Well, it has been a fun experiment, but at the end of 7 weeks I have decided this isn't the plan for me. While some things about it are great (body systems work really well, blood pressure is 105/60), I feel like there are things that aren't working as well. I don't notice a big difference in my energy level, I haven't slept differently and I feel "squishy" without protein. I know all the proponents of the program would say we don't need more protein but I have noticed a difference in muscle tone with myself and my husband. I am eating way more carbs, although complex, unrefined carbs and that just doesn't feel right to me. It could be that this is how I have always been conditioned but personally, I don't feel as toned even though I am working out as much or more as before.
All that being said, I am going to try to keep a focus on clean eating with lots of fruits, veggies and whole grains in my diet while adding back in some protein. My marathon training has officially started and I am thinking of the best way to fuel my body for that mission.
Marc is still moving forward with the plan and he is doing well with it. I am so proud of his resolve in social situations. He says no to things that I just don't have the willpower to resist (can you say buffalo chicken dip!?). I think he is struggling with his energy level a bit and I am not sure if that is because his blood pressure is also lower than before or if it could be a lack of iron.
So for now, I will continue to cook vegan options at home but when I am on my own, I am going to add more protein and animal products back in. Looking for balance....as usual!
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
Monday, May 23, 2016
Discoveries...
This is certainly a time of discovery. About food, about the environment, about myself. We are now starting week 6 of our journey and while it hasn't been as hard as I thought it might, it hasn't been easy either.
Discovery 1: Pepperoni and Sausage, maybe not
I had some meat on a pizza one day at lunch last week. I was feeling deprived and a bit grumpy about the whole thing, so when the team at work had some, I too had pepperoni and sausage. And...wow. That night, I had terrible indigestion and was awake much of the night in discomfort. The next morning my hands were swollen and it took quite a while for the indigestion to subside.
Discovery 2: Veritas Tavern and occasional cheese, yes please!
We have had pizza 3 times (with no meat but real CHEESE!) and Saturday night we ventured to our favorite restaurant, Veritas Tavern in Delaware, and had some crab, scallops and house made pastrami. It was absolutely decadent. My mouth and my brain were so happy! (My stomach felt a little full after, but all in all, I did fine).
Discovery 3: Maybe I am not an all or nothing girl!
I think the one thing that this experiment has taught me more than anything else is that I can be a "moderation" person. I have always been an all in kind of person...all or nothing. But I now see that adding an 80/20 designation for me so that I can have the occasional morning egg or afternoon cheese plate with a friend or enjoy a trip to our favorite restaurants, is really ok. I can find balance and I can be ok with moderation.
Discovery 4: It is great trying new things with your husband of almost 14 years!
I will admit, this is not a journey that I would ever have ventured on without Marc really wanting to do it for his health. It was never even on my radar. But when you love someone and you are truly partners in life, you find yourself doing things, even embracing things that you never thought you would. And in my book, a journey together, with the same goals in mind, after almost 14 years of marriage is a good thing!
So, what does this mean for me? I am still planning to have blood work done after 12 weeks because even with an 80/20 rule, it is much better than before so there has to be some change. I am also planning to add things back to my diet in moderation, starting now. I won't do it at home most likely when cooking for Marc and I both, as I truly want to support him and make this as easy as possible for him if he wants to stick with it. I just don't know that I want to live to be 95 if it means I can't have the occasional steak and salad with bleu cheese!
Discovery 1: Pepperoni and Sausage, maybe not
I had some meat on a pizza one day at lunch last week. I was feeling deprived and a bit grumpy about the whole thing, so when the team at work had some, I too had pepperoni and sausage. And...wow. That night, I had terrible indigestion and was awake much of the night in discomfort. The next morning my hands were swollen and it took quite a while for the indigestion to subside.
Discovery 2: Veritas Tavern and occasional cheese, yes please!
We have had pizza 3 times (with no meat but real CHEESE!) and Saturday night we ventured to our favorite restaurant, Veritas Tavern in Delaware, and had some crab, scallops and house made pastrami. It was absolutely decadent. My mouth and my brain were so happy! (My stomach felt a little full after, but all in all, I did fine).
Discovery 3: Maybe I am not an all or nothing girl!
I think the one thing that this experiment has taught me more than anything else is that I can be a "moderation" person. I have always been an all in kind of person...all or nothing. But I now see that adding an 80/20 designation for me so that I can have the occasional morning egg or afternoon cheese plate with a friend or enjoy a trip to our favorite restaurants, is really ok. I can find balance and I can be ok with moderation.
Discovery 4: It is great trying new things with your husband of almost 14 years!
I will admit, this is not a journey that I would ever have ventured on without Marc really wanting to do it for his health. It was never even on my radar. But when you love someone and you are truly partners in life, you find yourself doing things, even embracing things that you never thought you would. And in my book, a journey together, with the same goals in mind, after almost 14 years of marriage is a good thing!
So, what does this mean for me? I am still planning to have blood work done after 12 weeks because even with an 80/20 rule, it is much better than before so there has to be some change. I am also planning to add things back to my diet in moderation, starting now. I won't do it at home most likely when cooking for Marc and I both, as I truly want to support him and make this as easy as possible for him if he wants to stick with it. I just don't know that I want to live to be 95 if it means I can't have the occasional steak and salad with bleu cheese!
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
Kicking It Up a Notch
I am a little obsessed right now with a new person I discovered, Rich Roll. I mean, holy crap. Can you say plant powered at it's finest!? So, I decided to start personal training in addition to my running and so far it is great! I am working out with Marie at 614Fitness twice a week and I am hoping to see some additional gains I have been hoping for. I want to get a little leaner and a little faster. So far, the fueling with plant based foods hasn't hindered my energy level at all, and according to Rich, it is the secret weapon!
More to come on the training but for now, even though 5:15am is really early, it is good!
More to come on the training but for now, even though 5:15am is really early, it is good!
Monday, May 9, 2016
One Quarter of the Journey
As of today, we are officially one quarter of the way finished with our "test". I am looking forward to being able to look at the results and make an educated decision one way or another. It is hard, there is no doubt about that. Last night we went to a restaurant for Mother's Day that literally had NO vegetarian, let along vegan, options on the menu. I was able to find a soup and a salad that I could modify so that I had something to eat, yet it wasn't much and I know I need more than just the veggies. No whole grains were available and even the vegetable offerings were covered in cheese and/or a cream sauce.
Marc had fish twice over the weekend and I had a splurge with a caprese salad and a flatbread with a friend for her birthday. I don't think that one meal here and there is going to really change the results and if it keeps on track for the majority of the time, then I am fine with it.
Otherwise, nothing really new to report. We feel good, we both agree with that. I like the way my body feels and the regularity of my systems. After eating the cheese at lunch on Saturday, I did have a little stomach ache for a while but again, it was a celebration with a friend and I was ok with it. More to come, as always!
Marc had fish twice over the weekend and I had a splurge with a caprese salad and a flatbread with a friend for her birthday. I don't think that one meal here and there is going to really change the results and if it keeps on track for the majority of the time, then I am fine with it.
Otherwise, nothing really new to report. We feel good, we both agree with that. I like the way my body feels and the regularity of my systems. After eating the cheese at lunch on Saturday, I did have a little stomach ache for a while but again, it was a celebration with a friend and I was ok with it. More to come, as always!
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
Discovery Of The Day
I have made an interesting discovery about myself. The girl who said she would never, could never give up meat is doing fine without it. It is the eggs, dairy and cheese that are the hardest part. Life without feta, provolone, Robusto, Parrano, Dubliner, Asiago, Piave, cheddar, goat, bleu....well, that is a pretty bland life honestly. In addition, eggs are in SO many things and just having one for breakfast sometimes would be wonderful. I miss all of these things more than the meat. I am doing ok without the meat, although I miss it too.
On a bright note, I ran 3 miles and averaged a 9:56 pace, which for me is pretty fast. Considering that is just 4 days after my half marathon, I was pretty happy with that. I am not feeling a lack of energy for workouts with this eating plan, just mostly bored.
Also, I made this Summer Barley Salad for lunch yesterday minus the feta and it was great. (It would have been better with the feta of course!).
I also discovered that these Mushroom Risotto burgers which were good, especially with a slice of the Daiya cheddar style slices on a 100 calorie whole wheat "one bun" and some spinach.
Stay tuned!
On a bright note, I ran 3 miles and averaged a 9:56 pace, which for me is pretty fast. Considering that is just 4 days after my half marathon, I was pretty happy with that. I am not feeling a lack of energy for workouts with this eating plan, just mostly bored.
Also, I made this Summer Barley Salad for lunch yesterday minus the feta and it was great. (It would have been better with the feta of course!).
I also discovered that these Mushroom Risotto burgers which were good, especially with a slice of the Daiya cheddar style slices on a 100 calorie whole wheat "one bun" and some spinach.
Stay tuned!
Monday, May 2, 2016
Two Down, Ten To Go
We have 2 full weeks of this plant based eating under our belts with 10 more to go before having our blood work done again. I completed the Capital City Half Marathon over the weekend and felt great! So no issues with fueling to run with this type of eating program.
We are making some discoveries along the way, which I wanted to capture here:
We are making some discoveries along the way, which I wanted to capture here:
- I feel full after eating, but never overly full or bloated.
- Bathroom trips are super regular (I know, TMI)!
- I find myself not really looking forward to meals, which could be a good thing I guess since I want to lose a few pounds. I think it really is about food for fuel and not for pleasure.
- I have about the same amount of energy that I had in the past, nothing really has changed there.
- I am sleeping about the same, again, nothing has changed.
Marc and I talked over the weekend about what we would have to see happen in order to make this a way of life for good. For him, it is getting off at least one of his meds in this 12 week time period. For me, it is cutting that CRP number in half, lowering my BMI to 23 and lowering my overall cholesterol to below 200 without dropping my HDL much. I have to say, I want the changes but I really miss some of the options for eating. We went to breakfast after the half marathon and there were only 2 things on the entire menu that I could have and even one of those I had to modify and get with no sauce and no cheese. And, neither were things that I got very excited about.
So again, more to come on this crazy journey. We'll see what the next few weeks bring!
Thursday, April 28, 2016
A Little Cheese Never Hurt Anyone
Well, I am not sure that is a true statement...maybe a little cheese has hurt a few people. Not sure. But yesterday I gave in and had a piece of Dewey's pizza with my team to celebrate some amazing presentations we all gave to our leadership team. They did go veggie for me so it had wild mushrooms and red peppers. I am sure the crust is "refined" and not really on my list but this is race week and I have been so dedicated I decided to go for it and not feel guilty.
And since this blog is totally focused on food, we have another winning recipe! It is the Forks Over Knives Warm Potato and Black Bean Salad with Pesto. This one is a keeper for certain and will be in the regular rotation. One note, I roasted the potatoes in the oven at 450 for 30 minutes and I think that added a lot more flavor than boiling. I think there are a few variations that could be made and you could honestly add whatever you wanted into the mix. Some kalamata olives would work well.
Tonight I will go to the Capital City Half Marathon expo and run a short shake out run with friends from MIT. Almost race day and I am hoping that my plant based eating will support me for 13 miles!
And since this blog is totally focused on food, we have another winning recipe! It is the Forks Over Knives Warm Potato and Black Bean Salad with Pesto. This one is a keeper for certain and will be in the regular rotation. One note, I roasted the potatoes in the oven at 450 for 30 minutes and I think that added a lot more flavor than boiling. I think there are a few variations that could be made and you could honestly add whatever you wanted into the mix. Some kalamata olives would work well.
Tonight I will go to the Capital City Half Marathon expo and run a short shake out run with friends from MIT. Almost race day and I am hoping that my plant based eating will support me for 13 miles!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)