| Newcomer wants to start EFL |
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ScottinVT
New Member
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Posted: 6 Sep 2008 01:02 pm |
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Hello to all:
I'm a newcomer to this forum. I've just read EFL and am very enthusiastic, but it's a very strict plan, and I'm a weakling when it comes to will power. Will this be just another failed attempt?
For starters, I'm a hopeless caffeine addict. Maybe I can give it up in the afternoon, but not the morning (and even that's a maybe).
Has anyone else here gotten off of coffee successfully? Those wimpy herbal tea bags don't do it for me.
Question: when Dr. Fuhrman say to eat one pound (or metric equivalent) of vegetables a day, does he mean raw or cooked? It's not clear from the book.
Best wishes to all,
Scott in Vermont
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NurseBetty
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 6 Sep 2008 04:24 pm |
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I haven't read EFL but I have read ETL and I hear they are very similar.
As for the raw vs cooked question, I don't think it really matters, a pound is a pound, you might find more variety by doing some of each, salads and cooked veggies.
My approach to this has been (because I use it as a foundation for my diet, but I don't follow it 100%) not to take the cold turkey approach with everything. In other words, I still have my coffee in the morning.  Starting out on this diet you can face a lot of changes because it is such an aggressive diet change (can be more for some than others). You may encounter things like headaches and different kinds of hunger feelings than you ever have before, it's temporary, and it is because of the drastic diet change. But I know for me I couldn't give up coffee with this new way of eating, I wouldn't have stuck with it if I tried to do everything at once. I figure when I get closer to maintaining my new weight I'll give it up then, or at least put up the effort.
Congrats on your new path, reading one of Dr Furhman's books for the first time is such a refreshing experience. I'll have to take a look at EFL next time I'm at the book store.
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ScottinVT
New Member
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Posted: 6 Sep 2008 07:42 pm |
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Hi, Betty,
Thanks for the encouraging words. What is ETL? I'm not familiar with that book. Is that also by Dr. Fuhrman.
One thing I'm doubtful of: he advises eating nothing but fruit for breakfast. I want to get back into strength training, and I can't believe you can do a heavy weight training session in the morning and then just eat fruit. Most body builders have some kind of a protein shake. That's why I'm doubtful.
Have you posted any progress reports? Would like to hear how you're doing with this plan.
Regards,
Scott in VT
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Nir
Senior Administrator
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Posted: 7 Sep 2008 07:54 am |
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ScottinVT wrote: Question: when Dr. Fuhrman say to eat one pound (or metric equivalent) of vegetables a day, does he mean raw or cooked? It's not clear from the book.
In Eat To Live, Dr Fuhrman recommends aiming for one pound of raw and one pound of cooked. But if you want to eat more that's fine - both are unlimited. To begin with you might not be able to eat this much, and that's fine - these are targets to aim for.
Just don't make the mistake of eating too few vegetables and then end up 'having room' for rubbish!
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NurseBetty
Distinguished Member
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Posted: 7 Sep 2008 12:18 pm |
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ETL is Eat to Live, the first book he wrote. WHen I started this diet out and stuck to it 100% for a week, I lost about 5-6 lbs, probably a lot of water weight and cleaning out of my system, but it still felt good! It also took me a week to realize I had to ease into it slower. So while I "base" my diet on Dr Furhman's teachings, I also eat sandwhiches occasionally, haven't given up cheese, and eat non-red meats like chicken and turkey probably 4 times a week. My overall impression is that EFL includes more plans for things like incorporating meat into your diet should you choose to, but I don't know for sure because I haven't read it yet.
You're not going to do something unless you make it work for you. So if it works for you to have a protein shake before weight training, then I would say, make a fruit protein shake. I know in ETL he gives pointers on blending fruits and drinking them. Maybe you could get a protein powder you could throw into the mix on days you work out?
After that first week I have lost about 1.5 lbs a week, but had I stuck with his plan 100% like I did the first week, I'm sure my numbers would have been higher. I think there are some older threads on this forum about people who were doing ETL and had lots of success.
As Nir pointed out you may not be able to handle all the veggies he talks about in the begining. I still cannot eat that much. But take it a little at a time. If I make a super huge salad for lunch and can only get through half, I stick my plate in the fridge and come back to it in a couple hours. If you truly do what he suggests, you simply won't have the stomach room to eat the bad stuff!
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