My family and I have been plant based for over three years now. It has been a great experience but not one without bumps in the road. I am going to share with you our experience so far so that maybe it will help you with your own journey. One of the hardest parts of changing your diet is dealing with food addiction. We all have our weaknesses and sometimes we give in to them. I will say though that our weaknesses come in a vegan package rather than something with animal products in it. That doesn’t make it ok but it is still a step forward from where we were before. My weakness happens to be Red Hot Blues corn chips. My kid’s weakness is baked goods and my hubby loves chocolate. There is nothing severely wrong with any of these foods except that they are processed and contain way too much oil and sugar. Some of our vices before going plant based were bacon, butter, sushi and more bacon.
My point is, that we are not perfect. We strive to eat as healthily as possible and when we do fall off the boat occasionally we try to be forgiving and just get on with it.
All of our health has improved. Before I started this journey, I was a bit overweight, having migraines all the time and had just started having heart palpitations. This was before I was 40. My husband was also overweight and was not feeling well overall. My children just didn’t have a whole lot of energy.
When we went plant based, I lost 25 pounds and my hubby lost 50 within the first three months. My heart palpitations had disappeared and I hadn’t had even one migraine! We were both feeling great and had tons of energy. Our kids were also much more energetic.
This was me before.
And after!
I also noticed that my thinking was much clearer and I seemed to be much more balanced emotionally. That went the same for all of us.
Another thing that I noticed was that my menstruation was much less painful and I didn’t have cramps or mood swings =) That was good for all of us!
Now, after 3 years, we have all kept our weight in check after learning to balance our eating after the weight loss. When we first started we were loosing weight really quickly even though we felt like we were eating an incredible amount of food. The difference was that this food was super nutrient dense. We were probably overindulging on the higher fat meals than we needed to but we were having fun adapting our regular food recipes to plant based versions.
After about a year we noticed that the weight loss had stopped and that we were starting to put a little bit back on. But, like I said before we were overindulging on the more decadent recipes that we had created. What helped us was a bit of a re-boot. We re-read Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman which is the book we read to get started. We were indeed overdoing it with what we were eating so we just had to tweek our menus a little. Once we did that our weight stabilized again.
Once you change to eating this way, it is easy to take it for granted and get a bit off track and eat more of the things that you shouldn’t because “its vegan, right?” Just because processed food is plant based or vegan, doesn’t mean necessarily that it is healthy. After time your body will realize the difference between the two ( vegan junk food or healthy plant based food ) and it will give you clear messages by making you feel physically not well.
Our bodies are miracle healing machines. Our bodies can heal themselves if you give them the right tools. I don’t know about you but I would rather thrive than just survive. Our bodies can survive on a lot of different things but that doesn’t mean we are going to feel well or function very well.
It is very evident in today’s world that a majority of the population is functioning on this level. Opioid use is out of control because people are looking to doctors to make them feel better. This couldn’t be more wrong. Almost any disorder of the body or mind is greatly improved and sometimes healed by eating a strict Plant Based Diet.
I am such a believer of this path. I have seen so many of our friends that have changed to a plant based diet and drastically improved the quality of their life. And of course I have the evidence from our own family’s experience.
I hope you will all give Plant Based Living a try and give yourself a gift of disease free longevity!
Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a great book to get started with as is watching the documentary What the Health!
Some other great resources:
- Dr. Douglas Lisle: The Pleasure Trap
- Dr. Michael Klaper: On Salt,Oil, Sugar
- Dr. John McDougall: Marketing Milk and Disease | Is Milk, Cheese, Yogurt Healthy?
- Dr. T. Colin Campbell: The China Study Interview
- Eating You Alive
- Forks Over Knives
- Cowspiracy
37 comments
I just love you and your family Jill. Thank you for being such an inspiration. Keep doing what you’re doing. 🙂
Thank you so much Kate!
I just want to thank you for your story. I am having a problem with letting go of some things from the SAD lifestyle. I have not been able to go full plant based as of yet.
Please explain some terms you used. I was vegan but because of the politics i changed the term to plant based. I have been back on for about 4 months. I was vegan for a year but after getting married i tried to eat my husband’s diet and ended up diabetic again (reason why i went vegan first time) . What is nutraterian?
“Nutratarian” is a term from Dr, Joel Fuhrman. It’s in his book Eat To Live.
I love your inspirational, authentic videos and delicious recipes! Keep them coming!
Love your recipes and your positive encouragement. I, too, have been plant-based for about 3 years and saw the weight just fall off. Sometimes it’s still hard for me to bypass the sour cream and cheese in the grocery store but with reminders like yours, it helps to keep me remembering what this lifestyle has done for me.
Wow what a difference in diet can make! Keep being inspirational!
Thank you for sharing. I’d like for you to make a granola that doesn’t use oil, honey, syrup or sugar. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a granola bar, just something I can sprinkle on a smoothie bowl or nice cream.
I actually have a recipe for that
https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2017/03/20/plant-base-banana-granola/
This would taste great as a topping!
I don’t know how I missed that recipe, so thanks for pointing it out. I did make it yesterday and liked it. However, when I added it to my smoothie bowl this morning, the flavors went to a whole new level and tasted fantastic! Not bad considering this was my first homemade granola. If you have any more granola recipes, I’d love to try those too, especially one that uses peanut butter as the binding agent.
I just watched your October 3rd youtube video I’ve just started my plant based journey myself. Thank you for your inspiration,,,, being Afro-carribean american this can be hard i already lost 6lbs even though my weight is high starting weight 197 lbs now 191 lbs my goal weight is 145 lbs….. But I’m doing this slowly with exercise so again I’m rambling thank You
Great choice Kimberly for going Plant Based! Good luck on your journey 🤗
Hello Jill,
My darling fella and I drive transport back and forth across Canada. The truck is our home. I threw our all of packaged and processed food last time we were home. The man was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few years ago, it was bothersome for him, but not a real problem. Now its a problem. I don’t know what to feed him. I have bought a vitamix, a breville juicer, a large bar fridge and soon a dehydrator. How and what do I feed him while moving down the road? I think I can do this, but being responsible for his life is a little overwhelming.
I can’t give you any medical advice but if I wee you I would contact the True North Clinic in CA. They can consult with you over the phone and they are doctors that use Plant Based nutrition.
http://www.healthpromoting.com/
I just make recipes to share and hope you enjoy them.
I hope that everything goes well. I think going Plant Based is the best thing as far s food goes for healing.
Dr.s McDougal and Greger have indepth resources for Prostate health. Bottom line: NO dairy or dairy by.products; No eggs; no processed oils and preferably no processed foods. Whole foods, Plant based is very helpful in slowing the progress if not eliminating the disease.
Really enjoy your blog, I just discovered you tonight! I think that is so wonderful your whole family went plant~based. I have been plant~based for over 8 years (my husband 6) We really can inspire others around us when they see how vibrant and glowing we become! I am on another journey now of deeper healing (mostly raw/juicing/high fruit/low fat/dry fasting/herbs) and that is a GAME~CHANGER at age 48 as I feel 18 and my husband is on board with me too!
I can’t help but wonder where Dr McDougall, Dr. Greger, Dr. Barnard and several other PBWF advocates are not mentioned inyour recommendations
Dr. Fuhrman’s research is the one we really adhere to. The others are good too but I like to keep things simple. We don’t really follow the starch based idea from Dr. McDougall as you can probably tell from my channel. Not that it is bad, but it just doesn’t work very well for our family.
Thanks for the reply, Jill.
Different strokes, I get it and respect that.
My wife and I are septarian empty nesters so it is easy to stick to a WFPB diet with no processed oils. We read everything we can get our hands on, but generally follow our big 5 – Dr’s. Barnard, Greger and McDougall, Campbell and Davis simply because we get the results we hoped for by following their research and findings.
Dr. Barnard’s latest book, ‘The Cheese Trap’ is a a standout in my opinion.
Keep up the good work. We need more folks like you on this troubled planet.
Perfect! God bless you. I’m watching your 3 yr transformation YouTube, because I’m now making the “transformation” too, and starving for a good plate of food!! (I’ve had a carrot so far today!! Lol.) I found you while YouTube searching for vegan cooking shows or recipes while stomach growls. McDougall you tubes got me converted. Love him and his cohorts like Esselstyn, Campbell et al. But anyway, I just paused your video to say thanks so much because now I can watch your grocery haul video and Hurry now to the store, get home, and MAKE SOMETHING PLEASING!!! PS and you’re sooo pleasant to watch, pretty pretty girl. Every woman will want to go WFPB just from seeing you transformed!!
Thank you so much Ron.🤗Good luck on your journey!
Jill
Well done! Very inspiring! It can be so hard in the beginning but so worth it x
Hi Jill, do you have a book with all of your recipes? I would buy it in a second. Thanks
Andrea
I don’t but shortly we will be selling a PDF version of some of them. I do hope to eventually have a real cookbook 🤗
I’ve been looking for a while now for a good salad dressing recipe and found yours and have been using them. I really like everything I’ve tried of yours. It’s been a great journey being plant based whole food now for two years. I am so glad I found your channel for new recipes. Really enjoy watching you.
You look beautiful and radiant! 🙂 Great post. I appreciate the resource section because I like learning more about the plant-based diet (I already eat said diet, but there’s always more to learn). Forks Over Knives is a great book!
Eating whole food/plant based is hard for me. Not because I’m not used to eating that way, because I LOVE eat8ng a plant based diet! I’m a firm believer that I have been a “veg-head” all my life because meat has never been very desirable to eat. Now, the reason why it’s hard to do is because of the rest of the family members…my MOM in particular. She is 83 and loves her bacon, sausage, hamburger, chicken, fish, cheese,…. oh and the big one…. REAL BUTTER!! She can eat FOUR sticks in 2 days! While I like butter, I can not eat it like that…. anyway, my budget 8s drained because I am the money source for groceries in a household with my mom, my 24 year old daughter (who is up for eating plant based), as well as myself. Help! I need inexpensive plant based meals on a VERY tight budget. By the way, THANK YOU FOR THIS BLOG! I LOVE the resources you provide too!🤗🤙🏼
Hello Katieh, You aren’t alone with your situation. I have people write to me about similar situations pretty frequently. Your situation is challenging so we will just have to take little steps and change over gradually.
Here are a few of my more budget friendly recipes that are still super tasty.
Jill
https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2017/12/04/greens-n-beans/
https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2017/09/07/garbage-potato-wedges/
https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2017/07/15/vegan-baked-eggplant/
https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2017/01/23/pineapple-apple-crumble/
https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2016/08/29/slow-cooked-beans/
https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2016/05/02/whole-food-plant-based-vegan-carrot-hot-dogs/
https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2016/04/26/whole-food-plant-based-vegan-baked-beans/
https://plantbasedcookingshow.com/2016/04/13/vegan-banana-bread/
Thank you so much!! 🤗
Hi Jill…I’ve been plant based fully since August 2017 and I’m loving it. I have found it to be an extremely sensitive subject when you attempt to let others in on the benefits…I just want everyone to be healthy lol! My son (28) has started full plant based this week and he is concerned that he won’t drop weight quickly enough. I know you said your husband lost 50 lbs but I don’t see his before and after anywhere. Can you direct me if it is there and also tell me how long that took him?
He didn’t want me to put it online but he lost 50 lbs in the first three months. We followed Dr. Fuhrman’s Eat to Live book strictly for the first few months.
Jill….I have been conscious about my health for 9yrs but plant based for the last 1….It has been the best learning I have had and a life changing choice. I have two kids and this is the best I can teach them. It will last them their whole life. I watch everything related to the topic including your show. My kids for some reason have identified very closely to you and we watch your episodes every day. They are 5 and 9. I am really greatful for what you do because it has allowed me to get my kids on my wagon and they remember every single teaching you say. …don’t underestimate what you say in your show. They get it…!…They repeat everything so I am very greatful for your work and how it improves my kids. I cant think of any other teaching better than this. Thanks to you and your husband. I am sure that just like with us, you are promoting change in many other families. Thanks.
We live in Wilmington NC btw…
This makes me sooooo happy! I am so glad our show is helping your family so much. You are so right, that once you have gotten your kids to love eating healthy and understanding why, you have accomplished something really big. Especially in today’s world where they are exposed to so much of the opposite.
Please let me know if your kids have a favorite meal or dish that I haven’t covered. I would love to create something for your family.=)
I would also love to mention you and your children’s names on a show if that is ok. I know kids love that 🤗
Hello Jill,
My wife and I are empty nesters now, but both our boys (Jake, 22 and Jonn, 24 y.o. have transitioned to a mostly WFPB diet.) It took a little doing, gentle nudges here and there, but they are become better educated month by month as they read books that we recommend to them. It’s the convenience of fast foods that is the real stumbling block for them, asthey don’t want to cook every day. We suggest to them they make oversize meals and freeze portions for later use, and that seems to work for them.
My wife and I try to be as well rounded information hounds as we can be. We have read dozens of books (including Dr. Fuhrman’s) to sort out the best eating plan for ourselves and we a few years ago we settled on a simple animal protein and oil free Whole Food and Plant Based diet which maintains our body weight at a desired level, allows us to et as much as we want, and in our hosehold I do most of the cooking of meals and my wife loves making breads, deserts, and curries.
What was once a chaotic and sometime out-of-control flurry of meaty, fat and sugar laden salty food washed down with wine or beer has now become a peaceful, relaxed and healthy lifestyle- alcohol free and for the most part processed food free.
I will look forward to seeing more of the good work you are doing for your community, be it local or global.
Hi Jill, I have been on a vegan lifestyle for several years. Love your channel. There is a book that I recommend you read. ‘Counsel on Diet and Foods. This book was written many years ago . Please, please get this book and read it !!! The woman who wrote it was truly before her time. Thanks, Audrey