Day 39

 I had every intention of being the dutiful daughter to my 90 year mother. My sister, who lives with my Mom is in New York visiting her daughter. Mom loves to go out, so I was planning to be her escort for the evening. Unfortunately, the battery in my car died. After work, I had to call AAA and get a jump start. By the way, they are great and worth every penny. Anyhow, I got my car home, but I still need a new battery. All of that is besides the point. Long story short: I had no car, my husband is out of town, and my daughter got home relatively early. Anne had plans to go out, and she asked me to go with her. We went to Hollywood to listen to Anne's friend sing an amazing repertoire of songs. Taylor Greenwood will definitely be famous one day. We arrived a little early and walked  a few blocks to Mousso Franks. I looked at the menu, I was starving, and I couldn't imagine eating a salad without dressing. So, instead I chose the lobster cocktail appetizer. It felt like a splurge, but calorie wise it wasn't! I didn't have many nutrients, but I didn't have many calories either.   And...I didn't feel at all deprived.

Day 38

G-BOMBS are Dr. Fuhrman's secret weapons! Well, not so secret. They are Greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries, and seeds. These 6 items are super foods that strengthen our immune system and help fight disease. We should have some every day! They not only lower the risk of illness, but they also aid in weight loss. I actually thought I'd be creative today and use all of these ingredients in a soup. I chopped everything, added garlic and basil and slow cooked them in vegetable broth. It wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing soup but it was filling and it didn't taste half bad. However, I recommend finding ways to incorporate them into your daily eating plan separately.

Day 37

I know I've mentioned my love of watermelon before, but I think it actually deserves it's own post. I have always been someone who eats breakfast. When I think of all of my favorite breakfasts that I have eaten throughout the years, it's no wonder I have a weight problem. When I was young, I loved the "strawberry international" from the International House of Pancakes. In high school, Norm's steak and eggs were often on my plate. I also  have fond memories of Sunday mornings when my Dad would drive to Canters and bring home a feast of lox, bagels and cream cheese. He would also buy chocolate chip rolls for dessert. After I married, cereal or eggs became my "go to", except the three times that I was pregnant. Then, I would eat doughnuts almost everyday because I figured I was going to be fat anyway, why not enjoy it? Well, my eating habits did improve as I aged, but quite honestly, I still yearned for something warm and starchy in the morning. A croissant or English muffin usually did the trick. However, since I started "eating to live" I enjoy watermelon sprinkled with flax seeds almost every morning. I don't get tired of it. The little seedless personal melons are so easy to cut up and so naturally sweet, I look forward to getting up every morning. Granted, a bagel with lox still sounds tempting, but I would never be satisfied with only one.  And that, my friends, is the difference between an overweight person, and a person that does not have a problem with food.

Day 36

I was pleasantly surprised today. I discovered that my son loves pomegranates. I never knew this about him. Why? I've only bought them once or twice in my life. I love them when my sister puts them in her salad at Christmas, but I have never considered them worth the trouble to seed them myself. Recently, I have been trying to eat as many different vegetables and fruits as I can. I have gone out of my way to try and buy new produce. I watched a cooking show the other day that featured an easy trick to seed pomegranates without getting the juice everywhere. You core the fruit and submerge it in water. Then you pull it apart with your hands and all of the seeds fall to the bottom. You strain them and you are done. Brilliant! I seeded one fruit and sprinkled the beautiful little red seeds in my salad last night. They were sweet, crunchy and a perfect new addition to my Nutritarian dinner!

Day 35

In the past, when I had been counting points, drinking shakes or eating Wasa to lose weight, I would still dread Monday mornings. Inevitably I would have "failed" over the weekend. I no longer feel this way as a Nutritarian. Since I started this  program on a Tuesday, I have been using Monday as the day when I summarize how I am doing and how I feel. It has been 5 weeks today, and I feel great. I definitely can say with confidence that I feel a difference. Although my digital scale fluctuates, I know I have lost weight. It's quite hard to believe that I am entering my last week of the 6 week plan. I know many of you have been wondering what happens after the 6 weeks are finished. Well, the lifestyle continues but it will be a little less strict. I think the idea is to get accustomed to feeling good, and to have created healthy habits that will continue. I will have finished the 6 weeks without eating one piece of red meat. This is a huge accomplishment for me. I pretty much stayed away from all animal products. (twice a little chopped chicken, once a piece of shrimp, and once lobster bisque) I was so used to eating eggs prior to this diet and for the last 5 weeks I haven't eaten one!  Moving on to the "life plan" permits animal products if I really want them. Still, 90% of my diet should remain plant based.  I'm not sure yet how I will be handling the program after day 42. But, I must admit, with only one week left I'm pretty confident I will finish the 6 week plan successfully!

 

Day 34

The larger the salad, the more nutrients I eat. The salad I ate tonight was too big to finish. There were mushrooms, eggplant, peppers, onions, extra large asparagus, all laying on a bed of romaine lettuce. There were way too many vegetables to finish! Had I been eating a huge hamburger and fries, would I have been able to finish? Yes. I find it so odd that the healthier the food, the less I need to feel full. I really do think this is why the Furhman diet works. Your body accepts all of the nutrients that it needs and it is satisfied. It no longer needs anything more. After years of dieting I find that this revelation is really amazing.

Day 33

In an odd way, I'm sort of happy I ate too much last night. I have been caught up in my new Nutritarian lifestyle, and really haven't acted much like my real self. Let's be honest. I am not really the "vegetarian" type. I know in the back of my mind, I will be eating a rib-eye and drinking a gin martini one day. But does that mean I will indulge and go back to my old way of eating? Not a chance. I like the way my body has been feeling lately.  I don't want to go backwards.
The difference between a fat person and a thin person, is that if a thin person overeats, they immediately watch what they eat the next day. A fat person says "I've blown it! I might as well eat everything including the kitchen table!" (well, maybe not the kitchen table, but you know what I mean.)  The good thing about dieting all of my life is that I am now equipped with tools that will really help me finally reach my goal. I actually feel like I will be a thin person in this lifetime. I have followed Dr. Fuhrman's plan perfectly today, and in the afternoon, when I sat down to eat my 4:00 apple with almond butter snack, I saw that he was on PBS! I was able to listen more to his wise nutritional advice and inspired even more to continue my life as a Nutritarian!