May was a long and busy month, but very productive – checked many items off my “to do” list. After falling off the nutrition wagon a bit as discussed in my April Eat To Live report, May started off really well. I planned out the meals and grocery lists. I followed the “life plan” in Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat To Live book rather than the weight loss plan. What surprised me was that I lost weight anyway – three pounds by the middle of the month without even trying. Seeing as I had re-gained 6 of the 14.5 pounds I lost in January, this was a happy development as now I only had 3 more to go.
90 Percent/10 Percent Rule
On Dr. Fuhrman’s Life Plan, he suggests that, in order to maintain the benefits of the results you achieve on the Six-Week Weight Loss plan, you adopt his “90 Percent Rule”. This means that 90 percent of your diet should continue to be unrefined plant-based food.
Dr. Fuhrman says that the other 10 percent of your calories can come from processed or animal-based foods that are used as condiments to flavor main dishes and soups made from vegetables, beans or tofu. He suggests that your total animal-product consumption should not exceed 12 ounces per week (about 4 3-ounce servings eaten every other day).
Based on that, the “average” woman who consumes about 1,600 calories per day should limit her low-nutrient/animal-based foods to 150 calories per day, and the “average” man who consumes about 2,300 calories per day should limit his intake of the same to 200. If you still have more weight to lose, your intake should be less than 100 calories of low nutrient foods. That comes out to about ½ cup of pasta, 2 ounces of chicken/turkey, 3 ounces of fish, or 1 slice of cheese. Not a lot of wiggle room obviously, but it allows you a small “treat” every day.
My “Treats”
During the second half of May, I didn’t exactly stick to the 90/10 rule, which caused me to gain back the 3 pounds I just lost. I felt that I had as good of an excuse as any for this set back. Over the long Memorial Day weekend, we had a dear friend stay with us. He moved overseas years ago and we have only seen him twice in about 10 years. So of course there was a lot of dining out, eating concession food at the baseball game, going to the pubs and all of those things you do when catching up with old friends. We had a great time and I wouldn’t change a thing. Sometimes there are just more important things to do than worrying about dieting. I wasn’t about to be a wet blanket and refuse to eat at the Chinese restaurant because of all the MSG, or force our guest to eat “my way” by stocking the fridge with nothing but kale and bottled water.
My problem was that I didn’t jump back on the 90/10 plan after he left. And I didn’t get rid of the left over cheese, bread, goodies, etc. I ate it all! And since I’m a cheese and carb-o-holic, it was all too easy to slip back into old bad habits. It took me a while lose the cravings and get back on track.
Moving Forward
So what did I take away from this? It’s okay to live in the moment and splurge occasionally when enjoying the company of family and friends. But I can’t kid myself that I’m just having a “treat” when that treating continues day after day, week after week.
There will always be situations that can get me off track, like vacations or visitors. This month I have a family wedding to attend, but I can plan better by bringing along nut packs or veggie sticks and hummus to put in the hotel mini fridge. So I’ll just pick myself up, dust myself off, and move forward. Time to go make a veggie smoothie!
Answers to Reader Questions About Following the Eat To Live Plan
I have a lot of queries on my site about what I eat on Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat To Live plan. All of the recipes I posted during May (pull them up in the Archives section) were Eat To Live compliant, either for the weight loss or life plan portions of the program. I’m working on creating a special section under Recipes that will list all of them, but please be patient so I can go back over all of the posts in the blog to make sure the proper recipes are included.
In a nutshell, Dr. Fuhrman advocates eating what he calls G-BOMBS (greens, beans, onions, mushrooms, berries and seeds/nuts). The goal on the weight loss plan is to eat at least 1 pound of raw and 1 pound of cooked non-starchy vegetables every day, along with at least 4 fruits and 1 cup of beans. Oil, dairy and animal products are to be avoided during this phase along with fruit juices and in-between-meal snacks. Here’s an example of what I ate during that 6-week phase:
Breakfast: fruit smoothie (banana, mixed berries, chia seeds, with almond or soy milk)
Lunch: HUGE salad with mixed dark leafy greens, tomatoes, carrots, celery, green onion, red bell pepper, white or black beans, alfalfa sprouts, 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts or sunflower seeds, and freshly squeezed lemon juice for the dressing.
Mid-Afternoon: green smoothie (spinach, kale, arugula, parsley, low-sodium tomato juice, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed). I know you aren’t supposed to have “snacks” during this phase, but I just consider this part of my fresh vegetable requirement to make sure I hit that 1 pound per day goal.
Dinner: Either a soup or a “steam fry” made with a combination of white/yellow onion, mushrooms, kale, chard, collards, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, tofu and/or brown rice, seasoned with dried herbs, onion powder, garlic powder and freshly ground black pepper.
Beverage: I drink about 2 – 3 liters of filtered water throughout the day. This is not something Dr. Fuhrman specifically recommends, but it’s something I’ve done for a long time and helps keep me “cleaned out”.
I highly recommend that you buy Dr. Fuhrman’s book in order to completely understand the nutritional basis and science behind his plan. It’s a small investment in your health and well-being that will pay off in spades for the rest of your life.
I will continue to post recipes and more pointers about how I follow the Eat To Live plan, so keep checking back! And please feel free to send me any questions you have.
cheri says
Hi Amy, I am very intrigued by Dr Fuhrman’s plan, will have to buy me a copy of the book. Like the idea of mostly a plant based diet.
Amy says
Hi Cheri, it’s definitely worth a read. I like his approach and the science behind why he does what he does.
CC says
I understand what he is saying about the snacks, like break the snacking cycle, but i ran out of steam in the afternoon if i don’t have anything. i usually have some fruit or a small salad and tomatoes. life got a lot better once i started doing that. 🙂
Amy says
I agree. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with “snacking” as long as it’s fruit or veggies, rather than chips with sour cream dip!