Month Three: The More I Eat, The More I Lose

In January I began a plan to lose ten pounds in five months and feel healthier (read more about that here). Each month I am taking on a new diet/eating challenge, and just finished a month of green and sober living. 

Wrap-up of Month Two:

Sober Living. 

Let's cut right to the chase, I wasn't sober. First there was Nug's birthday party. A friend brought over a really appetizing jug of locally brewed beer. If you've ever been to a toddler birthday party, you can empathize with the need for a central nervous system depressant. Then we were at the airport with two hours to kill and five hours of flying ahead of us. The lack-of-control which is airport travel morphed into a lack-of-control in my diet, and a beer was had. And then I was at my parents house, starving myself (unintentionally) on a vegan diet (more on that in a minute). I decided that a glass of white wine would pair nicely with the cauliflower "cream" sauce on my pasta, but truthfully, I just needed a break from the rules. However, before you discredit my character, on each of these slip-ups, I barely finished the drink. It just didn't seem right, and how much fun is booze when you can't kick back and say, "ahh, this is just right!" Despite my failings, I did learn a few things: 1) I always always always overeat when I'm drinking, 2) after being off sugar for awhile, wine sugars are potent!, 3) drinking was my go-to way to relax, but one hour of blissful escape isn't worth six hours of sickness. Time for a new trick. 

Green Living. 

Following the advice of the Nutritarian or "Plant-Strong" diet, it's my ongoing goal to get 30 to 60% of my calories from vegetables (thus spending a correlational amount of time in the bathroom!). My morning green smoothie routine is solid, and I'm eating a lot more salad. I love that our fridge is full of green food and that Nug snacks on vegetables! Everyday I am learning, and found these resources to be inspiring and informative: Forks Over Knives cookbook, vegan/nutritarian food bloggers Carrie On Vegan, Healthy Girls Kitchen, Oh She Glows, Amy's Nutritarian Kitchen and Lean To The Sun. I am making slow, sustainable changes to my family's eating habits and so far, W and the Nug have jumped on board.

My Old Best Friends: Caffeine and Sugar. 

Never one to wait around for something to happen, I decided to quit drinking coffee. Originally I had planned this for April, but my morning smoothie was enough to dampen any craving for coffee, so I just went for it. I haven't looked back, and it's great to be free from the pull of Starbucks. It was also my plan in the upcoming months to quit eating added/refined sugar. My sweet tooth is a mean one, and this is a lofty goal. I am accustomed to eating a sweet treat every day! However, once I cut out processed food and focused on whole foods, there was no room in my stomach or diet for sweets. 

A Week of Veganism. 

While at the Mommy Spa, I decided to eat vegan for a week. I have never done this before (nor ever wanted to), but it was my chance to see if cutting out all animal products would boost my healthfulness. Day one was great: I cooked ahead of time and packed my own snacks and lunch. Day two, unfortunately, was not well planned. I woke up hungry from a dream about food, did not eat smart enough throughout the day, and got dehydrated. My week of veganism ended abruptly when, on night two, I desperately gobbled up some pork sausage. However, this attempt did reset my motivation and I learned plenty: 1) almond milk and soy yogurt are delicious, 2) there's NO substitute for cheddar cheese (do not, at any cost, eat nutritional yeast!), and 3) vegans do a lot of chopping.

Black bean-date-strawberry muffins. My first attempt at a no sugar treat.

Month Three:

Since I already cut out most sugar and caffeine, I was at a loss for declaring my next goal. So I purchased Dr. Fuhrman's book Eat to Live and finished it that night. His researched (not to mention obvious) approach is that the more nutrient-dense food you eat (mainly green vegetables, beans, fruit, whole grains and nuts/seeds), the more weight you will lose. So... I eat as much as I want and still lose weight? Sounds awesome. To condense a lot of information into short goals, by the end of this month I am aiming for my daily consumption to be the following:

• 1 lb raw vegetables
• 1 lb cooked vegetables
• 1 cup beans or legumes
• at least 4 fresh fruits
• up to 1 cup starchy vegetables and whole graines
• up to 1 oz nuts or seeds

As a bonus, W and I will be doing a three-day juice cleanse in the middle of the month. Wee!

Stats:

We are away from home, so I can't say for sure. I think I am down a pound or two, and my hip and waist measurements are down 1/4 inch. Hooray!