This blog has been sadly neglected this past month. We have strayed far from our healthy eating goals recently, and I decided to just take a break from the blog and kept hoping that I'd snap back, and once again focus on healthy eating. Never happened.
But this week, we found out that my husband, Chuck, has improved his health and I think it's at least in part due to the plant-based diet. Chuck hasn't been exercising, he hasn't changed anything other than his diet and yes, he does occasionally eat foods not on our plant-based plan. So we were not sure if the changes were helping us or not.
His employer this past week provided a health check right at the office. They had the same program one year ago, and at that time, we saw a lot of room for improvement in Chuck's health. This year, there actually has been improvement! We are extremely encouraged about the effectiveness of the plant-based diet, which we based on the Forks Over Knives program.
Chuck weighed 235 pounds this time last year and, according to the results of this week's testing, he's down to 194 pounds. And that's about all he needs to lose, really, now he just wants to firm up and to do that, he needs to exercise. But he's not planning on giving up on the plant-based diet, either.
His body mass index decreased 2.6 points, from 29 to 26.5. The health care worker doing the check up told him the ideal is 25 or lower, so he hopes to change that. His cholesterol reading went from 160 down to 150, and his waist went from 43 inches down to 40 inches. His glucose (blood sugar) reading showed significant change, down to 73 this year from 142 last year. But Chuck said that immediately before testing last year, he had downed a big piece of sugary birthday cake, so he doesn't get too excited by this change.
The only area that showed no change was his blood pressure. However, his doctor has recently halved the amount of blood pressure medication that Chuck is taking, so I'm taking it as a win -- with half the meds, he's still keeping a healthy blood pressure!
Okay, so that's all well and good and I'm proud of Chuck for sticking with the plant-based diet and seeing real results. But, like I said, this past month, we have pretty much given into our old patterns of fast food and just eating whatever we find in front of us, without thinking about our health.
These great results have encouraged us both to get back on track. We are putting together a grocery list today and we're going to get back to eating healthy. I had actually gained back five pounds (I have lost 25 pounds since changing my diet) but I've lost two of those little devils, so overall, I've gained three pounds. I want to lose those back, of course, and keep my eye on the 50-pound loss I had set as a goal previously. Chuck, as I said, really doesn't need to lose more weight, but he needs to decrease his BMI and he needs to keep everything else under control.
We're trying to set small goals for now, because honestly, baby steps work best for us, but in addition to getting our diet back in shape, we both want to start exercising more (in my case, that would be exercising AT ALL). So I'm gonna hop back on my treadmill, which I just realized last night has been sitting idle for nearly a year!!! When I was walking everyday, I felt better, I was happier, and I could walk with far less back pain. All of that has reversed to the same levels I was at before I started walking. Not good. And Chuck has a very sedentary job in computers, so he doesn't get much exercise either. I'm not sure what he's going to do, but he's also planning to change that, so he can tone up and firm up and regain some strength.
And I'm recommitted to keeping this blog updated. I have some new foods to try, even a new cookbook I'm planning to check out, and I am going to try to develop a better grocery-shopping plan, too. I'll let you know how we're doing on all fronts as the weeks go by. Wish us luck!
Showing posts with label healthy eating. Show all posts
Showing posts with label healthy eating. Show all posts
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Self-esteem
Following a diet or food plan should be a matter of figuring out your nutritional requirements, considering your personal tastes and preferences and then just following that plan. As mentioned in an earlier blog, I keep a food journal. We try to do weekly menus. It should be simple.
But it's not. Oh, if my life is on an even keel and no surprises crop up, it works pretty well. It's when I get distracted that I stray off the plan, I eat some meat or I just can't resist french fries. It's not amusing, though it sounds funny "I slipped last night, I just couldn't resist the fried calamari! So delish!"
Almost every time this happens to me, I could resist. There is that moment when I could say "no, I don't want that in my body. Hand me some celery" or whatever. I've found, by keeping the log and reviewing it, that if I'm having a rough day emotionally, I have a hard time sticking to the plan.
My biggest stumbling block is self-esteem. Last year, I went to a "mystical fair", where various psychics, mediums, tarot readers, etc, were offering their services. First, I found a psychic and got a reading. Her first words were "It's really weird, but I'm getting that you're too hard on yourself. That you need to stop putting yourself down."
Dead on. If she had said "you have brown eyes" she couldn't have been more accurate. I moved on to have my tarot read. This psychic studied the cards and looked up with a puzzled look on her face. "For some reason, I'm getting that you are too hard on yourself. You're really into putting yourself down."
Blink. I nodded and my husband, who was standing nearby, let out a loud laugh. I was slightly chagrined. Two psychics, both of whom had never met me before, and they're telling me I'm too hard on myself, that I have poor self esteem. Without even knowing me!
This past week, I had a little problem in my life (since resolved) and was whining about it on Facebook. At least four, maybe more, friends said "You have such poor self-esteem!"
Wow. I really have to work on this! And no surprise, my diet this week has been pretty messed up. I've had meat, cheese, fries, all the things I've eliminated from my diet. And I still haven't got myself up on that treadmill. My goals are not being reached!
So it's a self-fulfilling prophecy -- I don't feel good about myself, so I eat poorly, then I feel queasy, I feel "fat", I feel bad about "cheating". Then my self-esteem drops a little more, and it spirals out of control. The only way for me to stop it is to face it and fix it.
It doesn't matter if I slip once in a while. It doesn't make me a "bad" person, it just means that this one time here, I chose to not follow my plans, which will lead me to meeting my goals. It's not the end of the world. It's not even the end of my diet. It's a stumble. So I have to say to myself "You ate meat for dinner. You are committed to not eating meat. Tomorrow, don't eat meat!" Without adding any self-bashing. That is hard for me, but those words I put in my head and sometimes let slip out of my mouth are not good for me, and are just as important as the food I put in my mouth.
So, it's back to making a plan and sticking to it. To not let drooping self-esteem keep me from getting healthy. To realizing that I am worth the hard work, that I can do it, even if it's tough, even if I'm feeling low, I can choose to eat healthy foods.
But it's not. Oh, if my life is on an even keel and no surprises crop up, it works pretty well. It's when I get distracted that I stray off the plan, I eat some meat or I just can't resist french fries. It's not amusing, though it sounds funny "I slipped last night, I just couldn't resist the fried calamari! So delish!"
Almost every time this happens to me, I could resist. There is that moment when I could say "no, I don't want that in my body. Hand me some celery" or whatever. I've found, by keeping the log and reviewing it, that if I'm having a rough day emotionally, I have a hard time sticking to the plan.
My biggest stumbling block is self-esteem. Last year, I went to a "mystical fair", where various psychics, mediums, tarot readers, etc, were offering their services. First, I found a psychic and got a reading. Her first words were "It's really weird, but I'm getting that you're too hard on yourself. That you need to stop putting yourself down."
Dead on. If she had said "you have brown eyes" she couldn't have been more accurate. I moved on to have my tarot read. This psychic studied the cards and looked up with a puzzled look on her face. "For some reason, I'm getting that you are too hard on yourself. You're really into putting yourself down."
Blink. I nodded and my husband, who was standing nearby, let out a loud laugh. I was slightly chagrined. Two psychics, both of whom had never met me before, and they're telling me I'm too hard on myself, that I have poor self esteem. Without even knowing me!
This past week, I had a little problem in my life (since resolved) and was whining about it on Facebook. At least four, maybe more, friends said "You have such poor self-esteem!"
Wow. I really have to work on this! And no surprise, my diet this week has been pretty messed up. I've had meat, cheese, fries, all the things I've eliminated from my diet. And I still haven't got myself up on that treadmill. My goals are not being reached!
So it's a self-fulfilling prophecy -- I don't feel good about myself, so I eat poorly, then I feel queasy, I feel "fat", I feel bad about "cheating". Then my self-esteem drops a little more, and it spirals out of control. The only way for me to stop it is to face it and fix it.
It doesn't matter if I slip once in a while. It doesn't make me a "bad" person, it just means that this one time here, I chose to not follow my plans, which will lead me to meeting my goals. It's not the end of the world. It's not even the end of my diet. It's a stumble. So I have to say to myself "You ate meat for dinner. You are committed to not eating meat. Tomorrow, don't eat meat!" Without adding any self-bashing. That is hard for me, but those words I put in my head and sometimes let slip out of my mouth are not good for me, and are just as important as the food I put in my mouth.
So, it's back to making a plan and sticking to it. To not let drooping self-esteem keep me from getting healthy. To realizing that I am worth the hard work, that I can do it, even if it's tough, even if I'm feeling low, I can choose to eat healthy foods.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Ups and downs
My life has been very jumbled up lately. A number of things happening, but nothing really getting accomplished. And as my life goes, so goes my eating habits, as you have seen. So it's been a sort of mixed results week -- some good work on the new lifestyle, some conscious decisions to veer from the path.
I don't enjoy telling you all about my less-than-perfect eating; I'd love to be able to say "I'm doing great on this eating plan, never even miss my old favorite foods!"
It's been a couple months and I have missed certain foods. And I have indulged in comfort eating, self-medicating with really bad food. And I've had days where only the BEST foods, the healthiest, the tastiest, the freshest, have passed my lips.
Changing your eating is no small feat. You have to re-learn to grocery shop, re-learn to cook, re-learn to think about food. It's not two vegetables and a meat anymore. You aren't going to just grab a donut on the way to work, or fast food after a long day. You have to plan to do well, to eat well.
Being humans, we don't always have time or energy to plan well. So we mess up, we find ourselves half way across town, hungry, knowing when we get home we'll have at least 30 minutes of cooking ahead of us before we can eat. So it becomes a struggle.
I am determined to keep fighting and moving toward my goals. I plan to eventually be 100 percent vegan. I know the junk food doesn't do my body any good. I know I feel better when I eat healthier food. Now, I just have to keep my feet on the ground and keep heading in the right direction.
I'm going to try in the next few blog posts to share with you some tips on grocery shopping, planning meals, finding recipes. But the goal of this blog is always going to be sharing my experiences as I transform from an enthusiastic meat-eating, soda-drinking slob, to a more health, grain-eating, vegetable-loving vegan.
On another note, but sort of related, I ran across this very funny blog post and really need to share it with you all. It truly expresses the confusion I've felt since beginning this whole foods adventure.
Here's the link:
http://www.nwedible.com/2012/08/tragedy-healthy-eater.html
And, for some fun while learning new recipes, check out the Vegan Black Metal Chef. This guy has a great sense of humor and his recipes are great. He shows on video how to create healthy, vegan dishes. You really ought to check out his "Hail Seitan" video. Hilarious.
Here's that link:
http://veganblackmetalchef.com/videos/hail-seitan/
Have a great week and remember -- EAT YOUR VEGGIES!
I don't enjoy telling you all about my less-than-perfect eating; I'd love to be able to say "I'm doing great on this eating plan, never even miss my old favorite foods!"
It's been a couple months and I have missed certain foods. And I have indulged in comfort eating, self-medicating with really bad food. And I've had days where only the BEST foods, the healthiest, the tastiest, the freshest, have passed my lips.
Changing your eating is no small feat. You have to re-learn to grocery shop, re-learn to cook, re-learn to think about food. It's not two vegetables and a meat anymore. You aren't going to just grab a donut on the way to work, or fast food after a long day. You have to plan to do well, to eat well.
Being humans, we don't always have time or energy to plan well. So we mess up, we find ourselves half way across town, hungry, knowing when we get home we'll have at least 30 minutes of cooking ahead of us before we can eat. So it becomes a struggle.
I am determined to keep fighting and moving toward my goals. I plan to eventually be 100 percent vegan. I know the junk food doesn't do my body any good. I know I feel better when I eat healthier food. Now, I just have to keep my feet on the ground and keep heading in the right direction.
I'm going to try in the next few blog posts to share with you some tips on grocery shopping, planning meals, finding recipes. But the goal of this blog is always going to be sharing my experiences as I transform from an enthusiastic meat-eating, soda-drinking slob, to a more health, grain-eating, vegetable-loving vegan.
On another note, but sort of related, I ran across this very funny blog post and really need to share it with you all. It truly expresses the confusion I've felt since beginning this whole foods adventure.
Here's the link:
http://www.nwedible.com/2012/08/tragedy-healthy-eater.html
And, for some fun while learning new recipes, check out the Vegan Black Metal Chef. This guy has a great sense of humor and his recipes are great. He shows on video how to create healthy, vegan dishes. You really ought to check out his "Hail Seitan" video. Hilarious.
Here's that link:
http://veganblackmetalchef.com/videos/hail-seitan/
Have a great week and remember -- EAT YOUR VEGGIES!
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