End of Vegan Challenge

                So I made it to week six.  I can’t believe I did this and it really was not that hard.  WOW.  It was hardest when we went out to dinner.  Other than that it was easy.  I have to admit that I was happy with the experience.  Only disappointing part was that I really didn’t lose anything.  I would have expected more.  I think it is more because of my life vs. the vegan challenge.  Going off birth control has totally wacked me out.  It has been rough.  Always tired and never getting a good night sleep.  I wish it didn’t interrupt my vegan challenge.  I think my results would be better. 

I hope you have the chance to try this challenge too!

So here are the numbers. 

Measurements	My Start	5-2-2013
Weight: Total	146.2 lb	143.2
Weight: Water	52.4%	52.8
Weight: Fat	25.1%	24.5
Measurement:  Height	5’ 6”	5’ 6”
Measurement:  Waist at naval	34.5	33
Measurement:  Bust	26	26
Measurement:  Hip	37	37
Measurement:  Booty	39	39
Measurement:  Thigh	L 22.5   R 22	L 22.5   R 22
Measurement:  Calf	L 14      R  14	L 14      R  14
Measurement:  Arm	L 11.5   R  12	L 11.5   R  12
Measurement:   Neck	13	13
BMI	23.6	23.11
Waist to Height	.52	.50
Heart Rate: Standing	72 bpm	68 bpm
Heart Rate: Exercise	132 bpm	132 bpm
Heart Rate: Rest	80 bpm	80 bpm
Hoxworth: Blood Pressure	121/77	121/77
Hoxworth: HCT	42%	38%
Hoxworth: Total Cholesterol	194	unknown

Vegan Challenge Week 5

Happy Late Earth Day!  Earth Day marks week 5 vegan.  I love Earth Day and what better way to celebrate it than by being vegan!  One of the lowest impact diets to the planet!

This year I was given the opportunity to teach a 35 minutes session on Sustainability with a co-worker on Monday to a few interested peers.  The session went well.  But when the topic is saving money while doing something good for the planet, it tends to get people’s attention.  I also organized my team’s participation on my site’s Earth Day Fair and worked on the overall Earth Day team for my site.  Yes I am a bit of an overzealous tree hugger! And I am very proud of my team’s effort in Earth Day Fair.  With a few suggestion I organized my team, Energy Purchases, booth.  We educated co-workers on what we are doing for the company, what they can do to save money on their utility bill and even what is the best light bulb.  I enjoyed 2 things. 

1.       Watching people’s face as I explained how they can save money (I was just after the energy conservation which leads to a little less CO₂ while they were after the savings).

2.       The fact that I was able to show my manager what a value our participation can bring to the company.  He also enjoyed watching people’s face after we promised to save them money and the sense of community it brought.  As I knew it would J

So now I am back into the routine of work and vegan.  This week has been one of the hardest.  And not because I have cravings or anything but because I am fighting off a cold or something and I am just exhausted.  I am not really sure what I have so everyone says ‘are you getting enough protein or sugar?’  ha what can you do? 

Today marks 1 week till I give blood and plan to end the vegan only diet.  Ironically I got a letter in the mail asking me to donate blood and that they need my type.  Silly Hoxworth, I am scheduled for May 2^nd.  What I like about this vegan challenge is that I no longer crave chocolate and cheese as I once did and that I know I can do it and be fine.  So you may read this and say ‘but Valerie you keep mentioning that you don’t feel very good’ yes that is true, however I have stopped taking birth control and been trying for a baby.  Most women experience similar symptoms as I have when they give up birth control. 

Anyway I hope my experience helps you try vegan and not shy away!

Week 4 - Gone Vegan

                I have made it to week four of my vegan challenge only I didn’t really make it.  I enjoyed cheese and eggs Friday, Saturday and Sunday.  I had planned on doing this due to our plans to go to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky with nine other friends.  I could have committed and skip the Miguel’s Pizza but that feels like a sin when I only get the chance to have it once or twice a year.  Excuses excuses….  So I am back on the wagon and vegan world again.  Week four was kind of hard to get back into the routine but not bad.  I am keeping my eyes on May 2.  That is the day I will be giving blood and get a chance to look at my cholesterol.  I will also do all the same tests I did several weeks ago.  I am hoping for a bit of change.  I have not really seen any changes in my weight, so I will be curious if there will be other benefits. 

                I had intended to begin juicing after returning from the Red River Gorge.  It is a big commitment and I haven’t had a chance to begin.  I have been busy starting my seedlings and getting caught up from work and tasks around the house.   So that is my plan to begin that soon. I need to remind myself how great I feel when I juice.

I had hoped that trying vegan I would begin feeling better.  This makes about 8 weeks since I haven’t had a good night sleep.  It is getting the best of me.  I am feeling run down, unmotivated and a bit loopy.  I want to change this!  So I have been watching my gluten intake but not as closely as possible.  I find it hard to go vegan and gluten free.

                Are you interested in the Red River Gorge?  Well it is part of the Daniel Boone National Forest.  It is 2.5-3 hours south of Cincinnati.  If you like hiking, climbing, camping or repelling, you need to go to the park.  It is a beautiful place.  We try to go a few times a year.  This trip we did 3 hikes and 2 I have never done before.  We hiked to Natural Bridge, climbed through the rock at Cloud Splitter, and then Sunday before we headed home we hit up Indian Staircase.  I have some pictures.  This was a great trip because we did a few of those ‘secret trails’.  Most trails are on maps and in books but there are a few not widely advertised.  Possibly because they are a bit dangerous.  We luckily had a few experienced hikers to help, people like me, get through some of them.



Cloud Splitter






The view after climbing through Cloud Splitter

 



Indian Staircase

 



Looking up at my friends at Indian Staircase

 

Day 13 of the Engine 2 Diet

I will be honest I am not in love with this vegan challenge.  I think it is more because of everything else.  I am still always tired and not sure if it is just because I stopped birth control.  It has been 7 weeks since I stopped the pill and I haven’t had a good night sleep and woke up feeling refreshed since.  I have been tired for 7 weeks!  I had hoped this challenge would help.  I think I need to go back to juicing. 

So this week was just like any other.  I shared my Quinoa recipe which I had for a few meals.  Yesterday I made pasta, veggies and roasted walnuts.  I had a super craving for pasta.  It is one of my weaknesses.  Pasta,  french fries and peanut butter… Yum.  I normally love cheese too but I am surprised how easy it has been to give it and chocolate up.  I mean I want to eat them but don’t have cravings for them.

I want to try to reduce the gluten in my diet but I haven’t had time to do all the research I need on it.  I plan to do what I am doing now for the next week.  I am going to the Red River Gorge in KY next weekend so I will do my best to stay on the challenge.  My game plan is to try juicing once I return.  I have tried it once before and loved it but it takes a lot of commitment.  I find it hard to commit with all the excuses to go out for lunch and dinner. 

About a year ago I watch Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead.  A documentary, you can find it on Netflix, which walks through Joe Cross’s efforts to juice across America.  His goal was to reverse his health problems by giving his body pure nutrition.  I recommend watching the video.  It is motivational and then if you join the website or Facebook page you will see a ton of people who also have great experience.  I will warn you that you will have a bit of withdrawal.  I think the first 5 days were very hard.  I still ate but only veggies and fruit and very little.  90% or more of my diet was juice.  After the first 5 days I felt really good and had more energy and ended up losing 15lbs.  It was awesome.  I even felt old injuries heal.  You do need a juicer and not a blender.  You need to take out the fiber from the fruit and veggies and only getting the nutrition.  Now everyone asks if I get enough protein.  Just look at the cow, the buffalo, hippo, elephant and gorilla.  Each one only eats vegetation and they are some of the largest and strongest animals on the planet. 

So that is my game plan.  3 weeks vegan and 1 week juice and slowly reduce gluten.  I can’t wait to have my blood work done, May 2^nd to see if it has improved. And retest my heart beat to see if this is worth it.

Vegan Week 2 with a Recipe!!!

So it is Tuesday and this marks the beginning of week two!  I can’t believe I have made it this far and it wasn’t that bad!!! So I have noticed the last few days I have been in a better mood and had more energy.  I can’t say for sure if it is because of the challenge but I will take it. I lost weight the first few days then I put it right back on the fallowing few days then lost it again.  Crazy.  I do fluctuate but for me it is typically about 2 lbs. e very few days.  I am not going to get too excited just yet.

                My husband is sick today so when I got home I tried to make something healthy that he would eat.  I took a recipe on the Quinoa and made it my own.  Let me share.

·         1 Cup of quinoa; cook as directed

·         1 Can of northern white beans drained, rinsed, and cooked as directed

·         2 Cups of frozen cauliflower cooked as directed

·         2 Cups of frozen broccoli cooked as directed

·         ½ Cup of pine nuts roasted.  Watch these closes they roast fast.  I typically do like 5 min in a toaster oven (add  last to individual dishes)

·         ½ Tablespoon olive oil: you can add more for taste

·         ½ Tablespoon Ume Plum Vinegar: you can add more for taste

·         ¼ teaspoon dried mint

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         Mix all of the ingredients and if it is a little cool microwave it for a few min before adding the pine nuts

I loved it but my husband said the beans we a little dry.  Hope you can try this and make it your own!

A Week on Engine 2 Diet

                Today is Easter and marks a week ‘gone vegan!’  I have to admit this is a bit easier than I thought.  I have had temptations but it has not been too hard to resist.  I will admit; I cheated today.  I had a piece of milk chocolate but resisted the cheese, coffee cake and cookies.  I am actually proud that I only cheated once.  The detox was over in a few days but the sluggishness is lingering.  I had this sluggishness before I started the Engine 2 Diet, one of the reasons I wanted to try this.  As I mentioned in another post is my husband and I are trying to get pregnant.  So I stopped taking birth control.  I read some of the side effects and had just anticipated moodiness but I got all the other side effects.  The worse being sluggishness and inability to fall asleep, stay asleep and wake up in the morning.  So far this challenge has not improved that but I hope it will with time. 

So this week I had my yearly womanly exam this week.  I asked my doctor about anything I need to worry about or if she thought there were issues in being pregnant and being vegetarian or vegan.  I expected the usual comments, the comments my friends, family, coworkers and even my healthcare friends say.  ‘you won’t get enough protein, calcium, vitamin D, Vitamin B12, etc.’.  What I got from her was just the opposite.  She said, “no, I don’t see any issues as long as you take a daily vitamin and make sure it has folate.  And actually I think that is how we were meant to live”.  It made me sooooo happy!  I talked with her for a bit longer about my sluggishness and if I should be concerned about my thyroid.  She noted that was likely related to my age and stopping the birth control.  She said, “you may want to consider gluten free”.  Wow it was great to hear my doctor say that.  I am very excited that she and I have similar views and it helped me reassure that I am on the right path and I can do this in this conservative Midwestern town in which I live.

Forks Over Knives: Macaroni Salad

I made my first trip to the grocery and that took a bit longer than I anticipated and was a bit cheaper too.  I can’t complain about cheaper.   I thought it would be a struggle, however, I found many things that are vegan with a little reading.  Even saw a recipe for mac and cheese.  This week was full of whole grains.  I start the day with green tea and a bowl of whole grain cereal with almond milk.  There is a lot of milk alternatives so don’t feel like you need to try almond milk.  I really like it, myself.  I started with the sweet ones and progressed to the non-sweet pretty quickly.  Honestly though, once you get to the bottom of the box it is a tad bit grainy but nothing I notice anymore.  I made a few recipes and had plenty of leftovers for lunch and dinner.  I have the ‘Forks over Knives’ cookbook which is a vegan and came out of the documentary.  I made 2 recipes this week.  The Baked Spaghetti Squash with Spicy Lentil Sauce.  This was really tasty and yielded about 5-6 meals.  It was a little too spicy for me so I would suggest toning down a few ingredients.  I also made Macaroni Salad for Easter brunch.  I don’t think my husband’s family was interested in this so I have a lot left over.  I plan to add more veggies and eat it for lunch.  Also I made veggies and quinoa for dinners.  This wasn’t much of a change for me… hope it is this easy for you too.

First few days of the Engine 2 Diet

                I am about half way through my third day and want to give you a run down.  Now I have been a vegetarian for about 3 years and done a juice cleanse less than a year ago but still found I ate a lot of dairy.  So I noticed day 1 and 2 I had withdrawal.  I was surprised.  I didn’t think I ate that much that I would have a withdrawal from but I did.  It was minor, just light head aches and little moody and a bit spacy but much better today.  You may be thinking really how do you withdrawal from food because it is not addictive.  Well as I have read and come to understand that there are some things that just don’t easily leave your system and when you give your system more nutrient rich food and cut out much of the fat, salts and sugars you give your body a chance to cleanse itself resulting in this detox.  Now don’t be scared of the detox.  You will get through it and feel much better!

                I have been eating lots of whole grains, fruit and veggies the last few days and I will admit I have been crazy craving carbs.  I think that may be my strongest addition.  I am giving in to these cravings now with pretzels and even pasta but trying to keep the quantity in check.  I hope to be able to move to virtually all whole grain food from this Engine 2 Diet Challenge. 

So I have been calling the Engine 2 Diet a challenge.  My friends, family and co-workers laugh and joke with me about it.  No one has tried to change my mind, luckily, but you will run into those who try.  I know it is not for everyone.  My reasoning for doing this is

1.       It is the most sustainable thing I can do for the planet, more than riding the bus or never flying again

2.       I do it for my savings account.  Sure it will cost a bit more to buy whole grains over processed food but fare less than the meat and dairy I ate and likely save me money in health care costs.

3.       It takes most of my voting dollar out of the politically controlled FDA.  A little side note special interest groups have a lot more influence on our eating habits than most people realize.

4.       It reduces my chances of developing a stroke, heart disease, osteoporosis, cancer and many other diseases down to nearly nothing.

I hear 2 comments most frequently about my choices. 

1. “We are meant to eat meat, we have canine teeth” My response is yes and if we ate the amount of meat our ancestors did thousands of years ago we would be fine but today we eat far more than our bodies require.  It was a special treat that was a complement to whole grains, fruits and veggies.  Today it is the foundation of the dinner plate and the average person gets far more protein than they need.  Additionally, the food that our modern society eats has been altered in a lab and evolved faster than our bodies can react.  Our science has allowed us to modify chickens to the point that they go from hatchling to slaughter house, with larger breasts and legs, in less than half the time it once took.  However, these practices have not been studied long term to see the impact on us.  I like to think if we did those studies today we would find it is slowly killing us. 

2. “How do you get enough protein”.   I tell people I get plenty of protein.  Do you know how much you get?  Do you know what the side effects of getting too much?  You normally get a blank look.  It is kind of fun to get people thinking.

Well have fun with the Engine 2 Diet!

Engine 2 Diet Day 1

I watched a bunch of documentaries and read a few books and they all came back to the same message.  The best way to reduce my risk for many of the modern western world diseases I needed to consider a vegan diet.  Well easier said than done.  My friends and family can attest I mentioned my desire for several months but just never made the commitment.  I am 34 years old, keep busy with rec league soccer, TRX and an active social life.  Oh and my husband and I are trying to have a baby, our first baby.  So I guess that means it is time for me to start getting healthier!

 I picked up the Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn and I realized it is time to give it a try and this is as easy as any other way to start.  I have been a vegetarian for almost three years and yet I find that my diet is still very dependent on animal products. Also I consider myself pretty healthy, but I make bad food choices frequently, especially when I am socializing.  And then my kitty, Iggy, was recently diagnosed as a diabetic.  Yup I am working to be healthy and I over feed my kitty to the point he is a diabetic.  Really sad, but we are actively working to find the right diet and level of insulin for him. 

Ok so I read the book and it got me motivated to jump on the band wagon yet again.  So here I am.  I thought if I document the process, post it, and share my info it would keep me hooked, honest and give other motivations! I am going to share my starting info.  I am not too proud of this info, hence, why I want to do this before I become a mom.  I plan to exercise with cardio and strength training as described in the book.

Here is my info I collected on Sunday before I started and the blood work is from the last time I gave blood to Hoxworth on 2.26.2013.  Nice added bonus to giving blood is a free chance to look at your blood work J

Measurements	My Start
Weight: Total	146.2 lb
Weight: Water	52.4%
Weight: Fat	25.1%
Measurement:  Height	5’ 6”
Measurement:  Waist at naval	34.5
Measurement:  Bust	26
Measurement:  Hip	37
Measurement:  Booty	39
Measurement:  Thigh	L 22.5   R 22
Measurement:  Calf	L 14      R  14
Measurement:  Arm	L 11.5   R  12
Measurement:   Neck	13
BMI	23.6
Waist to Height	.52
Heart Rate: Standing	72 bpm
Heart Rate: Exercise	132 bpm
Heart Rate: Rest	80 bpm
Hoxworth: Blood Pressure	121/77
Hoxworth: HCT	42%
Hoxworth: Total Cholesterol	194

My goals are to lose weight, improve  the above numbers, reduce this constant tired feeling,  fall asleep at night, sleep through the night and wake up easier each morning, increase concentration, reduce sick time and hopefully heal some of my ailments like my knees and ear aches.  I know some of these are related to me stopping birth control but I hope I can improve them by trying this challenge.

If you are interested in starting too; consider the below website, The Engine 2 Diet and Forks Over Knives documentary. And make sure you talk to your doctor too

http://engine2diet.com/

http://www.forksoverknives.com/