Days 71-142, June 9 - August 18, 2012

Wow, this time it has REALLY been a long time since i've written. I guess i kinda forgot i had it. It has been so busy this summer! I am doing good on my diet though, i have lost 20 lbs now! yay for me!!! I just hope it keeps going, even if slowly but surely. I have been riding, and still eating MOSTLY vegan. I haven't cheated with meat at all, but boy dairy keeps slipping in. So hard!!!!

It is killing me to wait until i hit 199 to buy my ipad. That is what i told myself would be my reward for getting that far. I changed it to 199 from the final ultimate goal (which is 165), because i knew it would really take way way way to long to get there, and i can't wait THAT long to get my ipad! I will have to think about another reward for the final goal weight. :) anyways, i hope i get to 199 by christmas so i can buy it then. I think that is doable. I am at 213 right now, so that would be 14 pounds and there are 19 weeks until christmas. If i keep going 1 lb a week, i can make it by thanksgiving. I have thought about just buying it now, but i don't know if it will ruin my motivation! That is one of the things that just keeps me going cause i think i have to lose this weight and eat good and ride my bike because i want my ipad. :)

Thinking maybe i should read my 21 jumpstart your metabolism book again, just to get some more inspiration. Sometimes it feels kinda stagnant. And i need to try to find some new foods. I keep buying tofu, and then end up not making it and it goes bad. maybe i should see if they have frozen tofu. hmm haven't thought of checking that yet.

I hadn't had eggs for a long time, but then i got some fresh from the chicken from a family i house-sit and chicken-sit for :) I decided to eat some and then gave the rest to my mom. So GOOD. I had an egg sandwich for breakfast, and it was soooo soooooo soooo yummy. I have missed eggs, almost as much as cheese.

Okay, well that is enough update for now. I will try to keep up. i should really use this as a journal to keep inspired and just writing my thoughts down.

Days 63-70, June 1-8, 2012

I am proud of myself today! We had a pizza lunch and I didn't eat any!! I resisted! And I LOVE pizza! So that was one good step. This week was hard because I had to work through my lunch a couple times this week, and it rained on Monday, which was weird! So, I only got to ride my bike one day! And I rollerbladed only one day too! I was disappointed at the beginning of the week as well, because I weighed in and I had gained a few pounds back. BUT I am attributing it to my normal time of the month. So, hopefully when I weigh in on Sunday the weight will be back off! I am going to the Giants game on Sunday, and I am going to try to be good but i LOVE garlic fries! I don't know what else I might eat there, definitely not a hot dog. I do like hot dogs!

Well, we will see how it goes. Wish me luck, I am slowly making progress.

Days 52-62, May 22-31, 2012

Hello Again, finally! :) I am down 16 lbs!!! Yay!!! 217!! So, just 18 more lbs to go until under 200, which I hope to hit by the end September. That is 18 weeks from now. Wish me luck!! It is going good still. I am still eating 97% vegan. My weakness is still with the dairy, and the traces in morning star veggie meats that I am not going to give up. I feel like I was pretty bad today though, I feel like I ate too much. I went to Chipotle and didn't ride my bike so that is probably why I don't feel that great about today. I definitely feel better when i ride by bike, but i do like to take a lunch with my work friends once in a while you know? It has been hard to fit in roller blading the last few weeks too because my mom has been out of town, and i only go with her, then this week has just been so busy!

I think I found a little bit of a weigh-in trick. I have been actually weighing and logging my weight on Sunday night. But I find if i weigh myself on Friday night so i kinda know where i am at, it inspires me to be better on the weekend so i don't gain a lot back or make less progress than i see i am making friday night. So, it is working psychologically to do that. :)

Days 46-51, May 16, 2012 - May 21, 2012

So, here I am again, having slacked on my writing. But I am back today! 1st of all, I am very proud of myself because i made good choices this weekend. :) One of the biggest good choices i made, was that I went to go see my sister in Modesto, and on Sunday morning we went out to one of my favorite places for breakfast, and i usually get Huevos Rancheros and I really wanted to eat that!! But I didn't! I had oatmeal and toast. It was really good and filling, but NOT huevos rancheros :(. And on Saturday night we went to one of my other favorite places to eat, and I made good choices there too! Salad instead of french fries (but I did sneak some french fries from Jenni!), and a garden burger. My good choices and exercise during the week, were worth it though because I lost 3 lbs this last week!!! I weighed in last night at 219. My next big goal step is to get down to 199. I have to try to think of the little goals though. Like the next 5 lbs in the next 5 weeks because that is the normal pace that i have been going. I really hope though that i can go a little faster like this last week!

My mom bought me a couple of cookbooks, but i have only gone through them at the bookstore when we decided to buy them. "Cooking with Trader Joe's Skinny Dish" and "Vegan Cooking for Carnivores." I really want to try some recipes! But i haven't made time yet!

Okay, out for tonight! Thanks!

Days 39-45, May 9-May 15, 2012

Hi Everyone! Sorry, I am slacking on my writing. It has been a long week. My grandmother died. I had a couple of binges with chips and soda.

I lost the pound that I had gained, so at least that is good, but I didn't lose any more yet. I want to lose weight faster!!! One pound a week is soooooo slooooooow.

I am still torn with whether or not I am trying to be 100% vegan. I think I found some good creamer that i can use that is dairy free, so that is good. I need to try to like soy milk in my starbucks coffee or i need to completely cut it out. Then I need to cut out veggie meat that has egg and milk products in it. So, anyway still thinking. Maybe I will lose weight faster if i cut out those things more completely? More strictly?

Okay goodnight, i will try to write more often. I know I say that everytime. :)

Days 34-38, May 4 thru May 8, 2012

Hello! Auuggghhh! It has been too long since I have written again! Today i went out to dinner with my parents at House of Genji in san jose. It was yummy! I had a vegetable platter this time, instead of my usual chicken/steak dinner. And I really liked it! And this is the first time I have eaten there that I haven't felt sick, or had to take some food home. I ate it all, and i don't even feel sick. One thing bad though, I had fried rice, and it had egg and chicken broth in it.

I weighed myself at my normal time on sunday night, and i gained back a pound. So, either I didn't exercise enough last week, or I ate too much. Also, it could be lady time water retention! That is what i am hoping it is, but in any case it has motivated me to work harder this week! So far so good. I rode my bike both days and I stuck to my diet both days.

It is very very hard to be 100% vegan. I definitely am not. But i know i am pretty close. As long as it is working, that makes me happy. Talk to you soon!

Days 28-33 - April 28 thru May 3, 2012

Sorry it has been a while since I have written!!! I will try to be better at writing my thoughts daily.

I am down 11 lbs total as of 4/30/12!!! Yay!!! That makes me happy!! It still feels so slow though. I don’t feel it in my clothes yet. I am still in the same size pants, because I was trying to hold out until I could buy ones in a smaller size, but the crotch split and I HAD to buy new ones, and I just couldn’t squeeze into a smaller size. Bummer! Oh well. Soon! Soon I will be down a size!!

 

I have been having a hard time making the time to cook right. It seems I am doing okay, but just wish I made more time to try other recipes etc. I did try this recipe for zucchini tots that I found on pinterest (http://thetwobiteclub.blogspot.com/2012/04/zucchini-tots.html) and I didn’t really care for them. They were super easy though and I think I need to experiment with them, because really my only problem with them is I think there was way too much onion. Maybe cutting back on the onion or substituting with some other veggies will help overall.

 

I have found so many recipes on pinterest, and sites recommended by friends, and forks over knives, and my 21 day jumpstart your metabolism book, and I have no time to try them all!! I guess that isn’t true, I lied. I am not making time to try them.

 

I have still been exercising pretty consistently too, because that had better make the weight come off faster than 1 lb a week!! Riding my bike during my lunch hour at work in Gilroy. Today I was proud of myself because I rode a little longer route than I have been.Yay for me! But it was super windy, I hate it when it is like that! I have also been rollerblading with my mom some of the evenings. 

Anyway, overall, things are going well. I am just going to stay confident that it will keep working, and keep making good choices.

Days 25, 26, & 27, April 25, 26, & 27, 2012

I didn't write on Wednesday or Thursday, so I am doing all three tonight. It rained on Wednesday & Thursday so, I did not get to ride my bike or rollerblade. I rode my bike today, and it was a good ride. 

I stuck to my diet this week. I did have a little bit of parmesan on my spaghetti tonight. 

 I have still been thinking about my strictness on this diet. I am leaning more towards not being so strict with the egg and cheese traces in vegetarian meats, etc. Also, the only thing in the creamer I like is a "milk derivative" and I really like it in my coffee every morning, it is comforting.

Well, I think that is it tonight. 

Day 24, April 24, 2012

So, I am kind of annoyed. I just found out that one of my favorite veggie meats, Morning Star Grillers and Griller Crumbles, have milk and egg ingredients. So that sucks. Being vegan is really hard. Do I really have to be that strict to lose weight? I want to be on a plant-based diet, and I really do agree with a lot of what the book says, and how important it is not to have meat, milk and eggs in your diet. I just find it a little frusturating trying to find easy and good substitutes. I mean I don't know really how much work I want to put into this! I like the Griller veggie crumbles, I actually made them tonight with taco seasoning to make a nice big taco salad, it was really good! But if i can't use them next time, what do I use? I found online some vegan lentil taco "meat", that looks good, but it is a pretty complicated recipe, and they don't even use taco seasoning packets that I like to use in it. Seems like too much work! I mean, at least I am not eating meat! But now I can't get the veggie meats that I like either, because they aren't exactly vegan?? Or is having traces of it in veggie meats once in a while not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things? I don't know. Like I talked about a little bit yesterday, and before when they were talking about cravings, it discusses how cheating or having little bits of something once in a while, can lead to just going back to your old ways and also just make it harder to control cravings, etc. I really do understand that point of view, but i also think that if you are TOOOOO hard on yourself and TOOOOOO strict, you are more likely to binge too. So, anyway, that is my frustration tonight, I am not sure yet if i am never going to have veggie meats with egg and milk products again, or if i am going to allow myself to have these traces.

I really want to lose a size in my clothes. I wonder how long it is going to take. The first ten pounds didn't make a difference there, but hopefully the next ten pounds will!

Day 23, April 23, 2012

Well, there are no more readings in the book to talk about. Now it goes into the meal plans and recipes. I haven't looked at it in depth quite yet.

I lost one more pound. So, guess I am slowing down now. I only lost the one pound in one week. I really hope that i can average 1-2 pounds per week and keep this going.

I rode my bike today, so that was good. I was going to go rollerblading with my mom, but i had to work late.

I also decided that i want to try to find a vegan coffee creamer that tastes good. Silk Creamer was recommended but they didn't have it at trader joe's. The ones i saw there didn't look so good. I am not really sure, but i hope i can find one that will work. I really want to try to do what the book says and not cheat. I need to stick to it, and find the substitutes I need so i don't have to cheat. I think i found a good cheese substitute so far, so now just for the creamer since that is the other thing i am consistently cheating on.

Day 22, April 22, 2012

Well, last night was the last reading in the book, since it only goes for 21 days. I almost want to read it over again! I am not really finished with the book yet though even after the 21 days are over because it has lots of recipes and meal plans etc. This last reading was about where to do from here. They said that typically there are three different ways people go - 1) they keep going on this diet, 2) they go back to their old ways of eating, and 3) they modify the diet in some way. I really am hoping that i can be number 1! I am going to keep going! I want to lose weight. They talked about some people's success - one lady lost 75 lbs in a year. that is me! that is what i need to do. I am a little scared of being #3. I have kind of been cheating and following a modified diet on this last month anyway. I have been having dairy creamer every morning in my coffee which is against, and I have also been not being super careful about cheese. I really need to do better. I really don't want to give up my creamer.

Tonight is my weigh-in night. I will weigh myself before I go to bed tonight, and let you know how it goes. I am pretty nervous that I may not have lost much this week. I don't feel like I exercised enough and I ate out too many times this week too. It is hard when eating out for me is social. I want to eat out because I want to spend time with my friends. I am going because I am going with someone to be social, you know? And at least now, I know I can eat out and make good choices. I can still be vegan when I eat out. I need to be careful about the cheese-cheating!

Day 21, April 21, 2012

Last night's reading they talked about an extra special external motivator - thinking about your loved ones. They mentioned how raising your children on a plant-based diet is better for them, and helps them not to grow obese and prevents them from getting diseases. Kids will like vegetables if you make them eat them! Also, it talks about trying to help people in your family to eat better along with you. I think the motivation is that you want to eat right so you live longer to be there for your kids or for your family. It makes you not want to die early, and to do everything you can to last longer - which includes a good for you diet!

I was pretty lazy again today. But i was awake and outside watching t-ball for a while. And I stuck to my diet. I did give in and have my taco bell bean burrito! It really hit the spot, and it was on my diet.

Last night I watched "Sugar: The Bitter Truth", by Dr. Lustig. It was on youtube. My mom told me about it, cause there was a little bit about it on 60 minutes then she watched the whole video too. It is about an hour and a half lecture, but it is really interesting. It talks about how sugar is so bad for us. High fructose corn syrup is in everything and it is making us all fat. That was the gist of it, but there was so much more! You need to watch it, you will never look at sugar the same way again!

Day 20, April 20, 2012

Today was Friday. I ate lunch at panera, it was so good. I had the mediteranean veggie sandwich, it was really good! But i guess it had a little cheat in it - feta cheese. Since i went to lunch, i did not exercise. Oh well. I really better get back on my bike next week!!

Last night's reading was about external motivators. It says that people who develop motivators beyond just their personal health do better! I think that is really true, because i know that i do a lot better with external motivations. The particular ones mentioned in the book were the environment and animals. It was pretty interesting, really makes you think how what we eat as a society causes harm to the environment. I guess I am helping, by being vegan. :)

Day 19, April 19, 2012

The reading from last night was about trying to add new and different foods to your diet, and to your normal diet. Like, add different toppings to your salad, that you wouldn't necessarily think about. Or put more things on your pizza to take place of the cheese. There was a quick tip at the end that was really good for me. They gave some tips on what kind of things freeze well, and what kinds don't. Salad, fruits, and veggies don't really freeze well because they get soft and mushy because of the ice crystals. Foods that are already soft or liquid freeze good. Also, if a meal needs a crunchy or firm texture it doesn't work either.

My mom told me about a recipe from Dr. Oz for a power smoothie, I want to try it. It sounds good. I really need to go grocery shopping this weekend so i have more foods, and so i can try a couple of recipes.

Yesterday, I also learned how to see QUINOA. I was pronouncing it qwi-noh-ah. But it is actually pronounced keen-wah. :) Yay! I still haven't tried to eat it, but now i at least know how to say it!

Today i did not exercise. I hope i still lose weight this week, i have been slacking a little bit.....

Day 18, April 18, 2012

Do you ever have a hard time sleeping? A healthy diet will help you sleep better! And sleeping better helps you stick to a healthy diet! I actually see how that makes sense, because it says that if you aren't sleep-deprived it is easier to say no to temptation. One thing i really didn't know or ever think about is the fact that when you sleep your brain produces the appetite-control hormone. Anyway, it also gives tips on how to sleep better. Increasing physical activity, avoiding caffiene, avoiding alcohol, are all good tips.

Mom and I tried to play tennis tonight for exercise! I think we did get a pretty good work out, because uh, we aren't very good, so we had to chase the ball all over, ha ha!! I didn't ride my bike today, i went out to lunch, and it was windy anyway!

Day 17, April 17, 2012

Last nights reading was about foods that conquer pain. Very interesting. There are certain foods that cause you to have inflammations, migraines, back pain, and cramps! So, if you eliminate those foods, you can eliminate those problems. I thought that was pretty cool. A plant-based diet really helps a lot of these problems to go away.

Today I was really hungry. I think I didn't eat enough food throughout the day. And my salad at lunch was really gross, you know how it gets gross and wilty? That's how my salad was. I hate it when it was like that. I also used some really gross dressing. So, it was just BAD. I really need to go grocery shopping.

I am really craving a taco bell burrito. But the cool thing, is I can have it! just with no cheese! yay! I haven't given in yet though. I will try not to think about it. I didn't go get it today. I ate leftovers for dinner. I don't know what I am going to take for lunch tomorrow since I really really don't want a salad. We'll see.

Day 16, April 16, 2012

I weighed in last night, and yay I lost 8 lbs!!! :) So, in the first three weeks, I have lost 8 lbs. I really hope that it keeps going!! I don't think it will be as fast, but hopefully I can still average at least 1 lb a week. I would like that!! It would be even better if it was closer to 2 lbs a week, or maybe 5 lbs a month. We'll have to see what happens. I lost 2 lbs last week, without exercise. I rollerbladed yesterday, i rode my bike AND rollerbladed today.

My reading last night was about protecting your cells and slowing the aging process by eating more antioxidents that help block free radicals. It was really interesting that it is so important to eat vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts and seeds that have beta carotene, vitamin c, vitamin e, etc. They help your cells natural defenses against free radicals. It was also interesting to me that there are certain foods you can eat that actually encourage the production of free radicals. Gross right? The ones in particular that they mentioned are iron (which you can get too much of if you eat a lot of meat or take supplements), alcohol and oils.

See you tomorrow!

Day 15, April 15, 2012

My last reading was about choosing good carbs. Yay, I can have carbs on this diet! :) But you have to learn about good carbs. There are a lot of good carbs you can have with low glycemic indexes. It also talks about how important fiber is. A healthy diet should have forty grams of fiber per day! That's a lot of fiber! But its not that hard to get there if you eat the right foods.

I went rollerblading today! I really need to be better at exercising this week. My excuse this week was that it was raining! But I do have a bike trainer at home, so I should have ridden at night at home!

I haven't weighed myself yet, I hope I was able to lose weight this week even though I didn't exercise. I will let you know tomorrow how my weigh-in goes!

Day 14, April 14, 2012

Beans Beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot! That is what I think of when I think of beans! Beans are sooooo good for you though! Especially on a vegan diet, they help you get your protein! This is what my last reading was about. I really need to try to eat more of them. I do like them a lot. It also gives a couple of tips if they give you gas - you should start small, get used to them first, and then make sure to cook them well. Beans should be really soft, that will help your gas. :) Also, different types may give you different levels of... ahem....issues.

I didn't eat out today. I ate well. I need to go grocery shopping tomorrow. It was a nice day today, and I should have exercised, but i didn't. Hopefully I will go rollerblading with mom tomorrow that will be good exercise.

Day 13, April 13, 2012

Last night's reading was cool! It was about fighting cancer with food. There was this lady that had cancer and when she changed what she ate she got better. Amazing. It is good to know that there are foods you can eat that can help fight cancer. Cruciferous vegetables are really good for you,they stimulate your liver to make enzymes that detoxify and remove chemical pollutants. I didn't know that they did that. Good thing I like broccoli and cauliflower! Cruciferous veggies make me think of Big Bang Theory though, when Sheldon starts having cruciferous vegatables night, and they cause him to have bad gas! That was a funny one!!

I had chipotle for lunch! It is easy to eat vegan there, and it is still super good! I didn't exercise today, still raining.

Day 12, April 12, 2012

The reading for day 11 was about tips for eating well, and sticking to your diet when you travel. It has some good tips about making sure you have snacks, get hotel rooms with kitchen and go to a local grocery store. It also talks about how it is easier now to eat vegetarian and vegan - there are more choices than there used to be.

I think this whole new lifestyle and any diet is about making the right choices. It is always a choice. Just an example, before i started this diet if i went to subway i would have chips and soda as a side. But when i went while on this diet, i got apples and water. Most places you go, you just make a choice to eat healthy. Why didn't I do this before, right? :)

Day 11, April 11, 2012

Last night's reading was about convenience foods. This was a really good reading, because i like things that are easy and convenient! I am going to have to try couscous again sometime. it was on the convenient list. It also had quick tips at the end about shortcuts you can take to cook quicker. It has been raining all week, so i haven't been able to ride my bike or rollerblade. At least I have still been eating well. Last night I did a mid-week weigh in and i was at 225! yay!

Day 10, April 10, 2012

Last night's reading was about heart health. It discussed the fact that this diet is good for your heart. I watched the forks over knives documentary the other night and it also talked a lot about how much better a plant based diet is for your heart than meat and dairy! This diet can actually help reverse the plaque build up in your heart. Anyway, it is good to know that hopefully i won't have a heart attack anymore, if i stay on this diet and keep losing weight.

I am getting a new recipe for lasagna from my friend Caleb, and I am so excited! Cause the other vegan one i made was kinda yucky!! This one is better!!! He let me try a piece, so i know it is good! Hopefully i can make it as good!

No exercise today, it was raining during lunch so no bike ride. I was supposed to go out to eat tonight, but i felt kinda sick this afternoon so i cancelled and now i am home relaxing. Hopefully i will feel better tomorrow. I don't even think i am going to eat dinner.

See you tomorrow!

Day 9, April 9, 2012

Last night's reading was about cravings! It had some good tips! It was interesting to me that there are certain foods that trigger opiate effects and that is why we crave them. They trigger the release of dopamine, just like recreational drugs do. The four main things we crave are (1) sugar (and starchy foods that turn into sugar), (2) chocolate, (3) cheese, and (4) meat! All four of these have opiate effects and trigger dopamine and that is why they taste so good, and we binge on them and crave them. Crazy! So far, I haven't really had any cravings. I am sure it will come though. I need to mark this section in the book, and make sure i can come back to it easily. The main advice was that most people actually do better with cravings when they quit cold turkey, instead of teasing yourself with small amounts. If you manage to avoid it long enough the craving diminishes. The book also advises to eat a good breakfast, eat foods that keep your blood sugar steady, do something to distract yourself at the time of day if you are having them at the same time every day, and get a lot of exercise which in itself releases the same endorphins and dopamine.

Today I had Mr. Falafel for lunch, and it was soooooo good! I love falafel!! Which is good, because it is on my diet, yay!! I had lentil soup for dinner.

For exercise, I went rollerblading with mom!

I really hope I keep losing weight. I really hope that it goes faster than 1 lb a week. That just seems sooooooo sloooooowwwwww. I want to lose about 75 lbs all together, that means it is going to take 75 weeks, which is like a year and a half. I don't know if i have the patience!! It would be even better if i could lose two lbs a week. We'll have to see. These first two weeks i have lost about 6 lbs, so that is 3 lbs a week...... :)

Day 8, April 8, 2012

Here I am on Day 8. Starting a new week! I haven't done my weigh in yet, but i will before I go to bed and let you know tomorrow!

I got my exercise today working out in the yard at my sisters house. We had taco bell for lunch, which wasn't too good for me I know, but I had no meat or cheese, and not too much to eat. For dinner I had a salad, and then snacked on hummus and corn chips.

The reading for last night, the one i didn't read cause i didn't have my book with me was about eating for energy. This diet really does give you more energy. I feel a lot better than i was feeling. I don't feel as yucky or sluggish as I was. I don't feel like just sitting on my ass, I feel like doing something. I still like naps, I don't think I have been taking them as long or as often on the weekends as I was before. The book talked about two different athletes who are on a vegan diet, and say that it gives them more energy, and better recovery time so they can keep training more often.

Another tip that helped me in this night's reading, was that you should put higher-protein meals in the morning so you feel more awake and alert, and put your starchy meals in the evening because they make you more sleepy. Did you know that starchy foods produce serotonin (which is the chemical that is involved in mood regulation and sleep) and protein blocks it? I didn't know that.

Day 7, April 7, 2012

Today I came to my sisters house and my dad & brother met me here. We had olive garden for lunch (minestrone soup, salad, and breadsticks), and taco salad for dinner (no cheese of course). I did have a little bit of ranch on my taco salad, but you know what? It didn't even taste good! Then we tried to make brownies substituting applesauce for the egg, but we think we accidentally put too much oil in it, because they came out super oily and soupy and nasty, so we ended up throwing them away. No problem, I am not really craving any sweets anyway. It didn't really sound good either. I am a little disappointed in myself because I didn't get any exercise in today. I better help walk the dogs tomorrow!!

I didn't bring my book with me, but i will read it and write on it tomorrow!

Day 6, April 6, 2012

Well, today was my 33rd birthday! Usually I am kind of depressed on my birthday, but today I am grateful that I made it another year, and I am making changes so I will live longer.

I took the day off, and went to a movie with my mom, then dinner with my mom and stepdad. I chose to have Japanese food! It was very yummy!! Vegetable tempura, salad, and california roll. Not sure it was all totally on my diet, but still a lot better choices of food than i would usually choose! yay for me!

The reading in the book was really good, it was about how to still make good choices in social situations. It was helpful, had good suggestions about dealing with bad food at work, and dinner parties, etc. I don't get invited to many dinner parties, but the suggestions about work situations were helpful! There are a few other people dieting at work, so i do have some support there. It is still hard when there are snacks all over. But so far I have been good at resisting them.

I walked my mom's dog before the movie, and then we went rollerblading after the movie, so i still got a little bit of exercise in.

Day 5, April 5, 2012

Today I went bike riding! Yay for me! And i did good on my diet too!

Last night, the reading was about oils. And how you shouldn't use them! It says to keep away from most oils, even olive oil, my favorite! It says to try to cook without oil as much as possible. There was a paragraph that reminded me to "skip fried foods, avoid adding oils to foods, and look for packaged productes with no more than two or three grams of fat per serving." Good tips, but will be pretty hard.

Tomorrow might be a challenging day. It is my birthday and my mom and stepdad want to take me to dinner. I am not sure where to go!! Wherever I go, i need to change what i would usually order, which makes me a little sad. :( I was thinking Japanese food sounds good, but i used to order chicken teryaki and california roll or tempura and california roll. The chicken is definitely out, and the tempura is not really okay because it is fried. For california roll, can i stil have the imitation crab? Is it considered meat? My other idea was Spaghetti Factory, and I think everything is safe there? but i just had spaghetti last night. Anyways, I will decide, and i will let you know! :)

Day 4, April 4, 2012

Last night, the reading in the book was about dairy substitutes! Right on! I needed this one. It had some good tips. Mostly stuff i had read before in other places, but it is good that i can have a go to section of the book that i can go reference when i need it. I really need to find a vegan cheese. I like almond milk, i know that much for sure.

I went out to lunch at Black Bear Diner, and ordered pancakes, before i thought about the fact that there is eggs and milk in the batter!!! I am still learning! it is hard sometimes to remember that eggs and milk and cheese are hidden in a lot of things!!!

No exercise today either. It was sooooo windy and cold that i didn't ride my bike or rollerblade today. Its a good thing too, cause my allergies are soooo bad today too. i have been sneezing and sneezing and coughing all afternoon! I don't think it is a cold, i think it is a bunch of crap blowing in the wind.

Ok, that is it for tonight.

Day 3 - April 3, 2012

Last night's book reading was about meat replacements. So, again there was brought up my question - soy or not soy? They touched on the controversy that there is thought that it is bad for you, and thought that it is good for you! This book seemed to lean more towards the fact that it is good for you, and that tofu is a great meat substitute. Other meat substitutes mentioned are beans, and store bought veggie meats. So far, I am doing fine without meat. The one craving that I forsee coming at one point (unless i can continually think about how gross meat is) is that I LOVE me a good BBQ tri tip sandwich....

Tonight I also realized that my favorite beans (Ranch Style) are canned in animal fat, so I can't eat those any more! I did tonight though! Cheater! But it was my last can, so I won't eat them again!

When I am at work and it is super boring and slow, which today was, I just want to eat!!! I am soooooo bored that i want to eat!! I brought just enough food to get me through but it was awfully hard today not to scrounge around the office for candy or snacks!!! But I made it through!! Yay for me!!

As far as exercise for me today, i did not get out and ride. I really should have, because it probably would have woken me up from my neverending boredom at work. I did take a break, just didn't ride. Well, there is always tomorrow!

Day 2 - April 2, 2012

So, today is Day 2 of my official 21 day kickstart. The book says you shouldn't be hungry if you eat enough of the right food, and the fiber food that will stick with you. I am not sure I am eating enough because i am pretty hungry throughout the day. That is dangerous! There are always snacks and crap to eat at work, and i need to make sure i stay away from it!! I decided that with this new lifestyle change that it includes not eating any crap at work. I am only going to eat what I bring in. So, this is a challenge in itself. It is hard because when i am hungry, or bored, or stressed or upset i just want to eat everything!!

I rode my bike today, AND i rollerbladed tonight! So, I did good on the exercise today!

I haven't read the book entry for Day 2 yet, I will read it before I go to bed and write down my thoughts tomorrow.

How come there are so many good recipes that are vegetarian, but they all have cheese??? I LOVE cheese! But i can't use it! i better find a good vegan one.....

Day 1 - April 1, 2012

Today I rollerbladed with Mom for about 45 minutes, then went to the mall. We got our normal caramel macchiatos at starbucks, but tried with soy milk. YUCK. I did not like that. Guess I will have to cheat with real milk when I have starbucks! I went to Trader Joe’s and Safeway to get some groceries after that – side note – I HATE going to the grocery store. But I HAVE to do it. This diet is not going to work unless I do better with that! I have been feeling so gross AND poor, because I have been eating out way too much!!! Anyway, I got quite a bit of good for me foods, then I went home and started to cook. I tried this recipe from online for vegan veggie lasagna. http://www.food.com/recipe/vegan-veggie-lasagna-115553. I ended up substituting a few things (almond milk instead of soy milk, Italian seasoning instead of basil seasoning and oregano seasoning), and either I ruined it, or it wasn’t really that good of a recipe in the first place!! I really don’t know how to live without cheese. I know this lasagna would have been awesome, if I had only been able to put cottage cheese in it, instead of this tofu mixture. L Boo.

My starting weigh-in officially for the 21 day Kickstart on April 1 was 229!!! So, the first week, just not eating out, or meat & eggs, I lost 4 lbs!!!! Yay!!!!

Before Official Day 1

I purchased the books and started reading on March 24th, and haven’t had meat or eggs since the 25^th, but I am considering my first official day of the 21 day Kickstart where I follow the book, and read each day’s entry as directed as April 1, 2012. I already have made a good start, just by cutting out meat and eggs, in the first week, I lost 4 lbs! It actually hasn’t been that bad. Especially giving up meat. These books have painted such a nasty picture of meat and where it comes from and how bad it is for you, that now I am so grossed out, that I don’t even want it!! Eggs too! Yuck!!! The cheese is the hardest to give up. I have already decided that I am probably going to cheat and still have my starbucks once a week with milk (unless soy doesn’t taste too bad, I will try it tomorrow) and my coffee every morning with flavored dairy creamer. I just can’t give that up…..yet. Cheese is also going to be very hard to give up. So many good vegetarian recipes have cheese!!!! How am I going to live without it!!!

Goals

I am planning on weighing myself every Sunday night before bed. I have been told I should weigh myself in the morning, with no clothes on, after I pee! But my thought is, no matter what the weight says, as long as I do it at the same time every week, I will see the loss. So, it is most convenient for me to remember to weigh myself on Sunday nights, and that is what I am doing! My first weigh in, on March 25^th, I weighed 233. I am too lazy to actually measure myself, so I am going to track my progress by weight and by clothes sizes. Right now I wear extra large shirts, a 36D bra, and size 18 pants. I would like these to go away! I would really like to be in a size 10 and medium size shirts, and smaller bras!! My goal is to lose 1 lb per week. Ultimately, I need to lose about 70 lbs, but I am trying to think in small baby steps! My first baby step goal is to lose 10 lbs in 10 weeks, so by June 3, I would like to weigh 223.

These books don’t really focus on exercise, but I know I need it. I was being really good about bike riding in Gilroy almost every week day. I started last May, but then when the weather got bad and I went on Christmas vacation I kind of stopped. My goal is to start going at least 3 times a week again! I also am going to be rollerblading with my mom some evenings and weekends. I am going to be logging these fitness accomplishments too!

A Healthy Lifestyle Change

I am starting a new diet, sorry, no, I mean a HEALTHY LIFESTYLE CHANGE! Using the “21 Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol, and Dramatically Improve Your Health” by Neal D. Barnard, and “Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health by Gene Stone as my tools, I am going on a plant-based/vegan diet! In the 21 Day Weight Loss book, he suggests writing about how you feel, and I feel like doing it by blog. So, join me on this adventure if you like, if not no problem, I just want to write it all down for myself!

I hope this works for me. I have tried all kinds of different diets, etc, and nothing seems to work completely. I did the South Beach Diet in 2003, and lost a lot of weight. I was down to a size 8!!! But then as soon as I started eating carbs again, I ballooned back up!! I have heard that happens to a lot of people. I have tried weight watchers, and I lost a little bit of weight, but I found it just too annoying to count points. I hate counting calories, points, etc. It is much easier for me and my brain to just not have something than to have to moderate it and have a little bit and count what I had. Just doesn’t work for me. Cutting out carbs was very very hard. It seems to me that there are not as many substitutes for carbs, especially bread. There is nothing like a warm piece of bread. I think a vegan diet is going to work better, just because I can still have carbs, and there are so many substitutes (taste-wise) that I can eat instead of meat or eggs or cheese. These are my hopes anyway!!!

One thing I am a little worried about is my soy intake. I had some hormonal problems a couple of years ago, and I believe that part of it was caused by drinks I was having that had plant estrogen in them, which is also an ingredient in soy. I am afraid if I have too much soy, I will have those hormonal problems again. Hopefully, the soy in the veggie meats and tofu won’t be enough to cause a problem. I don’t like soy milk, so I won’t be drinking it, so that will help lower the intake. I am not sure, this worries me, but I don’t think I can NOT have veggie meats or tofu either, otherwise I am going to have less variety and be less likely to stick to the diet. We’ll see how it goes. I know what symptoms to watch for…..

So, here we go.