Nostalgic Recipe Purge After WFPB Transition

I have spent time over the last month going through the desk and kitchen and gathering a huge pile, about 8 inches tall, of recipes from magazines, printed from online resources, and from friends.  This stormy Saturday seemed like the perfect opportunity to purge the pile of those recipes that didn't support my new WFPB way of eating. I figured I could breeze through the whole pile in about 20-30 minutes.  I was wrong.

I didn't expect nostalgia to hit.  Oh, remember this Chicken Enchilada Casserole I made for several potlucks at school? Everyone loved it.  What about this stuffed cabbage recipe that reminds me so much of the ones my mom made during my youth?  There's that carrot cake recipe I wanted to try.

I have always cooked but didn't realize how much my recipes meant to me.  So over one and a half hours later, I am through the stack and more than half did end up in the recycle pile.  I did keep many stir-fry recipes that called for meat just because I wanted the sauce part of the recipes.  Stir-fries are one of my favorite things to make and eat and I like variety in my sauces.  After I try them and write the sauce part down, I will recycle them.

I kept a couple dessert recipes that can be adapted without eggs and oil.  I found some good recipes from Vegetarian Times.  Sadly they no longer have a printed magazine.  Online is a good resource but there is something about a magazine, a cup of tea, and birds chirping in the garden.

All of the ones I kept are now in a file folder waiting to be tried, then transferred into my recipe boxes.  The boxes themselves have not been purged.  That is for another time.

I also gathered up several diet books that I know I will no longer use.  I can't picture myself ever using/needing them again.

I still have many cookbooks to go through.  That will be hard also as I love books of any kind. It is a necessary process, however, in order to really make a permanent change.  It is sort of like donating the clothing that becomes too big as you lose weight.  Ahhh, that will be another thing I will have to purge and hopefully soon.

So Many Positives Including another 1.4 Pounds Lost

I continue to gain positives from this WFPB lifestyle and lose pounds.  I'm down another 1.4 this week and my pants are feeling pretty loose.  Haven't felt this good in a long time.  What makes the difference?

I like this way of eating so much and have given up the diet mentality.  In the past, I always had anxiety about any 'diet' I tried.  Would the scale show a loss?  Could I get through another day of it? Would I gain weight back after I was 'off' the diet?  How was I going to eat when the diet was over?

As I mentioned in another post, I had used the Atkin's plan to lose about 20 pounds years ago.  The whole two months I ate the low-carb meat-based diet, I knew I could not eat that way forever.  I tend toward eating plant based foods.  I never ate meat every day, let alone every meal like the Atkin's plan recommended.  Of course, when I did get off the plan due to a move across country, I did regain the weight eventually.  Not immediately of course but certainly within the next year.

The WFPB way of eating is different.  I like this way of eating.  I like knowing I can eat when I am hungry and not be limited to 1/2 cup of something.  I feel good eating this way.  My energy is much improved along with other positives that I've mentioned in a previous post.

I feel calmer about eating this way.  There is no anxiety about going off this diet because to me it is not a diet, it is the way I eat now.  I feel slimmer everyday.  So far the scale has shown weight loss each week, but even if it didn't, I feel thinner.  My thighs feel thinner and my pants are looser.

I went in Kohl's today because I had some 'free' money I had earned and thought I might pick up a pair of pants in turquoise if they had them to go with a shirt I want to wear to an event next week.  I looked for my regular size 16 and saw a 14.  I held it up to my body and thought, "What the heck, I'll try it on."  When I went in the dressing room, I asked my daughter to go back and grab the 16 just in case.  Since I was already taking my jeans off, I might as well have the bigger size ready.

The size 14 pants fit and the 16 size went back on the shelf.  I really can't remember when I wore a size 14 since the Atkins trial.  So in 26 days, I have lost a total of 10.4 pounds.  Realistically, I know it won't always be this easy but for now I am enjoying all of the changes and positives this WFPB way of living is bringing me.

One of my dishes this week was spaghetti, Yes, Barilla, non-GMO thin spaghetti.  About 2 cups with an organic vegetable sauce to which I added sauteed onions, peppers, and mushrooms. I even had one slice of bread with garlic, no butter.  I also had leftover spaghetti (about 2 cups) twice this past week.  Once with sauce and once with hummus.  Delicious and I still lost weight.

I have been trying to walk a minimum of 8,000 steps each day.  Some days it's less but most I meet or exceed goal.  The last few days I haven't kept track due to the fact that I have poison ivy on both arms so I can't wear the Fitbit.  I work in the garden most days; weeding, planting, moving pots, hoeing, etc.  This of course is seasonal and this is the season.  I did work out on the elliptical machine one day last week as it rained for 3 days and I was feeling lazy.

If you are on the fence about eating WFPB, I would encourage you to give it a try.  Join a FB group, read Dr. McDougall's free information on his website.  There are even YouTube videos that support this way of eating. It will be good for you, good for the animals, and good for the planet.  It's a win-win I can live with.

Enjoying WFPB/Starch Solution Weightloss and More

To say that I am pleased seems to be an understatement.  I have been eating the WFPB/Starch Solution way since April 2nd.  Nineteen days and nine pounds gone.  Those are real pounds.  I have been drinking lots of water each day and have not put any back on.  I have not been perfect.  Some Belgian Easter cookies found their way into my cart the other day and I ate several of them.  That was just my major blunder this week.  I was tempted by a Scor bar in the store today but resisted.

How I feel is just as important as the weight loss.  Energy up to levels I can't remember. Sleeping better.  Less fibromyalgia pain.  I feel lighter and more flexible.  Current jeans zip very easily and are very loose a few hours later.  Another 10 pounds or less and I will try the next size down.  I feel calmer and clearer.  I don't feel deprived or that I am on a diet.  

I love eating this way.  It corresponds with my beliefs.  I am always working on removing hypocrisy from my life and this does that in the area of nutrition for me.  Blood pressure reading today: 121/79. I find my mood calmer and I am happier.  I always have something I can eat when I get hungry and it's food I enjoy.  

The first day I started I had a headache bordering on a migraine.  A week later, I had another headache that seemed like it was more from congestion.  A week later, swollen tonsils and an earache.  Seems like incremental detoxing to me.  Hopefully, the next weeks will not see any issues.

I keep meals simple. Here's an example:  Red and green lettuce, brown rice, black beans, homemade pico de gallo, roasted red peppers, green chile  So good; so simple.

I am ready to branch out a little and make some 'special' meals.  I plan to begin cooking every recipe in the Starch Solution.  Reading through them, they all seemed doable.  I like that they do not rely on a soy protein, seitan, or other fake foods or meat impostors.  I have been gathering ingredients and will sit down tomorrow to make a structured lists so I will have everything on hand for at least five of the recipes this week.  I'll posts pics and comments on the recipes when I prepare them.

I know each person has to find their own way of eating, exercising, and making self-improvements.  I feel I have found my way and WFPB is it.

Absolutely Loving Whole Foods Plant Based Results

Normally I'm not one to get too excited about diets.  Any of them work, at least for a while, if you follow them.  The problem is that I don't often like a plan well enough to follow it for more than a few days.  I did follow the Atkins diet for about 6 weeks back in 1998 and lost about twenty pounds, but I was nauseated most of the time. Also note that I had to have my gall bladder removed about 5 years later. In all honesty though, I'm very excited about following the Whole Foods Plant Based (WFPB) way of life.

As I've said in a previous post about a year ago, I decided to go back to being a vegetarian again after 17 years of having meat frequently in my diet.  I have had good results over the past year eating vegetarian.  I have less muscle pain from fibromyalgia, less frequent migraines, sleep a bit better although this area has been a struggle my whole life, and less digestive problems.  Fatigue, however, remained a significant problem.  After just a few hours being awake, I seriously could go back to sleep if given the chance.

On days when I was able to take a nap, it meant a 2-3 hour nap.  If I had less time then that, I wouldn't bother.  It was almost like being in a coma-like state.  I would become aware of things around me but could not bring myself to full consciousness.  I would feel better when I woke up but would be tired again a few hours later.  This seriously affected the quality of my life as I am most happy when doing something and accomplishing things I want/need to do.

I started eating WFPB on Sunday, April 2nd.  Since Monday, I have not needed a nap.  Yesterday evening, I walked about four miles on the golf course and my muscles were achy when I went to bed and I figured I would need a long nap today for muscle recovery.  It was a busy day and at about 5 p.m. I was able to finally think about a nap.  To my surprise, after less than an hour, I felt rested and ready to get up.  Wow!

In addition, I have quite a bit more energy than usual which is probably still less than "normal" people, but definitely a difference for me.  After five whole days of eating WFPB, I have lost a total of 8.4 pounds, four of which was definitely water weight.  I know this because on start day, April 2, I weighed four pounds more than 2 days previous and had eaten out both of the following days. Restaurant food is salt-ladened and I usually put on a few pounds after dining out.   Keep in mind that I only eat out 1-2 times per week and usually on Friday and/or Saturday.

My weigh-in showed a 5.5 pound weight loss since January 8th, and four of those pounds have been since March 8th which I can guarantee you came from this week as my scale is the same as theirs and I know I did not lose any before Sunday.

In addition to more energy, weight loss, and less nap time needed, I feel lighter, less full and overall so much better.  I'm so psyched as I think if 5 days makes me feel this good, what will a month, year, or lifetime do?  Psychologically, I feel so much better also because  how I am eating is a reflection of what I believe about food, medicine, illness, the environment, and stewardship over all God has given us.  Oh,yeah, my last blood pressure readings at the doctor's the last few days 131/84, and 119/74.  I have a follow-up appointment with my doctor for blood pressure in a week and a half and I can't wait as I know I'll have great pressures and even though I wouldn't take medicines anyway, we won't have to have that conversation.

Control is a Big Deal In Life and In Blood Pressure

I've been noticing lately how much the word control, and more often, the implied need for control comes up in conversations.  The frequency gives a hint that it is a big issue for a lot of people, me included.  So many things I (we) feel the need to control.  I came to the understanding a long time ago that if it has anything to do with other people, give it up.  We cannot control others.

On the other hand, there are many things I (we) can control about ourselves.  Our behavior, reactions, and what we put in our mouth come to mind.  Right now I have to work on all three.  A doctor visit last week revealed that my blood pressure was high.  Seven months ago, my visit to an ophthalmologist, it was not.  Hmmm.  Time to work on some control issues.

Thinking about what has been different or changed in that time was a necessity.  Stress level up and down as usual.  Activity level has been increasing, especially since December when I received my Fitbit Blaze.  Food intake has decreased as I have lost a few pounds since November.  However, I did realize that I have been eating a lot more salt than usual.

I have never been one for salty snacks.  I did not add salt to my food and only added it when I baked but not when I cooked.  I left it up to each person to salt to taste.  Sweets were more my craving, or so I thought.  In honesty, I have been eating much more salt than normal and it has been going on longer than I thought.  I blame the Himalayas.

About a year ago, I bought some pink Himalayan salt, in a grinder no less.  It is good salt.  I don't know why, but it just tastes better than the one proffered by the girl with the umbrella.  It even tastes better than the sea salt I purchase from the Amish.  It is wonderful on fresh tomatoes, boiled eggs, and tomato soup.  I feel that eating it has upped my salt tolerance and the 3-4 chips I normally would stop at, due to being too salty, became 10-12 chips.

Pretzels became a go to afternoon snack.  Since going mostly vegetarian about a year ago, eggs became a protein mainstay.  Himalayan pink salt on eggs, mmm.  Well no more.

Sunday I began the Rice Diet Solution.  It was created for lowering blood pressure.  I believe it will work and I feel it is already.  I am only speaking from day 3, however.  Of course the proof is in the measurements.  Having a blood pressure monitor at home has made it easy to track.

Sunday a.m.: 166/109  Monday a.m.: 142/93 Tuesday a.m. 124/91.  I must say that I am pleased and will keep on doing the Rice Diet Solution not only to lower blood pressure but I find it is a great basic plan for a plant-based diet.

I am thankful that blood pressure was the only thing off kilter.  All other blood work came back great and even my B12 levels were in normal range.  A little low on vitamin D but will supplement and retest in 12 weeks.  Not bad for someone in their 50's.

Final weigh in for the weight loss challenge will be Friday.  I'll let you know how I do.  Just in it to keep the numbers headed in the right direction and I am definitely doing that.  So bye-bye pink Himalayan salt.  I can handle it because you're almost out anyway.