Two Weeks Plant Based and 7.6 pounds gone

Weight: 297.6 (7.6 pounds from start at 305.2)

Blood Pressure: 139/93

So, in my first two weeks I have lost 7.6 pounds by going plant based. I need to celebrate that as I am trying to wither my lipid-filled water balloons to nothing! D. Thea Baldrick, otherwise known as Denise to me, wrote in her “Fat-Cell 1: What is a Fat Cell” article that we are suffering from the medical condition known as Metabolic syndrome (being too fat for your own good as she says). I need Denise to keep explaining the science to help me move forward.

And I’m thrilled with losing 7.6 pounds in 2 weeks! Because I need to be honest….I am not eating well. I am not following the rules of McDougall or Fuhrman or Esselstyn or Campbell or Bulsiewicz. I am only eating mostly plant based and not enough nutrition. As Furhman says in his book, The End of Dieting (How to Live for Life), on page 36:

“The Three irrefutable facts about health and foods are these:

1. Vegetables, beans, seeds, fruits and nuts are good for you.
2. Excessive amounts of meat or animal products cause disease.
3. Eliminating refined carbohydrates will aid in sustainable weight loss and overall health.”

I agree with all of those and I’m trying. But, I have not had his G-Bombs daily or hardly any greens whatsoever! Maybe trying to do this wasn’t a great idea at the beginning of the school year, but I must be doing something correctly as I am losing weight. And I can’t keep putting the change of diet off until I have a so-called “perfect” moment. Telling myself that I will do something tomorrow is going to keep me in this rut of overweight misery for forever! I spent the summer saying, “I’ll start when I finish doing….” and I could put almost anything in that spot to postpone eating correctly and exercising.

And we all have difficult lives. I live with a woman that has Alzheimers - my mother. And sometimes it is horrible because I’m the only one she remembers. And with school having started I have her sitting there waiting for me - just waiting when I walk through the door. I’m never alone until bedtime. I am an introvert that has to find a way to live with my situation and it isn’t going to get better. So, I decided two weeks ago that getting on here and being honest and TRYING to eat better was something I had to start no matter what.

And here is a secret - after two weeks of eating vegan/plant-based, I no longer am taking 15-20 antacids daily! Also I no longer have indigestion so badly that I am miserable all night long. Sometimes it was so bad that I had to sleep in a chair so I didn’t get so sick from the acid. For the last two weeks I haven’t needed a chair or 15-20 antacids! That is a huge plus for me! THAT IS A HUGE step forward! And every step I made towards meeting my goals will help me with other health issues that have been plaguing me!

The other thing I stopped doing was weighing myself daily. Daily was sending me into a “stop-eating” mentality so that each day I would lose. And the point of eating plant-based is that you can eat until you are full! I actually eat until full and am still losing weight!

How I am doing on my list of Rules:

1. Plant Based mostly on McDougall but using G-Bombs and F-Goals to help maintain the correct daily nutrition

I’m plant based but I have not gotten all my greens, berries, onions, mushrooms, beans or seeds each day. I want to try one week where I eat all of those each day! I know it is so hard to maintain that! It was easier when I made the rice and bean salad last week. I need another salad on Sunday this week to eat all week and I’ll add purple cabbage to get some cruciferous vegetables and maybe I’ll serve it on at least 1 cup of greens! I know I should make it now but I’m going out of town to visit my father on Friday so it would just go bad!

2. Use my canned foods and easy recipes to make it WORK!

I’m still using my salsa and making recipes with that. I am also making my own fat-free hummus again from my Instant-Hummus in a Jar that I make and keep on my canning shelves. It is from the “Not Your Mama’s Canning Book” by Rebecca Lindamood. You literally just add it to a food processor - it needs a bit of tahini and I like to add a few whole olives for a bit of olive oil taste. You can also add more garlic (although that is in the jar too).

3. Will not spend an entire day during the school year on preparation unless it is a canning day (in autumn I do sugar-free applesauce, marmalades, stock, etc)

I have not done this! But, my daughter is making fat-free vegan oatmeal raisin cookies and wherever it asks for oil or eggs she uses our home-made sugar-free canned applesauce. I will be making applesauce again soon.

4. Exercise twice a day (will start small and work up to 15 in am, 30 in pm) with allowed one day off a week

Not once this last week and I don’t think this next week is going very well. On Wednesday (tomorrow) I am at least going to do some dancing using gamification - I have Just Dance for my Nintendo Switch and I pay for all of the year’s music. That WILL BE A START!

5. Once a week - allowed one meal with vegan substitutes because I don’t want this to be so strict I quit.

No vegan substitute foods but vegan French fries - so I guess I will count that.

6. 10 meals during the year can be “specials” - off plan BUT only 10 meals. And I’ll report them to you.

None yet.

7. Every Tuesday I will submit my weekly article to VOCAL which should show up by Thursday.

I have been getting this done so that is something and I am still trying. One of the articles on Vocal that I read this week by Haley Rymel entitled “How ‘5% Better’ Has Changed My Life” is helping me to not get discouraged that I’m not being perfect in my quest and that at least I am 5% better if not more than that from the SAD (Standard American Diet) that was killing me before! And she talks about a meditation podcast that helps her and I have been trying to meditate at night as my relaxation before bed.

8. Every Friday I will submit recipes that are easy to prepare that are plant based in a second article.

I have the salsa article finished. I just need to get the pictures in it. I will post it this Thursday! And I will try to not fail again!

Oh and one more thing… I am under 300 pounds and my goal is now only 100 pounds away! I just want to be under 200 pounds! Maybe after I get there I will need to revise my goal, but I’m no longer in the 300 club, but the 200 club. It is a step in the right direction no matter how many faults I currently see in my progression.