Winter is hard on a gardening soul like me. Gardening is my exercise. Tilling, planting, hauling soil, compost, and mulch; are my exercise. Yes, I do them 6-7 days a week barring a deluge. I live on acreage. Hiking is great in spring and fall, but not in summer due to ticks and snakes. Winter, however, I have to choose such things as my eliptical or exercise dvd's which are okay for a week or two but then soooo boring. An excuse, I know, but until I have a mental shift about it, that's how I feel.
So, I have gained back all 19 of the pounds I took off last year (insert scream here). Did I know they were stealthily slipping back on since the tennis travel days (small town choices when spending six to eight hours on the road each day traveling and watching high school sports: McDonald's {fries I thought were vegan but learned they are not} or occasionally Taco Bell })? Yes, I did,{bean burrito fresco} but thought once the season ended I would quickly return to preseason weight. Plant Based eating works great at home, not so much when eating out in my state. I can get a few plant based things just not always healthy ones.
There lies my snare. I eat plant based, will forevermore eat plant based unless I am actually in a survival situation where I am literally starving. Currently, however, I am eating an unhealthy plant based diet. Not all the time. Just enough to take in too much fat and calories and gain all 19 pounds back (insert scream again). My fault; I accept full responsibility.
To my credit, I decided to participate as a non-catholic in lent by making a sacrifice that would, in a small way, acknowledge the sacrifice Jesus made for me. I gave up all cookies, candy, cake, etc. Two birthdays coming up but oh, well, a promise is a promise. This 'sacrifice' has had no benefit in the weight loss department. When I started, I thought it would be a catalyst to starting the scale back down but it didn't work like that which was okay since that was not my motivation but would have been a welcome by-product.
Now. what am I going to do about it all? I'm going to get back on track with a very clean plant based eating plan. I started today. Going well so far but feeling like munching often. Part of the bad habits that got me here. Things like pretzels, rice cakes, hummus on veggies or toast, avocados which are all plant based foods but also are high in salt, fat, or both. Salt is a biggie and leads to eating more than a serving.
When I started my plant based journey, I began with the Rice Diet developed by Dr. Kempner. Names like: McDougall, Greger, Fuhrman, and Campbell are regulars in my reading and great sources of recipes and research information. The very restricted Rice Diet plan was my jumping off point and gave me great success. I had thought about doing it again but chose Fuhrman's Eat to Live, Six-Week Plan as it is focused more on green veggies and less on starch and right now I don't think rice of any kind is a good starting point for me at this stage of my journey. I need something more cleansing and nutrition packed to reset my tastes away from the salt and fats.
It doesn't help that I'm a good cook. We have been eating very well as a couple of gung-ho herbivores. and a reluctant part-time one. Spanish rice, taco soup, chili, potato burritos, potato soup, many variations of stir-fry, etc. I have not really paid attention to portion control and obviously took in more total calories than used. Having a very simple plan with limited cooking means less time in the kitchen and less time being creative and making tempting food. I'm actually looking forward to a break because in actuality, I spend a good deal of time in the kitchen so this should give me some time to do other things.
There is no set meal plan per Dr Fuhrman, just a daily amount and types of food with many things unlimited. Below are my choices so far today:
Breakfast today was: 1.5 kiwis (the other half was added to child's lunch), orange, and coffee. Not sure if coffee is on the plan but since I don't plan on giving it up anytime in the near future it is on my plan. This fruit really did hold me over until about 11 a.m.
Lunch: 2 cups spinach/arugula mix, 2 artichoke hearts, 1/2 cup garbanzo beans, 1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar, 1 carrot, an apple, and 2 ribs celery.
Hopefully, tomorrow will bring a bit of sunshine carried on the beams of a lower number. Yes, it will be water weight but if I don't need it, why carry it?
