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From: Sparky (ip68-230-205-95.rd.hr.cox.net)
In Reply to: What's your Mcdougall and/or Fuhrman E2L experience? posted by chewy on February 9, 2005 at 5:05 am:
I don't follow any plan exactly, but I follow most closely the regular McDougall plan. I lost 30 pounds that way and went from 147 pounds to 117 pounds. I've never exercised regularly for long. When I first started McDougalling, I was sick a lot. I have four kids and work in the preschool department at church, so I often picked up the normal stuff that went around. It was frustrating, because I'd exercise about four times per week for about two weeks, and then I'd get sick for a week or two, only to repeat the cycle over and over again. So, most of my weight loss was due to McDougalling and only somewhat due to exercising. I have never done the MWL plan. I lose weight too easily for that. I eat lots of grains and starches. I eat steel-cut oats for breakfast every morning, and I eat a lot of brown rice. I eat ww pasta, but I eat pasta less now that when I ate SAD. I just haven't found enough pasta recipes yet. I've only eaten bread once in the past year, because I've never cared for bread. I eat a lot of beans, because it's easy to open up a can of them if I don't have time to cook for myself, but I also make bean soups with dry beans. I'm soon going to try some more exotic grains. I've already bought some quinoa. I eat much more fruit than Dr. McDougall recommends. I usually eat several servings of whole fruit per day (especially when there are grapes on the countertop). I love an all-fruit smoothie (especially with lots of berries), and I typically drink about 5 cups of it at a time. I was having it every day for a while, but I had to cut back because of the cost. I also used to pig out on Baked Tostitos a lot, eating three or more bags per week with salsa, but I also had to cut that out because of cost. Even while eating those foods so often, I was able to maintain my weight without exercising. I also love nuts, and I used to eat them almost every day, but I cut them out because of the oil in them. It went right to my face. However, now my skin is dry (but not flaky), so I've already started adding some back in. I have been putting 2 Tbsp of flax seed and 1 Tbsp wheat germ in my oatmeal every morning for a few months. These foods aren't normally McDougall recommendations. I would have a very hard time decreasing my starches to the ETL level. If I don't have a considerable amount of starches during the day, especially for supper, I will wake up light-headed during the night. Every time I make a meal of mostly veggies for supper, I feel bad before the next morning. Also, I think I would look like a famine victim if I ate the ETL way. I'm thin enough now and hardly have a chest, and that's without exercising and with eating plenty of starches. I need the calories from starches. The ETL book has so much info about the effects of food on the body, and I've read it twice. I have been making a conscious effort to eat more veggies the last few months, because I don't want to end up with cancer and other diseases my mom and grandparents had. Ever since starting to McDougall, I've always eaten very large salads, but I wasn't eating enough cooked veggies (which provide more variety for me, since some of them I wouldn't eat raw). I got an unused steamer from my mom's home after she died, since my dad didn't want it, so that has made it easier for me to eat more veggies. BTW, I know I should exercise for good health, and I exercised today for about the third time since the beginning of December. If I exercise regularly with the way I'm eating now, I know I'll lose more weight -- and I don't really want to. At what local store am I going to find size 2 or smaller clothes for a middle-aged woman (I don't like to mail order, since I can't try on the clothes before buying)? Where am I going to get bras, since nobody makes real bras smaller than the size I'm wearing now? Makes it hard to get up the desire to exercise. I just need to remember what can happen to my health if I remain a couch potato. After I've been exercising regularly for a few weeks, I think I'm going to start adding in some oil for cooking (a no-no with the two plans). That will give me more calories, and maybe I'll be able to make some good pasta and veggie stir-fries. BTW, I'm 40yo. I think each person needs to find what works for himself and go with that. I recommended ETL to my mother, because I thought that she needed that kind of diet to combat her diseases (cancer, diabetes, stroke, gall bladder problems, some blood disease resulting from chemo). However, she never would follow my advice and just kept following the advice of her doctor, about whom she constantly complained. I'll always wonder if a whole-foods, vegan diet would have extended her life at all.
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