For the past thirteen months, we have been traveling. We’ve spent a few weekends at home, and a week at Christmas. Otherwise, we have been on the road, spending most of our time in Kansas City. We’ve lost over a hundred pounds between us. We’ve each dropped 4 sizes. We bought new clothes along the way as the last set became too big, we would cart them home to Minnesota for storage.
This weekend, our goal: bag up all the clothes that are too big for us and donate them.
Twenty-six garbage bags full later…All of it was bagged up and carted out to the truck to head to Goodwill. It was an interesting chore. Some things were tough to give up at first. Until I reminded myself of how I felt the last time I wore it. Uncomfortable, tired and out of breath. We each had two or three sets of things. The ‘few pounds’ overweight set, the ‘nothing fits me’ so I buy a bigger…set. And finally the ‘wow I can’t believe I got this big’ set. You know…the stuff you cut the tags out of so you don’t have to see the size? Yeah…those.
We got here, to a house full of clothes that were way too big, by following the plan. Engine 2 is really simple to follow. The guidelines are clear. No oil, no dairy, no meat, 2 tablespoons or less of sweetener per day, low sodium, not processed. Eat lots of vegetables, follow the calorie density scale. Keep it simple. Follow the guidelines. We picked a plan (E2) and learned all about it, learned how to implement it and we stick to it. Period.
What we did not do…We did not argue or bargain. We didn’t try to pick and choose the parts of E2 we liked and parts of other plans that suited us better. We didn’t try to justify high fat plant foods. We don’t ever feel like we ‘deserve’ a treat. We don’t treat ourselves with food. When I went to Farms 2 Forks and heard Dr. Esselstyn say: no coffee, no salt, we put those things out of our reach too. We didn’t try to have our cake and eat it too. We follow the rules. We don’t fudge the rules when we go out to eat. We ask for what we need. We don’t bake treats that we know we will overeat. We don’t drink our calories. We eat at least as many vegetables as we do other foods.
Remembering things like: nuts, avocados, dried fruit, crackers, pretzels, are allowed, but will slow you down on the way to your goal. Knowing what foods are triggers for overeating for us was really helpful. Being honest with ourselves about what we could and could not moderate has been key. Knowing that we can overeat on high calorie density foods even though they are ‘legal’. Being honest about our health before Engine 2, and what it takes realistically for us to maintain our weight and our low cholesterol is integral. We know that this lifestyle is just that, for the rest of our days we will enjoy our Engine 2 life. As time progresses, even when down with the flu, we crave healthy foods now. Things do change.
Give this plan the best chance to work for you by following the guidelines. Be honest about what you are doing and why. Be realistic about what you are willing to give. 100% effort = 100% results. How much effort are you willing to give? We packed up the last of our old things. All that is left of our former life is the photos. We have lots of them! Every now and then it’s fun to look back…for a minute 
This one was taken a month before we started E2.
