The Plan

OK, so how am I going to do this.

I figure if this is going to be my 31-day Vegan Challenge experiment, then I ought to treat it as such.  A control, endpoints to measure, a hypothesis... the works. Since I'm in the science field, this shouldn't be too difficult to design. :-)

First, the "control". I'm going to have a "control month" during which I eat what I normally eat, in the amounts I normally eat. No change from what I do that as far as diet.  As far as the exercise regimen goes, though, since I know I have to be doing that, I need to plan exactly what I want to do for my vegan month and do the same exact regimen during my control month. Frequency, type of exercise, duration of each session - all need to be the same during my control month as during my vegan month.  My control month starts December 1, 2011.

Next, my endpoints. I want something to measure during both my control and my vegan months. My data, if you will.  Weight is an obvious choice. I will do weekly weigh-ins on the same day of the week, around the same time of the day (as close to this as possible) and under the same clothing conditions. Blood pressure will be another endpoint. I have a wrist-style blood pressure monitor which I will use to take daily measurements at the same time of the day, in the same position (probably sitting at the edge of my bed), using the same wrist. Next, I would like to do some sort of easy blood work at home. I have found a home meter that does both cholesterol and glucose. I will purchase this and take cholesterol and blood glucose measurements multiple times a week, on the same days and at the same time for both months. These are the measurements I'm hoping will be the most telling. I am on medication for hypothyroidism and on hormone replacement therapy, so those medications will need to remain constant during the two months.

Onto the hypothesis. In general, my hypothesis is that my health will improve after the vegan month is complete more significantly than any improvements seen during my control month, during which I will be exercising and working on eating right the way I am now. More specifically, weight will decrease at a faster rate, blood pressure will be more consistently normal (I get spikes in the 130-140/70-80 range, although I don't technically suffer from high blood pressure and am not under any medications for that), and cholesterol + blood glucose levels will be lower on average after my vegan month when compared to the average levels at the end of my control month.  I plan to chart all data and post here.

I also plan to take notice of any physical changes after my vegan month. For example, maybe my skin will feel healthier - I do have rosacea. Maybe my energy level will change. Maybe what is my "normal" rate of daily hair loss will change. So general observations will also be noted.

I have a lot to look forward to with this. I'm really excited about this experiment.