Laura Goes Veggie

[LauraVeg]

This post was about how great I was doing after leaving McDougall and starting an all-meat, virtually zero carb diet. I edited it out because I didn't want anybody to read it and think, "So zero carb didn't work in the end for her...a lot of this still sounds good." I only want this journal to be about McDougall. If anyone wants to read about low carb it's easy enough to find.

[LauraVeg]

It didn't last. Not long after that last post, I started feeling terrible. I was so exhausted I did nothing but sit on the couch most of the time. I developed dark circles under my eyes. And, worst of all, I was COLD. I mean so cold I couldn't get warm. The breaking point came one night when I was wrapped up in my warmest down comforter, shivering, and my husband brought me a heating pad to try and help me warm up. I started eating carbs the next day and felt a lot better.

So, here I am, lost again. I've been eating a "regular" diet but having all kinds of problems - allergies, depression, joint pain, poor sleep. Oh - that reminds me - the wonderful sleep I mentioned in my last post didn't last long at all. Before long I was waking up in the middle of the night with terrible heart palpitations and I started having what felt like panic attacks in the middle of the night.

I have no answers right now. I just felt bad that I left that message here and had to come back up and post an update.

[VeganMom]

Aw, please don't feel bad. You tried what you thought was worthwhile. Can't blame yourself for that.

Here's a welcome back hug from me (a newbie, re-starting the program again) to you.


(((HUG!)))

[LauraVeg]

Thank you so much for the kind words, VeganMom. I gave it a lot of thought, and it seems worthwhile to give McDougall another chance. I said in a previous post that I was tired and cold on McDougall. Well that was nothing compared to how I felt eating very low carb. And my eczema was worse, but I was under a lot of stress at that time.

I have tried low/zero carb many times and it just hasn't helped me. I feel better initially, but always end up feeling really nervous. I can't sleep, I get heart palpitations, and I'm always on the verge of a panic attack. I've done a lot (a lot!) of reading about this and found that it's adrenaline and cortisol that your body makes to help you turn fat into glucose. I can't live like that. There's supposed to be a period of adaptation, but I went for more than a month and it never happened.

It's also obvious that there are lots of vegetarian centenarians, but nobody knows the long term effects of eating so much meat.

I went shopping yesterday and stocked up on brown rice, white potatoes, sweet potatoes, frozen vegetables, salad greens and some fruit.

Wish me luck! And best of luck to you, VeganMom.

[lydia]

Laura, it is great to have you back again and hanging out with us. You are very drawn to the low carb thing....and it is interesting that people can make a compelling argument for all types of eating. However, the China Study, Mcdougall, Novick's work is referenced with peer reviewed literature not the latest article in the Times. Now I look to the back of the book to check out who the author referenced before starting to read. It will tell you a lot.

I also wonder if you have any of the tapes from this site? Doug Lisle's dvd is very helpful. (actually any of them are helpful)

I can strongly identify with the constant desire to eat. However after more than 3 years of following this diet I have never been more than 3-5 pounds over my desired weight. (and that happens when I go on vacation, and also when I add liquid calories ie beer) Otherwise, I am careful to follow Jeff's advice of staying with low calorie density food and I eat whenever I feel like it....and I let others know around me that I love to eat....cause I do. What can be better than eating all the time, loving the food and not gaining weight??!!

The other thing which I find helpful but hard to do....is exercise. When I can get myself to move and do something, I am less likely to feel hungry. just some thoughts......

[mtns]

I just saw your post and thought I would reply. Both my son and I have had eczema. I struggled with it for years. I went to numerous doctors who really couldn't help. Finally I went to a health food store that tested my blood and said that I had large sugar crystals in my blood and that I needed to cut out sugar and eat a lot more veggies. Well I tried it. It took a little while, but it worked for me. I have been clear of eczema for maybe 6 yrs. It does flare up if I eat more sugar though. I use agave nectar lightly. My son on the other hand has it a lot worse and we are still battling his. I took him to an allergist who didn't have anything conclusive for me. Then I looked online and found that he could have food intolerances to gluten and dairy. So I took him off of those and a few more things I thought he might have trouble with, along with sugar and eating more veggies and he started to clear up. He has not been totally cleared up because it has been so hard to keep him off of gluten. I do fine at home, but my husband or older kids bring home stuff or we go out to eat (rarely), or at church their might be snacks. I try to provide him with alternatives, but sometimes he just wants what other people have. I have been eating that way also, and I do see how hard it can be for him. I am hoping to get him totally cleared up. He was also on a probiotic and a fish oil for a while that seemed to help him as well. Anyway thought I might let you know about some of those things.
Also with the eating, I try to remember it is a lifestlye that I am looking for not just a diet and a quick fix.It helps me out. I got hungry in the very beginning as well and just ate more. Then I got used to it and started eating less. I notice if I don't stick to it, it is like starting all over again with the hungry thing.
Well good luck with it.
Kathy

[VeganMom]

Also with the eating, I try to remember it is a lifestlye that I am looking for not just a diet and a quick fix.It helps me out. I got hungry in the very beginning as well and just ate more. Then I got used to it and started eating less. I notice if I don't stick to it, it is like starting all over again with the hungry thing.

So very true.

How is today going for you Laura?

[bunsofaluminum]

It's also obvious that there are lots of vegetarian centenarians, but nobody knows the long term effects of eating so much meat.

hi LauraVeg

I'm so glad you're back again! I feel for you, with all the challenges. It is alarming, how your heart races with the meat diet. I never had any energy with low carb diets. Lost weight, lost my appetite, and had zero energy. But my heart also didn't have any symptoms.

I pray you will find a way to make McDougalling work for you. As someone pointed out, the China Study and many other peer reviewed studies give proof to the claim that this is the healthiest way to eat.

But I also wanted to point out, that the Inuit people of northern Canada, who eat nearly 100% meat/blubber/blood, are not long-lived at all. Their life span is 10 years shorter than non-Inuit Canadians. So, we sorta do have some data on the long term effects of eating a lot of meat: it kills you younger than average.

So, keep on coming here. Give yourself some time to get through any detox you might kick up as your body rids itself of the acidic toxins that it is loaded with from the protein diets you've been following. And I went through the whole yellow tongue, headache, feeling cold, lethargic, and draggy, depressed, unfocused week, as my body dumped the toxins. It took a couple of weeks, and since then, it's been good. It's been VERY good, actually.

I can't imagine making protein the center of any meal, ever again.

welcome back. Keep on coming here. Read, listen, watch as much as you can about this lifestyle. Come to the journal forum for inspiration, motivation, and help with temptations.

blessings, Heidi

[LauraVeg]

Hi, guys. Thanks for all the tips. I overlooked something big about the last time I tried McDougall - I was eating whole wheat pasta and bread. It's very possible that wheat/gluten is behind my eczema. It's about 95% gone, with a couple of stubborn patches that flair up now and then. I've been eating McDougall since lunch Friday and so far, so good.

Another reason I decided to go back to McDougall, aside from the reason I stated (that there are lots of vegetarian centenarians and no 100 year old meat eaters that we know of), is that on the low carb forums, which I've been a part of for five years now, some people lose weight and get better (lower cholesterol, triglycerides, etc), but some don't. A lot of people complain that their cholesterol went way up, and I've read quite a few people who've gone very low carb or even all meat and found that, after the first six months or so - which are wonderful for them health and weight wise - they start to regain for no apparent reason. Nobody does McDougall and raises their cholesterol - at least none that I've ever heard of. Low carb seems too much of a crap shoot, and I don't want to take that chance with my health.

Heidi, you mentioned the Inuit. They, and the Masai, are the only examples low carb people ever give of cultures that live on meat. The only ones. I just read "Healthy at 100" by John Robbins (after thinking about this for awhile), and that was just the final push I needed to go back to McDougall.

[LauraVeg]

Great video -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKYPSPUQ ... r_embedded

[VeganMom]

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing!

[LauraVeg]

Ugh. I've been having terrible diarrhea for the past two days.

[bunsofaluminum]

I'm with Debbie: give it time. Reading from the beginning of this journal, you got pretty sick near the start of your first go with McDougalling...I think that was a cleanse, and most likely the diarrhea this time is more of the same> Your body has some toxins to dump, and that can be miserable. Hang in there! you'll love how good you feel when the blahs are over.

[LauraVeg]

Well, I cut back on the veg and ate some tuna and some meat. My stomach felt better, but it was just stupid. I should have given it a little more time. I'm back to McDougall and I'm going to stick it out this time. I really, truly, believe this diet is the healthiest. I'm not doing this just for myself. I have an adult daughter with mental illness and she depends on me. I need to live as long and as healthy a life as I can. I owe it to her.

I promise I'm going to do this all out and for good.

[LauraVeg]

Not too hungry this morning...all I had for breakfast was a clementine and a big glass of water. I baked some potatoes last night and put them in the refrigerator, so they'll be ready when I get hungry later.

One of the best things about this diet is that I'm not worried about everything I eat. In the past, whether on lowcarb or SAD, I always wondered if I was making my blood pressure and cholesterol worse with whatever I happened to be eating - especially on low carb.