8 Months a Vegan

Me with Dr. Goldstein 2014

Me in 2013

Eight Months A Vegan

I have been totally plant based for 8 months.  No animal products at all. Now I do a little exercise, not because I like it, but because I should and I can. Honestly, I feel great!

I had a conversation with a patient today who underwent gastric bypass surgery about 16 months ago.  He's lost 125 lbs! All he had to do was go to the hospital for 4 days, be intubated under general anesthesia, have surgery to make his stomach smaller, take off work for a month, go on a liquid diet for 8 weeks, change his portions to avoid throwing up everything if he eats too much, eat only the foods that the dietitian  allows and pay the portion of his medical bills that were not covered by his medical insurance.

.....or he could have gone on a Vegan diet, but that would have been too extreme.

Pics of me from March 21, June 13 and August 9.

Me on Shelley's Birthday
March 2014

Me on my birthday
June 2014

Me at our H.S. Reunion
August 2014

Here I am sticking to it and reaping the benefits of plant based eating.  Its been 8 months and I'm down 60 lbs.  Last night, we were guests at a wedding. A beautiful wedding from a beautiful family for their beautiful children! The food was gourmet and I had the vegetarian option which was pasta stuffed with something suspicious. It appeared to have a cheese filling. Everything else on the plate was nuts and veggies so they disappeared along with my wife's salad and the pasta went back with the plate.  The band was great! We danced every dance non stop all night easily keeping up with the much younger guests. I was sweating up a storm, but today I'm not even a little sore and ready for more. 

     
Small changes one at a time make a big difference!  Start now. You may find you get healthier tomorrows and more of them!

Summer Squash Veggie Lasagna - Gluten Free (WHERE DO YOU GET YOUR PROTEIN?)

SUMMER SQUASH VEGGIE LASAGNA

WITH SLICED PEAR

     While eating my summer squash with home made veggie spaghetti sauce,  it occurred to me last night, that the reason the  "Where do you get your protein?" question keeps coming up boils down to the fact that the average person has no understanding of protein! Fortunately for you, I took a lot of Biochemistry in college and I'm here to help.  

     The general misconception  is that only animal sources will give you enough protein.  News Flash! Ever ask a cow, horse, elephant or hippo about their diet?  They don't eat any meat. Where do they get their protein?  When you eat protein from an animal source, your body breaks it down the same way it does the protein from a plant source. Your muscles, tendons, hair, skin, connective tissues and organs do not look like a cow, chicken, fish or pig's because the protein is broken down by your body's digestive system and then re-assembled by your cells to form human protein! In other words: 

YOU MAKE YOUR OWN PROTEIN! 

 The ONLY thing you really need to take as a supplement if you eat no meat is Vitamin B12.  Animals tend to eat dirt with their food and Vitamin B12 from Cyanobacteria is in the dirt. The soil is so depleted now that the animals have supplements  in there feed. Hopefully, you wash your veggies so you need to take a B12 supplement.

     The building blocks of protein are called Amino Acids.  Plants and bacteria take carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and trace elements from the air, water and soil to build Amino Acids. No animal can do that.  There are 9 essential amino acids, meaning that your body needs them in your diet to make protein. Plants provide exactly the same amino acids as animals, but without the saturated fat. This means that any combination of vegetables and fruits that you already eat such as lettuce, carrots, celery, peppers, tomatoes, nuts, beans, lentils, peas, potatoes, seeds, grains, apples, pears, grapes, spices and citrus fruits will give you exactly the same building blocks for your human protein that you would get from animals.  The plants just don't give you the saturated fat that clogs up most people's arteries leading to heart disease, stroke, circulation issues and erectile dysfunction. Plants are full of fiber which keeps you regular and helps reduce your chances of getting colon cancer. You can eat all the plants that you want all day long, never feel hungry and still lose weight! I also minimize oil intake. Occasionally I stir-cook some veggies in veggie soup stock, but don't fry anything.  

    So now you know where I get my protein.  I'm down 110 lbs. since 1-1-2014 and am not looking back!

What's For Lunch?

This is a picture of everything I ate between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. yesterday.  I had the banana and pear with a cup of black coffee for breakfast.  The sweet potato, veggie stir fry and Quinoa salad for lunch and the pear for a snack. The potato, stir fry and Quinoa were packed in a small Tupperware container and I liked the way it looked so I left it like that, stuck a fork in it and took a picture for you.  I wound up taking the nectarine home with me.
     I weighed in today and I'm down 55 lbs since 1/1/2014!
This was a great lunch.
The veggies are onion, garlic, carrot, celery, fresh ginger, tomato, pineapple, habanero pepper, basil, oregano, romaine lettuce all chopped and stir fried in HOT olive oil with a dash of Kosher salt, Red Wine Vinegar and a couple dashes of Soy Sauce.
     The sweet potato was just that with nothing in it.
The Quinoa is one cup dry, 2 cups of water, a little chopped celery, onion and garlic with a dash of salt. Bring it to a boil, turn down the heat, cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.
OH!  I almost forgot!  I let the stir fry simmer for about 5 minutes so the liquid would settle.  Then I strained out the liquid in a bowl and added it to the Quinoa for extra flavor.
Add some Sriracha sauce to the Quinoa for a real kick!
Let me know how it turned out.

6 Months A Vegan!

Its been 6 months already!  I feel great and I'm doing things without pain that I haven't been able to do for years.  That 50 lbs. that I lost is still lost.  My rope skipping has improved to the point that the count is over 100 without a miss.  Push ups, swimming and bicycle riding are all for fun now instead of hard work.  My waist line went from a 44 at its max down to a 38 now.  I can get into size 36 with a little effort, but I'm comfortable in the 38's.  The food just keeps getting better as I learn more about seasoning and cooking in general.  Quinoa has become a staple in my diet.  Its quite versatile.  That's what I was playing with this week and the results have been fabulous!  Here's one with portobella mushrooms and Sriracha sauce with melted Daiya Cheddar Style cheese.  I love this stuff!

I know, right?  Nice as a side dish.

Today for lunch, as my associates were eating ribs and chicken from Famous D's, I had my own thing going.

This time I used Quinoa with garlic, onions, mango, yellow bell pepper, tomato, bok choy, curry, white pepper, soy sauce, turmeric, jalapeno and paprika with orange slices.  

Oh My!  No complaints from me!  I'm stuffed!  Sweating too!  Spicy!!!

Your turn.  Release your inner Vegan!!!

I'd rather say I have my wish than say I wish I had.  Right now my wish is to eat healthy like my friend, Dr. Joel Kahn, the Vegan Cardiologist, rather than see him in a few years with chest pain.  Ain't nobody got time for that!

Reluctantly Vegan: Pictures! Down 50 lbs in less than 6 months!

Reluctantly Vegan: Pictures! Down 50 lbs in less than 6 months!

Pictures! Down 50 lbs in less than 6 months!

Here's me at my friend's sons wedding when I was not a Vegan:

This is me 50 lbs lighter with a Vegan diet:

That's my skeptical look.  I can't believe it either!  

Yesterday I pulled out my old leather jump rope and skipped it like Sugar Ray.  That should have KILLED my right knee, but there was no pain at all!

Release your inner Vegan!  

Let me know if I can help.  

(Skipping off into the sunset to the tune of Pharrell's "Happy"!)