Back on track...

This has all been a journey for me. Learning and experiencing veganism and how our food is made. I have really been thinking more about what I am buying and consuming. Here is what I have learned about myself: I gained 7 pounds on the vegan diet! I had a long conversation with a nutritionist and here is what I learned- that I am not getting enough protein. Its true- I have been feeling horrible. The protein that vegans eat is from legumes and beans. I cannot digest these. I am in terrible pain when I do. I can eat a few mixed in with something else but it cannot be the staple of my diet. Now I am contradicted because of what I have learned about meat and meat products and what my own body needs to function at its best. I will continue to buy high quality organic free range meat and eggs. The bulk of my calories will be from fruit and vegetables. My digestion is sooooo much better without flour products. My skin looks WONDERFUL when I am eating flax and spinach daily. I am adding some eggs and yes meat. I have lost 4 of the 7 pounds. Only 10 more to go! Wow the same 10 I have been trying to lose for the past 3 years.

Very interesting...

I bought a free range chicken for my family ( its not that much more expensive)- they were complaining about the lack of meat lately. The kids ate like 2 bites of it. I did not say a word- nor did I encourage them to shovel more of that chicken down their mouth. By the way I almost puked having to prepare that chicken now that I know what I know. I think they are taking on some of my thinking here. Summer is struggling because she LOVES all animals but she really loves her meat. I told her in no way does she need to follow my vegetarian diet (thus the chicken purchase). She said she knows but she really wants to make a change- wow. I told her that if she really wanted to make a change- to do it slowly and not to feel guilty about eating her BLT at subway (she had one Sat.). This is an individual and very personal choice- if they choose veg then I will support them- if not I will continue to buy non hormone lean organic free range meat. I'm OK with both of those.

I am at a stand still with weight loss- and I know why- I have been sabotaging myself it the evenings. I have been eating probably 500-2000 calories at night. So all the work I do during the day- exercising and eating healthy all goes down the tube (literally). I am trying to work this out. Its a struggle but I have to keep reminding myself- its not worth it!!

Sorry

to my 2 readers for neglecting this blog. I have not lost any weight, and I have been feeling very lethargic. It might be from not exercising, not my diet but we just rejoined the gym so I should feel some improvement energy wise. I have decided to add in some free range chicken eggs- like once or twice a week. I am still pretty much plant based although I've had a piece of cheese or two along the way and if I cook a stew or something with meat in it for my family I still eat the broth without it. With my lifestyle and schedule there is no way I could possibly stick to a strict vegan diet. I need to cut my proportions and refined carbs this week. Hopefully I will see some weight loss. I hate when I exercise and don't lose or gain weight. Happens to me all the time.

I think my IBS has returned! Warning: gas talk ahead

IBS- irritable bowel syndrome. I haven't had this since probably my college days- that was due to excessive alcohol consumption (yep- I lived a different life then). Since then I have completely cut alcohol from my life- I really have not had any problems with it. Well, I couldn't figure out what all this gas and bloating was about- I thought maybe it was my body getting adjusted to all the fiber but in addition I've had the big D- diarrhea and its been going on for over 2 weeks now. Now I need to figure out what is triggering it and how to regulate it. For sure the lentils and beans. I think it might be wheat too. and sugar. This is going to be a tough one trying to figure out how to settle my stomach. I have been doing a lot of reading online and I just need to cut out some things to see if it helps. I am not craving meat at all. I am still craving dairy- particularly yogurt.

The more reading I do the more I know I WILL NEVER BUY MILK again!! I have been buying almond milk and the kiddos have not complained and I like it. I actually gained a few pounds but I am not stressing- I haven't been exercising and not watching food intake.

PLEASE READ THIS about dairy!!! http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/dairy.html

SUGAR

Yep on this plant based diet you can technically have sugar (it comes from a plant)- but its not a good idea. Especially the over processed white sugars. Fat and sugar are addictive substances (not joking here) and can lead to overeating- not to mention what it does to your teeth and how it messes with your body functions. Why am I talking about sugar? Well, I was doing GREAT this week NO cravings. Then Sat came and I worked all day on cooking and prepping for a market at Summer's old school and I didn't eat all day (bad idea right) so when I left at 5:30 I was STARVING and so were the kids (bad bad idea). So I went to McDonalds (bad bad anyway) and got them two cones (they are 50 cents here) and myself a dairy free smoothie (you can order it without the yogurt). As I was eating it I realized BIG mistake that is was probably high fructose corn syrup. I said oh well I won't do that again. Well, guess what? I had craving ALL NIGHT and the next day for SUGAR. It took me a while to figure out what triggered that (in addition to being stressed out that day about getting over to that market on time and hauling everything by myself). Stress also triggers cravings. Can we live stress free? No but we can make sure there are ways to reduce it like: finding time to do something you enjoy, exercising, meditating and for me praying.

Here are my overeating triggers are:

1. Not eating for long periods of time (more then 4 hours)
2. Eating at night like after 7:00pm (big big one for me)
3. worrying and stressing and not dealing with it in healthy ways
4. Eating sugar filled foods
5. Eating when I know I am full
6. Not eating breakfast

I am doing OK I just need to spend a few days getting rid of this sugar. I am still craving dairy but have not given in.

New recipes

Things have been moving along here. Overall I do not feel deprived AT ALL. I am full, satisfied and do not have any cravings. Which is actually a pretty big accomplishment for me. I have been a major sugarholic these past few months. The only thing I missed today was when I was eating my rice and lentil soup (yum) I really was craving something cold and creamy on top (I usually put plain yogurt on it). Other then that nothing really outstanding to say.

I have been eating mostly oatmeal and fruit in the late morning. Sometimes with a dab of organic peanut butter. Salad or lentils for lunch and dinner. Yesterday I made bean burritos. YUM. Today I made a cabbage salad with an oriental dressing. The dressing was vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, hot sauce ketchup, and a pinch of sugar. It was really good- of course I was the only one who ate it. For dinner I made rice with lentil veggie soup. The soup had carrots, potatoes, onion, cabbage, yellow lentil. I am making tomorrow for a farmers market at Summer's old school. I thought it sounded good for a fall day- its been in the low 60's here. I don't mind- I like the sweater weather. Its just depressing though that the warm weather will probably not be back until next June.

As far as weight loss I don't think I have lost anything beyond the four or five pounds I lost originally. I don't feel as bloated and full all the time like I would when I ate a huge meat filled meal. I am still looking for a replacement for yogurt- the rice yogurt was gross and Maria told me today to try coconut yogurt. So we'll see. Overall this is not as hard as I thought it would be. To be honest I really don't miss the meat! I think just the dairy. Maybe those cravings will vanish at some point too or maybe after 30 days I will add some dairy back in. Just have to see.

The Plant Life for Me

Well, here we go folks I am trying a plant based diet for 30 days, evaluating how I feel (and look) and going from there. That means no meat, dairy, fish, chicken, eggs. I am doing this for a few reasons: I've had conflicting feelings about meat since I moved so close to the source (primarily beef) I guess that would be considered a political reason but I am not very much into politics and I wouldn't even consider myself republican or democrat but I tend to sway to the conservative side on things because of my Christian value system. Sometimes I just sit and watch those cows- the babies following along. I think to myself these are actually beautiful animals. But then I don't think about that when I am eating my hamburger. I think those thoughts and my eating are catching up to each other. Anyhow, I am also doing this because of information I have learned about meat and dairy. Primarily from the book The China Study, but I am also reading a ton of information right now. I am doing this because I have always felt better without so much meat in my diet and also because I never truly loved it. When I think about it I've always had an aversion to meat even when I was little (my mom can attest to that) but that does not mean it will be easy. I am always 5-10 pounds away from a normal BMI- I wouldl like to be "normal" (well maybe thats not really possible). Lastly, I want my children to learn about healthy habits, whether they follow my lead on this remains to be seen. I would never push this on them but I am rather making small changes right now. Like do they REALLY need processed sugary foods (crackers, chips, candy, sugared up yogurt, white bread, etc)? Wouldn't just adding more fruit and veggies to their diet be great anyway? I want to be around and enjoy watching them grow up- ENJOY life.

I don't want this blog to be about WHY (although I will probably talk about the link between dairy and cancer and the link between meat and heart disease)- if you want more info read the book and many others about this topic. I rather want this to be about my journey. So follow along with me. I will try and post what I am eating, feeling, and progress.

So far I have pretty much cleaned out my fridge of dairy and meat except for some yogurt for the kids, lunch meat (for them also) and some cheese. Today I went shopping and fell in love with fruit all over again (so did my kids!) We were so excited about the melon, grapes, berries, peaches. I made vegetarian chili with whole wheat pasta. It's so funny because the last few days that I have started this they eat what I make but then there is not this devoring of food. They are trying new things (like a veggie stir fry yesterday) so I can't complain.

I am going to try a new recipe everyday? or maybe every week? There is so much out there- its just a matter of taking the time to shop and cook. Tomorrow- bean burritos.