January 20, 2009

I completed my 2nd day of a 30 day trial of eating only raw fruits and vegetables. I had a kale, banana, and frozen blueberry smoothie (40 ounces) for breakfast, a mixed salad with pineapple and 2 bananas for lunch with orange juice. I had a banana for afternoon snack. I had a salad and a bowl of fruit for supper. I had basically the same menu as yesterday. I weighed 172.0 pounds this morning. The 3 pounds I lost is probably mostly water and detox.

I have not been able to exercise the last few days because of the weather and my 12 hour schedule. I hope to start back commuting to work on my bike Thursday. The roads will be too icy to ride in the morning. I may run tomorrow after work.

January 21, 2009

I have now finished 3 days of eating raw. I basically had the same thing today as yesterday, but I replaced the salad and fruit for dinner with a spinach, banana and blueberry smoothie. The smoothies are very satisfying and filling. I gave up on my raw challenge after 3 days the last time I tried it because I was not eating enough calories. I lost 7 pounds in 3 days and was having massive cravings for cooked food. I learned that I have to eat a lot more fruit because raw veggies are highly nutritious but very low in calories.

I have been getting a lot of encouraging support from family and friends. Thank you, all! Now that I have made it public, it is much harder to give up.

This morning I weighed 169.8 pounds. That is 5 pounds in 3 days. I expect the weight loss to slow down within a week.

January 22, 2009

I successfully completed 4 days as a raw vegan. I enjoyed my usual spinach/blueberry/banana smoothie for breakfast and a mixed greens salad with fruit for lunch. I had a banana for morning snack, but I was too busy today at work to stop for an afternoon snack. This week has been very busy and stressful. I would usually come home after such a busy day and have major carb cravings for things like bread, rice and beans. However, I did not want to post today that I gave up the raw trial after only 3 days. I was also too tired to write this post, but I decided to do it anyway. Good habits come from consistently doing the little things that lead to big results. Focus on the process and not the goal. In other words, don't worry about the huge goal like losing weight or doing a marathon. Instead, focus on eating healthy at the next meal or going on a run today. So, I should just focus on eating one raw meal at a time and posting one short note at a time.

This morning, I weighed 169.6 pounds. I am beginning to feel a calm energy even through my fatigue of working 6 12-hour shifts this week. Yesterday and today, I felt such a surge of power that I wanted to sprint down the halls of the hospital. I am missing my exercise this week.

January 23, 2009

Day 5 and still raw. I slept 8 hours last night, went for a 3 mile run and saw the kids off to school after their 2 hour snow delay. After the run, I ate 6 clementines and 1 banana - delicious. I then read for a while and slept until 2:30. I woke up hungry and fixed a kale, banana, blueberry and flax seed smoothie. I will probably have some fruit before I leave for work and then have a green smoothie for a midnight snack at the hospital. I make it at home and bring it to work in a thermos. I will also bring some bananas to snack on. The reason I have so many smoothies is because they taste good, are filling and don't have to be chewed. Have you ever tried to eat 1 pound of raw greens? They take forever to chew. It is also better to blend the greens because this helps to rupture all of the cell walls to release the most nutrition. I use a Vitamix blender. They are expensive, but they last forever and would make Tim "the Toolman" Taylor happy with the amount of power they deliver.

I weighed 168.7 pounds this morning. I need more calories so I don't lose weight so quickly.

January 24, 2009

Day 6. I managed to stay raw last night at work. I finally got enough calories in the last 24 hours since my weight did not drop - holding steady at 168.7 pounds. I had a green smoothie at midnight and snacked on 3 clementines and 2 bananas. I was tired and feeling the need for comfort when I got home this morning. I had an intense craving for a bowl of hot grits, but I ate 5 clementines instead. I slept and then woke up to have a green smoothie and will probably have some raw veggies before work.

Like many people, I tend to eat for comfort. Eating raw does not really satisfy the cravings. One of the reasons that I am doing the raw challenge is to break the habit of eating for comfort. I used to eat ice cream, cookies, lots of buttered toast, scrambled eggs with cheese grits and other unhealthy foods before becoming vegetarian in 2001. Since then, I eat cooked carbs when I need comfort food. Although the carbs I have been eating are much healthier, I really want to break the habit of eating for comfort. I need to find a new habit to take the place of eating when I am stressed or need comfort food. If you have any ideas, please post them in the comment section.

January 25, 2009

Day 7. I was having major food cravings yesterday. Julie made a tasty veggie plate for Kess and I last night before I went to work. She sliced tomatoes, mushrooms, red bell peppers, carrots, broccoli, and avocado. I made a really good dip with spicy brown mustard, raw Agave nectar, and soy sauce. Technically the mustard and soy sauce are cooked, but I made the small sacrifice to keep the motivation up for the bigger challenge of eating an abundance of raw veggies. Sometimes, you must make small sacrifices to achieve a larger objective. My objective is not to be a perfect raw vegan, but to massively improve my health. Remember this for your own goals and challenges.

I had a green smoothie after dinner for desert and then another green smoothie at midnight after I finished the first wave of admissions in the ER. The veggie plate really helped the cravings, and I did not feel like snacking at all last night at work. I seem to be sensitive to too much sugar. I remember getting very moody and depressed after eating a lot of processed, sugary junk foods in the past. I think I have been eating relatively too much fruit in my attempt to get enough calories. I need to eat the same amount of fruit, but increase the veggie intake. I am still losing weight quickly, which suggests that I am not getting enough calories. I weighed 166.0 today. That's 9 pounds in 7 days - too much too quickly, but I did expect this to happen in the first week based on my previous weight loss experience.

I had a green smoothie for breakfast, slept for 3 hours, then had a green smoothie for lunch and went on a very cold 42 mile bike ride with great friends (OJ to drink on the ride). I came home and had 2 clementines for a snack and then a repeat veggie plate and smoothie. I just finished a snack of 3 clementines and now I am off to bed. I have jury duty tomorrow. I think I will bring a smoothie in a thermos and some bananas and clementines. This will be my first real challenge. I am going into an unknown situation. Most people who go to jury duty can just go to the nearest fast food restaurant for lunch and be back in time for the afternoon session. However, there are no raw food restaurants in Goldsboro, although I might be able to go to Ruby Tuesdays for the salad bar. They have an excellent salad bar - more than just iceberg lettuce. If I only have an hour, I may be cutting it close to getting back in time. I am a stickler for being on time. Well, enough with making myself nervous. I will make it work.

January 26, 2009

I made it through day 8. I did not lose weight today (166.0). I had a green smoothie for breakfast and then trudged off to the courthouse to sit in the jury room until after 3:00. For lunch, I had a green smoothie. I did not get hungry during the day, but I was feeling the need for comfort because I came home tired and grumpy about spending my day off in jury duty. I do believe it is important to serve, but I would rather be home or on my bike on a day off.

I had doubts about continuing the 30 day challenge. This doubt was magnified by the fact that I was up until after midnight last night doing laundry. I was already tired after working all night Saturday. I usually go to bed at 9:30. In the past, my biggest trigger for eating junk food for comfort was having a busy, stressful day and coming home tired and feeling like I needed to veg out (pun intended). Now I come home and veg out. I had orange juice and a salad for dinner with the mustard dressing I described in a previous post. For a snack, I had a banana and 4 clementines. I still do not have an effective strategy for dealing with cravings and doubts like I had this evening, but I struggled through it. What helped most was telling my 2 daughters about my moment of weakness. They are very bright, supportive and insightful. They always know what to say. The whole family watched the new episode of "John & Kate Plus 8" tonight. That was fun and very comforting.

What triggers do you have that get in the way of your goals? How do you deal with them?

January 27, 2009

Hooray! Day 9. I feel much better today. I think I was just tired yesterday. I really appreciate all of the support from friends and family. It made me realize that no one accomplishes anything worthwhile by themselves. I frequently have epiphanies of the obvious.

I had a green smoothie for breakfast and then came home for a 3 hour lunch break from jury duty to have a banana, a medium sized salad and half of my usual green smoothie. I had an afternoon snack of a banana and 3 clementines. For dinner I had a veggie plate with carrots, avocado, tomato, red bell pepper, yellow squash, zucchini, and the spicy mustard dip that I mentioned in a previous post. After supper, I finished the other half of the green smoothie. I found a great recipe for raw applesauce dessert on a raw vegan group discussion board on Facebook. It is very simple and tastes incredible. I highly recommend you try it. Peel 4 or more apples and throw them in a high powered blender (like a Vitamix), add cinnamon and blend until liquid. It is best served chilled. My daughters loved it, and so did I. It will definitely become a staple. A big part of remaining on this raw diet is finding a variety of things to eat that taste great and are simple to fix. People frequently ask me when they find out that I am vegan, "What do you eat?" I was eating far more variety of foods that taste good on my cooked vegan diet than I ever did when I was eating Southern Fried. I am working on getting the same interesting variety on the raw diet. I would like to eat this way permanently if I can do it. I will decide at the end of the 30 day challenge. I feel bursting with energy today. Maybe the detox period is over.

I gained weight since yesterday - 166.4. Most of the initial weight loss was water and maybe 2-3 pounds of fat. I expect the weight loss to plateau and then slowly trend down at least another 10 pounds.

January 28, 2009

I completed day 10 with no hitches. I felt surprisingly centered and calm today. I had a green smoothie for breakfast, lunch and supper. I added whole flax seeds to the breakfast and supper smoothies. For dessert, I enjoyed a bowl of the delicious raw applesauce that I described yesterday. It is really strange that food cravings that I have battled for over 30 years seem to be vanishing. I smell cooked food and it smells good, but I just really don't want to eat it. Most of what I have read in the raw vegan forums suggest that it is easier to eat 100% raw because adding just a little cooked food brings back the cravings. I really did not believe most of what I have read in the last year about the pleasures of eating simple, raw meals. I read about having 6 bananas or 12 clementines as a satisfying meal, and now I am beginning to understand that it is not only possible but desirable.

I have always had a student type personality - I love to read, research and study a topic to the nth degree before taking the first step. Now, I realize the value of the clinical trial. You need to just get out there and do it. I teach my kids that if they want to succeed, they need to make mistakes. In other words, take action, learn from it and adjust your next action. I made lots of mistakes the first time I tried to go raw last year. I think I will be successful this time.

The initial weight loss is stabilizing. I weighed 167.0 this morning. I think I have lost most of the water and excess toxins.

Instead of felling sidetracked or defeated by an obstacle, look at it for what it really is - a learning experience. To achieve any goal, you need to learn the skills required to do it. Overcoming obstacles provides the lessons that you need to learn to achieve your goal.

Let's look at the fondue example.  You want to go out to dinner with your friends, but you also want to stick with your diet and lose weight. You have a dilemma. You think you must choose the lesser of the evils. Instead of saying no and depriving yourself or saying yes and blowing your diet before you even get started, look for the third alternative. Look for the win-win. Whenever you are faced with a difficult decision, don't settle for 2 choices. There is always another solution, but it may not be obvious. It will probably require some thought. Finding solutions is difficult at first, but then becomes a habit the more you do it. You learn by repetition. The more you apply the skill of problem solving, the better you become at it.

So let's begin building your problem solving muscle. Stop reading now and think of at least 3 more solutions to the problem above...seriously, stop reading and get out a pen and paper and write down 3 solutions. Better yet, think about an obstacle that you are now facing and write this obstacle at the top of the page. Underneath, write 3 solutions. If it is a big obstacle, you may need to write 20 or more ideas before you solve it.

In less that a minute, I came up with the following solutions to the dinner out:

1. Eat a healthy snack before you go to dinner and then find the healthiest thing on the menu to eat or eat only small bites. When your friends ask why you are not eating much, just tell them that you are having so much fun talking and visiting that you forget to eat.
2. Suggest a healthier alternative. Tell them you have heard about this great new restaurant that you have been dying to try.
3. Eat what you want that night, but commit to eating extra healthy a few days before and a few days after.

The secret is to develop the habits that result in you automatically overcoming the obstacles. A quick way to achieve your goal is to model successful people.  What do they habitually do to achieve the success that you are seeking? Whether weight loss, running a marathon, or retiring early is your goal, figure out what people have done to accomplish the goal you have and then do what they do on a consistent basis. If your goal is to be a writer, then write. If your goal is to run a marathon, then run. When an obstacle arises, remove the obstacle or figure out a way around it. Develop your problem-solving muscles. Remember that obstacles are just teaching you the lessons you need to learn. We have a saying in my bicycling club when we are struggling to ride into a 20+ mph headwind, "The wind is my friend." The wind forces us to keep pedaling so that we get strong enough to enjoy the really fast rides in June and July. Welcome obstacles when they arise. They are your friends that will teach you to overcome.

When I attempt something new, whether it is a hobby, career change or lifestyle improvement, I like to review my reasons for making the change. If I have a big enough why, the how is easy. When I became mostly vegetarian in February of 2001, I was overweight, out of shape and I felt terrible. Some of my close relatives were beginning to have some significant health challenges including strokes, heart disease and diabetes. My lifestyle was incongruent with the message I wanted to send to my patients and family as a physician. Perhaps most importantly, I felt bad. I was tired all of the time, and I could not walk up a flight of stairs without getting short of breath. My desire to make a change became a must.

Here I am in 2009 in much better shape. I weigh 60 pounds less, I ride a bicycle up to 100 miles in under 6 hours and participate in triathlons. I feel great. So, why do I want to make a change? First, I know that I can be even healthier than I am now. I still weigh more than my ideal body weight of less than 160 pounds. At 5 feet 7 inches and 175 pounds, my current BMI is 27.4 (ideal is 19-25), and I gained 5 pounds in the last week after eating too many of my favorite vegan burritos. This weight is still a vast improvement from the 226 pounds that I weighed in February of 2001. At one point 2 years ago, I weighed 160 pounds. My weight is higher than it should be. Those extra 15 pounds make a big difference on a long bike ride.

One of the main aspects of my personality is commitment to personal growth. I practice what personal development guru Tony Robbins refers to as CANI (Constant And Never-ending Improvement). When I read the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull that my father gave me in the 5^th grade, I started on a lifelong quest to learn more, do more and be more - just like the seagull in the book. I love to learn and grow. A raw vegan diet is just the next level of growth in my health. I enjoy the challenges of learning something new. My philosophy is that if you are not growing as a person, you are dying.

My goal is to die of happiness when I am 100. The only way that will happen is if I eat a very healthy diet, exercise as much as I can, and enjoy life with my family and friends. I believe that my life is what I make of it. I am in control of how I live. I design my life the way I want. I may not be able to control events, but I do control how I respond to those events. I have a genetic predisposition to diabetes, heart disease and cancer. But I understand that those genes can be turned on or off by the food that goes in my mouth. I have read estimates that only 5% of health is genetic and as much as 95% is lifestyle. Even if these numbers are not accurate, I know that I control my health by controlling my lifestyle.

As a physician, husband and father, I have a significant influence on the people that I know. I also have influence on people like you when you read this article. I take that responsibility seriously. I believe that I should set a good example because telling someone that they should do something that I do not do is a very weak message. Would you be inspired to lose weight by a physician who is overweight? Actions do speak louder than words. My children do not do what I say, they do what I do. As time has passed, my children (ages 14, 11, and 9) have decided to move towards eating a mostly vegetarian diet, and they continue to improve every day. I decided in 2001 that I would not force them to eat healthier. I knew that they would continue to eat healthy well into adulthood only if it was their idea.

My reasons for eating a raw vegan diet are to achieve an ideal weight, continue my quest for personal growth, and to inspire as many people as I can to be healthy. There will be some challenges to overcome in the next 30 days. My next post will address the obstacles to my goal and how I will overcome those obstacles.

To me, exercise is more like physical fun than drudgery. I may drag my feet to get started or develop an acute case of excusitis when I am tired or when the weather is less than inviting, but I really enjoy cycling, running and swimming once I am out there doing it. The rhythm of my breathing is the melody and the pounding of my feet on the pavement is my harmony. Like August Rush hears symphonies in the wind and the city, I hear music in the rotation of bicycle chain and the crisp click-clack of the shifting gears.

The whole world looks different while breathing with lungs that strain for each breath as sweat blurs your eyes. Wiping the sweat from your eyes clears Nature’s canvas to reveal the brilliant colors of the fall foliage or the fresh flowers of spring. It is like seeing the world for the first time or renewing an old, treasured friendship.

The world just seems to be right when you exercise. Worries wither. Problems solve themselves as solutions pop fully formed into you mind, which is cleared of chatter by the vigor of your muscles. You don’t intend to solve your problems while you exercise – it just seems to happen.

Your mind breathes in relief with the expanding and contracting of your diaphragm. Breathing freedom in and breathing stress out. The more difficult the pace or your exercise, the more content you become. No pain, no gain. It’s not about the pain. There is no pain when you push to your limits – there is only release. You don’t want to stop, but you must because you are finished; you are fulfilled.

Your breathing slows, the thunder in your chest diminishes to a distant rumble, and you shiver with sweat. Life settles quietly around you. All is as it should be. Your questions are answered. The ripples in your mind have stilled, leaving the surface shimmering with satisfaction. You know you will visit this place again.

The night before my first ride, I packed my bags and prepared everything for the ride the next morning.  I got up at 5 a.m., which is about 30-45 minutes earlier than I usually arise.  I dressed in layers, including a base layer of UnderArmour Cold Gear, which is quite warm for those cold weather outdoor sporting activities.  I then made a breakfast of a green smoothie, drank it quickly and hopped on the bike.  It was dark, so I turned on my headlight and taillight so that I would be clearly visible to the traffic.

I had pedaled about 300 yards down the road from my house when a 4 point buck dashed across the road 15 yards in front of me.  It scared the bleep out of me!  The resulting adrenaline rush kept me warm for the next couple of miles.  At the next turn, I was prepared for the old, black mutt when he barked and gave a feeble chase.  I have encountered him before on my daylight rides with the local bike club, the Seyboro Cyclists.  A quick command, "Stay!" got him to tuck his tail and run back to his yard.  The adrenaline, cold and full stomach from the 40 ounce smoothie were a bit of a challenge for the rest of the ride.  After the first ride, I decided to take the smoothie with me on the bike and drink it after the morning commute.  My stomach thanked me.

The remainder of the route to work was peaceful with little traffic and a gradually lightening sky.  I arrived at the back door of the hospital just as someone was wheeling two corpses to the morgue.  I said a respectful silent prayer for them and proceeded to the shower to get ready for the work day.

The ride home at 6:00 was slightly more challenging with rush hour traffic, but I am accustomed to riding in traffic.  Most drivers are quite friendly if they see you on the bike.  I did have one incident where a car pulled out in front of me, and I realized that they were not able to see the headlight on my bike.  Since changing it to a flashing mode, I have not had any problems with being visible.

The commute the rest of the week was quite pleasant, even on the day with snow flurries.  I did not commute the last day because it was 24 degrees that morning - too cold even for me.

I will share with you the lessons that I learned from commuting.  Think about the most challenging health goal that you now have and apply the lessons below to help you overcome the obstacles.

1. Don't talk yourself out of beginning.  I almost talked myself out of riding to work the first day, but I stuck with it, and I am glad I did.  If the goal is important to you, don't quit before you get started.  The most difficult step is always the first one.  When you face a challenge, your instinctual reaction is to flee - to think about all of the dangers or reasons why it won't work.  I discussed this in my last post.  No matter how vivid your imagination, you will not know what the experience is like until you try it.
2. Appreciate the challenge.  I have been cycling for years, but I had never commuted or ridden in the dark.  You know that starting something new will be difficult, if for no other reason than it is something out of your habitual routine.  You are creature of habit.  I imagine you do not think about what you are doing most of the day because you do the same things every day.  You brush your teeth the same way, you eat the same breakfast, and you drive to work the same way.  Doing something new will feel difficult because it is different.  Welcome the challenge as something interesting to break the monotony of daily life.  Set a goal to try a new health practice for 7 consecutive days; 30 days would be even more effective.  Challenge yourself to do it every day.
3. Enjoy the process.  I resolved to enjoy feeling refreshed and relaxed at work after commuting.  This is similar to appreciating the challenge.  Consider why you set the goal.  Think about how you will feel when you have been exercising every day for a month, or when you are losing weight steadily.  Remember, the steps that you take every day are leading you closer to your goal.  Make the steps fun.  If exercise is your goal, listen to your favorite music while you do it or exercise with a friend.  Don't just exercise, have physical fun.  If you are dieting to lose weight, try a new, delicious, healthy dish each day.  Life should be interesting and fun.
4. Expect surprises.  I expected a dog to chase me, but I did not expect to encounter a deer up close and personal on my first commute.  You will encounter surprises as you take action on your health goals.   Sometimes the surprises will be pleasant and sometimes they will be less welcome.  We like surprises.  They make life a joy.  You don't want to know what is in the birthday present before you open it.  You don't want to know when the creature in the horror movie will jump out, because that would spoil the fright.  Imagine if you knew from birth exactly how your life would be everyday.  That would be torture.  It sounds like a great storyline for a science fiction novel or an episode of the Twilight Zone.
5. Success builds on success.  Each day, it was easier for me to commute because I was getting comfortable with the process.  The more you practice something, the easier and more satisfying it becomes because you get better at it.  The better you get, the more you want to continue doing it.  After losing 10 pounds, you don't want to gain it back, so you are more likely to continue with a healthy diet.  There is a reason why successful people are successful in so many areas of their life.  They have learned how to be successful.  It is a skill that can be applied to all aspects of your life.  No one can take away your ability to improve yourself.  Once you know you can do it, that skill is yours forever.  Learning that you can succeed at something, no matter what the challenge, is a valuable gift.
6. Use your success to help someone else.  I learned that it is feasible for a busy physician, father and husband to commute to work by bicycle.  I am writing this blog to help you take the next step to improve your own health.  Take what you learn when you achieve a goal and help someone who needs your support.  Just like the parable of the talents in the Bible, your own talent will grow when you use it to teach someone else.

 Resolve that you will take action today to improve your health.  Don't let the sun go down on your dreams.  As Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote, "Most people go to their graves with their music still inside them."  Live up to the talent inside you and enjoy your health and your life.