by EvanG » Sat Jul 06, 2013 6:20 pm
The details:
40 yr old male at 5' 9" with no major known health issues.
I started at 175 & dropped to 157 or so in about three months on mostly whole foods plant based diet. I don't have any lipid stats, as I've not been to a doctor in a while. My blood pressure may have dropped 5 to 10 mm Hg over that time. It sits around 120/80, where it's been for most of my life, except during the relatively less healthy periods.
Summary: This diet (way of eating) is really pretty easy once you get going. It helped me feel more energetic and get to a pretty trim high school weight (bmi around 22-23). If you're on the fence, give it a try. I wish I did this years ago.
General improvements: I feel a bit better, am more rested in the morning, and have dropped coffee completely. My waist size has gone down from a tight 34 to an easy going 32 & my belly now makes a medium T-shirt fit well again. I do have a bit of tea in the morning, but not anywhere near as much caffeine as in the past. A knee that has had issues in the past has been trouble free for a year, which is a definite improvement.
Biggest surprise: It really is pretty easy to eat this way once you get going on this diet. When I started, I was most apprehensive about giving up cheese. That in particular seemed impossible. I've always enjoyed salads and veggies, so that probably helped the transition. After 6 months, it was pretty easy to do, and it just seems to get easier and easier.
Goals: These were three-fold. I wanted to drop 10 to 20 lbs, I was hoping that a skin issue would clear up, and I also want to hit 60 and beyond in a healthy med-free body. It seems that practically everyone over 60 or so is on a bunch of pills or has some malady or another.
Motivation: Forks over knives was a catalyst that led to reading The China Study, Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, The Starch Solution, and a few others. Youtube presentations were a guilty pleasure, and some of McDougall's were really great; they were informative, and his attitude is very motivating. This board has been very helpful too, because it took a lot of work to convince myself that this was a necessary and good undertaking. Even after realizing some of the benefits, doubts crept in, and it took a lot of effort & reading to keep convinced. Personal stories and links on this board were very helpful.
The journey:
In the beginning of 2012, I started a weight loss challenge with some family members. At the beginning of the year, I was 179 (bmi=26.4). In the first half of the year, I was pretty successful when at home, but when I traveled or socialized a lot, any lost weight came back. By the end of 6 months, I had lost 4 to 5 lbs. Pretty much as soon as I started on a whole foods plant based diet, I started losing 1 to 2 lbs a week. I blew by my goal of 165 & decided to set it at 155 (high school weight). After 7 months, I hit 153 & since then have bounced between 152 and 157 depending on how many dried fruit and nut binges I go on. Unfortunately, my skin issue, which may be hives, eczema, sebhorreic dermatitis, something else or some combo has not gotten any better. So, the journey / learning period continues. This week is the beginning of an elimination diet for me. So, hopefully I'll know soon whether or not the skin issue is food related.
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Started in June 2012 at 39
Lost 25 lbs. Feel great.