When life gives you lemons, maybe consider a plant based diet?

For my first blog of the year, I had started to write about my happiness jar. It was an uplifting post about the importance of recognizing the good things in our lives. More on that later. Then, I got a call from my doctor’s office to discuss some test results. Oh, ok. That’s typically not a good thing. Off I went to hear what she had to say. I ended up walking away with a couple of referrals, some test requisitions and a prescription. But, the worst was learning that my cholesterol levels are at an all time high. 

For over 15 years, I’ve had high cholesterol. I’ve watched it creep up. Some years, I managed to beat it back to an acceptable level. And then, menopause hit. Damn menopause!  My cholesterol levels soared. And no matter what I do, they don’t go back down. For years, my doctor had told me that the only reason she wasn’t putting me on meds was because I ate healthy and worked out a lot. This year, she wanted me to go on medication. I refused. I’m not ready for that. As far as I’m concerned, that’s the start of the slippery slope. First, it’s the statins, then it’ll be something to counteract the side effects and we’re off to the races. No thanks. I’m not ready.

Time to sulk

I gave myself a day to feel sorry for myself. Sorry and angry. How can this be? I eat healthy, I exercise and yet I can’t control this damn cholesterol. My dad had very high cholesterol. He was on meds for many years. Some days, I hate genetics! I spent the day sulking. Every so often, I need a good sulk. I don’t think it’ useful to always be “up”. To hell with that. I need to be genuine. If I’m pissed, I’m pissed. And that’s that! And, I was very pissed! I swore and I whined. Since my last blood test, I’d cut back red meat to no more than twice a month; I’d started to eat more fish. And still, the LDL numbers went up. As I sat there in my pissy mood, an idea started to form in my head. What if I did something radical? Something I’d been thinking about, but never quite felt it was the right time to do it.

A plan takes shape

What if I adopted a plant based diet for six months? Why six months? My next blood test is in six months. So, by then I’d know if my dietary changes improved my cholesterol numbers. It seemed like the stars were aligned too. For my birthday, my friend Louise gave me the “Oh She Glows” cookbook. I’d read through the recipes and was looking forward to trying some new things. And so that’s what I’m going to do: I’m giving up meat for 6 months.

I’ll be blogging about this new journey. It certainly wasn’t what I set out to do earlier this week, but such is life. It throws you curve balls. I expect to hit roadblocks along the way. I’ve never been a vegetarian. I love eating meat! There’s nothing like a medium rare steak with fries, a salad and a glass of cabernet sauvignon on a hot summer day! Yum!!

To make sure that I don’t do anything foolish, and that I get all my essential nutrients, I will be speaking with my friend Zeina, who’s a registered dietitian. But, here’s what I am planning to do: I will not eat meat until my next blood tests in July. I’ll eat fish twice or three times per week. I will not eat egg yolks and I’ll avoid cheese unless it’s low fat. I will consume more soluble fiber (flaxseed, oats, legumes, etc);  This will not be easy. My men are carnivores! And I have no desire to cook multiple meals per day. But, I’m also determined to try this.

No time like the present

Since there’s no time like the present, I started today. This new way of eating will take time to get used to, and I’ll need to add a few items to my pantry. I think that the key to success is planning, so I spent part of the day cooking. I made a delicious leek-carrot-coconut soup and vanilla chia pudding. For supper, I made one of my favourite Portuguese dishes: salted cod with potatoes. I steamed some green beans for a side dish.

The Happiness Jar

At the start of 2016, I read an Elizabeth Gilbert post  about using a happiness jar. (https://www.facebook.com/GilbertLiz/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE&fref=nf )The idea is simple. Every day, you write down something that you’re grateful for and you put the little note in the jar. A great idea, I thought. So, I started my happiness jar. It lasted about 6 weeks! And then, life got in the way.

Last week, I took out my six weeks’ worth of little notes and read them. And I realized I captured so many simple, yet wonderful things in the span of a few weeks. Those were not easy weeks either. At the start of the year, my husband had a health scare, work was crazy, and there were the usual share of disappointments and annoyances. Yet, there were wonderful things too. Reading the little notes reminded me of these moments.

So, in 2017, I’m starting it again. This time, it will last all year. I’ve pre-cut a bunch of little pieces of paper and put them in my nightstand. Every night I will write down something that made me happy. Most days this won’t be a problem. But, like everyone else, my life is not all sunshine and lollipops. So, on the days where I struggle to find something uplifting, I will dig deep and find those happy little happy nuggets. On the days where I’m craving a juicy steak, I’ll look for something else to lift my spirits!

Years ago, I stopped doing new year’s resolutions. Sometimes, I’d forget them; other times, I’d fail fairly early on. Why set up huge resolutions only to be disappointed when they inevitably fail? I prefer to set small, attainable goals. Not necessarily easy goals, but rather, goals that I can work towards.

This year, in addition to focusing on lowering my cholesterol,  I will also focus on finding the good things in each day. Being grateful is an essential component to my happiness. 2017, I’m ready for you!

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