NEW HERE - INTRO

April 28, 2008

My name is Samantha and I live in Oklahoma.

I am in my early thirties and have had 4

children. Currently separated for almost

2 years.

I came upon this group when searching for a fat free way of living

group.

I have the beginnings of high blood pressure, at least it is high

every time I go to my mental health doctor LOL. I also take Zocor for

high cholesterol. I also on Seroquel and Lamictal for Bipolar Manic

depression and panic/anxiety disorder.

Because of the medication I am on for depression it is EXTREMELY hard

to lose the weight I have gained. I was heavy to begin with but had

somewhat of a small success in losing the pounds. Since being on this

medication combo that has worked wonders for me mentally I have

gained 40 pounds with the pounds packing on quite easily every week.

Now I am 5'7 " 260 pounds.

I have tried limiting my portions and counting calories and amount of

fat and exercising to no avail. It looks like I will have to

eventually eat a totally fat free vegan diet to even have a chance at

losing weight without gastric bypass surgery.

Eating a vegan diet seems to be my last hope.

A medication change is not a option as it took 12 years for the

doctors to find something that makes me feel normal and have a decent

happy life.

I would appreciate beginners advice for transitioning from a

" meat & potatoes " type of southern diet to a vegan lifestyle.

I know I have the motivation and will power if I have a set plan to

follow.

Samantha in OK

April 28, 2008

On 4/27/08, Samantha <drpepperok wrote:

>

> My name is Samantha and I live in Oklahoma.

> I am in my early thirties and have had 4

> children. Currently separated for almost

> 2 years.

Hi, Samantha!

> I have tried limiting my portions and counting calories and amount of

> fat and exercising to no avail. It looks like I will have to

> eventually eat a totally fat free vegan diet to even have a chance at

> losing weight without gastric bypass surgery.

I tried everything unsuccessfully until fat-free vegan eating. The

pounds are coming off and I don't limit my portions or count calories,

though I do count fat grams (at least I did. After a few months I

settled in to things and only have to count fat grams now when I am

looking at a different food I haven't been eating regularly.)

I am eating vegan, low- and medium- glycemic index

(http://www.glycemicindex.com), low fat (30 grams or under per day),

high fiber (35 grams or more per day) and losing about eight pounds

per month. I hope that fat free vegan works as well for you as it has

been working for me!

> Eating a vegan diet seems to be my last hope.

Give it a good try - at minimum a month. If you can't get your diet

the way you want it right away (don't be too harsh on yourself; give

yourself time to adapt) then stick with it for at least three months.

It really does help most people and I'm a strong believer in this way

of eating.

> I would appreciate beginners advice for transitioning from a

> " meat & potatoes " type of southern diet to a vegan lifestyle.

It would help if you would list your five favorite dinners. Then we

can suggest similar alternatives and have a more focused idea of your

tastes.

One way to start is to " veganize " things you already eat. If you like

spaghetti, make it with vegan marinara (check the labels on jars and

cans at the store - there are usually several that are vegan.)

Eventually you will want to move away from the pre-packaged marinara

sauce because it usually has lots of sugars and additives but start

from where you are and move in that direction - you don't have to

build Rome in a day.

If you want to make the marinara more healthy, put it in a pot on the

stove and then add some frozen vegetables and get a can of beans or

lentils and drain and rinse them and add some or all of the can to the

marinara. Now you have spaghetti (if you can stand making this much

change at once, get the whole wheat spaghetti) with a chunky marinara

sauce loaded with veggies and protein and fiber.

> I know I have the motivation and will power if I have a set plan to

> follow.

And if you ease into it, it's even easier. Start by coming up with one

fat-free vegan breakfast, one lunch and one dinner that you know you

can cook and will enjoy. Then build up from there. If you don't know

what to have, fall back on the first choice and keep looking through

recipes and trying stuff out. Once you've got five dinners you like,

you're golden! Keep looking for new stuff to try but feel confident

that you can rotate through those five for as long as it takes to find

other favorites to add to your repertoire.

Glad you joined us! Here's to better health!

Sparrow

April 28, 2008

Samantha wrote:

> My name is Samantha and I live in Oklahoma.

Hi, Samantha. Welcome!

>I am in my early thirties

> and have had 4 children. Currently separated for almost 2 years.

>

> I came upon this group when searching for a fat free way of living

> group.

>

> I have the beginnings of high blood pressure, at least it is high

> every time I go to my mental health doctor LOL.

I recommend you get a meter to check your own blood pressure at home.

Even Dr. McDougall has white-coat-anxiety hypertension.

I'm glad you found meds that work for you.

Serene

April 29, 2008

Hi and welcome! I read your post with some sadness since it seems you're already rehearsing disaster. Fatfree is an incredibly liberating way to eat and on this list and on the blog site you will get lots of wonderful and tasty inspiration. I've fought my weight issues for a while as well and now I'm pretty healthy; but, admittedly, it's never the diet that does it. Diets have very little to do with weight. I lost the weight when I really took a good look at what it was representing, what I was really carrying and made a decision that I was valuable and deserving. It's THAT part that takes a while. When you really, really know that you are worth a long and happy, healthy life, you'll lose the weight and this group is very supportive of those efforts. Eat well! Shen