Discussion Board

Hello!

I'm here because I don't want to be sick anymore. I want to live the healthy life that I have always yearned for. I know that I will never have perfect health, but as Dr. McDougall says, many of the illnesses I have can be cured.

I am not overweight, however. This isn't a journey that I can measure out with a scale. And, there isn't a quick overnight fix to this. The only thing that is going to heal me is time and adherence, plain and simple.

Although my diet may take some tweaking now and then to see what works, I know that I am on the right track.

I'm also going to do exercise. I know that diet alone won't fix my problem, although it is the biggest part. I've decided that yoga will be my exercise of choice for now since I enjoy them the most.

It will be a long road ahead, but it is finally time for me to take care of myself!!!

After my first day on these boards, what happens? I get sick.

I am feeling better though. I made a big dinner of rice, chickpeas, cauliflower, and peppers. So good!

Welcome Habanero,

Congrats on taking this healthy step to improve your life! I wouldn't be discouraged by getting sick after 1 day. It is not unusual for people to feel bad for the first 3 or 4 days when changing to a very healthy diet and/or stop taking in things like alcohol, drugs, caffeine, smoking; these are most likely withdrawal symptoms. Keep eating whole, plant-based foods and you will continue to get healthier!

Good luck and let us know if we can hellp you.

Cheers,
Ltldogg

Welcome to the group. I actually joined for health reasons myself though unlike you I have a ton to lose and both are are doing great since I've been on this plan for the last year. Best wishes to your health.

Thank you for your kind responses!

I'm still not feeling great, but I am hoping that it will pass soon!

Habanero - seriously, you don't feel great during the early detox stage, but it doesn't take long. Don't fret - I had a bad dose of it headache, tummy and gut upset and then whosh it was all gone. Immediately, the energy went way up, I felt much clearer, slept much better and started loosing weight.

You don't need to loose you say - but keep track of your other health stats. Hopefully, you have recent info or if you want to do that - you can get some fast. It help you keep track of how great you are doing. I lost 40 points in cholesterol in a week - so some of these changes are really fast and wonderful to keep you motivated.

Best wishes for your success and welcome again - Michelle

My life has been very busy lately.

I've been doing good with the lifestyle changes, but it looks like caffeine and sugar are the last things to go.

I guess the thing to do is to look at these things as addictions and not authentic needs. Since the caffeine is making my throat sore and swollen, I guess that it's not a good idea to eat it anymore. I have serious acid reflux issues, apparently.

Today I had herbal tea with a little honey for my cold. In the meantime I'll get used to drinking water, which is what I should be drinking.

I did it!

I ended up having one cup of tea yesterday but it really hurt my teeth! That is real incentive to stop!

Right now, I am drinking water! And, it's because I want to!

Now I'm going to eat a breakfast of rice and potatoes. Well, maybe a little yoga first!

So far so good.

Today I did a little yoga. I did it very slowly, holding poses for longer periods rather than leaping from pose to pose. I tend to get dizzy doing that, and I think that's because my blood pressure is a little low.

After, I put on some pants to discover that they had gotten a little tight. I guess it's time to get a little more serious and eat more MWL rather than regular-plan foods.

I have some avocadoes that I will not buy again. Question though, should I still eat them? Maybe I shouldn't stress out about it and next time I go grocery shopping to buy MWL foods only.

It feels good to start cutting down on these sugary drinks anymore. I find that as I get older I don't really like sugar all that much. Sometimes, during long shifts at work my head starts to nod a little and I think I need it, but more often these days I find that I want water. I guess I could drink green tea but that still has caffeine in it.

I'll figure it out.

I just hope that my breafast of rice and potatoes isn't causing me to gain weight? It shouldn't? It's just brown rice cooked with homemade vegetable stock and peeled, steamed potatoes (I despise the skins).

Welcome Habanero!

Wow...thought I had lost my journal for a moment there!

After asking about drinks in the Food section, I've decided I need to cut out white sugar. I know that I definitely have problems with it, and I definitely don't need the extra calories! For the next couple of days I'll be drinking water, water with lemon, green tea, and herbal teas. Hopefully, it works!

I find the best thing to do is to replace the unhealthy food with something healthy, rather than just cut it out. Like cutting out processed junk food and replacing it with healthier options.

I had a real problem with white sugar. I have replaced it with Stevia. It tastes funny at first, but after a few days you don't even notice the difference. I try to limit that too - just a couple of packets in my coffee in the mornings typically.

Keep at it - this way of eating does get easier, and everything tastes better after you get used to more veggies and no processed junk.

Thanks Carolyn, I'm glad I'm not the only person trying to do this. I hear the best thing to do is to go cold turkey.

This morning I woke up, and although my cold isn't all that bad anymore, it's especially, shall I say, "yummy", in the morning. I made a pot of tea and downed it. However, I am not making some green tea and plan to make more lemon-water later. That should keep me happy.

I guess I have a habit of making something sweet to drink in the morning, I should definitely replace that!

I've been doing my best to drink more water. So far so good. I make sure that I drink at least 3 glasses a day (and I am thirsty for it, but I've just learned to ignore it).

I was tempted to eat junk food yesterday. I almost bought some. Then, I changed my mind after reading the ingredients. I went home feeling quite good about myself knowing that I wouldn't have to clean up my own mess tomorrow.

Now I'm off to drink some green tea and eat me some potatoes!

Hi all,

Lately I've been struggling with the cutting out sugar problem. Thing is, I am getting extremely tired, like I need to take a nap in the middle of the day. This is not good for me! I'm not sure if there's anything I can do to keep my blood sugars up? It usually is a little on the low side.

I have been experimenting with flavoured waters. I do really like the cucumber-mint water, however, I think the mint if aggrovating my acid reflux. Too bad, since I discovered that it is such a nice herb!!!

Anyways, I've noticed more flexibility with the yoga, and I am really enjoying it. As long as I don't move too fast as I get dizzy easily.