I still don't know what general direction my blog is going in these days, but right now I am writing here to make myself start that "going on a diet" I keep going on about. I need to lose a significant number of pounds after slowly, sneakily gaining a LOT of weight over the last three months or so.
I plan to eat smaller portions (eat one helping slowly instead of having two), log my eats and any feelings at/before/after eating times, and stick wholeheartedly to veganism (with an occasional egg). I am going to limit drinks to water, unsweetened teas, and the occasional decaf coffee with soy milk. nothing with added sugar, even vitamin water which i love from time to time. Red wine now and then is exempt ;-)
I am going to cook in water and low sodium veggie broth and skip the oils mostly.
I am going to eat as unprocessed as possible, staying away from even organic prepackaged crackers, etc. I don't believe in forgoing carbs but instead of gluten-heavy pasta I might use quinoa, for example. I also am going to cut back on the fake bacon, tofurkey, even on tofu, and just fill up on natural protein sources like lentils and beans instead.
No vegan ice cream. No dairy. No French Fries, and NO potato chips. These are my WORST weaknesses. When I crave them I am going to ... I don't know, have a big glass of water. Or come up with an alternative to feeding myself when I most certainly do not need to be fed! Maybe just remembering the truly hungry people in developing countries or heck on our own streets will be enough :-(
Right now, I'm having a "last meal" of a slice of pepperjack cheese and saying goodbye to all things cow, with any luck for good this time! Those of you who read me regularly know what a constant battle this is for me between body and psyche.
I am also committing to being more active, to start with at LEAST a good brisk 1/2 hour walk a day, but more ideally at least an hour every day TWICE a day between hiking and walking. I plan on doing at least a sun salutation or two a day toward my yoga practice. I don't think this is unreasonable.
If anyone else has any good advice for me, I'd love to hear it. I'm ready to get my healthy body and body image back.
I'll be in Boston tomorrow and Tuesday and will be hitting a game up at Fenway park. Can't wait! Don't worry I'll do my best to eat well! ;-)
Plans for the rest of my time here: more hiking. more beach. vegan baked something with the blueberries i picked. maybe with a local egg snuck in.
I'm looking forward too to being home in Kentucky again and showing you the progress on our apartment/"homeschool" !!!
Hey Karen, you're really loading up on the NOs and instead maybe focus on unlimited YES (fresh, healthy, veggie, complex carb, protein) items. I know you can do whatever you set out to, but the above sounds like a harsh manifesto to yourself. Coming from a tough place. Be kind to your body and soul and mind and allow a few indulgences so that you don't crash and.. binge. I used to calorie restrict with the raw food, and while it's certainly effective, the sudden impact of lower cals was mentally fatiguing. I would occasionally go nutso as soon as I had my hands on a bran muffin, etc. Love you!!! You are gorgeous and healthy & eat very incredibly well..!
ReplyDeleteHi Karen,
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the needing to lose quite a few pounds. It's so hard isn't it. You seem to be like me and eat lots of good foods but just enjoy too many "treats". Not fair I tell you :-(. But that's life. I'm actually planning on going back to Weight Watchers (again) this week to try and help get my snacking under control. Oh, and I do like Sarah's idea to focus on what you can have rather than what you can't. Look forward to following your progress. Hoping you can inspire me to cut back on dairy. After my brief stint on a vegan diet I'm back to consuming too much, though I have stuck with the soy milk (don't like the taste of almond).