How I Lost Half My Bodyweight By Eating a Mostly Plant-Based Diet

I worry about iron. Several years ago I was turned away at the blood donation center after an initial pinprick revealed insufficient iron. And several full-on vegan friends suffer from anemia.  So let's dig into it. 1. How much iron do I actually need? According to the NIH, as a 50+ year old female, I only need 8 mg of iron per day. Just 8! Note that younger women will need much more, especially if pregnant. And note that men of all ages really don't need all that much. Here's the source:  Table 1: Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for Iron [ 5 ] Age Male Female Pregnancy Lactation Birth to 6 months 0.27 mg* 0.27 mg* 7–12 months 11 mg 11 mg 1–3 years 7 mg 7 mg 4–8 years 10 mg 10 mg 9–13 years 8 mg 8 mg 14–18 years 11 mg 15 mg 27 mg 10 mg 19–50 years 8 mg 18 mg 27 mg 9 mg 51+ years 8 mg 8 mg 2. Am I getting enough iron? Ya know, despite my worries, I think I am on the whole! My go-to steel cut oats with ground flax have 2+ mg of iron. And my beloved fake cheese and tomat...

Yesterday was my first test. I was out of the house with my son for about 6 hours and he wanted chicken. I'd brought a Larabar to tide me over, but when I saw that the restaurant offered vegan chicken and fries, I caved. Plant-based, right? I should've just said no when I saw my plate but by that time I was hungry. Besides, I've had some awful looking vegan foods in the past that turned out to be delish. My awful vegan meal Sadly, this was not the case. BUT I ATE IT ANYWAY! The sauces - also vegan - were fantastic, so I dipped those sorry ass excuse for patties and ate away. We were home about 40 minutes later and in less than 10 minutes I was racing for the bathroom. And there went my meal - upchucked, vomited, barfed. Sorry for the gross but it is was it is. Lesson learned. Stick with whole-foods type vegan meals. Avoid the deep-fried. 

I have to admit, I cringe every time I hear someone saying they're avoiding carbs to lose weight. If you read my earlier posts, I've tried this, it worked (until it didn't), but it left me tired, stressed, and generally unhappy. Now I'm not advocating downing an entire box of Thin Mints, but do your research. Complex carbs - beans, whole grains, potatoes (YES, POTATOES) are nature's superfoods. They're filling, generally low in calories, high in fiber, and can help stabilize blood sugar to avoid toxic hunger swings. Eat your (complex) carbs, my friends.   If you follow my eating logs, you'll see that I eat a lot of these. I found this list on BistroMd: Whole Grains:   wheat, oats, brown rice, quinoa, millet, rye, farro, quinoa, barley along with whole-grain breads, cereals, and flours Beans and Legumes:  lentils, soybeans, peas, peanuts, chickpeas, beans including black, kidney, and pinto Nuts and Seeds:   almonds, cashews, pecans, chia and flax seeds, quino...

Years ago, I gained 80 pounds over two pregnancies . While I love my kids more than anything, I did not like the extra weight. It took many a fad diet until I stumbled upon one that actually helped me to lose all those 80 pounds.  It was a diet where I could eat as much as I wanted as long as it was from an approved food list, but nothing at all that wasn't on the list.  The pros to this diet are that (1) it worked (until it didn't) and (2) no measuring or counting calories.  The cons, you ask? I was very unhealthy. The approved foods were basically low fat dairy, meat/fish, and low carb veggies. Very little fruit, almost no whole grains or beans, and very limited amounts of starchy yummy vegetables like potatoes and corn. No healthy fats. Blah. I was thin, but constantly running low on energy. My skin and hair were dull. I was tired all the time.  And like most diets, the weight crept back on . And brought with it another 50 pounds. This oh so easy diet just wasn't ...

 Okay then, week one is in the bag! Notes: I have pantry and fridge stuff to use up so I only hit about 80% plant-based (but 100% vegetarian, woohoo!) Not bad for week one. I'm aiming for a higher percentage next week. The meals/snacks in red included dairy and eggs.  Most days I had a snack between breakfast and lunch, between lunch and dinner, then a couple of muffins around 8:30 PM. Yes, I ate 14 muffins this week. They're made from rolled oats ground into a flour. Tasty, healthy, and filling. All recipes and food notes are in the Week 1 Recipes page. I'm ridiculously pleased with myself. I have way more energy than last week. And the scale indicates that I'm down a couple of pounds! Day B L D Snack Snack Snack Drinks 1  Steel cut oats with blueberries, ground flax seed Fake cheese & tomato sandwich Tostadas with refried beans, vegan taco, vegan queso (2 servings) Larabar Banana Lemon poppyseed muffins water, black coffee, unsweetened seltzer 2 Steel cut oats wit...

Excellent question. First, I am SO confident that this style of eating will succeed that I want to document every bite so that next year, when people ask me how I achieved this tremendous weight lost, I can point them to this blog. Hubris, I know. I'm cool with that because time will prove me right. If you're following along, you'll be able to see what works, what doesn't, how I'm evolving, etc. Second, I feel that journaling my thoughts along with my foods will serve as an accountability mechanism of sorts. I am by nature a private person so a real life accountability partner isn't right for me, at least not at this point in my life. Maybe in the future? Stay tuned! Third, it just feels right. Like it's helping me to focus and stay grounded, not an easy task for someone with adult ADHD.  That's all for today. Tomorrow I'll upload my weekly eating, along with recipes and food notes. Bon voyage

Good morning! I'm nearing the finish line for Week One.  Here are my thoughts on how I will lose 100+ pounds: Mostly plant-based diet , especially after I use up my non-vegan pantry and fridge items. I've chosen this because my research has convinced me that this is the key to improving my health. When I post each week's meals, I'll add a note as to what percent plant-based I achieved.  No calorie counting , no tracking water, no measuring out portions; these activities have proven unsustainable in the past as they are "diet" rather than "lifestyle." Near-zero refined sugars . Refined sugars are a trigger for me. I need to just let them go and find better ways to placate my sweet tooth. Near-zero crap vegan foods like potato chips and deep-fried stuff. Also triggers. Bye bye. A couple of other notes about my meal plans: You won't find any onions because I hate them. Feel free to add them if you must. Ditto for sweet potatoes, although it's l...