Welcome Letter

Dear Whole Foods Market Engine 2 Group!

We officially start on January 23, 2012.  If you haven’t already done so, it’s time to grab an Engine 2 Diet book and peruse it, get rid of all the junk food in your kitchen, fill up your cupboards with healthy fare, and talk to loved ones about Engine 2 and ask for their support.  For some of you, this way of eating won’t be easy at first, but like anything worthwhile, the payoff is well worth the challenge.  We’re going to take back your health one meal and one day at a time!

The only things that EVER really keep us from achieving greatness are our own self-imposed limitations.  As Rip says “You can have radically insane health, but it’s up to you to make it happen.”  Stick with the program and 28 days from now you’ll look and feel better than you have in years and your new cholesterol numbers and lower weight will be tangible proof that you’re on your way to the best health of your adult life.
Rip created several lifelines to help ensure your success.

1)    www.Engine2diet.com
There are meal plans, recipes, grocery lists, forums, exercise info and snapshot weekly overviews.  Most importantly, I HIGHLY encourage each of you to keep a food log so you (or I) can review your data and give valuable feedback.

2)    http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/chapelhill/health-starts-here-at-chapel-hill/
This is our store’s Health Starts Here webpage.  I will be posting “recipe of the day” information here as well as information about the challenge and meetups.  This is also where you can find information about our Health Starts Here program that can support you beyond the 28 days of the challenge.  Also check out the Health Starts Here page on Whole Foods Market’s page www.wholefoodsmarket.com/healthstartshere (hint: this is where the Hempseed Apricot recipe came from).  This is also where you can check out the water sauté video (I know a lot of you had questions about that).

3)    http://www.facebook.com/#!/Engine2Diet
If you have not already done so join the Engine2Diet on facebook.  This is a great way to get further information as well as connect to other E2ers from all over.

4)    Fire Partners:
Pick another Whole Foodie participant to be your Engine 2 “fire-partner”.  This is someone with whom you’ll share your goals and health dreams – and you’ll encourage each other if the going gets tough.

5)    The Engine 2 Diet book:
Read the book so you’ll really understand why you want to eat the PlantStrong™ way.  The more you know the harder it will be to eat that cheese, chicken, olive oil, cake, soda, etc.  Read the section on attitude.  You’ll need a super-duper one to fend off the naysayers.  The book is available here in the store, for order online, and in digital format.

For further information check out these videos online:
-Engine 2 Diet channel on YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/user/Engine2Diet?blend=3&ob=video-mustangbase
-Bill Clinton’s interview with Wolf Blitzer about eating PlantStrong™
-Forks Over Knives featured on Dr. Oz
http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/diet-changes-lower-disease-risk-pt-1

Some useful online resources are:

For recipes and research:  http://drfuhrman.com , http://drmcdougall.com , http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/ , and there are so many more.  Get out there and explore, get educated and have fun!

For recipes:  http://fatfreevegan.com/  and http://vivelevegan.blogspot.com (some of these need tweaking to remove the oil and/or salt but she has some amazing recipes on here!)  Go nuts!  There are tons of vegan cookbooks, blogs, etc. out there.  Many of them are not oil-free but adapting them is often easier than you may think.  Share your successes with your fellow challenge members as well; I personally am always looking out for new recipes to add to my repertoire.

My hat goes off to each and every one of you.  Way to go for making this commitment to a better and healthier you!

Let’s get this PlantStrong journey started!!!
Jenn