Now down 20% towards my goal weight, thanks to a vegan diet.

[Systematic Chaos]

First 10% on the Standard American Diet (SAD) took 18 months. Just to lose 30 freaking pounds!
Second 10%, closely following The McDougall Plan? 6 weeks.

I'll cross the line from super-obese to "just" obese by next spring at this rate, if not slightly sooner once I start serious exercise.

http://www.tickerfactory.com/weight-loss/w5Sn8t8>My Weight Chart:
>

[Systematic Chaos]

1. Dammit, give me a minute to fix some of these data points.

I'll get it right yet. :P

My final destination point is correct anyway, as are the first and second points from 2007 and then now.

Okay, got it. And yes, if you click the link and look at the stats, I somehow really did drop 19 lbs. in one week last week. Letting go of massive water weight is my guess.

[flvegan]

2. Congrats! To be sure I'm reading this right

you were 519 in 12/07. You lost 31 or so pounds through 6/09, but in the last month since starting McDougall you've lost 30-ish pounds? What a big difference. Have you changed anything else (exercise, etc) or has it just been diet?

Now, the usual question...vegan for a month...how do you feel?

Congrats to you and I wish you continued success and health!



PS: I'm a personal trainer and sports nutritionist. If you even want to talk, please drop me a PM.

[Systematic Chaos]

3. Well, let's see.

I have more energy than I can burn off by the limited stuff I can do with my screwed up leg, foot and shoulders.

I'm averaging maybe 5 - 7 hours of sleep per night now. I was formerly sleeping up to 16 hours per day.

I think I've just about licked horrible laxative dependence (natural senna extract only except for magnesium citrate about once every three months when things got totally out of control; god that stuff tastes like the Soda From Hell).

My blood pressure is coming under control with only lasix, whereas before I was also taking the highest dose of either Diovan or Lisonipril. It's running well below Dr. McDougall's guidelines of medicating only if it's at or above 160/100 for 30 days or more. It's actually more like 140/85, which is almost unreal on someone who's sedentary and as heavy as I am.

I experimented with going without blood sugar medication for a while. Not good. I'm still very much type-2 diabetic, but it took much longer than I expected for my fasting blood sugar to move out of the 100s. I'm back on those medications because I have to be. My leg and foot are nowhere near fully healed and the last thing I want to do is permanently lose them. Now that I'm without insurance, though, I'm running very scared over this issue. When my scrips are gone I don't know where I'll get more. :shrug:

The weight loss has been 95% diet. In addition to a foot that's sometimes painful to walk on, I also still have adhesive encapsulitis in both shoulders giving me very little range of motion or strength, but horrible pain if I go beyond my bounds. I even tried getting on my recumbent bike, even though I'm still over its weight capacity, but straddling it was impossible because I couldn't use my arms for balance. Once enough weight is gone that won't matter anymore, though, whether the shoulders have healed or not. I've read that it's very likely that they eventually will though, as the condition is reversible.

So on balance, I'm doing very well. I'm aiming to become one of the Star McDougallers featured on Dr. McDougall's website once this is over, and I'm maintaining a strict journal over there because I either will remain accountable and get this right this time, or I'm going to lose limbs and/or die very young. Fuck that.

[flvegan]

4. Can I ask how old you are?

You have quite the situation there. I'd definitely stay off the bike, etc until you've finished healing. You're right, you don't want to make anything worse.

I'm sure you'll get your McD Star spot. Keep that journal up, and I hope you'll post here often about your continuing success.

[Systematic Chaos]

7. Sorry I needed some time to get back.

I'm still just a pup really. Just turned 40 in March.

They say life begins at 40, and perhaps it's no coincidence that this is the year the switch in my brain finally tripped itself on.

It's been tough with the heat. Our apartment has a lousy air conditioner, and our bedrooms get blasted by evening sun directly against the west-facing walls, so it can take into the wee hours of the morning just for it to get down to 80-ish back here from a high of 85 or even 86 in the evening. :( I had slept so little the past two nights that today I finally collapsed on the bed and winked straight out, but unlike before when that would have been it for the day, I was back up and feeling halfway alive after just another 3 hours of rest.

The chart in this thread will auto-update every Sunday, as does my ticker in my journal thread in the McDougall forums. Just go over there to www.drmcdougall.com and search "Ege Bamyasi", which is my user name there. You'll learn more about me than you probably ever would want to know, I guarantee that. The more open and accountable I am, the easier it is to succeed. It's not always good to be private and sheltered at times.

When I get under 400, the ticker will become part of my main sig, so people EVERYWHERE can view it. If that chart, along with a brief explanation of my new lifestyle, can change one other person's point of view, then that's all I could ask for.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

5. Congratulations!

That is some serious work you are undertaking there -- you are clearly dedicated and willing to work hard to make this happen for yourself.

You will find that every pound that comes off will increase your ability to move your body, even with your other ailments. It is going to be all good for you, really. I watched my Mom drop some serious pounds and everything about her changed -- her stamina, her ability to move, her vitality -- it was the second best thing she has done since quitting the cigs.

Keep us posted on how you are doing! :hi:

[Ignis]

6. Wow, that's a tremendous success story. Congrats!

:woohoo:

He doesn't get a lot of press on DU, but I'm a huge fan of Dr. McDougall's work.

[Chan790]

8. Congrats...

It's tough to lose that kind of weight but you're doing great and it sounds like you're actually enjoying the change. (The benefits of the weight-loss, though I (and most people, I find) really love the meat-free diet and how it opened my horizons to new foods.)

[Systematic Chaos]

9. Another week, another 7 lbs. gone.

I was actually down 10 lbs. midweek, and so I ate more than I should have of plan-legal foods just to put on the brakes! I feel bloated from too much bread now, so screw that. I'm just going to go back to what I've been doing and let things sort themselves out. That means very little bread or pasta and a major emphasis on brown rice and potatoes for starches, and lots of veggies and legumes.

I'm shooting for 425 or less by Sept. 30, which is my wife's birthday. The least I've ever weighed since I met her in 2002 is 378. I'd like to be there by my 41st birthday on St. Patty's day next year, if I can. :)