iheartbacon

Went grocery shopping tonight and I have to say this new vegan (mostly, need half & half for my coffee. Not negotiable) diet has a lot of benefits. Grocery bill for 2 weeks of food was only $70 and with no cans or bottles my trailer was a lot lighter! Loaded it was still painful to get home, had to take a break to catch my breath and pop a nitro. Riding at night was a lot of fun with my lights flashing. I'm still in a lot of pain almost all the time. Skipped spin class tonight. Just didn't feel up to it and decided to go grocery shopping instead. It sure is hard to stay motivated to get out to the gym, ride my bike, and be active when it hurts so much. I would sincerely appreciate any words of encouragement. You guys are like my support team.

Ekdog

Congratulations on your new diet and lifestyle!

Check out these "Meatless Monday" vegetarian recipes on Pintarest: https://pinterest.com/meatlessmonday/...ss-menu-lunch/ They're not all vegan, but some of them are, and many of the ones that aren't could be modified. Just looking at such lovely photos of delicious, healthy food picks me up. I'm sure it'll do the same for you.

iheartbacon

Thanks for the link. I really enjoy finding all the new recipe ideas. Tonight I added sunflower seeds to a salad and it was really good. I just weighed myself and I'm at 301, down from 317. Christ, I can't believe I weigh that much.

zoltani

BUt....how are you living a life without bacon?

iheartbacon

Life without bacon is sad.

gerv 

That's a good drop. 16 pounds. Sounds like the right direction to me. Imagine where you'll be in a year.

iheartbacon

I want to get to 175, 200 if I can put the muscle back on. It's shocking what spending months in a hospital bed will do to you. I thought hospitals were supposed to get you better!

wahoonc

That is a huge fallacy IMHO. The medical industry exists to treat the symptoms, very few doctors seem to actually be interested in wellness.

Aaron

lightning60

i...usedtoheartbacon-

Keep those pedals spinning! When I was 26 I had an acute MI with two 100% blockages. I took up cycling to get the regular exercise recommended by my cardiologist, and then transitioned to a commuter. Today I have zero angina and am able to cycle my 13 mile round-trip commute, MTB, and live an active life. Cycling has been the best way for me to regularly get my needed exercise. If I told myself I would cycle three times per week, it wouldn't happen regularly. I took the step of saying "I BIKE TO WORK" and that helps me get on the bike each day.

As far as diet let me know if you have any specific questions. My wife is a registered dietitian and has been a great source of support for me. We are not vegan, but we end up eating vegetarian meals often to stay on the low saturated fat, low cholesterol diet.

smasha

@iheartbacon - soon enough, you'll give up coffee and won't need the half-and-half. i'm curious, though, what's wrong with a "thick" soy milk or almond milk? rice milk is generally a good transition for people who are used to low-fat or skim milk - soy and nut milks are usually "heavier", but of course there are so many differnt brands and flavours, it might take some time to find one you really like.

when you go from "almost vegan" to totally 100% dairy-free, your body will feel better

charbucks

Give up coffee??? :O NOOOO

Nightshade

If you're having to use nitroglycerin heart meds just to ride a bike then if you don't want death at your door very soon look into getting an electric bike!!!

Good Lord man!! Consider the risk you are taking!!

ctg492

I don't know your story, but from what I read here on this post you could be an inspiration to so many! Weight loss, Vegan, riding, so many out there today could benefit from your change. Keep up the great new life you have.
Vegan is probably the hardest??? I am a lifetime Vegetarian, but Vegan my son tried then went back to Vegetarian, was so hard to plan a dinner around.

iheartbacon

I started using Chia seeds in my green smoothies, they're helping to suppress my appetite and are supposed to be loaded with tons of other good stuff too. Hemp seeds are next, I have a 5lb tub coming and a book all about them. It's interesting to look at food as medicine and fuel rather than something tasty to eat too much of.

My current coffee intake is 2 cups a day, I have one of those Brew n' Go machines that makes one cup at a time. A half gallon of half & half lasts 2 weeks or so, I think that's a reasonable intake of milk. I use organic soy and coconut milk in my green smoothies. I cut that with water to about a 60/40 mixture before I hit blend. Tastes better that way.

In my mind an electric bike would be cheating. At that point I might as well drive a car. I did have that scare a while back where I passed out in traffic and woke uo in the hospital 6 hours later. I was pushing pretty hard and ignoring the warning signs, if I'm honest about it.

I find raw vegan to be easy actually. If it's cooked I don't eat it. If it isn't a plant, I don't eat it.

iheartbacon

Can anybody identify this produce? I use it in my green smoothies and it tastes good, but I don't know what it is. The signs at the grocery store are confusing.

gerv 

Chinese cabbage?

iheartbacon

The sign above the one on the left said parsley and the sign above the one on the right said broccoli tops. I don't think that's what they are. I'm sure the one on the left isn't parsley, it's too big.

linus

The one on the left is a cabbage. Koreans use them make Kimchi. I think the one on the right is a Chinese cabbage.

smasha

in different areas, they're called:
* chinese cabbage
* napa cabbage
* bok-choy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_cabbage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napa_cabbage
https://video.about.com/chinesefood/W...-Bok-Choy-.htm

iheartbacon

So they're both the same thing? Thank you for the links.

frantik

I was also going to suggest a non-milk substitute for the half and half, but I can't seem to give up cheese so i suppose it's 6 of one, half-and-half dozen of the other

I agree that rice milk is a good transition.. soy milk is not only heavier, it's got a more distinctive taste that isn't really anything like milk..


btw, OP nice job and keep it up your body will get used to being more active but don't feel bad if your body is telling you to rest.

smasha

i've always know the stuff on the left as chinese cabbage or nappa cabbage, and the stuff on the right as bok-choy. i have no idea how closely they're related, or how often they're confused.

smasha

it's different for different people, but i know a lot of vegans who gave up cheese for a few weeks, and then the smell of it, or thought of it, was disgusting to them.

frantik

I'd have to find something to replace it with (haven't found anything close texture-wise as far as soy cheese) that also provides the same nutrition. I feel like there's something in the cheese that I'm not getting elsewhere, because when I take a break/try to avoid it, i just end up craving it a lot. Plus i'm so picky about ingredients already, it's hard to want to be even more strict. I'm happy with my health level so the main motivation would be moral reasons, which, while are good reasons, are admittedly easier to ignore, especially when you're hungry

smasha

what you're craving is casomorphine - https://www.notmilk.com/forum/942.html

do the "notmilk challenge" - https://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...k/message/1822

https://www.maritime-sda-online.com/f...t&Number=38448