Decision time
It’s May. I have been on the Healthy Heart Miracle Diet for 4 months.
Results? I have really learned a lot. I lost over 15 pounds and mostly from my stomach. I have lowered my blood pressure. Yet, like my weight, my blood pressure has been fairly stagnant for about a month - and still too high.
What have I learned? I have really learned that my blood pressure issues revolve around my diet. When we moved to Colorado, we became very strict vegetarians (vegan). My husband lost 35 pounds and I gained about 40 pounds. While our diet has changed to include some fish, I now believe that becoming strict vegetarians is the root of many of my health issues. Vegetarianism is a wonderful way to eat; it’s very healthy. It’s just not healthy when it’s 100 % simple carbohydrate - like we have done (for years!).
I now really believe what Dr. Shari says - if you have metabolic syndrome (or syndrome X) you have to eat like a diabetic. Any amount of sugar, bread, or pasta now increases my blood pressure almost immediately. It’s amazing to me.
Conclusions? First and foremost, I need to continue on a low glycemic index diet that focuses on whole foods and proteins. It is possible to stay a vegetarian and eat a low glycemic index diet. I have to avoid eating bread, pasta, and sweets. Secondly, I need to drop some more pounds. I love lifting weights but hate aerobic exercise. I need to add aerobic exercise to the mix. I have been running intervals on Sundays (not so boring, very intense, results oriented). I need to focus on other aerobic workouts while keeping my weight lifting schedule (3 times a week). Third, I need to figure out a way to make this work for me - not me work for it! What do I mean? I need to find a way to continue living - celebrating birthdays, going out with friends, eating in restaurants - without feeling guilty for eating a piece of cake, having a beer, or a piece of bread. The only way to do that is to pay absolute attention to how I feel when I eat things.
Decisions? I decided to give Dr. Shari’s diet a try. I will continue the Healthy Heart Miracle, but it’s mostly soups and stews which are really uneatable in the summer heat. I will add the to diets together. Dr. Shari’s has more flexibility about what you eat and includes more protein; Dr. Mirkin’s has great recipes for soup and stews. The goal is for me to lose weight and reduce my blood pressure.
I believe that we are each unique individuals. The last 5 months has been an adventure in explore my own unique metabolism and how to make it run strong.
Thanks for reading!
Filed under: The Diet
