Consultation #2

Yesterday afternoon, I had my second phone consultation with Dr. Fuhrman. It has now been almost 3 months since my first discussion with him. His conclusion (from reading my diet blog) was that I am not eating enough - my caloric intake is too low. I agree with him - I do notice that I am usually pretty hungry by dinner even though it seems like I spend quite a bit of time eating each day. He suggested I add an egg per day, more nuts and seeds, and some high-nutrient starchy food (like butternut squash). He was concerned that with as low body fat as I have, I don't have enough fat on the brain. This can lead to irritability (which I can attest to).

I have therefore come up with a new diet plan:

• breakfast:
• vegetable juice
• oatmeal with nuts and raisins
• fresh fruit
• morning snack:
• larabar
• dried fruit
• lunch:
• steamed /cooked vegetable
• guacamole
• cruciferous soup
• fresh fruit
• afternoon snack:
• larabar
• dried fruit
• dinner:
• vegetable juice
• blended salad with nuts/seeds and fruit
• one egg
• cruciferous soup
• starchy cooked food
• evening snack:
• fresh veggies with hummus or nut butter
  
• fruit smoothie

It really is hard to get a lot of calories on a near-vegan diet. Dr. Fuhrman said that eggs are not a concern since I am so thin. Interestingly, he said that eggs do not give you high cholesterol. High cholesterol comes from eating foods high in saturated fat, not from foods high in cholesterol.

I believe that I am now diligent enough to follow this plan and am hoping that between an increased caloric intake and a goodly amount of weightlifting, I will begin gaining weight and continue to see an improvement in my health.

Dr. Fuhrman did say that for someone in my condition, it is encouraging to see any progress and gave me a weight-gain goal of 5 lbs. in the next month.