To Vegan or not to Vegan…

As many of you know, I have been vegan since July of 2014.  For those that have difficulties knowing what that means, I do not eat meat, nor take in dairy.  That means no hamburgers, no cheese, no eggs, no milk, no ice cream, no regular chocolate.  I did this because I read a good book that discussed research stating nearly all people in the study who stuck to a vegan diet (and they were diabetic) had their blood sugar, their cholesterol, and their blood pressure go down, as well as their weight.  For many they stopped being diabetic about 6-9 months into the program.

My blood pressure, sugar, and cholesterol has, indeed, gone down.  My weight has dropped a bit.  The problem was that, after 17 months of the diet (and being very careful for the first 8 months), I am not satisfied that, the program has been worth it.  My feelings are if I would eat reasonably and exercise I would see as much, if not more, positive results.

I do not feel this means it doesn’t work; it just doesn’t work well enough for me.

So, after some deliberation, I have altered the diet for me.  I will still restrict myself to more leaner meats.  I will still mostly avoid regular chocolate.  I will still cut down on cheese.  I will still, of course, watch my sugar, test my glucose, and blood pressure, as well as take all my meds.

However, I believe my life will be more fruitful  and enjoyable) if I do this in moderation, exercise in moderation (try 20-30 minutes of light-moderate exercise 3x a week), and try to keep more active in general by doing a lot of versatile things.

I no longer love food; I enjoy food, but it no longer rules me.  That came out of this diet.  I proved to myself and others I could do this for over 1 year.  There’s nothing wrong with the diet.  If you watch your protein and vary your foods, it is very healthy.  I may go back on it again if I start feeling sluggish or gaining weight that can’t be explained by muscle.

I just wanted to keep all of you up to date on me, one of my favorite subjects.

I am making some social changes in my life; perhaps, more on that another time.

In the meantime, let me simply wish you all well, eat healthy, enjoy life, and smile – a lot…

Namaste,

Scott

Got Milk?

Source: Google Image Search with license for reuse. Click on pic for page.

I decided that for this particular opinion post, I would make a plea for everyone to think strongly about switching to:

1)  Almond Milk (sweetened or unsweetened)

2) Almond Vanilla Milk (sweetened or unsweetened)

Why the switch?  Well, it’s a simple matter of healthier, I think.

A cup of 2% White Milk has 120 calories, 5 grams of fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 120 mg sodium, 11 grams carbohydrates, 0 grams fiber, 11 grams sugar, 9 grams of protein, 25% vitamin D, and 30% of your calcium.

A cup of Silk Sweetened Almond Milk has 80 calories, 2.5 grams of fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 150 mg sodium, 14 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 13 grams sugar, 1 gram protein, 25% vitamin D, and 45% of your calcium.

If you go the unsweetened route (this is easy to get used to over cereal), the calories drop to 20, sodium is 180 mg, carbohydrates drop to 1 gram, and your sugar is 0.

I think that an important aspect to all of this is that there is no cholesterol in Almond Milk.  There are no animal products in it at all.  The unsweetened version does not taste bad (as with everything, you have to give it a couple of weeks to get used to it, maybe less), and since the carbs is 1 and the fiber is 1, you have a net of ZERO carbs in a glass.

I am fairly certain there are recipes for smoothies and other items that can use this wonderful product.

The reason I didn’t discuss Soy Milk is simply that very often is contains progesterone which is bad for anyone in fair quantities and really bad for men, especially older men.

Cutting out sugar, fat, calories, carbs, and cholesterol seems to me to be a win/win situation.  If you just can’t get used to the unsweetened taste, you can add Agave Syrup (about 1 tsp to a cup).  It has about 5-6 carbs in a teaspoon, but they are very low GI so sugar doesn’t spike.

Try it for 2 weeks and see.  It does cost more, but I have been sick 1 time in the last 4 years.  I feel better and, while I know it has a lot to do with all the things I am doing, this is a great start to a good change.

Latest report:  Weight down 10.4 pounds, Cholesterol meds stopped, Blood sugar running 70-85 in the mornings, and blood pressure runs low (May have to reduce or stop a med for that).  It was 104/34 and 104/52 last week on two morning readings.   Other thing is that, with the help of my reflexologist, I am taking much larger strides, pain is down, and I am doing a lot more around the house.  I am walking better.  I still use my cane, but a lot of that is because my balance is still off (and probably will be for a long time).

Enjoy your life; I am enjoying mine.

Namaste,

Scott

Yeah, That’s Me…

Sources: Google Image Search with license for reuse. Click on pic for page

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Well, here I am, another week and I have to say this one is a bit different.

First of all, I do not feel very well.  Can’t say I am sick, but I am a bit nauseous, tired, and well done in.  Now, the tired could explain it all.  I mean, I am tired and when that happens, nothing else seems to go very well.  Are you that way?  I am tired because I sleep so poorly at night.  Small update! – I ran out of my Rx sleep aid two nights ago and so did not have any that night.  I took my herbals and, well, I slept just as good.  That is a striking difference from not sleeping at all when I ran out before.  So, yesterday, I picked up my Rx ($44) and decided to not use it again last night.  Result?:  the same.  I slept just as I did the night before.  I am setting the Rx aside for now and will keep trying.  I decided that if I go an hour without falling asleep, I will get up and take it.  I am also going to try going to bed earlier.

Next up?  My vegan diet attempt.  It has been over 7 weeks and I must say I feel I am still doing well.  My blood sugar may go up, but it goes up slower and it drops very fast when it is high.  I measured it today and it dropped 76 points in an hour!  That’s as compared to 8-10 before.  I think this means my body is doing better at processing the blood sugar.  We shall see.  I went to the doctor yesterday.  My weight was down a bit (my scales at home first thing in the morning show a current 6.2 lbs. in 7 weeks).  My blood pressure measured at 110/70 (great!).  I had my blood tests so I will know that by Friday and will update you.  My current A1c is 6.9 (Borderline).  I am hoping for about 6.7 with this test and an eventual 5.7.  As I have said before, I am also looking for a removal of some Rx.  Specifically, my Simvastatin (cholesterol) as I don’t take it in anymore.  Also, I hope that my sugar meds and my blood pressure meds can be reduced or AH! done away with.  We will see.  I am not in a hurry.  I feel better than ever; my movements are better and with less pain; and I have more energy overall.  Happy for me.

But, as I said, today I am BLAH!  It’s a bit late, so I will close here and head off to bed.  I will continue the practice of doing my two writing prompt posts on Wed and Thu evenings and try to do a Friday post like this one.  Thank you for keeping up with reading me and commenting.  I am still trying to read a lot of your posts.

Namaste,

Scott