Don't you miss it?

One of the things I hear a lot from people that I tell I no longer eat meat, dairy, sugar & oil is...don't you miss it?  Don't you miss steak?  Don't you miss cheese?  Don't you miss cheesecake?  They say, "I don't know how you do it and I could NEVER give that up!"

Believe me when I say, I said the exact same thing when it was proposed to me!  So I understand.  But I can honestly say I do not miss it!

How can I say that you might ask?  What I don't miss is the burning lava that would come up in my throat and take my breath away (despite the numerous meds I was taking to prevent it).  I don't miss waking up at 3 am with hives and horrible cramping and diarrhea.  I don't miss the constant diarrhea and fear that I wouldn't make it to the bathroom in time!  I don't miss the debilitating migraines that seriously had me contemplating suicide at one point because the pain was so unbearable!

NO I don't miss eating a Standard American Diet (S.A.D.).  You don't realize how bad you feel until you begin to feel good.  The realization for me one day was that I didn't feel anything and it kind of surprised me.  One day I thought, wow I don't hurt and it felt wonderful!  I felt so light and clear headed and full of energy.  Now that I would miss!

I don't feel like I have sacrificed anything when I have gained so much.  The cool thing is...You can do it to!  I don't care what physical problems you have, I guarantee you that if you stop eating S.A.D. and start eating a whole foods plant-based diet, your problems will improve with time!

Then & Now

I never really looked forward to birthdays because I really didn't have much to celebrate.  My life was increasingly becoming more and more miserable the more weight I gained.  I was suffering from intense GERD, almost daily migraines, and very depressed among other things.

Even more than the weight loss, I am really proud of the results and changes in my lab work!

                           2011                                             2013
Weight:                  344                                            239
Total Cholesterol:   192                                            137
HDL:                       39                                              34
LDL:                      123                                              88
Trigylcerides:          152                                              75
Blood Pressure:      139/92                                       122/70

I always heard that since I don't eat meat or dairy that my B12 and D levels would be low and I would have to supplement.  I did for awhile but haven't taken any in about 6 months.  Those levels are both within normal range too!

So there you have it, proof that eating a whole foods, plant-based diet works and if I can do it anyone can do it! What are you waiting for?

Through Thick and Hopefully Thin!

2011, 2012, 2013

I've known Kristie since I moved here to Indiana almost 13 years ago.  We have been through a lot together but the one constant struggle for both of us was our weight.

I'm so proud of us both that we have finally gotten to a point in our lives where we are focused on getting healthy instead of just doing whatever to lose the weight and get skinny.

It would have been so easy to give up and just not even try and believe me we did at one time or another.  Actually we just took breaks.  It was weird how we rarely were in the same place at the same time.

One of us would be doing well with our goals and losing weight and the other seemed to be struggling. I guess God had things planned that way so we could support each other and encourage each other to keep fighting.

It's exciting now that both of us are on the same page at the same time with plant-based, no oil, no sugar, eating.

I'm excited to see what this year brings and know that we will touch a lot of lives with all the years of experience of battling but learning how to overcome!

Changing For The Better!

 

 

This is what I made for dinner tonight! I used Rice noodles instead of rice! It was good! I got the recipe and for the next month all my recipes from www.protectivediet.com! I love this site and it has a lot of great recipes! The one I made tonight you can get here http://protectivediet.com/chinese-take-in.html.  I am not big on spicy so usually if a recipe calls for something spicy I don't use it.  I sometimes skip the salt in recipes to. 

 

 

I am excited to share with you that I am going to change my lifestyle once and for all! I am sick of being fat! I am sick of craving sugar! Just once I would love to go past a bakery and not dream how I would buy a whole cake! Then I would go to the corner of the room and eat it in secret!  I don't want to eat anything in secret.  You know if your doing it in secret something is not right! I want to be proud of my health and proud of what I am eating!  I talked to the creator of the website Protective diet the other day! Her name is Julie and she was so inspiring and encouraging! I look forward to talking to her more and getting to know her! Read her inspiring story http://protectivediet.com/my-journey. You may have to sign up to see the recipes but it is free! Soooo worth it!  I am offically taking Sugar, Oil, Nuts, Dairy and Meat out of my diet Monday! I pretty much have for the most part already!  (Just in the last few days)  This isn't easy but I am so ready to do it! I hope you continue reading and going through this journey with me! I will blog before Monday about where I am at! You can actually read some of previous blogs and see not long ago I was in a rut.  Check out the sites and tell me what you think!

One of my inspirations

I came across a website a while back called plantpurity.com! It was neat because Julie Marie had a ton of recipes on her site.  Not only that if I had a question she would answer me!  I have made several of her dishes and they were yummie! I am excited to make some more of them to.  Her diet has no oils, sugars, dairy, or meat!   Just reading her story inspires me and when I go to her site I get excited about stuff all over again..haha  So if you get a chance check her out! She has changed this up a bit and now is protective diet! 

I really want to be free of my sugar addiction:(!!  I am sick of craving chocolate everyday or sugar! She recommends you going cold turkey for a month! If you do so she says things like lettuce start to taste sweet because your taste buds change.  I would not know because I usually don't make it a day without some kind of sugar in my diet.  Anyway if anyone is interested and would like to start this journey with me comment below! I would love to be able to encourage each other and inspire each other to get healthy.