Table of Contents
READ ALSO: 2 Best Protein Bar to Lose Weight Efficiently
I Eat to Live: Other Great Unexpected Results
But that’s not all I gained from following The Eat to Live Diet.
Although I am telling you about The Eat to Live Diet from a weight loss perspective, the diet itself is geared towards providing maximum health to those who follow it.
During the time I was on The Eat to Live Diet, I had increased energy (never suffering from the common afternoon post-lunch slump) and cannot remember suffering from ailments such as the common cold.
Overall, I was in very good health.
Another unexpected (but pleasant) side effect of The Eat to Live Diet for me was better financial health.
Yes, that may sound surprising, but since fresh produce, which is what I was predominantly eating, is a lot cheaper than processed foods in Africa, my bank account was also happy that I was eating this way.
All in all, The Eat to Live Diet, was a real blessing.
READ ALSO: 5 Easy, Cool Hair Styles for Teenagers
My Long-Term Eat to Live Results
Five years after the fact, the 15 kilograms that I initially lost through The Eat to Live Diet have stayed off.
Those who have battled the bulge know what a feat that is.
All in all, loosing the 30 kilograms I mention in this post, truly changed my life for the better.
Furthermore, now that I know exactly what it takes to shed weight healthily, I don’t live in fear that one day, I might wake up to find myself as overweight as I once used to be.
READ ALSO: Half of a Yellow Sun Chimamanda Ngozi Used & Americanah Summary
Eat to Live Com
If you are looking for the official Eat to Live website, go to the author’s website which is DrFuhrman.com.
The Eat to Live Diet Plan
The Eat to Live Diet advocates eating a lot of vegetables (particularly leafy green ones), fruits, nuts, and beans almost to the exclusion of all else, especially during the first six weeks of the regimen.
What Is the Eat to Live Diet?
The Eat to Live diet is a vegetarian, vegan, low-salt, low-fat, and gluten-free (if you avoid grains with gluten) plan created by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
After the first 6 weeks of the diet, when some restrictions loosen, you may add animal products in limited amounts, if you like.
Here is a video of Dr. Fuhrman telling you more about eating the Eat to Live way. He is not joking about the health benefits of his diet. This I know from personal experience!
I had been clinically obese for the better part of my life.
At the age of 24, I decided that lugging around so much weight no longer served me.
I felt: if I intended to do all the things that I dreamed of doing in my life, then I needed to be more lithe and energetic.
This is how, after an exhausting mountain climbing experience, I began to go to the gym regularly.
Initial Results
Exercising regularly made a great difference in my life.
Almost instantly, I found myself stronger, more energetic, and more vital.
Unfortunately, exercise alone did nothing to reduce my body weight.
Although I felt great, I still found myself 36 kilograms overweight, a few months before my 25th birthday.
That fact alone might never have propelled me to action—I had long learned to live with excess weight.
When I started to outgrow my size 20 clothing, though, vanity required that something be done.
READ ALSO: Steps to Leading a Healthier Lifestyle This Year
My Weightloss Journey Begins in Earnest
At first, all I wanted was to fit back into my clothes comfortably.
When I started to see my weight drop fairly easily, though, through minor adjustments to my diet, I began to get a little more ambitious.
I figured: why not go all the way and end my weight woes once and for all?
Why not lose weight until I was within the healthy weight range for my height?
It seemed like a stretch. The last time I was within a healthy weight range for my height was more than 15 years prior.
Still, somehow I was willing to try.
Results After Six Months
Six months later, I had successfully shed 15 of the 36 kilograms that I intended to lose.
I was happy with the weight loss. My weight loss journey, though, had me emotionally drained.
Six months of constantly paying attention to what I was eating and how much exercise I was getting had taken its toll.
Still, I am not a quitter. I determined to succeed.
I was going to lose the remaining 21 kilograms…it just needed to happen a little faster!
As I do whenever I need something seemingly impossible to happen in my life, I turned to God and prayed.
READ ALSO: Mombasa Marine Park Guide & Malindi
A Surprise Visit to the Bookstore Takes Me in a New Direction
The next morning, it occurred to me to try a weight loss regimen that had worked for me when I was a teenager in high school.
I had found the regimen in a book called Fit for Life, and during one summer holiday, I had lost weight, quite easily, without much stress.
I headed to Textbook Centre at Sarit Centre to see if, perhaps, I could find this book again.
I did find Fit for Life, but as I was browsing through the health and fitness section at Textbook Centre, I also spotted The Eat to Live Diet: Lose 20 Pounds or More in Six Weeks—Safely by Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
At first, I scoffed at the book primarily because of its title.
It sounded like one of the many get-thin-quick gimmicks that I knew were very unlikely to yield results.
Everyone knows, after all, that it’s virtually impossible to lose that much weight in such a short amount of time, right?
Still, after looking through the book and reading its back cover, I decided to buy it too.
In fact, I decided to read that book first when I got home.
READ ALSO: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Half of a Yellow Sun Summary & Americanah)
Learning About The Eat to Live Diet
I read The Eat to Live Diet, and it seemed to make a lot of sense.
Still, I didn’t think that the kind of diet it espoused would be one that I could easily follow.
The Eat to Live Diet advocates eating a lot of vegetables (particularly leafy green ones), fruits, nuts, and beans almost to the exclusion of all else, especially during the first six weeks of the regimen.
Although I was keen to lose the remaining 21 kilograms of weight that I still had to lose, I was not willing to do so by being uncomfortable and constantly hungry.
I went to bed that night thinking that The Eat to Live Diet, though theoretically interesting, was not something that I was going to try myself.
The next morning, The Eat to Live Diet was still on my mind.
On a whim, I thought: let me try it out for a day and see how I feel.
In the morning, I did nothing different.
I had my usual bowl of fruit salad which was acceptable on The Eat to Live Diet plan.
At lunch though, instead of my regular meal, I decided to have a big plate of cooked spinach (I had lunch at a canteen near my workplace so had a limited selection of vegetables).
I was sure I would be hungry again within two hours or so.
Wrong!
I didn’t think about food again until 5:15 p.m., right before I left work that evening.
On a plate of spinach?!
The Eat to Live Diet had caught my attention!
You can read more about my Eat to Live experience and results here.
How Can You Replicate the Same Results?
If you are currently battling excess weight and have no clue what to do to win the fight, then get yourself a copy of The Eat to Live Diet and learn how you, too, can quite easily (with a little discipline) bring your weight under control.
I got my copy of this book at Textbook Centre in Nairobi (so that is a great place to start looking if you live there), but you can also buy it on Amazon.
When you do, let me know what you think. I look forward to hearing what you have to say.
Until the next time,
Biche
P. S. By the way, I did reach my goal of losing 36 kilograms. I lost 38.5 kilograms to be precise! 🙂
P.P.S. Are you a blogger who would like to earn more from display ads on your blog? If so take a look at this free service from a Google Certified Publishing Partner that helps you do just that.
Photo Credits: healthylifestylechanges.com, Lane Bryant