I lived off of fast-food.

I was an emergency vet tech living off fast-food and I did that for many many years.

So, it can happen, and you can totally change the way you think about food once you start to think of your food as medicine.

Your food is your medicine.

It can heal you or it can hurt you.

And I hurt myself long enough with it, so now is the healing time with my food.

Welcome to the Plant Based Eating Made Easy Podcast.

I'm your host, Anna Tseng, plant-based Registered Dietitian and Transition Coach.

Hi Friend, do you want to regain your health with plant-based eating but feel overwhelmed and lost about how to do it?

Do you feel it'll be hard to change your meat-heavy diet and impossible with working, running the home, or chasing after the grandkids?

If so, you're in the right place.

Here you'll find simple strategies, clear nutrition guidance and practical tips to help you thrive plant-powered with more energy.

So, if you're ready to ditch the guesswork and transform your health the stress-free way.

Cozy up now with a hot cup of tea or listen while you walk and let me show you how doable plant-based eating can be.

Let's do this!

Before we dive into today's episode, I want to share this testimonial about the Plant-Powered Life Transformation Course.

Sheena says, "Thank you for making this course.

I've been trying out the recipes in your videos, and they are amazing.

Thank you for helping me and so many others be healthier.

I've tried out the falafel recipe, the hummus tomato basil sandwich, and the crunchy chickpea recipes.

All so good.

I'm excited to try out more." Thank you so much, Sheena, for this positive feedback on the PPLT course.

I'm so happy to hear that you have been enjoying the Course recipes you have made so far.

There are definitely a lot of recipes and resources within the Course to help you on your plant-based diet journey.

From video lessons and PDF guides to tips, meal ideas, and key lifestyle success strategies.

This way, your lifestyle transition doesn't have to be overwhelming, because I have broken down the transition process into smaller, more manageable chunks that are easier to digest and absorb.

It's my passion to help you and others enjoy a smoother, quicker transition to a plant-powered life.

Friend, if you would like to learn more about the Plant-Powered Life Transformation Course, go to plantnourished.com/ppltcourse or see the link in the show notes.

Let's listen now to part two of my follow-up interview with guest Winnona Yi.

I am excited for you to listen to this second half of the interview because it's so good.

After one year, Winnona is still plant strong and enjoying a whole food plant-based diet.

Let's see how she's able to do this, what some of her meals are like, and learn some low-oil cooking strategies as well.

Winnona also gives us a key piece of advice to help us stay on track in our plant-based diet journeys.

So let's jump in.

Hello, Winnona, I'm thrilled you can be here with us again today.

So, Winnona grew up on a regular diet with fast-food and at one point tried a keto diet in adulthood.

However, she eventually developed high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and then diabetes.

So one day on December 27th, 2023, Winnona decided to go 100 percent whole food plant-based overnight.

Just to clarify, when you speak about being on a whole food plant-based diet, are you also restricting your intake of added oils?

I am.

I try to use water or broth if I'm sauteing something.

Sometimes I will occasionally use avocado oil and I'll use a spray so that I can just spritz it on without putting a glob in the pan.

But yeah, for the most part, I definitely try and stay away from oils.

And just use water or broth if I'm cooking something.

That's great to hear.

I think that would be important for someone who's wanting to reach weight goals, depending on how much added oils they had in their original diet from salad dressings or from adding oils in the cooking process.

Are you also consuming nuts or avoiding that as well in your eating plan?

I do eat some nuts.

Mostly I will make like a cashew cream or something that incorporates nuts.

I don't normally just have a handful of nuts that I munch on.

But I will put it into my cooking, but not too many.

Okay.

So just adding a little bit here and there.

So a year later, do you find it easier now and more second nature to eat plant-based?

Oh, yes.

I don't even think about eating any other way.

I crave it.

This was the best thing that I have ever done for myself.

And so it's not even an effort for me anymore.

It's just the way I eat.

That's just how I eat.

That's wonderful to hear.

how have things been in terms of binge-eating now a year later eating plant-based?

I remember how much that was an issue for you in the past.

I still don't binge eat.

I'm more satiated when I eat and I also think that I have healed a lot of my gut biome and the flora in my gut.

And I really don't feel like I need to binge eat.

So I have my three meals.

Sometimes I will also have a snack.

But a lot of times, just as long as I'm getting my water and three meals that keeps me satisfied.

As a matter of fact, sometimes I only do two meals because I'll get so full and it just keeps me and I don't think about having lunch.

So, I don't binge eat at all anymore.

It's been a year since I've binge ate.

Is that how you'd say it?

I think so.

That's right.

What's a typical day like for you in terms of what you're eating, you said, three meals, possibly a snack.

So in the mornings, what would you usually have as a breakfast?

Normally in the morning, I like to have oatmeal or I will have an oatmeal smoothie in the morning.

Just because I can add a lot of veggies, a lot of fruit in there, and I can make sure that I'm getting enough fiber.

So fiber is a big thing for me.

I have to make sure I'm getting enough fiber.

So I'll do oatmeal with fruit or I'll do a smoothie.

And I always add in vegetables and fruits to my smoothie.

So I'll put in carrots and spinach, maybe some blueberries, some cherries or something like that.

And I always add flax or chia seed with it as well.

Flaxseed and chia seed really can fill you up.

There, there is a noticeable difference when I eat chia seeds and flaxseeds in the morning.

It keeps me sustained for a very long time.

Then I may have a banana mid morning.

Just for a snack or I'll also consider that part of my breakfast like a smoothie and banana.

But I won't eat it until later.

And then around lunchtime, I will have maybe a bowl of soup.

I used to do a bowl of soup and a sandwich, but I can't eat that anymore.

So it's half a sandwich and a bowl of soup, or an entire sandwich and no soup.

But I can't eat as much as I used to be able to before.

And then dinner time, gosh, there's all kinds of things I can make for dinner.

And sometimes I'll do like a pasta sauce with spinach.

Over a wheat pasta or I will do tofu.

I like to freeze my tofu and then press it because it kind of gives it a spongy, harder texture.

And then I'll cut that up and I'll let it sit for a couple hours in some spices and some sauce just to absorb that flavor.

And I can either bake it or add it in to my spaghetti sauce.

Another thing I like to do is the tofu with walnut crumble, and it's like a ground beef, I guess you would call it, a hamburger or something.

But it looks like that, and so I'll do a lot of tacos, or I'll throw that in spaghetti sauce, or, there's a ton of things that I could think of to make for dinner.

You're making my mouth water.

Such great meal ideas, especially the dinner ones, I'm thinking.

That's great.

For your oatmeal smoothie, is that made with cooked oatmeal or just raw oats that you're throwing in?

I just take raw oats and I like oat milk or almond milk.

Oat milk, to me, is a little creamier.

But I'll soak my oats in there for about 15 minutes along with the chia and the flax and sometimes I may put a few pistachios or something in, in my smoothie, and I let it soak for a good 15 minutes or so maybe a little bit longer.

It depends if I'm busy or not.

And then I just put that on the blender with some fruit, some spinach, vegetables type things, and then grind it all up and it's wonderful.

That's a great smoothie idea for our listeners to try.

And the idea with the tofu, that's a great way to change the texture of the tofu, to freeze it first and then you can press it to get out the water to then marinate it and then slice it up or use it in other ways for your cooking.

Yes, that's right.

Thank you for sharing just what a day is like right now.

That's helpful for our listeners to hear and just to see that it can still be delicious, and it can still be varied, and you can still be full and satisfied on a plant-based diet.

So now before we end, I would like to ask you, having now been on a plant-based diet for over a year, what's one thing you've since learned or one piece of advice you would like to pass on to others who are continuing in their plant-based diet journeys?

Give it time.

Don't give up and don't expect overnight miracles.

I've learned that fad diets that promise you health and weight loss really fast are lies.

Anything that you do with your health, you have to take it slow.

You have to take it methodically and think about it.

And it can't be something that you just apply to yourself for a little while thinking that it's something that you're going to just drop off.

It really does need to be a lifestyle change.

And I couldn't imagine changing my lifestyle back any other way.

So, just give it time, and if you really want to see the results.

You will if you just keep at it and keep at it and keep at it.

Over time, it will definitely happen to you because it happened to me and I was not the best in health before and I also did not have very good habits and discipline before.

I lived off of fast-food.

I was an emergency vet tech living off fast-food and I did that for many many years.

So, it can happen, and you can totally change the way you think about food once you start to think of your food as medicine.

Your food is your medicine.

It can heal you or it can hurt you.

And I hurt myself long enough with it, so now is the healing time with my food.

Such an important piece of advice, Winnona.

Thank you for sharing that.

And I absolutely agree with you.

I think time is a key factor in this.

When you are moving into a whole food, plant-based diet, you need to give yourself and your body time.

Yourself, to build this new lifestyle, this new habit, this new way of eating, and even learning how to cook and prep with all these whole plant-based foods.

And for your body to adjust and adapt to these changes in the way that you're eating, the foods that you're eating, for your gut to be able to learn how to process these new fiber-rich, nutrient-rich foods and for the results to show through your blood and through your body in other ways.

And for you, Winnona, you switched overnight to a whole food plant-based diet.

For some people, they may not be able to do that.

So even if they're taking steps at a time, one step at a time, making those positive changes, adding in the fruits, the vegetables, reducing the meats, that is still progress and you may need a bit more time to see the results in your health and in your blood tests, but I agree with you, the important thing is to keep at it.

Like you said, to not give up.

To really focus on the lifestyle and not on the results you want to get, but focus on building in this plant-powered lifestyle day in and day out.

So thank you for being here today, Winnona, and for sharing your story with us.

It continues to be a source of inspiration to me, and I know it will encourage and inspire those listening to this episode.

I appreciate your openness and what you have shared.

Just hearing you and hearing you give this update makes me so inspired that your life and your health could have changed so drastically in just a year with you sticking to a low-fat whole food plant-based diet.

Thank you for having me, Anna.

I would do anything for your show.

Thank you Winnona.

I appreciate it.

I hope this guest interview has truly encouraged and empowered you on your own health journey, showing you that change in your own health circumstances is possible.

It does not need to stay where it is, and you do not need to stay where you are.

You may just need the right support, guidance, and strategies to enable you to make the lifestyle changes you need in order to see positive health transformation in your own life.

So if you're excited at the possibilities of eating plant-based and want clear guidance and support on how to best move forward in this, do reach out to me by email at healthnow@plantnourished.com, or see the link in the show notes.

I would love to support you so you can reach your health and weight goals with ease while enjoying a thriving plant-powered lifestyle.

Thank you so much for listening.

If this podcast has inspired, encouraged, or helped you in some way to transform your health, I would love to hear about it.

Please take 30 seconds to rate and leave a written review on Apple Podcasts to let me know.

It will encourage me so much to hear how this podcast has positively impacted and made a difference in your journey towards wellness.

And share about this podcast with a friend or loved one so we can all thrive in the best health.

Remember, plant-based eating can be easy and doable.

See you in the next episode, my Friend.