Discovering the Word of Wisdom

Duffy’s WFPB Journey — August 2014

By Editor · Comments (2)

Sunday, August 31st, 2014

Note from Jane: This is the latest in a monthly series by Duffy, who went whole food, plant-based late in 2013 with the goal of losing over 200+ pounds. To see previous posts, choose Duffy Chronicles from the Stories menu.

Today I am thankful for the Word of Wisdom and the freedom it gives me to eat the good things of the earth that the Lord has provided. In the past I tried to force myself to eat certain amounts of animal protein that I didn’t like, restricted carbohydrates, and weighed and measured portions all to no avail. My body feels good when I eat according to the Word of Wisdom.

Two non-scale victories this month include:

1. I stopped eating sugar in my morning oatmeal. Since I started putting a combination of frozen blueberries, strawberries and banana in, I noticed that I no longer need any sugar for sweetness.

2. I am enjoying my steamed vegetables. I’ve been making my lunches out of 3 bubble and squeak patties (see recipe), 2 cups of steamed vegetables, and a plant-based cheesy sauce, most recently using this one: Smoked Paprika Vegan Cheese. While I’m not quite craving vegetables, it is no hardship to eat them. They even taste subtly sweet to me. Yum!

Below are a few pics from this month.

Comments (2)

Categories : Duffy Chronicles

Tags : cooking, Duffy Chronicles, Word of Wisdom

“I decided it was time to make a change”

By Jane Birch · Comments (9)

Saturday, August 30th, 2014

By: Kent Gardiner

In 1974 I proposed to my wife, and we went to pick out a ring. She had her heart set on one with six small diamonds around a central diamond. She would always tell people that the six diamonds represented the children she wanted and that I was her center diamond.

While Suzanne was pregnant with our sixth child, she discovered a lump in her breast. We were not too concerned because we didn’t think she had any of the risk factors for cancer, but after the biopsy, we learned she had 13 cancerous lymph nodes. We went to UCLA to find out how she got cancer and what we should do.

When we asked Suzanne’s oncologist, Dr. Glasby, how she got cancer, he told us it was too many pizzas, meaning too much fat. I thought a lot about his statement and later when we sat down to our usual pork chop meal, I looked at her and said, “It seems to me that we are eating the same foods that got us into this mess; let’s change.” That was all well and good, but change to what? Neither of us had a clue.

Suzanne had a bone marrow transplant at UCLA and bravely fought the cancer. After the normal cancer therapy she became aware of the Gerson diet. We invited an expert on the diet into our home, and she helped us prepare some meals and taught us how to juice carrots and green drinks. The diet was so intense Suzanne’s eyes turned orange. Unfortunately by that time the disease had progressed too far, and in September of 1994 she died.

Comments (9)

Categories : Married-1 WFPB

Tags : cancer, chronic illness

“I thank the Lord for teaching me the laws of health”

By Jane Birch · Comments (12)

Saturday, August 23rd, 2014

By: Roy Barnes

Our journey began in 2004 when I read a book by Roger K. Young. In chapter six, which is about the Lord’s antidote for the scourges and plagues of the last days, it had a lot of quotes from Elder John A. Widtsoe’s book The Word of Wisdom. After reading that chapter I told my wife that I thought we should change our diet. As we looked into it we found Dr. Kenneth E. Johnson’s book, The Word of Wisdom Food Plan, and read it. We also found the book The Mormon Diet: 14 Days to New Vigor and Health by Earl F. Updike.

During this time we were occasionally going to a vegetarian restaurant in St. George, Utah. One night there was a book at the table we sat at called The China Study by T. Colin Campbell. I read a little while we were there, then I bought a copy for myself.

When I found information in the book about Dr. John McDougall, we bought a copy of his book and tried the recipes in it. After going fully plant-based, in just two weeks I received an increase in energy, just like it said in 14 Days to New Vigor and Health. We followed that diet pretty strictly for quite a while but gradually we got a little lax about dairy and things with oil in them.

Comments (12)

Categories : Married-2 WFPB

Tags : dairy, diabetes, meat, The China Study, Word of Wisdom

“My plant-based diet helps me feel closer to my Heavenly Father”

By Jane Birch · Comments (6)

Saturday, August 16th, 2014

By: Brecklyn Ferrin

A year ago my life changed completely. My first child, a son, was born. During my pregnancy I was very nauseous, and not very many foods appealed to me. I ate a ton of pizza and crackers because they were the only things that sounded good. By the end of my pregnancy I gained about 50 lbs. I had already gained about 20 lbs due to the stress of a miscarriage and graduate school. I had no energy, and I was lost in the throes of depression.

Shortly after my son’s birth, my Dad read Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. He lost a ton of weight and felt fantastic. I was anxious to lose the extra 70 lbs I was carting around, so I borrowed it. The things I learned about how diet affects disease both scared and encouraged me. My family has a history of heart disease, and I just expected that to be my fate. If there is something that I can do to increase the time I have to spend with my son and husband here on earth, that is what I am going to do!

What started as a means of losing weight for superficial reasons became a tool to increase my quality of life. In discussions with my dad, we marveled at the similarities between the “Eat to Live” diet and the parameters outlined in the Word of Wisdom.

Comments (6)

Categories : Married-1 WFPB

Tags : compassion for animals, energy increase, food addiction, weight loss, Word of Wisdom

“The windows of heaven opened up for me”

By Jane Birch · Comments (19)

Saturday, August 9th, 2014

By: Heidi Rock

Everyone has to follow their own path. What works for one may not work for another. This is my story of how I came to shed the erroneous beliefs I had been taught my whole life about food and nutrition. There are two quotes from President Thomas S. Monson that I really like that relate to what I am about to share.

“There are no coincidences.” [1]

“The Lord is in the details of our lives.” [2]

In 1998 when I was 44 years old I was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis (an autoimmune thyroid disease). My paternal grandmother, my father, and two of my sisters had also been diagnosed with this disease, making it a genetic predisposition in our family. I was told there was no cure and that I would have to take thyroxin for the rest of my life. A symptom of this disease can be high cholesterol, which I also had. After starting the thyroxin and eating the cholesterol-lowering diet that the doctor put me on, my tests still showed an elevated cholesterol level. At the time I had studied low-carb diets and tried one. I lost some weight and my cholesterol came down. However, I had an interest in the Word of Wisdom and was confused as to why my blood work and weight improved by eating lots of animal products. I put my confusion to the back of my mind, but I continued to wonder why animal products were discouraged in the Word of Wisdom if eating them would bring my blood work into normal range. Because it seemed to help, I did the low-carb diet for about a year and then continued with a modified version of it.

Years passed, and I steadily put on weight. I seemed to be tired all the time and was afraid to drive because I would catch myself falling asleep at the wheel even after 5 minutes of driving. After reaching 50 years of age, I assumed I was doomed to being overweight and feeling tired for the rest of my life. I blamed it on the aging process.

Comments (19)

Categories : Married-1 WFPB

Tags : cholesterol, chronic illness, D&C 89, featured, The China Study, weight loss, Word of Wisdom

“I have now lost 163 pounds”

By Jane Birch · Comments (22)

Saturday, August 2nd, 2014

By: Carol Wolf

Four years ago it was getting progressively hard for me to get around. Something as simple as getting in and out of the tub became a safety issue.  I had my bathroom remodeled and the tub removed. Safety bars were installed in the shower.

When shopping, I had to decide which side of the grocery store to shop as I couldn’t cover the entire store in one visit. I gave up my Sam’s Club membership and stopped shopping at Wal-Mart. I obtained a handicapped parking permit and started using a cane.

I had very low energy and stamina. Just the act of showering and getting dressed wore me out for the day. I never got a second wind. I learned to shower the night before for an activity the following day.

I told myself that I was feeling the effect of polio from when I was a child. There is such a thing as post-polio syndrome. Both my sister and my cousin have it, so it wasn’t a long stretch for me to think I had it too.

The one thing that set me apart from them was my weight. I decided it was time to eliminate weight from the equation. Then if I still had the symptoms I would go from there. My problem was the “how to.” I had already tried weight loss programs, yo-yo’ing through different diets, as well as starving. I fit the definition of insanity: repeating the same mistakes and expecting different results. I knew it had to be a lifestyle change.

I picked up my scriptures. I turned to Section 89 of the Doctrine of Covenants and whispered softly, “Help me to understand what this is really telling me.” With those words things were about to change.

Comments (22)

Categories : Single Adult

Tags : D&C 89, energy increase, featured, headaches, meat, weight loss, Word of Wisdom

Duffy’s WFPB Journey — July 2014

By Editor · Comments (1)

Thursday, July 31st, 2014

This month’s post is a little bit painful for me to write. This is the second month that I don’t have any significant weight loss progress to report. In fact I’ve gone up and down the scale by 6 lbs, most recently back up again, as I struggle with the pleasure trap.

Last month I wrote three goals for myself. Here is how I did: Read More→

Comments (1)

Categories : Duffy Chronicles

Tags : Duffy Chronicles, food cravings, irritable bowel syndrome, weight loss, Word of Wisdom

“My overall sense of well-being has never been better!”

By Jane Birch · Comments (10)

Saturday, July 19th, 2014

By: Terry Hermansen

My story begins about 40 years ago when I was about 16. My mother would share pearls of wisdom from her reading with me. She liked to read books and was always learning something new. Her reading was always of a practical nature; she didn’t waste time reading anything impractical. Not even the classics merited her attention, just the scriptures and self-improvement books. Even though this was before The China Study and Forks Over Knives, she somehow managed to find books on diet that favored eating whole grains and cutting back on meat. She never made any dramatic dietary changes, yet her determination to learn and search for wisdom had a big impact on me.

I remember her coming to me and saying on one occasion, “Did you know how powerful grains are and how packed with nutrients they are?” She was preaching a whole foods, plant based diet before anybody that I was aware of. It was strange to me but somehow it seemed logical. Her comments moved from point A to B or even to C, but I had a long ways to go before I reached Z and was ready to give up eating meat.

Comments (10)

Categories : Married-2 WFPB

Tags : compassion for animals, energy increase, meat, serving a mission, weight loss, Word of Wisdom

Borderline omnivore activist goes plant-based

By Jane Birch · Comments (10)

Saturday, July 12th, 2014

By: Devin Barnes

“Oh! . . . ok . . . cool . . . why?”

Typically that’s the response I get when people find out I’m a vegan. But I can’t blame them; vegans are so strange.

At least that’s what I thought three years ago. In fact, I was so opposed to any form of vegetarianism I was borderline omnivore activist. “For so many reasons you should eat meat,” I would argue, “plants alone don’t provide adequate protein or iron. And why else would God create all these animals? It’s not like He gave us canines by accident. And I don’t recall the scriptures ever referring to the land of soymilk and honey . . . ”

I could have written a 20-page persuasive essay. Needless to say, I was passionate about meat. But honestly, deep down I pitied vegetarians. Meat is delectable! In-N-Out, Outback Steakhouse, Chic-fil-A . . . All could be classified as “Heavenly.” Vegans were beyond my understanding. Give up eggs and dairy too? Butter, milk, cheese, ice cream?? You take all the fun out of eating!

You can imagine my surprise when I gave up all animal products early in 2012.

Comments (10)

Categories : Single Adult

Tags : cancer, cooking, energy increase, friends, meat, serving a mission, Word of Wisdom

Duffy’s WFPB Journey — August 2014

Like this:

“I decided it was time to make a change”

Like this:

“I thank the Lord for teaching me the laws of health”

Like this:

“My plant-based diet helps me feel closer to my Heavenly Father”

Like this:

“The windows of heaven opened up for me”

Like this:

“I have now lost 163 pounds”

Like this:

Duffy’s WFPB Journey — July 2014

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“My overall sense of well-being has never been better!”

Like this:

Borderline omnivore activist goes plant-based

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Jane Birch, Author

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Jane Birch, Author

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