[My results (poor paint job)](https://imgur.com/HPN2MMY)
I just want to say this is the only community that resonates with me lately regarding nutrition. No one in my life cares about this stuff so I have to share the results from today with someone 🙂
I always thought I ate “healthy”. Plenty of vegetables, fruits, mostly whole foods for the past decade. However, I made meat a core piece of my daily meals. I ate legumes once a month, if that. In the last year I started falling prey to the online presence of “organic grass fed meat”, LCHF, saturated fat is good for you, don’t trust the science community, Dr. Eric Berg, Dr Ekberg, etc fads. I started spending an insane amount of money on organic meats and dairy products. I was never sensitive to any particular food and could eat anything, so I didn’t feel any different. Always good energy.
I had bloodwork done in 2020 but didn’t think much of my results at the time. I was always thin, even into my 30’s. At my lowest I was 6’1 122lbs at 30 years old. I’m now 165lbs and aiming for 180lbs. Conservative bulk + weightlifting over the years.
I finally found a family doctor this year and did annual bloodwork, to no ones surprise the results were similar to 2020. However this time I started questioning my results, A1C of all things. It’s not in the photo above but I was at 5.5, which I was confused about because “I barely ate carbs (lol). I’m now at 5.2 and eating more carbs than ever. Anyway, I discovered a youtube channel that changed my life by Dr. Gil Carvalho. From there, the youtube algorithm led me to Dr. Gregor and the Plant Chompers channel and the rest was history. I’m finally empowered enough to critically think for myself.
My triglycerides went up slightly, while my HDL went down which I expected with the transition to WFPB and if you’ve watched any of the channels above you’ll know this is normal!
For the first month I continued eating my hilariously expensive meat from my freezer, free run eggs, “gourmet” cheese, etc while researching and questioning the last 10 years. I did a complete 180 three months ago. I visited my family, and they were laughing in disbelief at how drastic my change was. I still ate their meat dishes as I don’t see them often (few times a year) and I appreciate their love and time to cook for us.
I replaced meat with legumes/pulses. IT’S SO MUCH CHEAPER. I used the daily dozen app for a few weeks and now it’s ingrained in my daily routine. I still eat EVOO even though it’s technically not WFPB, but I reach my caloric goals easier this way. I rely on seeds and nuts a lot as well. I gained 5 lbs in the last 3 months, lift numbers and mood unaffected. Fiber intake was difficult to adjust to initially, but now 70g/day is standard and comfortable.
I still have a long way to go, but I love where this is heading. My mom jokes this is another fad that’ll pass as I have been guilty of switching my diet many times in the past. I told her this is my way of life until I die 🙂
Thanks for reading!
Dining and Cooking