How I Lost Half My Bodyweight By Eating a Mostly Plant-Based Diet

So....I weighed myself on the morning of day 47, was pleased with the reading, then wend on a total binge for the next 3 days! Self-destructive behavior at it's best. I need to dig into the psychology behind this. But it started with taking my son to a new chicken place (he loves him his tendies!). I'd resolved not to partake, but the wait was long, the speaker in the drive through was barely working, and the young man taking the order didn't seem to understand me. So social anxiety set in and I panic ordered. And by the time it was ready, I was ravenous and stressed. And then The food was brought out to the car and I realized I'd ordered a family size meal. Lol. There was no stopping me then - hangry and averse to wasting money is a dangerous combo. Then day 48 I ate the leftovers. All was still good, as this eating plan is MOSTLY plant-based. But then the following day, all hell broke loose. Ah well. I've made up for it by eating very consciously the following wee...

You guys. YOU GUYS! It's working!  I am officially down 12 pounds at just past the 6 week mark.  It's so freaking slow, but it's working! And really, all the studies I've read indicate that slow and steady is indeed the way to win the race .  Another win this week. A facebook friend had given me a bag of clothes a while back that included an awesome pair of Good American jeans. I'm not up on brands so I didn't know they were popular lol, but I could tell what nice quality they are. Anyway, they didn't fit. They are a size 18, same as some of my jeans from Kohl's, and I couldn't zip them up over my tummy. And if truth be told, I was testing every fiber of the stretchy material just to get them over my legs.  But yesterday, I decided to give them another try and praise the Lord, the universe, the mega verse, THEY FIT ! Now they're still snug, but not uncomfortably so. I wore them all day around the house, out grocery shopping, then to a  show at ou...

Yikes. I really went off the rails this week. My best guess is that I was fighting bronchitis, and feeling poorly, I gave into my anxieties and depression. I also didn't get any hikes in because I didn't feel well. BUT. I'm not giving up. And you see next week that I've gotten back on track.  I did not, however, have the courage to weigh in. Or maybe it was more a matter of self-realization, knowing that a "bad" reading could set off another binge. I'd much rather stay the course eating-wise and check back in with the scale when I'm in a better headspace.  B L D S S S 36  Steel cut oats with blueberries, ground flax seed Fake cheese and tomato sandwich; banana Pasta (112g) with 4 gardein meatballs & sauce; orange 2 lemon poppyseed muffins Pb toast 2 lemon poppyseed muffins 37  Kodiak waffle (1/2c mix) with blueberries, banana, flax Curry udon Brown rice with cauliflower curry; olives orange Larabar 2 lemon poppyseed muffins 38  Fake cheese and tom...

Another week, another pound or so lost. After 5 weeks, I'm down 10 pounds. This week was rough. I've got some sort of respiratory thing going on - runny nose, cough, sore throat - that's kicking my butt. I also had a six-month ultrasound for a sus thing in my breast (luckily, it was a tad smaller than the last time, so they're thinking it's a benign cyst. Have to go back in 6 months for another scan.) So yeah, a kind of stressful week. But I got through it with much less food-coping that I would've done a month a go. I am proud of me :-) So onward to week 6. B L D S S S 29  Pb toast Fake cheese and tomato sandwich; salad with vegan blue cheez dressing; grapse Personal pizza with vegan sausage; quinoa chili banana 3 lemon poppyseed muffins because this is the best batch yet 30  Steel cut oats with blueberries, ground flax seed Quinoa chili over brown rice Curry - 2 garlic, splash of olive oil, 2 big spoons pataks, cauliflower, chickpeas PB on rice cakes banana 3 ...

Okay so when you review this week's food log, you'll see that I had a mini-binge of cheetos and chocolate chip cookies. I don't know why I did this.  I'm tired and my allergies are out in full force, so all I can think is that my resistance was down. Funny, isn't it? One can down nearly an entire bag of junk food with nary a conscious thought. Anywho, I've moved on. It wasn't a huge binge. And I felt sick enough later that night that the lesson should stick with me for awhile. I have noticed that I ate perhaps a bit too lightly post-binge, a combination of an upset tummy and wanting to turn things around. Not a great idea though, as after that, I was ravenous again. Slow and steady wins the race. Slow and steady wins the race.  

Good morning! Well, four weeks of this lifestyle are complete. I weighed in this morning and am down 8.8 pounds. Do I wish it were more? Of course! BUT, I'LL TAKE THE WIN! Here are some thoughts: The longer I stick with this, the easier it's been to resist temptation. Having my food on hand, along with emergency plans for quick pantry meals, has been a lifesaver. I have so much more energy than I did four weeks ago! Yesterday, I hiked about 3.5 miles along a wooded trail in a local park. I would not have been able to do that a month ago. Hiking is definitely providing motivation. I've purchased some cool new hiking gear - not going crazy because I plan to outgrow most of it - but enough so that it's added to the fun of being outdoors. Weight loss is slow at my age. I've googled this a bit and it seems primarily a result of lower muscle mass. Less muscle means less calories burned and a slower overall metabolism. Something to ponder - how to incorporate strength trai...