Tonight was my first visit with my new Naturopath, Dr. Sanjay Mohan Ram. Actually, this is my first ever visit to a Naturopath.
I decided that I wanted to make the appointment after talking to a few vegan friends who advised me that it would be best to start off this new life of mine on the right foot.
So off I went. I had noticed that there was a Naturopathic Clinic in the same complex as the walk-in clinic that I have visited and so I booked myself an appointment.
I was nervous; I’ve never been to anything other than my lifelong GP and walk-in clinics.
Was this gonna be a flakey herb touting Dr, the likes of a Seinfeld episode? I had no idea what to expect.
But I was very pleasantly surprised. My Dr is super nice and very strong on the eye contact.
After asking me about a zillion questions, from when I went to bed to what kinds of poop I had (for real, he asked me if it sank or floated), we got down to it.
Why was I there, he asked.
I told him that I had recently switched over to a strict vegetarian diet and that I wanted to make sure that I was doing it safely and that I was going to be healthy and strong.
He told me that from all I had advised him on that it would appear to him that I was one of the lucky-duckies that benefits from a meat-free diet and that I should be happy about this and not concerned about removing these items from my diet … so long as I got the nutrients and vitamins that I was going to be missing from meat and dairy elsewhere.
He loaded me up on a variety of stuff: multi-vitamin, folic acid, B12, B6 and probiotics.
He gave me a kick-ass recipe for a morning protein smoothie and insisted that I start my day with this to ensure my energy and protein levels were adequate for not only my everyday needs, but for the long haul and to ensure that I would continue to lose weight.
And that’s when he gave me the only bad news of the night …
He advised me I have to shed 30 lbs to be in a healthy, active weight zone.
Ugh!.
And sadly, he’s not on drugs. Shedding 30 lbs would put me at the low end of my BMI range. (I’m a shorty – 5 foot nothing so lets not all freak out quite yet ok?) BUT he did also say that for someone of my height to be 105 lbs would mean that I would need to be “ripped” (not that being ripped is a bad thing, just not sure how possible it is for me … )
Looks like Momma’s got some work to do.
POP QUIZ: Did you know that if one does not get enough protein in their diet they can actually gain weight? That was news to me.
So overall it was a great visit. He noted that he wished all his patients were like me “proactive and easygoing” – That was a nice little ego bost.
I may have left there $260 lighter but I left with enough pills to sink a ship, a monthly iron and vitamin shot schedule AND my mind fully set at ease.
And never fear, my health plan will FULLY reimburse me - SCORE
I decided that I wanted to make the appointment after talking to a few vegan friends who advised me that it would be best to start off this new life of mine on the right foot.
So off I went. I had noticed that there was a Naturopathic Clinic in the same complex as the walk-in clinic that I have visited and so I booked myself an appointment.
I was nervous; I’ve never been to anything other than my lifelong GP and walk-in clinics.
Was this gonna be a flakey herb touting Dr, the likes of a Seinfeld episode? I had no idea what to expect.
But I was very pleasantly surprised. My Dr is super nice and very strong on the eye contact.
After asking me about a zillion questions, from when I went to bed to what kinds of poop I had (for real, he asked me if it sank or floated), we got down to it.
Why was I there, he asked.
I told him that I had recently switched over to a strict vegetarian diet and that I wanted to make sure that I was doing it safely and that I was going to be healthy and strong.
He told me that from all I had advised him on that it would appear to him that I was one of the lucky-duckies that benefits from a meat-free diet and that I should be happy about this and not concerned about removing these items from my diet … so long as I got the nutrients and vitamins that I was going to be missing from meat and dairy elsewhere.
He loaded me up on a variety of stuff: multi-vitamin, folic acid, B12, B6 and probiotics.
He gave me a kick-ass recipe for a morning protein smoothie and insisted that I start my day with this to ensure my energy and protein levels were adequate for not only my everyday needs, but for the long haul and to ensure that I would continue to lose weight.
And that’s when he gave me the only bad news of the night …
He advised me I have to shed 30 lbs to be in a healthy, active weight zone.
Ugh!.
And sadly, he’s not on drugs. Shedding 30 lbs would put me at the low end of my BMI range. (I’m a shorty – 5 foot nothing so lets not all freak out quite yet ok?) BUT he did also say that for someone of my height to be 105 lbs would mean that I would need to be “ripped” (not that being ripped is a bad thing, just not sure how possible it is for me … )
Looks like Momma’s got some work to do.
POP QUIZ: Did you know that if one does not get enough protein in their diet they can actually gain weight? That was news to me.
So overall it was a great visit. He noted that he wished all his patients were like me “proactive and easygoing” – That was a nice little ego bost.
I may have left there $260 lighter but I left with enough pills to sink a ship, a monthly iron and vitamin shot schedule AND my mind fully set at ease.
And never fear, my health plan will FULLY reimburse me - SCORE
1 comment:
Yay! Sounds like a good visit! And I aced the pop quiz :) Protein helps your body absorb and use carbohydrates effectively (I may or may not have leanred that in diabetes class - LOL!)
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