Getting Started with Only Notes from a Phone Call (and a Word About the Weight Loss Piece)

The Change That Changes Everything, Part 5

“What is the name of the program?” This is probably the first thing I get asked most of the time. There is no single “program.”  There is no one book to read that tells you exactly what to do in order to start eating this way. 

I began this whole thing “cold,” before I had read any of the books I have since read about this way of eating. I called my friend Gloria and had a phone call with her about how she applies this way of eating. (This is the mother of my friend with rheumatoid arthritis who has “managed her symptoms away” with this way of eating.) Gloria is a bit "free-er" and “looser” with it than Rachel is, because she can afford to be. She’s thrilled with how much better she feels, all the weight she lost (and kept off), and all the energy she has. (Even in her 70s she’s still working full time!)

NOTE: Gloria and Rachel each shared with me, as a friend, her own dietary practices. Neither was offering medical advice or making any health claims for me to follow, nor am I doing so by sharing the conversations here with you  Always consult your physician before making any health, dietary, or nutrition decisions for yourself and your family  

That said, I offer you my notes from those first phone calls:

GLORIA'S WAY

(She’s a little more liberal and “free” with it than Rachel is.)

Lost 40 pounds (and 5 clothing sizes) and then leveled out and stayed steady

He husband “cheats” at times but mostly eats what she does and has lost 50 pounds. 

NO DEPRIVATION: "Gloria's rule" is eat all you want, whenever you want, from this list

GLORIA EATS:

• All fruit you want anytime
• All veggies you want anytime
• Grains of any kind (except wheat)
• Legumes of any kind
• Nothing with a face or a mother
• No oils of any kind
• No nuts or avocados until you hit your base weight
• No dairy
• No sugar
• No processed or pre-packaged foods

HER USUAL BREAKFAST:

Fresh green juice (celery, cucumbers, lemon, Granny Smith apple, fresh pineapple)

Turmeric root, ginger root (shot)

Oatmeal (with raisins, apple, blueberry)

Side of “larger” fruit (mango, melon, etc.)

Snacks: banana, apple, or grapes whenever she gets hungry

HER USUAL DINNER:

Big green salad w/vinegar (no oil)

Also another dish (grains, veggies, soup, etc.)

HELPFUL PRACTICES:

• Keep prepared dishes in the fridge (veggie soup, one-dish vegan meals)
• Beans—freeze 2 C. in quart baggies
• “The Senate Soup” online but without the ham hock
• Stay proactive with purchasing and pre-cooking
• Clean sweep all forbidden ingredients out of the house
• Order legumes from nuts.com
• Don’t think of what you can’t eat, but focus on what you can have
• Vegan Thanksgiving: Rachel sent formal invitation, sent everyone a recipe card and asked each person to triple it—best family Thanksgiving they’d ever had (all agreed)
• Order Seitenbachen and Rapunzel veggie broth powder online
• Vegan recipes on the internet 
• Coconut aminos, tamari sauce, delicious natural vinegars
• Seasonello salt
• Kroger Italian cut beans frozen
• Gourmet olive oil/vinegar store for natural vinegars (apricot is her fav)
• “How Not to Diet” cookbook

Book: How to Reverse and Prevent Heart Disease (Esselstyn)

RACHEL'S WAY

Wheelchair-bound w/rheumatoid arthritis and could not walk unassisted by crutches or go up and down stairs. 

Substantial turnaround in 6 months

Absolutely pain-free after 3 years

JUST KEEP GOING! Take the long view. This is a new lifestyle. It is not about self-control. Get rid of all food temptations for anything you aren’t allowed to have. 

• Whole food, plant-based diet versus “vegan” (which usually includes processed “substitutes” for animal foods)
• Only single-ingredient foods
• Absolutely no oils ever!
• No pharmaceuticals at all
• NO carrageenan, soy lecithin, other additives—and most allergy substitutes (like store-bought oat milk or non-dairy “cheese”) have these
• No nuts or avocado until you stop losing weight and level out (your “base weight”)
• Eat 2-3 meals per day (for her, at 9,12,4... doesn’t eat past 5 pm)
• Eat to about 2/3 full—never stuff yourself!
• Tu/Th/Su take digestive rest after lunch (skip third meal)
• No snacking between meals 
• Clint Paddison TED talk 
• Take own food to eating events
• Take kombucha, broth to events after 5 pm and don’t eat
• Be a little hungry by bedtime
• Go to bed by 9 pm (9-12 body repair is most important)
• Plant-based diet will be sufficient for health needs of both kids and adults
• Soup, p. 133 of “Oh She Glows” vegan cookbook
• Any vegan recipes, just skip the oils (leave them out) and double the spices
• Never deprive yourself in the morning—It’s not about willpower! You’ll fail with “decision fatigue” over the course of the day
• Do a clean sweep of all no-no’s!
• Go to bed hungry. Do the hard work of being hungry overnight
• Weight loss not swift (1-2 pounds a week average, but not in a straight line). Metabolism adjusts and makes decisions 
• Body does repair at night when you’re sleeping but not expending energy digesting
• Only eat when hungry
• Never allow other family members to bring non-allowed foods into the house
• For her, weight and “body image” self-esteem is no longer an issue at all, mentally—she likes that now, she just never thinks about it, like it’s a non issue

Books How Not to Die and How Not to Diet (Gregor)

So those are the notes from my two phone calls from those women. I have since read many books and watched several documentaries, but initially that's all I had to go on. It was enough!

A WORD ABOUT THE WEIGHT-LOSS PIECE

At four different junctures in my life, I have taken a period of time (from one month to four) and utilized NutriSystem or Jenny Craig food to lose significant amounts of weight. Every time, slowly over time, I gained the weight back when I went back to regular eating. That program, and others like it, are very expensive. They do work to help you lose some weight initially, but it is very challenging to keep the weight off. I cannot in good conscience recommend them for someone looking to lose weight and keep it off.

For me (and everyone I have mentioned that I know personally who has made this change to whole food, plant-based eating), the weight loss has been incidental and not the purpose or point of doing it. The weight loss happens automatically, without your trying to lose weight, and without your being hungry. 

Rachel speaks of a "base weight," which is the weight your body "chooses" for you, meaning that you simply stop losing weight anymore even though you're eating the exact same foods in the exact same quantities (which is as much as you want)! This "base weight" is usually the weight you were while in high school or college, before the typical American weight gain of adulthood began for you. 

I cannot speak to what happens if you go back to the standard American diet after losing weight eating this way. None of us have done it, because none of us want to go back to eating that way once we've made the switch! For Rachel and Gloria, it has been years. For my husband and me, it has been months. (Edited to add: Well, now it’s been several years for us, too. Still same weight. Still never hungry. Still no pain.)

People also ask a lot of questions about the initial week of water fasting, and about the books I've read about this way of eating, so a future post will be about that.

Read Part 6, Some of the Psychological Pieces of the Puzzle

NOTE: The information provided on the site is for educational purposes only, and does not substitute for professional medical advice. You should consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you’re seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. I am not a medical professional or healthcare provider, and I have no professional medical, nutritional, or dietary credentials. You yourself are responsible for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon any information or advice appearing on this site. 

Start the story at the beginning with Part 1.