Posts Tagged ‘ eat to live ’

Silly rawhabit (motivational) tricks

March 29, 2010
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Howdy PardnerI’m regaining my momentum. Remembering that it’s not how many times you stumble, but how many times you get up. I’ve been using some old stand-bys for motivation (reading my raw books, reading blogs, etc.) but have also added something new – directly partnering with a buddy to keep myself accountable.

I’ve put my goals and intentions out for the world to see on this web site, but that hasn’t really kept me accountable. Despite the commenting facility on this blog, it really is a one-to-many broadcast-type medium. There isn’t anybody out there willing to kick my ass if I don’t do what I promise to do. Enter my friend K.   When I complained about being on-again off-again with my goals, she suggested partnering up.  Wow! How nice! I can’t refuse an offer like that.  So I didn’t.

We’re going to check in every two weeks to see how we’re doing.  If we’ve sustained our commitment, we get to have a reward.   Mine is a new bag to carry my work gear around.   To get it I’ve got to exercise 30 mins per day at least 5 days per week.  And eat Phase 1 ETL style.  Religiously.

So far so good.  It’s yet another “first day” of eschewing addictive foods.  I’m home with a cold and haven’t felt like eating much.  A blessing in disguise: I can’t feel detox because I’m already feeling cruddy!

Breakfast was: a big shot of E3 live and a fruit salad with 1 tbsp ground flax seed (1 banana, 1/2 cup blueberries, 2 mandarin oranges)

Lunch was: 14 oz of salad (yes, I weighed it.  yes, I am a dork).  Mixed baby spring greens with shredded carrot and red cabbage.  4 tbsp of Newman’s Own Light Honey Mustard dressing.  I take my Fuhrman supplements after eating.  2 Osteo-sun and 1 Gentle Care multi-vitamin.

The dinner plan is to do black bean burritos.  The family gets to have flour tortillas.  I’m wrapping my fillings with a big old romaine lettuce leaf.   The beans are my wife’s specialty – done Cuban style with lots of cumin, onion, garlic.  I’ll be adding shredded lettuce, avocado, and salsa fresca.  Plus hot sauce, naturally.

If I’m up to it, I’ll walk the doggies later to get in my 1/2 hour.

I’m going to write up a separate post about rewards.  I’m trying to figure out things which will entice me to carry on with the two week reward/check-in cycle.  I’m especially interested in free and low-cost rewards.  Most of the things I’ve thought of so far require cash outlay.

Negative to positive motivation

February 23, 2010
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Back on the wagon

I’ve made it through yet-another-1st-day on the wagon. Yesterday, I got strict with the ETL for Lent, albeit a little late. Parties over the weekend are my downfall. I know there are ways to overcome the difficulties presented by socializing, but I’m still feeling the effects of my very strong addictions to dairy, sugar, and caffeine. When I’m eating it, I just want to eat MORE!! Work is still very stressful as well. I’m researching more ways to soothe or reward myself besides using food. I’m proud of myself for avoiding sugar, caffeine, and dairy yesterday. The first three days of strictness is always the hardest. I swear I’m going to learn the lesson that abstinence works best. Why continue to start-over and feel the detox again and again? I need to keep reminding myself of this whenever I’m tempted by the addictive foods. Permanent change is hard work.

What’s motivating this round of strict ETL? I’m in pain. Serious pain. I’ve dealt with tendinitis in my shoulders and hips since, *sigh*, 2002. I’ve been in some sort of pain for going on 8 years. This fall, the pain went away when I did 30 days of raw back in September. And it didn’t return — probably because I was a mostly vegetable focused vegan. Since work stress began with a nasty surprise on February 3, I’ve been soothing myself with sugar, my old stand-by. The result has been lots of migraine headaches and a resurgence of my tendinitis.  My current goal is to make it through Lent doing strict ETL.  That means sugar & salt-free vegan.  And Lent, coincidentally, is around 6 weeks long.   Six weeks? Like the ETL 6 week challenge.  I love it!

It’s pretty easy to eat well when I’m suffering because I know that persistence will pay off and I should feel better in a few weeks. This is what we call a negative motivator. I do not want to be in pain. The “do-not” is negative. I’d rather be using positive “I-do” affirmations. Example: “I do feel energetic when I eat well.” Besides, the negative motivation is not sustainable. Eventually I’ll feel better. How to keep motivated then?

Accountability helps. I’ve revived my fitday journal and logged what I ate yesterday.  Not perfect ETL by any means.  I had an extra serving of refined carbs and I ate some processed soy.  But I avoided the sugar! And the cheese! And the coffee!   I call that a win.  No exercise, since I was too head-achy and sore.

I’m still quite head-achy and sore today.  I confess to having coffee this morning.  I was hoping it was caffeine withdrawal  rather than migraine and that a cuppa would help the pain go away.  No such luck.  Too bad.  I know the caffeine will only make it worse if it’s really migraine.  Could be a bit of a sinus thing. Fortunately I’m at a 4/10 on the pain scale so I can manage.  The periodic blurred vision is a bit of a pain in the ass though the coffee tasted good.  At least I used soy milk in it.  Unsweetened.  Go me!

Another positive way I stay motivated is to read ETL, vegan, and raw foods blogs and tweets.  I’ve been scouring the social media for excellent and easy recipes.  Organizing myself and planning menus is also very motivating for me.  Finally, I’ve picked up the latest copy of VegNews.  I love reading magazines.  It’s my reward for getting through day 2.  I really want to read it tonight before bed, so I’m not going to be as tempted to nosh on the naughties.

I had a great ETL friendly dinner.  I took Keen-O dog for a brisk but short walk.   Down with day 2 and onward to day 3!

Grab a bag of greens and hang on

January 27, 2010
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I got today’s subject line from the ETL support group. Sometimes you need to just do it. The phrase suits. It has been cold and rainy in L.A. again. I find it extremely difficult to eat well when I’m cold and damp. I crave hot starchy carbo-licious things with lots of sugar. This round of chilly Southern California winter has been particularly tough. The heat in my office has been wonky. I get super-chilled and no cup of tea in the universe is warming enough.

I’ve been eating a lot of oatmeal. Too much for me, really. I am sensitive and oatmeal brings on carb cravings with a high intensity. Even when I do it raw style (soaking groats, blending the resulting sprouts in my Blend-Tec).

The best piece of advice I’ve gotten is to grab a bag of greens and hang on.   Sooner or later the beans’n'greens will win out over the starchier carbs.   Or the weather will get warmer and it will get easier.

Fatfree vegan blog and recipes

January 22, 2010
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Scrambled Tofu.

Scrambled tofu. Image copyright 2008 blog.fatfreevegan.com

I’m still eating ETL style.  I’m still slipping a LOT. Not big slips.  Just lots of little slips.  For example, I like sugar in my tea.  Ah, sweet sweet poison – I will kick you out of my life yet.  One step at a time.  First I will establish the Eat to Live habit more firmly.  I’m sure the little slippages are slowing down any weight loss.  I’m not about the weight loss though. That’s what I keep telling myself.  I will believe it soon.  I hope.  Really, the most important thing is my health.  And I’m feeling fabulous.  Energy high. Mood good.  Mood staying good without much variation.  This is huge my friends.   I’m a moody moody gal generally. Another one of my slippages is snacking.

No snacking is a major tenet of ETL.  Dr. Joel Fuhrman has a theory of “toxic” vs. real hunger.  According to Fuhrman, toxic hunger is the usual sensations most of us call hunger. Grumbly belly with a bit of an ache.  Headache. Energy crash. Crankiness (in my case, extreme).   True hunger is a mouth sensation, says Fuhrman.   With true hunger, any type of food is going to be appealing.  You will eat raw leafy greens standing at the fridge door, and love it missy!,  if your hunger is true.  Toxic hunger wants those high stimulation foods like starchy carbs, cheese, sweets.  A person can get in touch with their real hunger by only eating 3 squares each day and avoiding snacking.

It takes awhile to “detox” and learn to experience true hunger.  I’ve never been all that successful.  I’ve tried many times in my life to stop snacking.  I’ve always succumbed to the oh-my-god-I’m-so-gosh-darned- cranky-and-uncomfortable-you’d-better-get-out-of-my-way-because-I-need-to-eat-NOW!!!!! sensations.   I’m currently doing the no-snacking thing one more time.  I’m still snacking, I must admit.  I find myself grabbing fruit as I leave the office.   I don’t want my dear ones at home to suffer the wrath of my hunger.  I do succeed in not snacking on some days. If I don’t snack, I will usually eat the first thing I can get my hands on at home.  Not this time. I haven’t been doing that lately.   One of the biggest keys to successfully establishing my ETL habit has been finding recipes that I can make QUICK!!!!! when I get home each evening  from my busy day gig.   Finding food to fix fast is critical if I’m to eat well and stick to my planned veg-heavy vegan dietary choices.

Enter fatfreevegan.com . This amazingly helpful web site is run by SusanV.   SusanV is the creator of the Yahoo Eat-to-Live discussion group (bar none, the most helpful and supportive food related discussion group I’ve participated in).  The web site is a very well organized archive of fat free vegan recipes, many of which can be used for the ETL lifestyle.  Or “nutritarian” as Fuhrman calls it.  It’s categorized for excellent browsing.  And it’s search facility is top-notch.  And there is excellent formatting for printing the recipes out.  Well done SusanV.!!!  ***applause***

SusanV. writes the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blog where she frequently posts new recipes.  She’s currently doing the 6 week “Phase 1″ portion of the ETL program.   It’s been so helpful to me that I had to share.

Today I ate leftover  “Scrambled Tofu with Porcini Mushrooms” from last night’s dinner.  OMG!! Nomnomnom.   Very tasty.  My wife loved it too.  It’s got to be good for her to call a recipe “a keeper.” I modified the recipe a bit and used fresh sliced button mushrooms since I didn’t have dried porcinis in my pantry.  I also left out the bell  pepper for the same reason.  Didn’t matter.  It was piping hot yummy goodness which I got onto my plate within 20 minutes of arriving home from work.   That’s what I call a win!

I confess, I didn’t take the picture myself.  It’s a copy from Susan’s blog.  Please accept my apologies for “borrowing” Ms. Susan.  I hope the link love I’m sending makes up for it.   Go now and explore the Fat Free Vegan Kitchen blog.   I’ll wait.  Bring me back another awesome McAwesome recipe for tonight, will you please?

Willpower is not enough

January 15, 2010
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I’ve been rocking the Eat to Live eating.  It hasn’t been 100%, I’ve had a few treats here and there.  In fact, I’d say I’ve probably only had one or two 100% days since beginning the 1st phase of ETL back on Dec.30.  I have been increasing the good stuff though and decreasing the less-healthy stuff.  I refuse to call it “bad stuff.” That gives it too much power.  It’s not good or bad, it’s just edible. (Can’t call some of it food either…grin…).   It’s going really well.  My energy levels are really high, my mood has been stable.

I’ve been reading through the struggles of other bloggers who are dealing with new eating habits.  It seems pretty common to “white knuckle” it when it comes to refraining from the less-healthy edibles.   Sooner or later one loses one’s grip now matter how tightly (white knuckley) one grabs.   Willpower doesn’t work.  What does work is keeping it simple.  Change doesn’t come suddenly for most of us.  There are a few freaks (and I mean that in a good way) out there that do best by diving in, changing everything radically, and never looking back.  God bless’em.  Then there are the rest of us.

We’re busy. We’ve got kids, jobs, lives. We can’t spend our time expending the continuous conscious effort that willpower requires.  Even if you don’t think you’re thinking about your diet/body/food issues, you are on some level.  That’s how will power works.  You’ve got the will (i.e. your conscious) and you’re constantly applying your power.

That’s exhausting!!!

There are a few things that are helping me stay the course.  I fix food in advance and have lots of leftovers so I don’t spend tons of time in the kitchen.  I keep my meals simple.  Fruit and greens for breakfast.  Salad and beans for lunch.  Salad and a couple of veg dishs for dinner.  Rinse. Lather. Repeat.  I exercise where I can.   The key, is that I’m not thinking about it.  You don’t think about your other habits do you?  Showering, teeth-brushing, the route you drive to work, etc.  You do it every day effortlessly.

I haven’t yet gotten to the point where I’m not expending a lot of effort.  I check in with my support group every day.  I am looking at recipes for veggie entrees to add to my repertoire because I need to learn simple easy tasty ways to get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.  Otherwise it’s too easy to listen to my spouse beg for take-out.

I’m gradually spending less time and effort on my eating.  And I’m having success.  What a change from relying on willpower only to slip up and then get into the whole beating myself up thing.

E2L or ETL?

January 8, 2010
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I’m not sure if I should abbreviate Eat to Live as E2L or ETL.  I’m used to ETL ’cause that’s what I  use in my non-blog jottings.  I’ve encountered E2L on the support group I found.  I wonder if there’s a protocol or not in terms of the social graces.  I suspect not.  I tend to use both abbreviations liberally.  People seem to know what I mean as long as we’re within an Eat-to-Live discussion context.   All this is just a longwinded apologia.  Forgive me if you see conflicting abbreviations in this blog.

Out with the naught-ies, in with 2010

December 30, 2009
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Eat to LiveI’ve been sticking to vegetarian eating this holiday season.  Managing to get in some greens lately.  Definitely dipping into the treats however.  That’s ok! It’s the time of year to indulge a little.  Avoids that whole deprivation thing.   It’s time, however, to detoxify from the deluge of delights. Now that this decade is nearly done it’s a perfect time to focus on being healthy for 2010.  Speaking of decades, what do we call this one? I’m in favor of, “the naughts” since naught=zero and we’re in the zeros.  I’ve been calling it the naughties.  And they have been rather naughty for me.   I’m very much looking forward to starting the teens.

I’m a huge fan of Eat to Live as I’ve mentioned before.  Dr. Fuhrman is not a big fan of detoxes.  He says there is no scientific back-up to the claims many detox programs make.  The human body is very efficient at detoxing itself without the need for supplements or super-foods.  All it needs is good nutritious fuel.  Amen to that.  Furhman published his very own 5 day detox protocol on his blog in response to the other programs.

I think it’s a great way to kick off my renewed commitment to Eat to Live (or ETL as its ardent adherents like to call it). And wonder of wonders! My lovely spouse says she wants to do the detox too.  That will be helpful.  ETL breaks down into two parts: the “Six-Week Plan” and the “Life Plan.”  The link to the Six-Week Plan explains it.  The gist is that it’s low fat vegan with a limited amount of starchy veg or grains.  The Life Plan is the Six-Week Plan with a little more leeway.  One can add flesh foods back into the diet if they are into eating that stuff.  One can also had a limited amount of dried fruit, a bit more starch, etc.

The Six-Week Plan reminds me very much of a 30 day raw challenge.  The only difference is that one eats some veggie dishes cooked and one eats a least a cup of cooked beans/legumes a day.   I can live with that.  It’s still pretty freaking cold here in L.A., and it’s still gray and rainy.  A nice pot of soup/stew and/or some steamed veggies go a long way towards making me happy.

I just found out about an online support group for ETL so I joined it to get further inspiration.  I’ve committed to doing 6 weeks. I start tomorrow – no better time than now.  No need to wait until 2010.  I’ll let you know how it goes.

47 degrees = suspension

December 7, 2009
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Rain clouds over Los Angeles

Rain clouds over Los Angeles

It’s raining.  Hard.  It’s 47 degrees outside.  I know, it’s a balmy day for Ottawa (where I used to live).  Here in L.A., however, it’s FREEZING.  My fellow Canadians are laughing their asses off at me right now. I’ve gone soft  :-) .

I have succumbed to hot veggie-licious soup and roasted veggies.  Yes.  I’ve suspended the 30 day challenge.  My body just isn’t feeling it.  I want warming grounding food.  I know, I can get it via raw foods with creative use of spices, dehydrator, running the Blentec until food is warm, warming things to the touch on the stove top, etc.

I know myself regarding food.  I’m in recovery from an eating disorder.  I need to give myself what I want when I want it.  Otherwise I go into deprivation and denial mode, which is one step away from a binge.

Today’s menu: oatmeal with flax, walnuts, and a wee bit of stevia.  Lunch will be a green smoothie.  Dinner will probably be miso soup with kale and portobello mushrooms and some steamed veggies.   Healthy.

I’m going back to Eat to Live.  It’s high raw. It works for me.  I plan on doing another 30 day challenge when the spring arrives and it’s warm in Los Angeles again.   Fresh strawberry season makes it easier to love the living foods.

I did well at sticking to my goals last week.  I was 100 per cent raw for 5 days and 90% the remaining two.  I got in my 5 days of cardio.  My goals haven’t changed all that much.  I’m keeping the 5 day per week cardio.  My other goal is to eat leafy greens with lunch and dinner.   Do-able.

Fuhrman on motivation

September 18, 2009
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I’m a huge fan of Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live.  It’s the only book about a mostly raw vegan eating plan that extensively cites the peer-reviewed research literature.  My only issue with the work is that the recipes suck (sorry Joel).   The book espouses a lifestyle which is extremely healthy and it’s very convincing.  Dr. Fuhrman, like Gabriel Cousens, has helped thousands of people lose weight, lower blood pressure, lower diabetes medications and just generally feel better.

Eat to LiveI’m a member of his website and find it helpful in getting recipes from other ETL adherents and in getting some much needed motivation from the support forums.

Here’s a few quotations from Dr. Fuhrman which have helped me stay motivated (don’t ask about the 30 day challenge – I’m hanging in there, barely).
“…It is more difficult to go off and on, and less stressful if you just decide to do it and stop looking for excuses to eat garbage.”

“…you have to eat the greens to break the cycle, whether you feel like it or not.”

“You don’t have to work to do this diet-style, you just have to eat it, and not eat the other stuff”
“..completely change your mindset from trying to eat healthfully to doing it 100%”

“…Don’t “try” to do it. Just do it no matter what, or don’t eat. If you are 100% committed you always find a way to make it work. If you are just “trying” you always find an excuse to not make it work”

“The SALAD is the main dish”
“Eating a huge, delicious salad is the secret to successful weight control and a long healthy life.”
-Dr. Fuhrman

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