Big, fat and vegan

[karriew]

Earth Balance is the devil. Seriously.

[Ann685]

Earth Balance is the devil. Seriously.

Please tell me more. This is all new to me.

[karriew]

Hi Ann,

I was being a little silly referring to it as the devil, but basically I mean it tastes really good. I picked some up for my son (he's 3) after I stopped buying butter and cheese and then I ended up using it when previously I would not have added fat. Oops!

[sigma957]

"She also just moved cross country, from Brooklyn, NY to Portland, OR. A very stressful life event."

Whoa! The gueen of veggie cooking lives in my town now?! How did I miss this news? How cool! Maybe we can get her to a Veg Fest!

Barbara

[VeggieSue]

"
Whoa! The gueen of veggie cooking lives in my town now?!

Keep your eyes open on the Eating Out section of your local papers - she wants to open a vegan restaurant there once she settles in.

[haghverdi]

KarrieW

Welcome! I have been Vegetarian/Vegan for almost two years now. When I was vegan I would be 100% and always felt so much better.

But when I would switch to Vegetarian (mainly because I found being a vegan sooooooooo hard) I would allow myself not only cheese but the junk like soda and candy aswell.

I have started the McDougal program this time and have been very dedicated. I dont drink coffee anymore which was very big for me, I LOVE COFFEE!!!

But now that I have cut out all the junk I feel sooooooo good.

Keep up the good work, you have the basics since you have already been a vegan. I'm rooting for you.

-H

[veganruthie]

I am all about loving my body. I just have trouble loving it when it's rather overweight.

I was an obese vegan. I weighed near 190 when I got married in 2004. I ate lots of fresh white tortillas with Earth Balance (Agreed- Devil), and ate chocolate cake nearly every day because we were testing for our wedding cake.

I didn't feel good at 190, I didn't like my body, I didn't enjoy a lot of simple things like yoga, jogging or making love (sorry if that is too much information!).

I lost 40 pounds by tracking my calories, eating healthy foods and exercising.

Then I slacked off, and my body starting chillin' at about 155 to 165.

I am happy at 160 with my body. It's a vegan body who likes to exercise and enjoy the occasional dessert.

Recently, I put on about 10 pounds from not exercising over the winter and eating lots of junk food. I don't think I'm ugly or unhealthy, but I want to get back to that happier weight.

The end of my long boring story.

[CarolynA]

Ruthie,

How tall are you (if you don't mind my asking)? I am really trying to lose weight, and even though my vegan diet is much healthier than what I ate before, the weight doesn't seem to be coming off. I have lost around 10 or 11 lbs, but I seem to be "stuck" there. I wonder if my current weight is close to my "stasis" or whatever, and if I am just designed to be a little heavier than the "charts" say I should be. Any thoughts?

Carolyn

[Donna R]

Carolyn, are you sticking to the "no added fat" guidelines? that really helps many of us lose weight. you can have the flaxseed or 1 oz of nuts a day and that's it. I've found I can enjoy baked potatoes with no oleo! and just a little salt. I want to cut down more on salt but at least I don't have as much as before.

and of course don't have sugar, either! still lots of good things to eat.

if you lost the first weight pretty fast your body may just be adjusting and you'll have another loss.

good luck!

[CarolynA]

I am really trying to stick to the guidelines...I don't use butter at all, and very little olive oil (only occasionally when what I am cooking is sticking really badly to the pan - I do use high quality pans, but sometimes things stick anyway). I use only nutritional yeast on my baked potatoes.

I have been having some sugar, but am trying to cut down even more than I already have. I figured it was better to have actual sugar though, rather than artificial sweeteners. I have really cut way back on this though!

Basically if I don't REALLY watch everything I put into my mouth, I don't lose anything. If I am extremely careful, I might lose a pound or two in a week, but it all comes back if I have a couple of days where I have something that is not on the plan. I am not eating a large quantity of food ever, but I am just not doing so well. It has taken me since January 1 to lose the 10-11 lbs that I have lost so far. I just seem to be at a standstill, and can't lose any more than that. It's really frustrating!

Carolyn

[esam5]

Hey All:
New to this whole concept.... guess I'm looking for a little support. Here's my story:

37, 5'9" #244lbs (size 18W)

Jan 07 I was #274 and I completed my first half-marathon. Let me tell you, that was a grueling 13.1 miles that I completed with only the Grace of GOD!!!! I was inspired, exhausted, and finally Ready
to get this flippin weight off!!! After I finished the race, I got sick the next day and spent 2 weeks in bed with a bad cold.... but hey, I was down like #12, so it was a great start!!!
I stumbled through weight watchers for about 2 months..... ( those ice cream treats were awesome!) but I never felt like it taught me much about nutrition, just substitute lower points foods for what you really want!!! I came off that and found a great gym, fabulous support staff, great trainers, and the before and after pictures of real people that made it seem attainable. Started that around mid sept 07 and gave it a go for about 6 weeks.... then Thanksgiving and Christmas came around.... for another 6 weeks I proceeded to eat my way through every cookie that I happened to come across..... gained back up to #264 and Jan 10, 08 was my new start..... hittin' the gym and my high protein/low carb plan with a determination that I didn't know I had in me..... I was so compliant about what I ate..... wrote down every bite, was weighed and measured every 30 days to track my progress....some months were painfully slow, one month I felt joy at losing 10" total, and #6. After 4 months, and a serious talk with my trainers ( owner of the gym has been bodybuilding for 50yrs, so I know that he is very knowledgable) I realized that this isn't working for me......They suggested I get my thyroid checked, i should be losing faster than this.....but I have other issues. I have a systemic candida problem, a serious addiction to sugar and an inability to control it. My binges with food leave me sick, disgusted with myself and feeling like a crack-addict on a 3 day binge!!!!! my hair is falling out, I was bloated and have dry/rashy skin, dark circles under my eyes, and definately not feeling any attractiveness!!!! I would buy Alavert ( antihistamines) in bulk from Costco regularly. Get hives frequently..... i just knew there was another answer......

The light at the end of my tunnel happened about 2 weeks ago....... I started with PH strips to test my alkalinity ( surprise, I was a 5) so I began a serious move to fix my body. A few searches around the internet let me to www.eatveg.com ( great site that turned me on to Dr. Klapper
and and idea that I could change my body through healthy food....well, I have to admit, I prayed for an answer and all of my searches have led me to being vegan.... obviously not a junk-food vegan, but healthy, fresh, organic and raw.... ( as much as possible and reasonable) I try to eat clean, I read labels and if there is more than 3 ingredients, or it looks like a chemistry experiment... I opt out. Im still coming off the whole low-carb mindset thing ( since that is pretty ingrained into my head) and I almost hate to offend anyone here, but this isn't from an ethical animal abuse viewpoint..... I just need to clean up myself........I'm afraid of carbs to a certain extent. I afraid of gaining..... afraid of binging...... afraid of not losing weight. Vegetables are ok, but hey, man, I could eat carbs all the time!!!!!, I love oatmeal, ( not the quick cook kind, whole oats) I like sprouted grain breads with no yeast or sugar, I love nut butters, sweet potatoes, I'm even learning to love fresh tomatoes ..... I am still tracking my food ( so I can see where I am and if I gain where it come from......) Hummus and Baba Ganoosh, pita's and grape tomatoes was my lunch today...... amazingly fresh, clean and so completely satisfying....... I keep fruit to a minimum because right now I'm just not craving it.... it's wierd..... my blender is quiet and unused ...my protein powders and supplements are sitting unused..... I haven't had meat, eggs, butter, dairy except for Mother's Day..... brunch with the family and I ate vegetables mostly, but I had 2 small waffles with syrup ( milk in the mix) and some sweet potato casserole that HAD to have butter in it..... Good Lord I thought I was going to DIE!!!!!!!! ( within an hour I had massive stomach cramps, and my sinuses were so swollen I felt like a 2X4 hit me in the face) how could I have eaten like this for 37 years and not noticed this????????????? Was it wrong to go "cold-turkey" into veganism??????? seems like most people go gradually....

Someone please reassure me that this is not a a DREAM!!!! I can really eat carbs and lose weight???????? I can become a healthy weight and not use pills, surgery, or depravation or torture to achieve it?

my husband is not sure I should be completely vegan, he bought me a book about eating "clean" so he supports most of what I am doing, he is just concerned that taking things to extremes isn't good....... look at my protein thing.....

I still miss the junk, but I'm not willing to ingest anything that is going to hurt me!!! ( Sunday was a huge wake-up call!!!!)


so here I am and there it is......
any questions, comments or suggestions???

~E


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[Anne-Marie]

~E, we call it McDougall's revenge. Yes, you can eat whole food carbs and lose weight. That is what your body is supposed to run on. Stay here for support and knowledge. Good luck.