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From:	Claudia (conpx06.cms.hhs.gov)
Subject:	Re: Many thanks again
Date:	August 7, 2007 at 10:10 am PST

In Reply to: Many thanks again posted by miffy on August 1, 2007 at 9:07 am:

Miffy, I don't mind your questions at all, although my memory of the details might not be so perfect.

I think I've been eating this way for close to 4 years now. I had started to lose some weight on the McDougall diet, and then finished losing it following Eat to Live. I felt healthier and more energetic following Eat to Live than McDougall's diet, and the remaining weight also came off more quickly and comfortably. While McDougalling I was still eating some processed foods, and not eating nearly as much fruits and vegetables as after I switched to ETL. My food had all started to look kind of whitish and pale from the focus on all the starchy vegetables being the center-piece of the diet. My skin also was pale and too dry, especially during winter. After switching to ETL my complexion really improved. I now have nice coloring, and plenty of moisture in my skin (which I attribute to the nuts, seeds, and avocado), so my skin doesn't dry out anymore.

I think I started out at around 124 pounds, and now weigh about 90. In reality though, I did not actually lose 34 pounds, because I had a fibroid mass that weighed 8 pounds. I weighed 98 pounds before surgery, and 90 pounds afterwards, so I guess I lost around 26 pounds, with about 1/2 of it being on Eat to Live, and about 1/2 of it lost prior to that by McDougalling.

Off the top of my head I don't remember how long this took me, but I did it, and now it is done for good. ETL totally changed my relationship to food, and I have no further worries about gaining weight back or yo-yoing. This is quite refreshing after struggling most of my life to keep my weight down, and always worrying that I would gain weight back any time I lost some.

I really don't stray from ETL. I don't look forward to having special occasions in order to reward myself by 'cheating'. For me, it feels more like punishment if I don't have easy access to my preferred ETL foods. Some of the junk that I used to enjoy might as well be dirt now as far as I'm concerned. These days it is real food that I really enjoy rather than fake processed foods.

When I travel, I ordinarily plan and prepare my food in advance, and then pack it and take it with me. I always get a hotel room that has a microwave/refrigerator combo, so that I can refrigerate and then re-heat my food. Road trips are actually much easier than flying, because on the road you can carry a big cooler, and flying has certain limitations.

If I am out of town and have to eat in a restaurant, then I prefer PF Chang's China Bistro, where you can get the steamed buddha's feast w/ brown rice.

The last vacation I went on was Dr. Fuhrman's 1st Annual Health Getaway, so of course the food they had there was absolutely acceptable and wonderful!

Last September, I went to a week long yoga retreat at the Omega Institute's Rhinebeck campus in upstate New York. It is a holistic retreat center, and I was impressed to find that I was able to eat the food they served there with no problem. Specifically, they have a 'plain food' section, for those of us who don't like our food drenched in oil and salt. This section would have whole grain of some kind, and a steamed green vegetable, which would change each day. Also they would have raw nuts and organic fruits and berries in the morning.

So, there are ways to travel, and there are places you can vacation where the food is acceptable to people with uncommonly high health standards.

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