Kate: Week 1

Phew!  I made it through week 1!  Before I get to my progress I have to show you last night's dinner.  After a long week of planning and thinking (maybe obsessively) over every food choice, I was reminded what eating to live is all about...enjoying food.  My dinner last night was the simplest and least thought-provoking meal of the week...and by far the most delicious and enjoyable.

Grapefruit Chopped Salad 
Serves 1 main course salad or 2 side salads
Ingredients:
1 Head of Romaine Hearts, chopped
1 Medium Red Pepper, chopped
1/4 Large Red Onion, chopped
1/2 C Black Beans (unsalted)
1 Grapefruit, segmented
Excess Juice from Grapefruit

Directions: Combine all ingredients in your favorite salad bowl and enjoy!
Notes: Be sure to segment your grapefruit over a bowl in order to catch all the juice to use as the dressing.  As an afterthought, I sprinkled a bit of frozen corn (thawed) over the salad.  Sliced avocado would also be a tremendous addition.

Now on with the results!
Weight Lost: 4.6lbs (current weight: 139.4)
Diet: Deviated from the 6-week guidelines on Saturday.
Exercise Level: Moderate. 30-40 minute walks daily with longer walks and a jog on weekend.

I feel great after the first week.  My cravings for processed meals, snacks and desserts have waned significantly.  I do need to work on eating more (yes, more).  I found that my willpower holds up quite well and I easily convince myself that I'm not hungry.  That led to me not reaching the minimum goals for food intake on several days.

I had a great weekend with my brother and sister-in-law visiting from out of town.  Even with a weekend full of tempting Chicago restaurants, I still managed to stay on track...mostly.  On Saturday night after a long day of sight-seeing and after consuming a massive salad, I did indulge in half of a slice of deep dish cheese pizza.  Even though Dr. Fuhrman discourages any deviation from the diet while completing the 6-week plan I felt no regrets. In fact, eating that half slice reminded me that pizza will still be here after 6 weeks and that while consuming a diet of 90% pure plant foods, I will be able to enjoy a slice on occasion.  My little indulgence reinforced my 6-week commitment and I feel stronger and more enthusiastic to continue.

Here is a peak at what most of my meals consisted of this week. All were tasty, satisfying and packed with nutrients.

Breakfast: Fruit Salad
Lunch: Leafy Salad, Soup, Veggie Sticks, Fruit
Dinner: Large Veggie Packed Salad, Soup
Dessert: Fruit

My soup was adapted from Lisa's Lovely Lentil Stew recipe found in Eat to Live.  For recipes, meal plans and stress-free grocery lists, be sure to read Eat to Live! Available at most libraries and Amazon.

Click here for Eat to Live's Amazon page.




And here is a look at the temptation I had this weekend.  After a week of Eating to Live, it was surprisingly easy to pass on the fries!

Before I started the Eat to Live 6-week challenge, I had been following a very lenient Clean Eating diet.  With a starting weight of 152, I dropped 8 pounds over three weeks taking me to my Eat to Live starting weight of 144. Clean Eating was just another half-hearted attempt to regain my health.  Eat to Live has motivated me to work hard at this new lifestyle due to the education that the book provided.  I now have a more thorough understanding of health's relation to nutrition.  It seems simple, but that knowledge provided an enormous amount of motivation and has taken my total weight loss to 12.6 lbs!

Now I am ready to tackle week 2 armed with the experience of week 1!  My goals for this week are to eat more and to incorporate strength training into my daily activity.  I'll let you know how I do next Monday!

Big thanks to Barry, Artie and Britt for not rolling their eyes at me every time I ordered a salad stripped of meat and cheese!

Barry, Me, Beer, Artie, Britt