- First, notice the blog name change. I'm past the 30 day vegan challenge, so the the title had to be readjusted, and apparently readjusted to a lame toy story theme.
- I am no longer going to talk about shit. Topic officially flushed.
- I am releasing my angry moody vegan mode (for now, well except for this morning). Must be all that D3 I'm overdosing on. Can you be addicted to vitamins? Speaking of which, fellow vegans, where are you getting your B12? Do I need to go sublingual with the pill or spray?
- I am PISSED about my HDL. PISSED. We had a biometric screening at work the other day and motherfucker my HDL isn't tip top optimal (60 and above). It's 56. I'm mad. 40 and above is considered great. I'm looking to be beyond great. All I eat are fucking plants all day plus I work out, so what the hell, HDL?
- I smell. Tom's natural deodorant is not working. I smelled a fellow vegan's armpit today as she makes her own deod. It didn't smell after a tough workout. I'm impressed. But I'm more impressed that she didn't think I was weird when I said "can I smell your armpit."
Well I'm signing off : I've got some changes to make, and bad habits to break, from natural living products to finding vitamins that make sure my vegan diet provides me with what I need. I got HDL to raise and deodorant to concoct in my kitchen. Lover, beware: I'm going to smell like a bum's nutsack until then.
I use sublingual B12s. That was recommended to me by Dr. Michael Klaper
ReplyDeleteIn regards to your HDL, what was your total cholesterol? If it's super low, then HDL doesn't matter much. Check out this article by Dr. Fuhrman: http://snurl.com/227gkbz My total cholesterol was 115 the last time I got it checked, so having a high HDL was meaningless. BTW, when I first went vegan, my total cholesterol was 199, so it took about 10 years to get down to 115. Don't sweat it, things will improve with time.
-Scott
Interesting about focusing on total cholesterol. Mine was 152, which they told me was fine, but seeing that your total cholesterol is 115, I've got a new goal! That's fantastic! I read Dr. Furhman's article as well, so thanks for including.
ReplyDeleteI have a "real" doctor's appointment later in February, so I will be able to validate the biometric screening.
As far as supplements go, I do worry about my husband who isn't really "on board" with taking any vitamins. He truly believes that he gets everything he needs from food. I plan on having my doctor check my vitamin D, B12, and iron levels in addition to the regular testing that they do so I can get that baseline reading. My assumption is that year over year, I should see that decrease.
I'm a bit surprised at my total cholesterol, considering I've been vegetarian for almost 2 years, but then again, maybe I shouldn't be so surprised. All the dairy and eggs I'm sure had a major impact to my body.
Speaking of impact, I wonder how long it takes to "undo" the damage on the body cause by eating animal products.....
Thanks for your support!
I had written a rather lengthy reply and it didn't appear for some reason.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you're correct about the dairy and eggs affecting your cholesterol. Some people go from eating flesh to dairy and eggs and it ends up that there isn't much of a difference in cholesterol consumption. Dr. Esselstyn says that total cholesterol under 150 will make you "heart attack proof." Regular doctors would be estatic with a 152 t/c. I think 152 is VERY good, btw. I have a friend who's been vegan for 10-12 years and his t/c is about 170-190 range. Apparently his liver over produces cholesterol.
The body is amazing - it can heal VERY quickly most of the time. :-)
BTW - check out http://www.vegetariansummerfest.org
My family has been going to this conference every year since 2001. It's a really nice, friendly conference, with only vegan food served. My favorite - Brenda Davis will be there. You can do the weekend or do the entire 5 day conference. I highly recommend going for 1 to 2 years at a minimum because you'll often miss some of the talks the first time through.
Maybe your body is still detoxing and that's where the b.o. is coming from? I have not experienced this (I did the challenge too and am continuing). Good luck!
ReplyDeleteKatherine, I think it's because I work out really intensely and Tom's natural deoderant just isn't all that good. In the last few years, I've really been trying to be as chemical free as possible. I think I've found a new deoderant that works by a brand called '"Crystal." It's unscented mineral salts. It's gotten me through some toughies.
ReplyDeleteHow are you finding the challenge? Was it easy to adopt being vegan? Fill me in on your personal journey!
Ah, I didn't think about that. Unfortunately, I don't do very much daily exercise. My exercise routine is usually a couple weeks of being really into daily exercise, followed by a couple months of doing nothing.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the challenge, and for the most part found it fairly easy. We had a great group of mentors and a wonderful host. As someone who didn't do much cooking, I found a lot of value in the cooking demos, weekly discussions, nutrition info, and tips for handling common questions. The first week was hard for me -- I found myself hungry a lot and I was having to break old habits and find new ones. Throughout the 30 days there were ups -- discovering green smoothies, baking cupcakes, buying myself an electric pressure cooker -- and downs -- feeling hungry, having to search for a new Friday night pizza joint, not getting to partake in birthday cake at a work function. In the end, I'm happy to not be experiencing the guilt I felt in the back of my mind every time I ate something animal-derived (I was vegetarian for a year before the challenge). I learned a lot, and made new friends, and am excited about continuing on as a vegan.