Days Thirty-five Through Thirty-seven: Becoming A Starchivore

Three days ago, I picked up a copy of John McDougall's book, The Starch Solution from the library and devoured it. Meaning, I read through it in two days. If I did not have to go to work, I would have read it in one day. Along with sound nutritional information and an explanation as to how eating fish, meat, and dairy is killing the planet, McDougall says we should all center our meals around starchy food and add nonstarchy vegetables and fruits to complement. Starchy foods include potatoes (white and sweet), corn, legumes (beans and peas), and grains. They are filling foods, they are comforting (think "comfort food"), and they give us the energy we need to live. It does not get better than this! I salivated looking through the menu plan and the recipes at the end of this book. 

When I first started my vegan diet a little over a month ago, I was starving from being on the processed-food diet by Nutrisystem. The first day of eating the vegan way, I unintentionally ate a lot of starch--I had some with every meal. I was only consciously trying to avoid animal products, to eat whole foods, and to omit adding any extra fats in the form of oils, fake butters, nuts, seeds, avocados and olives. I do not think nuts, seeds, avocados or olives are bad, but I do know that if one is trying to lose weight--which I am--it is best to limit or avoid them altogether. 

So, the first few days were pretty great. I was eating way more food (good tasting, real food), and yet, I was losing an average of a pound a day. My skin was clearing up, I had energy, and I was euphoric. I gave all of the credit to the mere absence of animal products from my diet. 

Then, I started to read Dr. Fuhrman's book, Eat To Live, and I incorporated a lot more nonstarchy vegetables into my diet. That is not horrible in and of itself, but I was starting to feel a little less energetic and euphoric, the weight loss stalled, and junk foods were starting to tempt me. Also, my skin started to break out again, which was frustrating as I was gorging on salads full of high-nutrient vegetables. 

Never was I tempted by animal products, but fat was looking more and more appealing. Tired of washing pounds of nonstarchy vegetables day after day, I started to eat the more-convenient sandwiches made with Tofurky Deli Slices and Vegenaise spread. I piled on the lettuce thinking that would make it okay, but apparently it did not. My fingers found their way into my husband's greasy potato chip bag a few days in a row, and I started snacking here-and-there on raw walnuts and almonds. My weight started to go back up.

In McDougall's The Starch Solution, he warns against eating over processed soy products, saying they are as bad if not worse than eating their animal equivalents. In fact, they have isolated soy protein in them which has shown to be as aggressive at feeding cancer as eating animal proteins (be aware, it is a common ingredient in protein bars and shakes as well). So that did it! No more Tofurky for me! Plus, I should not be eating the vegan mayonnaise, Vegenaise, anyway. It may not contain animal fat, but it does contain fat. And as Dr. McDougall says, "A fat is a fat is a fat."

Today is the third day in a row of following Dr. McDougall's food plan, and I have lost two pounds! BUT... even better than that, I am loving the food, feeling very satisfied, eating way more than I thought I could to be still losing weight, my skin is getting clear again (most noticeable today), and my mood has been very upbeat.   

Another very interesting thing I learned from Dr. McDougall is that sugar is not bad. He even says that adding a little simple sugar, like brown sugar or maple syrup, to food is not a horrible thing, so long as it is used as a flavoring and not the main ingredient. He suggests adding it to food at the table in small amounts so that it is not cooked into the food. We need to be able to taste it. Our tongues are designed to seek out sweet and salty foods so that we will eat and remain alive. (So yes, a little salt added to a dish is not going to kill anyone either). 

Our saliva "produces six to eight times more of the starch-digesting enzyme amylase" compared to "lesser" primates. We are designed by nature to eat starch! It is not evil or fattening like the meat and dairy producers who make billions of dollars would have us believe.

The day after borrowing the book, I decided to test Dr. McDougall's claims, and I put some agave nectar on my morning oatmeal--about 2 teaspoons worth. I thought for sure it would show up on the scale or sabotage me in some way. I also ate until I was full--not watching portion sizes, eating lots of brown rice for lunch and dinner, snacking on sprouted wheat tortillas, wheat bread, and even pretzels. I have eaten potatoes each of these last three days, corn, and green peas. But alas, I have lost weight and I feel amazing! I am convinced that Dr. McDougall is spot on, and I am officially eating like a starchivore as nature intended. 

I highly recommend to anyone looking to improve their health and the health of the planet to go to his website and learn all you can. Buy or borrow his books, check out videos of his lectures on youtube, and look at the free program on his website. He actually wants to heal people, not make a buck (or a billion).

It is dinnertime...