mustard jar, dress and toss my Huge salad.

Or, a handful of Raw Cashews, 1 tbs. Ground Flax seed, 2 tbs. of Rice Wine Vinegar, 2 tbs. of Organic Apple Juice, a dash of Mrs Dash, all put into a mini-blender until smooth. It thickens as it sits to whatever consistency you like. I like mine creamy.

Both dressings tastes great to me, neither has any Fat, Oil or Salt, so Use As Much As You Want. It travels well there’s nothing to spoil.

If you haven't tried it yet, make Gordon Ramsey's Broccoli Soup I'm making some right now.

Shopping List for Broccoli Soup:
Broccoli
 
Phil, thanks again for getting all of this together for me. I can't begin to express my thanks.

I have noticed that I am more aware of my body signals. Everything seems enhanced, sleepiness, true hunger, I'm more alert, more awake. Is it the way I'm eating or is it that I'm paying attention now? I don't know.

I'm getting hungry now Phil! Mashed beans are calling my name. I have a whole big thing back at post. Big salad, maybe some beans, apples, throw some cashews on there........oh yeah.

I'm going to try to make the dressings tomorrow.
 
Brian, I want you to succeed. I'll do whatever you need me to do to help you get there.
I want you to surpass all of your expectations.
Then and only then do I want you to pay it forward, help someone else succeed.

Folks are viewing this thread, if you inspire even one more person than we've both done good.

Phil

Do me one favor, take "try" out of your vocabulary. I hate that word almost as much as "can't".
 
Phil, I'll.......try. Hahahahaha. Ok, I had to say it, it is just too funny not to. Haha. I am working it out of my vocab, and I'll try (whoops there it is again) to stop using it. :) I hate "can't" as well. It is a bs excuse. Anyone can learn to do almost anything. It may take longer to learn, or be harder than they might like, but very little is impossible.

Inspiration:

I want to inspire my wife to start this with me, but there are several complicating factors. She has watched me start, stop, start, sabotage myself, start, quit, start, quit several different diet plans. Low carb, paleo, weightwatchers, calorie reduction. For her to come on board, she must see a huge change in me, she must see that I'm serious about changing my life, that this isn't a "diet" but an entire different way if eating for the rest of my life. I have to lead by example here for her to come onboard with this plan. I know it would make her feel better, but I have to show her, not tell her. Forced against her will, of the same opinion still.
 
DAY 5---APRIL 13, 2013

Breakfast
Wasn't hungry at all this morning. Had about 5 small green grapes, a handful of baby carrots, a pear, maybe a banana, I don't remember. Still feeling good. We finally had a decent night where we weren't up all night taking care of people. Down at 2130, up at 0200 and 0600. Pretty nice to sleep all night. I definitely needed that. My cpap machine keeps track of total hours and avg hours per night. My 30 day avg is 5.5 hrs and 7 day avg is 6.68 hrs. Definitely had a better week the past seven days, but still working on finding inefficiencies at home that we can pare out to increase my down time.

GOAL FOR TODAY--Eat very clean all day. I'm going to weigh on the morning of my 8th day and I want to prove this way of eating to my family, my friends, the people watching this thread, AND MYSELF.


Lunch
No time for lunch. This proved to bite me in the butt later, as I was too hungry for dinner. I did have time for a few grapes and some strawberries.

Dinner
My wife surprised me by making plans to go out with her brother and sister in law. So, off to Chili's we went. I had a salad with lettuce, black beans, corn, cilantro, and about 2 oz of chicken. I was weak and had a few chips and cheese dip. I think I probably had 8 glasses of water! I told my wife, next time before we go out like that, I'm eating a small salad to kill the munchies before we leave. Eating more during the day would have also helped, but I wasn't really hungry, nor did I have the time.
 
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Thank you Brian, you got the message and I knew that you would.
In my mind you have already succeeded, soon your wife will see it.

"The older I get the less I listen to what people say and just watch what they do."

That's why I wrote, "I want you to surpass all of your expectations.
Then and only then do I want you to pay it forward, help someone else succeed."

Don't tell her, show her and your kids that this isn't a six week weight loss diet, it's a new way of eating. The test isn't what you weigh in six weeks or six months or six years, it's how you're feeling when your youngest child is in their 60's.

What I believe is:
Your Attitude + Your Choices = Your Life.

Choose wisely.
 
DAY 6---APRIL 14, 2013

Breakfast
Ate late last night, and the babies let us sleep in this morning, so I didn't even feel like eating breakfast. Drank water all morning though.


Lunch
Huge salad around 1145 or so. Italian mix lettuce, carrots, strawberries, apples, mashed beans. Very good. I had a little bit left, but I'll finish it up tonight or tomorrow.

Ate a banana and a pear for snack.


Dinner
I failed tonight. My wife wanted streak in the grill, so I made steak. So that's what I had. A piece of steak. No veggies, no salad. One piece of steak. And it was good. One of the best steaks I've cooked in a while.

Interesting to note, now I'm not wanting more and more and more meat like I'd usually want. Just had that piece and I'm good. That's interesting to me.
 
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DAY 7---APRIL 15, 2013

Breakfast
I was still pretty full from my beef gorge, so I had a couple mouthfuls of peanuts on my way to work.


Lunch
I decided to try something a bit different with my beans today. I didn't mash them, just heated the black beans on the stove with some garlic, chili powder, and black pepper. I liked it a lot better. Dumped a big helping over the top of 8 oz of field mix lettuce, which is curly endive, radicchio, romaine, and carrots. Very filling.


Dinner
Modified the beans even further for dinner. I put a can of no sodium corn into the mix. I have to be careful with corn, as it is a starchy vegetable, but I only added it for taste. There is about one can of corn for five cans of beans. It was even better per the lettuce. I think I could eat that every day, all day long.
 
287.2 lbs as of this morning! That is a win for me. I'm not sure where I started, but was somewhere between 296 and 300ish lbs. Regardless, that is still very good. I have no doubt had I not went out to eat, and not ate the steak, I'd have been 285 or less. I figure easily under 280 by the end of April. Goal of 270 by the end of May seems easily feasible.
 
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DAY 8---APRIL 16, 2013

Breakfast
Just finished up a killer salad, soooo delicious, and I'm FULL. Same as my dinner salad last night. Salad for breakfast seems weird, but I think it will keep me full for longer today. I made a total of 2 liters of water yesterday, plus a couple glasses. Trying for at least that today.

Lunch
Huge 16oz salad with my bean mix and two big glasses of water. Then a banana. Pretty full, but I miss chewing. Does that make sense? Like I need to chew something. What is ETLs stance on gum?

Dinner
I don't want to talk about it. Do better tomorrow.
 
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medicevans said:
287.2 lbs as of this morning!
Click to expand...

Most excellent!

I've got some good news for you and some bad news.
The bad news first, and this you already know. What you lost this week wasn't fat.

The good news, you will very soon be losing about a pound a day, and this will be mostly fat. The other good news is that the longer you stay on ETL the easier it gets and the less likely you will ever go back to the way you were eating.

Good deal.... right?
 
Medicevans - Man, reading your first post on this was like reading about myself...well not all of it but the weight gain. Like WTF happened in such a short time lol. Even tying shoes was labor intensive. I also started eating to live after reading PhilL's post. I've only just started and I've lost about 12-15 lbs in a little over a couple weeks. The hardest part is the slip ups (eating something I shouldn't mainly being meat). I bought the book too and read over it daily.

Anyway ETL is great! Stick with it no matter how hard gets. It's been rough dealing with toxic cravings but reading back in the book helps take away the craving or eating some fruit.
 
Pykrim said:
Medicevans - Man, reading your first post on this was like reading about myself...well not all of it but the weight gain. Like WTF happened in such a short time lol. Even tying shoes was labor intensive. I also started eating to live after reading PhilL's post. I've only just started and I've lost about 12-15 lbs in a little over a couple weeks. The hardest part is the slip ups (eating something I shouldn't mainly being meat). I bought the book too and read over it daily.

Anyway ETL is great! Stick with it no matter how hard gets. It's been rough dealing with toxic cravings but reading back in the book helps take away the craving or eating some fruit.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post. It helps hearing that. Phil has been great too. This kind of stuff is why I put myself out here on the Internet. You guys are like my WeightWatchers meeting online, but much more effective.

I need a better dinner strategy. I seem to be failing a lot at dinner. Tips, suggestions, kicks in the butt? I need to buy the book. The PDF is nice, but it is easier in paper format.
 
Hey! Great to hear your story and I wish you all the best.

I recently started our companys biggest loser program and started a diet and exercise with the goal of getting from 230lbs to 190-ish by July. I started with vegetable juices, tea and water for the first day then slowly incorporated raw veggies and beans, grains such as quinoa then proteins. The goal of my diet is to do a brief cleanse then build up to a diet that I can enjoy and maintain long term. I couldn't maintain juices and fruits throughout the day, I needs my meat! I'll be implementing a pretty rigorous exercise program as well so I have a bit of wiggle room with my caloric intake.

I'll be watching this thread! More power to you.
 
medicevans said:
I need a better dinner strategy. I seem to be failing a lot at dinner. Tips, suggestions, kicks in the butt? I need to buy the book. The PDF is nice, but it is easier in paper format.
Click to expand...

I don't own the book, but buy it if you think it will help you.
You are actually making this a lot harder than this needs to be, here is the "strategy" eat as many GBOMBS as you can and as little as possible of everything else. Make the Salad the Main part of you meal.

I know what I'm eating for lunch and dinner, today, tomorrow, and the rest of the week. I know what I'm making this weekend for next week, Chow Mein.

When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.
Can you really afford to fail?

I have to wonder what happened.
 
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Brian, I know you still post on BFC, and I'm still curious. You were losing weight, you felt great. Did you really quit ETL after a week?
Did you ever lose the weight you wanted to?
 
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