My name is Dana, and I am a vampire virgin vagabond vegan.
Vegan:
A strict vegetarian; one who eats plant products only and no animal or dairy products at all
Actually, I don't like to call myself a vegan. I don't mind referring to food as vegan but when it comes to describing my eating patterns, I prefer to say I eat a plant-based diet. Another reason I don't like using the word vegan for me is because I don't always eat vegan. I've been reluctant to talk about my eating habits with the masses since it's somewhat of a personal topic/experience as well as people get defensive (on both sides of the conversation) when talking about eating vegan. I'm not about to change you or influence you.
Since September 2010, I've been eating vegan or a plant-based diet at least 90% of the time. It started off as just one day where after having a conversation with someone, I realized that I had eaten vegan through the morning and I wondered if I could do it all the way through the day. I did with ease. I did it again for the next two days. And from then on, I pretty much started eating vegan on a consistent basis. I think it would be into late October before I would have my first taste of cheese again and it was...different. Very milky. And considering I don't like cow's milk, it didn't taste all that great despite having intense cravings for cheese.
Because it's too hard to have to manipulate people's eating towards my way of eating, I "cheat" every so often. Most times I go days, even weeks without cheating and then some days I'll cheat in a row. I try and make good decisions when I go out with my grandpa for dinner every couple of weeks but most times I cheat while I'm with him. I also cheat when I have a family event or occasion. I still try to do my best and there are definitely some things I'll probably stay away from forever. I eat red meat on average twice a month and I almost never eat chicken or turkey and occasionally, fish.
I've done a ton of research on veganism and the lifestyle and it's one that I like. I originally started doing it for health reasons, not that I had any issues going on, other than slightly elevated blood pressure. I just knew that since it's only animal products that have cholesterol, eating a plant-based diet would most likely reduce my cholesterol and hopefully my triglycerides. As a lot of you know, I've always had a soft spot for animals as well and I've learned more about the suffering of animals through my research as well.
I have been introduced to a whole new world of foods that I had ever heard of, let alone actually eating them. Tempeh, seitan, almond milk, kale, green smoothies and quinoa have become some of my new favorites. I'm still discovering and trying new foods, as well as discovering that Oreos are vegan, which isn't a good thing for me to know. That leads me to my new point...eating vegan doesn't have to mean eating healthy. There are junk food vegans. Potato chips are vegan. I am not a junk food vegan but I have my moments like everyone else. I'm constantly evolving while eating a plant-based diet. One of my latest food learning experiences is eating raw. I might post about that sometime in the future.
While being introduced to new foods, that also means being introduced to a better and clean way of eating and knowing what to avoid. For me, that means trying to eat whole foods or foods that are minimally processed. It also means trying to eat organic as much as I can, which is often and also watching out for GMO's, or genetically modified organisms. Almost all the soybean and corn crops in the United States are genetically modified so if you are going to eat anything with either of those products in it, (which are ingredients in a ton of our foods) buy organic.
I went to the doctor at the end of May and had my blood taken. So how do my plant-based diet numbers look compared to my old eating habit numbers?
I didn't get any blood taken in 2011 so my most recent numbers are from May 2010.
Blood Pressure
2010: highest reading- 146/90
2012: lowest reading- 118/60-- Better than average of 120/80
Triglycerides
2006: highest reading- 256, after 3 months of dietary changes- 197
2010: 165
2012: 148-- Normal is anything under 150
Vitamin B12
I had never had my vitamin B12 levels measured before but because this is a vitamin that vegans do not get in their food, I had it measured. Anywhere from 211-946 is normal. I am at 215.
Vitamin D
I also had never had my vitamin D levels measured and good thing I did. I have a severe deficiency...like the most severe my doctor has ever seen. Anything 30-100 is normal and under 12 is severe deficiency. I am 8.6. I'm guessing this is something I've been deficient in for quite some time. I never drank cow's milk growing up and I just didn't gravitate towards foods with calcium in it. In order to absorb calcium, you need to have vitamin D. I also avoid the sun a lot. I'm sure my bones look like swiss cheese on the inside. Since being diagnosed, I've been taking 4000 IU's of vitamin D3 a day. I can tell with 5 weeks of supplements, my body feels better and my bones don't ache (especially the lower back) as much. And because of that, it makes me wonder if I have/had this disease.
Cholesterol
Finally, my cholesterol numbers! I was so excited to learn what my cholesterol would be after hardly taking in any dietary cholesterol. (Your liver still makes cholesterol within your body.)
2006: highest reading- 207
2007: 177
2010: 184
2012: 153- anything under 200 is considered normal
My cholesterol lowered 31 points in 9 months! I found that to be very exciting, considering it was already in the normal range. It's not only about the total cholesterol number though. My HDL (good) cholesterol is 45. That's the number that you want to be high. Anything greater than 39 is good. My LDL (bad) cholesterol is 78. That's the number you want to be low. Anything under 100 is optimal.
Overall, I feel decent about my numbers and am confident I can get the vitamin D and B12 levels increased over the next year.
Now that I've outed myself and my eating lifestyle, I'm sure you'll see more posts on nutrition and the foods I eat along with some recipes.
Vegan:
A strict vegetarian; one who eats plant products only and no animal or dairy products at all
Actually, I don't like to call myself a vegan. I don't mind referring to food as vegan but when it comes to describing my eating patterns, I prefer to say I eat a plant-based diet. Another reason I don't like using the word vegan for me is because I don't always eat vegan. I've been reluctant to talk about my eating habits with the masses since it's somewhat of a personal topic/experience as well as people get defensive (on both sides of the conversation) when talking about eating vegan. I'm not about to change you or influence you.
Since September 2010, I've been eating vegan or a plant-based diet at least 90% of the time. It started off as just one day where after having a conversation with someone, I realized that I had eaten vegan through the morning and I wondered if I could do it all the way through the day. I did with ease. I did it again for the next two days. And from then on, I pretty much started eating vegan on a consistent basis. I think it would be into late October before I would have my first taste of cheese again and it was...different. Very milky. And considering I don't like cow's milk, it didn't taste all that great despite having intense cravings for cheese.
Because it's too hard to have to manipulate people's eating towards my way of eating, I "cheat" every so often. Most times I go days, even weeks without cheating and then some days I'll cheat in a row. I try and make good decisions when I go out with my grandpa for dinner every couple of weeks but most times I cheat while I'm with him. I also cheat when I have a family event or occasion. I still try to do my best and there are definitely some things I'll probably stay away from forever. I eat red meat on average twice a month and I almost never eat chicken or turkey and occasionally, fish.
I've done a ton of research on veganism and the lifestyle and it's one that I like. I originally started doing it for health reasons, not that I had any issues going on, other than slightly elevated blood pressure. I just knew that since it's only animal products that have cholesterol, eating a plant-based diet would most likely reduce my cholesterol and hopefully my triglycerides. As a lot of you know, I've always had a soft spot for animals as well and I've learned more about the suffering of animals through my research as well.
I have been introduced to a whole new world of foods that I had ever heard of, let alone actually eating them. Tempeh, seitan, almond milk, kale, green smoothies and quinoa have become some of my new favorites. I'm still discovering and trying new foods, as well as discovering that Oreos are vegan, which isn't a good thing for me to know. That leads me to my new point...eating vegan doesn't have to mean eating healthy. There are junk food vegans. Potato chips are vegan. I am not a junk food vegan but I have my moments like everyone else. I'm constantly evolving while eating a plant-based diet. One of my latest food learning experiences is eating raw. I might post about that sometime in the future.
While being introduced to new foods, that also means being introduced to a better and clean way of eating and knowing what to avoid. For me, that means trying to eat whole foods or foods that are minimally processed. It also means trying to eat organic as much as I can, which is often and also watching out for GMO's, or genetically modified organisms. Almost all the soybean and corn crops in the United States are genetically modified so if you are going to eat anything with either of those products in it, (which are ingredients in a ton of our foods) buy organic.
I went to the doctor at the end of May and had my blood taken. So how do my plant-based diet numbers look compared to my old eating habit numbers?
I didn't get any blood taken in 2011 so my most recent numbers are from May 2010.
Blood Pressure
2010: highest reading- 146/90
2012: lowest reading- 118/60-- Better than average of 120/80
Triglycerides
2006: highest reading- 256, after 3 months of dietary changes- 197
2010: 165
2012: 148-- Normal is anything under 150
Vitamin B12
I had never had my vitamin B12 levels measured before but because this is a vitamin that vegans do not get in their food, I had it measured. Anywhere from 211-946 is normal. I am at 215.
Vitamin D
I also had never had my vitamin D levels measured and good thing I did. I have a severe deficiency...like the most severe my doctor has ever seen. Anything 30-100 is normal and under 12 is severe deficiency. I am 8.6. I'm guessing this is something I've been deficient in for quite some time. I never drank cow's milk growing up and I just didn't gravitate towards foods with calcium in it. In order to absorb calcium, you need to have vitamin D. I also avoid the sun a lot. I'm sure my bones look like swiss cheese on the inside. Since being diagnosed, I've been taking 4000 IU's of vitamin D3 a day. I can tell with 5 weeks of supplements, my body feels better and my bones don't ache (especially the lower back) as much. And because of that, it makes me wonder if I have/had this disease.
Cholesterol
Finally, my cholesterol numbers! I was so excited to learn what my cholesterol would be after hardly taking in any dietary cholesterol. (Your liver still makes cholesterol within your body.)
2006: highest reading- 207
2007: 177
2010: 184
2012: 153- anything under 200 is considered normal
My cholesterol lowered 31 points in 9 months! I found that to be very exciting, considering it was already in the normal range. It's not only about the total cholesterol number though. My HDL (good) cholesterol is 45. That's the number that you want to be high. Anything greater than 39 is good. My LDL (bad) cholesterol is 78. That's the number you want to be low. Anything under 100 is optimal.
Overall, I feel decent about my numbers and am confident I can get the vitamin D and B12 levels increased over the next year.
Now that I've outed myself and my eating lifestyle, I'm sure you'll see more posts on nutrition and the foods I eat along with some recipes.
1 comment:
it's your blog, you don't have to keep secrets from us! ;) Congrats on coming out - I bet it feels good!
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