220 pounds in 6th grade, hi blood pressure at age 23, now a healthy vegan

[Guest guest]

Star McDougaller Michelle Bachmann - Weight-loss leads

to improved blood pressure and cholesterol

Sun, 6 Jan 2008 22:26:10 -1000

 

You may read this Star McDougaller online: http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008star/jan/starmichelle.htm

You are currently d as: nealh

 

 

Star McDougaller: Michelle Bachmann

Chain reactions of good health: Weight-loss leads

to improved blood pressure and cholesterol

Printer Friendly

Dr. McDougall's Comments

 

“I need to eat less,” is the universal solution I hear from

everyone I meet who is overweight and trying to lose. My thought is

“I bet you can’t (eat less).” The hunger drive is one of the three

basic drives that keeps us alive—thirst and breathing are the other

two. Singular choices of water and oxygen satisfy these two

survival drives. Where hunger is concerned there are infinite

choices from anchovies to zucchini. Here lies the opportunity:

intelligent choices.

 

The most important nutritional nugget of knowledge that I can

teach people looking to lose weight permanently and regain lost health

is to change the composition of the food on their plate. This is

exactly what Michelle Bachman did over a period of three years.

She went from a meat-centered diet to a seafood-centered diet to a

dairy- and egg-centered diet to a plant-food centered diet—more

specifically to a diet based on starchy vegetables with the addition

fruits, and green and yellow vegetables. Finally, she realized

the importance of avoiding free-fats derived from plants; for example,

corn and olive oils. Her journey is typical (and actually one I

took 40 years ago).

She never controlled her appetite. She clearly says, “I love to

eat! And my love for eating has not changed with my weight-loss.”

Enjoying food is a requirement for human survival and that can never

change. However, every one of us has the capacity to learn to

love foods that promote health—being trim is one characteristic of a

healthy person.

Food preferences are strong. People reacted to Michelle by

remaining interested in her fabulous recovery until they realized she

was talking about a vegan diet, and then they told her that this way

of eating was too extreme for them. This is a universal

response. Food preferences are individual. If Michelle’s

friends had, instead, been raised in another part of the world—say

in rural Kenya, Japan, or Peru—then they would express the same

intense preference for their native foods—millet, beans, rice, and

potatoes.

Food preferences are learned. Adaptation to the enjoyment of a

meal plan that guarantees loss of excess body fat and restored health

is simply a matter of exposure. Mary encourages people desiring

change to look over some of her 2500 published recipes and then choose

those with familiar ingredients—if you have always loved pasta then

choose spaghetti, lasagna, and pasta salads, if you like potatoes then

choose hash brown potatoes, potato pancakes, or potato salads.

Add favorite spices. People tell me “I would eat cardboard with

Tabasco sauce.”

Once learned, a meal plan composed of McDougall foods becomes

habitual and favored. Thus, the changes become permanent—I mean all

changes, including preferred foods, physical appearance, function, and

feelings of wellbeing. Like all of the other constructive

changes that you have made before, you will be looking back and

thinking, “Why did I wait so long?”

 

 

 

 

 

We encourage you to pass this Star McDougaller along to friends.

 

I can empathize with people struggling with obesity, since I have

been in their shoes, but I know that obesity is not a disease but

rather a lifestyle that cannot be “cured” with pills or surgery. I

lost over 100 pounds through diet and exercise, and to keep the weight

off, the choices I make each day must support my McDougall

lifestyle.

When I

tell people my story of weight-loss, I see a look of complete

amazement on their faces. I have accomplished something thought by

most to be nearly impossible. When they ask how I did it, I tell them

“diet and exercise.” They remain interested until they realize I

am talking about a vegan diet (eating no animal products at all). This

way of eating, they say, is too extreme for them—but a life of pills

and surgery was too extreme for me.

I grew up in a small farming community and was overweight at a

young age. I started gaining extra weight during kindergarten, and by

sixth grade I weighed 220 pounds. Our family used to joke that “God

doesn’t make small Bachmanns.” I thought that being big was my

fate since most of the people in my immediate and extended family were

“built like farmers.”

Despite my weight, I remained active in school, playing sports,

such as basketball, volleyball, and softball. While in school I

remember having access to pepperoni pizza almost every day. At home my

mom prepared meals consisting of hearty “farm” foods. Our meals

weren’t particularly extravagant or rich, but they always included

meat along with potatoes and vegetables.

When I graduated high school in 1991, I was 5'6 " and weighed

275 pounds. In college, I managed to lose 80 pounds by decreasing my

intake of calories and fat, limiting my portion sizes, and increasing

my physical activity. I avoided pills, weight-loss shakes,

pre-packaged foods, points, fads, gimmicks, and surgery. But after

college I took a desk job, stopped exercising, and gained back 40

pounds.

When I was 23, I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and was

put on medication. Borderline high cholesterol was also part of my

medical maladies. Since being overweight and having high blood

pressure were part of my family’s medical history (along with heart

disease), I just figured that it was my time, even if I was only

23.

I continued to try and lose weight by reducing my portions and

exercising, but during this time I also became intolerant of meat. At

first it was beef, then pork and finally chicken. They all made me

feel sick to my stomach. I began to eat more fish instead, but ended

up developing a strong dislike for seafood as well. So I became a

lacto-ovo vegetarian, and continued to eat dairy foods and eggs, but

no meat or fish.

My father also has Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory

condition of the small intestines. With the digestive issues I was

having, I thought that I may have inherited a digestive system

condition, such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) from him. The change

in my diet (eliminating meat and fish) helped relieve my digestive

system issues. However, even after this shift my blood pressure and

cholesterol remained elevated.

Eliminating all animal foods

Then, about three years ago, my husband and I were getting ready

for our yearly vacation, which meant it was time to pick up a new book

to read while at the beach. By chance I came across The China Study by

T. Colin Campbell. It discussed the effects of diet on disease, and it

was a page turner! The book also mentioned Dr. John McDougall's

approach to disease and weight-loss. I then visited the McDougall

website and picked up his book Twelve Days to Dynamic Health. His

approach made sense to me, and since I was almost a vegan already,

making further changes to eliminate all animal products did not seem

too difficult.

A few weeks later, I went to a new doctor to refill my blood

pressure prescription. I talked to her about what I had read in The

China Study and Twelve Days to Dynamic Health, but she didn’t want

to listen to me. She told me that I’d be on medication for the rest

of my life, and that at some point I would probably be taking a

combination of two or three medications a day. Needless to say, I

haven’t been back to see her.

I then

talked with another doctor about my high blood pressure. He agreed to

let me go off my medication if I monitored my blood pressure from

home; but if it went up, he’d refill my prescription. However, after

changing my diet, my blood pressure dropped to normal within five

days. I no longer had to take hypertension medication, which I had

been taking for nine years.

Nowadays, with regular exercise, I have noticed that the effort

needed to maintain my weight is minimal (I now weigh 170). When I

stopped eating dairy and eggs, my total cholesterol also dropped by 60

points to 170 (over a span of two years).

My husband has not switched to a McDougall diet, but he has moved

away from the Standard American Diet (SAD). His blood pressure is

down, but not his cholesterol. We both understand the affects diet has

on health, but for me a vegan diet was the only way to get my health

issues under control. My husband supports that and is proud of my

accomplishments. If I eat foods that are part of the Standard American

Diet, such as processed sweets and dairy foods, my stomach problems

return and my blood pressure begins to inch up again (and so does the

scale). Why would I want to play with my health?

I love to cook and bake, and I enjoy trying new recipes that are

part of the McDougall lifestyle (it’s also fun to take existing

recipes and give them a McDougall twist). If you like to experiment,

start with some of your favorite casserole recipes and replace the

meat with a can of drained and rinsed beans. There are several recipes

you can try on Dr. McDougall’s website as well as

McDougall-partnered websites.

I got to be 275 pounds for a reason: I love to eat! And my love

for eating has not changed with my weight-loss. Fortunately, if you

are eating the right foods, weight gain is rarely an issue. I tell

people who are looking for an inexpensive weight-loss program to try

the McDougall program. A plant-based, low-fat diet and a pair of

walking shoes will get you started quickly. In addition, clean out

your refrigerator, freezer, and cupboards. Do not keep the wrong foods

in your home (this is especially important if you’re an emotional

eater).

Obesity has shaped my life, but it no longer shapes my body. I am

going to keep on doing what I’m doing, and hopefully when people I

know are ready, they will come back to ask me what the McDougall

lifestyle is all about. And maybe we can even exchange some

recipes!

Michelle Bachmann

Las Vegas, NV

January 2008

 

2008 John McDougall

McDougall Wellness Center P.O. Box 14039, Santa Rosa, CA

95402

http://www.drmcdougall.com

 

Subscribe | Un | Change

Address

McDougall Newsletters and e-Mailings designed and managed by http://www.bestnnewslettersonline.com/

[Guest guest]

When I do a search for Michelle Bachmann recipes I just get links to

some political person. It mentions in the text to try her recipes -

where do you find them?

 

Jo

 

, yarrow wrote:

>

> Star McDougaller Michelle Bachmann -

> Weight-loss leads to improved blood pressure and

> cholesterol

> Sun, 6 Jan 2008 22:26:10 -1000

>

> You may read this Star McDougaller online:

>

<http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008star/jan/starmichelle.htm>http://

www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008star/jan/starmichelle.htm

> You are currently d as: <nealhnealh

>

>

> Star McDougaller: Michelle Bachmann

> Chain reactions of good health: Weight-loss leads

> to improved blood pressure and cholesterol

>

<http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008star/jan/pdfstarmichelle.pdf>Prin

ter

> Friendly

> Dr. McDougall's Comments

>

> " I need to eat less, " is the universal solution I

> hear from everyone I meet who is overweight and

> trying to lose. My thought is " I bet you can't

> (eat less). " The hunger drive is one of the three

> basic drives that keeps us alive—thirst and

> breathing are the other two. Singular choices of

> water and oxygen satisfy these two survival

> drives. Where hunger is concerned there are

> infinite choices from anchovies to zucchini. Here

> lies the opportunity: intelligent choices.

> <http://www.drmcdougall.com/health_3_day_program.html>

> The most important nutritional nugget of

> knowledge that I can teach people looking to lose

> weight permanently and regain lost health is to

> change the composition of the food on their

> plate. This is exactly what Michelle Bachman did

> over a period of three years. She went from a

> meat-centered diet to a seafood-centered diet to

> a dairy- and egg-centered diet to a plant-food

> centered diet—more specifically to a diet based

> on starchy vegetables with the addition fruits,

> and green and yellow vegetables. Finally, she

> realized the importance of avoiding free-fats

> derived from plants; for example, corn and olive

> oils. Her journey is typical (and actually one I

> took 40 years ago).

> She never controlled her appetite. She clearly

> says, " I love to eat! And my love for eating has

> not changed with my weight-loss. " Enjoying food

> is a requirement for human survival and that can

> never change. However, every one of us has the

> capacity to learn to love foods that promote

> health—being trim is one characteristic of a

> healthy person.

> Food preferences are strong. People reacted to

> Michelle by remaining interested in her fabulous

> recovery until they realized she was talking

> about a vegan diet, and then they told her that

> this way of eating was too extreme for them.

> This is a universal response. Food preferences

> are individual. If Michelle's friends had,

> instead, been raised in another part of the

> world—say in rural Kenya, Japan, or Peru—then

> they would express the same intense preference

> for their native foods—millet, beans, rice, and

> potatoes.

> Food preferences are learned. Adaptation to the

> enjoyment of a meal plan that guarantees loss of

> excess body fat and restored health is simply a

> matter of exposure. Mary encourages people

> desiring change to look over some of her 2500

> published recipes and then choose those with

> familiar ingredients—if you have always loved

> pasta then choose spaghetti, lasagna, and pasta

> salads, if you like potatoes then choose hash

> brown potatoes, potato pancakes, or potato

> salads. Add favorite spices. People tell me " I

> would eat cardboard with Tabasco sauce. "

> Once learned, a meal plan composed of McDougall

> foods becomes habitual and favored. Thus, the

> changes become permanent—I mean all changes,

> including preferred foods, physical appearance,

> function, and feelings of wellbeing. Like all of

> the other constructive changes that you have made

> before, you will be looking back and thinking,

> " Why did I wait so long? "

> <http://www.drmcdougall.com/adv_costa_2008.html>

>

> <?subject=Dr. McDougall's Star

> McDougaller & body=Check out Dr. McDougall's Star

> McDougaller:

> http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2008star/jan/starmichelle.htm>

>

> We encourage you to pass this Star McDougaller along to friends.

>

> I can empathize with people struggling with

> obesity, since I have been in their shoes, but I

> know that obesity is not a disease but rather a

> lifestyle that cannot be " cured " with pills or

> surgery. I lost over 100 pounds through diet and

> exercise, and to keep the weight off, the choices

> I make each day must support my McDougall

> lifestyle.

> When I tell people my story of weight-loss, I

> see a look of complete amazement on their faces.

> I have accomplished something thought by most to

> be nearly impossible. When they ask how I did it,

> I tell them " diet and exercise. " They remain

> interested until they realize I am talking about

> a vegan diet (eating no animal products at all).

> This way of eating, they say, is too extreme for

> them—but a life of pills and surgery was too

> extreme for me.

> I grew up in a small farming community and was

> overweight at a young age. I started gaining

> extra weight during kindergarten, and by sixth

> grade I weighed 220 pounds. Our family used to

> joke that " God doesn't make small Bachmanns. " I

> thought that being big was my fate since most of

> the people in my immediate and extended family

> were " built like farmers. "

> Despite my weight, I remained active in school,

> playing sports, such as basketball, volleyball,

> and softball. While in school I remember having

> access to pepperoni pizza almost every day. At

> home my mom prepared meals consisting of hearty

> " farm " foods. Our meals weren't particularly

> extravagant or rich, but they always included

> meat along with potatoes and vegetables.

> When I graduated high school in 1991, I was 5'6 "

> and weighed 275 pounds. In college, I managed to

> lose 80 pounds by decreasing my intake of

> calories and fat, limiting my portion sizes, and

> increasing my physical activity. I avoided pills,

> weight-loss shakes, pre-packaged foods, points,

> fads, gimmicks, and surgery. But after college I

> took a desk job, stopped exercising, and gained

> back 40 pounds.

> When I was 23, I was diagnosed with high blood

> pressure and was put on medication. Borderline

> high cholesterol was also part of my medical

> maladies. Since being overweight and having high

> blood pressure were part of my family's medical

> history (along with heart disease), I just

> figured that it was my time, even if I was only

> 23.

> I continued to try and lose weight by reducing my

> portions and exercising, but during this time I

> also became intolerant of meat. At first it was

> beef, then pork and finally chicken. They all

> made me feel sick to my stomach. I began to eat

> more fish instead, but ended up developing a

> strong dislike for seafood as well. So I became a

> lacto-ovo vegetarian, and continued to eat dairy

> foods and eggs, but no meat or fish.

> My father also has Crohn's disease, a chronic

> inflammatory condition of the small intestines.

> With the digestive issues I was having, I thought

> that I may have inherited a digestive system

> condition, such as IBS (irritable bowel syndrome)

> from him. The change in my diet (eliminating meat

> and fish) helped relieve my digestive system

> issues. However, even after this shift my blood

> pressure and cholesterol remained elevated.

> Eliminating all animal foods

> Then, about three years ago, my husband and I

> were getting ready for our yearly vacation, which

> meant it was time to pick up a new book to read

> while at the beach. By chance I came across The

> China Study by T. Colin Campbell. It discussed

> the effects of diet on disease, and it was a page

> turner! The book also mentioned Dr. John

> McDougall's approach to disease and weight-loss.

> I then visited the McDougall website and picked

> up his book Twelve Days to Dynamic Health. His

> approach made sense to me, and since I was almost

> a vegan already, making further changes to

> eliminate all animal products did not seem too

> difficult.

> A few weeks later, I went to a new doctor to

> refill my blood pressure prescription. I talked

> to her about what I had read in The China Study

> and Twelve Days to Dynamic Health, but she didn't

> want to listen to me. She told me that I'd be on

> medication for the rest of my life, and that at

> some point I would probably be taking a

> combination of two or three medications a day.

> Needless to say, I haven't been back to see her.

> I then talked with another doctor about my high

> blood pressure. He agreed to let me go off my

> medication if I monitored my blood pressure from

> home; but if it went up, he'd refill my

> prescription. However, after changing my diet, my

> blood pressure dropped to normal within five

> days. I no longer had to take hypertension

> medication, which I had been taking for nine

> years.

> Nowadays, with regular exercise, I have noticed

> that the effort needed to maintain my weight is

> minimal (I now weigh 170). When I stopped eating

> dairy and eggs, my total cholesterol also dropped

> by 60 points to 170 (over a span of two years).

> My husband has not switched to a McDougall diet,

> but he has moved away from the Standard American

> Diet (SAD). His blood pressure is down, but not

> his cholesterol. We both understand the affects

> diet has on health, but for me a vegan diet was

> the only way to get my health issues under

> control. My husband supports that and is proud of

> my accomplishments. If I eat foods that are part

> of the Standard American Diet, such as processed

> sweets and dairy foods, my stomach problems

> return and my blood pressure begins to inch up

> again (and so does the scale). Why would I want

> to play with my health?

> I love to cook and bake, and I enjoy trying new

> recipes that are part of the McDougall lifestyle

> (it's also fun to take existing recipes and give

> them a McDougall twist). If you like to

> experiment, start with some of your favorite

> casserole recipes and replace the meat with a can

> of drained and rinsed beans. There are several

> recipes you can try on Dr. McDougall's website as

> well as McDougall-partnered websites.

> I got to be 275 pounds for a reason: I love to

> eat! And my love for eating has not changed with

> my weight-loss. Fortunately, if you are eating

> the right foods, weight gain is rarely an issue.

> I tell people who are looking for an inexpensive

> weight-loss program to try the McDougall program.

> A plant-based, low-fat diet and a pair of walking

> shoes will get you started quickly. In addition,

> clean out your refrigerator, freezer, and

> cupboards. Do not keep the wrong foods in your

> home (this is especially important if you're an

> emotional eater).

> Obesity has shaped my life, but it no longer

> shapes my body. I am going to keep on doing what

> I'm doing, and hopefully when people I know are

> ready, they will come back to ask me what the

> McDougall lifestyle is all about. And maybe we

> can even exchange some recipes!

> Michelle Bachmann

> Las Vegas, NV

> January 2008

>

> 2008 John McDougall

> McDougall Wellness Center P.O. Box 14039, Santa Rosa, CA 95402

> <http://www.drmcdougall.com/>http://www.drmcdougall.com

>

> <http://www.drmcdougall.com/>Subscribe |

> <http://www.nealhendrickson.com/ftp/.htm>Un

> |

> <http://www.nealhendrickson.com/ftp/.htm>Change

> Address

> McDougall Newsletters and e-Mailings designed and

> managed by

>

<http://www.bestnnewslettersonline.com/>http://www.bestnnewslettersonl

ine.com/

>

[Guest guest]

They're Mary McDougall's recipes. Look for the newsletter archives on

http://www.drmcdougall.com

and I think there's also a list of recipes somewhere, too.

 

 

At 7:51 AM +0000 1/8/08, heartwerk wrote:

>When I do a search for Michelle Bachmann recipes I just get links to

>some political person. It mentions in the text to try her recipes -

>where do you find them?

[Guest guest]

Thanks.

 

Jo

 

, yarrow wrote:

>

> They're Mary McDougall's recipes. Look for the newsletter archives

on

> http://www.drmcdougall.com

> and I think there's also a list of recipes somewhere, too.

>

>

> At 7:51 AM +0000 1/8/08, heartwerk wrote:

> >When I do a search for Michelle Bachmann recipes I just get links to

> >some political person. It mentions in the text to try her recipes -

> >where do you find them?

>