The poll results are in and clearly, Eat To Live is the winner! If you’ll be joining us and haven’t read the book yet, I highly recommend it for education on the finer points (no added salt, etc.). But don’t delay in order to finish it; the PDF summary in the last post is plenty to get you started. And, myself and the others have a good deal of experience with this diet and can answer whatever questions may arise.
Indeed, Em asked me, wasn’t I already doing E2L? That got me thinking… What was it I wanted to accomplish and will it be challenging enough to show solidarity with those giving it a go for the first time? (It was this very reason that had me proposing the other two options in the poll in the first place, since either would be more strict.)
Eat To Live is actually pretty easy to my mind. I’ve been doing it for years! So where did I feel a change was needed? If I were to print out a few days and show someone, they’d say, “damn, that’s healthy.” But, from where it was, I’ve been backsliding on the calorie front. Certain foods, which aren’t inherently bad, just different from what I was doing, had slowly crept in. I’ve alluded to them in the past: less control of nut butter consumption, the reintroduction of gluten into my diet, beer instead of wine, more coffee, and “stress-eating.”
Also, due to reigning in the budget, I haven’t restocked my favorite CR staples, konjac noodles and bulk, organic, dried mushrooms. Both of which I use to make big tomato-mushroom soups, chopping raw veggies in at the end. Very filling, yet low calorie.
Sooooo… This can be challenging for me too, after all. Here’s how. While some of these things are technically allowable in moderation on plan, I’m cutting them out entirely for the month of August. No nut butters. No protein powders. No beer. No coffee.
That last one’s going to hurt for a few days! My weaning off this week didn’t go so well and the withdrawal headache will be there to remind. Thankfully, as far as taste goes, I still have a little coffee substitute remaining, and I’ll allow myself a little green tea as well.
So, I’m excited! 
Let’s kick this thing off right. Good luck everyone. Come back often and keep us all apprised of your progress.
