How did you transition to WFPB gradually or straight away?

[Kaye]

I'm interested in how other people made the transition and how hard you found it.

I made my mind up to stop eating animal products again(was vegetarian for a long time some years ago) in April but at that point couldn't give up my daily cup of milk for my hot drinks. It took me another 2 months to take that final step and give up all dairy. It wasn't hard at all and I've no idea why I made such a big thing about hanging on to that last bit of dairy. Haven't missed anything and only wish I'd found all these freely available fantastic resources sooner.

[Jerry Angelo]

Personally I went cold turkey on eggs, diary, meat and fish...

Oil took me several months of gradually reducing and learning how to water saute and use parchment paper. In that time my taste buds changed along with the realization that oil is not needed or necessary in order from me to get tasty and pleasurable food. Oil, for me, was more of an un-brainwashing, more than the even the aforementioned eggs, diary, meat and fish...

That leaves me with coffee, not sure if I will ever get rid off it completely but I do drink substantially less. I guess I could also use a little less salt as well but that's it, I've been at it almost 25 months now.

Everyone is different, that's just my story, I guess we need to strive for the very best we can be for our health but we all have our individual journey and sometimes it can, and other times not, be compared.

[pundit999]

I went cold turkey. One day I was eating SAD, the next a whole plants only diet.
But then, I was faced with potential death or at the least, much expense and worry since I was just told I had heart disease.

Like you, I was however vegetarian for a long time before I ate SAD.

[brec]

Basically the same as pundit999 except that I was in a Paleo phase -- lots of meat and fat -- beforehand.

Nov. 26, 2012

[mountain]

For me it was over many years. About 15 years ago (I am 60 now) I stopped eating meat, then over the next couple of years I stopped eating seafood, dairy and the last thing I stopped eating was oil.
I learned about WFBP about 5-8 years ago....can't remember exactly when. Now I am a 99.99% Starch eater except for once about every 6-7 weeks when I have some sushi .
I lead a very healthy lifestyle, low stress, medium amounts of exercise (unless it is fun like rock climbing which I could do every day).

[MINNIE]

Both:).

My knowledge of this way of eating, and of nutrition in general, began when I picked up The Starch Solution nearly four years ago. At that point I had been a vegetarian for over 30 years, and a (very unhealthy) vegan for six years. Although I loved eating fruits and vegetables, I was also eating quite a lot of vegan convenience foods, high in oil, sugar and salt. To make things worse, I had always tried to avoid too much starch as I believed it would make me get fat.

I have already posted about my health problems: high cholesterol, IBS, GERD and many others, so I'll just say I was desperate to find a remedy for any one of these problems.

I read the Starch Solution all in one sitting, followed by Dr. Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease. Those books were so persuasive that I decided to try it for a year. I started the next day and have never deviated from the plan since then.

So it was a gradual sudden conversion LOL.

[katgirl55]

I am transitioning gradually. I would say I am about 90% compliant right now. About once per week I go out to eat for dinner/lunch and have a meal that I know has oil and possibly even a little dairy in it. Otherwise I avoid animal products and oils.

[GeoffreyLevens]

Jumped in 100% which is how I tend to do things. What works best varies from person to person. Do what works for you!

[geo]

'Im interested in how other people made the transition and how hard you found it

I just jumped in head first. It's not hard at all. The tough part is staying the course...food adictions can be as much mental as anything else.

Take a look at my one year Journal (link is in my sig). It shows exactly how I did it, my motivations, what I ate, how I felt, thought, exercise, readings, what I learned, etc...It contains a post for every single day of the year, something like 500+ posts, including questions from others and my responses. Note: it can be a long dry read, but it shows what it can take. YMMV

[Kaye]

Jumped in 100% which is how I tend to do things. What works best varies from person to person. Do what works for you!

Agree everyone should do what works for them. It was reading the China Study that got me wondering about how many people jump straight in and how many do it bit by bit and how hard people find it. In the chapter on "how to eat" T Colin Campbell talks about the transition and how you need to adjust psychologically - adjusting to plates without meat/not being able to eat in the same restaurants/friends & family not being supportive. He says making the transition is a challenge that takes time and effort although easy once you have formed new habits.

Apart from getting my head around giving up milk in my tea I've not found it hard but I don't eat out and don't really care what other people think of how I eat other than my husband who has joined me on the WFPB way of eating. If anything I find we eat a wider variety of foods now than we did before and we are both enjoying cooking and eating more than we have done in years.

[Kaye]

'Im interested in how other people made the transition and how hard you found it

I just jumped in head first. It's not hard at all. The tough part is staying the course...food adictions can be as much mental as anything else.

Take a look at my one year Journal (link is in my sig). It shows exactly how I did it, my motivations, what I ate, how I felt, thought, exercise, readings, what I learned, etc...It contains a post for every single day of the year, something like 500+ posts, including questions from others and my responses. Note: it can be a long dry read, but it shows what it can take. YMMV

Thank you, I had already started having a read and am very impressed with your achievements.

[dailycarbs]

My suggestion is to make your home 100% compliant on day #1 (as in no cheat foods in the house for any reason whatsoever). Additionally, if you work or spend your days somewhere outside your home, make your lunches and snacks at home and bring them. With this method, you're on your way to a really solid chunk of your diet being compliant. If you do reasonably well at family dinners, social gatherings, etc, you're going to be way ahead of most people who undertake a drastic change in diet. Maybe you will be able to follow the woe 100%, maybe 90% but it will be a success on some level and you'll get results. But if you start out cheating at home, I give you zero chance of longterm success. The whole thing will dissolve to nothing over time. Not trying to be negative, just stating the facts as I see them. Maybe others have a different viewpoint.

[memkat]

I thought i did mostly 100% ...couldn't see throwing out expensive meat so had 3 Oz of meat at dinner only on Saturday until all was gone. Have not bought meat in 4 years. Also cheated a bit with vegan cheese for about three years but have dropped that too. The oil and dairy minus the cheese part I was able to do cold turkey and I went through my pantry and threw out all the SAD food that was opened and donated anything non compliant to my church pantry.
When I started the plant based woe I was following Eat to Live and only came to Dr McDougall about a year ago. Also read fok and Dr Esselstyns Reversing heart disease and others during the past 4 years which led me to being a lot more careful about sussing out hidden oil and gradually making changes that probably should have done from the start. I still have the occasional egg ...but probably only 2 every 6 months.
Still I can see great improvement in my over all health and see myself as a work in progress. All my friends think I have lost my mind but my husband while eating SAD away from home eats whatever I put in front of him at home and is very supportive as he sees the improvement in my health.

Kathleen

[colonyofcells]

I started slowly with a healthy japanese inspired diet. I used to buy the costco salmon burger (12 count pack) and would eat 1 during lunch time monday to friday, together with some unrefined starch like buckwheat plus some green powders in the office. I slowly changed while watching the youtube videos of the vegetarian society of hawaii. Later, I shifted to sprouted lentils and sprouted mung beans for lunch. Later, I shifted to eating whole grain bread for lunch without legumes since I was no longer worried about getting enough protein. People probably thought I was crazy for eating only plain bread. I do eat some greens and vegetables so I am not worried about protein. I now tend to think of whole grains and vegetables as my main protein sources. I also try to eat cooked mushrooms every day if I can and mushrooms also have some protein.

[f1jim]

I jumped in 100%. That was 9.5 years ago. It seems to be the preferred method of Star McDougallers. I suggest you concentrate on what has worked for those that have already adopted the diet as opposed to those still transitioning. Dr. McDougall lays out a detailed way to make the transition that encompasses the period leading up to the switch and the weeks that follow. It has been his experience that this works for the majority of people.
As always, though, the key is to do it! Jump in and get wet. For many of us it's been a trip of many years with great food and increasing health.
Glad to have you join us.
f1jim