The Results Are In (Drum Roll, Please)

Mildly disappointing, I didn't lose any weight this very last week. I blame waaaay too many alcoholic beverages and slices of cake on Friday and Saturday (stupidly just before my weigh-in). Just because the cake was vegan didn't mean it was calorie free. But hey, I've learned my lesson, forgiven myself, and am ready to move on to bigger and better things.

So, over the course of my three week Weight Loss Kickstart, I:

• Lost 6 pounds
• Lost 1 and 1/2 inches of off my hips
• Lost 2 inches off of my waist
• Lost 2 and 1/2 inches off my bust
• Lost 1 inch off of each thigh
• Gained a lot more energy, especially midday
• Stopped drinking coffee and soda almost entirely
• Completely halted my IBS episodes
• Started developing a better self-image, outside and in
• Cleared my previously conflicted conscience about eating ocean life

Not to shabby, I'd say! I am feeling really, really positive about all of this. So where to go from here?

Right now, I feel like I've only just begun a really awesome adventure--there is so much more to do and learn about food (and I do love food). Dr. Barnard tells me not to say, "I'm a vegan now," but instead to say "I will follow a vegan diet for the next (relatively short-term commitment here)." So what kind of commitment will I be making?

Check out my new name to find out. Hope you'll stick around!

Daily Reading

Remember those daily readings I've been doing along with the meal plan? Well, they've been pretty cool so far. Some days I am just blown away though. Today was one of those days.

The section was entitled, "Foods That Conquer Pain." Not that I really have any pain, but I think that some of this is applicable to almost everyone. Dr. Barnard talked about the four different types of pain that can be managed, prevented, or treated with diet: joint pain, migraines, back pain, and menstrual cramps.

Joint Pain

This part referred mostly to arthritis, but all of it has to do with inflammation. Apparently there are some foods that trigger joint inflammation for some people:

• dairy
• meat
• eggs
• corn
• sugar
• nuts
• coffee
• wheat, rye, oats
• citrus fruits
• potatoes
• tomatoes

His suggestion for people who have joint pain is to switch to a vegan diet for a few weeks--that means diary, meat, and eggs are already out. If the pain persists after that, remove all of the other foods from your diet for a month. Once you begin feeling better you can start introducing one trigger food at a time until you identify what the problem is.

Migraines

These intense headaches, as it turns out, are very much like joint pain. Here's what can trigger them:

• dairy
• meat
• eggs
• chocolate
• corn
• nuts
• wheat
• citrus fruits
• tomatoes
• onions
• apples
• bananas

You'll want to do exactly what was listed for the section above.

Back Pain

Dr. Barnard says that a lot of peoples' back pain is caused from restricted blood flow to the spine, which is often caused by a meaty diet and/or smoking. This can actually lead over to to a pinched disk and pain that shoots all the way down the leg. A vegan diet alone should alleviate back pain that is not caused by an underlying disease.

Menstrual Cramps

Alright ladies, this is the answer you've been looking for. The science behind this one is that a vegan diet lowers estrogen levels (while a meaty diet raises them). High estrogen levels are associated with breast cancer, and also all of those lovely monthly side-effects. Even in women with severe symptoms, a vegan diet reduced pain and in many cases completely got rid of it. And yeah, that is every month. The key to this one is also a low-fat, high-fiber diet too though. Oh, and don't worry--less estrogen isn't going to make you extra hairy or anything. The odd thing to me is that my birth control is constantly feeding me more estrogen on a daily basis. I wonder what Dr. Barnard would say about that. Perhaps I'll shoot him an email. Regardless, I'll be able to say whether this one works or not in about a few weeks, hehe.


Some of these I'm not really sure about why they work, and I really am quite interested. But seriously, if you've got something like this going on and nothing is working, why not try dietary changes?

The was a story as well in the reading, about a nutritionist who had arthritis in her neck so badly that she could barely move. After taking steroids and tons of other drugs she was still in a lot of pain. She was only in her forties. After switching to a vegan diet her inflammation completely cleared up, she lost 40 pounds, and all of her acne went away. Pretty crazy stuff!

That story actually made me tear up a little bit while reading it, because it made me think of my mom. At forty years old, she has tendinitis in both shoulders and what is most likely sciatica affecting her back, hip, and leg. She's been working hard with physical therapy to help alleviate the inflammation but I know it is still a daily nuisance for her.

Soooooo what needs to happen is that she'll move in with me and I'll cook her a super healthy home-made vegan meal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day! Right mom? *nudge nudge*

Maybe not, but I do think that this might be able to help. A vegan diet sounds crazy, I know, but it is actually the easiest "diet" I've ever been on. It really is a "diet" only in the sense that it is a way to eat, just like omnivorism or vegetarianism. Not to mention that all of these veggies contain loads of vitamins and minerals to keep you healthy anyways. I also have a friend with terrible migraines that I think could benefit from a vegan diet.

Dr. Barnard had one more tip for those struggling with joint inflammation. As a doctor, and after you've given dietary changes an honest try, he would prescribe every night with dinner:

• one tablespoon of flaxseed oil
• 1.4 to 2.8 grams of gamma-linolenic acid from borage, black currant, or evening primrose oil
• AND 400 IU of vitamin E (only 100 if you have high blood pressure).

The top two are omega-3 fatty acids that are naturally found in plants.

Good luck, and I hope I've influenced you in some way to be healthier! I certainly have been.

Day 7

Today marks one week that I have been following a completely vegan diet as well as Dr. Neal Barnard's book, 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart. While not over yet, I can say that this week has had its ups and downs, but has been overall an incredibly positive experience in my life. For the past week I have eaten better than I have in my whole life--and I don't just mean better as in healthy. Better as in more food, more often, and more delicious. This is one diet you definitely won't feel deprived and hungry on. And what's more is that last night at Gobblerfest and the Spirit Rally I could barely keep my pants on me because they were so loose! The poor people sitting in the grass behind me had to stare at my backside all night due to the fact that I do not own a belt. As Carla said, "I wish I had your problems..."

The menu for day seven is:

Breakfast:
Pancakes with maple syrup
Fresh raspberries

Lunch:
Quinoa and Red Bean Salad (recipe)
Hummus and pita bread

Dinner:
Sauteed spinach with fresh lemon juice
Penne al Forno (recipe)
Linguine with Seared Oyster Mushrooms (recipe)
Mixed greens with balsamic vinegar
Baked Cardamom Pears (recipe)

The Asian buffet last night, Hokkaido, turned out to be very good, and had lots of vegan options. I chowed down on sauteed mushrooms, steamed bok choy, vegetable lo mein, rice noodles, and some fried rice (with no egg, yay!). Because of this, I didn't get to cook the lovely menu from last night. So tonight I am going to make a few substitutions. There is no way that I am going to let those mushrooms go to waste, whereas the Penne al Forno ingredients are nonperishable.

Check it out this evening!

Day 2

Day 1 had its ups and downs. On to day two!

Here is the menu for the day:

Breakfast
Costa Rican Rice and Beans (Gallo Pinto) (recipe)
Sliced pineapple and mango
Pumpernickle toast with orange jam

Lunch
BST (Bacon, Sprout, and Tomato Sandwich) (recipe)
Sweet Potato Fries (recipe)

Dinner
Rustic Tomato Soup (recipe)
Salad of mixed greens with Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette (recipe)
Slice of toasted sourdough bread

Another of the things that I really enjoy about the 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart book is that there are daily readings. Today Dr. Barnard talked a little about the lack of meat and asked how I was feeling. Today I am supposed to have increased energy and improved digestion. Negative on both fronts. The energy thing might be my fault--I didn't go to bed till almost midnight last night and then had my alarm set for 4 am. I felt so miserable when I got up and started working on homework that I pretty much said, "Screw this," and went back to bed, missing my Organic Chem and Economics classes. It is 11am now, and I've just finished breakfast, but I still feel like I'd give anything to go back to bed (I won't, of course). As for digestion, that's always been a big problem for me. I have IBS, and just about anything can trigger it. Even my vegan breakfast this morning didn't settle so well. But it is only day two after all, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Introduction

Welcome to my new blog!

I think that at this point most of my readers know who I am, but I'll give you a little background. My name is Britney, and I am obese. 

From the summer of 2011.
(I'm feeding this injured turkey vulture some dead mice.)

I am 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weigh 255 pounds. I have struggled with my weight my entire life, maxing out at 275 pounds last year. Right now I am wearing size 16 jeans, but that's not my real size. I only buy jeans from Target because they run very large (which means I can get a smaller number) and even so I still have to do odd stretches and dances to get them on me every morning. My actual pants size is most likely 22, and I haven't worn a dress in so many years that I have no idea what dress size I would be. I enjoy exercise, and walk quite a bit, but my doctor tells me that my metabolism is so slow that exercise isn't enough. I have a food addiction and dream about sweets day and night. I am quite fat and out of shape--and very unhappy about that.

Thankfully, I am at a point in my life that I can do something about that. Last month I moved away from and got my own apartment, which I share with my two room mates, in Blacksburg, VA. While I attend college at Virginia Tech, I do not have a meal plan and therefor purchase my own groceries and prepare all my own meals. What is to stop me from making a dietary change then? Absolutely nothing.

There is me on the left and my room mates Helen (center) and Carla (right).

 

I've tried or looked into dozen of diets in the past, almost all with marginal success. The South Beach Diet works well while I am on Phase 1, but as soon as I move out of that phase the weight comes right back on. Last semester I did a nutrition research paper for my Human Anatomy class and discovered that a vegetarian diet provides all necessary nutrients and is a viable option for weight loss. When my professor read my work, she asked if I had ever seen the documentary named Forks Over Knives (www.forksoverknives.com). I hadn't, and didn't end up watching it until yesterday. It was wonderful, and provided me with a new option that I hadn't ever considered before...

 

I'm going to be a vegan for 21 days in order to lose weight.

 

And who knows after 21 days? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Those of you who know me really well are probably saying right now, "That girl has lost her damn mind..." Yes, I most likely have. I have slowly been driven mad with frustration, self-image issues, and anger with for being too weak to control myself. I am blind with rage at myself half of the time. Do you know how many stairs are at Virginia Tech? Do you know how large and spread out the VT campus is? Do you know how small the seats in the lecture hall are? Do you know how awkward it is to be touching the person next to you on the bus because your fat rolls hang over the seat into their personal space? Do you how embarrassing it is to be brick red and soaked with sweat when you arrive to a lecture because you just had to walk up a very small hill in order to get to the class in question? Well, it sucks. Bad. I am beyond fed up with all of this.

 

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

How I shall miss you, frosting...







The reason that this sounds so extremist is because I come from a meat, cheese, and potatoes family with a voracious appetite. We find occasions to get together that are centered around food. When it is someone's birthday we go out and get inch thick ribeye steaks to celebrate. Instead of turkey at Thanksgiving, we barbecue racks of ribs. At this moment in time I am having difficulty imagining not eating meat, not to mention things like milk and eggs. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, and for at least 21 days this is how I am going to live--totally and completely vegan.

 

And you'll get to see how it works as I blog about it every step of the way. As recommended by Forks Over Knives, I'll be following Dr. Neal Barnard's book entitled 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart to begin with. As I follow his meal plan I will include recipes, thoughts, science, and progress in my upcoming posts during the next three weeks.

 

Stay tuned.