End of Week 7: Reclaiming My Health!

My weight stayed almost the same, although when I weighed myself in the middle of the week, I was two pounds lighter. My husband gained one and a half pounds. He’s feeling a bit puffed up with fluid retention which he tends to get after travel. He just got back from a week-long business trip involving numerous flights. In one of the places he visited, he had a difficult time following a plant-based diet. Although he ordered carefully at restaurants, he thinks he ate some meals that had butter and cheese in them. I can’t believe these ingredients were not disclosed on the menu.

At the doctor’s office this week, it felt great to be reclaiming my health. When the medical assistant updated the list of medicines I'm on, I was so pleased to inform her that I’m no longer taking most of them, at least the supplements. And when I filled out that dreaded symptoms sheet that I have to fill each time, I had few symptoms to report (and those were probably medication related). When the nurse checked my blood pressure, it was a little lower than last month. I have a very low BP to begin with and am just concerned that it doesn't go down too much. But how much is too low? As for my thyroid, it was elevated as I suspected. My doctor explained that it’s probably because I’m eating more cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and kale). This is good news because it means my body has started producing more of its own hormone! Then I told my doctor about my goal of coming off all medications. She said I could start by lowering my thyroid dose to a quarter. She also said it would be okay to discontinue another hormone that wasn’t helping me anyway. I was ecstatic! I'll make sure I monitor any changes carefully and have my thyroid re-checked in five weeks.

Well it’s been four days since cutting back on these meds and I’m already finding that my body aches have increased, my hair is shedding a little and I still can’t sleep. Hopefully these symptoms will subside as the excess hormones leave my body. Other than that, I’m feeling really great! I’m also making further changes to how I eat.

A friend recommended that we watch the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead because it shows a diet with similar health benefits to ours. So we watched this movie on Netflix and found it truly inspiring. It’s about an Australian man who does a road trip across America, surviving on nothing but fresh fruit and vegetable juice for 60 days. He starts off sick and morbidly obese, but by the end of the film we see his amazing transformation. Along the way, he talks to many interesting characters and draws a following of people who are inspired to do the same.

We too were inspired, not to do a 60 day juice fast, but to incorporate freshly squeezed juice into our own regimen. First my husband did some extensive research and benchmarked different juicers. It was surprising how many types there are: masticating, centrifugal and triturating (twin gear). After much deliberation, we finally bought a vertical masticating type that can effectively handle leafy greens as well.

We’re off to Costco now to stock up on fruits and veggies to juice. And while we're there, I won’t be buying any Halloween candy as I usually do at this time of year. Now that my kids are at college and I’m on this diet, I will no longer be taking part in the candy giving tradition of Halloween. Although my cravings have subsided, I still don’t trust myself around leftover chocolate!

COMMENTS   I would love to get comments from my blog readers, but a number of you are having difficulty registering. So I have changed the settings to let people comment without having to register. Here are instructions on how to do so:

1. Below the blog post you just read will be a gray bar with the word "comments' written on it in small letters (on mine it is written in green). If you click on that, it will open a "post a comment" box.
2. Write your comment in that box. 
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4. Finally, click on where it says "post comment" just below.
5. You should see your comment online now! Thanks!

End of Week 6: Having a Bad Week!

My husband was away again for part of the week. But he diligently kept to a plant-based diet and lost another half a pound, as did I.

On Tuesday we woke up to a power outage because of a storm. Amazing how much we depend on power; I kept forgetting I didn’t have any! First I tried to put my kettle on to make coffee and realized I couldn’t. Then I tried to use my blender to liquidize some ingredients I was using for a dahl and couldn’t.  Neither could I use my slow cooker to make it in! It’s not till we lose something that we really appreciate it.

Last Saturday we were invited to two parties in one night, and decided to go to both! The first one was a karaoke party at which there would be pizza. So we had dinner at Chipotle before getting there. I had a vegetarian bowl with black beans, lettuce, guacamole, brown rice, onions, peppers, hot sauce, and corn. My husband had the same, only in a burrito. The next party was a farewell for a friend who was leaving the country.  For that one, everyone was asked to bring a favorite snack to share. This suited our diet really well and we took hummus and pita bread. I was surprised at how full we still were because we hardly touched the snacks. We had a really late night and when we got home, I couldn’t sleep.

In the morning I woke up with pains in my joints as I get sometimes. Then I remembered that I ate peppers and tomatoes, inflammatory foods that I react to.  I was too tired and ill to cook that day, so I got my husband to make us a salad for dinner. The rest of the week, I continued to feel tired and to have trouble sleeping. When I tried to sleep, I was hyped up, as though I had consumed too much caffeine (which I hadn't). I'm also getting out of breath after my 20 minute walks. I’ve had these symptoms before, when my thyroid dose was too high. I wonder if this diet is helping my body produce more of its own hormones. At my last check-up, my thyroid levels were a little raised but my doctor made no changes to the prescription. I’m waiting for my current test results to find out what's going on. I’ll have to wait till next week because my doctor is out of town again. In the meantime, with her consent, I'm halving my thyroid dose because I can’t function like this.

Another change I experienced this week (and it might also be related to the thyroid) is that my cravings  have returned. I can’t understand it because I was doing so well at controlling them on this diet.  One day when I was craving cheese and knew I would be eating alone, I bought myself a soy cheese pizza (although I'm intolerant to soy). I planned on eating just half, but it was so yummy that I ate the whole lot!  I was surprised to find that I was still feeling hungry afterwards. The following day after dinner, I had a really strong craving for something sweet. Then I remembered the chocolates I found in the other room a few weeks ago, that my daughter had stashed away since Christmas. I should have just thrown them away! Suddenly, these year old, probably stale candies looked so appealing. But after eating them, I felt guilty and disgusted with myself. They didn’t even taste nice!

 I didn’t let that these setbacks affect me for too long. The following day at our health food store, I made better choices. I resisted the urge to buy vegan chocolates and other sugary snacks. Instead I bought some fresh fruit. However, I did buy some brown rice crackers and some organic, oil free, microwave popcorn. I know these are still processed foods, but it’s better than some snacks I can think of.

Well nobody’s perfect and we're going to slip up from time to time. We just have to do the best we can.

End of Week 5: Coming off Supplements and Meds?

I have given up taking our BP measurements on our home kit. It’s so frustrating because we have to keep taking readings until we get a consistent result. Instead, we’re going to get it checked by our doctor and look at changes over a longer period of time. As for our weight, we each lost about half a pound. My husband still hasn’t noticed any physical changes in himself as a result of the weight loss, although he’s noticing changes in me.

This week I only managed to go for a walk three out of the seven days. Every time I planned on going, it was pouring with rain. I usually walk with my dog Jasper, but he developed a limp after walking with us last Sunday. The vet thinks my dog could be developing arthritis. Jasper is finally better, although the weather isn’t. Well, I don’t want to keep making excuses for why I’m not exercising, so I’m going to start using the gym on really rainy days (which will be most days for the next several months!)

Other than returning to the gym, I have another goal I want to work on. I want to come off my prescription medications. I was inspired by that guy on the Forks Over Knives movie who was able to stop all his medications after starting this diet. I want to start with my thyroid medication.  I just had my thyroid  re-checked and when I get the result, I want to ask my doctor how to come off it. This diet has done more for my energy than any medication or supplement has ever done. But I don’t know if it is even possible to come off thyroid hormone. I've heard that our bodies stop producing our own thyroid after we start supplementing it. I would love to hear from anyone who has tried to come off their thyroid hormone.

I have already cut back on the supplements I was previously taking. After reading Dr. Campbell’s advice in The China Study, I am confident that I can get the nutrients my body needs from a whole foods, plant-based diet. As I mentioned before, the only nutrients that Dr. Campbell says we may have to supplement are B12 and vitamin D. These should be taken in the daily recommended doses and not in the mega doses that we tend to take.

According to the findings of a new study released on the news this week, supplements like iron, copper, folic acid and zinc can cause early death in some women. Here is a link to that news report. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44851929#44851929.

This week, I finally returned to teaching, at least as a tutor! It was great to be doing again what I do best, which is teaching students how to read and write. Right now, I’m working with adults with literacy problems, which is really rewarding. I love it! It's thanks to this diet that I have all this extra energy to be able to do this.

This diet is definitely improving my energy, mood, helping me lose weight and enabling me to be more productive!!!

Comments I would love to get some comments from my blog readers, but a number of you are having difficulty registering. So now I am letting people comment without having to register. Here are step by step instructions on how to do so:

1. Below the blog post you just read will be a gray bar with the word "comments' written on it in small letters (on mine it is written in green). If you click on that, it will open a "post a comment" box.
2. Write your comment in that box. 
3. Below that box it should say "comment as". Click on the drop down menu next to that to select whether you want to comment using an existing account like Google or if you want your name or  web address "name/url" to appear next to your comment. Or you can choose not be be identified at all by clicking on "anonymous".
4. Finally, click on where it says "post comment" just below.
5. You should see your comment online now! Thanks!

End of Week 4: Change Your Diet Before You Get Sick

Weight  This week, my husband lost just over half a pound. I also lost just over half a pound. In four weeks, he's lost over four pounds. and I've lost over five pounds. I still can’t believe how we’re losing weight without even trying! My husband hasn’t noticed any physical changes in himself as a result of this weight loss, but I'm noticing the fat disappearing off me. I have a waist and cheekbones again! 

Blood Pressure  My husband’s BP went up this week, the top number by seven and the bottom number by seven.  As for me, my top number went up by three and the bottom number went down by five. This is really weird! We don’t know how dependable these readings are because out BP monitor has been erratic and we're having to take a number of readings until we get a consistent result. On Monday, my husband has a doctor’s appointment and he'll  get a more accurate reading.

I've noticed a bit of a change from last week. I’m feeling quite hungry in the evening after dinner, I’m also waking up later than usual and having a few aches and pains. Is it because of the change in weather to cold temperatures and dreary, persistent rain? It wouldn’t surprise me because the long, dark, Portland winters really affect my health.

On a more positive note, when we put our bin outside on garbage day, we noticed how little garbage we're accumulating because we're not consuming any processed foods. It felt good to be helping the environment whilst also helping our health. Later, when I went grocery shopping, it also felt great to see all those fresh vegetables, fruits, whole foods, and legumes in my cart. It is so much better than feeling guilty or bad about putting items in there that we know we shouldn’t be eating.

I  bought some flaxseeds this week, to add to our cereal. This is to ensure that we get enough Omega 3 Fatty Acids. We’ve also been using a little avocado instead of oil for salad dressings and eating a few olives for healthy fat. When it comes to fats, the Forks Over Knives: Plant-Based Way to Health book advises us to eat coconut in moderation. So I’m thinking of switching from coconut milk to almond milk.

This week, we’ve been eating a lot of coconut as well as rice and potatoes because I’ve been trying some new Indian recipes. Some of these recipes are from a wonderful website I discovered called Show Me The Curry (see my website links). It has easy to use video recipes for Indian cooking, not all vegan though. The aromas in my kitchen were heavenly; fresh curry leaves, mustard seeds and fresh mint! It heightened the senses and brought about a whole new appreciation for food.

Many of these recipes could only be made with white rice, although this diet requires us to eat whole grains like brown rice. I plan on eating less white rice in future. As for the potatoes, I think they cause an inflammatory reaction in me and so I need to cut back on those too. Potatoes, tomatoes, eggplants (aubergines), peppers, and mushrooms are all “Nightshade” vegetables and are known to cause inflammation in some people. It’s a shame because these vegetables also have many health benefits.

A few days ago, when I phoned my friend in England to check up on her because she has breast cancer, she mentioned these inflammatory foods.  She told me about a book she’s reading called Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life by Dr David Servan-Shreiber. He had a brain tumor himself and devised a diet to try to combat it. She informed me that his anti- cancer diet avoids any kind of sugar and allows only natural sweeteners such as agave syrup. It requires patients to drink lots of green tea, eat whole grains, fruits and vegetables, but to avoid potatoes, other inflammatory foods and dairy products. It is similar to Dr Campbell’s diet, only that it allows the consumption of white meat. As a result of reading this, my friend is planning on changing her lifestyle, including her diet.

It’s sad that we usually don’t make changes to our diet until we get sick.

End of Week 3: Less Hunger, Less Cravings, Less Weight!

Melon and lettuce have been in the news this week for listeria outbreak. I have a melon in the fridge right now and don’t know if it’s safe to eat. There’s no label to show where it’s from, so I think I’ll skip it and eat an apple instead!

This week my blood pressure went down substantially; the top number decreased by 11 and the bottom number went down by two.  My husband’s blood pressure also went down; the top number decreased by three and the bottom number went down by seven. He also lost half a pound in weight and I lost three quarters of a pound. My husband did extremely well, considering he was away on business again for the entire week.

One undesirable change has been that my hair is getting dry and lifeless. Is it because I've reduced the oils in my diet?  I’ll have to make sure I'm eating enough plant-based fats, such as avocados and olives. Strangely enough, my skin feels softer, especially on my face. I asked my husband if he's experienced any changes and he thinks his fingernails are looking more pink. I noticed the same thing about my nails a few weeks ago! 

Another wonderful benefit of this diet is that my appetite has decreased! Usually I’m hungry all the time and crave foods like chocolate and cheese.  Although I’m eating a small piece of chocolate each day, I don’t have that out of control feeling around it. It's amazing that I still have that chocolate bar. As my family well knows, I usually devour chocolate the minute I see it and they have to hide all their candy from me!

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition by Julianna Hever, explains why people feel less hungry, have less cravings and lose weight easily on a plant-based diet.  A lot of this is to do with eating more fibre, which is bulky and keeps our bowels moving as they should. I've gained a wealth of information about plant-based nutrition from this book and will be using it to guide me throughout this dietary change. 

Wherever I go, I find myself promoting a plant-based diet.  I did this a few days ago, when I went out for lunch with a friend. We went to PF Chang's, where I ordered Singapore rice noodles with vegetables and my friend ordered a chicken dish. When she inquired into my diet, I told her how it can reverse or prevent diseases such as heart disease. It turns out her husband just had a heart attack this week! She appreciated the information I shared and told me she would buy a copy of The China Study as soon as she left the restaurant. By the time our food arrived, she wished she’d ordered a vegan meal! 

Lately, I’m having that effect on people who dine with me!

End of Week 2: So Many Wonderful Changes

I'm feeling powerful and more in control of my health than ever before. I can't believe that we've already completed two weeks on this diet! It's not been as difficult as I thought it would be. But for my husband it's been more challenging, because he's been away on a week long business trip. I'm really proud of him for working hard to stick with it using whatever food was available. He travels frequently, so I'm collecting tips from him that we can share with other travelers. You can go to that page by clicking on the tab above.

When we weighed ourselves this week, I had lost almost half a pound and my husband had lost two pounds. When we checked blood pressure, mine was more or less the same, whereas, his had gone up a bit. The top number went up by nine points and the bottom number by four points. Perhaps this is due to his travel. We also indulged in some fried, salty food (which we shouldn't have) the night before we took the measurements. So that might be a contributing factor as well. We'll look into this further.

Although I didn't lose much weight this week, I have this overall feeling of lightness and don't feel bloated as usual. I've also noticed that my belly fat is shrinking and I'm beginning to lose my love handles! How is all this happening and so fast? Usually it's difficult for me to lose any weight and right now I'm not even trying. I can't believe that I don't feel hungry between meals or crave anything. There was one day when I had more than my single piece of vegan chocolate and then I wanted more and more! But I'm finding that if I stick to just one piece, I don't have that craving. I've been drinking more water as I said I would and since the weather has been so great, I've started walking for 20 minutes each day. My husband did some walking too, during his business trip.

Most of this week I've been able to fall asleep easily and to wake up refreshed and vibrant. I've had more energy, mental clarity and have been more productive. Even my husband has noticed these changes in me and is loving it! He says I have a sparkle in my eyes. I think I also have a skip in my step! I'm smiling more and just feeling happy to be alive! This feeling of wellness is motivating me to keep going.

I would never have believed that food could do so much! I'm still not fully convinced. I keep wondering if I'm just feeling this way because of the wonderful weather we're having right now. Well, I'll  find out  soon enough, when the weather changes.

I'd love to hear from others on this food journey. What changes, if any, have you noticed?

End of Week 1: Amazing Changes in Weight and Blood Pressure!

As I said in my previous post, I'll now be switching from daily to weekly posts to share the outcome of the previous week.

This morning, I was excited about taking our weight and blood pressure measurements to see if anything had changed. Well, we were quite surprised at the outcome because we hadn't expected much change yet.

My weight went down by almost three and a half pounds this week! I have no idea how, because I was eating more than enough food and not feeling deprived. My husband on the other hand had no change in weight.

As for the blood pressure, measurements are written as a ratio such as 117/76 mm HG (millimeters of mercury). The top , larger number is called the Systolic and the bottom, smaller number is the Diastolic.

Both my top and bottom numbers more or less stayed the same. Whereas, for my husband, the top number went down by about 15 and the bottom number went down by eight. It really surprised him that the diet could do this, and so quickly.

After a quick breakfast, we went off to Vegfest at the Convention Center. We had a great time sampling all the yummy vegan foods and collecting coupons for products from area stores. My husband was so happy to discover some great tasting ice creams, while I was happy to find my vegan chocolate! We were also looking forward to hearing one of the guest speakers, but the  room was already full and we watched an entertaining cooking demonstration instead.

Tonight, we're going to a South Indian restaurant to have Masala Dosas (crispy, rice/lentil crepes stuffed with spicy potatoes and served with coconut chutney and Sambhar, a tangy, vegetable curry made from lentils). It's my husband's favorite food!

I think I'm going to cook more of our favorite Indian foods for a while, because they work so well for a plant-based diet.