End of Week 10: I Reached My Goal Weight!

It's the end of week 10 and I've finally reached my goal weight! I lost almost one and a half pounds this week! When I started this plant-based diet I did it for the overall health benefits and so this weight loss is an added bonus! I have always had trouble losing weight and at one time I even joined Weight Watchers in a desperate attempt to lose the stubborn 15 lbs that I could not shed even through vigorous exercise at the gym. The goal weight I just achieved is one that Weight Watchers helped me set for myself all those years ago. I reached it once, but could never do it again. What's wonderful is that this time I've not had to restrict how much I eat. No counting calories or points, I just eat until I'm full!

As for my husband, his weight has stayed the same this week. He usually loses weight more easily than I do, but I suspect he's not consuming enough calories. He has only freshly squeezed juice for breakfast, fruit for lunch and then a regular evening meal. I remember being told at Weight Watchers that if  you don't eat enough, you will have trouble losing weight because your body thinks it's in starvation mode and conserves fat for future use. Also the doctors from the Forks Over Knives documentary inform us that we will have to eat more on a plant-based diet in order to consume enough calories. My mom was happy to hear that when she started this diet last week!

At the start of our plant-based journey I said we would be trying this diet for 10 weeks, until Thanksgiving, but because of all the health benefits we're experiencing we've decided to continue it. It will be interesting to see how we get through Thanksgiving as well as a wedding that we're going to this week. In my next blog post, I'll let you know how we do.

It's the first time I'm having to think differently about what to serve for Thanksgiving and it might be the same for you too. Are you struggling with what to cook for Thanksgiving? If you need some ideas, here's  a video of the  plant-based Thanksgiving meal prep with Julieanna Hever. You can watch it at https://www.facebook.com/forksoverknives?sk=app_142371818162. In a few days, the video will be removed from Livestream and uploaded to the Fork Over KnivesYouTube channel. If you have trouble accessing the video, the recipes are posted at http://www.forksoverknives.com/vegan-thanksgiving-recipes/.

Happy Thanksgiving!

End of Week 9: Inspiring Others to Change Their Life.

I still feel great and have lots of energy, vitality and no pains, although I continue to experience some adverse reactions since reducing my thyroid and stopping two other hormones. My hair is shedding  and it takes a while for me to kick into gear in the morning. I’ve also been feeling really cold. I'm probably catching a cold because my husband has one.

As for  my weight, I was surprised that it stayed the same, even though I have been eating a lot more. What I found amazing is that I have gone down one clothing size! My husband also had some success this week and lost one and a half pounds. I think having only freshly squeezed juice for breakfast might have something to do with it! 

We are accumulating so much pulp from this juicing that I have had to find a way to use it.  Now I give a little to our dog and use some to make bean burgers. It's really easy, I just add a cup of brown rice (it comes frozen and pre-cooked at Trader Joe's), a can of black beans that I liquidize and a packet of taco mix (again I use the Trader Joe's one). Then I make this into patties and broil (grill) on high. This way we take in more fiber from the fruit and vegetables that we juice.

My husband is so into this juicing that last week-end he planned on doing a juice fast. He even took his own juice to the party we went to. But when we got there, he abandoned the plan, at least for the evening, because there were many yummy plant-based foods that we could eat. But I found it hard to resist some English chocolates that I hadn’t seen in years. There was no escaping them because there was a tin of Quality Street at either end of the table and I found myself looking longingly at them, even choosing which one I would eat. But I decided not to have one, because I can’t just stop at one. Instead, I ate some delicious vegan pasties. The same thing happened to me at Costco. They were offering samples of European chocolate cookies and other chocolate treats. But when I asked myself if I really wanted them, the answer was “no”. I was so proud of myself for resisting them and sampled some dried figs instead!

I wish everyone could feel as great as I am feeling and that's why I continue to promote this diet. Sometimes, the benefits of this lifestyle speak for themselves, such as when my dentist noticed that I have a spark in my eyes and that I seem more alive. My family has even noticed that I sound different on the phone, much happier and healthier. After speaking to me today, my dad was so inspired that he decided to start this diet with my mum. Our friends who invited us to the party were also impressed at how well we are doing that they finally took the plunge and started a plant-based diet.

It feels great to be inspiring others to change their life!

End of Week 8: Harnessing the Power of Fruits and Vegetables

This week we each lost half a pound in weight. So far I have lost about seven pounds and my husband has lost about six and a half pounds. This is amazing because we are eating until we are full and don’t feel at all deprived. My husband had to travel again this week for three days. This time he was not as prepared as he usually is with taking along back-up meals. So when he couldn’t find suitable food, he ended up skipping a few meals. Other than that, he is staying on track.

This week he started using our new juicing machine and squeezes fresh juice every day for breakfast. He uses greens such as collard, kale, spinach, parsley and lettuce mixed with celery, cucumber, carrots, apples and lemons. I prefer more fruit in my juice and so I use two apples or an apple, a pear, some parsley, cucumber, celery and a tiny bit of spinach. I’m trying to cut back on cruciferous vegetables because I’m still trying to get my thyroid level down. 

My husband has found that the fresh juice gives him an energy boost in the morning and a feeling of well being throughout the day. This is how I have felt since the start of our plant-based diet. But my husband didn’t experience these benefits until now, because he wasn’t eating enough fruits and vegetables. Now he is feeling so great that he’s decided to go on a juice fast for the whole week-end. This is going to be a challenge, especially today because we have a party to go to. Luckily it’s a pot luck! I’m going to take along a vegetable tray with hummus so that my husband has something to munch on if he gets hungry.

Another benefit I have experienced on this diet is that I am getting so many compliments on my appearance. People keep telling me I look great and that I look younger than my age. I haven’t had these compliments in years, at least not from complete strangers! Then when I went clothes shopping yesterday (which I haven’t done for a while), I was so pleased at how good things looked on me. With all the benefits I am getting from a plant-based diet, it’s easy to stay motivated.

I also stay motivated by keeping informed about plant-based nutrition. I am currently reading the Engine 2 Diet by Rip Eppelstein who is the firefighter featured in the Forks Over Knives movie. We also watched a video clip by Dr. Matt Lederman and Dr Alona Pulde, the two doctors in the movie. They did an excellent livestream in which they took questions from viewers (see my links).

Well I’d better get going now and chop vegetables for the party!