Monday, March 24, 2014

Plant-Based, Whole Foods, Blah, Blah--Yeahright. An Update-

In a nutshell, here's my life.  Every day:
EAT THIS!


NOT THIS.  NOT THIS!!! DO YOU HEAR ME!?  NOT THIS!  See the grapes? Eat those.
OR THIS EITHER, YOU IDIOT.  Just stop it.  Leave the kitchen.

I need to superglue these to my refrigerator door and possibly the cabinets, the sink, and the bathroom mirror.

You may know that we are trying to merge over to a healthier way of eating, because I KNOW it's the better choice.  Not strictly vegan or vegetarian but a definite shift away from processed foods, sugar, meat, and dairy.  And everything else we love.  (I'm an almost-famous ex-pastry chef, for crying out loud!)  But God BLESS IT, it's been a total pain to have the willpower (and the constant supply of vegetables on hand) to make it happen.  

For example.  I wake up every day thinking, yeah, today I will ROCK THIS NEW DIET.  I will work out for like an HOUR, minimum, with cardio and weights and core training.  I got this.  I will be SO buff by my birthday (Easter/Mother's Day/beach weather/back to school/Christmas/New Year's, definitely by the end of the year. Seriously) this year.  I mean it.  Totally I will become a work-out and fitness fanATic.  Pretty much, starting today.  Or possibly tomorrow, because today's half over...

Then my eat-what-sounds-good habit/life kicks in, and so far today I've had:

--A cup of hot chocolate.  (okaaaay.  I do that every day, so that's a given)

--Half a banana.  (OMG girl, you are such a diet freak)

--A hot turkey and provalone panini (What? OK, OK!! But it WAS on homemade 100% wholewheat bread...with Best Foods slathered all over it...Grade: C- for lunch choice)

--Coffee with nondairy creamer (I don't even DRINK coffee any more.  What the heck??)

*frowns angrily out the window*


Add more veggies to grocery list.  Check.
Yeah.  So far I'm FREAKING AWESOME at this.  I have lost (and gained and lost and gained) the same 5 pounds like 3 times since we started.  The word "plateau" sounds more like a curse, right now.  I have been "at a plateau" FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS.  I don't need more advice about THAT, and I sure can't reduce my calories any further.  I could work out more, but the idea of seriously working out for an hour, every day, makes me super cranky and frowny and mad at the 28-year-old me who thought she was fat 25 pounds ago.  I want to go back and slap her.

There's hope, though.  I could still have a smoothie for a snack and curried cauliflower with spinach salad for dinner.  Because, yes, that sounds so yummy (that's sarcasm, guys).  But, we're out of yogurt. And spinach.  Aaaand, there's a whole pork roast with cheesy mashed potato leftovers in the fridge from last night, so tonight is probably shot.  (It was SUNday.  Come ON).

Well, at least I'm totally wearing a sports bra right now.  Just in case I actually go upstairs and get on our exercise bike...because I'm prepared like that.

Gahhh.  Wish me luck.  It's going to be a bumpy ride.

I keep trying to leave our cabinets and fridge devoid of any other choices, but it's sure not an overnight transition, let me tell you!  Because when you're craving carbs and dairy...carrots and tofu just do not do it.  

No. They. Don't.

Anyone else having trouble making a switch to a healthier diet, I'd love to hear from you. 











14 comments:

  1. I got rid of all the junk in my house several months ago. I don't have "food," I have "ingredients" (as my favorite under 10 person says when he's looking for crap in my pantry).

    The problem for me is that when I'm driving home in the dark, I don't want to cook anything (or eat what I cooked the night before). I end up getting take out from the vegetable place on my way home.

    You might think that vegetable place sounds healthy, but it's not. There's butter in everything. If you can add cheese, it's added. And the bacon - oh my, the bacon. This is why I stop there.

    Everyday, I get up. Decide - I'm not going to eat lunch at my desk (fail), I'm going to refill my water bottle at least every 2 hours (fail), no diet coke or processed food from the deli (fail).

    But maybe I'll actually make it home tonight and eat the lovely veg salad I made yesterday. I keep hoping.

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    1. I hear you. Because everything's better with CHEESE. I do great for one or two meals, but usually there's a huge *fail* in each day, from which I either: recover, or, reset and start again "tomorrow".

      We have the boring-est cabinets of anyone I know. There's no room for any more food, yet..."there's NOTHING TO EAT' could be our kitchen banner.

      At least I can rant to the world at large, now. ;)

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  2. well don't give up! you can do it. it isn't easy but nothing worth doing ever is.if you ever want any good ideas for substitutes that are actually tasty and food you can look forward to eating and is still actually healthy, let me know. I am a fount of nutritional information stemming from my 40 lb weight loss journey.

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    1. I know the info. I just don't enjoy cooking that way. :P

      I'm getting better, though. We have switched up a lot of options already. It's the sticking to it, that gets frustrating.

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    2. It's really hard to change all your routines. Maybe just change one small thing at a time?
      I'm on what I call "The Food Sensitivities Diet." I started getting massive headaches and vertigo from eating processed food and wheat and dairy and more. I lost 20 lbs and learned to fall asleep hungry because I wanted to function the next day. I learned that quinoa tastes better when you eat it sauteed with sweet onions and spinach and etc. I lost all my routines in cooking and haven't done a good job finding new things to cook while also still not feeling that great! My family eats a lot of Sam's rotisserie chicken. . .
      Eventually, I learned how to make awesome salads, and goat cheese and egg quesadillas on brown rice tortillas. I also found one processed food that didn't make me feel bad -- Terra Blues potato chips! And. . . I gained 10 lbs this winter!!!! Arrgghh! It was the chips. And the quesadillas. Definitely not the brown rice cakes.
      So I'm with you -- spring is here (except for the snowstorm we are getting tomorrow) and I've got to get out there and at least start walking again!

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    3. Ruth! Sorry to hear about your headaches! My mom went through the same type of food reaction at about our age, too. Turned out she was sensitive to all nightshade plants.

      I did buy some lovely vegetarian/vegan cookbooks, but it is an odd transition to make from all the rich things I'm used to cooking.

      Small switches are working for us...like, having swapped brown rice pasta for processed wheat. I make all our whole grain bread, and we use brown rice instead of white (ew, still not liking that), etc. Not doing the whole thing cold-turkey, though. There'd probably be a full revolt, myself included.

      Baby step...

      p.s. -- I think you need to *cough* see the west *cough* sometime soon. Miss you... :D

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    4. Yes, Stef -- I would love to come west. That is one of the hardest things for me with my health is that with vertigo, flying just isn't something I'm willing to risk. Plus, I'm too exhausted to travel.
      What is it that happens when you hit 40? I used to hear rumors about such things, but didn't pay any attention. Then I had a baby at 40 who turned out to need a lot of extra care - that and homeschooling 4 others eventually sent me over a cliff from which I haven't returned, although I'm making progress.
      In novels when a woman became unhealthy, she went off to the seashore for three months to recover. I'm pretty sure that would fix me up!

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  3. Be kind to yourself.

    Every day is a day to decided what you want to do and how you want to feel...all the other days that have passed? They don't matter anymore. Don't dwell. Just decide what you want for TODAY.

    and again...be kind to yourself.

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    1. I know. I remind myself that every day. Start over. You can do this.

      Unfortunately when I'm on the bike for an hour, I still just want to go back and kick my 34-year-old self's size 4 a$$ and tell her to shut UP about eating whatever she wants and never gaining weight.

      I was pretty cranky yesterday, but I did manage to finish the day with all raw foods, which felt like a little victory. Yay me.

      Today is good so far, because I started with fruit and eggs. Now if I can skip eating one of Shane's sourdough hoagies for lunch (AGGGHH SOURDOUGH!), I'll be golden.

      So hard to kick the carbaholic habit. *sigh*

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  4. I feel for you my dear!!

    I've heard that too. I think we should go back to advocating a necessary move to the seashore, for our health. I will meet you there... ;)

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  5. I discovered the same thing: it's not just the change in ingredients, it's the change in routine of shopping, meal planning and cooking. I'm hoping someday to get a nice programmable mid-range rice maker, because they are actually can be very versatile and do all sorts of grains . Plus soups and stuff like that.
    Speaking of soup,I will say that with the help of my crockpot, I am good at making soup. I like soup a lot.
    Keep up the good work, I'll try and do the same.

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    1. Yeah...Soup is awesome! And, it is totally about the change in the whole EXPERIENCE of cooking. I have such a routine that is life-long for our daily meals, (think French and Italian country cooking, like Julia Child in Italy, lol), that it's very hard to change what constitutes "comfort food" in our house.

      I'm getting better, though. Every day is like my own little 24-hour challenge.

      Like right now: Totally having cinnamon bears for a snack, but I'll probably have raw cauliflower and spinach salad and hard boiled egg for dinner. :D

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  6. Girl, you need to eat that steak RIGHT NOW, for me. Then, if you want, you can come hang out here and possibly get bit by the Lonestar tick which will make you allergic to anything that comes from a mammal. I couldn't make this shit up. No beef, pork, milk products, anything with gelatin, glycerin, or "natural flavoring." Basically if I didn't pull it from the ground myself or pluck it, I can't eat it. On the bright side, I have lost almost 10 pounds.

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    1. Dang. That does not sound fun!

      Although...The way I feel right now I'd *almost * sign up for that, to drop 10#.

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