3 weeks of being Vegan!!

So I have made it 3 weeks as of yesterday!  Last week I ate a lot of "bad" Vegan food-cookies, licorice, etc. But once again, it wasn't hard to stay vegan.  I'm not craving anything that is non-vegan so that's good.

My friend Meghan (check out her blog!!!!) had me over for dinner last week to have Seitan Sandwiches.  They actually weren't bad.  I was a little skeptical because it didn't look too appetizing but they were good and I even took some home and had more the next day.  Meghan also bought some Tofutti ice cream bars at Whole Foods. I have had the Tofutti ice cream sandwiches and they were great.  Meghan told me she bought chocolate covered cherry ice cream bars but they tasted a little like perfume. So after our Seitan sandwiches we both got one to eat.  I took one bite and thought..."there is no way this is supposed to be cherry flavored."  It really tasted like I was eating chocolate covered potpourri.  I looked at the box and sure enough the ingredients showed  natural flower and nectar flavors (rose, marigold, calendula, citrus blossoms, hibiscus, jasmine and lavender). I then looked at the box and while she thought she had bought chocolate covered cherry ice cream bars, she actually bought Chocolate Covered Flowers ice cream bars.  Lets just say I will not be buying myself a box of those! I think Meghan put it perfectly when she said, "Only a Vegan would think of making chocolate covered flowers ice cream!"

Don't forget to check out the recipe blog and Meghan's blog! 

2 weeks down!

It's funny that when I tell people I'm Vegan how they react.  Most people ask me what I am eating since I can't eat "hardly anything."  And they almost always say that they could never do it.  Well it's only been 2 weeks but there is PLENTY to eat and it hasn't been hard at all.  Going out to eat makes it a little challenging to find something Vegan at some restaurants but not impossible. 

I took my friend Tom out to eat this week for his birthday. He chose a Mediterranean and I don't think the lady knew what Vegan meant.  She showed us all the items on the menu that were "Vegan" and I think most of them were just vegetarian.  So I ended up getting a grilled veggie platter with rice, pita and hummus.  Not bad but there was butter on the vegetables so I did have a cheat this week. 

The exercising is going great, still losing weight, still feeling great, still off my blood pressure medicine. 

I have a doctor friend who talked me into doing a 3 day smoothie cleanse starting on Friday. It's all Vegan products but I'm not sure how I'm going to like only having smoothies to consume for 3 days!!  But I told her I'm up to challenges these days so I'll try it!  I've never done a cleanse and don't really believe them but I do have a lot of friends and patients that do them so it should be a good experience. 

Don't forget to check out the recipes page and my friend Meghan's blog.  If you haven't checked out her blog you are missing out!!!!!

One Week Down!

So far being vegan is great. I've lost some weight, feel great and the biggest thing is I'm completely off my blood pressure medicine!  At day 4 I took 1/2 a pill and then day 5 I went completely off and have been off ever since.
The week was actually pretty easy.  I didn't have one cheat meal.  I exercised 5 times.  I even feel like I have more energy.  I'm trying new foods and actually liking them!
I did my labs and they didn't look terrible...but not great.
My cholesterol is actually down from when I checked it in August but still high.  So that will make it even more interesting to see what this diet does to the numbers.  In the end I will post the actually numbers to see what it does.
My Vitamin B is normal.  And sadly my Vitamin D is a few points low.  Those of you that know me know that I'm a huge vitamin D advocate and take mine daily so I was a little shocked I was on the low side.  But that will change!
People have asked me what supplements I'm taking.  I take a daily Multi-Vitamin, Vitamin C, Garlic,  and Calcium + Vit D.  I usually take Turmeric but the ones I have are not Vegan because they have gelatin in them so I'm looking to see if I can find one without gelatin. If you don't know the health benefits of Turmeric you should check them out here. If I can't find any then I will start using Turmeric in my cooking.
I made some great recipes this week and will place them on our recipe blog hopefully today so check the out.
Bring on week 2!!!

Day 4....Still Surviving!

So far everything is going GREAT! I don't miss dairy or meat at all...at least not yet.

It's been freezing cold in Salt Lake but I managed a 30 min walk outside twice! Once in 11 degree weather and the second time in 9 degree weather! I just hope it gets a little warmer and that it happens quickly!

Everyday I learn something new about Veganism.  Did you know they have Vegan shoes?  Even my favorite brand of work shoes, Danskos have vegan ones! Check out this site to see more brands that have Vegan shoes.

Last of all, my friend Meghan finally got her blog up and going.  It's HILARIOUS so check it out!

www.yourmicrowavedoesnthavetobeclean.blogspot.com

And don't forget to check out the recipe page here.  We are adding new things all the time!

Going VEGAN...Day 1

How in the world did I get the idea to spend the next year of my life trying 4 different diets?? Well it started as a really simple idea and then I decided why be simple?

Here's how the idea all started:

I had two back surgeries in October and was out of work for 5 weeks.  I had A LOT of time to think! I was watching Ellen and she was talking about being Vegan.  I thought, "maybe I should try that."  At first I thought I would try it for a month.  The more I thought about it the more ideas came to mind.  I have patients ask me almost daily about certain diets and what my thoughts and opinions about these diets are.  Well what better way to really know about these diets than to try them? 

So I will be doing 4 diets for 3 months at a time.  The line-up of the diets are:

January-March====Vegan

April-June===The Wheat Belly Diet

July-September===The Paleo Diet

October-December===To be determined (if you have any good ideas I'm taking suggestions). 

I've made some rules to my diets:

1. I must exercise for 30 mins 4 times a week

2. I must weigh myself once a week

3. I must blog at least once a week

4. I may have 1 cheat meal a week if I want

5. I must check my cholesterol at the beginning of every diet

6. When I'm on vacation I will try to follow the diet as well as possible

I have talked 2 other into joining me on this adventure.  

Meghan will start blogging soon so I will post her link as soon as I can.

My mom will also be helping me with the blog and with the recipe blog that you can access here

I have a lot of goals over the next year and doing these different diets.  It's going to be quite the journey and challenge...I can't wait!