From very far away...

[Silvia]

Hi everyone,
I am Silvia and I am posting from Rome, Italy.

I just discovered Dr McDougall's programme and I hope it will help me lose some weight.
I have been reading around this forum and everyone seems very inspiring and helpful, so I am sure I will find the right support I need, here.

I plan to start the programme next month when I'm back from holidays (going to Turkey, cannot say no to local specialies... ) but I tried today at lunch to eat "legal": I got a very big green salad with a can of checkpeas, lemon juice and balsamic vinegar. No salt.
Then I got a big slice of watermelon.
How am i doing?

I am already vegetarian so there won't be no problem becoming vegan (I have been such for a few months already last winter), although I have a low level of B12, I started to take a supplement. I really hope my doctor won't ask me to eat meat again!

My concernes on the program are

1. Italian breakfast habits are nothing but Cappuccino and brioche, not only I will have to change mine (meaning starting to cook my own breakfast) but also prepare myself because it won't be easy to eat it outside in case I won't be able to cook.
2. Cooking starchy foods takes a lot more than opening a pack of tofu. Should I cook during the weekend for the whole week?
3. Going out. Being vegetarian in Italy is still something that makes other people stare at you like an alien ("look, she must be sick", or "sgrunt, picky snob!"), at the beginning of the plan I'll probably avoid going out too much.
4. The suggestions I find here and on the website itself aren't always easy to follow, because of the brands that are completely different.

However I am sure I won't have any problem finding TONS of vegetables here.

So, thank you in advance for your help, I hope I can share some of my ideas with you and help you back and, mostly, sorry in advance if my English is not good as yours.

Bye
Silvia

[Anne-Marie]

So glad you are joining us. I look forward to your Italian adaptations. My husband is of half Italian descent and he LOOOOOVVVVVEEEESSS Italian food. I've become a pretty good Italian cook, at least he thinks so. The problem is what he loves most is SAD or is that SID (Standard Italian Diet)? He has been willing to go veggie a couple of nights a week which is a small step in the right direction.

Also, we plan to do a big trip to Italy either in '08 or '09 so I need to figure out what to order. I have also discovered I am sensitive to wheat, so I try to eliminate pasta. So I have rice and polenta left. On our trip, I may just have to have the pasta and recover when we get back.

For my breakfasts at work, I store a canister of instant oatmeal in my desk which only needs hot water from the coffee machine. I think it is an Irish brand. You may see if you can find something like that. Or something with rice and fruit.

I look forward to your experience and posts.

[Lin]

Welcome to the board Silvia!
I'm from Virginia. There are people who post here from countries all over the world, so don't feel like you're the only one!!

Your English is just fine. I admire anyone who can fluently speak or write another language and understand it well, because I can't !!
We're happy to have you here and feel free to ask questions. There's usually someone here who can answer you.

I wish you well on your new McDougall journey.

[hope101]

Silvia, I think your English is excellent. Much better than my Italian. It is so neat to have people from all over the world here. How did you happen to hear about McDougall?

Wrt your meals, I could be completely wrong but I thought a lot of peasant food in Italy was traditionally vegetarian, if not vegan. Low fat might be a whole other issue, however. Can you get pasta with marinara sauces and have them hold the cheese? Or vegan minestrone or bean soups? I thought lentil dishes were there too. Not to mention the wonderful fruits and vegetables. For breakfast, how about some fruit and toast?

Anyway, I wish you luck in overcoming the barriers to following this lifestyle. I think eating out is difficult for most of us anywhere until we get confident about how to order food and get used to the funny looks. You may find that preparing your own food is the way to go. There are quite a few people here who cook on the weekends and then eat leftovers all week.

Take care and I'll look forward to more of your posts.

[Faith in DC]

wow, I look forward to some recipes Welcome aboard, you did great explaining yourself. It's ok to have white flour once in a while. I do when I go out, usually Italian. Plus I bet there is a ton of regional things you can have. The oil might be a bit of a problem, since I think they use olive oil often. I'd keep it simple and keep it light. Enjoy the veggies that you all have and all the lovely tomatoes.

We are here if you have any questions. Glad you found us.

[veggiecat]

www.vegetariani.it is the link for Italian veg Society; hope it works! Also,viverevegan.org & societavegetarian.org

[annhett]

I ordered this book from Amazon:
Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World
I hope the book is helpful.

Here is the book description from the Amazon web site.
Book Description
Curious about veganism? Want to be a vegan? Already a vegan? Just wondering how to be vegan without going insane? In this informative and practical guide on veganism, two seasoned vegans help you love your inner vegan freak. Loaded with tips, advice, stories, and comprehensive lists of resources that no vegan should live without, this book is key to helping you thrive as a happy, healthy, and sane vegan in a decidedly non-vegan world. In this sometimes funny, sometimes irreverent, and sometimes serious guide that's not afraid to tell it like it is, new, long-time, and potential vegans will find: -how to go vegan in 3 weeks or less using the "cold tofu" program; -the arguments for ethical veganism; -how to get along with friends, family, and others, including other vegetarians; -tons of useful and practical tips for surviving the grocery store, restaurants, and dinners with omnivores; -how to respond when people ask you if you "like live on apples and twigs;" -how capitalism is implicated in animal and human oppression Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World is your guide to embracing vegan freakdom. Come on, get your freak on! About the authors: Tattooed leftist vegan freaks themselves, Bob and Jenna Torres both hold PhDs from Cornell University.

[explore2learn]

I am curious about that book, I have often thought of getting it. Please let us know what you think of it

Hi Silvia I understand what you mean about being odd one out as a vegan in Italy. In France food is very dairy, and that is seen as healthy. In Korea meat is such a status symbol, but some monks are vegetarian, but not usually vegan so it is hard to explain.

People react according to their own fears, and that is not about you at all.

If your doctor is not understanding your choices, maybe he or she can read McDougall's great books?

Keep up the good work and treat yourself really well. You are your best protector, champion, advocate, advisor, friend.

[jewel]

3. Going out. Being vegetarian in Italy is still something that makes other people stare at you like an alien ("look, she must be sick", or "sgrunt, picky snob!"), at the beginning of the plan I'll probably avoid going out too much.
Silvia

Try this website, it might be useful:

this might help: http://www.happycow.net/europe/italy/index.html

[DianeR]

In my last trip to Italy (the one after I started with McD'ing), I didn't have any difficulty following a vegan diet. Now avoiding olive oil might have been a different thing I ordered pastas with veggies, pizza without the cheese, and took advantage of the veggie plates that every restaurant seemed to offer. Maybe I just wasn't aware that folks found us peculiar

Anne-Marie, Italy is very celiac aware. If I'm not mistaken, all children are tested for it automatically, so the diagnosed rate is far, far more than here (where 97%, it is estimated, are not diagnosed and those that are only get diagnosed, on average, after 11 years). Thus, my understanding is that you can get decent gluten-free bread & pasta about anywhere you go. So you need not avoid such things when you go.

I plan on going to Italy again for my 25th wedding anniversary in two years. I just have to get my husband to agree Of course, if I plan things, he will probably go along. Our last vacation had me finding it very hard to find sustenance between the vegetarianism & my newly diagnosed food intolerances.

Silvia, I don't find that cooking vegan takes more time than anything else. You can certainly cook certain things ahead, like a big pot of brown rice, if you want. Some things are very quick -- microwave a potato, make some couscous or pasta, open a can of lentils or beans, etc. About brand names -- I guess you have to read labels & see what the fat & sodium content are. Over time you will learn what works or not. I don't know what to recommend about breakfast -- perhaps fruit & a slice or two of regular bread?

Enjoy Turkey. My daughter just came back from there. She said she had no problems avoiding meat.

[Silvia]

Thank you all for the great support!

Being Vegetarian or Vegan is not really difficult here, but Italy is still so provincial. I don't know what happens in the US, but I imagine that it's seen as an healthy choice. Not here, the message that passes is that the vegetarians are strange people because meat is still seen as THE healthy dish. We give it to sick people, to children for growth...
My parent's generation grew up having nothing to eat and could only have meat once-a-week, the road is still long to make them understand that there's nothing healthy in that. I have to say that also the government is lacking from this point of view. Just to give you an idea, the fast food restaurants don't have veggie burgers, here. I wouldn't go there anyway, so no problem, but still...
This is the bad side of the traditions.
So if I say I am Vegetarian, or worse Vegan, people say "so do you eat fish?"
I say NO and they "Then what do you eat? Can't live on greens, can you?"
So lately I started to omit it from the conversation. I just choose meat-free dishes (and dairy-free when I was vegan) and that worked just fine. Obviously I am not going to steak houses
If you gave a look at theose Italian Vegan websites, you've noticed that there aren't much certificated vegan restaurants, the road is still sooo long!

For the McDougall's the big issue is olive oil, we put it basically everywhere. I'll have to figure out how to deal with this. Chinese restaurant (steamed rice and steamed veggies) could be an option. Cooking at home won't be a problem. I'll see what I can do next month then I'll let you know.

For breakfast, I've found out that I really like Oats. I got a can of Quacker's Quick Oats and it works perfectly with some fruit in it. The best so far is with banana and a little of cinnamon. I have to try with apple and cinnamon and maybe a few pine nuts, it should taste like the Apple Strudel .

Regarding the celiac disease, yes we are good at the diagnosis. Kids are tested (blood test first) and if positive they have a gastroscopy with biopsy. If that's positive as well they receive about 100$ per month from the government for gluten-free products to be bought in pharmacies. But now you can find them basically everywhere, also at the supermarket.

Hope101 I've found the McDougall's programme surfing the web when searching a vegan way of weight loss. I am sure I got to the right place

So, although my message is already very long, I try to post a fat-free italian dish:

Ingredients:
2/3 aubergines (egg-plant)
1 clove of garlic
1 red chili pepper
1 cup of tomato juice (or salsa)
basil

Slice the aubergines and grill them on a non-sticky pan.
Prepare the sauce cooking in another pan the tomato with the garlic and the chili.
Then take a baking tray (bread shape would be perfect, with high sides) and put a layer of sauce then grilled aubergines then a layer of sauce and another layer of aubergines and so on.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes and serve hot or cold.

The original version is with aubergines DEEP FRIED IN OIL i/o grilled and also with mozzarella cheese between the layers... it's so illegal that you might go to jail !

Thank you all again, see you soon around here.
Silvia

[Faith in DC]

Well heck the attitude of Italians toward Veggies sound pretty much like that of the US population. Remember we are one of the most obese nations. So thinking healthy isn't a thought.

Large cities do have veggie restaurants thank God. You'd love it. It's so cool to go and actually have a whole menu to look at. I'm so use to going to appetizers, salads and whizzing through the rest of the menu and landing in sides to build a dinner. Having a menu to read, each and every choice is so amazing. The bad part, is trying to make up your mind.

That is so weird on the Celiac. So if they do that, then it really is common. Makes me wonder what they are doing to our wheat. I mean we've been eating it for generations. Weren't we suppose to? Is it someting they are doing to keep it resistant to disease? Heck makes me wonder if I might not be.

[DianeR]

That is so weird on the Celiac. So if they do that, then it really is common. Makes me wonder what they are doing to our wheat. I mean we've been eating it for generations. Weren't we suppose to? Is it someting they are doing to keep it resistant to disease? Heck makes me wonder if I might not be.

Here is an article that may be of interest:
http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_pr ... 7560567.46

I recommend the article. Among other interesting comments is this one:

"Over the last 200 years of our modern age active genetic selection, and actual genetic manipulation, have changed the aspect of the original Triticacee enormously: from few grains and little gluten to great wheat harvests very enriched in gluten (50% of the protein content), well adapted to cultivation practices and ready to be handled by monstrous machinery."

There are certainly folks out there who say that we aren't really designed to eat grains. There are also those who say that a significant share (I've seen figures from 10 to even 40%) of the population is gluten intolerant, dwarfing the 1% with celiac (most of which go unfound in the US). Those folks who claim to do well on low carb diets? Could be it is because they no longer get gluten.

I haven't heard a good explanation for why awareness of celiac/gluten intolerance is so much better in some countries than in others. About everywhere else among the developed countries seems to be better than the US. I've seen discussions about how the power of the meat, dairy & sugar industries affect nutritional awareness, education, and the like. I wonder if the same is true for those growing wheat?

On that paranoid note, I will stop hijacking this discussion, which was originally someone new saying hello We can talk about gluten on the gluten board more if anyone wants to ...

[Polona]

Hi Sylvia,
I am from Slovenia (Ljubljana) - I think you are the closest person for me here at McDougall board. Welcome! I look forward to some of Italian dishes, I do use a lot of it already (hard to give up mozarella and olive oil!)
Polona