Birdy Takes Flight

[Birdy]

Hi StarchBeet. That's an interesting link. Thanks. I bookmarked it for future reference.

I also read an interesting book by Dr. Mehmet Oz about alternative practices he uses in his practice as a cardiologist/heart surgeon. My take home message was, one, man I never want to go through what some heart patients experience and, two, once again there was the message of eating very low fat and (in his estimation) mostly vegetarian. He referred the reader to the work of Dean Ornish and to another cardiologist named Lance Gould at the University of Texas medical school. I'd never heard of Gould, but found a PDF of a booklet he wrote on reversing cardiovascular disease. He absolutely emphasizes eliminating oils and eating 10% or less of fat. Oddly, he also recommends some animal foods while simultaneously saying cholesterol should be less than 150. One point he makes that put things in perspective is that it takes between 18 and 24 months for a person's cardiovascular system to truly heal after making lifestyle changes. That made me feel less discouraged by my slow progress. But for me the take home message from both Dr. Oz and Dr. Gould is of course the same as Dr. McDougall's: don't eat oil. I expect that cutting out the oil and reducing higher fat plant foods will really make a difference for me as it has for so many people here.

In that spirit, I had a successfull "no oil" day yesterday. Today, not so good because I ate lunch out with my husband and found there was nothing on the menu that was vegan and oil free. I can see why a lot of people eating this way do not often eat out. I'm willing to stop eating out, if that's what it takes.

Okay, so yesterday was Month 2 plus one week of eating vegan, and it was the first no-oil day.

I had oatmeal with raisins for breakfast; black tea w/tsp. sugar
Banana for snack.
Veggie burger on ww bun with vegie toppings
Snack: 1 rice roll with vegies and peanut sauce*; tangelo
Dinner: Mary McDougall's potato chowder (delicious) and 1 more rice roll w/peanut sauce*

As Bugs Bunny says, "That's all folks!"

[Anna Green]

Watching you go, Birdy!! Yay on the no oil day! Do it again! Do it again! (can you hear my cheering voice?)

I'm doing pretty dang good myownself. Just don't feel like doing my journal but wanted to check in with you.

[Dechen]

Great achievement right there Birdy; no oil! A lot of people never really manage to cut it out, justifying the li'l smidgens they think they need/want. Well done!

[Birdy]

Thanks Dechen, but I'm still in the stage of cutting it out with more than a few "li'l smidgens" sneaking into my mouth. With me, it's always a process.

Hey Anna!! I've been missing you and am glad to find your post. I totally get being tired of journalling since I did the same thing for different reasons. It's good to take breaks, but thanks for giving me a shout. I'm really happy you're doing pretty dang good! More power to ya.

It's raining, it's pouring here day after day, with thankfully a few breaks here and there. Went for a great walk with my DH yesterday and plan to work a walk in today also. I'm meeting my oldest daughter in the city this afternoon, so that will be fun.

Fell off the wagon a little yesterday because I bought some trail mix for my youngest daughter that turned out to have been processed with oil and sugar, AND it had little chunks of chocolate in it. I didn't totally pig out, but did have some of it.

I've been reading Becoming Raw by Brenda Davis, R.D. and Vesanto Melina, R.D. There is so much fascinating information in there and, although I don't want to be a raw foodist, I do want to not only include more vegetables in my diet, but also more raw foods. I've noticed in people's journals that many of us don't eat enough vegetables even while following Dr. McD's plan.

On another topic, I've noticed a disturbing trend among some McDougallers who are journaling about fasting ever more frequently and/or severely limiting caloric intake. To me, this doesn't seem healthy, balanced or safe. I'm a bit worried about a couple of people here.

Today's menu:
Breakfast - coffee with soy cream/tsp sugar; toast with soy margarine* (I know I know); collard greens sauteed in olive oil* and water
Lunch - Israeli coucous salad made with asparagus, lemon, parsley, artichoke hearts (no oil); fruit
Dinner - Anna's split pea soup (yes, your split pea soup Anna or my version of it from a post in your journal some time back - it was so good).

Exercise:
Walking 40 minutes
Strength training (still not being consistent enough with this, but trying!)

[Dechen]

Process is good, measured transitioning makes sure it is a long term success. Keep going!!!

[sksamboots]

Hey Birdy,

I've been following your progress. Great job!

[Birdy]

Thanks sksamboots for checking in. I'll check in on your journal too. Hope you're doing well. And thanks for your and Dechen's encouragement.

Today my blood pressure was the lowest reading I've had: 141/75 and pulse 71. Maybe things are finally starting to move in a better direction! Next week I have a doctor appointment for a fasting blood test and bp follow up since I started this diet 10+ weeks ago. I'm especially curious to know what my cholesterol reading is since the last measurement clocked in at about 225. Lately, I have to say I've been making little bad choices to have very small amounts of foods or coffee, for example, that has dairy or is made with eggs (today two chocolate chip cookies from the bakery next door to where I work...). So, what this says to me is that I need to see some tangible improvement from being vegan in order to continue. And, yes yes yes, I do need to go oil free.

One complicating factor is that now my 15 year old has been diagnosed with allergies to soy (high), dairy (moderately high), and wheat (moderate). Trying to attend to a vegan diet for myself and now additionally think about food for her that doesn't include soy or wheat is HARD. She also likes meat, as does her dad, so what to do? Guess I'll just figure it out. I'm lucky that my husband is very supportive of me being vegan.

As an aside, this afternoon when I got home from work, I watched an old Julia Child program with someone named Jacques. I guess the two did a cooking program. Julia looked to be about mid-70s or in her early 80s. She was obviously bent at the shoulders from osteoporosis and was stiff in a way that suggested arthritis. Although she lived to be 90 something, it was obvious to me in this television show that she was probably strongly affected by the rich diet she cooked and ate. Of course, people didn't know better then.

Okay, all for now. I did a little walking, a little gardening, and am going now to hunt for the bicycle tire pump so I can go for a little ride. Still need (always) more exercise.

Bon appetite a la McDougall!!!

[Anna Green]

Birdy, yay on the lower BP!!! Glad you liked my soup.

Hey, just wanted to tell you this. You know my abysmal history w/ animal products. I have to say the vegan thing is much easier when I'm not eating oil. The cravings are less. If you could get a couple of weeks under your belt it would be SO much easier. In fact I'm at a place where I'm craving my healthy food. (yah, me the poboy queen)

Anyway, we'll just keep on keepin on as Boots always says.

[Birdy]

Hey Anna. Yeah, I'm starting to understand what you're saying about the oil. This past week I used very little oil in cooking and ate more fat free/oil free food, but I could feel a difference. I also ate a lot less wheat. I'm going to make my best effort to go oil free. Recently, I've started visualizing the fat in my body, especially my abdomen, slowly draining away.

Okay, so today is WEEK 11 of begin vegan. The bp is down as I last reported, but still has a ways to go. My weight is also down 3 pounds from last week and I've lost another inch & a half off my waist! Hurray. As mentioned above, not only am I eating less fat and wheat, but am also exercising a little bit more. Am enjoying as always going for walks and have started strength training which I want to do 3 times a week to get faster results. I'm using the Strong Women program at home with freee weights which is a program developed by Miriam Nelson at Tufts University. There is always housework and now gardening. Also, I got my bicycle out recently and need to pump up the air in the tires so I can start riding it for fun. I really like riding a bike.

Last night I made Mary McD's Baked Penne Florentine and it was good. But I used rice pasta instead of wheat penne pasta which made it turn out a little mushy. Mushy but still good. In fact, I'm going to eat some for breakfast!

Gotta get myself off to work. Hugs and blessings to you all!

[Jubilee]

Good job, Birdy, on all the exercise. I'm just adding that to my schedule today, and it's not easy. Your success is an encouragement to me! Keep up the good job.

Blessings,
Jubilee

[Birdy]

Hi Jubilee, thank you for posting. I'm not getting anywhere near enough exercise but with the increasingly nice weather, it's easier to be more active. Just gotta get myself outside more and moving around. Easy to say, harder to do. I don't know why because kids and animals just love being outdoors and running around for the pure joy of it.

So today marks week 12 (next Tuesday is the 3 month point) of being vegan. I went to the doctor last Wednesday and am waiting for the lab results. My bp was 160/90 in her office so that was discouraging. It bounces around quite a bit. She said that it's very important to get aerobic exercise for at least 30 minutes most days in order to bring the bp down. She encouraged me to continue with the vegan diet. I'm using less oil but am still messing up here and there by eating stuff I shouldn't, such as a low fat brownie made with applesauce instead of oil but with one egg in the recipe. She also gave me an herbal Ayurvedic medication to take every day and said I should see results from that within a week or two of taking it.

Not much news really. I'm kind of boring. Think I'll read some other people's journals for inspiration.....

[Birdy]

This has been a rough weekend. My twenty year old daughter was assaulted in the wee hours of Friday morning. She's okay in that she's recovering and is staying with us for a week while her wounds heal. A parent's worst nightmare. I don't know how to cope with it except to keep going and do what I can for her such as cooking and keeping her company.

With everything going on, I haven't exercised for days. But after I write this, I'm going for a walk in the half light of a late afternoon overcast day. It's still fairly chilly out, but nice. I've continued to eat my vegan diet which I'm actually starting to rely on.

I got the lab results on Friday and my cholesterol has dropped 43 points, down to 182. That's so rewarding even though it needs to drop a lot more. However the triglycerides have gone from something like 90 up to 200 so that's not good. It's a little surprising because I have eaten a lot less sugar in the past three months. I need to eat fewer white flour foods like bread and pasta, more whole grains, and get more exercise. Haven't bothered measuring the blood pressure this week since stress would likely have affected it. Will post on the usual Tuesday weekly check-in.

Breakfast: coffee with soycream & 1 tsp. sugar; banana; 3 brazil nuts (I was in a hurry to get to church).
Lunch: two tortillas with vegetarian beans, 1/2 avocado, salsa
Snack: apple
Dinner: to be determined.....

Exercise: walking

[Anna Green]

Birdy, how awful. My heart goes out to you. Wish I could hug you and feed you. You are doing the right thing, just hanging with her. I can't imagine. When our kids are in pain it's just so painful to us.

I know that feeling of starting to rely on eating well. Good for you for sticking to it in the middle of all of this.

[Birdy]

Anna, we don't even know each other, but your words are those of a friend. Thank you. I haven't been able to cry and am having nightmares. It's true you suffer a lot when it's your child that's harmed. But she's resilient and healing fast. I only pray she can keep safe in the future. Life is so precious.

On a more McDougall-related subject, I've now dropped into the high 140 pound range which is a weight I haven't seen for more than a decade. It's really rewarding. I didn't post on my usual weekday Tuesday, but that was the 3 month mark. I'm perfectly content with this diet and am working gently on reducing oil and breads/pasta/white rice while trying to work somewhat more energetically on exercise.

Well, as says, Garrison Keilor says on NPR, "Be well. Do good work."

[Birdy]

3 months, 1 week

My weekly check-in day. Went on a mini-vacation this past weekend with our daughters to the WA coast. Have you ever tried finding vegan food in a tiny fishing port town? I did my best but ended up eating a few meals that were not so good. Consequently my weight went up 3 pounds, but I'm just leaving my signature weight as is, because I'm back on track now.

My blood pressure is still very high 173/85 but I attribute that to the terrific stress recently and the high fat/high salt intake over the weekend. I've been reading about the omega 6:3 balance that's so important. It makes sense that Dr. McD's diet makes such a difference in cardiovascular health and inflammatory illnesses because his diet eliminates most common sources of the proinflammatory omega 6s (animal foods and oils).

Not much time to post today.
All the best. Spring has finally sprung!