Triglyceride Diet - or - how I'll lose 30 pounds in April....

Im on day 8 of the advocare 24 day cleanse. So far ive lost 10 pounds, all around my midsection. I was a terrible eater, fast food fwice a day, lots of soda and beer, nothing healthy ever. 

Now, im eating three good meals a day with a snack in between, and i am never hungry and i feel like superman already. My wife already had to buy new jeans, and that new pair is starting to fall off as well. Im gonna have to add a notch on my belt, or buy a new one. 

Its all about lean protein, lots of veggies, fruit, and complex carbs. I switched out bread for quinoa, stuff like that. instead of two sausage biscuits from hardees for breakfast, now i have two eggs and some sort of fruit. Snack on things like carrots and hummus, handful of grapes with some cantoloupe, good stuff. 

Lots of exercise. I worked out a lot before, so i just continue my normal routine. Lots of running and Lifting. 

@milesvdustin
How much $$ for the 24 day cleanse advocare products? What all do you buy?

This may be an odd suggestion but think about picking up a mini. Smaller egg might just equal smaller cooks. You won't feel guilty about burning a handful of lump to make a meal either. That way you can still fulfill your wish to egg and you can only fit so much on the lil guy. 

Good going or should I say "good losing"!  

I'm in an odd church where we eat vegan about half the year (most Wednesdays and Fridays, plus 4 times a year of a few weeks, Lent being the longest and most strict), and I've gotten to really enjoy vegan food.  Here's one of my very favorite recipes, from "Moosewood Cooks at Home."  I love the combination of sweet spices in a savory dish.

Tunisian Vegetable Stew

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced onions 
2 tablespoons olive oil 
3 cups thinly sliced cabbage 
dash of salt 
1 large green bell pepper cut into thin strips 
2 teaspoons ground coriander 
1/2 teaspoon turmeric 
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste) 
3 cups undrained canned tomatoes chopped (28-ounce can) 
1 1/2 cups drained cooked chick peas (16-ounce can) 
1/3 cup currants or raisins
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 
salt to taste 
toasted slivered almonds (optional) 

In a large skillet, sauté the onions in the olive oil for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the cabbage, sprinkle with salt, and continue to sauté for at least 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Add the bell pepper, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, and cayenne to the skillet and sauté for another minute or so. 

Stir in the tomatoes, chick peas, and currants or raisins, and simmer, covered, for about 13 minutes, until the vegetables are just tender. 

Add the lemon juice and salt to taste.

Top with toasted almonds if you like. Serve with Couscous.  The original recipe also wants crumbled feta cheese on top, but I honestly didn't think it was an improvement when I tried it once, and cheese adds a little fat and a little cholesterol.

Diet has been scientifically proven to stop heart disease and related cardiovascular damage. While lots of studies suggest that diet affects only about 20% in variability of cardiovascular outcomes, it is because very few studies examine the effects of diets with total fat intake below 20%-30% of calories. The positive effect of diet on cardiovascular outcomes only appears when total fat intake falls to something closer to 12% or less of total calories. In other words, this change can definitely work for you, but you have to go 'all in' for it to do so. There is also a big difference between diet for long-term health and diet for weight loss (the two are not at all the same).

For inspiration, you might enjoy reading The China Study by Colin Campbell, and Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell Esselstyn.

A great way to reduce the fat intake of your food is to simply not put it in. Fry food in water rather than olive oil, add tomato paste rather than oil to recipes, and use apple sauce rather than oil in baking. All these tricks work well. A tablespoon of olive oil is the equivalent to 20-40 olives. So just add the olives to what you are making.

A couple of websites that embrace this type of eating are here:

Forks over Knives: this movement was started by Caldwell Esselstyn's son.
http://www.forksoverknives.com/

Try the hearty nachos recipe and the lentil chili from here to get a sense of what eating this way is like. http://www.forksoverknives.com/recipes-for-super-bowl-xlvi/

Another great resource is Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Post Punk Kitchen (just leave out the oil that she uses, because while she is vegan, she is not low fat:
http://www.theppk.com/recipes/

I've been eating a low-fat vegan diet for 4 years, and I've just begun to blog my favourite bbq recipes on the Egg here: https://plantbasedbbq.wordpress.com/

Good luck!