Starting Dr Fuhrman's "Eat to Live" plan

[snuffaluffagus]

Nah, DH and Patty will be head of the cheer leading crew .

I can't wait for you to post in a few days how much energy you have. I always thought I ate pretty well until I started making big changes and, an increase in energy was the first thing I experienced as a result.

Oh, and you'll get used to green salad, young mixed Romaine is my favorite (tender and easy to digest). Just remember to have lots of it. I went out and bought salad mixing bowls and that's what I use for my salads instead of the tiny serving bowls.

[VeeVee]

Lynn, Laughing Buddha is great for vegan and gluten free food! One of my fav when I visit home!
Good Luck ! I noticed a massive increase in energy in as little as 2 weeks, have stopped drinking coffee too bc I don't need it to keep me awake anymore haha

[Lynn49]

Thank you Snuffy...VeeVee....you're being so encouraging, which is what I could use these days. Energy is in short supply with this fibro when all I want to do these past few days is curl into a fetal position with Jenny a and veg on the sofa all day...
I made a lovely salad dressing just now with water/balsamic vinegar/dijon mustard/no-salt seasoning, and dates all whirled up in my blender....yum!
Thank you for the heads-up on the Laughing Buddah, Vee....our DD and I were there briefly before a theatre production and shared a bruschetta and wine (no...we didn't share the wine......lovely little place, nice ambiance...but she wants to choose the restaurant for my b'day which is fine, although I'm pretty sure it'll be Verdiccio's or Tommy's Not Here (my favourite) or the Snowflake Room over Science North which apparently now has THE best chef in town, or some place that she keeps saying we "HAVE!" to go to, but are stuck in our ways....lol...I'm sure I'll find something on those menus wherever we go.

Thank you for the encouragement, my friends!!

[DH666]

Hey Lynn, you have to start somewhere. With some people, if they try to change everything, they will fail because they find it overwhelming. Here is a link to a great article on the Forks Over Knives web site: http://www.forksoverknives.com/dont-...ad-just-begin/

Here is my breakfast. Sound familiar?

I either have a bowl of the Blue Menu Fibre First cereal with ground flax seeds and cinnamon and raisins with Almiond milk or some oatmeal with ground flax seeds and cinnamon and raisins. I also have a little glass of Almond milk with some amla powder as well.

The flax seeds are for fighting cancer:

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/just-the-flax-maam/

Amla for my diabetes:

http://nutritionfacts.org/video/amla-versus-diabetes/

and cinnamon also for the diabetes.

As long as I avoid meat, dairy, eggs and added oils along with processed foods, I eat as much as I want, I don't feel hungry and I still lose weight. I find that the hardest part is avoiding the added oils in stuff like bread.

Good luck and keep going!

[Lynn49]

Hi, DH! I forgot to add the ground flax seeds! Duh! We have some in a sprinkler on our table that we use over most meals, but I do want to add more, as the Doc suggests...I think breakfast is my favourite meal!

For lunch today I had a stir-fry (no oil, just "frizzled" in water with some veggie stock)...onions, mushrooms, garlic, a couple big handfulls of coleslaw mix from a bag, chopped zucchini. When the water was gone, I tossed in some of the dressing I made earlier with the dates, and OMG....who misses meat?!

I also tried baking some kale chips, but over-did them, but Jenny is happy as a clam eating them! She takes the leaves out of my hand as if they were bacon strips (which of course we never give her)! I also gave her one of the long stems and she shredded it and ate most of it! Now I know how to keep her busy for at least a few minutes!

Thank you for that Forks over Knives site, DH...that black bean corn soup looks wonderful! For dinner, I finished the Fall Vegetable Soup we made from the "Food and Drinks" magazine from the LCBO and it was fantastic. I also roasted root veggies and had those after the soup...I'm stuffed, and 2 more fruits to go this evening! The next soup we're going to make together is the Doc's Anti-Cancer Soup....the 'liquid' base consists of water, juiced carrots and celery along with veggies and beans of course. I love beans! One day I want to attempt a meatless burger...I bet it'll taste great!

Thanks again, DH...I'm really happy for you, for the results you've achieved without drugs...I'm hoping to be just as successful.
Oh. Another recipe site I found is this one:
http://cookeatshare.com/popular/eat-to-live-recipes
There's also a section in "Sparkpeople" for the Doc's way of eating (notice I didn't use the word, "diet"?
Take good care, Hon!

[Lynn49]

Okay! Day2....hubby juiced the carrots and celery, I chopped veggies for Dr. Fuhrman's Anti Cancer Soup, so I'm set for the week! Thank goodness we both love soup. I didn't put in as much kale, since hubby can't have a lot of Vitamin K because it affects his Lipitor, but I'm sure it'll be lovely! It sure smells good!
PS..I gained a lb??!~

[DH666]

Guess what? If he keeps up the lifestyle change, he may be able to reduce if not eliminate the Lipitor. This was the big reason I went vegan. My doctor wanted to put me on Lipitor and I took the prescription home, did a bit of research and a friend of mine told me about the Forks Over Knives movie. I watched it and decided I would become vegan because it could eliminate the need for my Metformin for my diabetes and the Lipitor my doctor wanted to put me on.

I did not fill the Lipitor prescription and I got off my Metformin within 2 weeks. I was always monitoring my B/G at that time and it was within normal range. I had a blood test scheduled 6 weeks after I started that because my doctor wanted to see how the Lipitor reduced my cholesterol and she was amazed at the results. That's when I told her that I was not taking any Metformin anymore and I did not fill the Lipitor prespription. I can't remember my exact numbers (around 3.4 or 3.7 can't remember the HDL or LDL component) but she looked at past results and my total cholesterol was over 5! That was in just 6 weeks.

Don't wory about the weight, it will come off. I find that the best thing you can do is to try and not use added fat like margarine or olive oil. It may not seem like much at the time, but those calories add up! Keep up the good work!

[Natalka]

Lynn, are you going to be 'okay' with no alcohol or caffeine for the six weeks? Wow, I'll bet you'll celebrate once you can have them again in moderation.

Going through his site, links, etc. I've actually found some great recipes, so thanks for that! We have a lot of meatless meals, so it's great to get new ideas.

One interesting line I came across on one of the blogs I was reading, in the comments - "I don't eat things with barcodes." - that surely makes one think!

Are you going to join the Dr.'s website, or keep the journal?

Wishing you all the best!

[DH666]

I found that after being on the vegan diet for a while, having a beer or a drink made me feel bad so I actually don't drink much anymore. There's a bottle of red wine that I've been working on for over a month now, one small glass at a time. I can't say that I won't have any on special occasions, but I will certainly leave it for just those occasions. I'm still working on the caffeine thing myself. We have a ton of tea to go through and I'm not throwing it out!

[Patty Smyth]

I am not giving up tea, lol

[Natalka]

You two referring to my post about not having alcohol and caffeine, it's specifically for the six week program, which is why I asked it of Lynn.
That program says after the six weeks they can be in moderation.

Are you two going on the six week program as well?

[Patty Smyth]

Me? No I am already on a plan. I was just saying there are some things that are sacred, tea is one of them (for me)

[Lynn49]

DH, thank you so much for the info re Lipitor....wow...it would be awesome if he could drop it...he still wants to eat meat..but I'm sure he'll cut that down quite a bit with all the meatless meals we'll be having. If he wants to defrost a chop or chicken/fish for himself, he said no worries for me to do that, he'll look after all that himself. He's very handy in a kitchen..

Um........I have yet to give up my one morning cuppa coffee...it may happen, I'm fine with decaf, but we have quite a bit here and with hubby making it in the morning it's SO much easier to grab a cup than use the Keurig for my decaf cup...
As for wine, I'm sure I'll miss it on the weekends with I'm watching the greatest game ever played, NFL football, but I have my Mojito tea, green tea, and a whole whack of others in there, and I can always make ginger tea for myself to snuggle up with. I don't drink regular tea so that's not an issue.

Our DD told me today they and Ernie are taking me out to "Curious Thymes" restaurant next Friday for my b'day and omg, the menu! I can't wait...! I think there are lots of vegetarian choices, if not strictly vegan. It's the restaurant on top of the snowflake on our Science North...very nice...
http://curiousthymes.ca/menus.html
I know I won't be having any kangaroo or elk, but I have a suspicion that the boys might! Our DD will definitely be having steak and probably a starter of elk carpaccio...lol...

Thanks for the comment re the "weight issue", DH...I know not to expect miracles, but sheesh...to see that 1lb gain nearly sent me back to bed!

Thank you everyone for your sweet encouragement...transitions aren't easy, but I'm thinking of this as an adventure for longevity..I want to see our Grandson graduate university....just another oh....17 years or so?!

[Lynn49]

Oh...DH...I should have mentioned that my hubby's on Lipitor because of a few stents he's had put in as well as a new heart valve...I don't know if, because of the valve, that he'll be able to come off it, but I sure do know he's going to be healthier.
He used to look like he was 9 months pregnant...now he's back to a size 36 waist from a nearly 40!
Guys. SO easy for them. Rotten scoundrels....

[Natalka]

wowsers, Lynn, that menu rocks! Just reading some of those salad combos make my mouth water!
(Sorry I probably shouldn't say, but elk is awesome; we were lucky to get some a few years ago, and I made a stew.)