Healthier Eating

Good Sunday Morning, dear one!!

Today I thought I would share a new eating plan I am trying.  It is called "Vegan Before 6".

First let me start off by saying:  I am not a vegan.  I am not a vegetarian.  I am definitely more carnivore than even omnivore ;).

However, my body is getting old and not obeying me as much :).  I am not good with diets and do not like restrictions per se.

The other morning I woke up and put on a skirt that generally fits.  It was so tight around the middle that the pocket linings were showing.  I know it was from some transient digestive distress (I had just gotten over a bout of lower GI issues), but it was the final straw for me.  I was tired of feeling uncomfortable in my clothing.  My blood sugar and my blood pressure and cholesterol are fine.  Metabolically I am very healthy.  I am not obese, and can be pretty active.  However, I knew I was gaining more weight than I wanted and honestly was looking at having to buy more clothing.  That was a cost that I was not willing to do:  I would rather spend that money on new curtains for the sunroom :)

Additionally, I want to participate in a race, but my extra "Alaska Winter Weight" is, I believe, making my joints sore.  I believe the distribution of my person is throwing off the mechanics of my walking and running and making my shins and such hurt.

Also, it is summer here in Alabama.  There are cherries and watermelons and peaches and I am delighting in the flavor of them.  There are cucumbers that beg a bit of creamy Italian dressing, and sweet potatoes that need nothing but to be cut into fries, broiled, then sprinkled with cajun seasoning. The flavors of the season are amazingly wonderful.

The only problem is that I would buy fruit and forget to eat it.  The cucumbers would mold in my fridge, and the salads would ice and wilt.  I wanted to eat these things, but habit of easy-to-grab meat, cheese, and such kept getting in the way.

I digress...the other morning when my skirt was too tight, I believe I prayed.  Or perhaps it was the next morning--the details are a bit of a blur.  In any case, I heard about this eating plan from two different sources.  I believe that the Lord often sends "affirmation and confirmation" and coming across things twice, from disparate sources, does not mean you must do it, but rather it is worth looking into.

It seemed like a reasonable plan that would hit all of my goals:  to ensure my nutrition is better, to eat more fruits and vegetables, to perhaps lose a little bit (NOT a lot!  I am not trying to be thin or recapture an 17 year old figure), but not be restrictive.  There is no measuring, just eating vegan (no meat or dairy) before supper.  At and after supper, you can have what you like.  You are to eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full (but not stuffed).

So here I am, on day 4 of the "VB6"--vegan before six.  I am enjoying the eating plan (I do not want to call it a diet, because the point is not to restrict calories but to eat HEALTHIER).  I figured I would give it 7 days and then evaluate.

The thing about being "vegan" is that you can find a LOT of junk food that is vegan.  It will do nothing for my health if I load up on sugary fatty "vegan" donuts.  I am avoiding that by being thoughtful in my food choices:  much more fruits and vegetables during the day.  A few whole grains, a couple of potato chips (when I just really want to taste salt and fat), and lots of green tea and coffee and water.

At supper, I have what I want.  Fried chicken, steak, brownies, etc.  I am not that big of a dessert eater, so that has not been a stumbling block at all--if I want a petit four, I have one.  But I never want to binge on them (that is just my personal habit--I am a fat and salt more than a sweet girl).

At day four:  I have lost one lb.  I feel healthy.  I enjoy my food.  It is GOOD to feel hungry, like actually hungry, not obsessive cravings.  That took a bit to get used to.  Fiber does not "fill me up", or so I thought.  Actually I need fiber with fat (salad with dressing, bread with olive oil, etc).

What I found is that I was confusing "hunger" with "craving".  I just WANTED more.  I did not NEED more.  My stomach was actually full, but I wanted a sense of satisfaction.  The funny thing is that now my sense of satisfaction is more because I am not eating everything I want whenever I want.  A brownie, warmed and truly enjoyed at the end of the day, is so much more SATISFYING than snitching brownie bites all day long, not savoring, just chowing.

Will I stay on this?  I do not know.  I know that this season is wonderful for all the delicious fruits and vegetables, so it is a pleasant way to eat.  I like that it is not counting calories:  you eat til you are full, stop before you get overfull.  I like that I know my body is getting micronutrients that do not come in Flintstones ;).  I like that there is not any time that I cannot have something delicious, it is not a hard "diet".  I like that at the end of the day, I can eat whatever.  I like not feeling guilt about food.  I truly like not feeling guilt about food.  I hate guilt about food!

I will keep you posted :)  I hope that this will continue to be doable as I know that I need the fruits and veg, but I know that I will favor meat and cheese over them without some structure :)  It is amazing how wonderful peaches can taste when you are not racing to finish your "healthy" food so that you can eat more fried chicken ;).