Anyone familiar with Joel Fuhrman's Eat to Live diet plan?

[Brett]

I am in no way out of shape, just wanted to lose some fat on my love handles and waist. Also just wanted to start eating better and feel mentally better.

Didn't hope to lose a lot of weight though so I was just wondering what everyone thought about it.

[Brett]

Bump for some replies

[kiteboard]

We all know how to lose weight. STop eating so much and exercise more. STop eating fatty foods and carbs, coffee, booze, pizza, etc. , bread, sandwiches, cheese, milk, donuts, candy, etc. Replace with fruit, veggies, protein, like fish/chicken with no skin. Do not break your word to eat less and properly.

[35ft6]

Originally Posted by kiteboard

We all know how to lose weight.

You would honestly be surprised.

And even for people who know, all the information out there is overwhelming and sometimes contradictory. They want something simple and bullet pointed on a piece of paper.

[Soul]

I'm not familiar with him.

I've been following a paleo/ low carb diet for a few years and have had success with it. Dr. Eades has an informative blog where I have learn how to get in shape.

http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/

[mmaster]

more than fats/carbs, in US the problem is oversized portions.

all of asia eats white rice daily, but you don't see them being fat from the carbs.

it's all about moderation and not eating humongous portions.

[charliefedererer]

Originally Posted by kiteboard

We all know how to lose weight. STop eating so much and exercise more. STop eating fatty foods and carbs, coffee, booze, pizza, etc. , bread, sandwiches, cheese, milk, donuts, candy, etc. Replace with fruit, veggies, protein, like fish/chicken with no skin. Do not break your word to eat less and properly.

Well said.

[jswinf]

I read Fuhrman's book a year or so ago, not real fresh in my mind, but I found it helpful and hard to argue with. He did strike me as being pretty hard-line about food choices, like someone saying..."I try to eat well, but I do like a cheeseburger now and then" could just as well say..."I like a shot of heroin now and then" and get the same reaction from Fuhrman.

It was interesting how he states that romaine lettuce has more protein than steak "per calorie." Of course, to get much protein from romaine lettuce you'd have to eat like a pound of it because it's so low in calories. His diet plan sounded to me like you'd have to carry around a big bag of raw vegetables and graze on them throughout the day to get your nutrients.

I'm sure it's healthy and conducive to weight loss. and reading the book got me eating and pretty much enjoying more raw vegetables...but, I still like a cheeseburger now and then. No heroin, though.

[KoolBeans]

Originally Posted by jswinf

I read Fuhrman's book a year or so ago, not real fresh in my mind, but I found it helpful and hard to argue with. He did strike me as being pretty hard-line about food choices, like someone saying..."I try to eat well, but I do like a cheeseburger now and then" could just as well say..."I like a shot of heroin now and then" and get the same reaction from Fuhrman.

It was interesting how he states that romaine lettuce has more protein than steak "per calorie." Of course, to get much protein from romaine lettuce you'd have to eat like a pound of it because it's so low in calories. His diet plan sounded to me like you'd have to carry around a big bag of raw vegetables and graze on them throughout the day to get your nutrients.

I'm sure it's healthy and conducive to weight loss. and reading the book got me eating and pretty much enjoying more raw vegetables...but, I still like a cheeseburger now and then. No heroin, though.

Some great stuff about life is good, tasty, sometimes ridiculous food!

Eating some bloody lettuce all day isn't fun, will keep you thin but you wont feel great generally.

as an above poster said, its about portion size, and also about balance/exercise.

[r2473]

Originally Posted by kiteboard

We all know how to lose weight. STop eating so much and exercise more. STop eating fatty foods and carbs, coffee, booze, pizza, etc. , bread, sandwiches, cheese, milk, donuts, candy, etc. Replace with fruit, veggies, protein, like fish/chicken with no skin. Do not break your word to eat less and properly.

I don't think it's that easy myself. Your body adapts to any change you make. What works initially, stops working after awhile.

From my experience, dieting is about cutting your calories (by reducing them through diet and burning them through exercise) while at the same time ensuring that your body doesn't respond by lowering your metabolism.

To further complicate matters: 1) Everyone's body reacts differently; 2) Your body will react differently during different phases of dieting.

Personally, I would never recommend a "one size fits all" type diet plan. You need to be more "in tune" with your own body. Be able to do what you need to do to lose weight (i.e. know by how much to restrict your calories and the timing of your restriction) and be able to anticipate how your body is going to react (i.e. slowing your metabolism) and be able to react BEFORE your body does. So, everytime you restrict your calories, usually you need some "maintenance" days to offset. These will be different for everyone, but the intent is to solidify what you lose on your "low" days while keeping your metabolism high (getting you ready for your next low day).

If you react too late (and your metabolism slows down) typically you need to have a day or two that you eat a surplus of calories (to get your metabolism revving again).

For some, "steady" dieting works (just cut your calories by 20% everyday). Most people get stuck pretty fast with this method ("I started out losing, but I have hit the wall. Don't know what is going on. I'm not doing anything different").

Everyone is different. That is why dieting difficult.

Seriously, if it were as easy as kiteboard suggests, nobody would have trouble losing weight.

Now, if the question is how to maintain a certain weight (instead of lose weight), Kiteboard's advice will work.

[icarus180]

Read this a few years back. Really interesting. Found his arguments quite persuasive at the time, but I've read good criticism since that rebuts some of his claims. As others have pointed out, he does come off as militant and a bit smug.

The diet was unworkable for me for a few reasons. 1) Massively time consuming. Meals literally take hours to eat, not to mention the time required to expel waste. You need to visit the grocery store a few times a week at the minimum. 2) Almost noone eats this way, so it's very hard to find work arounds in restaurants, or at dinner parties. 3) I just didn't feel I was getting enough animal protein. I didn't suffer depression nor experience the low energy that so many feel when eating vegan, but I did feel marginally weaker, and I missed the hell out of the taste of meat. I'm pretty certain I lost a bit of muscle, but this may be more related to the calorie deficit than the lack of AP.

The book definitely made me think much more about the role of nutrition in terms of health and longevity.

[tennisenthusiast]

Originally Posted by mmaster

more than fats/carbs, in US the problem is oversized portions.

all of asia eats white rice daily, but you don't see them being fat from the carbs.

it's all about moderation and not eating humongous portions.

that is not an accurate statement. you mean to say that there is no obesity in asian countries due to carbs??

[WildVolley]

I wasn't familiar with it, but just looking at his stuff, he seems to be an almost vegetarian promoter.

I'm a fan of vegetables and fruit, but I agree with the paleo-crowd that the studies against animal protein and fat were mostly pretty shoddy or not accurately reported. For instance, some of the largest tracking studies showed that dietary cholesterol consumption and blood cholesterol levels were not correlated. Yet these same studies were used to argue that eating things like eggs was bad.

[OTMPut]

Originally Posted by mmaster

more than fats/carbs, in US the problem is oversized portions.

all of asia eats white rice daily, but you don't see them being fat from the carbs.

it's all about moderation and not eating humongous portions.

diabetes is rampant in white rice (and its derivatives) eating south india.
more people die of coronary heart disease as well.

[tennisenthusiast]

Originally Posted by OTMPut

diabetes is rampant in white rice (and its derivatives) eating south india.
more people die of coronary heart disease as well.

Couldn't agree more with you. So true.

We cannot always use Asians as a role model. They have their own set of problems. Comparing oriental with western is not comparing apples with apples.

[Bartelby]

The main problem is that people refuse to believe how much they are eating.

My advice is to prepare everything in the day that you'll eat to reach 1800 calories and put it on a table and then weep

... and then try and really eat that much for a couple of months.

[OTMPut]

Originally Posted by WildVolley

I wasn't familiar with it, but just looking at his stuff, he seems to be an almost vegetarian promoter.

I'm a fan of vegetables and fruit, but I agree with the paleo-crowd that the studies against animal protein and fat were mostly pretty shoddy or not accurately reported. For instance, some of the largest tracking studies showed that dietary cholesterol consumption and blood cholesterol levels were not correlated. Yet these same studies were used to argue that eating things like eggs was bad.

the "common sense" that fat on the plate is fat on your body has been so strong and so deeply entrenched that most nutritional researchers glossed over contradictory evidence all along.

[jswinf]

Originally Posted by Bartelby

The main problem is that people refuse to believe how much they are eating.

My advice is to prepare everything in the day that you'll eat to reach 1800 calories and put it on a table and then weep

... and then try and really eat that much for a couple of months.

Of course, Fuhrman would say that you could fill that table to overflowing with beautiful, tasty romaine lettuce and just gorge on it all day long, sort of like a brontasaurus.

[WildVolley]

Originally Posted by Bartelby

The main problem is that people refuse to believe how much they are eating.

My advice is to prepare everything in the day that you'll eat to reach 1800 calories and put it on a table and then weep

... and then try and really eat that much for a couple of months.

If you're trying to lose weight this might be true. However, depending on your activity level, you could eat many more calories than that and still lose weight.

I'm not extremely active, but I still need around 2500 calories a day just to maintain my bodyweight and people tell me I'm too skinny (I'm not). I can eat cheeseburgers, bacon, eggs, BBQ, etc and not gain weight. I've found that if I need to trim some body fat, I can just cut down on sugars and simple carbs. The problem I have with sugarf and fries is once I start eating them I want more and more.

[Rhythm Man]

Originally Posted by jswinf

It was interesting how he states that romaine lettuce has more protein than steak "per calorie."

Quite interesting, or actually, rather asinine.

100 g of romaine lettuce contains about 12 net calories, 1.2 g of protein, so .1 g protein/calorie

100 g of a strip steak(raw) from a grass fed cow contains 117 calories, 23 g of protein, so about .2 g protein/calorie, about double the romaine

100 g of a strip steak(cooked, fat trimmed) from grain fed cow has 182 calories, 29 g of protein, or .16 g protein/cal

Not only that but you'd have to eat about 9 lbs of lettuce to equal the protein in 1/2 lb of steak. And c'mon, whats better than steak?