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!

 

 

Day 32

Tonight was a really nice night, but it did not go as I had planned. I knew I was going out to a restaurant with friends. I gave myself the okay to eat as many brussel sprouts and as much roasted cauliflower as I wanted.  Even though I knew they were probably made with oil and maybe some flour and sugar, I had planned it all day. How bad can brussel sprouts and cauliflower be, no matter how they are made? I made sure I did not touch anything with meat. Okay, so maybe I did have a little cheese that was attached to a very small piece of pizza. Still, I didn’t have meat!   How can I totally go off a diet by eating an abundance of brussel sprouts? Well, I did. I let my brain wander off for the night, and I indulged in the most delicious brussel sprouts in the valley. I ate dinner at “The Village” in Studio City, and proved that I am still a bit of a food addict. Well, tomorrow is another day.

Day 31

Dr. Furhman's "Eat to Live" diet emphasizes the necessity of eating large salads daily. Most days it has been easy. But once in a while I just don't feel like chewing that many vegetables at one sitting. Now, don't get me wrong. If I was at Houston's Restaurant eating  a Thai Steak Salad, I would be hoping the meal would never end. However, these non-oil salads that I have been making lately sometimes overstay their welcome. Tonight I made an arugala salad with grated jicama, peppers and onion. I added an avocado lemon dressing and I sprinkled sunflower seeds on top.

It was appealing to look at, but it wasn't the best tasting meal to ever grace Patti's Plate.