Birdy Takes Flight

[AranMC]

It's a good idea to mark the not so 'McD legal' foods...

Good on you for walking past the bakery. a pat on the back for that..

*hug*

Aran

[Birdy]

Thanks Aran! I love that expression, "Good on you."

Day 4 of eating vegan.

I'm noticing I'm much less congested which has been a chronic problem for most of my life, but especially in the past few years. Also, for several years my left arm has gone numb from the shoulder to fingertips at night when I'm sleeping, even to the point of waking me up. In only three days of eating vegan, the circulation has improved to the point that the numbness stopped. That's kind of amazing in such a short time. I notice my mood is better. I'm less irritable.

Okay, I'll try to recall what I ate today.
Breakfast: coffee with soy cream and teaspoon of sugar, toast with peanut butter*
Lunch: small roasted veggie soup*(I could taste the oil in it) & a sandwich with fresh veggies & hummus* (lots of oil in it); 1/2 a small coffee with creamer* & sugar
Snack: I ate a huge snack today! Leftover roasted cauliflower (sounds gross but it tasted really good); two tangerines; about 6 brazil nuts*
Dinner: steamed white rice, seitan and sauted mushrooms, large green salad with a little avocado* and balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing*

Still no exercise
And I need to drink more water.

I'm certainly not eating McDougall style yet, but am starting to feel like I CAN do this plant-based diet. Once I feel secure with eating vegan, then I'll start on following Dr. McDougall's very low fat recommendations.

Ciao!

[f1jim]

Just curious what is it about vegan eating that makes you feel insecure?
f1jim

[Anna Green]

Hey Birdy, just coming by to say hi. I struggle too but as we all know when I do well it's just wonderful how good I feel. Yay about the health improvements!

[AranMC]

I'll try roasted cauliflower in the next couple of days I haven't tried that yet and I love cauliflower anyway...

I noticed too about the congestion it's been a lifelong problem from birth for me.. I even have damaged hearing from it.. but since I came back here last week I've been clear... it's great....

Keep on plodding onwards, you'll get there..

Aran

[Birdy]

Hi Jim, Anna and Aran! Yep, I'm hanging in with this. Yay!

Jim asked a good question, "Just curious what is it about vegan eating that makes you feel insecure?" What I meant by "when I feel more secure about being vegan" wasn't that being vegan makes me feel insecure, but that I look forward to reaching a point where it becomes more second nature and more part of who I am.

I didn't post yesterday and can't remember exactly what I had, but it was vegan. Let's see, I had tofu with vegies and fruit and toast for breakfast; I ate way too many nuts*; can't recall lunch (isn't it weird how we can't remember what we eat from day to day?); dinner was two baked potatoes with Smart Balance* and nutritional yeast, and steamed broccoli.

Today is Day 6 of being vegan.
Breakfast: a small handful of nuts* and two tangerines plus a cup of coffee with soy creamer and tsp. of sugar.
Lunch: two leftover baked potatoes with hummus* and steamed broccoli; slice of bread with Smart Balance*
Snack: more nuts* (gotta eat less of these) and a banana
Dinner: one tortilla with sauted onion/green pepper/Yves Taco vegie mix, topped with salsa, lettuce and 1/3 small avocado*

For some reason the stuffiness was back this morning, so I guess maybe wheat is a problem, but am not sure. It could also be caused by the very small amount of dairy I had yesterday and the day before in coffee that I bought away from home. This is an exercise in self awareness for sure.

I went to Amazon and ordered several vegan cookbooks and Dr. Esselstyn' book on heart disease. It feels good to have some fresh information coming my way.

You and I will both keep plodding along Aran and catch up with Jim, Anna and others!

Can't say I've exercised yet, but that will come. I love to walk and why I'm not getting out and doing it is not clear, but Nike probably has it right, "Just do it!"

Have a good week everyone.......

[AranMC]

We'll get there eventually, you and I.. *hug*
I can't have nuts in the house, I'm a nut addict... I can't 'just have a few' I have to have them all... same with potato chips..
I still haven't jumped on my treadmill even though it's sitting behind me as I type.. I MUST jump on it and get a routine started..

In fact that's what I'm going to do right now before I do anything else.. catch you later..

*hug*

Aran

[Birdy]

Well! Day 8 and Week 2 of being vegan. I've decided to continue counting the days because I'm taking it one day at a time.

Good news to report. My blood pressure has come down (the top reading) about 15 points from 167/82 to 143/81 at least today. But my pulse is still running at about 80 which is kind of high. I don't remember what that means or why it's so fast. Second, good news is I lost ONE pound - ta dah! Not much, but I did eat a lot of fatty stuff that's not McDougall legal. Maybe this week I'll be better about that. Still trying to just focus on being vegan. There were a couple of days that were really challenging this weekend when my daughter made Ghiradelli's chocolate brownies and my husband made burritos with chicken and cheese. I was good; I just stuck to the veggies and beans on my burrito.

I've eaten way too much bread today which is something I've done in the past when I was eating only vegan foods. So I want to avoid doing that. There's something about wheat, including bread, pasta, and tortillas that I want to overeat in general but especially as part of a vegan diet. Not sure why.

My last ta dah is that I exercised today! I went for a very peaceful 30 minute walk and remembered why I love it so.

It's snowing right now! We have an inch or two on the ground and more falling. I love the snow. Here's hoping it's still around in the morning.

[Birdy]

Well, I went to the doctor today because my bp has been running high. It was 180/100 in her office today which is not white coat hypertension because I've known her since she was a kid and she's in her 30s now. Anyway, she prescribed a medication hydrochlorothiazide which I think Dr. McD says he prescribes sometimes and I've started taking it. She also, to my surprise, is familiar with Dr. McDougall and his work, and she recommended the low fat vegan diet with an emphasis on whole grains as the best for me along with (no surprise here) exercise. There's a strong family history of stroke and cardiovascular disease, so I don't want to mess around. With close monitoring, and Dr. McDougall's diet, I hope to be able to do without the medication after a month or so.

Today is Day 9 of being vegan.
Breakfast: coffee with sugar and soy creamer*
oatmeal with cranberries and 2 tablespoons pecans*
Lunch: small vegan asian style soup and large serving of quinoa
salad* (it's made with an oil dressing)
Snack: about 5 baked whole wheat chips with 1/8 cup hummous*;
one apple
Dinner: spaghetti with marinara; large mixed veggie salad &
tsp. of raspberry vinagrette

No exercise today.....

P.S. An edit to the post above. After doing searches on the McDougall site regarding the medication my doctor prescribed and on hypertension, I am going to be really strict about following the McDougall Plan BEFORE I take the hydrochlorothiazide and see if 3 or 4 weeks of this will have good results for me. I watched Jim Brown's Star McDougaller testimonial again and, if he can get the results he has, there's hope for me! Very inspiring Jim.

[Birdy]

Gosh, have you noticed how much this journal forum has caught on? Lots of posting going on!

Day 11 of being vegan. I posted yesterday but when I hit submit the post was lost (I think my internet connection had gone dormant) so I quit for the day. I weighed in at 153 yesterday and again this morning, although my weekly weigh-in day is Tuesdays. That would mean I've lost 4 pounds in 11 days. We'll see if Tuesday's weight is still 153 (or less??).

Breakfast: black tea with sugar; toast dry

Lunch: bean, brown rice and vegetable burrito * (it was from the deli so it had some oil in it). I need to eat a heartier breakfast like the oatmeal I had the other day because I was starving by lunch time.

Snack: soy chai (I only drank 1/2 because it tasted too sweet).

Dinner: to be determined because my husband and I are going out to eat but I will choose something vegan and as low fat as possible.

Exercise: Walking 30 minutes before it gets dark.

I wish you all a good weekend!

[Birdy]

Quick post!
Day 12 of being vegan.

Last night when my husband and I went out for dinner I had Pad Thai with tofu which was very good. I ate about 1/2 of it, but then had another 1/4 of it when we got home.

Today:
Breakfast: leftover quinoa with vegetables*; black tea with tsp. sugar
Lunch: banana, navel orange, 3 brazil nuts*, the last of the leftover quinoa with vegetables*
Snack: two rice spring rolls full of vegies with peanut sauce*; black tea
Dinner: I'm baking a kabocha squash and stuffing it loosely following Mary McDougall's recipe on page 234 of the McDougall Cookbook

We're going to the movies tonight.

I'm going out the door NOW before it gets too dark for a half hour walk in the pouring rain.

[Birdy]

Day 15/Two Weeks of being vegan

I kind of feel like I'm talking to myself here, but that's what journaling is all about anyway.

So I've lost 3 pounds and one inch from my waist in two weeks. Pretty good.

I'm feeling okay except was kind of light headed this morning. My blood pressure was down a little when I measured it on Sunday.

I've started exercising a bit more. Have been walking. I really enjoy it. One thing on exercising that I realized today is that it's non-negotiable. Exercise, along with plant-based diet, is what I have to do to bring my blood pressure down into a safe range. It's not a question each day of whether I'll go for a walk, but when.

Breakfast: toast with 2 tsp. peanut butter* & tea with sugar
Lunch: leftover homemade vegetable/quinoa soup (really good)
Snack: vegie spring rolls with peanut sauce*; one slice pear/fig/hazelnut bread*
Dinner: Amy's soy mac & cheese*; steamed broccoli

Yesterday I ate too much bread which is my biggest weakness. In general I'm eating too much fat. So room for improvement, but also I'd have to say, so far so good, and I've already made huge improvements by going vegan. Two weeks is thrilling success for me. Small steps......

P.S. I got a new cookbook today, Color Me Vegan, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. It's really colorful and there look to be some great recipes, most of which do not use added oils.

[Birdy]

Day 17 of being vegan

Well, the cookbook "Color Me Vegan" turns out to have quite a lot of recipes that have added oil, but it also has a lot of good recipes. So I can replace oil with water, vegie broth or whatever instead of oil. Tonight I made a linguine and red cabbage dish* from that cookbook and it was delicious with a green salad and avocado*. For lunch today I had a big bowl of brown rice with a corn chowder soup. Snack was 5 or 6 baked sesame crackers* and an orange. Breakfast was about 12 almonds with a red apple, and tea (I was in a hurry late for work).

I went for a 30 minute walk with our yellow lab late this afternoon. So nice even though the skies were gray and the air cold.

Took my blood pressure today and it's coming down, although the bottom number is not dropping as much as the top. I have no idea what that means. My pulse is still 100. No idea what that means either, but today has been an unusually stressful day which may have affected the results. If I can reduce the fat further to be more compliant with Dr. McDougall's diet, I'm sure the blood pressure will drop more and more quickly.

[Birdy]

Day 19 of being vegan.

I am happily plugging along. Except I just deleted another long post just before I was done. Oh well. Mostly I can report that I'm feeling so great. My bp is still slowly coming down, My energy is up and I'm exercising more. Went for a walk with the dog today. It's been beautiful with lots of sun breaks today.

I have Rip Esselstyn's lasagna recipe in the oven (from his Engine 2 book) and look forward to eating it. It makes a huge pan and, if you should try it, I suggest using a 10x15 pan rather than the 9x13 he recommends.

Another great cookbook I recently bought is Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "Appetite for Reduction." There are so many good recipes in this book that I look forward to trying.

Tomorrow I hope to go to a yoga class that I've been too busy to get to until now. And the weather is supposed to be nice here this coming week so I'm planning on lots of walking. I've let myself get so out of shape it's going to take a year or longer to firm up. Can you even do that at age 60? I guess the main thing is to be the best you can at whatever age and not worry.

Wishing you all a relaxing weekend.....

[Birdy]

Day 22 of being vegan. Three weeks!

Wow, I can't believe it's been three weeks. I feel proud and happy to be doing this successfully so far. My weight and blood pressure are slowly but steadily coming down.

However, I woke up dizzy this morning and the room was spinning. That made me feel nauseous & sweaty. At first I thought I had food poisoning (is that spelled right?). But it's not that. I had three episodes of dizziness/spinning over the course of an hour and a half this morning. No clue what caused it. Kind of scary. I still don't feel quite right so am home from work today.

Not much to eat today and probably no exercise.