5. Hired a vegan nutritionist/life coach
Committed to plan/weekly meetings
Adopted a dog from my local shelter
Walked my dog for a half hour each day
Learned to cook
Only ate organic whole plants
No processed sugar or processed foods
Lost 105 lbs in 7 months!
6. Before After
280 lbs 175 lbs
Type 2 diabetes Normal glucose
Cholesterol: 300 Cholesterol: 114
BP: 160/100 BP: 96/60
>$1000 meds/mo Zero meds
Waist: 50/Shirt: 3XL Waist: 32/Shirt: M
Neck: 18.5 Neck: 16
Shoes: 11.5 EEE Shoes: 10 D
11. Top Questions/Objections
What do you eat?
Where do you get your protein?
Don’t you miss eating meat and dairy?
Aren’t vegans radicals and extremists?
My doctor said I need to eat meat and dairy.
I can’t afford to be vegan.
Animals eat animals, why shouldn’t people
eat animals?
I only eat “humane” and “free range” animal
products.
15. Where do you get your protein?
Do I look like I need more protein?
Where do elephants and bulls get protein?
UN: People only need 5% dietary protein.
Medical fact: Except in cases of
malnutrition, there has never been a
documented case of protein deficiency in
the history of the world.
Athletes: Do the protein math - as you
workout, you eat more calories, so you are
eating proportionately more protein.
16. Where do you get your protein?
“Americans on the SAD consume six-to-10
times more protein than they need. That
excess protein overworks the liver and
kidneys, causing both these organs to
become enlarged and injured. Excess protein
consumption causes the kidneys to pull large
quantities of calcium from the body, causing
bones to weaken and kidney stones to form.”
Dr. John McDougall, M.D.
19. My doctor said I need to eat
meat and dairy
Most doctors do not receive adequate
nutritional training. Nutrition Education in U.S. Medical
Schools: Latest Update of a National Survey, Journal of the
Association of American Medical Colleges, 2010.
Most patients are given drugs instead of a
plant based option because many doctors
assume patients won’t follow nutritional
advice. Mostly Plants, American Journal of Cardiology, 2009.
The majority of non-vegans need statins to
reduce their cholesterol to healthy levels.
Preventing and arresting coronary atherosclerosis, American Heart
Journal, 1995
20. I can’t afford to be vegan.
Yes you can, especially in California.
Buy healthy unpackaged food from sources
including Berkeley Bowl, Rainbow Grocery,
and Farmers markets.
Buy grains, legumes etc. from Bulk bins.
Buy only 100% organic (non-GMO) whole
foods.
Don’t buy anything in a can, box, package
or frozen (except products such as organic
tofu, dried pasta, unsweetened almond
milk, and frozen blueberries).
21. Animals eat animals, why
shouldn’t people eat animals?
Examples of why this notion is ridiculous.
Are you a human, or a jackal?
Some animals are carnivores, but every
human can thrive on a vegan diet:
“Well planned vegetarian [including total vegan] diets
are healthful for individuals during all stages of the
life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy,
childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.”
Position of the American Dietetic Association, 2009
22. I only eat “humane” and “free
range” animal products.
There are no such thing as “humane” animal
products.
Animals raised for food live 10 to 20
percent of their natural lives on average.
An animal is not a stalk of corn, the life of
every creature means as much to it as your
life means to you.
Examples of the horrors of factory farming
and slaughterhouses
23. Global Benefits of a Vegan Diet
Environmental: Raising animals for food
damages the environment as much or more
than all fossil fuel used on the planet. United
Nations Report, 2006.
Healthcare costs: $200 billion per year in
US for obesity related illness, $200 billion
for memory care, etc.
Animals: Nine billion animals are
slaughtered each year in the US for food.
Global hunger: 70% of US agriculture is fed
to animals raised for human consumption.
24. Essential Resources: What
everyone should do:
Netflix: Watch “Forks Over Knives”
Netflix: Watch “Earthlings”
Download: “Vegan Starter Kit” from PCRM
Cookbooks: Forks Over Knives Cookbook
and thousands of other vegan cookbooks
Internet: Thousands of vegan blogs
Dine vegan: Many great vegan restaurants
Get involved: In your local vegan
community