Day 37 - Starch Solution

Today’s stats:

Another reasonably early day but I didn’t go to bed that late either. I was able to finish off the last assignment for the plant based nutrition course, so hopefully I will soon find out whether I actually passed over all or not. It was a really interesting course and I wish I’d known about it earlier. It’s a great course for complimenting the Starch Solution Certification course offered by Dr. McDougall. I’d happily recommend it to others who have an interest in good nutrition.

Breakfast was beans today - something I’m getting quite fond of. Still happily absent any “distress” during digestion. I guess my gut is now used to dealing with large amounts of starch, given that’s all it has had to process for the past month or so. Can’t complain there. I’m still not bored of the food, though I wouldn’t mind trying some of the more advanced McDougall style dishes. Hopefully I’ll learn how to cook those when I go to Santa Rosa in December.

Santa Rosa?

I can’t remember if I mentioned it before or not, but I’ve taken the plunge and booked myself in for the 10 day program in December. The lifestyle seems to work for me, and with all the research I’m doing, I’m pretty sure I’ve got things working the way I want. However what I have is a basic set up. The food I eat is basic, and that’s okay, but it would be great to see what else is out there. On top of that, meeting other people who are looking for the same things I am, and of course getting to meet Dr. McDougall and his team, makes it an event not to be missed. I am lucky that I can both afford the trip and take the time off to attend. For me it is especially expensive as I am flying to the United States from Hong Kong and so I need to add the cost of a 15 hour return flight plus the cost of the small domestic hop to Santa Rosa. It all adds up.

Still, I think of this as an investment. I am happy with the way I’m eating, but is it possible that I’ll fall of the wagon? I reckon it’s possible over time for sure. I was vegan for three months a couple of years back and right now, it has only been just over a month that I’ve followed the Starch Solution this strictly. Actually, I haven’t been super strict, with some coffee, beer and even a lucozade thrown in, but by and large I have followed the plan and accordingly, it has worked as promised.

Now going to visit Dr. McDougall and get checked (I wonder if that makes him my doctor?) will be great, but hearing all the lectures in person should be amazing. That plus the food - I’m looking forward to the food! I want to try the different things that other people are eating and give me inspiration for my own cooking (of which I do very little). In other words, I hope the trip to Santa Rosa will help cement this lifestyle and ensure continued success.

Lunch

Lunch was the usual fair, but happily there were also edamame in there too. This was an unexpected surprise so that was really nice. Other than that I ate the whole thing around 12pm as I was pretty hungry. Not sure why as history beans have been pretty filling for me so…

Snacks

Snack time kicked in around 5pm today for some reason. I had a nice McDougall pot, this time hot and sour noodles. It was good and the soup had a nice tang to it, but it wasn’t anything special. That’s not to say it was bad, but it wasn’t as good as the rice pot. That’s ironic because this time I specifically didn’t get any extra rice pots as the first lot I tried weren’t that great. Ah well, live and learn I suppose…