45 posts tagged “vegetarian”

All my annual exams fall right around this time each year.

Last week I had my eyes checked. I hate that dilated part. Anyhoo. We talked about the fact that I'm not wearing my contacts any more. He told me that he finds as people move to bifocals, they usually give up their contacts. He listed a bunch of reasons why, all of which applied to me. So now I don't feel so bad about being a "lazy" contact wearer.

Mammo is next week and the dentist the week after.

Today was my "girlie" annual exam. I am thrilled with my numbers!

Cholesterol: 248 from 261 (-13)
Triglycerides: 185 from 217 (-32)
HDL: 61 from 53 (+8 - which is good).
LDL: 140 from 187 (-47)

OK, so they're still high: cholesterol < 200. Triglycerides < 150. LDL < 100.  But it's coming down because I've lost weight. My doctor says in 10 pounds or so my numbers might be normal. Whoo!

However, for two years now I've had blood in my urine, so she said she's sending me to a urologist. I hope she forgets. And she wants me to be Brac tested. Ugh. I can never be without a job because I won't be able to afford all my pre-existing conditions!

Adopt-A-Turkey

This year for Thanksgiving, I adopted a turkey via the Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-a-Turkey Project. Care to join me?

The Adopt-A-Turkey Project provides people with an opportunity to take an active role in the birds’ care by helping to fund their food, bedding and veterinary needs, as well as education and advocacy efforts for turkeys and other farm animals. For a one-time donation of $25, sponsors receive an official “adoption” certificate with a photograph of their turkey, a one-year membership to Farm Sanctuary, and a subscription to the organization’s quarterly magazine. Turkey adoptions also make great holiday gifts.

The Adopt-A-Turkey Project has enabled Farm Sanctuary to save more than 1,000 turkeys, and place hundreds with loving families through the Turkey Express. These turkeys’ lives are a marked contrast to the daily pain and suffering endured by turkeys on factory farms. With 250 to 300 million turkeys slaughtered for food in the U.S. every year – more than 45 million for Thanksgiving alone – thousands of birds are tightly confined in giant sheds, parts of their beaks and toes are amputated without anesthetic, and they are slaughtered when they are only 14 to 18 weeks old. With charming turkey ambassadors symbolizing a better way, the Adopt-A-Turkey Project has encouraged millions to reconsider what they eat on Thanksgiving and throughout the year.

Farm Sanctuary is the nation's leading farm animal protection organization. Since incorporating in 1986, Farm Sanctuary has worked to expose and stop cruel practices of the "food animal" industry through research and investigations, legal and institutional reforms, public awareness projects, youth education, and direct rescue and refuge efforts. Farm Sanctuary shelters in Watkins Glen, N.Y., and Orland, Calif., provide lifelong care for hundreds of rescued animals, who have become ambassadors for farm animals everywhere by educating visitors about the realities of factory farming.

One year ago today I took my last bite of a hamburger.

One year later I can say with conviction, I am a vegetarian.

Seafood was really the only thing I craved. Once my doctor encouraged me to eat fish for my heart, I jumped right in. Maybe a half-dozen times. But I just couldn't get past the this is an animal thought. It just felt wrong in my mouth. I'll have to discuss with my doctor other ways to get good oils for my heart.

I'm just as surprised as anyone that a year later I am still meatless. I was totally a "Real girls eat meat" kind of girl. Fajitas? Beef. Salad? Steak on top. Pizza? Pepperoni. I was definitely a carnivore.

It's been easier than I expected. I thought there would be many temptations. Many cravings to overcome. But that hasn't been the case. Occasionally I might smell something cooking and think that it smelled good, but there's never been a moment when I thought, maybe just a taste.

Now, if only I were a vegetarian who ate more veggies. ;-)

I did really well at the beginning of the year, not having sugar and eating pretty well. Then I gave myself a reprieve after my doctor appointment (I was down 10 lbs from last year and my cholesterol had dropped 30 points). Um, yeah. That was in February. Oops.

I've thought about doing a Master Cleanse in the past and chickened out.

Well, I just took the first plunge and started the Whole Body Cleanse. My mom saw it a couple weeks ago on a local "Living" type show and told me about it. Apparently the host had tried the product and had rave reviews. Mom was also impressed by the doctor who recommended it.

I checked it out at Whole Foods but decided to wait since I had that mini-vacay to Orlando coming up. Now I feel pretty motivated to get back on track (and clean my colon out).

Tonight I decided there is no time like the present. I just took:

• Whole Body Cleanse Laxative Formula -- three tablets
• Fiber Fusion Drink Mix -- one packet with 8 oz. water
• Super Milk Thistle -- one tablet

The drink mix was like drinking a thinner version of Metamucil.

The instructions included a list of foods to eat/not eat. I also found Juliette's 7-Day Detox Plan and it offers a more specific list of foods. It is what I will use to select meals from in the coming two weeks.

I will post my experience with this process in the coming days, so stay posted!

I had my annual this morning with my primary care doctor (not the annual I have scheduled with my gyno next week).

I've been really worried about my cholesterol and being put on medication for it.

Guess what??

The bad numbers went down and the good numbers went up!!

Go vegetarian diet!

However, my triglycerides shot up. Probably because of what my diet is missing. Omega 3s.

So I am no longer a vegetarian. I'm a pescetarian. I am adding seafood, specifically fish, back into my diet. Three times a week.

I am so relieved that I do not have to add another pill to my regimen.

Mom thinks my tummy issues are because of my diet. That I am lacking something. What that something might be, I don't know. She asked the other day if I am going to "keep this up."

Truth is, I don't know. Right now I do not crave meat. Beef in particular. Which is interesting because I was very much a beef girl. If the options were beef or chicken, I always went beef.

Now, I crave crab legs. Or scallops. Or shrimp. And hot dogs, oddly enough.

There are some who as vegetarians eat a pescetarian diet. However, eating any animal is not a true vegetarian diet. Then there is the flexitarian, a vegetarian who occasionally eats meat.

When I think about a steak or hamburger, I just envision those factory farms and that's then end of that. Maybe if we had better access to organic beef, I'd reconsider.

But for now, I'm still a vegetarian. I don't know if or when the day might come to change that. I'll let you know if it does.

1. I will relinquish my title of Most Likely to Acquire Useless Crap I Don’t Wear or Need.
2. I will avenge my phantom load.
3. I will be smarter than bottled water companies and drink for free what they are trying to sell me.
4. If I can remember to TiVo “Dancing with the Stars,” I can remember to bring my own bags to the grocery store.
5. I will switch to recycled paper products at home (but not if they make me chafe).
6. I will consider whether my meal came from the farm or the factory.
7. I will take a day off from road rage and take mass transit or car-pool one day a week.

Read the entire article at The Daily Green.

Plus, How to be a Kinder Carnivore in 2008.

On Thursday, mom and I are going to have brunch at a local resort hotel. When I told people this at work, they looked at me bewildered. "What will you eat?" they ask. 

The local Whole-Foods-like store has tofurkey on sale. My mom called and asked if she should pick one up for me.

LOL! I love this new design!