A Fortnight of Fitness: Day 13 and 14

Due to starting my Spring semester of grad school classes on Monday, I balked on logging a post on Day 13 of my two week challenge to follow a vegan diet. So this post combines Days 13 and 14, the final two days.

I can't say there was much change in measures over the last two days. But the measures were good. My weight bottomed out at 213 pounds and would not go below that, notwithstanding good dietary adherence and almost daily moderate exercise.

My Day 14 blood pressure was 109/70. I failed to capture it on Day 13, but it has been trending lower throughout the challenge. That is a fantastically good BP by clinical standards.

I have decided to continue on a vegan diet for at least another fortnight, since the results of the first fortnight were generally good, and it is clinically shown to be one of the best weight loss and health-promoting diets. For this second run, I will probably record just before and after measurements, not daily. Deborah and I went to the grocery store after our gym workout today and stocked up. At the wellness expo we attended over the weekend, we scored a handy-dandy veggie peeler that does both thin and julienne slicing. I made some great hash browned potatoes with it last night. It is good for harder root veggies, but I still prefer the spiralizer for making zucchini pasta, for example.

Anyway, we are stocked up on animal free foods. I scored some vegan cheese and some tofu-based noodles that I am going to experiment with. I have a goal to make some homemade veggie burgers.

KEYWORDS: lifestyle coach, best weight loss diet, vegan diet

A Fortnight of Fitness: Day 12

Deborah and I are in the home stretch of our fortnight of fitness, to follow a plant-based, whole food diet for two weeks and measure the health effects: objectively, weight and blood pressure; subjectively, mood and overall well-being.

I'll cut to the chase. My weight on the morning of Day 12 was 214 pounds. This was up a pound from Day 11, but it is important to note that my weight was 222 pounds when I began this fortnight-long challenge. My blood pressure on the evening of Day 12 was 118/70. My blood pressure has been variable during this challenge, but this is on the very low end of measured values. At its peak, my BP was around 130/80. I cannot say with certainty that the precision of the Walgreens brand home BP monitor that we are using allows me to call this change in BP statistically significant, but I am happy with the current numbers.

My mood has been generally good. I have some anxiety, but I believe this is due to starting my second challenging semester of graduate school tonight, and nothing to do with my lifestyle changes. Since returning from vacation a couple weeks ago, I have felt a little bit bored and unsatisfied with life, but this is because I have not had enough activities to focus my brain energy on and studying should remedy that. Additionally, January and February in Wisconsin are notoriously brutal months for getting outdoors, which enhances my mood. However, I will continue to track my mood and see. In February, I have February Album Writing Month to preoccupy my creativity through to March, when I hope my rock-n-roll band GUPPY EFFECT will start to play some shows again.

KEYWORDS: healthy lifestyle, health and wellness, vegan diet, best weight loss diet, lifestyle coaching

A Fortnight of Fitness: Day 11

After a decent gym workout yesterday that included 45 minutes of aerobics and several laps of swimming, Deborah and I attended the Well Expo downtown and ended up spending too much money on stuff we only marginally maybe need (most notably some vegan protein powder for our morning smoothies).

My weight has stabilized at 113 pounds, where it has been for the past three days of the challenge. I'd like to knock it under 210 before this challenge ends in three days. My blood pressure has dropped way down, however, to 109/67. I'd like to measure my cholesterol and blood sugar after completion of this challenge, if I can finegle it with my doctor's office...

KEYWORDS: lifestyle coaching, health and wellness, vegan diet, best weight loss diet, losing weight