a beginners journey
Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
I hope to use this blog to share my experiences with plant based eating and my experiences with sharing my ideas with others. I am a home health physical therapist in North Carolina. I work in an area that is very rural and not very progressive. I hope to spread the plant based life to my immediate area and help change some lives, including my own!
I work in home healthcare as a physical therapist. When the pandemic started and the states were shutting down, we were told to screen our patients and not go to homes if people had any symptoms. We were told not to report to work if we had any symptoms. We were told not to wear masks, even cloth masks unless we felt we needed to and then we could use our own. Eventually, due to the limit in PPE, we were given a few procedural/surgical masks and 1 N-95 mask. We had no gowns, minimal gloves, and no goggles or face shields. This was scary. We had no idea what or how contagious this disease was. I felt like the disease was everywhere and I was one wrong turn away from catching it and coming close to death. Patient’s were cancelling on us right and left asking us not to come to their homes. Our business dropped and I went from 6-8 patients a day to 1-2 patients a day and then down to 3-4 patients a day only 2-3 days a week. This is tough when you are only paid for the visits you do, which was the case in the company I was working for at the time. This drop was due to people’s fear of going to the hospital or their doctor which limited our referrals as we rely on these institutions to provide us with referrals. I made too much each week to qualify for unemployment benefits and I made too little to pay my bills. I was panicking and so were my other co-workers and this is when we were questioning whether or not we were really essential. Do people really need physical, occupational and speech therapy this badly? Why can’t our company just pay us to stay home to save us and our patients? What in the hell is going on??? Fortunately, this feeling faded and a new normal was established. We wear masks, face shields and gloves. We are not longer worried about PPE. We were gowns when it’s required and I don’t feel so scared anymore.
99% of our patients in home health care are high risk patients with them being 70+ and having multiple co-morbidities (obesity, diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, cancer, etc). Most of our patients do not leave the home and have not left except if absolutely necessary due to fear of contracting COVID. A lot of these folks would not even go to the hospital, even if it was an emergency, because they were more afraid of contracting COVID and dying. I have had patients comment on how important they feel it is for people to wear masks and stay home! They have family members that they will not allow to visit because they do not believe this disease is serious. They believe it’s just like the flu and they don’t need to wear a mask, this is a hoax made up by the democrats to ruin trumps re-election, this virus is going to go away when the election is over, this virus is not that contagious, they don’t want their rights violated by being forced to wear a mask, masks don’t work etc. These patients are alone, scared, and fearful of dying before they feel it’s their time. They DO NOT want this virus and DO NOT want anyone around them who could potentially expose them. They are locked up in skilled nursing, assisted living and independent living facilities and they are locked up in their homes. Is wearing a mask really that difficult if it means your loved one can actually leave their home?
Do masks really work? They aren’t perfect, but they reduce your risk…..
I am a healthcare worker. I wear a mask everywhere I go as it’s become a way of life. The falsehoods being spread my social media and radical news networks needs to stop. People need to listen to science and experts and stop listening to conspiracy theorists when it comes to health related information. People need to fact check their research and make sure it is from a reputable source and stop trusting these poor excuses for human beings. Think about someone else besides yourself for one minute. Talk to someone who has been in the hospital with COVID or a healthcare worker who has been on the front lines with these patients. Look at the comparison of FLU vs COVID 19. Understand that this is NOT the flu because we currently have a tested vaccine for the flu (which is still not always perfect and causes thousands of deaths a year). We are just now getting a vaccine for COVID. It’s going to take time to get enough people vaccinated to slow this down. Please, be mindful of others. The Flu and COVID traveling around together are not a good combination. Masks not only protect you from COVID, but they are a pretty solid defense against the FLU.
UPDATE: I recently blocked a comment by someone who posted a “scientific” link about why masks don’t work. Saying that places with high spread of COVID are very compliant with masks. However, the fine print at the bottom of this link says “the content of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statements in this article”. What peer reviewed, accurate scientific article/website says this?
Here are some links to scientifically backed articles on why masks work in conjunction with social distances and good hand hygiene. NOBODY is saying masks are the end all be all of stopping the spread of COVID-19. The only mask that can truly stop the spread of COVID 19 is a N95 that has been fit tested to you and allows zero particles in. However, as the image above shows, imagine if you are not wearing anything at all and you get coughed on by someone with COVID who also is not wearing anything. But if you are both wearing a mask, even if you’re not 6′ apart, you are safer than if you aren’t. If your not going to do it for yourself, STOP BEING SELFISH, then think about others! If you can’t be kind enough to protect others, then stay home!
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/more/masking-science-sars-cov2.html
What’s the deal with protein and plant based diets? The first thing people ask me when they find out I am on a plant based/veganish diet is, “But where do you get your protein?” Protein has been a touted nutrient since it’s discovery in the late 1800s. It was named protein after the greek word “Proteios” which means “of prime importance”. Of course, this became synonymous with animal meat consumption. Some speculate this was because eating animals might make people stronger, give them more endurance and agility. Others felt it was a way for humans to show their strength over animals. Protein has always been linked to animals products. It was discovered that as humans, we only need about 48.6 grams of protein a day (the USDA recommends 55G). People have always felt more was better and ate large amounts of protein. Protein was synonymous with wealth, prosperity and higher class whereas eating plants and bread meant you were poor and thus received less nutrients and less than the rich. No wonder the term “Fat cats” came about in the 1920’s and 30’s (Campbell, 2004 pg. 19-22). Proteins are made up of long chains of amino acids that our body breaks down to assist with body functions. There are 8 essential amino acids we need in our diet as our bodies cannot create them. All of these amino acids are present in plant food. Despite popular believe and even distinguished researchers false publications, all 8 essential amino acids are present in every plant food we eat, including Broccoli! I am going to put a chart at the bottom of this page from “The Starch Solutions” by John A McDougall, MD (2015 pg. 94-95) which shows the essential proteins and how many are recommended a day and how many are in plant foods. You don’t have to just eat beans and other legumes to get your proteins. As long as you are eating a variety of plant based foods, you will never go wrong (McDougall, 2012 p. 92-93). (Plant based: whole grains, vegetables and fruits, no processed foods, salt, sugar or oils)Dr. Greger has an app called the “Daily Dozen” which gives you a guide on ensuring you get all your essential nutrients in everyday. According to most researchers, the main supplementation that we need is vitamin D and vitamin B12. B12 is produced by bacteria which is present in meat, but not in plant foods. Some researchers claim you only need to take a B12 1x a week whereas others recommend taking it daily. I take a 5,000 mcg chewable tablet daily. Either way, you are not going to be so vitamin and nutrient deficient on a plant based diet that you feel drained. You actually will have more energy! So that is my research on protein from this morning. I will leave you with this final information from Dr. Greger. To prevent cancer, they recommend you eat whole grains and or legumes (beans, split peas, chickpeas, or lentils) with EVERY meal! Legume consumption is associated with a smaller waist line, lower blood pressure, decrease stroke risk, depression and colon cancer due to the vitamins present in these essential nutrients. Also, phytoestrogens in soy help prevent breast cancer and improve your cancer survival. (Greger, 2015 p.276-287).
References:
Campbell, T. Colin PHD, Campbell, Thomas M II MD (2016). “The China Study: Revised and Expanded Edition”. BenBella Book
Greger, Michael MD (2015). “How Not To Die”. Faltiron Books
McDougall, John A. (2012). “The Starch Solution”. Rodale(Chart below if from this book)
A huge weight was lifted once this election was over and our president-elect was announced. I was so excited that when we went over to a friends house for dinner, I had wine and pizza with cheese on it! WHAT??? Yeah, I haven’t had any dairy in almost an entire year and I chose to have some because I felt bad. I didn’t want to disappoint my hosts and felt the peer pressure of eating what everyone else was. Why this time? I don’t know, I guess it was all the excitement. I feel really guilty about it even though I didn’t initially become plant based because of the environment or to save the animals. I became plant based for my health! Should I feel bad? Probably not, what is a few ounces (Maybe 1 as I took the cheese off the second slice of pizza) of dairy going to do to me? Probably not much. I can tell you one thing, I did notice a change in how I felt the next day. First of all, the alcohol gave me a killer headache through the night and the next morning. I felt hung over and slept in about 2 hours past my usual time. That was with just 1 glass of wine. Secondly, I had bloating and gained about 3lbs overnight from the cheese and salt in the pizza. My body does not do well with cheese, salt, or anything out of the ordinary. I have been weighing daily since I started fasting. From the beginning of October until now I have lost about 14 lbs. When I ate that pizza, I had only lost about 9lbs. My body does not like change! I know this is probably true for a lot of us out there. You have 1 bad meal and you check the scale, 3-5lb weight gain is noted and we all give up and continue down that negative path. This time, however, I did not go back on the negative path. I hunkered down, got back to my fasting and the weight has started to come off again. I have lost back down to 2 lbs shy of my originally lowest weight in the past month in just 5 days. Phew! I say these things to encourage people. I have always been a negative Nelly when it comes to weight loss. “My body is different”, “My body just wants to hold on to fat”, “I will never lose weight if I keep eating this way”, “Why do I worry so much about food when it won’t make a difference in the end anyway?”. . . and the negative comments go on and on. The truth is, I never had anyone to show me the right way to eat. As I have posted before, my family was the typical American family on the SAD diet. As of today, I have gotten back on track, minus 1 or 2 days over my calorie count, but I have no had any animal products and I don’t plan to ever again!
I have had a negative relationship with food for as long as I can remember. Food has always been the highlight of my life, a way to celebrate, and a way to try to make me feel better. Someone graduates, let’s get some food. You won a big game, let’s get some food. You had a bad day, let’s get some food. I haven’t seen you in a while, let’s get some food. Food, food, food. Now I’m not talking about getting salads and fruit. I am talking about the rich, high fat, high calorie, full of animals and always taste good food. Nothing like the Standard American Diet (SAD) to make you feel better. Briefly.
My unhealthy relationship with food started when I was in the 4th grade. Right before puberty and during puberty. I started binge eating and sneaking granola bars, chocolate bars, cereal, macaroni and cheese, anything that tasted good and helped me indulge. I have gone so far as to eat food hiding in a private area such as outside the door of the garage or in my room with the door closed. On top of this, we also went out to eat quite often when I was a child. Burger King Whoppers, large fries, and regular soda were a regular in my life along with Ultimate cheeseburgers from Jack in The Box and a half dozen of rolled tacos at any time of the day or night. I loved to eat. We drank soda like it was water. I would pour two cans in a glass and drink that, regular and diet, for as long as I can remember. It was a routine to eat out breakfast in the morning on Sundays and we would have these large omelets, hashbrowns, toast, butter. Sometimes I would get an English muffin because that is so much healthier…right?
This SAD relationship continued through my teens, twenties and well into my thirties before I started getting things under control. I had been on all the fad diets, tried low fat (which turned out to be high sugar or manufactured sugars), I tried high protein, no processed foods, I did it all. I had some success with The Whole 30 where I cut out pretty much all carbs except potatoes and ate mostly meat and greens. This worked for me, but I was already close to my goal weight and healthier than I had ever been. Also, I didn’t realize that feeding my body all that animal fat may have been helping me lose weight, but did not help me in the long run. I noticed my tolerance for exercise decreased and I was becoming more fatigued on the days I did try to work out.
I finally got control of my food intake and weight when I was running 8 miles 3 days a week and working out hard the other 3 days a week. I would do Insanity workouts, weight training and cardio mixed work outs, and like I said ran 8 miles 3 days a week. I was killing myself with exercise and obsessed. I got down to the lowest weight I had ever been in my adulthood at 184. Did I maintain this weight? Nope. Did my weight go right back up to over 200 when I got pregnant with my second child? Yep. Did I get it right back down after I had my second baby 3 years ago? Nope.
In December of 2019, I started listening to this book called “How Not to Die” By Michael Greger a physician and disease expert who focused on how changing your diet can reduce or even reverse your disease processes. The main catch, you have to eliminate all animal products from your diet. No meat, dairy, oils, sugars, added salt, etc. Only whole food and plants. At first I was skeptical. I mean, I have been eating meat my entire life and everyone talks about how important it is to get plenty of protein in your diet. How can I get protein if I don’t eat meat and how can I give up all this stuff when I live with three other people. I can’t transition to this crazy extreme diet. There was no way! Little did I know, there is protein in plants too! Luckily, I had a coworker and friend who was thinking about progressing toward the same diet. She had been reading up on a “Vegan” way of eating and was thinking about giving up all meats except for eggs. We both started this journey about the same time, which helped a lot. We were able to share our struggles, recipes, and cheats. By the end of January of 2020 I had officially transitioned to a plant based diet. I haven’t not had any meat products since then and don’t really miss them. At first, I lost about 20 lbs by March and was starting to feel great and really happy with my decision. Then, the pandemic struck and my diet took a negative turn.
Once we were forced to be home, I started adding in more processed foods. I ate more tortilla chips, potato chips, plant based dips, guacamole (home made, but still full of fat with avocados), plant based processed foods such as tempeh bacon and vegan foods from restaurants, again! Me weight started creeping back up and I was getting frustrated. Why am I not losing weight? I don’t eat animals and I am not eating dairy! I never thought about transitioning back to meat products though. I have done enough research to know how bad these foods are for our bodies and I do not want to get back into that rut again. My cholesterol had been high since I was in my 20s and once I transitioned to no animal products, it is below 200 consistently! That is HUGE for me!
After months and month of struggling, I finally had a wake up call. I was eating a vegan diet, but I was not eating plants! I was getting most of my food from tofu, chips, guacamole, plant based processed dips, breads, etc. I was no longer cooking my food and eating whole vegetables and fruits. I was no longer staying on that healthy diet that I started out with in the beginning of the year. I had gotten down so low that I even looked into doing a diet that would have cost me 350 bucks a month! I would be eating foods that were sold by this company and have 1 meal of my own. So many people I know have lost a lot of weight on this diet, and they claim that it’s low sugar and low fat. However, when you look at the products, the second ingredient is sugar. This, obviously, was not the answer to my issue.
About 6 months ago, I listened to a book by Dr. Fung about Intermittent fasting and it’s role in curing type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. At the time, I did not think I would be capable of doing this kind of diet. I could not give up dinner. My family needed me to cook dinner! I needed to eat dinner. Wouldn’t I starve if I didn’t have dinner??? Boy was I wrong. I finally decided I would try this intermittent fasting. I decided to do an 8:16 (* hours eating window with a 16 hour fasting window) eating to fasting ratio and I would stop eating food around 2P everyday. I started using a fasting app called “LIFE” that tracks fasting time for you, thanks to my friend Beth, and “MyPlate” so I can track all my food and see exactly where my calories are coming from. Since beginning this fasting at the begging of this month, I have lost a total of 12 lbs. 12 lbs that I have been struggling to get off for the past 6 months. The best part is, I have not had to run 8 miles 3 days a week and exercise hard the other 3 days a week to lose this weight. I have been able to lose weight taking days off from exercise or only exercising 4-5 days a week vs 6. I have been feeling good, haven’t had much fatigue and have been able to stave off any hunger pangs with coffee and water in the evenings.
This is the first time in my life that I feel like I have control over what I am eating and don’t feel like a slave to food. I almost have to remind myself to eat before 2P as I might not be hungry. I have cut down on my breakfast in the morning and am even thinking that is becoming too much, I will have a smoothie about mid-morning that keeps me full until close to 2p when I have to remember to eat my late lunch/early dinner. I have added in more whole foods and gave up my vegan junk food for the most part. Yesterday I had chips for the first time and this was my first craving I have had in almost 3 weeks.
I will continue as this journey until I reach my goal weight of 170. I am finding it helps a lot to journal about my experience and now I’m trying to blog as well. I never thought that I could be overweight and a vegan at the same time. Now, I know even if food is “vegan” it doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
Some great resources if your interested in the whole food plant-based lifestyle or even intermittent fasting:
Dr. Greger also has a free website Nutrtionfacts.org where you can access videos and articles about nutrition. You can even join and email group that will send you a video almost everyday with nutrition facts from Dr. Greger.
Since October 5th, I have been doing Intermittent fasting ranging from 16-18 hours a day. Since this date, I have lost almost 10lbs and gained some control over my eating. I have cut out processed vegan foods including anything with added oil and have switched to black coffee overnight. I am amazed at how well this is working for me. I keep waiting for the moment when I am starving and just “have to eat” late at night. That moment hadn’t come yet. I have struggled with weight loss for over 20 years and all I had to do was stop eating at 2p everyday. Such a common sense intervention. Not the $300 diets that promise quick results and little effort with their processed high sugar foods you eat 4x a day. Not the $20 a month program where you have to learn a completely new way of eating including counting point. Just stop eating at 2P. Where was this option to me 20 years ago? The struggle has been real and painful!
I was born and raised in Santee , CA (San Diego County) on the Standard American Diet (SAD). Looking back, I know my mom did the best she could to feed us as healthy as she could with the time and budget she had. My family fell into the fast food, pre-packaged (macaroni and cheese, hamburger helper), junk food trap! Every person in my immediate family was overweight for as long as I can remember, including me. It seemed like the more money my parents made, the heavier we all became as we ate out more and ate home less. I was the product of two parents who worked their butts off to provide for us, but has no time to focus on diet and exercise as an essential part of our lives.
My mom and I attended weight watchers multiple times over the years. We did the whole, calorie restricted diet routine. Did it work out, NOPE. We tried to eat all the low-fat, higher fiber so-called “healthy” foods which were full of added suagrs thinking we were doing good. Eventually when things didn’t work, we always resorted back to our ways of eating out and overindulging almost 7 days a week.
I really began putting on weight when I was in 4th grade and puberty struck! I had just moved from one Elementary school to another where I had zero friends. My parents worked full time and I was in charge of getting myself to school everyday. Luckily, it was right down the hill. I was also usually the first one home and had access to all the lovely snacks my family stored in the house. Chewy chocolate granola bars, candy bars from sports candy sales, popcorn, chips, soda, etc. You name it, I sneakily ate it. I was unhappy and blowing up like a balloon. The only thing that kept me from ballooning to over 300lbs was my interest in softball.
Softball was probably my saving grace, thinking back. I was definitely a motivated child and determined to be successful in whatever I did atheltic wise, but not diet wise. I played softball from about 8 yo through college. I think my interest in sports and being active is what fueled me to become interested in continuing to be active as I became older. I have had my ups and downs over the years, which you will see as I continue, but overall my interested in sports and health has fueled my desire to get healthy and stay that way!
Being home more than I’m working has made sticking to my whole food plant based diet difficult. I spend more time in the kitchen than anywhere else aimlessly searching for things to eat. The good news, I am usually eating plants. The bad news, I discovered a awesome plant based cheese sauce and have started eating organic tortilla chips at least 2-3x a week. I don’t want to become a vegan junk food junkie!
I am committing myself to transitioning back to plant based foods only starting tomorrow. No more added sugar (including pure cane sugar and maple syrup), no more added salt and no more chips! I am going to try intermittent fasting starting tomorrow. I will eat breakfast and lunch and skip dinner. I will commit to this for 2 weeks. Wish me luck!
I have been on a weight loss journey since I was about 10 years old. Always obsessed with my weight and had no idea how to fix it. I played softball from age 12 until I was 22. I was always active, but was not outgoing nor very good at making right decisions about food. This, unfortunately, I blame on the nature of my family and the readily available processed and highly fattening foods that I LOVED to snack on as a kid. Plus, lots of whole sugared soda! I was digging myself into a whole and didn’t even know it.
After listening to an audio book called “How Not To Die” by Dr. Michael Greger, I have started on a new adventure. I became a whole food plant based eater on January 1, 2020. I was skeptical at first. What? No meat or dairy? No oil, added salt or sugar? What the heck am I supposed to eat? How am I going to get enough food to survive? Won’t I be staving? undernourished? How is this going to make me feel better?
I am pleased to announce that after just 1 month on this diet, I had lost 14 lbs and no longer feel bloated, weighed down or fatigued. I feel like I am gaining more and more energy everyday. I was lucky enough to start this adventure with a co-worker and friend who has been supportive through this past month. We have shared recipes, our successes and failures, and after getting through the first 3 weeks of excessive “gas”, are now both committed for life.
I hope to use this blog to share my story. I want to share my 30+ years of struggle with obesity, why I think I had such a struggle, and why I don’t think I will every have to struggle with it every again.
If you have every been someone who gains weight, even when you exercise all the time, can’t seem to ditch those food cravings and late night eating, use food as an emotional crutch, can’t figure out why you just can’t look like those other girls, then this is the place for you!
Whole Food Plant Based Newbie