My husband and I just finished one year on the McDougall way of eating. I've lost about 30 pounds and my husband lost about 20 (he had less to lose). My cholesterol started out as 233 and in six months went to 160 then at the one year mark it is 176 so it went up for some reason but it looks like lots of people have had that problem recently. Maybe it's from having it checked in winter instead of summer? Who knows. My husband never goes to the doctor so we don't know his cholesterol counts. My blood pressure went from a consistent 155/90 to a now consistent 115/60 and my husband's acted pretty much the same. We feel great and are very happy with the results. My psoriasis did not go away but I'm blaming that on having a thyroid that doesn't work. So that's disappointing but I can live with it.
f1jim - I especially want to thank you for your original comments to me. I listened! We did not cheat! Just stuck to the plan one meal at a time. I made menus each week for a while until we got used to this way of eating.
I also want to thank everyone who posts on these boards for all the encouragement and ideas that they share. I'm not a veggie person so if I could do this, anyone can. Find the recipes you like and go for it. I can't tell you how many pizza lunches I've sat thru at work this past year but I can tell you that pizza no longer appeals to me at all (and it used to be my favorite meal). I just stuck with my rice and beans. We did avoid all the "fake" food such as vegan meats. It does get a lot easier with time. BUT DON'T CHEAT!!
Perla
