About me!!

Dear Friends,

I am starting a new phase in my life, one which I should have adopted many years ago!! On August 1, 2012, I complained to my doctor that I had zero energy, was having pains in my upper abdomen, and was experiencing some rather unpleasant problems in the bathroom. To be quite honest, he and I both thought I was having gallbladder problems, so 2 days later, I was having a CT-scan. That evening, Dr.K called me to let me know the gallbladder was clear, but there was something showing up on the liver, a kidney and there was an aneurysm near the spleen. We then made an appointment for an MRI, about the middle of August. There were many prayers going up about these conditions, and I was so relieved and thankful that they turned out to be fatty deposits, not tumors!!

That first day in the doctor's office, Dr. K shared an outline of The China Plan with me. Basically, it suggested that if you wanted to be healthy, you really needed to eat a vegan program. The China Plan was a little too extreme for me, since it asked that you not eat: NUTS, OILS, MEATS, DAIRY, SALT, or SUGAR . I had followed a similar program years before except we did eat 2 oz. of meat protein, 6 times a day. I lost 142 pounds with that program, and was very successful with it. Unfortunately, about that time my mother was very ill and in and out of the hospital for a year (2006). From October 2006 through December 2008, I lost all my immediate relatives, 3 of my very best friends, and in all, a total of 26 people in 28 months. Being an emotional eater, I put all the pounds back on.

Then, in January and February of 2010 I was taking Lipitor for high cholesterol. Within a month, my leg muscles became very weak, and by February, my hands and arms were involved, to the point that I just could not hold on to things! Dr. K took me off the Lipitor immediately, and in the coming months, we discovered that I had a bad reaction to everything we tried.

I am telling you all this, to let you know that I am hoping a vegan lifestyle (the new phase in my life), will take care of this problem and the weight issue also. I have purchased the book Engine 2 Diet, since it is a little more lenient than the China Plan. My doctor had me look at two DVD's, but the one I liked the best was by the author of the Engine 2 Diet (www.engine2diet.com), Rip Esselstyn, an Austin, TX fireman.

The DVD was so impressive, that I "sort of" began the plan on August 4, even though I did not have everything I thought I needed to start the program. You also need to understand that I could barely walk, and never for more than 5 minutes!! By the end of the first 5 weeks, I had lost 16.2 pounds, 6-1/2" in my waist, and 7" in my belly-hips. I call it belly hips because it is the point where you usually measure the his, but my belly was far bigger than my hips ever thought about being!! LOL!!

I hope to be posting updates to my weigh-ins, recipes, etc. I share this with you in hopes that you will be inspired to try ONE more time. After all, my first "diet" was at age 16, which consisted of 1000 cal. I have been on Weight Watchers, Diet-watchers Guide, Jenny Craig, Michael Thurmond, and I was successful while on each program, but when I got off, I went crazy and ate my way back up!! The good thing about the Engine 2 Diet is that it really is NOT a diet. You may have anything, but each time you eat away from vegan, you are putting your health and your weight loss at risk. I am happy to see that some of the programs suggest you should take a 10% holiday occasionally, and have something NOT on your program. That way, you never feel deprived, and you can take part in family eating events without the guilt!! Of course, you need to go right back to the vegan lifestyle, but I'm already finding that I really don't want to jeopardize the weight loss by eating wrong. Where did that come from? I've never felt that way before!!! Maybe it is because I feel so good and have so much energy, even after just 5 weeks!!!! It is truly amazing. So come along with me for this ride. I've tried everything else, and this really does feel right to me!!!