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She
came for the bargain books, she stayed for her health.
- by Sabrina Nelson, VegSource.com
When
veteran homeschooling mom Evelyn Johnson of Abilene, Kansas first
discovered VegSource.com in March of 1998, she was looking for some
good deals on the site's busy curriculum
swap boards.
Evelyn
in 1998 |
Little did she
know that an ad for a set of vegetarian related books, tapes and
videos on a "miscellaneous" swap board would radically
transform her life -- and that of her husband and children -- forever.
The books and
videos were by VegSource's own renowned health and nutrition expert
John McDougall,
MD, and included his best-selling The McDougall Program -
12 Days to Dynamic Health. "That was the best twenty dollars
I've ever spent!" enthuses the 38-year-old mother of four.
Dr. McDougall's
12 Day Program features a low-fat, pure vegetarian ("vegan")
diet consisting of a healthy variety of plant-based whole foods.
Evelyn says that she had "played around" with ordering
meatless selections from menus in the past, but had "never
dreamed I would become a vegetarian."
Evelyn remembers
well the day she "went vegan" -- December 13, 1998. On
the eleventh day of her new life, December 24, 1998, Evelyn's husband
Tom gave her a wonderful Christmas present: he decided to eschew
all animal products as well, and joined her on the McDougall plan.
"We went
from being a big meat and potatoes family to total vegan over night!"
says Evelyn. "I convinced Tom to 'McDougall' with me by telling
him I needed the support. He promised to do the 12 day program,
probably more to help me out than to do anything for himself."
Tom liked the
idea of shedding a few extra pounds, as well, and so he decided
he would "McDougall" with Evelyn for three or four months,
then go back to "regular" eating.
Instead, 75
pounds later for Evelyn, and 45 pounds later for Tom, McDougall's
12 Day program has turned into a "Rest of Your Life Program,"
as Evelyn describes it.
In her glowing
tribute to Dr. McDougall on his testimonial
board, Evelyn says, "Pre-McDougall, [Tom] had headaches
3 times a week. He has not had a headache since McDougalling. And
he has more energy...it is a rare occasion that he goes from the
dinner table to the recliner (and he used to do that quite often!)."
Me and my
swimsuit
Prior to McDougalling,
Evelyn hadn't bought a swimsuit for 15 years. Shopping for a new
one was a delicious experience, she says.
"It was
a major milestone for me to purchase a suit and feel great about
it. I had fun shopping this year! When I was in the mall with Tom
trying on a couple of suits, I ran into an old highschool classmate.
She didn't say anything about how I looked probably because she
hadn't seen me all these years. But I had the satisfaction of being
trim and fit."
Evelyn
and pre-McDougall jeans |
As she tried
on the swimsuits, Evelyn offhandedly mentioned to the clerk that
her last swimsuit was a size 14, but now she was a size 10. "The
clerk was surprised, and so I whipped out a before picture that
I always carry in my purse, and showed her what I used to look like."
When the amazed
clerk asked how Evelyn had dropped so much weight, Evelyn responded,
"My husband and I just started eating a low-fat total vegetarian
diet with no animal products." Evelyn said the clerk's mouth
just dropped open. "You have to remember that we live in Abilene,
deep in the heart of beef territory. Tom and I laughed later about
her reaction. It was one of those moments that will keep us smiling
for years to come, like remembering one of those cute things that
your kids say."
A family
affair
Evelyn's four
children switched to a McDougall-style diet at the same time Evelyn
and Tom did -- and have benefited, too. "My 16-year-old, Emily,
has gone from a size 12 to 7. Craig, 12, no longer has headaches.
Heath (7) and Lydia (9) tell people in stores and restaurants, 'We
used to eat that, but now we're McDougalling!'"
Feelin'
good, lookin' good! |
Evelyn says
the changes in her family have gone beyond the physical. "My
daughter Lydia and I were at the store one day, when we came to
the meat department. I stopped and looked and for the first time
it occurred to me just how many animals were killed to fill the
case. Then I walked past the freezers filled with all the turkeys
and fish, then on to the TV and frozen dinners, and so on. I thought
how this was just one store, and there was another store just down
the street, and another one after that. And it hit me: That's a
lot of killing."
Evelyn says
that before that moment she had never even given a thought about
how all these animals had gotten there. "It sounds crazy, but
I don't even think that I had thought about them as being 'animals'
until that point. I remember suddenly thinking to myself, 'I will
never eat an animal again.'"
Evelyn says
her children are "so much more aware than I was at their ages
-- they have a different attitude towards nature than most people
do. I believe their becoming vegetarian has something to do with
that."
Helping others,
by example
Evelyn has also
inspired other VegSourcers to follow in her successful footsteps,
as she leads a mini-McDougall support group at the HomeSchooling
Breakfast Nook board.
Vicki Walker,
one of Evelyn's protegees, started "McDougalling" in February,
2000. "I have lost 9 pounds to date, and feel great,"
says Vicki. "Evelyn was a big part of my deciding to do this.
She offered her support early, and has kept me focused on the long
term goal. She continues to be there whenever I need a swift cyber
kick - or a hug. It really helps to know of someone personally who
has tried and had such success with the program. It makes you think,
'I can do it too!' and makes you work harder to meet that goal.
She is an inspiration to all of us, and I hope we all can meet one
another in person some day."
Another homeschooler
Evelyn met on VegSource, Michele Teal, decided she'd give McDougalling
a try, too. Changing her eating habits has paid big dividends for
Michele. "I no longer take medication for Lupus and I don't have
many 'bad days' without it, either," she says. "Also with all the
hormones they have had to place me on due to Endometriosis, I have
actually lost about five pounds instead of gaining the 10 to 15
that most people do."
Like Evelyn,
Michele's family has benefitted as well. Evelyn told Michele that
shortly after she started McDougall's program, she would find herself
enjoying physical activities with her children again. "It was so
true. We now have mountain bikes and ride often with the kids and
all of us have benefited from the diet change -- even my hyperactive
daughter has improved."
Another friend
Evelyn made on VegSource, Renee Crites, said, "Never in a million
years did I expect to be a vegetarian! It still makes me laugh!
Especially since I am so wonderfully content with it!" Prior to
starting the McDougall program, Renee had high blood pressure --
but now it's normal. "Also, my acid reflux is doing better, which
has been a big problem for me over the past few years. I need to
lose a lot of weight and have lost 35 pounds since beginning the
McDougall program in December."
Dull eating?
"Kiss
my size 8's!" |
So, do Evelyn
and Tom find low-fat vegan food "boring?"The question
amuses both of them.
"Last weekend
we had a getaway with just the two of us, and had dinner at a sushi
restaurant. As we ate our veggie sushi rolls and udon noodle soup,
we discussed how if we had been served this a year and a half ago,
Tom would have turned up his nose. But of all the vegan food we
ate that weekend, his favorite was the sushi!"
Evelyn said
that before McDougalling they had never had a lot of different foods,
like sushi, and so this was just another example of how fun and
exciting sampling new foods has become for her. "We're much
more adventurous when it comes to food, I'd say. Now you want to
talk about burgers -- that's boring!"
"I am so
grateful to Dr. McDougall and to VegSource," Evelyn concludes.
"Becoming vegetarian has made my family happier and healthier
than ever, and
I cherish the wonderful, close friends that I have made on the VegSource
boards."
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