Tuesday, March 31, 2009

3-31-09

Weight: 274

(B:) 1c grapes, 1/2 banana
(L:) 1c peas, 1/4c humus
(D:) Boca burger, 1c grapes, 2 oz cashews

Monday, March 30, 2009

3-30-09

Weight: forgot

(B:) banana
(L:) 1/4c humus, 1c chocolate soy milk
(D:) Matar Paneer. (I did eat 2 pieces Paneer)

I went to the gym today and walked on the treadmill for 30 minutes at a 4.5 incline at 3mph. I burned 208 calories. I feel really good about going.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

3-29-09

Weight: 274

(B:) skipped
(L:) Huge Sweet Tomatoes salad (ETL totally!), 1 baked potato, 3/4c grapes
(D:) 1c asparagus and 1c peas steamed and 2 servings California Cream Sauce on it. 1c chocolate soy milk

Saturday, March 28, 2009

3-28-09

Weight: 275

(B:) nothing
(L:) Ate at Chevys. Had their vegetable fajitas. I did not eat the tortillas. I had double veggies, and double black beans (which ended up being about 3/4c) There was probably oil on the veggies. I also had a plain baked potato. I'm guessing the oiled the skin. I didn't eat the skin, but I am pretty sure some of the oil soaked into the potato. So, while I made the best choice I could, I probably had too much oil.
(D:) 2 apples

Friday, March 27, 2009

3-27-09

Weight: 286.6 I finally feel better!

(B:) 1c grapes
(L:) huge salad from Sweet Tomatoes (YUM ), 1 baked potato
(D:) steamed broccoli, squash, carrots, 1 baked potato (plain), 1 small salad with honeymustard (best option)

Thursday, March 26, 2009

3-26-09

Weight: 277 Still sick, only worked 1/2 day

(B:) 1 c grapes
(L:) 1 1/2c chili, 1/2 oz cashews
(D:) 1 c asparagus, 2 c mixed veggies, 1 baked sweet potato, California Cream Sauce (2 servings)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

3-25-09

Weight: 279

I've been sick for 3 days now. Today was the worse day.

(B:) nothing
(L:) 1 1/2c chili
(D:) 1 1/2c chili, 1 kale smoothie with fruit. 1 oz cashews

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

3-24-09

Weight: 279.2

(B:) 1 banana, 1 freeze dried apple (nothing but apple... VERY good)
(L:) 1 1/2c chili
(D:)

Monday, March 23, 2009

3-23-09

Weight: 279.2 (my bad... I ate the hell out of nuts yesterday!

(B:) none
(L:) 1c Thai Curry Vegetables, 1/4c California Creamed Kale, 1c chocolate soy milk (umm.. YUM)
(D:) 2c chili, 2 bananas smooshed up with cocoa, date sugar, and peanut butter. It was ok.. not great... and made my stomach hurt. I had a sweet tooth.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

3-22-09

Weight: 278.8 Hurray!!

(B:) 1 banana, 1 apple
(L:) 1c California Creamed Kale (good!), boca burger, Manna bread
(D:) Thai curry veggies (not so good), green apple

Well, I tried a new recipe. The Thai Curry Veggies... I was so disappointed. I didn't have the right kind of greens, so I used Kale. Maybe that was the problem. I will eat it, but I won't make it again. Hopefully better day 2? The California Creamed Kale, which was also a new recipe, was very good! I can't eat much of it at once (1 c was pushing it), because it was so... filling..... but it got some greens in me. I'm afraid that tomorrow's weight will be high because of yesterday's nuts. Today, the Creamed Kale had cashews, and the Thai Curry had a small amount of peanut butter and some cashews (which I would leave out next time... didn't add anything but fat)

Saturday, March 21, 2009

3-21-09

Weight: 280 (sigh)

(B:) 2 small apples
(L:) 1 oz cashews, 1/4c humus, 1 whole grain flatbread
(D:) 2 c lentil stew, 2 oz nuts

I did badly today. Just very frustrated. I ate way too many nuts.

Friday, March 20, 2009

3-20-09

Weight: 279.4 Hurray!
I'm so happy to have broken the 280 barrier. I find that I am not eating enough raw veggies these days. Plan to boost my raw veggie munchin!

(B:) 1 banana, 1 apple
(L:) 1 piece Manna whole grain bread, 2 c lentil stew
(D:) 1 oz cashews, 1 baked sweet potato, 1 smoothie with 2 c kale, 1 c mixed fruit, 1 banana, 1/4c soy milk, 1/4 c pom juice

Thursday, March 19, 2009

3-19-09

Weight: 280.4

Was really disappointed with my weight today. I have been this weight for two weeks, and it is very frustrating. Made a post on ETL web sight which prompted me to look at my weight history. I was 285 on March 1, and 280 today, so I still lost 5 pounds in 2 1/2 weeks which isn't bad, I guess.

(B:) 1 banana, 1 green apple, 1/2 oz almonds
(L:) 1 1/2 c lentil soup, 1 green smoothie (2 c kale, 1 banana, 1/4 c vanilla soy milk, 1/4 c pom juice, 1 c mixed fruit with mango, peaches, strawberries.) 1/2 oz almonds
(D:) 1/4c humos, 1 piece whole grain flatbread

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

3-17-09

Weight: 281 (don't know why I had a weight gain)

(B:) 1 c grapes
(L:) 1 c grapes
(D:) STARVING 1 yellow pepper, 1 banana, 1 boca burger, (smidge of ketchup), 1 bowl chili. AHHH much better. Later I will have a smoothie with kale, soy milk, banana and mango.

Monday, March 16, 2009

3-16-09

Weight: 280.8

(B:) 1 green apple then I got busy and forgot the rest... apparently didn't need it.
(L:) Indian food, some Korma, some aloo (with potatoes), some spinach stuff. Good, and all veggies. Some had cream in it, I believe.
(D:) Vegan Chili

Sunday, March 15, 2009

3-15-09

Weight: 280 (Audios Aunt Flo!)

(B:) Slept though it
(L:) Sweet tomatoes again. See yesterday's menu. Also had 1 plain baked potato.
(D:) Humus, 1 oz cashews, 1 oz almonds :o(

Saturday, March 14, 2009

3-14-09

Weight: 281.4 (the tide of water weight is receding)

(B:) Slept though it again
(L:) Huge salad at Sweet Tomatoes including kidney beans, romaine lettuce, garbanzo beans, green peppers, mushrooms, sunflower seed, peas, corn, jicama, cucumbers, radishes, zucchini, and raspberry vinegar
(D:) indian dish with cauliflower, peas, onion, and spices

Friday, March 13, 2009

3-13-09

Weight: 282.6 :o(

(B:) Medium apple
(L:) Large salad with mixed greens, tomatoes, cucumber, sunflower seeds, peas, and about 1/2 tsp fat free french (we were out to eat)
(D:) 1 1/2 oz cashews, 1 1/2 c chili, banana, green smoothie (with 2 c kale, banana, pom juice, soy milk, vanilla)

Thursday, March 12, 2009

3-12-09

Weight: 282 (Damn that Aunt Flo - I am SO BLOATED)

(B:) 1 oz smoked almonds, 1 small nasty apple
(L:) Russos Cafe, 1 salad with mixed greens, mandarin oranges, about 1/4 c rice, and about 1/2 tsp thai peanut sauce and a bowl of tomato lentil soup
(D:) The last of the African Stew

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

3-11-09

Weight: 281.6 :o(

(B:) 1 cup raw carrots
(L:) African Stew (1 3/4 c), green smoothie, 1 cup chopped kale, 1 banana, 1/4c pom juice, 1/4 c soy milk, little vanilla. Small smoothie!
(D:) 1/2 c african stew, 1 cup chili, roasted brussel sprouts (yum!), water, 1 oz cashews.

I am so bloated from my aunt flo!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

3-10-09

Weight: 281.2 (Aunt Flo came to visit today)

(B:) 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 oz smoked almonds (with salt... sigh)
(L:) 2 c African Peanut Stew, a few more smoked almonds
(D:) 2 c chili , 1 smoothie with 2 cups kale, 1 banana, vanilla, pom juice, and soy milk

I obviously ate too many nuts today, including the peanut butter in the African Stew. (1/4 c in 6-8 servings). I am also bloated.

Monday, March 9, 2009

3-9-09

Weight: 280.2

Got sick last night after eating the Matta Paneer. Guess it was from eating dairy after not eating dairy since 1-17-09. I won't do that again!

(B:) 1 apple, 1 cup carrots, water
(L:) 1 1/2 c lentil stew, banana, water
(D:) 3 c African Sweet Potato/Peanut Butter stew, water

I did not eat enough today. I was busy and really didn't have time.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

3-8-09

Weight: 280 (26 pounds gone!)

(B:) Slept righ through it
(L:) 3/4 c carrots, 1 apple, 1 sweet potato
(D:) Pater Paneer from Gokul. I am so mad at myself. I had this dish from Gokul. It was great, but had a homemade cheese in it. I ate all of it. :o( Probably gain some weight back, now. Also going to have a green smoothie with kale, bananas, pom juice, and soy milk.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

3-7-09

Weight: 281.6

(B:) Green Smoothie - Kale, 2 banana, pom juice, soy milk
(L:) Whole yellow pepper, 1 cup carrots, 1/2 c broccoli
(D:) Lentil stew, diet cherry limeade from Sonic (I know, I know)

I had two photo shoots today, so I did a lot of walking, and a lot of squats. Hopefully I burned some calories!

Friday, March 6, 2009

3-6-09


Weight: 282
Yesterday's weight was too much to lose in one day. Today's weight seems more normal. I have now lost 24 pounds and I am very happy with that!

(B:) 1 small granny smith apple, water
(Birthday treats from my friends) carrots, broccoli, tomatoes and Dr. F apple crisp! I ate quite a bit of the cake myself. In fact, I kind of munched on it all day. That's not so good.
(L:) Lentil soup. Leftover apple crisp by Dr. F.
(D:) Sweet potato.

I ate all day long today. But, I ate mostly good stuff.... well, ALL good stuff! I just ate between meals which I haven't done since I started.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

3-5-09

Weight: 306 (starting) - 280.6 (current) = 25.6 lost!

I dropped a more than 2 pounds since yesterday. This is probably not true. I did go to the bathroom like 4 times last night, so maybe it was water weight. We'll see tomorrow.

(B:) 1 1/2 c red grapes, 1 1/2 c baby carrots, water
(L:) 1/2 c cauliflower, 1/2 c humus, (chickpeas, lemon juice, tahini), water
(D:) 1 banana, 1 bean burger (Morning Star), 2 c lentil soup, smoothie with kale, 1 banana, 2 tbsp sunflower seeds, small box raisins, pineapple juice, splash of pomegranate juice, 1/4c soy milk

I feel like I ate better today. For some reason, I was hungrier today.
EDIT: I ate another oz of nuts. Too many for one day.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

3-4-09

Weight: 283

(B:) 1 banana, carrots, one orange
(L:) Giant salad at Sweet tomatoes salad bar. I had mixed greens, radishes, yellow squash, cucumbers, sunflower seeds, red beans, garbanzo beans, carrots, peas, corn, green pepper, raspberry vinegar, and a baked potato.
(D:) Leftover Butternut squash, 1 sweet potato. Little bit of cashews.

I ate too much starchy stuff today. One regular potato, one sweet potato, and butternut squash. But I did have a giant salad. I am not having a smoothie today.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009


This is my very favorite Butternut Squash recipe. I found it on Dr. F's web sight:

Butternut Squash with Red Grapes, Onions and Sage



1 very large butternut squash (or 2 small) - peeled and seeded. Cut into small cubes
2 small onions, chopped
2 cups red grapes
1/4 c pinenuts toasted
1/2 tbsp ground sage
Oven Temp: 425
Cook time: 40 minutes
Serves: I get about 4 meals out of it (1 person)

Peel, seed and cube squash. Chop onions. Halve the grapes if you want. I never do. In a large bowl, add all ingredients but pinenuts. Dr. F says to use fresh sage, but I prefer ground sage. It covers every piece of squash and that's part of the flavor's yumminess! Add sage and mix everthing up. I never measure the sage. I just add it until each piece has some on it. Then I put foil in my very large (sometimes I need two of them) baking dish. This way I don't need to add any oil and cleaning is much easier. Meanwhile, toast the nuts over medium heat stirring frequently. I admit to using a tad bit of spray olive oil. Now pop it in the oven for 40 minutes. Once done, sprinkle with nuts. YUMMY!

3/3/09

Weight: 283.2

(B:) 1 1/2 c red grapes, 1 orange, 4 pieces pineapple
(L:) Butternut squash with grapes, sage and onions (leftovers), 1 oz cashews raw
(D:) Butternut squash, same as above, green smoothie made with KALE :o) and one Boca Burger (last one in the box, thank God... otherwise I would eat one every day!)


My first KALE smoothie! I froze the Kale and everyone was right, you can't taste it! It IS better than Romaine! Great day!

Monday, March 2, 2009

3-2-09

Weight: 284.5

(B:) 1 banana, 1 orange, water
(L:) steamed veggies, green smoothie with 1 head romaine lettuce, vanilla soy milk, 1 1/2 bananas
(D:) 1/2 c red grapes, boca burger with ketchup, cauliflower, and Dr. F's Butternut squash, red grapes and sage, water

Sunday, March 1, 2009

3/1/09

Weight: 285

(B:) 1 c red grapes, water
(L:) Sweet Tomatoes salad bar - Mixed greens!! squash, radishes, peppers, cucumbers, red beans, garbanzo beans, sunflower seeds, olives, 2 baked potatoes - plain (too much starch), Raspberry Vinegar, water
(D:) Boca Burger (these are new to me) Roasted red peppers, cauliflower and asparagus,1 banana and handful of red grapes, way too many cashews with salt :( water

I feel like I ate way too much today. I feel very full right now and I don't like that feeling. I was very active this weekend which could have been why I ate more, but I ate too much dinner.

Also, I signed up for 24 hour Fitness so I will start exercising tomorrow. They had a special where you had no fees. You pay your first and last month of dues (which i$29.95/month) and that was it! Also, there is no contract so I don't feel trapped.

My 6 week start-up! 1-17-09 to 2-27-09

1/17/09 The Beginning

Well, I am nearly though my 6 week start-up and I FEEL GREAT! I wish some of you knew me before I started this plan. I had the worse SAD (Standard American Diet) diet of anyone I know. I would have donuts every morning, a candy bar for a snack, burgers or tacos for lunch and again at dinner and probably DQ for dessert! I did that most of the time! I was eating constantly. I tried Weight Watchers so many times, but it didn't address my cravings, and I ended up eating all my points in junk! I tried Atkins, the Southbeach Diet, and Nutrasystem, (back in "the day"). I tried to just "quit eating sugar" cold turkey, but that didn't work. I thought I was a failure, because my sugar addiction has won the battle against my will power every time. I didn't want to be fat. I didn't want to crave chocolate, but I did. My weight was so out of control that I didn't see myself ever losing any weight. How could I if I couldn't win the sugar battle?

Well, I had been a dieting failure so many times that when 2009 rolled around, I decided not to even include that in my resolution. I decided I would commit to "getting healthy" and not worry about weight loss. I was looking for a web sight that offered an online support system as I tend to really get a lot out of those types of supports. I happened upon Peertrainer.com. They had support for all types of weight loss diets, but what happened to catch my eye was their support center for a group called "Eat to Live". I discovered that this book taught about nutrition, which fell in line with what I wanted. Well I ran out and bought the book "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Furhman and read it in no time flat! I loved what it said, and I was excited about starting the plan. I decided that I would start after my next pay day which was January 15th. After I finally got to the grocery store, I was ready to start on the 17th. (or so I thought) I had the veggies. I had the fruit. I even had some recipes, but my first week was like repeatedly walking into a wall like a wind-up toy. I wasn't organized enough. But I slowly got the hang of it. And the best part is that I LOVED the food! I was already on the ETL plan for several weeks before my "Eat for Health" books arrived. These books were also written by Dr. Fuhrman but they were newer and included a cook book. I read those books cover to cover also. I had to giggle when I read Dr. Fuhrman's suggestions in his new book about being organized and really ready to start on the plan when I thought about how I struggled my first weeks.

The Dr. Furhman plan was all about "nutrient density". The whole point of this plan is to consume foods that have the highest nutrients per calorie. This meant eating a completely plant-based diet; fruits, vegatables, nuts and seeds, and beans - No meat, no dairy, no cheese, no ice-cream, no butter, no yogart, no pasta.... I had to change the way I looked at food. I had to come to the conclusion that those foods are poison to me. It couldn't be about what foods I couldn't have. It had to be about the foods I COULD have. Dr. F says that your tastes will change the longer you eat this way, and eventually you will come to prefer this style of eating over the SAD diet I was eating before. I held onto this idea with a high level of faith that it would be true.

The book instructed everyone to eat 1 pound of cooked vegetables, and 1 pound of raw vegetables PER DAY. WHAT? Who can eat this much? Well, as it turns out, one pound is not as much as you might think. For instance, one potatoe or tomato can weigh a pound. That's not too bad. I shocked myself by being able to snarf down my two pounds fairly easily. I as glad. This was going to be easy! Well, with one exception. I am expected to eat TONS of greens; collard greens, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, greens, greens, greens. I HATE GREENS I hate everything about them. I try and try to eat them. And I wasted tons and tons of them because they went bad as I ignored them in my fridge. But after 5 weeks on my initial 6 week start-up plan, I started making green smoothies. That's right; GREEN smoothies! They are greens blended with fruit, and maybe some nuts and/or soy milk. I have had one every day (almost) since my 5th week. The only days I have missed are the days I had a big salad as my greens. I started out using Romaine Lettuce. It wasn't as bad as the others. This week I bought Kale. My plan is to add a bit of it to every smoothie, gradually increasing the amount I add until I am down to only Kale and fruit. That's the plan, anyway.

One of my favorite parts of this plan is that you can eat nuts or seeds every day. I love nuts. I ate them even before this plan. The trouble is that I am only allowed to eat 1 ounce a day, which is barely a small handful. I started out eating too many nuts, and they were salty. (salt is a big no-no when you are trying to attain excellent health). Since my start-up, I now eat the allowed 1 oz (usually), and they are naked almonds instead of salty peanuts! The ETL plan also suggests that you eat very little oil. I started out using oil to saute' a bunch of stuff, and coat veggies for roasting. Now I rarely use oil.

The ETL plan has been a huge blessing already with regard to my health. Before I started the plan, I had reflux. It got so bad toward the end that I woke up on more than one occasion to stomach bile coming out my nose! (and that hurts like a &^%$#) That ended the day I started! I was SO HAPPY about that. Also before I started I had this weird sickness where I would wake up nauseous 3-4 days a week, and would throw up. It would last for several hours, and then go away. I didn't even realize this had completely disappeared until Tammy pointed it out to me!! I have also seen my skin change. It is softer. I don't really know the reason for this, but it did change. I have been told I have a "glow" now. That's nice!

By the end of my 6 week start-up period (which ended on the 27th of February), I had lost 20 pounds! I lost the first 15 in about 3 days (lol... it seemed that fast) but since I have slowed down. That's fine with me. Weight loss is lovely side effect of this whole 'healthy" thing... so I'm happy for any loss! I have so much energy, and I have NO CRAVINGS. I am a true testament to the statement that cravings are your body's way of trying to get you to eat nutrients. Once I was eating correctly, the cravings were gone. I went from this sugar slave to being in control of my future!

I have learned SO MUCH in the past 6 weeks. I have to say that learning all of this information has had kind of a big learning curve because I had to relearn everything I thought I knew. But it's been a wonderful 6 weeks! Dr. Fuhrman has saved my life. I sincerely mean that. This is usually the point in a "Diet' that I quit. My sugar cravings would have gotten the best of me. But I feel SO EXCITED about this eating plan and I can totally see myself doing this for life!

In the past 6 weeks, the only food I put in my mouth that wasn't on the plan was some honey mustard dressing when I was at my mom's house. It was the lesser of all the evils, and I had it on a salad. Otherwise, every other thing I ate was good for me. As I mentioned before, sometimes I over ate some things, and I have a lot of refining to do, but I feel good about how I have stuck to it.

Well, my plan is to start journalling what I eat on a daily basis to help keep myself accountable. Feel free to post your feelings or suggestions!