The Hunger Games

I am going to be honest... I was HUNGRY this week. I couldn't stop looking in the fridge or going thru the cupboards...secretly hoping that I would come across a vegetable that would taste like a cheeseburger. .ANYTHING. Its been 3 weeks and I was doing so well.. then my mind turned on me. The mantra I was repeating over and over, "Food is fuel, not for fun. Food is fuel, not for fun!!" Wasn't working anymore .. was I  too naive to think that this wasn't coming.???. Everything has its pitfalls. Even the most positive plan have negative points...and did I mention in earlier posts that I jumped into this without a ton of the "basics" ?? Let me explain:

1. First and foremost ... I miss meat... Kinda like a smoker misses the smell and feel of a cigarette. its a comfort to smell a roast cooking and to taste the juiciness of a perfect steak... you know it's bad for you but it calms you down. You, and by YOU I mean me, may even breakdown and have chicken pasta with cream sauce at a out of town restaurant. This is NOT a good idea. There is a scene in the 1995 movie French Kiss..where Meg Ryan is on a train traveling thru the country side of France and decides to eat all of a cheese platter cause it tasted good.. then it shows her holding onto a  handle and screaming "SPASM! SPASM! OH, GOD, HERE IT COMES...LACTOSE INTOLERANCE! " then the scene breaks to her coming out of the bathroom... yep I was there.. that very moment and on a date!

2. You never realize how meat is the center of attention in EVERYTHING. Making meat free meals..then throw in dairy free as well((no cheese)) is tougher than you think. We base a meal off of a meat staple most of the time. whether its fish then rice...or chicken and potatoes or steak and um..steak. well, you get the point.

3. Changing your lifestyle means changing your kitchen. This was a tear- it -apart week long process. stressful to say the least. Ridding the cupboards of processed food, oil-based products and making it a Vegan friendly atmosphere is exhausting and may require a stay at a mental hospital and several nights of take out Thai food. There were tears shed. There is a never ending list of items we are missing to create simple dishes so we are constantly heading to the market. It's learning all the Lingo and about foods you may have never heard of before..what the H is Quinoa or nutritional yeast?? it stepping outside of your NORMAL and learning to change. not easy or very enjoyable sometimes.

Enough complaining now. There are tons of tools to use in order to get thru the headaches. The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn has a wealth of information and recipes ... also there are many Vegan websites that make simple dishes and give you tips to change. If you "cheat" don't  give up. No matter what change your trying to make.. Food, financial, spiritual or all three...( Lord knows there is a blog that would really open your eyes to my crazy life) never give up.  It almost makes you a better person to share you failures than to do it perfectly. After all, we are just human and this is not a crazy dystopia where we are thrown into an arena to fight to the death.((( Unless we are winning a steak.. there are some days I would kill for a steak. ))

GOODBYE STEAK****CRIES****

We are into week 2!!! I love this food. Don't be scared... it has tons of flavor and variety! It fills you up and stays with you longer. Is it Hard? Yes and No... I love Steak(((almost to the point of tears))) Steak with mushroom sauce, steak with lobster topping, steak medium rare....MMMMMMM STEAK!! But I love my body more. And I haven't felt this great since I was in High School, um***cough,cough**** 14ish years ago!!!

I ran ran 2 miles in 16 minutes yesterday(for me that's AMAZING). ENOUGH said.

So lets talk about the staring point since this is about progress and change...This is the part I don't like((no female likes)) Below is my starting stats as of last week:

Weight: 147( I am down to 139)
height:5'3 (Yes... I know this wont change..makes me cry a little)
Body fat: 25%
Hips: 39
Waist: 32
Chest: 36
SEE before Pics

Okay. There. We have that out of the way. I would like that to look a little different, more like this:

Weight:130 ((I have seen women my height with fantastic muscle tone at 125))
Height: 5'7 hahahahahha
Body Fat: 18%
Hips:36
waist: 28
Chest: I don't want to lose any more here..but I will...cuz that's what goes first.

BEFORE

I do want a flat stomach again so I can plank with confidence!! But that's all diet and Cardio.. burn away that layer of FAT to uncover those abs I have been working on.I normally would have just done cardio and stayed there...3 plus miles at a time. DAILY. but that's me... its cathartic. My stress reliever. My me time. Nothing was changing though. Sure I had more energy than I did before I started to be serious about getting my workouts in....but I didn't really change what I was eating..or drinking.  I was still tired half way thru the day and my joints hurt on a regular basis. I have also struggled with serious anxiety issues that leave me feeling overwhelmed and shutdown.  Then I was introduced to the wonderful world of LIFTING! Put that together with this Plant based diet  and WHAM ...RESULTS! I have cut out all dairy, eggs and meats..for right now..(if it has a mommy and daddy. DON'T eat it! ) I gave up Diet Coke... COLD turkey and am downing water like a mad women... and ZERO alcohol!!! ZERO. I exercise 6 days a week... no excuses. That may not be for everyone, but its for me.

I said before that I feel GREAT.. because I do. In a little over a week my joints don't hurt (( my hands had it the worst and they feel so light now) and I am down 8 pounds...and best of all..completely calm.  My anxiety is shrunk to a little more than a fleeting thought. Is it hard? YES.. I am only into week 2.. and I took my brother to Sizzler for lunch the other day and he had a STEAK.. it smelled DIVINE and had just that tiny touch of blood I LOVE, smothered in buttery mushrooms. MMMMMMMMMM... could have acted like a rabid animal and tore across the table.

But I didn't... I had a salad.

Drive down the Blue lakes, Our main road .. and you smell all the different restaurants.. and I could easily pull into a drive thru and order a cheeseburger(((my mouth just watered))) and a diet coke. But I don't. I want to fuel my body... not reward it with food.    


I load up on good food... like Thai food and whole wheat Pastas.. and fruits and veggies. Trying out new recipes has been rewarding and comical at the same time...making Tofu Stroganoff failed big time! I have yet to master the art of Tofu, but I know I like it when I eat out. My mother and I have been pouring over recipes  and it seems like we are at the store everyday for something we didn't know we would need. But like anything new you work out the kinks and soon it will flow smoothly. Very much looking forward to that day.

So far I have really enjoyed the Salads... I get very creative and throw things together. I really loved the Spring rolls and Ginger sauce (((bought at Costco))) and the Potato enchiladas ..Recipes can be found on Forksoverknives.com. Like I said earlier there is a huge variety of food.. I haven't even scratched the surface .. and I am seeing and feeling the effects.

Forks over Knives

Okay Kids, here we go....kinda. This was and is a great idea.. I can you give a a million reasons why((well more like 5))...  like everything else in my life I jumped right in and didn't plan. But lets not start there... lets start with why:

1. No Brainer. Plants are good for you!!
2. I want to be healthy and, not going to lie, have a smoking hot bod
3.I want to set a good example for my babies and my family.
4.I want to be inspirational to other females and single mama'
5. I need a project!! (( cuz you know what they say about idle hands))

Before I get to far ahead of myself, I am going to say that the documentary Forks Over Knives is a huge catalyst for my motivation here. Watch it. It makes sense. Also My Fathers  run in with Bladder Cancer.  So before I get lectures on the Whys? Or the Traditional belief that Protein is Life... or any Moral point of view.. let me clarify that this is 12 weeks of me learning it and a lifetime of keeping it.

So why kinda?? Well for starters... I didn't even know the difference between Vegan and Vegetarian. Vegans use no animal products of ANY kind..  right down to what they wear. It tends to be a moral issue rather than a health issue but could be both. Vegetarians, on the other hand, abstain from meat products like beef, chicken, pork, fish ect... but will eat dairy and eggs... and seemingly do it for health conscious reasons.

Although I do not have any moral reason (sorry Vegans.. I own a leather jacket) I do fall under the Vegan guidelines for food. Kinda. This is where my "jumping in" gets me in trouble. I want to do this.. I see the value..I believe the science. I HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO MAKE THE FOOD. Oh I could make smoothies all day... or oatmeal with strawberries and Bananas....but I didn't realize how many doors I shut when I said no dairy or eggs!!  Research is a must. The food is out there and in a wide variety..but failing to plan is planning to FAIL.

Now.. Now.. no diet is complete without exercise.. and I started that a while ago. But to be perfectly honest  I am not seeing the results I want.. and  Guess what?? Its all diet related!! Animal fat in..even with exercise. ..equals  belly fat, cellulite and low energy in comparison to a Plant based diet. I am very excited to see what 12 weeks of the two combined will do.

I promise my posts will not be this boring... yes, boring((I'm even  yawning at this point))  but I wanted to establish the whys and  the whats before I started posting horror stories of Tofu gone bad ((happened today)) and random pics of food and me doing sweaty workout stuff... and before pics((Gawd.. I still need to do that)). This is going to be an adventure.. so consider this The Preface.