A bit over 3 years ago I weighed 228 pounds, got sick a lot, was tired all the time, and in questionable health according to my doctor. I began to search the internet for healthy ways to lose weight and learned about juicing. After researching juicing I bought a $350 juicer and began to juice the majority of my food. I lost around 20 pounds in a month, but juicing is a very time consuming activity for someone who needs to work, not to mention the fact that it is very expensive!
So, back to the internet. I found a video, "Forks Over Knives", and got my first introduction to plant based eating. I continued to research and found Dr. McDougall videos on YouTube and this web site shortly thereafter. I jumped on the WFPB bandwagon and found the transition very easy. A month of mostly juice had reset my palette and I was glad for the variety of whole starches, vegetables, and seasonings.
But my wife is not plant based and as many of you may have experienced if you live in a "mixed" household, sometimes it is easier to make dietary accommodations than to make a 100% change, at least all at once. So, I settled for 90% compliance and joined my wife for a weekend treat on Saturday and Sunday, a bowl of ice cream. Weekend evenings are our big together time, and it really hurt my wife if I did not join her in that weekend ritual. Even so, I continued to lose weight, and after 4 months was at 159 pounds (18.9 BMI)
I stabilized my weight with a bit of calorie density alteration and stayed right there at 162-165 for over 2 years.
But then I started getting sloppy. I decided that besides milk/cream on weekends, I could have an occasional tuna sandwich, or even a few fried eggs now and then, and it wasn't long before my weight started to respond to my poor choices. In about a year my weight went from 165 to 188, and I decided I needed to start behaving with more discipline and cut out some of those additions I had slowly made to my diet. But it was not easy, at least, not at first.
(to be continued)
