Tag Archives: Julie Marie

Vegan Isn’t Protective

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On the cusp of making it through my first week, recommitting myself to a Protective Diet and learning from PD Education. How I’ve gone so many years without making time to learn from Julie and Jerry is beyond me. Yesterday my yogurt starter and reusable mesh bags arrived. Just finished watching Julie teach a shortened, Class #008 – Understanding Cholesterol. This was a number that climbed to 263 in July 2011, when I was tested. Through a lot of reading and healthy eating following a PD lifestyle, I reduced that number to 199 in just 5 months! In 2013 that number had fallen to 130! As I posted in my 2 Year Review, “Overall I lost 44 pounds inside of 10 months when going plant based. I saw my total cholesterol (TC) plummet from 264 mg/dL to a low of 130 mg/dL! Since that time, it has increased a few points, but I have been able to maintain a TC near 150 mg/dL, which has been called “heart attack proof.” Many if the ailments I had; constant migraines, side pains, joint pains, plantar fasciitis and nerve issues seemed to improve or completely disappear when I cleaned up my diet.”

As I look back over nearly 10 years of a plant based lifestyle, I continue to ask myself, “where did I go wrong?” Unlike those “extreme” changes I made October 31, 2011, there isn’t one point to highlight as a key to my downturn. The following years, 2015 and 2016 were truly highlights, physical achievements I never thought possible! That’s when life took a turn things started to change and I started to make excuses for my poor eating habits. That Protective Diet turned less plant based and more vegan. Have you seen all the vegan products on the market that don’t come close to being protective? Here’s an ugly but short list: Oreos, Taco Bell’s Bean Burrito (no cheese), Chipotle’s Sofritas, Ritz Crackers, Nutter Butters, Life Cereal and Fritos. Fat. Oils. Sugars. Processed, so many bad ingredients, these products aren’t heart heathy.

More recently, I started getting more active on Instagram and You Tube and recipes. Initially to pick up some tips and tricks, as well as recipes for my son and wife. While this was beneficial, I picked up some recipes they really enjoyed but then I found some of those “vegan” chefs. Remember, vegan isn’t PD but in my mind I would continually convince myself that “hey it’s vegan, no meat, no dairy, it’s okay.” While I was still able to pick up techniques and ideas, many of the recipes were never going to be found on Protective Diet. The amount of oils in these recipes and frying were incredible! Tofu doesn’t always need to be fried to taste good! Fats along with the sugars made these recipes taste good, but did not promote that lifestyle that was going to improve my health.

Needless to say that vegan misconception continued to drive me deeper into a depression making worse food choices. Consciously, I knew these were bad decisions and that health I had worked so hard for began to unravel. A pound here, a pound there. Suddenly those trips to the gym became weekly, then not at all. The couch or computer chair became my best friend and I had regressed to a point that I felt incapable to return to my form, happy self. To date, I’ve not stepped on the scale, only guessing where my weight is, but know how poorly some of my clothes fit. For this new starting point I believe I will take an initial reading and use the mirror and feel of my clothes to see and feel my progress.

While life continues to throw up challenges, there have been some great steps made in the right direction. Over the last few years I’ve attempted to get back on that journey to health, not that I had completely fallen off, retaining the knowledge and understanding of what I should be eating a plant based diet as Julie promotes. Now is the time! No explanation as to why, maybe it’s the people in my life or the connections made from being involved in PD for years. For me, it’s about holding myself accountable, these posts and tracking my journey are what work for me. Both of which I did when I started this journey back in 2011 after watching Forks Over Knives and being completely turned from a “SAD” lifestyle. So happy to have a group who can relate to similar experiences, we are in this together.

Kill Those Cravings

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It’s another morning with Julie, as I sit at work, watching and listening to her teach Class #007 (12/10/2013), telling me how “un-heart healthy” those “healthy” oils are as it relates to our endothelium. It’s a great feeling to have the knowledge of a protective diet. Moving to a plant based lifestyle from the traditional “Standard American Diet” was that “extreme” step my doctor couldn’t fathom, but neither could his words convince me otherwise. Honestly, I believe with all my heart this is the lifestyle I want to continue to follow. As I mentioned yesterday, it brought me to a health level I had never previously experienced. Never in my wildest imagination did I think I would be running a 50-mile race! An unachievable goal that was achieved, thanks in part to taking control of my health.

Let me rewind, it’s Tuesday afternoon, extended at work for an additional four hours, with a 90-minute commute home. I think that pre-COVID, Bay Area traffic is back to normal. Failing to bring breakfast to work and only one serving of the Mix & Mac with spinach and tomato, I arrived home with hunger cravings. You know that feeling, standing in front of the refrigerator or pantry wondering what to cook or eat? That was me yesterday, but that isn’t the PD way. While not following intermittent fasting, I need to get back onto a eating regime where I don’t eat after 6/7pm. Yes, I could have easily made a salad but decided to drink a glass of water and call it an evening.

Now this isn’t how I wanted to satisfy my cravings, knowing Julie would say eat! Sadly, I was restricting myself from food that my body needed. Remember Julie talking about “SUS”? I haven’t “SUS-ed” (is that a word?) in a long time, so I had nothing prepared. Salad. Frozen or fresh veggies. Pasta. How quick and simple are each of those foods? I could have followed Jerry and consumed a bowl of oatmeal. Better yet, as Julie just reminded me in the video, eat a frosty! Yet I decided not to eat in an attempt to break out of that habit of eating later than I wanted. At some point in the future, I am sure I will return to intermittent fasting (IF) but right now, it’s about being consistent.

THE CHALLENGE OF RECIPE BUILDING

Let me quickly shift to recipe building. Before I do, all I can do is rave about the flavor of that Mix & Mac! So creamy, filling and delicious. This recipe makes is easy to mix in many different add ins. That alone should make this restart easier. I’ve got no plans menu plan the first 30 days, feel that is where I failed my last attempt in 2018. While Julie has created enough recipes to keep any PD student going, I have this fascination with a few You Tube chefs, some vegan, others not so. The most recent video comes from Gaz Oakley at Avant-Garde Vegan, who recent created a Sticky Braised Jackfruit Bao Buns. While the video left me in stiches, the bao buns looked nothing short of fantastic!

The problem I have seen with many social media vegan chefs, their dishes don’t follow the Protective Diet guidelines (can’t believe the amount of fried tofu!), but does provide inspiration to hack their recipes. I recently “veganized” Sam the Cooking Guy‘s tostada recipe. Not going to share my changes since it wasn’t PD, but a bit of trial and error and even vegan or vegetarian recipes can be transformed into one that fits the Protective Diet. I could have even made the free PD tostada recipe. No-brainer, right?

Back to my buns, well Gaz’s buns. No surprise he used an AP or plan flour and caster sugar for the bao. Searching the internet there are some whole wheat bao recipes that could be modified, using erythritol in place of sugar and whole wheat flour. for the AP. My current hang up, hoisin sauce. Nearly ever vegan hoisin recipe I’ve reviewed use peanut butter, oils, sugar (including dates, raisins and prunes) or maple syrup and molasses.

The last challenge, Gochujang, which is a Korean Red Pepper Paste. Now, I have a tube of Bibigo Gochujang, needless to say it’s not PD. But this ingredient can made and used to provide a sweet and spicy addition to MANY foods. At some point in the next few weeks I will put this recipe together and see how the PD bao buns tastes, sharing my results with you.

Doesn’t Happen Overnight

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Day 2 hanging out with Julie and Protective Diet education. To be honest I don’t believe I have joined any of her live, online sessions, but it’s never too late to start. Last night I kicked out her Mix & Mac recipe in my Instapot, which was so quick and easy. I added in about a pound of spinach and chopped fresh tomatoes to add flavor and color. It was absolutely fantastic! While I am well off the path I want to walk when it comes to my healthy living this was a perfect recipe to start with.

While it might sound odd, I’ve gone back and read what I wrote years ago when I decided to “go extreme” (my doctor’s words) and change my lifestyle to take control of my health. While nothing happens overnight, it’s been very challenging the last few years attempting to restart a lifestyle that doesn’t include sugar, oils, dairy and meat products. While dairy and meat haven’t been in my diet, but I’ll admit there have been more times than I want to admit I’ve used sugar and oil in my cooking knowing it was going to drop me deeper into that unhealthy hole I’d been struggling to get out of. The key for me, restarting (again!) is that first 30 days and commit to the simple changes using simple recipes. Believe me, the recipes I originally started with were so damn simple, even easier than what Julie provides for her free recipes. Many of the recipes, which you can read in my 12 Day Journal came from a Dr. McDougall book.

As I sit listening to Julie I am reminded of the work and effort I put in to run and finish two, 50 mile races called the American River 50. You can relive the 2016 adventure. Why do I bring this up? This race was more than than just 50 miles of grueling pain, it was a test of just how far I could push my body. A demonstration of just how far I had come in taking control of my health. How I kept going, I will never know but at some point after mile 29, I found myself alone. My running partner had dropped out due to heat exhaustion and our pacer fell back to get him to an aid station. From this point on, the race was a mental battlefield. Thankfully, nothing was going to keep me from that finish line and while I was struggling physically, as you can see in some of the images, I stayed mentally strong, knowing I had I time on my side and I would complete this race.

It is that sort of mindset I approach PD with, knowing “I’ve done it before and I damn well know, I can do it again.” It’s very motivating to see the physical accomplishments since changing to a plant based lifestyle. Running, strength, health and a clear mindset were all beneficial in my life. Now, I know I am not where I want to be, but rest assured, it’s like running past mile 29 in 2016. I need that strong mental state in order to complete this race. I do appreciate all the support I’ve received the past few days from the Protective Diet Lifestyle Group on Facebook. As I stated in there, “you are all rock stars!” Now let’s win that race!

Death. The Other Option.

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extremeAt the risk of sounding like a nag, when the hell are people going to wake up and realize the food they eat to sustain their life is the same food that is causing disease, obesity and sickness? Moderation is a myth, oil still isn’t “heart healthy” and the fork could potentially be as lethal as a weapon. The statistics prove Americans moderate the wrong foods. Even the saying from the American Dietetic Association, “All foods fit,” has been taken out of context. The original saying is not “all foods fit,”  but, “All foods can fit into a healthful diet ‘if’ consumed in moderation with appropriate portion size and combined with regular physical activity.”

Change. It doesn’t come easy, if at all. People are resistant to change in favor of the status quo. Reasons vary including:

  • when the status quo is satisfactory
  • when the purpose of change is not clearly understood
  • when those affected lack courage or self confidence
  • personal fear of failure to master new skills
  • fear of personal loss of ego, status, power or resources
  • when implementation appears to be rigid and inflexible

Each of these reasons “excuses” could be applied to why people don’t take their health more serious and make changes that they would benefit from. I admitted to myself for 42 years that “I was fine.” This when dining on fast foods, fried foods, dairy and meat while not enjoy veggies and limiting starchy foods. I knew I had a problem, but I wasn’t strong enough to face the fears associated with making change.

Then something amazing happened, so unexpected it was exhilarating as I looked towards the future, seeing a happy, healthy life ahead. I accepted the change and challenged myself to accept a new, plant based lifestyle leaving behind the foods that were the cause of all my health related problems.

I know this sounds like fiction and many won’t think twice about it or consider change in their life, continuing to follow their “healthy” lifestyle that includes meat and dairy. I don’t care if you are gluten free, buy only organic, believe grass fed beef is somehow healthier or still hold on to the belief that fancy cooking oils are beneficial. The fact of the matter remains, your decisions on foods are the key to your health and many Americans continue to make the wrong decisions.

As the saying goes, “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” Change doesn’t come without dedication, effort and a bit of struggle. I know this as well as anyone when making the decision to get healthy, which I did in October, 2011. Yet 3 years later people continue to find excuses not to take establishment to keep them healthy.

pd-testimonial

Left: The “SAD” days. Right: Powered by plants!

If literature and words are not enough to convince the majority to reconsider, how about leading by example. That is what I am, living proof you can take control of your health, forget about doctors and medicine and heal yourself. The transformation has been nothing short of amazing! Gone are all the maladies I once struggled with; my weight, aches and pains, including consistent migraines, foot problems (plantar fasciitis), stomach issues and lethargy.

People willing to try could be rewarded in as little as 12 days at no cost to them thanks to Dr. John McDougall and his free McDougall Program. The Internet is chocked full of beneficial information, programs and recipes to assist individuals in their quest for health. Julie Marie Christensen at Protective Diet promotes “a diet rich in whole plant foods, free of all animal products, saturated fats, oils, nuts, sugar, artificial sweeteners and food additives.” It takes 30 days to “eliminate the physical addiction… then our taste bud receptors are not searching for the missing oils and fats any longer.” Why not start now?

Unfortunately many consider a plant based lifestyle “extreme” by making the decision to remove meat, dairy and for some, oil. Open heart surgery is far too common, as the 6th most expensive surgery in the U.S. at $324,000*. “Part of the high cost of open heart surgery is because it’s often an urgent medical procedure that is usually followed by complications. Longer care and follow-up needed after surgery add to the price tag.”

Conversely I hear many complain about just how expensive it is to eat a plant based diet. According to the IRS, the average person in America spends $301 on food, and the average family of four spends $765. According to the US department of Labor, a typical family of four eating “moderately” at home in 2011 spent $664. But that’s eating many processed foods (source).

I’m not saying to spend $1.50 a day on food as Darshana Thacker did on Forks Over Knives, but by following some simple rules you can save money following a plant based lifestyle.

  • Buy in bulk: beans, grains, pastas, flours, herbs, spices and nutritional yeast are staples in my pantry.
  • Make a list: write down what you want to buy and go into the store with a purpose, this will help limit food and ingredients you don’t need.
  • Comparison shop and coupons: visit a few different grocers to see which store has weekly deals or sales going on. Watch Sunday papers for coupons, which could allow you to save additional money.
  • Buy frozen and canned food: some veggies and fruits are season, so you might need to find another option. Frozen veggies are inexpensive and can be used in a variety of ways. In a pinch, canned ingredients (BPA free) can be used if something is not in season or unavailable from the bulk bins. In the past I have primarily used beans and tomatoes.
  • Menu planning: create a menu for the week, figuring in the amount of leftovers that could be used for additional meals during the week. Meal planning will allow you to create a more accurate shopping list.

Some of these suggestions are good practice in general regardless of the foods you eat. Initially stocking your pantry could require a bit larger of a cost, but in the long run removing the pricey cuts of meat, dairy such as cheese and processed foods will result in substantial savings over time.

The argument from many usually includes, “I’m going to die anyways, so I am going to eat whatever I want.” By all means do what makes you happy, but expect the possible consequences that come with eating a diet high in red meat, sugary drinks and desserts, high-fat foods, high-fat dairy products, and refined grains. The cost could be your life. You might suffer a heart attack and be diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD) requiring open heart surgery. Both of those options sound extreme to me. A plant based lifestyle offers results, but only if you WANT to take control of your health.