New Vegans – My Son and I Embark!

Sometimes kids surprise you and my younger son surprises me often! This week we’ve had some serious discussions about health and diet and how what we have been eating has probably been killing me. He first agreed in principle to eat healthier and just today agreed to a vegan diet complete with taking vegan lunch to school as a 6th grader! Talk about brave! No way would I have done that when I was 11, but then my Mom wasn’t telling me that if she didn’t change what she ate, she might not be with me long.

(I do need to insert a little thank you to my Mom here. There is an old saying that you can either be a positive example or a horrible warning. My Mom falls into the horrible warning category. At 72 she is one of the oldest people I know – and as a hospice social worker I know a lot of old, sick people. Although she is diabetic, she keeps sweets close at hand because she feels “funny” if her blood sugar gets too low, which means reaching a number you or I would call normal. Once she went to a chiropractor who had her feeling so good she was able to go out and do yard work, but she quit because it would be too much work to keep herself up to that level of conditioning. Mom loves us and lives with us, and one of the main ways she shows love is inviting someone to join her in dessert. So, although my health “crisis” is the positive motivator for our journey into a REALLY healthy diet, I have to hand it to my Mom – she is the perfect example of where we don’t want to go and the best way to get there.)

So, what prompted this decision? Simple. I had a stress test this week and the cardiologist told me there are “nonspecific changes” on my EKG that could indicate a blockage, but he couldn’t be sure because I only lasted 3 minutes on the stress test. Well, he can be sure if he takes me into the cath lab, but I don’t really want to go there. He also wants to repeat the stress test in 6 months. Fair enough.

I now have a solid goal with a definite timeframe (you can understand how with my recent experiences the word “deadline” doesn’t hold much attraction for me). At that stress test 6 months from now, I intend for Dr. Isaac to say, “Wow, what have you been doing? Keep on, because it obviously works. And by the way, your EKG looks perfect!”

I’ve had the “Engine 2” book for several months, but convinced myself my son would never go for it and it would be too much trouble to do just for me. So I got it out this weekend, then hopped over to Amazon and bought 3 more vegan cookbooks and Dean Ornish’s heart book, too. So, as they say in the blogospere, I’ll keep you posted.