I was vegan already (I've been vegan for 13 years now, woohoo!!!) before I started ETL, and that's basically how I found the program. I was hunting around online for vegan diet programs and came across it. Rather desperate to lose a few pounds, I decided to get his book and after reading it, believed that it was the way to go. I'd give it a shot.

The premise is rather simple. You want the most nutritious food possible for your caloric buck so to speak. If you're taking in a certain number of calories, they'd better be worth taking in. This leaves us with the question of what is worthy. Dr. Fuhrman makes the solid case that animal products are counterproductive to health and weight loss, so this program is vegan.

I knew I could do it, however I would face challenges. Leafy greens are to be the center of the diet, along with other vegetables. In the beginning, when you're first losing weight, there is to be limited starch. After an ideal weight has been reached then more starch can be added again.

The challenge would be obviously getting in the sheer amount of greens he calls for. I still can't do it, though I do get a lot of greens in. I'm sure I'd be losing more than the 3 lbs a week I'm losing if I could get in more greens. The more greens you eat, basically, the more weight you'll lose. Obviously this has its limits, however is the general idea. Another challenge would be my addiction to vegan cupcakes and all vegan bakery items. I'd eat those at least twice a week from my local vegan bakery. Yummy!!! It would be so tough to say no to that temptation. There are rules on ETL, and no refined sugar is one of them. Bye bye cupcakes except as a rare treat.

I started out losing 2 lbs a week. This was acceptable, however for all my effort I wanted better results. I wasn't exercising much though. The key would be exercise. Since adding exercise I've been dropping weight like crazy!!! I've dropped 4 lbs this week!!!

I've gone from 161 and a size 12 to 147 and a size 8/10 (depends on the maker) since April 25th when I started earnestly and seriously on ETL. I'm not playing. This isn't a joke. I'm totally serious, and I'm getting the results I need to get in order to reach goal as soon as possible. My goal is 130 and a size 6, however I may adjust that downward to a goal of 120 and a size 4. My husband doesn't want me to adjust it down, but hey, it's my body and the last time I checked I could be any weight I want to be. I also highly doubt that 10 lbs would matter so much to him that he'd think I'm unattractive or something. Heck, he might like it! I don't care much though. I want to be as close to what Dr. Fuhrman (guy who invented ETL) says my ideal weight should be, and that's 111 for my height- I'm 5'4. I think that 111 is a bit on the low side, so will be content with 120.

I'm dropping weight like crazy, and this is a beautiful thing. I'm not doing any strange exercises or eating weird diet foods. I'm eating clean, natural foods, mainly leafy greens that none of the cashiers at the store can recognize (one called escarole lettuce when she rang it! Ha!). I eat a lot of vegetables and about 4 fruits a day. That's it. I eat as much or as little as my appetite dictates. Usually I don't eat a lot. That's because I'm not hungry, not because of any strange diet rules. When I eat I eat, and when I'm not hungry I don't eat. I'm going with my body's natural signals.

As far as exercise goes, I do workout videos (I like the 30-Day Shred a lot), and I walk rather far distances at rather fast speeds (well far for me and fast for me). I walk with my husband who is 6'1 and have to keep up with him as well as talk to him, so it gives me a good workout. I really have to work it to keep up. We walk for at least 4 miles. Tomorrow we may walk 6 if I'm feeling up to it (I need to be in shape enough, and after being lazy all winter I need to step it up and see what my body can do. I should have a bus pass ready in case I can't do it! LOL!).

I'm going to start HIIT today at the local track. I don't plan on having a long session. I'll see what my body can do.

What I'm trying to say is that my exercises aren't out there; I'm not an Olympic athlete by any means. I'm a regular person trying to get into better shape.

I'm also bipolar, which means that I have some meds working against my weight loss efforts. I take a rather high dose of Lithium, and a med called Saphris, both of which are known for weight gain. I'm working against the current with these meds trying to make me gain weight. They try to increase my appetite. I keep my appetite down with ETL.

All in all, it's the ETL keeping down my appetite and causing the weight loss with maximum nutrition. I feel better than ever! I don't have health problems except for being bipolar, which cannot be corrected with nutrition.

Despite taking some powerful appetite-stimulating meds and not being a world class athlete, I'm losing 4 lbs/week (well, did this week).

I highly recommend ETL as a lifestyle. It's not just a diet. If you diet, then the weight will come back. You need to make a forever change. People think that they're giving up something when they go vegan. This isn't the case. I've opened up and gained more than I ever thought possible by being vegan. That in itself is a lifestyle; veganism is its own culture.

Tell me if you've tried ETL or if you're interested. I'd love to hear from you!!!