Today is our 4 month anniversary - we started following a vegan diet on 7/7/7 (a most auspicious date).

Today was also the day of my annual check up. Jane and I have been eagerly awaiting today as a day of validation. We have been operating under the assumption that when I got back my bloodwork we would see a dramatic improvement (not that things needed all that much improving.) Unfortunately, the wind was taken out of our sails a bit. Although there was improvement, it was certainly not dramatic enough to shout from the rooftops that we all should be eating vegan.

So, how'd I do?

To date, I've lost 15 pounds. (Only 1 pound in this last month, but you can attribute that to Jane's muffins.) Remember, this is with NO EXERCISE, and no reduction in quantity of food I'm eating.

• My total cholesterol went from 154 to 147 which is a 4+% improvement. Ideally <150
• My HDL (that's the good stuff) went from 46 to 41 which is an 11% reduction. Ideally, it should be over 50 and this can be improved with exercise. Something I'm not doing much of these days. Good > 40
• My LDL (that's the bad stuff) went from 69 to 62 which is a 10% improvement. Ideally <130
• My Triglycerides went from 196 to 221 which is a 13% increase, and not so good. Ideally <150
• My fasting glucose went from 92 to 87. Both numbers are completely within the normal parameter, and show I have no concern about diabetes. Normal is <100
• My blood pressure remained the same.

The most distressing thing for me is that the changes don't seem to be significant enough. We were expecting dramatic improvements. The increase in triglycerides isn't so troubling. The test doesn't really reflect anything more than what's been going on the few days before you take it, but, are we eating too many carbs? It's just so frustrating that this stuff is so complicated. And living the vegan life can be really tough at times.

One more point: I took my blood test a few weeks ago due to scheduling concerns, so this really reflects 3 months of vegan eating.

So, is it worth it? Jane goes for her physical at the beginning of December. We'll evaluate then, but I've got to say, today I miss milk, and turkey, and...

First off, let me apologize to anyone I may have offended with that statement, but when I was growing up in New York it was common "knowledge" that British Cuisine was an oxymoron. Bangers and Mash, Salisbury steak, Toad-in-the-Hole, Steak and Kidney Pie; none of these are particularly appealing to me, and so I had written off British Cuisine as something that I wouldn't partake of.I have recently changed my mind about that. While I can't say that any of the dishes listed above could ever entice me to give up my vegan life, I have stumbled across a few cooking shows that have caused me to re-think my ideas on British Cuisine.

In my recent pre-vegan days, Nigella Lawson always had something tempting to offer on her TV show, Nigella Feasts; not to mention her sensual treatment of food. Her show always made me want to eat something. There are a few things I remember seeing her prepare which could be easily converted for the vegan diet, and some that were vegan. Nigella's website (link above) has a recipe index, but it appears the recipes are submitted by visitors to the site. I haven't gotten my hands on any of her cookbooks, so I can't discuss whether her recipes cook up well. But everything looks enticing.

Yesterday I caught a program called "You Are What You Eat" on the BBC network. There is some considerable discussion on the web as to whether Gillian McKeith is legitimate... her science is suspect and she seems to be a snake oil peddler. BUT, the show is entertaining and inspiring. It starts with "Dr." McKeith secretly watching the client for a week or so, then piling up what they've eaten for a week. It's absolutely astonishing to see what people will put in their mouths. Then she barks at her clients and teaches them a bit about nutrition. And they live happily ever after by the end of the show.

I'm not sure that it's something I would watch regularly, but it did inspire me to do some googling, and this link is what inspired me to write this post. I spent considerable time on this site, it's clean and well designed and very informative.

And finally, they have vegan recipes (just click on the vegan option). So, who says the Brits can't cook?

I received an email comment on the blog yesterday :

I HATE to break it to you but I have been vegan for a while now and I am still 100 pounds overweight. Oh well, at least I don’t eat innocent animals--J

The only reply I can make is that this blog is a chronicle of my vegan experiences (and Jane's too). We've lost weight over the past three months. Admittedly I've lost more weight than Jane has, which frustrates her a bit. But we're losing weight because we're eating more fruits and vegetables instead of processed food, just like most nutritionists would advise. Another big contributor to our weight loss is that we're generally having cut up fruit for dessert instead of some high calorie dessert Jane woild have baked; Jane used to love to bake. Our diet has changed to be more healthful and clearly less calorie-intensive, as we are actually consuming more food than before. And I'm sure a grilled portobello mushroom has far fewer calories than Chicken Parmesan!

So J, I'm sorry your experience hasn't been as rewarding mine and Jane's has been so far. But I'm not trying to sell anyone anything, I'm just excited about my experiences and I want to share how easy it has been for me.

And maybe this will inspire others to make choices that will be less harmful to our environment and more compassionate to our fellow creatures on this planet. (Proselytizing over.)

Today is our 3-month Vegan Anniversary. We started this journey on 07/07/07. It's been an interesting journey. To date, I've lost 15 pounds without any other attempts at losing weight. That's right - no exercise. Jane's lost 5 pounds. That's really exciting. We're not thinking about what we're putting in our mouths from a "diet" perspective, so we're not feeling deprived. Maybe we should bottle this stuff!

There have been the occasional bumps in the road for Jane. She's the cook and has had to learn how to change her thinking when it comes to "what's for dinner." And our staples have had to be re-learned. But we live in southern California, and have some really great year-round farmer's markets, so getting our hands on good fresh produce has never been a problem.

Our biggest issues have involved eating out. We've found that quite a few restaurants don't have anything on the menu for a vegan to eat. But we've found a few vegan friendly restaurants and when we're out with our non-vegan friends or associates we've gravitated towards Italian food. It makes for invisible vegan eating. We don't need to explain our dietary choices to anyone because there is always the option of pasta (whole wheat, of course) with marinara sauce and grilled vegetables. No one looks at you cross-eyed if you skip the cheese. Easy. We just hope Grassroots re-opens soon (they are closed due to fire damage).

Anyway, after three months we both feel fine. There's been no difference in our energy levels and we believe we're healthier. We'll actually be reporting on that in a future post. We've got our annual medical check-ups coming up in late November so we'll see if our new way of life has some hidden benefits as well as the obvious one of weight loss. We expect to be reporting good things.