a new lifestyle
Ever since I had Ollie, I haven't really had the motivation to try to lose all the weight I gained during pregnancy. Sure, I would exercise a little here & there & then try & cut my calories, but that would just lead to binge eating. I would lose ten pounds, but then gain it right back & even a little more. This lead to a downward spiral with my self-confidence. I wasn't healthy mentally or physically.
I've talked about my self-confidence not being very high since giving birth to Ollie & it is my fault for not really putting in the energy to do something about it. I never put any energy towards making myself healthy. I wanted the "quick fix," with low calorie & restrictive diets. They have not only slowed down my metabolism, but also made me gain more weight than I originally had.
The last few years, I have been slowly researching the vegan/plant based lifestyle. It has always interested me because personally, I have never been a huge meat eater. I know Matt likes meat & so I have eaten it just because it was the easiest thing to do without having to make separate meals. Lately, though, I have been REALLY wanting to try out the plant based/vegan lifestyle.
I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos about how to become plant based & just listening to their stories. The common theme I witnessed was that they all came from a similar background of low confidence like me & struggled with weight issues. However, when they switched to this lifestyle, they started feeling healthier mentally & physically. They have all talked about an increase in energy (which I lack so very much) & just feeding their bodies good nutrients, plus, the one thing that really stuck out to me was how they stopped counting calories & ate whenever they were hungry & stopped when they were full. That sounded like freedom to me. I have always dreaded counting calories. I inevitably tear myself down if I have gone over my "daily limit." An example of one diet I did was that I could have a very small portion of chicken, no oil, one veggie & one fruit. You could ONLY eat the fruits & veggies they told you & you could not mix them. How utterly depressing. I love fruits & veggies & to only eat the same veggie day after day, it was miserable.
That is what eventually turned me on to this high carb & low fat plant based/vegan lifestyle. I could eat the things I loved & I knew they would be healthy & nutritious for me. After a horrible weekend filled with croissants, donuts & pizza, which all made me feel bloated & gross, I started this new lifestyle today. I will be writing down recipes that sound good to me & figuring out how this all works. Thankfully, Matt has agreed to do this with me (for a week) to see how he feels. He is still drinking his non-vegan protein shakes, but every meal will be plant based/vegan. I will be starting a food journal & a weekly menu filled with recipes that we love & I will post them on this blog. The first week of doing this, I will post everyday on my blog, but after that I will update weekly, that way I won't bombard you all everyday with a new post about food ;)
Just to remind you guys, I am so new to this so I may slip up, but that is where grace comes in ;) I personally chose this lifestyle because I know it is the healthiest I can do for my body. Like I said earlier, I have never been a fan of meat & also I am lactose intolerant, so this may be easier for me than for someone who loves meat or can tolerate dairy. I am excited to start this new journey & if you are plant based/vegan & have any tips for me, please let me know!
Hope you all have a lovely Monday night!