by wayneb » Sat Sep 23, 2017 7:52 pm
I am a newcomer to this forum and recently posted in the Lounge, however I would like to give an overview of my experience over the past month.
In all honesty, I came to McDougall by accident. I had recently been going through some health problems, and I had to unexpectedly take some time off work. On the dreaded day where I had to call into work to my boss to say I was unwell, I had a sudden thought flash across my mind: "you have to stop eating meat". It was quite strange and unexpected, but immediately I committed to the decision and have stuck to it since.
Although I guess - like most people - we are not too happy at killing animals in order to eat, I had no real ethical reasoning behind it. It was more an instictive decision that came to me in terms of something I had to do immediately in order to improve my health. From committing to no meat, it was then a very natural subsequent decision to commit to no dairy either, as I have never really been a big fan of dairy. I guess I ate plenty of cheese and a little cream, but I always thought consuming cow's milk and butter was particularly strange and quite distasteful in general.
I had often looked at vegetarians previously as a 'little bit weird' and vegans 'well they are a whole other kettle of fish', yet here I found myself pretty much an extreme vegan in the space of one day. I started reading up on vegan diets and quickly came across Fork Over Knives (shame it's not free on YouTube to spread the word....), Campbell, Esseltyn, McDougall, etc..
The info and lecutures that really stuck was from Dr McDougall. I literally spent 3 weeks reading everything he ever wrote and spoke, and he made much more sense than anyone else out there. I do have a particular liking for Neal Barnard also, however he doesn't appear to have as much material out there. Yet McDougall's reasoning behind fats was enlightening and something I'd not really properly considered previously. I had to be fair thought that oils were fairly unnatural and instinctly disliked fatty foods, however I never understood how widespread fat is is in all our lives and I had generally consumed to the usual abandon with no thought of consequence.
I have been now 4 weeks on a plants-based low-fat diet, and I have noticed some incredible improvements:
1. Incredible sense of improved confidence. I suddenly have much more energy to be able to perform my work effectively and to be able to engage with people much more enjoyably. Previously I would be quite slow and lethargic, now I am much more out there and in your face as my role requires.
2. I have lost 13 pounds (5.9kg) in weight since I started 4 weeks ago. I am totally committed to it and enjoying every moment, feeling lighter and more energetic by the day. I have tried previous diets with zero success previously, especially the low-carb diet which left me feeling absolutely miserable. This is effortless and enjoyable at the same time, I am on cloud 9 knowing that the weight will continue to drop off with zero doubts.
3. By not eating animal foods, I somehow feel much happier spiritually, knowing that I am not contributing to murdering several animals per day, every week, every month, every year, just to keep my belly satisfied unnecessarily. As I said previously, it's not something I've ever really thought about strongly - you have your blinkers on and just try to ignore the brutal facts - but by not eating animals, I do genuinely feel more humane and less guilty as each day progresses. Not something I expected.
There is one major point however that I would like to open up for discussion:
- EVERYONE has heard of Dr Atkins.. (despite his diet being terrible)
- A lot of people at some point have gotten fed up of being overweight and ended up trying the Atkins diet amongst numerous others
- Pretty much no-one I know has ever heard of or mentioned McDougall Diet or even a plant-based / low-fat diet as even an option out there.
- If I didn't stumble upon this because I was suffering ill health and something 'told' me to stop eating meat, I would never have come across this alternative solution either
The question is:
------>>>>>>> How can we get the word adverrtised out there more succesfully?
All suggestions welcome.
Regards,
Wayne