The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan That Lowers Cholesterol And Burns Away The Pounds (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
I got this book mostly for the recipes (which I haven't tried yet - I'm a plant-strong recipe hoarder). The book part itself is pretty decent, but there wasn't any new information for me there. Recommended for those who are just starting, or starting to consider, a plant-strong (vegan) diet. It's geared toward being twenty-eight days long, but I would hope that once one is on a vegan diet for almost a month, they'll be less inclined to go back to the SAD (Standard American Diet). The Engine 2 Diet is an incredibly easy read. The author RIP Esselytn is the son of Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn who is prolific in the whole plant food based front. Rip Esselstyn's message is simple: eat a whole food plant based diet and avoid free oils. The Engine 2 Diet starts out with RIP(who is a fire fighter by profession) narrating a rather dramatic night where he accompanied his fire fighting colleagues to put out a fire and the life changing events that ensued. On that night RIP had an epiphany. His view of life changed. He no longer took anything for granted. Since the fire was a near death experience for his colleagues he started to think that if firefighters could teach people how to prevent fires then there would be less casualties. Similarly, when we eat bad food, they wage a constant fire in our bodies which lead to heart disease, cancer, obesity and Alzheimers disease. Statistics show that 1 out of every 3 people in America are Obese and 1 out of every 2 will die of heart disease. 'Heart disease is caused by a waxy fatty deposit that can build up in various places in the body and inside of the arteries.' And more than 50% of heart attacks result in instant death. Further to that, Alzheimers disease can also be reversed or prevented entirely by eliminating animal products especially beef. To paraphrase RIP, if you consume anything with a face, father or a mother you are compromising your health. RIP has taught a lot of people his way of eating. He initially started teaching a course to a few friends till he decided to pass on the information in a book. RIP succeeded in persuading his whole unit of firefighters(Engine 2) to eat a whole plant food diet. RIP developed two ways for interested parties to transition into the 2 Engine Diet. The first route is called the firefighter where you strip off the band aid and dig your heels into the diet with both guns blazing. The other way to transition is with what RIP calls the Fire Cadet which helps you transition into a whole food plant diet within a period of 4 weeks. The first week you will stay away from diary products and processed and refined foods. Followed by eliminating meat, eggs and fish in the second week. By the third you should have weaned yourself of all extracted oils, including olive oil. By the fourth week you should be perfecting the diet by adding a resounding amount of fresh fruits, whole grains, legumes, seeds and vegetables to your palette. When you are finally in full gear in the 2 Engine diet, people will offer you a few facts about food which you can ignore or engage them. Myth 1YOU CAN'T GET ENOUGH PROTEIN EATING A PLANT-BASED DIET.Actually you don't need to work to get the required amount of protein. Spinach is 51% protein; mushrooms, 35%; beans, 26%; oatmeal, 16%; corn, 12%. In fact what you should be worried about is consuming too much protein. When the body ingests a surplus of animal protein this leads to the bones producing a large amount of acid which in turn leads to Osteoporosis. When it comes to protein, less is more. Myth 2PLANT PROTEINS AREN'T COMPLETE PROTEINS.Plants contain both the essential and non essential amino acids which the body needs to regulate itself. Plant proteins are as complete as complete can be.Myth 3CARBOHYDRATES MAKE US FAT.Simple carbohydrates make you fat. Complex carbohydrates like whole grain bread, roots, legumes, vegetables and fruits provide energy the body needs without storing excess fat and leading to weight gain.Myth 4YOU CAN'T GET ENOUGH CALCIUM EATING A PLANT-BASED DIET.Countries with the most consumption of diary also have the highest rate of osteoporosis. A diverse plant-based diet is one of the best sources of calcium and lets you avoid all the harmful effects of diary.Myth 5YOU CAN'T GET ENOUGH FAT EATING A PLANT-BASED DIET.All plant foods contain fats. Strawberries, 5%; bell peppers, 6%; spinach, 11%; soybeans, 41%. Getting your fats from plants means you will be getting healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats as opposed to dangerous saturated.Myth 6YOU CAN'T BE A COMPETITIVE ATHLETE AND EAT PLANTS.Many athletes including Tony Gonzalez have made the switch to whole plant-based diets have reported incredible benefits to their career. Myth 7BY EATING ONLY PLANT-BASED FOODS, YOU'LL MISS KEY INGREDIENTS.The most nutrient dense foods on the planet are plants. You will be stock pilling away nutrients when you eat plant based foods.Myth 8IF EATING ONLY PLANT-BASED FOOD, YOUR ENERGY WILL BE LOW.When you eat a plant based diet, you will have so much energy that you won't even need coffee. You will wake up refreshed every morning( your energy will be more constant and consistent).Myth 9A PLANT-BASED DIET IS BAD FOR CHILDREN AND PREGNANT MOTHERS.RIP's wife eat a whole food plant diet all through her pregnancy and she had no morning sickness or complications. And her baby Kole weighed a healthy eight-pound, seven-ounce at birth.Myth 10EVERYONE NEEDS TO TAKE FISH OIL SUPPLEMENTS TO ENSURE THEY'RE GETTING ESSENTIAL OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDSFish oils have potentially harmful free radicals which can do a lot of damage to the body. Safe Omega 3 fatty acids can also be found in flaxseed meal, walnuts, soybeans and leafy greens. Myth 11REAL MEN DON'T EAT PLANTS.Cholesterol and fat in animal products which clog up the arteries and head to other parts of the body including the penis which can lead to impotence. Eating a whole plant-based diet is more effective than Viagra, Cialis or Levitra for men.Myth 12EATING PLANT-BASED FOODS IS JOYLESS.All tastes are acquired. It wouldn't be very long when you start on the E2 diet that the old things you used to eat will taste like wax to you. Now that you have enough rebuttals, you also need to know how to read labels. The ingredient list is just as useful as the nutritional chart. Generally ingredients are listed in order of proportion, with the highest proportion appearing at the front. Another helpful thing to watch for is sodium. Besides reading the labels, having a positive attitude is another important thing. One of the participants in RIP's program mentioned that it is imperative to your success to not make quitting a habit. He says that when he quits a race for instance, he is creating a window to be complacent in his next race. Push through things! In the event that you do slide of the hanger, don't beat yourself up. Just get back on the wagon sooner than later. Whether that be on the food wagon or the exercise wagon, because no matter how healthy you eat- you won't have optimum health without exercise. The last section of The Engine 2 diet includes recipes, cooking techniques, and tips on how to stock up your pantry. Naturally deep frying should be banished from your kitchen vocabulary as free oils are the devil on this diet. More favourable techniques are grilling, steaming and boiling. Also, RIP includes a lot of remarkable recipes which I am just itching to try like the Lemon cornmeal pancakes. With all these tips and skills at your disposal, all you need is a positive mental attitude and perhaps some support which you can get from the vegetarian/vegan community in your city or online. Go live long and prosper!
What do You think about The Engine 2 Diet: The Texas Firefighter's 28-Day Save-Your-Life Plan That Lowers Cholesterol And Burns Away The Pounds (2009)?
He opened my eyes to eating plant strong and using food as a tool to improve my health.
—ash
My second time reading this book very good book!!!!!
—Leah
Well written. Easy to read. Inspirational!
—tineeebooo
