Permit me to introduce myself

Share your McDougall successes here in order to inspire others.

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Permit me to introduce myself

Postby Coacervate » Wed Jul 24, 2013 6:46 pm

I just wanted to say how happy I am to find this site. I've been reading some of the topics/threads and can see this is really going to be a big help as I am keen to close the loop and become a "real" whole foods plant eater.

In case you are having trouble sleeping:

I'm a 59 year old bloke who is feeling like life is worth living. Not so long ago I was making plans to top myself out. Now that is change I can live with... so don't feel sorry for me! I am 5' 9" and 195 lbs (from 238 a couple of years ago). I started eating plants while doing something on my bucket list...waiting to see the last space shuttle launch in Orlando. A long way from NZ, the weather was bad and by pure chance I saw Forks over Knives on tv while sitting in a depressing motel room on a depressing rainy day wondering if I could wait it out.

FOK had me at hello. I am a scientist and unlike Paul Simon I have been very hurt by my life of education...dam near kilt. I knew all the crap and none of the truth...How could this real diet info be such a secret?! Of course it wasn't, Kempner, Pritikin, Ornish, Dr. M .... so many have been reporting the science for so long. Now I am trying to cope with the magnitude. I mean illuminated against the backdrop of this truth, society looks like a science fiction yarn...2 years later I have not been able to get 1 single person to listen, to try. So at least we have each other here. I know the day will come when eating animals and their products will be history. I will try to do my part.

Rewind, 2004 ... "Uh Doc, I got this pressure in my chest"
Doc: "Well thats because you have had a small heart attack [is that akin to being "a little bit pregnant"?], have advanced atherosclerosis and diabetes. You are so bad we are going to bypass your 3 bad arteries." A week later I was a member of the zipper club. I took all the pills, still take 4 blood pressure pills every derned day. But I am off the statin and yet cholesterol at 3.9 mMolar (down from over 6 a few years ago!) The angina, which remained even after the bypass, is now GONE. So are my bowel problems, joint pain...cripes it is too much to list it all...put it this way: I get out of bed in the morning and stay active until late. "FULLY FUNCTIONAL" hahahhahha

We have a little 5 acre farm in NZ and the animals that we were going to eat are now safe and so are their eggs! At least from us.

1/2 Pint - A 3 year old Jersey heifer we saved from a petting park. She was raised on bread and sweets and anything the picknikers felt like feeding her. My neighbor literally saved her life the first day she got here, so sick she collapsed. He gave her an IV and some sort of homebrew and she rallied. Now people ask us why we call her 1/2 Pint!

Lucy Girl - our ewe was going to be BBQ and roast lamb, like many before her. Afterall, we live to eat right? WRONG, well no yes we do...but plants! Lucy can read my mind...and does the opposite of what I want her to!

6 chooks (all named but I'll spare you). If I could only keep one animal it would be a hen. Hens are people, man, really. The cats get the eggs now. Look, I didn't make this world so don't look at me like that.

Pippa - arrived here as a wild baby goat. When her Mom got shot by some hunters, they didn't have the heart to leave her to die. They heard I'd gone soft so they brought her here. She's grown now. Likes to climb on things all the time. Got them gimped up eyes ~~

sorry, I'm indulging. I love, litterally, what is happening here on this forum. I'm betting the last 30 years of my life are going to be the best because of this crowd. Time to go check out the recipes posts. What say ye?
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby nicoles » Wed Jul 24, 2013 7:34 pm

What a lovely story! I am so glad to have 'met' you and your animals :-D

Have a look around, not just at the recipes, but the support of all the members - it's priceless, literally, as it is all free :lol:

Welcome!
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby cln56 » Wed Jul 24, 2013 8:00 pm

wow, depression can go away, eating right and WALKING/HIKING does it for me!!! Stick with us, we are family! :eek:
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby Coacervate » Wed Jul 24, 2013 8:30 pm

That is nice of you, thanks. Yes, I see there is a lot here. There is always more to learn so I will try to absorb what i can. And Yes, the excercise...just staying in motion, really a lot of benefit from that. A little self-imposed routine helps too! If I get started I tend to stay in motion.

cheers
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby JulieS » Wed Jul 24, 2013 8:39 pm

Welcome! Read and view the videos of all the Star McDougall peeps, too. True inspiration there!
LOST 55 POUNDS! From pant size 14 to size 4, BMI:21
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby Ruff » Wed Jul 24, 2013 11:40 pm

Hi there, where are you? North or South Island? I am in Christchurch, I love the McDougall way of eating.

Good to have another Kiwi here.
Katie

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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby terranotsoferma » Thu Jul 25, 2013 7:05 am

Great to meet a fellow rancher.

After years and years of living in the big city of Houston I bought and moved onto a little 35 acre ranch in the big piney woods of East Texas. I immediately put chickens in my coop and had plans of raising grass - fed organic beef cattle. During this time I was searching for healthier living and was in the process of eating a more plant based diet. After realizing (actually admitting to myself) the truth about eating animals as food I changed direction and am focusing on growing organic vegetables, for myself at first, and ultimately for the local farmers market. I am also growing timber for sustainable forrest management. Like your cats my Australian cattle dogs get my chicken's eggs.

I understand about no one listening to you. In Houston, Austin, and Dallas there are lots of young (and young minded) people that practice the vegan lifestyle albeit mostly for ethical reasons without understanding the real science behind it. Outside of those big cities try to convince a Texan to not eat beef. After all to them it grows in the back yard. Everyone tells me, "your crazy, your hair will fall out, thats not healthy," and my favorite since I live in the Bible belt, "Jesus wants you to eat animals."
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby didi » Thu Jul 25, 2013 8:44 am

In case anyone is wondering the drop in cholesterol in U.S. numbers was from 233 to a fraction above 150. Great going!!

didi
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby pundit999 » Thu Jul 25, 2013 11:32 am

Very funny! And inspirational. Thanks for sharing.

I am also trying to reverse heart disease. So it is great to hear from people who have been on the path before me.

It will be great to know the the details of your journey: things like when angina started to wane, when you stopped taking certain meds, when you started exercising etc.
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby Ltldogg » Thu Jul 25, 2013 11:56 am

I lived in Dallas until recently and have personally converted many meat eaters to this WOE. I have met a ton of people eating this WOE in Texas and most of them do it for health first if not the only reason. This makes sense because Texas is one of the most overweight and sickest states in the USA.

I personally started out for purely healthy reasons but quickly understood the impact it had on Animals and the planet.
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby Ltldogg » Thu Jul 25, 2013 11:59 am

Coacervate,

Welcome to these forums and this WOE. Congrats on your success so far and for finding the truth!

Best of luck to you; enjoy your healthy lifestyle and keep spreading the truth!

Cheers,
Scott
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby Coacervate » Thu Jul 25, 2013 12:31 pm

Thanks everyone, I knew I would be among friends. Ruff, I'm just north of Palmerston North ... Pohangina Valley (I've been told it means "dark and festerous" in Maori. heh. I was in Christchurch about a year ago. It is one thing to hear about earthquake damage, but now I know what you are going through. All the best. One thing, I should have said that I am a USA transplant. My wife and I came here 20 years ago for a 1 year temporary job. Just could not leave. I like dark and festerous I guess. We took the oath and are now full blooded Kiwis!

Thanks for converting those numbers Didi. I was so freaked out by my high numbers, and the statin didn't do much. My Dr kept upping the dose (at my request!) and I kept getting sicker until i spent most of the day laying down. They started talking about another bypass. Thats when I hit bottom. Within 3 days of going off 80 mg simvastain I was a new man. And every 6 mo the cholesterol number came down another notch. I am hoping to see it drop even lower...I wonder if you can actually go too low?

Terranotsoferma, howdy partner. We too are growing a lot more of what we eat. One lucky thing for us here, the winter is mild and its really great for kale, silverbeet and such. Gosh, if anyone wants to "learn" to like a new food I suggest you grow it. You'll be so proud you want to eat it and acquire a taste! When I think of Texas I think you have a tough row to hoe. People can be pretty blunt with their attitudes even here in liberal NZ. I've lost friends over this. Like its some kind of threat. I guess in a way it is..both threat and opp.

Pundit, if i have one message it is ABSOLUTELY you can reverse this stupid disease. Heres the thing. I was so screwed I could not walk up a gentle incline. I didn't get pain, it felt like a gripping tightness in my back. That stayed with me whenever I was active from 2004 until 2 years ago. I felt so good so fast that I started pushing the limits and I think it took about 3 months before I had the guts to say it was getting better. By then everyone was telling me that same thing. Then one day I just went for broke and jogged up a steep incline. The pressure came back so I backed off. It takes time but that was such an improvement, I knew I was on to something. Now I am able to do a full aerobic workout, I never get the angina now. I would say just look for little improvements and key off those. You will beat this stupid disease!

About the meds...be careful. If you take blood pressure pills you need to go carefully, there is a rebound effect if you drop cold turkey. Your Dr should be involved. In my case, I knew I was getting better because she warned me I might get dizzy as I lost the lbs. Sure enough, one day I found myself laying in the grass in a heap. Thats not good. So you need to thread the needle and titrate your drug levels to match your improving status. The one drug to go off right now, IMO, is statin. Nothing has ever made me as sick at that ...stuff. If you stop eating cholesterol and eat healthy phyto rich foods (and I take a supplement of phytosterols), i think you will find you numbers coming down. If you've got a good Dr. ..well you know, I am not a one. I hate exercising for exercise sake. So I try to get my heart beating with a shovel in the garden. I'm a real sod buster. Pundit, how are you now? whats your history? are you type 2?

Thanks Ltldogg...one thing we notice here...when they show old news reels, the people look so thin and healthy. Now when we walk downtown, more and more they look like US Americans. Over the past 20 years we've gone form no Mcdonalds to that and BK, KFC... and all the crap from the USA. Yep we gotta be examples for folks.

Thanks everyone. Can you tell I needed an outlet? Har! This is really great for me. I'm going all misty. :crybaby:
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby geo » Thu Jul 25, 2013 1:48 pm

Congrats on joining the forums Coacervate! You'll find we are a friendly bunch and most of us are quite dedicated to this lifestyle and have already reaped its many rewards :D

I'm betting the last 30 years of my life are going to be the best because of this crowd.


Hmmm, if you stay here, you might start thinking 40-50 years instead of 30...its just another one of those side effects of this lifestyle :lol:
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby kakanui » Thu Jul 25, 2013 7:18 pm

Hi Coacervate,

Kia Ora! Nice to have another Kiwi on the forum (I live in Christchurch). I like the sound of your animal sanctuary. How exciting to see such good improvements to your cholesterol number, keep it up :) .
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Re: Permit me to introduce myself

Postby pundit999 » Sat Jul 27, 2013 8:31 am

Pundit, how are you now? whats your history? are you type 2?


Thanks for your detailed response to my questions.

I have been on this path for about a year after I failed my stress test and decided against the urgently recommended angioplasty and in favor of this way of eating.

I am doing well. My angina is mostly gone. I have lost 30 lbs to become normal weight. My total cholesterol is around 120. All other numbers such as glucose and HA1C are great too. Cardio CRP looks great. Search for my posts for my complete history.

I am scheduled for a follow up stress test in a month but I am debating whether to go through it or not. I don't have any problem so why take the test? But I shall see.

I have noticed on this forum that 2 years seems to be the sweet point where people say they have reversed their heart disease. So may be, I shall wait and take the test in a year.

I still take a small amount of Lipitor, 5 mg daily which is half of the lowest dose available. And I take Metoprolol for blood pressure even though I don't have and have never had high blood pressure. And I take 80 mg aspirin.
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