Day 2 and 3

I totally meant to blog last night about day 2 and 3 but got too caught up in Moonshiners and forgot. I love that show, not sure why, but it is fun to watch.

So day 2 and 3 of this new journey have been hard but rewarding. I have stuck to most of the plan for this week, which makes me happy. My energy levels have remained consistently high, including in the morning and at night. I think I need more sleep, shocking I know. The hard part has been some of the stomach aches that have come along with eating more lentils, beans, and more fiberous veggies.
Here is what I ate on those days:
Day 2
Oats and berries


Shake - same as the other day


Leftover Brocolli stir fry


KIND bar and a pear

Spinach with beets and a bowl of the lentil soup


Day 3
Oats with berries
This is where yesterday went bad. I was working/sewing alot trying to get some dresses done. I didn't realize what time it was or that my daughters nose was looking horrible, even though she was playing on the floor in my workroom. So with the craziness of calling the dr, calling the school to tell them she wouldn't be there, to talking this over with my hubby, getting the girls' lunches ready, and figuring out what to do about some playdates we had scheduled...I was running low on steam and patience. No one's fault but my own. Open the fridge to either soup or salad, wasn't appealing to me. Leftover cinnamon roll on the counter, appealing. Shoved it in my mouth and went back to crazy. The roll didn't help me in anyway other than it was fast. I don't even think I tasted it. This has got me to thinking about next week and having something in the fridge that is appealing and ready to eat. No assembly required.

I ended up making my shake around 1:30 to help curb that hunger I knew I would / was feeling.

Dinner
Veggie jambalya - this turned out really good. I got the recipe out of my taste of home magazine. It had rice, butter beans, and pinto beans instead of the meat. The kids didn't like it but they don't like anything lately. Ryan and I thought it was really good. I will probably have it today at lunch or tonight for dinner since it is leftover night.

Other than the cinnamon roll, the journey hasn't been too hard. I don't think I said this on the other post because it was already a novel but I am not doing this as a diet. This is a lifestyle change and although I want to avoid carbs and meat, it isn't out of my life forever. Moderation is the key. The cinnamon roll wasn't a bad splurge. It was whole wheat flour with raisins and pecans and very little butter and absolutely no icing (I hate icing on cinnamon rolls). It was quick and helped keep this momma going on a rather stressful day. Plus, why make wonderful treats like that (especially ones that take as long as rolls do) if you can't enjoy them....once in a while.

I am looking forward to some good cooking this weekend, trying new recipes, and to making my menu for the week. So far, I like this journey. Oh and I have lost two pounds which is nice but I notice more that my stomach doesn't seem as "fat" as it did before. Not sure if that is where the two pounds disappeared from, but I like it. Happy Thursday!

Only the beginning

Over the course of this short lived blog, I have been trying to become a healthier, more conscious, person about the food I am fixing for my family and myself. I am proud of these things and all that I have accomplished in our household. But there are still a few things that I was not happy with. My weight loss is slow, like S.U.P.E.R slow. Slow is good when it comes to weight loss but 1oz a week is not slow, that is down right turtle's pace. More importantly I was still feeling really bad. Define bad...well I was still very lathargic (even with working out for an hour everyday), still very depressed, and still feeling very old and stiff , especially that darn knee of mine. I could chalk all of those up to it being winter, cold, and the pressure in the atmosphere going crazy but that just didn't seem ok to me. You mean to tell me every winter this is how its going to be?! No way!!
During one of my movie nights while Ryan was away I watched a movie called Forks over Knives. Every food documentary I watch changes our or my thought process of food and eating, so I was prepared to take notes so that I could do a little more research when the movie was done. This movie goes through a few individuals that go totally plant based with their diets in order to combat heart disease and other problems/illnesses. It is focused on two dr's and their research in the field of plant based diets reversing such illnesses as cancer, heart disease, and obesity. It is a very informative movie and I enjoyed it. My favorite quote kept coming to mind and it is the main theme of this movie.

 Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” ― Hippocrates

 After watching it, I thought about trying to go no meat and no dairy. We were already going meatless for 3 nights a week anyway and fish was another night. So for me (only me for right now) to try this wasn't a huge leap. If I was totally honest, meat is not as much of a draw on a normal basis. I love smoking ribs and occasionally baking a chicken in the oven with all those yuumy flavors and herbs that go along with it, will still happen. But for the most part, meat is just a side. About this same time I got my Whole Living magazine for the month. Inside was a 3 week, reboot your body, meal plan. Most of the meals were veggie based with some fish thrown in toward the end of week 2 and 3. What the heck, why not. I have no reason to not. I have a plan, I already was eating all raw veggies and fruits except for dinner. So this is my start to making my food nourish my body and my soul.  So far it hasn't been too much extra work, in regards to cooking two seperate meals each night.

I wanted to document my journey down this path to see and be able to look back at my journey. Many people have done the same and say they haven't gone back, it will be interesting to see where I stand in a few months or weeks. I am interested to see how my physical bloodwork turns out in March, this is kind of a goal I am hoping to get to. I want to see how much weight I lose and how much better I feel by this milestone.

So here we go...this is what I ate yesterday....
Breakfast was a serving of steel cut oats with about 10 blueberries and some brown rice syrup drizzled on top
Cup of coffee with coconut milk as the creamer


Lunch was sweet potato and lentil soup - this is a super hearty and sweet soup, plus it makes quite a bit
A couple glasses of water


Midafternoon Shake
Handful of spinach, 1/2 banana, about 10 blueberries, 1/5 of a pineapple, handful of mint, splash of coconut milk, and a tsp of spirulina


I noticed a couple weeks ago I get really hungry around 4:00pm....not sure why. This is when I normally eat things I don't want to eat, that don't help control that hunger, that I always end of regretting eating. So I found a recipe for DIY Kind bars. They are fabulous and do the trick controlling that hunger without costing a fortune. I also have a latte in the afternoon to help "keep" me going. I am not sure this really helps seeing as it is Earl Gray tea but I like it :)


Dinner was a Brocolli and Cauliflower Stir Fry this was delicious and holy cow a lot of food. I served it with a bok choy slaw but didn't really need to. I loved the use of cauliflower pulsed in a food processor as the "rice" part of this dish. This picture of it today for lunch, I completely forgot to take a pic of last night. I was so anxious to try this last night :)

While I was watching Downton Abbey (LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS SHOW), I had a handful of raisins. They were sweet and helped tame that little sweet tooth I have.

I would say that yesterday was a success, I'm still going strong today. I have yet to feel hungry or feel like I should indulge in anything else. It seems kind of funny to me about this. I know it might not last long but I don't want the other stuff. I know it will taste good but will only taste good for about a minute and then it is gone. It's not worth it.