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...

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 ...

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...

 Here ya go! I had only 2 non-plant-based meals this week, which brings my plant-based percentage to about 92%! WOOHOO. A note on the math - I count each day's snacks as a single meal. I don't know why I skipped a couple of breakfasts. Just got busy and forgot! I ate out a couple of times - once when visiting my college student and once when celebrating my high school senior's musical accomplishment - but tried to offset it by eating lighter in other meals. Weigh-in is tomorrow morning so will see how it goes! B L D S S S 15  2 slices avocado toast with bagel seasoning   2 bowls of curry udon. Should’ve stopped at one but it was good and i was hungy Fake cheese sammy, no tomato banana Tostadas and salsa. Prob ate more than i should;ve. Today’s theme i guess Lemon poppyseed muffins 16  2 slices PB toast Kung pao tofu leftover sesame beef Bread & pickles from Sammy’s meal Lemon poppyseed muffins 17  2 bowls lasagna soup Rest of the kung pao tofu + PB toast ban...