Plant Based Diet BREAKTHROUGH

A friend who is a physician told me about The Plant Based Diet.  The premis is that most of your calories come from plant foods without resorting to sugars and oils.  My husband and I decided to try this Monday through Friday and to relax and have the animal products on weekends.  After three days on the plant foods, the animal foods were not pleasant in large quantities as they had been.  What's more, I longed for Monday.

Today a woman came from a life insurance company to take blood, urine, etc.  Here's what 10 days on plant based diet has done.

• lowered my blood pressure from 140/90 to 126/80
• lost over 7 pounds
• made it easier for her to find a vein 
• decreased appearance of varicose veins and the pain of them
• doubled bowel movements
• lowered my need for sleep by 2 hours/night
• made routine physical activity much easier

 Why such a fast change in my health.   The endothelium, the lining of my blood vessels, has had a chance to heal.  When I get the results from cholesterol and other tests the nurse did today, I'll let you know the result.  This is the most hopeful I've been in years.  

May 13 update: The bloodwork that was taken by the nurse finally got back to me.  Here are some key numbers.  Even though I am updating this in May, the blood that was tested was 10 days after I began plant based eating.  The purple numbers were taken in 2010, I got the blood report from my records. 

Chemical: ##  (normal-range)

Glucose: 79  (60-109)

Cholestorol: 149 (140-199) This range is high.  Dr. McDougall would insist that the range should be 90-160)

HDL Cholesterol: 48 (35-100)
LDL Cholestorol: 71 (0-129)
Cholesterol/HDL 3.1 (<5.0)
LDL/HDL  1.48 (0.6-4.3)
Triglycerides: 150 (0-150) This number bothers me. 
Fructosamine: 1.6 (1.2-2.0) measures ave. blood sugar concentration over past 2-3 weeks
HGBAIC  5.7 (3.0-6.0)  another indication of blood sugar over past several weeks
BUN 9 (7-22) 15 Blood urea nitrogen, the end product of protein metabolism.
Creatine . 0.7 (0.6-1.3) .76 A product released from muscle tissue and excreted from kidneys
Alkaline Phosphatase 74 (30-125) Enzyme primarily in liver and bones.  Elevated levels signal problems with bones and/or liver.  Levels naturally high following bone fracture, in growing children, and in pregnant women.
Bilirubin Total 0.5 (0.2-1.2) is a breakdown product of red blood cells.  Abnormally high levels may occur in individuals with liver and gallbladder disease.
AST: 13 (0-33) 22 is an enzyme found in the liver and in cardiac and skeletal muscle.  AST may rise in liver, heart, and muscle disorders or following strenuous or prolonged exercise. 
ALT: 12 (0-45) 26 a liver enzime that rises with liver disease
GGT: 14 (0-45) is a liver enzyme.  It may rise with alcohol consumption, certain medications, and liver disease)
Total Protein: 6.8  (6.1-8.2) Protein in blood includes two major  components, albumin and globulin.  Protein levels fall in chronic disease, malnutrition, and cancer. 
Albumin 4.0 (3.8-5.2) Decreased blood albumin may indicate many disorders including poor nutrition and advanced liver disease.
Globulin 2.8 (2.1-3.9) Abnormal levels, both elevated and decreased, may indicate infections, allergic states, immune disorders and other diseases.
No sugar in urine (there never was because I've never been diabetic) 
Protein in urine: 22

Frustration

It just seems like it's one step forward, two steps backward.  I was into a rhythm of exercise and sleep and BAM, the time changes and the holidays begin.  Well, I'm back on the wagon, had a kettle bell workout yesterday and put the leftover desserts into the freezer.

One day at a time!

Little ol' Me

On Monday I weighed myself and I'm 2 pounds lighter than when I married!   I feel pretty good.  I'm much stronger and have been controlling desserts and other cravable food intake.

Rebooting the Program

I haven't been getting the results I want.  I am doing a little trimming, but nothing like what I need to accomplish.  Luckily, Halloween didn't get me off track.  My husband took all the candy to school with him.  It also helps that I learned that most chocolate is produced with child slavery.  This made me lose my appetite for it pretty fast.

Portion control is the name of the game.  I'm especially watching carbohydrate intake.  Eliminating them is a bad idea.  Carbohydrate is important for the immune system and other metabolic function.  The important thing is to keep it to 30-50% of calories.

I heard on NPR that natural sunlight is necessary for normal eye development in children.  Without it, the eye keeps growing and becomes oblong, making the person near-sighted.  nearsightedness has traditionally been pretty rare, but it's becoming very common.  In places where children are almost perpetually in buildings (like school) such as Shanghi, China, the nearsightedness rate is 90%!

So, with all my podcast and NPR listening, this is what I've learned this week.

1. Most commercially produced chocolate is made with child slavery (where the cocoa is harvested).
2. Keep carbs lower to help control appetite.  (Ben Greenfield fitness podcast)
3. Getting out to rake and collect wood, go on bike rides, etc. will help my 2-year-old's vision develop well.   (NPR news)
4. Eating lots of mini-meals doesn't give my body the opportunity to metabolize body fat.  I'm best off with 3 moderate meals per day.  (Jillian Michaels podcast)
5. I need to challenge myself at the gym, past what I'd normally think is possible.  (Jillian Michaels podcast)

Fit for Duty

Lord, thank you for this part of the Pentagon budget.  I knew that there must be something worth paying for.  Here it is!

"Fit for Duty" is a series of workout videos ranging from a few minutes to an hour in length.  These cardio ones are about 25 minutes long and they will kick your ass!  I learned about this series whilst searching itunes' most popular health and fitness podcasts.  I'm so psyched!  Some days I want to get up early but don't want to add the commuting distance to the gym into my morning schedule.  Then there are snowy days, storms, or Sunday mornings too cold to go for a power walk.  (I'm changing regular walks to a faster-paced power-walk)

Try one!  Go ahead, you paid for this!  Do it!