Carla's Story

I began the six week challenge as an experiment. Mostly I was curious to see if I could get rid of my pesky cravings for sweets and refined products. I've been a vegan for about fifteen years, but my diet consisted of plenty of refined products, even though my meal mantra was grains, greens and beans. My method was to eat the stuff that was good for me first so I could get to the stuff I really liked (desserts). Now I realize that I have to fill up on the stuff that's good for me so there's no room left for the stuff that isn't.

When I began this challenge I weighed 127 pounds. I am 5'4". I definitely ate a lot more (volume) during the challenge than I was eating before, to the point that I was uncomfortably full. That was because I was afraid if I wasn't really full, I would be very tempted to eat something not on the plan. I suppose the very large portions are the reason why I didn't lose more weight than I did, though I'm quite happy with the six pounds I lost, as that was not my primary goal.

By the end of the challenge, I found that a few more unexpected things happened. For some years before the challenge, I have been experiencing undiagnosed hip/hamstring pain. I am pleased to say that while it hasn't completely disappeared, it has substantially decreased. Also, I had a plantar wart on my foot that had recently been getting bigger and more annoying. That wart is completely gone, and a small wart on my finger is just about gone as well. One more pleasant surprise has been a boost in energy. As I'm in the throes of peri-menopause, I thought my need for extra sleep was related to that. But two weeks into the challenge, I was waking up rested and ready to go a full hour earlier than I had been before.

As for my curiosity about my cravings going away, to be honest, they didn't. However, they only occur when I see something, like at a party or walking by a bakery, or even walking through a grocery store. I don't know if that really even qualifies as a craving, but I do hope that someday those desires diminish. I think they will because any desire I used to have for meat has completely disappeared over the years.

Having completed the challenge, I continue to follow the Eat To Live guidelines because this way of eating really makes the most sense to me. Even if I can't see huge benefits on the outside, I feel confident that my body is much happier and healthier on the inside.