I've posted a few times here, and while intrigued, and I read the book, I still haven't been able to start the diet. Bill Clinton in the news again makes me want to revisit the diet.
There are some practical problems and nagging inconsistencies about the diet which always seems to stop me.
Before getting to those, I am curious about the statement that, "You may not eat anything with a mother or a face (no meat, poultry, or fish)."
It sounds cute to say "nothing with a mother or a face" but I can't think of anything that has a mother that doesn't have a face offhand. So why is it put that way?
The things that keep me from being successful are:
I've mentioned this before, but there simply are no whole grain products in my shopping radius (in my neighborhood in Tokyo). I can get brown rice sometimes, but absolutely no whole wheat bread or whole wheat pasta. I notice Clinton was raving about the legumes he eats, and he didn't even mention whole wheat products. So I suppose I can concentrate on those. But it makes things harder.
There are also absolutely no cereals here which fit the E2 diet's rules about no or low sugar (every single brand of cereal in the stores here list sugar as one of the top 2 or 3 items). And the cereals aren't whole grain. So that's limiting as well.
The "tofu thing" still strikes me as a huge inconsistency. In his book, Essylstein recommends tofu over 70 times, including recipes of almost entirely tofu. The recipes definitely exceed 25% calories from fat. Tofu is very high fat – over 40% I do like tofu, but can't wrap my mind around this glaring inconsistency. Why is tofu ok and other high fat items not?
Anyway, I am unhappy with my weight, state of health and energy level. I've tried low-carb and it doesn't work. Low calorie does work, but I'm finding it really hard to stay on. So I want to try something new again.
I'm just wondering how to make this diet work considering the resources available to me. And I wish Essylstein would come out and concretely explain why tofu is ok but other food items may not have more that 25% calories from fat. And I am talking about individual items, the way he describes it in his book, not just the recipes.
I order many things online. Are you able to do that from Toyko? I order my Quinou noodles,cookies,crackers,tamari,cereal, really almost anything I need I Could order on line. I live in the country and except for some fresh veges/canned beans I am not close to anything so I have started to save myself the gas/energy and order online. I use nuts on line and vitacost primarily.
I just cannot get into tofu but occasionally others make it and its ok. It is better than eating a giant burger to me so I am fine with it. But there are sooooo many other options out there that to tofu or not to tofu is just a non-issue.
I have also found support from not only this site but many others. In fact, I am surprised how many vegan/vegetarian site there are and it motivates me when I find a great recipe or hint.
I encourage you to look deeper into this community of support and just take small steps away from your current food choices. It took me years to really take the plunge into complete whole food/plant based. The reasons were varied from worry what others would think, worry I would not know what to eat and die of some vitamin deficiency, would not find foods I liked or my husband, geesh the list was long!
I keep hearing about these great Asian markets and the choices they have that are very vegan friendly, who knows maybe we will end up be jeolous of your location to some amazing foods!
I have read your posts over the last six or so months (you’ve gotten lots of great help from a variety of forum respondents) and I am going to guess that it is not the lack of whole grain products available in Tokyo, or the poor choice of cereals, or any inconsistency about tofu that is keeping you from success. I think to be successful; you need the following two things:
1) You need to believe that you have a health problem. Being 100+ pounds overweight is only one of your health problems. You mentioned elsewhere that you have elevated cholesterol, triglycerides and in the past, high blood pressure. It would be a miracle if you didn’t have plaque in your arteries. Still don’t believe you have a time-bomb in your chest? Read Dr. Esselstyn’s book.
2) You need to believe that this is the solution to your health problem. You don’t come to this way of eating to lose weight; (although that most often happens) you eat this way to save yourself from dying too early. That motivation will get you through the challenging early period before you adapt your tastes and lifestyle.
So get a copy of “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” by Dr. Esselstyn (it’s available on the iPad and Kindle) and decide if you believe you have a life-threatening problem and that this way of eating can reverse that.
If you decide to make the change, here is my eating cheat sheet:
1) Do not eat any oils or animal protein or fat
2) Get about 10% of your calories from fats, 10% from proteins and the remaining from complex carbohydrates in lots of variety (leafy greens, vegetables, beans legumes, whole grains and some fruit.)
3) Eat the whole food.
4) Religiously obey the first item and try every day to get better at the second and third.
Focus on what is available and not lamenting what you don’t have.
Your post reminds me of my thoughts (and my posts on this board for that matter, take a look) when I first started this new way of eating.
Now that I've been "all in" for, maybe two months now, I can say it gets more and more doable. It takes paractice. It's a learning process in which you gain more and more savvy as time goes on. If you just bite the bullet and get on with it, you will find it all falls into place. You will have some difficulties at first, but you will slowly gain the savvy needed to minimize those problems and before too long, it becomes second nature and you really don't have to think about it. . . . Wouldn't that be nice???? That is, to be able to just live your life and not have to think and obsess over where and what you are going to eat? Well, just stick with it and you will get there.
You have a lot of valid concerns, and we undersand how hard it can be. How about right now you just aim for starting slow. Meaning you won't be 100% perfect, but you are going to do what you can to start moving toward a healthier life.
Why no for the next few weeks just start with breakfast, don't wory about anything else. I know you can't get cereal, but let's focus on what you CAN get. Is it possible to get oatmeal? How about just fruit and some walnuts in the morning? You could do tofu scramble (Migas in the book). Make things as simple as you can. You could even do warm brown rice with raisins and non dairy milk for now.
Don't worry about tofu right now. Let's work on getting every thing else totally on track, rather than worry about something small like tofu. If you like tofu, feel free to consume it, especially if it makes life a little easier for you right now. We can talk about that in depth later, but for right now, that should not be your number one concern, your number one concern should simply be to start somewhere.
But why don't you try JUST focusing on breakfast, and let us know how you are doing. We will follow up with you in three weeks, and then we can move on to another meal, but for now, why not make it a plant-strong breafkast.
Here are some simple breakfast ideas, beyond the ones in the book:
Quinoa w/ fresh blueberries, mango and ground flax seed
Soaked oatmeal (soaked overnight in rice milk) with rasberries, sunflower seeds, blueberries, strawberries
Cold cereal , rice milk, sliced up orange, sliced up grapefruit
Strawberries, blueberries, apples, dates chopped up + ground flax seed.
brown rice pudding: brown rice, rice milk, vanilla, cinnamon, raisins, dates – heat up together.
white bean breakfast scramble: mix white beans, nutritional yeast, a little tumeric, spinach, mushrooms, tomato together in a pan (water fry) you can also add shredded potato for a hash-brown tasting meal.
sliced strawberries and bananas with sunflower seeds and ground flax
quick trail mix: sunflower seeds, raisins, dried chopped apples, dried cherries, dried peaches (make sure dried fruit has no oil or sugar added)
I've also been struggling with getting this Plant-Strong eating plan started. And I don't have the excuse of no availability. I live in San Francisco.
My challenge is that I am waiting for someone else to come and take care of me and help me make this change. I've been waiting for about 10 years now. I believe it is time to change my mind set. I am here now. I am here 24-hours a day. I need to be the person who helps me. That means reaching out to others, like yourselves, for inspiration and help.
I am grateful for this forum. I'm now going to go make myself a veggie sandwich on sprouted whole wheat bread now!
Thanks for all your posts. Actually I was wondering why there were no replies, because I didn't get email notifications. But I just dropped by again to check and sure enough there were many replies!
- Janzyb: I see you live in Missouri. I actually own a house there, but am renting it out since I'm never there. The idea of mail ordering is possible I suppose. I will have to check that out. Thanks.
- Joe in O: You might be confusing my posts with somebody else. While I am 100+ lb overweight, I don't have elevated cholesterol or triglycerides and have never had high blood pressure. I had extensive heart tests last summer when I experienced shortness of breath, and they checked everything, and everything was smack in the middle of normal range for a man my age. Except my A1C was high. That is normal now too, controlled by diet. I take no medications, except a small aspirin a day because I heard it's a good idea. But I do know that a male my age who is as obese as I am is a ticking time bomb, and it's just a matter of time if I don't get this under control. I was interested in reading “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease” by Dr. Esselstyn – mainly to see if there was more guidance in the areas I find the E2 Diet too vague. I know it sounds like I'm harping on tofu, but it seems like it's one of the few things available here in abundance, since I can't find whole grain products, and I do like it. Does Esselstyn senior say anything about tofu?
- Thatcrazyvegan: I really feel like I'm looking for guidance and not for excuses. There are just areas of the diet that seem too vague to me, and I need some concrete rules to stick with. I get the feeling that maybe a super active guy like Kip, who was never obese, might not really understand the problems that a really obese person has with dealing with foods, and how we will take advantage of loopholes, which will wreck the diet for us. The rules about sugar, for example, seem unclear. There are about 8 kinds of cold cereal available in the supermarket. Some "look healthy" and are granola like things, or have rolled oats, and aren't sugar frosted flakes. But they do have sugar listed as one of the top 2 or 3 ingredients. I can't tell for sure if I can have them or not. And while I understand the book's explanation of why skim milk isn't allowed, I can't help but mention that all the soy milk brands here are actually much higher in fat than skim milk. I like soy milk, so can't complain. But it is higher in fat.
- KBsnatcer: It's encouraging to hear how you found it all fall into place. Right now it's 10:45 am here and I haven't eaten anything yet today and I'm trying to figure out what to do. I was going to go over to the supermarket and buy stuff, but I'm not sure what.
- Engine 2 Team: Thanks for your supportive note. In answer to your question, yes, I can get oatmeal. Your oatmeal recipes don't sound tasty to me (I don't like sweet stuff on my oatmeal) but I can eat just oatmeal. I've heard of Quinoa, but I've never seen it sold here. I wish they had couscous here! I used to love Trader Joe's couscous when I visited the states! But I think there was probably oil in it. I would be happy with very very very plain cold cereal with soy milk. I don't need the fruits or sweet things added to it. It's just that I can't figure out which cereal is allowed and which isn't. I would prefer cold cereal to oatmeal. You mention gluten free bread. They have rice bread here, but it turns out it is just partially 15% rice – there is also wheat. Why is gluten free preferred? I'm pretty sure I can't find sunflower seed butter, but even if I could, isn't it very high fat like any other butter? It's the vagueness of the rules that are holding me back (not excuses). I honestly don't know, for many many items, whether they are allowed or not. I thought all oils and added fats were completely off-limit. How does sunflower seed butter fit in? And yes, let's please talk tofu! I actually like all kinds of tofu. If it is allowed, it would be great to know (and know WHY).
What do people think of eating non-whole-wheat pasta and breads if I can't find whole wheat versions?
Well, I guess I'll go over to the supermarket and at least not buy eggs, cheese, chicken, pork, fish or beef today.
Oh, one more question. There are LOTS of very tasty, interesting salads in the supermarket made with seaweed, radishes, lotus root, and other common vegetables.
But I have NEVER found any which didn't list some kind of sugar or other sweetener as one of the ingredients, which is why I avoided them.
I can't address all your concerns but I might be able to help in one area. I don't like hot cereal either but I like raw oatmeal in the morning with rice milk. I usally have a fruit on it but you could just eat it plain. This really sticks with me and even tastes good to me. I also put a couple tablespoons of ground flax on it also for the omegas and taste.
I can't address all your concerns but I might be able to help in one area. I don't like hot cereal either but I like raw oatmeal in the morning with rice milk. I usally have a fruit on it but you could just eat it plain. This really sticks with me and even tastes good to me. I also put a couple tablespoons of ground flax on it also for the omegas and taste.
Thanks for your post, Cathey.
Well, I'm sorry to say my shopping trip was a complete bust, as far as the E2 Engine diet is concerned.
Before people jump in and say I'm making excuses or not trying, let me start off by saying I did come home with "normally" low-calorie, low-fat healthy foods. I didn't come home with desserts or fried foods.
But I just couldn't make what I found fit with the E2 Diet.
Things started off badly at the cereal counter. Usually there are 4 or 5 packages of oatmeal, but today there were none. So there went my only cereal choice. All the other cereals – even Kellogs All Bran! – listed "sugar" as the number 2 ingredient. It just doesn't fit into the diet.
I looked at soy milk (which I do like) but there were 3 g of fat and 55 calories per 100 mL. 3 grams of fat = 27 calories, which means soy milk is 50% fat! I just don't see how to rationalize it with the E2 Diet where it says not to buy any individual items with more than 25% calories from fat. It just doesn't make sense! I need some rhyme or reason to what I'm buying.
I looked at all these delicious, low-calorie, low-fat salads in the prepared food section. They were, on the surface, extremely healthy looking, vegetarian dishes with seaweed, lotus root, radish, sprouts, spinach, etc. But if you look at the ingredients carefully, 100% of them had one or more of the following ingredients in them: sugar, mirin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirin) which is 50% sugar, or things like "chicken extract" which makes it non-vegan. Again, it just doesn't fit into the E2 Diet.
I would say, except for raw fruits and vegetables, that 99.99% of what is in the supermarket doesn't fit in the rules of the E2 Diet, as I read it in the book.
Like I said, I didn't use it as an excuse to buy fattening things. But I at least know how to journal calories, so I bought low-calorie items, without regard to whether they were vegetarian or contained sugar or not.
I'm not sure how to proceed. I mean I could order raw materials myself and become this huge chef, but I can barely boil eggs. :) I think to stick to a diet it has to be accessible and simple, without going out of your way or taking a lot of time.
I envy places like Boston, where my sister lives, where you can shop at Whole Foods or Trader Joes.
I googled "Healthy Food in Tokyo". The first site that was listed was Happy Cow. Here is the link. It shows a number of restaurants that are vegan/vegetarian. Maybe if you go to one of them for a meal, you could also talk with the Chef and ask about ideas of where to purchase healthier choices in your own city.
An interesting list. Most of the restaurants are in convenient, centrally located areas. And they sound delicious.
The problem isn't vegan though. The problem are the specific requirements of the E2 Engine diet.
Fried potatoes are vegan.
If I went to the supermarket today just with the goal of shopping vegan, I could have bought many items. They wouldn't be whole grain, or no added fats, or no sugar among the top ingredients. But they would have been vegan.
Almost all the cereals in the supermarket were vegan. Peanut butter is vegan. Most the breads were vegan. Pasta is vegan. Are are all the past sauces.
So vegan isn't the problem. It's the extra, particular requirements of the E2 Engine diet which made it hard to shop today.
Here is part of how you introduced yourself six months ago:
…
I'm not on heart medication and have never had a heart attack. My doctor did say though that my triglycerides were high. Last year my cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure were high. But instead of medication I went on a low calorie diet and lost 22 lb. After about 5 months my A1C, cholesterol and blood pressure were all normal.
Unfortunately, since last summer I've gained back all I've lost and more, so I am guessing my blood values have gotten worse again. My blood pressure though isn't bad really – about 120/70. My doctor is always amazed at that since I'm 100+ lb overweight.
…
Even Americans with "normal" levels die of cardiovascular disease. Normal isn't good enough. You appear to have a history of doing damage to your body (as do most everyone reading this forum.) The good news is you can reverse that damage. The bad news is that you have spent the last six months debating tofu vs sugar vs soy milk while making no apparent progress.
And that is what really mystifies me. I don't know your story, but I presume you are an accomplished American living and working in a foreign culture. You must have overcome many things to live comfortably in Japan, yet you seem unwilling to find a way (or even to make the effort) to put the basic concepts of the plant-strong diet to work. Maybe your breakfast won't be Kellogg's Corn Flakes and milk substitute, but rather brown rice and stir fried (without oil) vegetables. You may have to get more involved in preparing your food and no you don't have to become a chef. Cooking rarely requires little more than following directions. You've probably learned a foreign language and how to navigate Tokyo's mass transit – boiling rice and using a wok shouldn't be too taxing.
You've gotten the support and advise from many people through this forum. You can get brown rice and vegetables and beans in Japan. It's time for you to show us how to eat plant-strong in Japan.
I correct myself. I guess my triglycerides and cholesterol were high. But nothing beyond "slightly over" the normal range and nothing requiring medication. My blood pressure has never been high.
Sorry to sound stubborn here, but the fact of the matter is I know from experience I do need specific rules in order to successfully diet. Some people are like that. I can journal calories for everything I eat, and try to stick within specific limits.
But on this diet I'm still hearing the same vague rules:
- You shouldn't eat any food item that is more than 25% calories from fat. Except when it's allowed.
- You shouldn't eat food where the top half of the ingredients is sugar. Except when it's ok.
- You shouldn't eat avocadoes. But guacamole makes a great subsitute for mayonnaise.
- You shouldn't eat nuts. But sometimes they are ok.
- You can have 70% dark chocolate. But only sparingly.
I just need some real, specific rules to follow. And it has to be followable. And unless I'm setting myself up for a fall, it has to have *some* variety.
Yes, I can speak and read Japanese. I even taught math and science in Japanese at Nippon Electronics College. And I live comfortably and an get around.
All of that seems trivial compared to figuring out exactly what is and what is not allowed on this diet! :)
I know some people seem to be able to follow "vague" guidelines and succeed with a diet. I just can't. For me, a diet has to (1) make sense (no odd contradictions), (2) have specific rules and (3) actually be something followable in practice.
A diet consisting *solely* of brown rice, vegetables and beans is, you have to admit, more than a bit daunting. No breads, no pastas, no cereals, none of the "vegetarian pizzas" mentioned, etc. For sure 100% impossible to eat out.
I'm just trying to be realistic and practical here. Yet simply pointing out these (I think) reasonable issues seems to come off as me not wanting to try, or finding excuses not to do it.
Let me put it this way: If somebody, anybody, can give me the exact rules for allowed calories from fat per item, how to judge the allowed sugar in a food product to see if it is ok or not and what the exact rules are for avocadoes, nuts and tofu are, I'll try it.
So far, despite greatly appreciated efforts on the part of people trying to be supportive, I still don't get it. I'm not dumb. I have a masters degree in physics. But I just don't get the inconsistencies, and get stumped whenever I try to go shopping for the E2 Diet. Just saying, "ignore the inconstencies and plod forward" isn't … convincing.
I've been reading over the E2 Engine diet book again today.
The only thing that can get rid of the inconsistencies and make sense it to assume the author's specific advice on (1) sugar and (2) percent calories from fat are just wrong and should be excised from the book.
Given everything else recommended: mirin (which I mentioned above, and is 50% sugar), sorbet, soy milk, tofu, avocadoes, nuts, nut butters, etc. the diet can be tried and followed. If you can eat things with sugar and which are high in vegetable fats (except for some reason olive oil itself) there is plenty to eat and I can try it.
But the entire rest of the book is simply inconsistent with his straightforward rules about sugar and percent calories from fat. Ignoring those basic rules and just eating all the stuff he says to eat (much of which breaks his own rules) the diet can be followed.
Shall I try that? Eat all the things mentioned that he eats (and which I can find in my neighborhood), and just ignore his rules about sugar and fat limits, which are inconsistent with his own foods and recipes?
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