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

A New Lease on Life, Well, on Sleep, at Least

http://www.4shared.com/photo/fmAemf9s/nite_nite_time_to_sleep.html

Well, last night was different. When 11:00pm rolled around, I decided it was time to take the new set of meds.

Now, mind you, when I am tired, things worry me more. So, I was still concerned about taking all three meds at one time. I stood there a moment and looked at the three pills in my hand and … well, prayed just a bit.

I really do love God, but I also really did not want to meet Him in person that night! So, after turning it all over to God, I kinda just shrugged my shoulders and took them all. That didn’t, of course, alleviate all my worries, but I decided that I was really too tired to care, so I went to bed, said another prayer, and read for a few minutes.

When the words didn’t make a lot of sense and I had stopped enjoying the reading, I put down the book, turned out the lights, and FELL ASLEEP within 15 minutes. I woke up about 5:30am and, looking at the clock, thought,

“Man, it’s still early. Then, I thought, “Hey! I am awake!”

That made me happy enough to get up, go to the rest room, and stagger back to bed. I woke up again at around 8 and again at 9:30 when the alarm went off.

I realized that in some way, I had gotten in about 7-8 hours of sleep and, more importantly, over 5 were at one shot! I was still tired all day, but I think it was mostly catching up from being so tired for 3-4 days.

So, the new meds are working and I didn’t die or go into a coma! I am one happy camper.

I went to my daughter’s today and we had lunch at an Indian buffet and watched “We Bought a Zoo”. That was a great meal and it was a fabulous movie.

English: Scarlett Johansson at the Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year Parade in Cambridge, MA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Based on a true story, it dealt with a father and two children to gambled it all to purchase and run a zoo. It was excellently done and kept my attention throughout. I will say that Elle Fanning (Dakota’s sister) did a great job of being the kid who everyone liked and Scarlett Johansson would bring me to a movie almost anytime.

If you haven’t seen it, check out the trailer below. Good movie.

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Namaste,
Scott