Tomorrow shall be the beginning of my revamping of myself. I think I’m pretty prepared, or at least I’m hoping I am. I’m going into this with the mindset of it being a GOOD, POSITIVE life changing experience. I’ve never wanted something so bad.
This is my plan :
– Remove all traces of oil and sugar from my daily diet. I will allow myself OCASIONAL agave and brown rice syrup, but no cane sugar whatsoever. As for the oil, I’ve already done my research and found some nifty ways of making hummus and other things sans the usual boatload of oil.
– This first week (at least) I am eliminating flour of any sort. I have a MAJOR bread addiction. Prior to being vegan, my favorite meal of all time was a whole baguette and a block of cheddar. Substitute the cheddar for brushchetta and you have my favorite vegan meal! I figure the best way to attack that problem is to nip it in the bud for awhile, or at least long enough for me to gain control of my portions. Perhaps after awhile, I will SLOWLY reincorporate baked goods, but for now it is best to cut all ties cold turkey.
– No processed foods. Now, that is a rather large thing to take on, since even my powdered veggie broth is processed…I think? I’m referring to fake meats and cheeses, just to name a few. Living with a omni has caused me to try to replace all of his weekly meat intake with fakes, so sorry fella, that’s now out!
– No HFCS. Period. I recently have gotten back in the horrible habit of drinking more soda then I have in the past years. Roughly one every two days, thanks to a constant supply of Mountain Dew being in the house (Thanks, fella). That is back to being out of my life now.
To prepare, I have purchased roughly $80 in groceries, mostly produce. My weeks supply of fruits and veggies is as follows :
Two eggplant, two bags of salad, six green peppers, three red peppers, two bags spinach, two pounds of strawberries, four pounds of nectarines, two pounds of onions, five zucchini, five pounds carrots, two pounds of baby carrots, large bunch of bananas, three heads of broccoli, one pound of mushrooms, a very large pineapple, one pound green beans, and two pounds of celery.
Most of that I will throw in the blender in the mornings and blend it into a juice. At least I’m hoping it will blend into a juice. Possibly a very thick smoothie? I have yet to buy a juicer. I’d honestly rather shove the whole thing, pulp and all, into a drink rather then extract the juice and waste the rest. Seems to make more sense to me?
As for my meals, they will be as follows:
– Breakfast will consist of a juice/smoothie and perhaps overnight oats
– Lunch will be leftover soup/stew from the night before and a giant salad with beans and some other goodness
– Dinners I have yet to fully figure out. With it being so cold, stews and soups sound like they might make the most sense. And since I can throw just about anything and everything into a soup and stew, it makes the most sense!
Of course, throughout the day I will down wicked amounts of water and tea. Roughly a gallon of the two combined is what my goal is. That shouldn’t be too hard to accomplish.
As for exercise, a walk around the park in the morning with the dog and another at night. The distance around the park is roughly a mile, so that should be good to start out with. Going from practically no physical activity to starting out slow just might be key. Also I will be throwing in some Wii fit in the mix when I can while at work. Hopefully Spencer and Sophia will have the same naptime so I can get in about a hour a day.
I know I can do this. I know this is an attainable goal. Nothing is impossible.
These are the things I have to keep reminding myself. I have come to believe that I would forever be overweight and thought I had come to accept it. All I did was trick my mind into not being/accepting the truth of the situation, and for this I am glad. I’m thrilled to finally see the truth and to be ready and willing to make such a ginormous life change. Despite the fact I’m horrified that I will fail, I have to keep faith that I will suceed. The past failures do not matter anymore. This is different. This is now and I will win this battle.
Vegan Whore 
Hey! I just quickly read your post and it sounds like you’ve got the right idea, but I thought I’d just chime in with a ‘make sure you get your healthy fats’! Just in case. As I know from personal experience how important they are. 🙂
Anyways, I’m not going to say good luck because you won’t need it! You can do it!
Several years ago I lost a bunch of weight when I went from a regular diet to a macrobiotic diet. What did it was not eating meat, cheese, bread, sugar and all the crap (fake meats and fake cheeses are crap too), and switching to whole food. It’s hard to give up the stuff you are used to eating, but I think if you think short- term- THIS WEEK, then you will be ok.
Have you read Eat to Live by Dr. Furman? This might be a helpful resource to you. You can probably find it in the library.
Also- you might feel a little crappy in the transition as the sugar and junk works its way out of your body (detox). Stick with it and you will feel better- mentally and physically.
You can do it!
You aren’t alone, btw. I’m an overweight veg myself! Long story as short as possible, I was misdiagnosed with a heart condition I didn’t have and spent years gaining weight because of the medication. I’m done with that crap now and have been for years. I lost a lot of weight when I stopped the meds but not enough and now just can’t get any more off. I’m trying though. I post a lot of recipes, hints, tips, etc on my blog about it and can completely empathize with you. I wish you the best of luck and drop me a line if you ever need a bit of a pick-me-up. 😀
Oh no…several of the items in your care package do contain some sugar. Its almost all put together….I can think of at least 3 things with sugar (though I believe its all evap cane juice…is that okay?). I know one has flour, too. Should I keep those things and replace with new stuff for you? I can certainly do that, but I might want an extra week…lemme know what you think. I have no problem swapping stuff out.
Except there is one item that does contain some evap can juice that I insist that you have…because it’s awesome and you need it…as a treat. 🙂
No, that’s quite alright dear. Keep the sugary goods in there!! I will save them for when I feel like I have earned a treat 🙂 xoxxo
Oh good! I just didn’t want to make you sway from your very well-organized plan. 🙂
If you feel the cravings for bread, go for some rice/beans and potatoes…fills you up, without any guilt an preservatives