Whole grain, plant based diet

Started eating a whole grain, plant based diet in the beginning of July 2015. A variation of vegan diet, but emphasizing whole grains. The main motivators were "Forks over Knives" movie, "Engine 2 Diet" by Rip Esselstyn and "Eat & Run" by Scott Jurek. I highly recommend all three.

I have always seemed to eat more than my share of veg at a meal than others, but I have been known to enjoy steak or smoked pork. So I entered into this figuring I would not be following this 100%, but hopefully at least 90% and I think I've done a bit better than that. I had my taste of meat during the summer vacation week with extended family and that was enough. I occasionally miss the taste of meat, but it is not anything I can't move past. When I do have a bite of chicken or sausage now it just isn't anything special. I find myself craving zucchini and yellow squash or a large pile of spinach. Just had walnuts on whole grain pancakes this morning - yum!!!! It did help that my oldest daughter was vegan for a few years before moving out the house and the only reason I would not really enjoy everything she cooked was due to her love of spicy heat - I just don't enjoy the heat. It was great to learn all the tasty things that can be done with cashews and sweet potatoes.

I'm still working my way thru "Eat & Run" but I really enjoy it, particularly the parts where Jurek talks about how eating vegan helps him to recover quicker and helps him race faster.  Found some videos on YouTube showing him run - that was great!

Fall race season is approaching, so I'm eager to see how it goes. As the temperature drops into September (and I'm not constrained by heat and humidity) I am very happy to see that I am able to match my previous best times for some workouts.

Have not had my blood checked for cholesterol in many years, but have an appointment in November. Looking forward to the results.