So it's been a while since my last post. A lot has happened. Just after the first part of the year, my doctor noticed that my iron was dropping quite a bit. We followed up for about 3 months and found that due to a surgery I had some 23 years ago, I was no longer binding iron.
This was compounded by my vegan diet. Vegan diets have non-heme (not blood) based iron. Meaning all the iron comes from plant sources. Under normal circumstances this wouldn't be an issue. In my case however, I had a procedure that removed the majority of my small intestines. This is the area where nutrients, like iron, are absorbed. Non-heme iron is harder to absorb than heme (blood) based iron. So it is easier to get the iron that makes red blood cells from animal sources such as beef or chicken.
As my iron began reducing in 1/2 every 11 days, my doctor sent me to a hematologist to review my case. He recommended that I begin iron infusions immediately. On my first infusion I had an allergic reaction that was terrifying. So much so that I switched to eating meat for 10 days to try to "fix" my iron myself. It was however, too late. My red blood cells were so low that they could not bind to any iron absorbed. The tests revealed that the iron was floating around in my blood and just passing through my system. I was getting weaker and weaker.
Finally I went back and had the infusion. With the new type of iron, my body accepted it and I'm now up to my 5th and final appointment coming up next week. Two weeks after that, we'll get another blood test to see how my body is doing. I know that I have some success because my pica has gone completely. I was eating a 10lb bag of ice every 3 days.
With the infusions and Eli breaking his ankle needless to say our medical bills are now through the roof. We decided it was time to take some action. So we decided to go back into business. We've opened up a new shop called Ethereal Grind. We'll be looking to get back into the vending market soon as well as having our e-shop to sell our goodies. Be sure to go over and like/share our Facebook Page.
So here we are. Kicking off another business and a new life moving away from veganism and embracing my witchy path with new witchy consultations and photos readings available. I'll be looking to update here more frequently. I look forward to sharing my new path with you.
Generally I like to start out with a disclaimer. I am identify as a magical Buddhist. I look for the connection between magic and science without the need to search for a creator. I believe in spiritually and holistic wellness. I find that we can heal the world if we just sit down and and listen to the breath. I believe that magic, science and nutritional well being are the cornerstone to a well rounded holistic life. I have recently updated my site from Confessions of a Modern Witch to my new page To Live Whole. I welcome you to come along for my journey of health, wellness and self exploration. I receive no compensation for these reviews and all my links are standard Amazon links and not affiliate links. I am a practicing photo reader and have spent the last 16 years honing my craft. I offer personal readings by request and have a strong online history that boasts over 438,000 views.
As you know I'll be switching over to reviewing only e-copies of books shortly. I will miss handling the books but the amount of trash that I had piling up for all the shipping was just overwhelming. I will be doing a giveaway for the remaining physical books that actually arrive as well as asking my publishers to provide giveaway copies shipped directly to my winner's homes going forward for all giveaways.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
My review copy was a soft cover slightly larger than average sized book. Its a soft cover book in a journal format that requires the reader to crease the seam in order to jot down all the daily food logging that this book recommends. I should also add, that I am not a vegan. I do have a very vegan like diet. I believe that being vegan has a bit of a history around it and leads people to believe certain things about people who wear that badge. I live a mindful, compassionate life. I follow the eight fold path and practice meditation. I diet is best described as Whole Food Plant Based No Oil. Being plant based, that means that it is a type of a vegan diet, however vegan diets include things like canola oil while excluding honey. My way of eating would be opposite of that. I see tons of health benefits for honey, while oil on the other hand is quite harmful to the body. That being said, many of the suggested recipes in this book would be strictly off limits for my household, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's talk about the first part of the book before going into the recipes.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
This book starts out with the author giving us an overview of the Vegan diet as a whole. She covers vitamins and minerals and includes a section on that all important question we are all asked, "Where do you get your protein??" I like the inclusion of a vegan pantry. While, I wouldn't recommend going out and purchasing all this at one time, it is a great place to find a list of all the typical things one would find in a vegan pantry. Keeping in mind that a large majority of people I am meeting in my groups are also gluten intolerant, I would skip the breads altogether in our house. And of course, no oil at all. We don't use any type of processed oils, spreads, mixes, butters or anything of that nature. I think that some of these items are great to help wean you off of the bad stuff but overall they contain just as much harmful ingredients and should really just be skipped completely. I found the vegan substitution chart to be useful in some cases and in others a tad redundant. The yogurt substitution is vegan yogurt. I think that's pretty self explanatory and seemed like just a space filler.
There are a lot of charts in this book. One on fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, meat replacements and of course vegetables. There's even a few blank pages for you to fill in with the nutritional information around your own favorite foods.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
The planner section is next. It is broken down into weekly sections over twelve weeks. Each week has a recommendation for breakfast, lunch, dinner and a snack, with a review page to jot down what you ate, including the nutritional break down, a section for thoughts and a plate diagram to show your fruits, grains, protein, veg and even a little place to tick off your water consumption.
The very first day recommends whole grain toast with peanut butter and sugar free jam with a banana for breakfast. A veggie burger on whole grain bread with cake and baked beans for lunch and vegetable marinara with whole grain pasta for dinner with a kale and tomato salad. Not a horrible day but for me, I would have to do a lot of removing. The pasta and bread are both highly processed and have gluten so both of those would be out for me. I don't eat nut butters or jam, so both of those are out and of course that veggie burger is processed as well. Instead of this I would have something like an oat bowl for breakfast with oat milk, blueberries, raisins and strawberries. For lunch I might have a veggie stir fry *no oil* over brown rice or maybe some vegan Tom Kha soup with Soy Curls.
The book does include a recipe for every day of the week in the book. I found that the Vanilla Date Breakfast Smoothie looked really good. I use frozen bananas and dried dates for an assortment of recipes. Once you are able to cleanse, your taste buds will go back to their normal unprocessed setting and you'll find that things taste quite different that you are used to. For example, oats are naturally very sweet. Oat milk is amazing without any sweetener at all and I pour it over my oat bowl every morning. Raisins are another great sweet treat. Once off the processed sugar you'll find that so many foods are just great tasting on their own. Over the years (even documented in this blog) you'll find me posting about how much I hate onions, mushrooms and peppers. I now eat them everyday. It is quite amazing how quickly you can switch over to a healthy lifestyle if given the chance.
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson Image Source - Book
Overall I think this is a great book for becoming vegan. The daily entry allows you to take responsibility for your eating habits and the charts and tables provide a great deal of information. I think that going vegan is a great step in the right direction to getting back to where I believe we were naturally intended to eat.
If you think you might be interested in learning more about the whole food plant based no oil lifestyle, be sure to check out my Facebook page - Real Rations and my Facebook group Real Rations Recipes. Here my hubby and I share information on health, holistic wellness and nutrition as well as great recipes that will get you on the way. I have lost 137 pounds changing to this lifestyle and Elijah has lost 120. We welcome you to come over and check it out!
I love sharing information I have with others. I want everyone to experience the joy of changing their lives the way I have. A little over 3 years ago I realized I was quickly headed for a untimely death. I couldn't walk up stairs or even fly in a plane due to my size. I was morbidly obese. My hubby got me on the right track through reading and moving. We started with little changes here and there and slowly transformed our lives. Today I sit here writing this at 50, feeling younger than I felt in my thirties. No pills, no needles. Just real food. I want to share that with as many people as I can.
so, having a giveaway for my page over at Real Rations. I know everyone is looking forward to kicking off 2020 with a bang, so I'm going to do a little give back. I have two FitBit Inspires (gently used) and two books (again gently used) that I'm going to raffle off for the New Year! The FitBits contain the watch bands for small, medium and large and in the original packaging. The books are second hand books that I pick up at library sales and thrift stores as a way of getting information out to those who are interested in learning about the Whole Food Plant Based revolution.
I will use rafflecopter to collect the entries. The giveaway is open to the continental US only, due to shipping fees. I'll draw and post two winners on New Year's Day. Those winners will have 24 hours to reply to my email with a shipping address. If none reply, I will re-draw.
The first set includes a book that I love. It was one of the first ones I read on this style of eating. It is called Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D. Dr. Fuhrman takes a very scientific approach to eating the Nutritarian way.
Here's a talk from 2019 - Dr. Fuhrman did on healthy eating.
Prize 1 - Used Copy - Eat To Live
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Remember, on the US can enter, sorry, that's just due to the cost of shipping and I will need a reply from my winners within 24 hours or I'll move on to a new name.
Generally I like to start out with a disclaimer. I am an contemporary witch. I look for the connection between magic and science without the need to search for a creator. I receive no compensation for these reviews and all my links are standard Amazon links and not affiliate links. I am a practicing photo reader and have spent the last 16 years honing my craft. I offer personal readings by request and have a strong online history that boasts over 412,000 views.
As usual, I'm going to start my review with my opinion on the physical book. I received a hard cover dust jacketed book as a gift for contributing to the OMD Blog project. You can find my interview here. The forward of the book is written by Dr. Dean Ornish, MD. A well renowned advocate for living a healthy lifestyle. While not completely plant based I respect Dr. Ornish for his work related to helping create a holistic approach to lifestyle management. I have read many of his books and recommend them often. My particular way of living is more in line with Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn. I am a firm believer that oil is at the root of the majority of the diseases of affluence that impact our society today. This book boasts a nice since index and notes section. It even includes a list of packaged foods that are acceptable to those living a vegan lifestyle.
The premise of this book and the mission statement of OMD is to save the planet by switching one meal a day to a plant based meal. The book lists vegan options for reaching this goal. To me, I believe in a whole food plant based approach to eating. While it does fit the "vegan" moniker, it isn't your traditional vegan menu. There are so many foods that are vegan but are not good for you. Oreo cookies are vegan but are completely unhealthy. The book is a great resource for information on how much of our resources are used each day by continuing to eat meat and meat products. The author explains that having only one plant based meal a day for a year will save 675,250 gallons of water. To put that in perspective, it is the same amount of water to fill an Olympic size pool.
I enjoyed the section of the book that included the lists of plant based sources for common vitamins and minerals. Page 113 for example, gives a pretty good list of Omega-3S sources. A common source of Omega 3 is attributed to consuming fish. The list contains 23 options for plant based sources of Omega 3 fatty acid. Personally, I try to include chia seeds, sesame seeds and walnuts in my diet daily.
Chapter five kicks off your journey to OMD living. The author provides a list of tips and tricks for making your experience a success. The table of grab and go options are a life saver for those just starting on this journey. The idea here is you're only switching one meal a day. As you begin to see how much better you feel, you'll want to change more and slowly remove meat and animal products completely from your diet. I started out my journey by ordering HungryRoot food delivery service. This is a vegan home meal delivery kit that provides a great way to slowly wean yourself off of highly processed animal fat and chemical laden foods. The same holds true for the new craze of the Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger which are making their way around fast food establishments across the united states. While not on my menu, this is a great way to begin the path to removing animals from your diet.
Chapter seven is where the fun begins. The author takes us on a culinary journey to delight the vegan taste buds of every newly transitioning foodie. From Jasper's Red Shake to Food Forest Organics Coco-Mint Slice you'll find a tasty plant based recipe to fit any taste level. You'll learn how to use tofu and coconut cream to make a delicious meal that will convert even the most strict meat eater. There are recipes for chili sauce, pesto and even spring rolls! Eating a plant based meal doesn't have to be bland and boring. After all, most of the meat prepared today has herbs and spices added to it to make it flavorful. Herbs and spices are plants! This book includes a 14 day All-In Meal plan and shopping list to get you ready for the big move to a healthier plant based life style.
Over all this is a great book and I applaud the author for providing, to me, one of the most important parts of the book. The Great Eater Meter on page 293 offers the reader a chance to see the impact of animal based foods on our environment. One stick of butter for example, takes 173 gallons of water to produce. One cup of milk takes 43 gallons of water. When you begin to look at the impact of the individual choices we make everyday on our planet, you really can see how you can be the change you want to see in this world.
If you're on the fence about this, I highly recommend picking up a copy of this book and taking the time to really learn about a plant based lifestyle. You can look up several documentaries on the subject such as Devour the Earth, Eating You Alive, Forks Over Knives and The Game Changers just to name a few.
At some point in everyone's life there comes a moment when you look back at a relationship, a job, an event where your friends around you offered suggestions, encouragement or support. After that moment has passed retrospection usually follows. As an analytical person, I spend a great deal of time looking back over tasks, jobs, positions and the like trying to determine the best course of action. Did I follow the rules? Did I meet my goal? Was the outcome, the best outcome?
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
One of my recent blog posts was a book review about a great book that helped me really sit back and look at what brought me bliss. This retrospection is all about understanding what brings you happiness and contentment. Today I have a great job, a wonderful family and am working on getting my health to the best it can be for a 50 year old. I may not ever be a kick-boxer, but I know that I will be able to take care of myself in my golden years, instead of relying on someone else to bathe me.
Over the last few years I have read everything I can get my hands on related to health and wellness. I have poured my soul into understanding the best course of action to fully take charge of my health, my well being and my surroundings. I took a year to live in an RV in the desert just to come to terms with what is really important for me.
What I needed to do was read that my weight, while maybe normal for someone on a SAD eating plan, it wasn't normal for my body. In those articles I learned that all the oil I was putting in my body, all the sugar was killing me. And I needed to change that.
I commented this morning on a article about kicking wellness to the curb on a page called "Fat Fe..... Wi...." Name blurred to protect the innocent. I was met with the reply of, your comment is off topic and will be deleted shortly. I removed my comment and un-liked the page. You see, sometimes people, especially fat people who are unhealthy (and I can speak to this because I was one), don't like to be told they are accountable for their own actions. This article was speaking to how people fall into stereotypes and go into one fad diet after another to try to "fix" what isn't broken. Because you know, if you just love fat people (who are unhealthy) they'll be fine. To that I say bullshit.
Fat (who are unhealthy) people don't need to be told their beautiful. We need to be told we're in danger. And I say that with a loud fucking yell because I heard from all my friends how beautiful I was at 300 pounds. I heard them tell me what I was loved and I was find just the way I was. But you know what? I wasn't fine. I was close to death. I couldn't breathe when I walked up a slight incline. I couldn't sleep well because the fat around my throat was choking me while I slept. What I need was someone to come to me and say:
Photo Credit Elijah Olson Pic 1 July 2016 - Pic 2 July 2019 128 lbs lost
Hey, Renee, you should really get rid of all the processed food in your cabinets.
Hey Renee, you should toss out that milk because, you know you're not a fucking baby cow and you shouldn't drink it.
Hey Renee, you can't breathe because the fat around your neck is getting so think that its choking you to death while you sleep.
Hey Renee, your knee and hip arthritis is so bad because your knees weren't intended to carry around three hundred fucking pounds.
Hey Renee, stop eating pizza or you're going to die, way early and way painfully.
I completely understand being a support system for those who are unhealthy. You see my weight, my size was directly related to my health. Today I'm a much healthier person and a side effect of my new eating habits are having lost 128 lbs. My blood work is amazing now. I no longer have issues with sleep, my knees, my hip or my fibro. I have completely reversed my type 2 diabetes and have seem to have no continued issues with my congestive heart failure.
Photo Credit - Screen Cap UNC Health
Photo Credit - Screen Cap UNC Health
Just so I'm clear, I'm not saying we need to be ugly to people who are overweight. I'm not saying you need to call names or shun anyone. What I am saying is look out for your tribe. If you see someone struggling, lend a hand. A real hand. Don't tell someone a dress looks great on them when it doesn't. A real friend will tell you that you have a booger showing. A real friend will tell you that you need to address certain things. Be someone who helps straighten a crown when NO ONE is watching.
I'm also not saying that everyone over a certain size is unhealthy. We are all different. We all have different body make ups and there is no perfect size. Your body will tell you what is right for you when you give it the nutrients it needs. I figured this out the hard way.
I am putting this offer out there. Anyone at all who is interested in learning about WFPB lifestyle and healing your body holistically feel free to reach out to me via this blog or on my support page at Real Rations. I share science based resources to learning to live and heal your body using food. I share recipes in my group Real Rations Recipes as well as welcome stories and before and afters here. Everything I share there is free. My goal is to help those out there who were like me. Those who were morbidly obese and utterly hopeless. Those who felt as though they wanted to die.
I'm not trying to change your mind on plant based eating. That's not my business and frankly, I don't have the energy for that fight. I'm here for those who want to change. Who want to try something new. Those who need to try something new. For those, this message is for you. I see you. I hear you. You are important. You are worth it. <3
For the majority of my life I have had a connection with the energy of both humans and animals alike. I have been able to "feel" the pain of those around me and even been able to sense what is going to happen before it happens. As a child as I would eat meat I would feel pain in my body and soul. I couldn't touch raw meat and had to wear gloves to work with it in the kitchen. When I would cut a piece of meat my brain would flash images of me cutting my own hands and fingers while the blade sliced through the meat.
I always thought there was something wrong with me. As I matured in witchcraft I watched those around me who practiced. I watched their magic and their lives. I took note of what their skin looked like, what their hands looked like and what their aura looked like. I slowly began to think that perhaps there was much more happening here that meets the eye.
For the majority of my life I have been obese. Recently I changed over to a Whole Food Plant Based Lifestyle (WFPB). You can read about my journey here. As I switched over to a plant based diet I found that my senses were changing. I am now able to focus on things I could not before.
Photo Credit - Elijah Olson
I completed my Holistic Wellness Coach Certification and completed an International Yogi Certification. I'm currently working on a Mediation Coach Certification. All things that were always just outside my ability to focus on in order to complete. I am amazed at the way the fog has lifted off my brain and now I no longer require a stack of sticky notes to remind me of things. I no longer write down every single thing in order to remember it. My mind is now here in the present with my body and working to achieve my goals as I lay them out as opposed to the broken, struggled life I was experiencing before.
I quickly began researching what empathetic people tend to eat and I found some pretty interesting information around it. I'm sure there are just as many on the other side, so please understand I am not knocking the abilities of those who do not follow a WFPB lifestyle. I am simply showing what I and others like me have found by switching. I'll be adding a few links at the end for you to review.
As my body began to change, my mind began to clear. The further away I was from the clutter of TV news and media the better I felt. The more I removed animal products from my diet the happier I felt. I know longer had the hurt of the cows crying for their calves or the images of the slaughterhouses in my mind. They drifted away like a bad dream. My mind raced back to a class I took years ago that referenced the fact that all things are related. The table came from the earth, because it came from a tree, just as I came from the earth. All things are related.
I made a mad dash to my science literature to find out what early man ate. If we think about this logically, do we really believe that early man ate a pound of bacon every morning? Anyone who has ever hunted understands that if they get one large deer they make that one animal last for their family for the season. They never loaded their plates with more than they could use. They all joined together and ate as one. Looking at life today we can see how much we have changed. We can see just how far we have removed ourselves from the natural world.
I think the word Vegan has become a dirty word. I think that people associate PETA (who I detest) with veganism. They also don't understand how much the meat and dairy industry pay in lobby money to our government to endorse their products. We forget that if we look at our bodies and the bodies of those animals that we eat today, we can see harm we're doing. I'm not huge on showing images of baby cows being pulled from their mothers or the screams these mother cows make in the days and weeks that follow calling out for their missing young. I can't share those. All I can do is use my words to try to show the emotion that is involved in that milk.
If I walk across a cemetery, I can feel the energy there. If I walk into a room, or shake someone's hand, I can feel the energy they present. Why is it that big of a leap to feel the energy of the suffering of that mother in each glass of cow's milk? People think, Oh, milk and butter, they don't hurt anyone. You just milk the cow, the cow lives. Yeah, that cow lives. But the baby she had to feed that milk to is taken away from her immediately. Males are tossed into small boxes to become veal and females are put back into the factory to continue to produce milk. If a person wants milk we should be drinking human milk. Cow's milk is made to nourish baby cows. They need more fat and calories because they're bigger. There is really no reason for a weaned person to consume milk. We are convinced that we need this through all the money coming in from the dairy industry.
As part of my Yogi certification, part of my assignments were to study the differing types of Yoga. The first yama of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra is Ahimsa. The word ahimsa literally means not to injure or show cruelty to any creature or any person in any way whatsoever. Ahimsa is, however, more than just lack of violence as adapted in yoga. Ahimsa can be practiced as vegetarianism or veganism. In my case, while not feeling completely comfortable with the the baggage that appears to follow the word Vegan, I opt for the WFPB label instead. To me, this cross connection with my Yogi certification, the Holistic Wellness Coach Certification led me directly to this place I am today.
I know that not everyone is going to agree here. I mean we have been convinced by the powers that be, that Milk, Does a Body Good, after all. We have be asked, Where are you getting your protein? There are burger joints on every corner, certainly our government wouldn't allow money to influence their opinions on what is and is not healthy.
All I can say is I sit here before you, weighing less than I have ever weighed while eating normally. I have removed all medications from my diet. I have little to no manias associated with my BiPolar 2 diagnosis. I can walk and breathe at the same time. I can feel my energy increasing both physically and spiritually. For me, this works. Elijah has stopped all his medications as well, he's lost 100 pounds just as I have. We're spending more time on yoga and mediation. We're cooking our meals together and not rushing around trying to check things off a list. So while naysayers may contend that "we must eat meat" "we are meat eaters" I say, just try it. Take a month and remove the meat and see what happens? I mean if you're right, nothing will happen.
I think something will happen though. I think you will find that you are indeed what you eat. And if you eat fear, you are fear. If you eat terror or sorrow, you will be those. I encourage you to go through the list of info below. Look up the Doctors I follow and judge for yourself.
While I continue this journey just like anything else I do, I'll continue to research and share my progress. I know for me this is the right way to move forward. In harmony with the natural world and the spiritual world. I know that my choice to remove these products from my life have had a huge impact on my abilities.
Resources:
Doctors:
Joel Fuhrman M.D
John A. McDougall M.D.
Neal D. Barnard M.D.
Caldwell B. Esselstyn Jr. M.D.
Michael Greger M.D
Michael Klaper M.D.
Dean Ornish M.D.
Joel Kahn M.D.
Anthony Lim M.D., J.D.
Colin Campbell
The China Study Doug Lisle
The Pleasure Trap Neal Barnard MD
Dr. Neal Barnard’s Program for Reversing Diabetes
Breaking the Food Seduction
21 Day Weight-loss Kick start John McDougall MD
The Starch Solution
Dr. McDougall’s Digestive Tune-Up
The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook
Dr. McDougall’s Total Health Solution for the 21st Century
The McDougall Program: Twelve Days to Dynamic Health
The McDougall Program for Maximum Weight Loss
The New McDougall Cookbook
Rip Esselstyn
Forks Over Knives Presents The Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue with Rip Esselstyn
John McDougall MD
Dr. McDougall’s Total Health Solution for the 21st Century DVD
The Jeff Novick Series
Lighten Up
Calorie Density
Should I Eat That
From Oil To Nuts
Nuts & Health
Fast Food Vol 1 The Basics
Fast Food Vol 2 Burgers & Fries
Fast Food Vol 3 Shopping School
Neal Barnard MD
Tackling Diabetes DVD
Kick Start Your Health DVD
Douglas Lisle
The Continuum of Evil
Losing weight without losing your mind
The Pleasure Trap
Michael Klaper
Digestion Made Easy
More Movies/Documentaries
Forks Over Knives
Processed People
Immersions and Programs
Dr Esselstyn - 5-hour intensive counseling seminar at the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute
Farms To Forks Immersions
The McDougall Program
MORE BOOKS
John Abramson MD
Overdosed America
Gilbert H. Welch MD
Should I be tested for Cancer?
Overdiagnosed: Making People Sick in the Pursuit of Health
Know Your Chances: Understanding Health Statistics
Nortin Hadler MD
Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America
Lists of Documentaries
https://nutriciously.com/best-vegan-documentaries/
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/vegan-food/10-best-food-and-health-documentaries/
YouTube:
Why do empaths over eat?
Let's Talk Nutrition
Your Vegan Brain on Empathy
Vandana Shiva on the Problem with Genetically-Modified Seeds
I'd like to start this post out by saying, I don't expect anyone to follow what I have done. I'm also not asking you to change your diet in any way. I'm simply going to share with you what worked for me. This isn't a a judgement nor is it a challenge to ask you to tell me how you can eat meat and dairy and you're fine. I know some believe that they must eat meat to live. They believe the whole bit about cave men eating dinosaurs. If you want to believe that, it isn't my job nor my desire to change your mind. Frankly, if you don't change your diet it doesn't impact anyone else directly (me included) in the slightest. Now that I have cleared that up, here's my story.
I was raised in a household that was basically white trash. We were lower income. We were on food stamps and WIC and we also got surplus foods when the government used to distribute food commodities to the poor for free. To show you how limited our food was, my mother would buy a whole chicken (fryer) for dinner. She would cut up the chicken in pieces. She got two breasts. My stepfather got 2 thighs. I got a drumstick along with my middle sister and our youngest sister got 2 wings. She would add stove top stuffing and green beans or some other canned veg. That was it. This was typical. If there were hot dogs we would have 2 hot dogs on loaf bread with cold pork n beans. We rarely had salad. I never saw fresh fruit unless my mother was making a banana pudding for a family event. I got two oranges at Christmas time and a few nuts in my stocking. I didn't have a nut cracker so we would go outside and crack them with bricks. All the while the emotional, physical and sexual abused compounded my lack of food and nutrition into a full fledged eating disorder.
I remember stealing food stamps from my mother's purse and walking to the store to by food. I sat in the field behind the grocery store and gorged myself on frozen pies. Yes, I ate it frozen. I was 12. I knew I was fat, and I hated myself.
By the time I was 18, I had already ran away from home and was on my second pregnancy. This one all I ate was McDonald's because the child's father worked there and we could eat for free. I ate double quarter pounders (my own creation at the time) and tons of chicken nuggets. Never salad or anything at all resembling healthy food.
The father would do things like make me get out of the car and pronounce my dedication to Jesus. He would then walk off from he like he didn't know me when we saw people he knew in public. I realized it was because he was lying to his wife and didn't tell her about me. I ballooned in size. I starting working for a computer bbs company and became a new personal to hide the sadness and utter self hatred I had inside.
One year his mother took us to Walt Disney World and my child said to me as we waited in line to get in the Tea Cup Ride - she whispered, "Mommy, can you fit in there?" I was humiliated. I knew that being over weight "ran in my family" and was pretty much convinced by my doctors and my family that it was only a matter of time for heart disease and diabetes for me as well.
Faces blocked by their request
I finally found a doctor that would help me. Dr. Brewer in Virginia Beach told me that he could help me lose weight. I was knocking on 300lbs and needed someone to help me. He told me about the Roux n Y gastric bypass that would change my life he said. He never one time mentioned whole food, never asked me what I was eating. He never one time said to me, You can change this yourself by eating vegetables. Yes, we all know that eating veggies is the way to go, but while we're there seeing what WIC gives us and what SNAP tells us to buy it is setting us up for obesity and health issues. Just before he put me under, I heard him say, "You'll never be this fat again."
And I did lose weight. I was thrilled! I got all the way down to 108 lbs after being a a completely liquid diet for nearly a year. During this time I also got kicked out of my house and moved into my first full time lesbian relationship. I could only eat 1/4 of a sandwich or one chicken nugget due to the size of my stomach pouch.
The doctor had also removed the majority of my small intestines as well as my gall bladder. He mentioned a support group, but I didn't go. I didn't think I needed it. After all, I just needed to get skinny. It was my body that betrayed me after all, right? It wasn't anything I was doing. It couldn't be. Look at all the skinny people drinking soda and eating pizza. They were fine.
I ended up getting very ill from the surgery and nearly died. I had to have several blood transfusions and was ordered to eat a high protein and iron diet.
Fast forward to around 2005 and guess what? Here I was again. Closing in very quickly on 300 lbs yet again. I knew I was big and I hated myself. Again.
I joined a gym (like we all do). A 24 hour fitness club and went to work out sometimes 3 times a day. 45 minutes at a time. I lost down to about 170 lbs. I was eating a low fat diet with 2 jamba juices a day (with the weight loss boost of course) and baked salmon for dinner. I thought I was doing the right thing to get myself healthy again. The photo below was taken at LGBT Pride in San Diego. I was so excited to be able to fit into this XL Leather Pride shirt that I changed in a porta-potty. My face says thrilled and I was. But still in the back of my head working out sometimes 3 hours a day, I still couldn't eat just fish and have a smoothie and get below 170 lbs.
We then moved from San Diego back to my home town. Goldsboro NC. It was a tragic mistake. As I was confronted daily with the demons of my childhood my weight grew and grew and grew.
My family sabotaged me when I would try to eat well. I recall, after telling my mother I was vegetarian, she shoved a slice of bacon in my mouth. They all (all of them but my grandmother) made fun of me as an adult. They would say, don't show Rhonda (they call me Rhonda) the poor chickens and so on. It was the one of the most difficult times of my life. So I ballooned.
I became so fat I could barely get around. My feet and ankles swelled and were so painful. I had Fibromyalgia, Heart Disease, Pre-Diabetes and the start of sleep apnea. I was making scratch made biscuits everyday. I was making bacon and pork. I was eating everything except for red meat. Because you know - red meat is bad for you, right?
I went to visit my adopted sister, Kallan in Maryland and Eli and I walked around DC on 4th of July. We were exhausted. I could barely move the next day. We couldn't get in and out of the car when Kallan took us site seeings. It was horrible and I was so embarrassed. I couldn't believe I had done this again.
Eli and I both decided that day that we were taking all meat back off our plates. No meat at all, but we would leave dairy. I started losing some weight. I was walking every morning with my fit-bit trying desperately to get back a more healthy lifestyle. As we were getting better, I finally realized I needed to get out of North Carolina.
By the time we had set up to leave NC I had lost quite a bit of weight and fully understood that all meat products were bad for me. I didn't know why. And I didn't know if everyone was like me, but I knew that I couldn't eat it. We updated our house, got it set up to rent out and headed back west. I left all the negativity and tragedy that was my existence in NC behind.
I fell off the wagon and began eating cheese again. Just here there, as we went out to places and slowly we began to creep up again. This time I noticed it and I suggested we try Hungryroot. A vegan food delivery service to help us get control over our inability to feed ourselves. As we began to do that, Eli completed more classes in his nutrition class and found many of the doctors we follow today. I look back over the last 49 years of my life and decided that I need to be healthy. I cannot continue to put poison in my body and expect it to live. As I cut out the sugar and the saturated fat of coconut milk (my replacement for cow's milk) I learned that I really didn't need those things. They contributed to my pain.
I'm still not where I want to be. My goal is to have a kick-boxer body by my 51st birthday. This morning I did five push-ups. I know, it's only five, but a trip around the world starts with a single step, and this is my step. I need to be gentle with myself and not rush things. I have lost to date 105 lbs. I no longer have any of the illnesses I had before. I am wearing a size 10 pant and a medium shirt. I am able to walk without losing my breath. Because of our wonderful results Eli and I started Real Rations. A way to share what we have learned with others. Folks may not be able to afford the books or attend the lectures. So we're sharing that information free. We want everyone to be able to be healthy. We want them to know that this way of life isn't expensive. It isn't a gimmick. There's no quick fix. It has taken me 2 years to get here. I still have about 45 lbs to lose. It is a process.
I wrote this because I have had several comments on my posts regarding how I don't know what its like and I'm just a skinny person fat shaming.
No honey, I'm not. I'm coming at this from a food addicted, abuse survivor. I was berated and attacked my entire life for being fat. When I was 10 my step father told me I was too fat to be a cheer leader. I was told I was too fat and stupid to do just about everything. I am coming at this as someone who spent an entire year (just three years ago) planning my elder living because I knew I would need diabetes treatment and probably cancer treatment. I had accepted that my DNA had sentenced me to this. But I was wrong. I have taken my power back and changed my diet. I don't exercise, I don't go to the gym, I even got rid of the fit-bit and started to become more present in my actual life.
I slowed down, I studied yoga, and mindful mediation. I got my wellness coach certification and studied aromatherapy and crystal healing. I changed all these things just by starting with my diet. Whole Food, Plant Based. That's it. No pills. No powders. Only the magic of fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains. I feel amazing. I want you to feel that way too.
As part of a new section to my blog, I have invited my husband, Elijah Olson to begin sharing some of his research and expertise on health and food related books and submissions. This comes on the heels of his upcoming book. I hope you enjoy this new venture into kitchen magic in healing with food. I look forward to your comments as we move forward with our Meatless Monday series.
Book Cover
Today I am reviewing a book written by Nicolette Richer called Eat Real to Heal. Nicolette uses the Gerson Therapy or otherwise known as the Gerson Method as a basis for her book.
Nicolette does a fantastic job of breaking it down even further into easily digestible chunks of information for the layman. She adds her personal journey as well as personal accounts from clients that really allows the reader to engage and relate. She speaks specifically to chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Nicolette has not only researched but she has also experimented and proven these methods to work on herself and her family and this is relayed clearly throughout the book. She has provided clear steps for the reader and included meal planning and recipes. She is an accomplished businesswoman that promotes healthy eating and healthy living.
You can give this book an added home on your shelf, you will not be disappointed.
This week I'm doing a review of some of the amazing products from Miyoko's Kitchen. My life as a vegan has been a sort of struggle as it relates to my life with Cheese or rather without it. I love cheese. I would think nothing of sitting down and eating and entire block of cheese with crackers. I would tell myself it was healthy because I would use "good" cheese. But frankly my body was telling another story. After hubby and I decided to go vegan, we took all dairy from our diet. My heart would yearn for the stringy bubbly goodness of a hot slice or a creamy grilled cheese. I had resigned the fact that I would never have that back in my life again.
Until now!
A while back I did a search and found a video of Miyoko and her amazing cheese recipes. I started writing down everything so I could make her a cheese for a pizza.
Then while searching I found her website where she sells her cheese already done!! We ordered the cheddar cheese sauce, the double cream and chive spread and the fresh mozz.
From http://miyokoskitchen.com/products-miyoko/
This spreadable cheese replacement is amazing. We have it with crackers and it was simply amazing. I loved it.
http://miyokoskitchen.com/products-miyoko/
The Fresh VeganMozz was simply amazing. I have not had a pizza with cheese in years. Now I have had ones with Daiya and it was like eating cardboard. I grabbed some pizza dough from the deli section of my grocery store and added some vegan butter with garlic a few herbs and this cheese grated. YES GRATED. You can slice or grate it and it melts and browns so amazingly. I am in love. I will have this in my house forever!!!
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson
From: http://miyokoskitchen.com/products-miyoko/
Finally we tried the Cheddar Style Cheese Sauce. Sadly the cheese sauce was really strong with nutritional yeast and mustard. I took one bite and spit it out. It was just horrid. So my quest for mac and cheese continues, however I will be purchasing the VeganMozz and the Creamy Spreads again!
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