by Drew_ab » Wed Mar 31, 2021 7:54 am
Earlier this month, I am proud to announce that I officially hit the 10-year mark on my plant-based journey. I've learned a lot the way and I figured that I would share it with others on this board. The list is by no means exhaustive, but I'll attempt to provide sufficient enough detail as to leave you with something to reflect on and hopefully leave inspired. I sat down to write about it and below is what came out...feel free to comment, ask questions, and so forth.
What does this WOE look like for me?
Personally, I consume a great deal of starch with each meal (usually about a 500 cal base) along with generous amounts of nutrient-dense plants including vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, and so forth. I know it's not always a popular sentiment around here, but I do favor things like cruciferous vegetables and dark leafy green over iceberg lettuce, berries over bananas, and darkly colored starch such as orange/purple sweet potatoes and black/red rice over white potatoes and white rice, although I still feel they are extremely healthy foods. The biggest factor for me is the inclusion of vegetables rich in nitric oxide. It helps my blood pressure to run closer to 105/60 rather than 115/70. I am a cardiac patient and consider this to be extremely important. I personally do a lot of endurance exercise (running and triathlon), so I do include a fair bit of dried fruit and nuts. When I'm training I often need 2800-3200 calories per day to maintain a pretty trim BMI between 20.7 - 21.7. At one point my BMI went into the 19's but I didn't feel as good when being so trim (though I still felt better than 99% of people). I also eat an SOS-free version of the diet as I don't see the need for any of these foods. The only 'questionable' item I still consume intermittently is caffeine in the form of green tea or black coffee. I don't consume processed food period - this includes things like Ezekiel whole wheat bread and organic whole wheat pasta. I consider both of them to be mildly processed and I just feel better with fully intact starched. My main starches include oats, lentils, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, and rice, though I will eat other fully intact starches as they come into my home. I also eat nearly entirely organic (but this only started in more recent years as I wasn't previously able to afford it - it is not necessary but I like what it offers to the planet and consider it to be an act of compassion).
Write things down until they become more than an ingrained habit.
For the first year I followed this WOE I wrote every single thing down I consumed. Very quickly I became aware of patterns of behavior that were (or were not), serving me. It was interesting to see the exact correlation between calorie density and my BMI. For example, consuming dried fruit with some regularity made my weight about 2-3 pounds heavier. Consuming nuts with some regularity made my weight about 2-3 pounds heavier. Consuming honey, agave, maple syrup, or other sweeteners made my weight about 2-3 pounds heavier. Consuming pasta/bread made my weight 2-3 pounds heavier. Consuming salt (though non-caloric) made my weight about 2-3 pounds heavier. These small changes result in 12-18 pounds of total weight difference. Now, with endurance training, I need a bit of the calorically dense foods (nuts and dried fruit only), but these additions really do add up, particularly with those who are trying to reverse disease. By writing everything down, it kept me accountable to myself and resulted in true intrinsic change and habit installation. I was also able to learn the lessons that some people struggling with this WOE struggle with year after year. Your experience may vary, but this held true for me. There were no exceptions - if it went in my mouth I wrote it down. I believe this allowed me to fast-track the process of change to a new lifestyle.
The results do get better with time and adherence.
When I transitioned to a starch-centered plant-based diet, I initially felt much better, but not all the time. Food withdrawal is a very real thing. Giving up meat was easy, giving up dairy was a little harder, but giving up diet-coke was the worst. I honestly craved it for a good 12 months after dropping it. It took some tinkering to figure out what meal schedule worked for me, what could be integrated into my family's pattern of eating, and what would keep me feeling great throughout the day, but after several months this was more or less accomplished. But here is the wildest thing of all... After 3 months I felt better. After 6 months I felt even better than at 3 months. At 1 year I felt better than at 6 months...and well, you get the idea. After a full decade of a starch-based lifestyle, each year I feel better than the year previously. The body is gradually remodeling itself overtime - time and adherence will almost certainly give you the results you are looking for. I started eating this way at 26 years old after a quarter-century of eating terribly and following an absolutely horrible lifestyle (yet one that is common for North America). It's sad to think that most of this wonderful continent we live on walks around feeling awful all the time without even knowing it. They simply don't have a baseline for feeling great. This might be the biggest threat to our planet.
Use bloodwork and other medical tests to provide guidance and assurance.
I've been fortunate in that nearly every time I've asked a doctor for blood work and other tests (i.e. echocardiograms), they are more than willing to order them. I've studied the results closely and know what they mean (and sometimes even moreso than my family practitioner). Doctors are great people who want good things for their patients. Usually, their training and the system aren't set up for this. You need to advocate for your needs. Do be somewhat careful though - like Dr. McDougall says, "sick people go to doctors. " Dr. Greger has a recent series on nutritionfacts.org where he talks about the dangers of stents, as well as an older series in which he outlines how dangerous annual physical examinations can be. You really do need to be a well-informed patient. Nobody cares more about your health than you do. Having said all this, it is very reassuring to see a total cholesterol that is outstanding every time it is measured. It great when a full plethora of blood markers all come back better than normal. For me personally, I feel that it has contributed to compliance greatly.
People will initially critique you, ridicule you, and try to dissuade you. Eventually, some of them will join you, and the naysayers will be quiet.
In the first few years of doing this, many people criticized me, worried that I was going to become gravely ill, and outright tried to talk me out of this. Where are these people now? Many of them are fat, sick, and have become more and more engulfed with conventional medical care for chronic lifestyle conditions that are entirely preventable. Don't get me wrong, if I crash my bike I want to visit a hospital. If I cut my finger building a new deck in my backyard that needs to get stitched up, I want to get fast attention in an ER. But most people receive medical care for conditions that are entirely preventable. Over time the people around me have become more interested in eating plants and now see the value. They'll frequently say things like "I think it's a good strategy for making it to 100, but I don't think I can do it. But good for you for doing it." I have never tried to convince anyone around me to follow this WOE, but a few have done so along the way while others have leaned in that direction. We live in a very interesting world at the moment. On the one hand, our world is the most food-toxic it has ever been with access to calorie-rich and processed food (CRAP) being so prevalent. Yet, on the other hand, people are the most plant-curious they have ever been, though perhaps it's misguided with access to things like the impossible burger, beyond burger, and so forth.
The benefits of increased cognitive performance and productivity are real.
People around here talk about reversing angina, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and other serious conditions. But almost no one talks about the cognitive benefits of plants. I was fine before this journey, but it really has been like gasoline on the fire for ramping up cognitive abilities and productivity. I have two young children and a demanding career, which means that time and efficiency are extremely important. Yet, despite this, I was able to earn a graduate degree in my field of expertise while obtaining a 3.9 GPA and doing very well in the program. Don't get me wrong, it took A LOT of work, but I am almost certain the outcome would not have been the same pre-plants. Also, I find myself able to accomplish many of the same tasks that my colleagues are in 25-50% less time. Furthermore, when I'm done completing cognitively demanding tasks, I'm still energetic and not exhausted like they are... which means it's time to swim, bike, or run. Your brain is an organ just like your heart and as your blood vessels open up with this WOE, so do the blood vessels going to your brain.
You will become a kinder, more compassionate, and caring human being.
And don't mistake this kindness for weakness. Because you will feel better physically and be sharper mentally, you are more in tune with who you are and what you want out of life. You will become more patient and in the same token become better positioned to advocate for the changes you want to see in the world. Perhaps better than words, you will be role-modeling a way of being that is good for people, good for the planet, and good for animals. Does it get any better than that? I don't think so, but you may feel different.
Simplicity is helpful for long-term compliance.
If you were to come to my house and open my fridge, you would see gigantic glass tupperware containers filled with cooked lentils, sweet potatoes, and other starches. You would also see gigantic containers of vegetables that are grab and go (like grape tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, etc.) along with my nitric-oxide-rich veggies like arugula, kale, and beets. Everything is precooked and in large batches. If you were to arrive on a Sunday you would see 5 lunches for the week packed. Every Sunday I visit Costco and an Independent Grocer to get all of the produce I need for the week to feed a family of 4 (and during the summer months you'll often see bags of fresh produce from the farmers market). During the week I live a very busy professional and family life and do not have the time to worry about extra trips to the market for more food. There have been periods where my life has become extremely busy and I've literally eaten oatmeal with fruit/veg for a month straight. While this won't surprise anyone around here, I felt entirely fine doing so. In fact, I continued to thrive and live a great life. My meals are often created as one-bowls with a starch base where I add generous amounts of plants. While I indicated my preference for nutrient-dense plant foods, if you take a variety of plants you will be just fine.
Diet is one part of the puzzle, but there are others to consider.
While I've mentioned I exercise a lot before, one doesn't need to do a lot to maximize benefits and minimize risk (it is quite possible that I do too much exercise for longevity, but it's what I love to do and I am aware of that risk). Other health habits like meditation and its varying permutations have been invaluable for me. My work life is extremely stressful (and rewarding) - while plants have powered me with a great deal of resilience, so has meditation and mindfulness. I also subscribe to stressing our bodies in other ways such as cold-exposure and heat (i.e. sauna, steam room, etc). Aspects like community, belonging, and social connections are also pivotal and health and well-being. Don't underestimate these but don't compromise your health (i.e. eating calorie-rich and processed foods) to go along with others simply to fit in. You are better than that and deserve the best. Once you have diet in check, then it's time to move on to other things like exercise and community. You might eventually get to the point where you consider the types of soap, hygiene products, and cleaning supplies that fill your home. You may also consider the purity of your water and the cleanliness of your air.
But never lose sight of Dr. McDougall's trademark phrase - "It's the food." I remember visiting these boards in the beginning of my journey not comprehending how one could make it so long. It can be done. It gets easier with time. You are the locus of control. You can do it and it will be worth it.