How I got here (part 2).
Continued from (Part 1) …
Disclaimer: the products, creators, authors and books mentioned are sincere consumer opinions, from my point of view as a plant based enthusiast seeking to improve life... my way. None of them are paid advertisements.
Up until my unlearning I had fed myself what I thought was an outstanding “paleo/I customize as I wish” low-carb diet. Add to that, the conceptual keto deformity of: “fat is not the devil, it makes you full and you don’t eat as much”.
Pork meat is SUPER cheap in Germany and I was fascinated by the deliciously fat-streaked neck filets at my discount supermarket. I got addicted to the 10% fat Greek yogurt sold literally BY THE BUCKET, gouda cheese blocks by the kilo and milk cream by the pint bottle. I was so proud of my choice of “free-range” eggs by the dozen cartons, the slabs of “fresh” salmon, cans of sardines and don’t forget the butter sticks churned by virgin Irish milkmaids…Those were the main 8 staples you would ALWAYS find in my fridge, with the occasional lettuce salad and handful of blueberries. Very little fruit though, because the sugar content is too high (duh).
But back on my days of seudo keto “drinking 33% milkfat cream straight from the bottle”, something did not feel right. I could not properly digest wheat (I got horrible cramps after two slices of bread, and erroneously self-diagnosed myself with gluten-sensitivity), I often had diarrhea bouts followed by constipation, I was steadily gaining weight, I had bad insomnia and was feeling like crap all the time.
If you scroll way down my Instagram you will see how lovingly I took many photos of meat cuts with wonderful textures enhanced by side-lighting shadows. I even made comments like: “nope, definitely not vegan”. After all… milk and meat are good for you.
But by March 2018: my unlearning process had already started.
Fueled by my newly acquired information and armed with fashionable terms like #plantbased #whatveganseat, etc… I had made the decision to try to cut down on animal products and I remember one particular day at my regular discount supermarket that I chose not to buy any of my beloved staples, loaded up only on veggies and fruits and arriving at my flat later that evening with that horror look on my face: “Oh shit. Now what do I do with all of this?”
In the next months I deep dived into every single milk substitute available and was able to let dairy go. I have to thank Alpro for being so ubiquitous and good tasting enough to make it feasible to ditch the hardest thing ever: yogurt (know that I worked for three years in a yogurt factory when I lived in Chile, so the texture and taste was imprinted on me). I have never been a hardcore cheese fanatic, so that went away smoothly.
By June 2018 I remember the absolute last time I bought a can of sardines.
Late 2018 I saw in one sitting (!!!) the heart-wrenching documentaries: “Dominion” and “Earthlings” (thanks Youtube for making them available, and bless your algorithm). I cried (bawled actually) during the entire Sunday afternoon of my video session of Tarantino-blood soaked violence… a violence I was actively contributing to, three times a day, every single day...
Credit: Framed photo by the Portobelloartsclub purchased at their Notting Hill shop in London.
“Whole” and “The China Study” by Dr. Colin Campbell will probably be the most compelling pieces of information for a science-fact-junkie like myself. Reading those books felt like being slapped on the face, chapter after chapter, with decades of living marketing-fed lies. “I am a food engineer for god´s sake! How could I´ve been so blind?”
I needed no more. I had transitioned out from a complete animal eater to living predominantly plant based... all in a period of roughly 9 months.
Looking back: In the entirety of 2018-2019 I probably had full intentional meat-meals only twice (I will always remember my beloved peruvian anticuchos for that one last time) and I had nibbled on animal things and some dairy/egg containing snacks, like a handful of times.
As an engineer I never offer results or certainty of an absolute 100% or 0%, because life just does not work like that. So at this point I can confidently say I will continue to live 90-95% plant based.
Where does this story end up?
By November 2018 I had weaned myself completely of the thyroid inhibitors (under my doctor´s supervision) and bloodwork was clean: TSH and T3/T4 within normal levels and antibodies non detectable. Graves-Basedow seemed to be defeated! However, I still remained with the complete dose of beta blockers and I was told I will probably have to take them for the rest of my life.
Beta blockers have a very spread out set of side effects besides regulating blood pressure, meaning: they are very effective to inhibit T4 hormones, also considered as a mood stabilizer, and a well-known libido destroyer. They seem to have an effect on almost every part of your body, which explained why I was still feeling fatigued all the time.
Again, I did not accept the diagnosis (and with the ok of my very patient doctor and checking my blood pressure daily), I very slowly cut myself out of beta blockers, which probably was the longest part of this story. Took over half a year for my body (and mind) to feel confident enough that I don’t need them anymore.
Just google: “how to quit beta blockers” and the information you read almost sounds right out of addiction journals because your body forgets how to be normal without that chemistry. Scary stuff.
Today, September 2019 I can proudly say I did it! No more medication and feeling happy, trying to live in the moment, at peace, with energy, with renewed vows to love myself every single day… because I really deserve it.
This narrative is not uni-dimesional: “I saw documentaries, I read books, I stopped eating animal products and I was cured”. No. It is a sequence of events wading between: science and spirit, advanced medication and the simplicity of good nutrition, of having concrete data points in parallel to listening to my body.
I am awake now. Make the right choice. Unlearn.
