Hi Guys! A great question came into my e-mail yesterday about my dietary experiment of eating high protein and high fat plant based foods while on Bright Line Eating. I just felt like I needed to share my thoughts and experiences with all of you on this subject. Here’s the question:
Hi Wendy,
Congrats on the beautiful new blog. I have a question for you. Thanks to your posts, I am on day 15 of BLE. I was just wondering what you usually eat for your protein? I find myself staying away from tofu and hummus because of the fat content (I still hear Dr. Mcdougall/AJ in my head). That pretty much leaves me at beans for every meal. My friend suggested that I check out products at a website similar to https://xwerks.com/products/xwerks-grow if I was getting bored of beans but we will have to wait and see if it’s for me. Have you been eating the fat portion and the higher fat proteins and still losing weight?
Thanks,
Nicki
Hi Nicki,


- It’s the plan that promotes eating some healthy fat with each meal. I find that my memory isn’t compromised when I am eating fat the way that it was when I was on a no added fat plant-based diet. I also tend to defer to the recent studies that were done on the long-term health benefits of including soy (tofu, tempeh, etc.), avocado, nuts and seeds in your diet, which Dr. Greger talks about extensively on the Nutrition Facts website.
- It’s the plan that I find to be the most supportive of long-term peace with food than I have ever discovered.
- It’s the plan that allows for the kind of life experiences that I personally value, which includes eating in restaurants at least once a week without guilt.
- It’s the plan that I trust, based on the results that I see and the scientific study that is being conducted as to the unusual efficacy of the program within the sustainable weight loss world.
- It’s the community that I feel is most supportive of me developing a healthy and loving relationship with food and more importantly, with myself, at this point in my life.
Whoa! I think you covered it all! Thanks so much Wendy!
I feel okay adding in the whole food fats due to the low calorie food plan. I think adding in the liquid processed oils would be wrong a la Esselstyn, creating heath problems with the endothelial cells and heart health.
As always, your insights and knowledge are so very helpful to those of us going down this path. I also had concerns about my brain health when omitting healthy fats for weight loss.
Beautifully and clearly written. I appreciate your honesty and the depth of your sharing. Reading about your experience is extremely helpful for me. Thank you for all of the time you give to responding to questions with such depth and transparency. Many blessings to unstoppable you! I ? You!!
Are you eating any grains, Ezekiel bread, sweet potato etc with this way of eating? Thanks.
Wendy,
What about a recipe that calls for 1/2 cashews but is a dressing that needs creaminess? What about lite or full fat coconut milk? I have always avoided these before but tried one with cashews and it made a huge difference in taste.
Thanks Wendy! I’ve been hoping you would post on this topic and share your progress with BLE to date. I did the McDougall/AJ/Esselstyn approach for two years and all of my health issues dissappeared. All of them. I’ve been dismissed as a heart patient from the cardiologist and my gynecologist was happy to report that surgery to correct fibroid issues no longer was her recommendations. There were more health issues to disappeared but these weren the two biggies. For all this, I”m truly grateful. The one thing that hasn’t dissappeared is my weight which has always been a problem for me. So based on your blogging/feedback…I too started BLE and so far so good! I’m losing weight for the first time in 10 years and find the program shockingly easy to follow. I would love to see what recipes you’ve come up with if you would share since I’ve always been a fan of your recipes.
Thank you for everything you do here. I know this is part of your journey, but I also hope you know how much you help and inspire others! Truly!
Great post!!
This is super helpful. Guilt around food stinks! Good to know why BLE is helpful with this & that a little fat can be ok!
Wendy,
Totally agree with everything you said – actually was coming here to say thanks for mentioned BLE in a post about a month ago. I was looking for information on the program and your blog came up in my search…turns out I had found you about a year ago when I was at that time searching up UWL which I just could not connect with – no disrespect just wasn’t for me. I am absolutely in love with BLE – and who doesn’t adore SPT? Four weeks into bootcamp and have released 25 pounds – crazy I know. I actually am eating cashews and sunflower seeds as my lunch and dinner fats and am having no issues with losing. I won’t use them as protein because 2oz is definitely too many nuts but for me due to calorie density but the .5 as a fat serving is working out well. Again, thanks for posting about BLE and see you in Bright Lifers (well when they let me join!!!).
Your authentic honesty overwhelms me. Thank you, I am on the same path. Fats in healthy whole plants rule for us mentally and emotionally in my personal experience. Thank you for chatting with me that day I called you about mussar. Stay strong and learning on your journey to self knowledge. Also enjoyed all your podcasts. You seem teach the person you are interviewing as much as they teach us.? Warmly, Karin M. PS. Perhaps this can be a personal email to you
I just signed up for the boot camp and feel very hungry in between meals. What do you eat for breakfast? I would love to hear suggestions.
Thank you for posting!
Day One, breakfast, organic bulk oatmeal with salba chia seed and great lakes powdered bone broth and a dash of 1% milk, lunch, big cut of lettuce, half an avocado, and some beans, dinner, small piece of salmon, half a baked potato with BUTTER, half a papaya.
Day Two-2 fried or scrambled eggs cooked in BUTTER, handful of grapes or blueberries, half cup of milk. lunch, low sodium vegetable soup, big hunk of lettuce, cup of herbal tea no sugar. dinner, one cooked frozen hamburger patty, one cup of vegetarian stir fry rice, and one can all organic Phillippines Hawaiian Pineapple Juice from Trader Joes.
The bad sugar headaches go away after about 4 days. I have been on the BLE for 10 days and have lost 10 pounds already. The Hardest part is watching the clock until my next meal, so have some distractions available and drink LOTS of water. I do a short 6 minute cardio routine and stretches. This diet works as long as you don’t backslide into just sneaking a snack in between.
For beginners, they should be aware that your menu is incorrect for weight loss (as written in the Bright Line Eating book by Susan Pierce Thompson). Your day 1 menu has a carb at dinner (that is not allowed while on the weight loss plan). Potatoes, rice and grains can only be eaten at breakfast while in weight loss mode.
Your day 2 lunch has 1 1/2 proteins instead of just 1 (2 eggs is a protein serving, adding the milk is another 1/2 serving). Your dinner has a grain serving (potatoes are considered a grain on BLE and not allowed for dinner or lunch until maintenance).
Just noticed the juice as well. No juice is allowed at any meal- too much sugar 🙁
I am considering doing BLE but having such a crisis over it! I’m currently doing a lot of work to shift my thoughts to those that support weight loss & dealing with emotional eating. One of the things I’ve promised myself is that I won’t do a diet – and BLE feels so restricted (i.e. Is it really sustainable in the long term?). Another concern I had is that i looove cooking & enjoying all my cookbooks. Do I have to give those up and use only BLE cookbooks and recipes once I start? Thanks for any advice!