Wellness

[Oostende]

@QueenDanceALot  Thank you!

[sidsmom]

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@QueenDanceALot wrote:

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@Oostende wrote:

@sidsmom I took advantage of Prime Day and bought an Instant Pot.  My old stovetop pressure cooker finally died when the gasket cracked.

I was looking at Jill Nussinow's  Vegan Under Pressure cookbook and also O M Gee Good by Jill McKeever.

Both have loads of good reviews but I wondered if you have a preference for one over the other or a different recommendation.  Any thoughts?

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@Oostende

I'm not @sidsmom but I just wanted to say that both Jills have lots of recipes online so you don't need to buy a book.

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@Oostende

I couldn’t agree more!

Jill McKeever offers SO MUCH free content on her YouTube channel,

Simple Daily Recipes, try using that free platform instead of a book.

But there are many ‘book’ people out there, so she offers that as well!

[Oostende]

Thank you, too @sidsmom!  

[QueenDanceALot]

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@Pook wrote:

A diet with lots of starches, grains, beans would surely cause me to loose weight as it would have me in the bathroom all of the time!!  If you need a B-12 supplement then maybe not the best welll rounded diet.  Food might be easy on the wallet but not on the gut!  I cannot imagine all that starch/grains and beans are the best to eat.  Maybe ok if you can stomach that type of restrictive diet but I surely cannot be the only one that it would not be healthier for!! I would walk around like I was punched in the stomach with all that.

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@Pook

Whole Food starches, not processed starches.  That is very important.  It is also crucial for your gut health, which is crucial for your overall health, to eat a lot of plant fiber, both soluble and insoluble, as the billions of bacteria in your gut that determine good health can only be manufactured from fiber.  Animal foods contain 0 fiber.

It can take awhile for your body to start to make the enzymes that digest plant foods when you transition from a diet containing animal foods to a plant based diet.  For some people it will take longer than others, depending on the state of their own gut microbiome.

A short primer on the gut microbiome.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMAC_0rqYVA

Also, having been following this way of living for the past 13 months I can say that it is not "restrictive", unless you feel that animal products and junk food are key to your feeling of being "unrestricted".

I eat a wide variety of plant foods, actually much wider than when I ate animal products.  Lots of legumes, green leafy vegetables, colorful non starchy vegetables, tubers, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds.

Regarding B12, it doesn't come from animals, it comes from the soil.  As our food supply is so sanitized (for good and for bad, the bad being the removal of B12), it isn't only those who avoid animal products who are in danger of deficiency.  Meat eaters are found to be deficient as well.

P.S.  I'm not selling anything and I'm not taking prescription drugs that some definitely are selling.  

[sidsmom]

[magicmoodz]

@QueenDanceALot

Thank you for your post above regarding gut health. I am contemplating forwarding to a friend who suffers from IBS and celiac disease.

We were having dinner with her and her hubby recently after not seeing them for 10 months. The first thing they said to me was "you are so skinny". Rest assured, I will never be skinny. I am busty with a defined waist and hips. But I am smaller than when we last saw each other thanks to a wfpb lifestyle.

We were at a new hipster restaurant where I ordered a cup of beans for dinner. Of course I was assaulted with "don't you need some meat for protein?". Ah no, no I don't. 

This friend really suffers with IBS, but is unwilling to make the changes that might have a positive effect on her ability to lead a normal life. I don't think she is ready to alter the unhealthy foods she eats, but reading your post and the link inside might just give her some "food for thought". Again, thank you.

[MickD]

I have been vegetarian off and on since my teens.  It really helped me lose weight after my son was born.  I went from 200 (pregnant) to 120.  I don't know why I went back to omni, but I did.

I decided to go vegetarian in January due to weight gain, constant injuries from running, and the wonderful premenopausal sweats and sleeplesness.  It took me a month to drop the cheese and now I'm vegan/wfpb.

I feel great and enjoy cooking amazing meals!  I'm most proud that my husband and son are 75% on board.  I don't lecture....I just make the food!

[QueenDanceALot]

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@magicmoodz wrote:

@QueenDanceALot

Thank you for your post above regarding gut health. I am contemplating forwarding to a friend who suffers from IBS and celiac disease.

We were having dinner with her and her hubby recently after not seeing them for 10 months. The first thing they said to me was "you are so skinny". Rest assured, I will never be skinny. I am busty with a defined waist and hips. But I am smaller than when we last saw each other thanks to a wfpb lifestyle.

We were at a new hipster restaurant where I ordered a cup of beans for dinner. Of course I was assaulted with "don't you need some meat for protein?". Ah no, no I don't. 

This friend really suffers with IBS, but is unwilling to make the changes that might have a positive effect on her ability to lead a normal life. I don't think she is ready to alter the unhealthy foods she eats, but reading your post and the link inside might just give her some "food for thought". Again, thank you.

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@magicmoodz

You are so welcome.  I am glad that the information is of interest to you!

I have battled IBS since I was a small child.  I have had periods of total normalcy over the years, followed by terrible bouts that at times kept me from living my life.  It has never seemed to follow any eating pattern and would hit out of the blue.

I still have bouts, even on this diet, and as I learn more about the microbiome I think I am understanding more as to why this would be so.  

I believe info and education is power and I keep my eyes and ears open to all discussion!  I will continue to post things I find thought provoking and relevant.

Thanks for posting!

[magicmoodz]

@QueenDanceALot

Thank you for your response. I am so sorry you suffer from IBS. Maybe I should mind my own biz and not share your post. I will admit I might be perceived as insensitive since I don't have gut issues and you could set your watch by me--if you know what I mean.😚

[QueenDanceALot]

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@magicmoodz wrote:

@QueenDanceALot

Thank you for your response. I am so sorry you suffer from IBS. Maybe I should mind my own biz and not share your post. I will admit I might be perceived as insensitive since I don't have gut issues and you could set your watch by me--if you know what I mean.😚

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Hey @magicmoodz,

I don't mind discussing it or you sharing my post.   It is a very frustrating thing to live with (as I think a commercial for one of those drugs says) and there have been many times I thought I had it licked!  And then SURPRISE! it's back.

In the past several years it became more frequent and I think I understand now why - I was on several rounds of antibiotics just prior to the escalation, for some very stubborn sinus infections (which I ended up having surgery for - another topic, sort of, as sinus health is very much tied to gut health, too) and I was off and running (literally!).  And then there were the rounds of prednisone - OY!  Yeah, that stuff made me feel better (in about 3 1/2 minutes - how unnatural is THAT?  haha) but I know it wreaked (wrought?) havoc on my entire system.

I thought that WFPB eating had fixed me as I had a few months of digestive BLISS! (after the initial nightmare of bloat and pain), but the honeymoon ended and I've had some more bouts since.  It's not just the food.  I firmly believe my gut has been very badly compromised (as has happened to many, MANY people!) and may never regain it's full health and vigor.  Rebuilding a healthy gut flora is NOT as simple as some people would like to think.  At least for many of us it's not.

When all is working well, WELL, I feel a spring in my step and like I'm on top of the world.

When it isn't, I'm tired and I struggle to keep up with all the things I do.