So 30 days isn't a long time, but it's long enough to get a taste.
It was strange - I looked forward to the end all along, and when it came, I was, at least on some level, hesitant to let this diet go. Talking with several of my colleagues, I think it convinced me that being a traditional vegetarian (dairy, eggs allowed) would be relatively easy compared to being a vegan - and I am seriously considering taking on vegetarianism for an extended diet rather than an experiment. Perhaps try it for six months.
Regarding the actual experience, I lost 10.5 pounds from start to finish.
I proposed this experience because I had found myself stuck in a zone at the lower end of the 170's, and really wanted to break through to the 160's (I was 197.8 in January). In this sense, the vegan diet was hugely helpful. I immediately started losing weight, and in just a few days arrived at a new equilibrium in the mid 160's. Ironically and completely unintentionally, I found myself doing relatively little exercise during this period, so I believe most of the weight loss was the result of the diet rather than exercise. I ate a reasonably diet for a man of my weight, age, and size, hitting around 2000 calories most days.
I have to say, I hadn't weighed 163 since I was in college - about 24 years ago. It was really cool to see that number on the scale.
But I have to confess, I think I was losing more than fat on the diet. I never really was able to establish a solid protein intake, and on a few days I really had physical sense of desperation. I felt like something was wrong with me. I craved a concentrated protein source on more than just an emotional level. I'm convinced (though I can't prove it) that much of the weight loss was lost muscle mass as a result of the diet.
I didn't have a lipid and glucose panel immediately before the start of this experience, but I had had one only two months earlier (April 2, 2014). I did have one the morning after the end of the diet (and before I indulged myself on meat and cheese again).
The comparison is interesting:
April (pre-exp) June (immediately post-exp)
Serum cholesterol: 152 173
HDL 52 63
LDL 87 90
Triglycerides 65 99
Glucose 98 91
The only number you would want to see go up out of all those numbers is the HDL, which the vegan diet did do. Unfortunately, the period between my last panel and the end of the vegan diet shows a significant increase in many of the bad makers. To be fair, the glucose level went down, which is also pleasing to me, because I have a history of diabetes in my family, and an elevated glucose level concerns me. But increases in serum cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides also concern me. (good short article explaining these measures here: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/Good-vs-Bad-Cholesterol_UCM_305561_Article.jsp)
What this experiment has convinced me is not so much that veganism is somehow bad, but that exercise is really, really important. I don't think I mastered the vegan diet - in particular the proper way to consume sufficient protein. But at the same time I let go of the rigor in my exercise routine that I had been working hard to maintain since the beginning of the year. I allowed the FitBit to lull me into a sense of complacency because I hit my 10,000 steps most days. While being generally active is important, I am convinced now that for my own health I need intensive periods of exercise most days.I think had I maintained the rigor of my exercise efforts, I would have had better lipid results.
I think the other big take-away that I have from this effort is that eating out regularly is really bad for you. Prior to this exercise, I was starting to slip back into my pre-$3 diet habits of eating out for lunch frequently (we have a Subway in the basement of our building). When I engaged in the vegan experience, I had to get back in the habit of preparing my meals each day before I left in the morning for work. Despite the protein issue, I felt good about what I was eating. And in an important way, I felt good about being more involved with my own food. There is something profoundly human about preparing your own food. The act of eating is something that connects us to the world. To outsource the preparation of too many of our meals to a kind stranger is to disconnect ourselves from ourselves. Food is worthy of contemplation, and cooking is something close to prayer.
I am happy to have tried this experiment. I appreciate the support I received from my fellow participants, my family, and all of the folks who followed us. It was interesting.
Next up for diet experiments is paleo - but I think I'll wait a bit before I try it.
Till then -
buon appetito!
It was strange - I looked forward to the end all along, and when it came, I was, at least on some level, hesitant to let this diet go. Talking with several of my colleagues, I think it convinced me that being a traditional vegetarian (dairy, eggs allowed) would be relatively easy compared to being a vegan - and I am seriously considering taking on vegetarianism for an extended diet rather than an experiment. Perhaps try it for six months.
Regarding the actual experience, I lost 10.5 pounds from start to finish.
I proposed this experience because I had found myself stuck in a zone at the lower end of the 170's, and really wanted to break through to the 160's (I was 197.8 in January). In this sense, the vegan diet was hugely helpful. I immediately started losing weight, and in just a few days arrived at a new equilibrium in the mid 160's. Ironically and completely unintentionally, I found myself doing relatively little exercise during this period, so I believe most of the weight loss was the result of the diet rather than exercise. I ate a reasonably diet for a man of my weight, age, and size, hitting around 2000 calories most days.
I have to say, I hadn't weighed 163 since I was in college - about 24 years ago. It was really cool to see that number on the scale.
But I have to confess, I think I was losing more than fat on the diet. I never really was able to establish a solid protein intake, and on a few days I really had physical sense of desperation. I felt like something was wrong with me. I craved a concentrated protein source on more than just an emotional level. I'm convinced (though I can't prove it) that much of the weight loss was lost muscle mass as a result of the diet.
I didn't have a lipid and glucose panel immediately before the start of this experience, but I had had one only two months earlier (April 2, 2014). I did have one the morning after the end of the diet (and before I indulged myself on meat and cheese again).
The comparison is interesting:
April (pre-exp) June (immediately post-exp)
Serum cholesterol: 152 173
HDL 52 63
LDL 87 90
Triglycerides 65 99
Glucose 98 91
The only number you would want to see go up out of all those numbers is the HDL, which the vegan diet did do. Unfortunately, the period between my last panel and the end of the vegan diet shows a significant increase in many of the bad makers. To be fair, the glucose level went down, which is also pleasing to me, because I have a history of diabetes in my family, and an elevated glucose level concerns me. But increases in serum cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides also concern me. (good short article explaining these measures here: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/Good-vs-Bad-Cholesterol_UCM_305561_Article.jsp)
What this experiment has convinced me is not so much that veganism is somehow bad, but that exercise is really, really important. I don't think I mastered the vegan diet - in particular the proper way to consume sufficient protein. But at the same time I let go of the rigor in my exercise routine that I had been working hard to maintain since the beginning of the year. I allowed the FitBit to lull me into a sense of complacency because I hit my 10,000 steps most days. While being generally active is important, I am convinced now that for my own health I need intensive periods of exercise most days.I think had I maintained the rigor of my exercise efforts, I would have had better lipid results.
I think the other big take-away that I have from this effort is that eating out regularly is really bad for you. Prior to this exercise, I was starting to slip back into my pre-$3 diet habits of eating out for lunch frequently (we have a Subway in the basement of our building). When I engaged in the vegan experience, I had to get back in the habit of preparing my meals each day before I left in the morning for work. Despite the protein issue, I felt good about what I was eating. And in an important way, I felt good about being more involved with my own food. There is something profoundly human about preparing your own food. The act of eating is something that connects us to the world. To outsource the preparation of too many of our meals to a kind stranger is to disconnect ourselves from ourselves. Food is worthy of contemplation, and cooking is something close to prayer.
I am happy to have tried this experiment. I appreciate the support I received from my fellow participants, my family, and all of the folks who followed us. It was interesting.
Next up for diet experiments is paleo - but I think I'll wait a bit before I try it.
Till then -
buon appetito!
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