Plant Based Weight Loss - 10 Tips for Getting Started

As long as I can remember I've always had very unhealthy eating habits.  Since childhood I have fed and nurtured my unhealthy relationship with food to the extent it has become intricately woven into every facet of my life.  

Sure, I always said I wanted to be fit and healthy, but the sad part about it is that I did not know how to give up my killer eating habits. Nor did I deep down even believe it was possible for me to change my eating habits.  It wasn't until about four months ago, when the curtain of denial was divinely drawn back, that I was able to make the decision to fully embrace a plant based lifestyle. 

If you are in the same boat and have struggled with poor health and weight issues, below are the top 10 things that propelled me into a happier and healthier way of life. 

1. Surrender – many times I had to pray for the willingness, to be willing to let go! For me, divine intervention was the key. 
2. Education - thoroughly research the plant based lifestyle before you start.  The movie “Forks over Knives” is a great movie to watch - http://www.forksoverknives.com/. It provides a great source of education and motivation.  Once you have done the research, choose the plant based lifestyle that will work best for you.   Select a plant based program that you will be able to fully embrace.   In my life, if I want to make a lasting and forever change, I have to believe in what I am doing.
3. Develop a network of plant based friends to support you through the process.  I have been richly blessed with a tribe of plant based friends who are supporting me and cheering me on in my quest to get healthy and lose weight.   Their support has been invaluable!  If you need help in finding a plant based support system social media offers a lot of vegan/plant based support options - such as Pass the Plants, Please.
4. Clean out your kitchen cabinets, fridge and freezer and give away or toss all unhealthy and non-plant based foods.  I did this the night before I started my new lifestyle and I actually cried - which shocked and embarrassed me!   Sniffling I called a friend of mine and together we walked through the emotional process of saying goodbye to the junk food.
5. Purchase a few tried and true plant based cookbooks.   Some good friends of mine gave me a Lindsey Nixon Happy Herbivore Cookbook.  Her recipes are simple to follow and for the most part she uses easy to obtain ingredients.  If you enjoy creating your own dishes, the following website has a great list of essential vegan pantry items - thekitchn.com.
6. Make out a list of what recipes or foods you want to eat for the first week.  This will provide you with the much needed shopping list for your first vegan excursion to the supermarket!
7. Restock your kitchen with healthy plant based foods.  Now comes the fun part, the restocking of your pantry with healthy food items.  If you have a vegan friend, who is available to shop with you, ask them to join you…their insight will be most helpful. Fruits, vegetables and dried beans will be readily available at your local supermarket, however, miso, nutritional yeast and some vegan staples may not be so easy to find at your local markets – especially if you live in a rural area.  So for the harder to find staples, consider making a trip to Whole Foods for your first shopping trip.  I always find their employees to be super helpful.
8. Read a plant based lifestyle article, post or blog or watch a vegan recipe clip everyday.  For me, doing so keeps my desire to get and stay healthy fully stoked and burning strong!
9. Don’t hyper focus on the bathroom scale numbers.   I need to lose a massive amount of weight and it can be overwhelming.   Since December 8, 2015 I have lost 54 pounds, however, I still have a long way to go.  During this journey what keeps me motivated to stay the course is not the weight loss, it is the health improvements. Nothing feels better than starting to regain one's lost health.
10. Be patient and kind with yourself - we did not get unhealthy or obese overnight.  One of the greatest lessons I have had to learn during these last four months on this new lifestyle is to be patient. It is the tortoise that wins the race. 

Wishing you prosperity in your journey!

Love,

Sharon

Past guilty pleasures and a lifetime of weight gain

Prior to going vegan and starting a healthier plant based lifestyle, I could not remember a time when sugar was not my drug of choice, especially ice cream.  It’s frozen creamy goodness would envelope me in a warm blanket of self-denial.  One spoonful transported me to a place of numbness, one that even the roughest tempest couldn't penetrate.

In the past I tried many times to "get clean," only to succeed for a few weeks, or, if lucky, a few months. Despite my best efforts, it would only be a matter of time before I would be wheeling a grocery cart down the well-lit aisles of the freezer section, peering through the frosted glass, in search of the perfect blend of frozen flavors - all the while hoping no one I knew saw me.

During one distant shopping trip, I found the coast was clear and I slowed to a stop in front of the premium "high fat" ice cream section.  I began narrowing down my choices.  Should I get my old friend "Cherry Garcia" or try a fling with the new”super-premium Greek Frozen Yogurt?" I ended up skipping both of the first options and was drawn to a larger carton of the new chocolate Oreo cookie variety.  As I reached for it, I was already envisioning myself devouring it.

After I grabbed the one quart chocolate Oreo variety, for good measure, I threw a pint of limited edition blackberry cobbler into my cart and quickly guided my basket to the check-out counter. My palms were still cold from the ice cream and I had already began to feel the guilt start to creep in. I knew within a day or two of my purchase, all of the ice cream would be polished off and I would be left feeling sick and wanting more.

By the next day after my purchase, the pint of ice cream was consumed and the larger carton was waiting in the wings - that was when I believe God sent a friend to help answer my pleas for deliverance.

It was late that same night (a few years back) after having finished eating the pint of blackberry cobbler ice cream that I was chatting with a close friend on the phone. During this phone call, he asked me if I was still sugar/junk food free.  Confession time.  I admitted I was eating sugar again and had actually meant to tell him about "falling off the wagon." We chatted for a while about my struggles with sugar and junk foods, then he suggested I start researching and writing a weight-loss book.  His logic being that the research for the book would help me find the path to success and at the same time help others who are struggling with the same issue. 

This was not the first time in my life that someone had encouraged me to write.  My therapist had also encouraged me to write, but I at that time, I had yet to fully embrace writing because I always doubted my writing abilities, however, as my friend encouraged me something inside me changed. The more I mulled over his writing idea, the more I came to believe that it might actually work and thus the blog and my hopes for writing a book in the future began.

While it took several years for me to become fully engaged and committed to a healthier vegan lifestyle, I have finally wholeheartedly embraced veganism and each day I find it more and more rewarding! 

Thankfully I can now say that since December 8, 2015 I have been completely vegan and have also gone gluten free due to allergies.  So no more non vegan frozen treats for me! 
And regarding my love of ice cream, I have recently purchased a good blender and have learned how to make my own vegan ice cream using frozen ripe bananas, blended with a few of my favorite berries and a splash of 100% juice or soy milk - nom, nom!

Wishing you prosperity in your journey!

Sharon

The Simple Secret to Weight Loss

Our Creator blessed us with an abundance of simple and healthy food choices that heal and satisfy the body.   With each passing day of this new lifestyle I realize more and more that simple eats, straight from nature's bounty, are my best friends!   

Six months ago, prior to changing my overall outlook on food, I would breeze past the produce section in search of my favorite calorie rich instant foods and sugary treats, however, now I am thrilled when a new produce season starts. 


This past week while stocking up at the store I was so excited to see fresh whole greens on sale.   As I stopped my cart in the middle of the climate controlled produce aisle to "pick a mess" I was mentally transported back to my childhood days of gardening with my parents. We lived on a rural four acre plot in North Central Texas.  As an adolescent I thought it was cruel and unusual punishment that my parents asked me to pick green beans in the warm Texas sun.  At times I was a very remiss green bean picker!   It is with embarrassment that I admit to occasionally picking the WHOLE green plant (roots and all) and tossing it over the fence into the neighboring pasture to avoid gleaning from it on my next go around.   Now, as a seasoned adult struggling with an autoimmune arthritis, I would be overjoyed to have the physical fortitude to raise my own produce. 

Thankfully though I live in an area that grows a lot of great local produce and spring is just right around the corner.   With those April showers come a cornucopia of fresh mouthwatering and satisfying fruits and veggies to look forward!  

The great thing about going vegan with fruits and vegetables at the helm of your diet is that you can keep it simple. I truly believe the secret to maintaining any healthy lifestyle is to not allow it to become cumbersome.  Once it becomes too time consuming and difficult those of us struggling with food additions tend to want to throw in the towel and revert back to our old fast food ways. 

One of the quick and easy dishes that I enjoy on a regular bases requires no recipes or measuring cups.  I call it South of the Border Potatoes (big thanks to my friend Kathy for introducing me to this dish)!  I boil yukon gold potatoes and mash while they are hot with a little soy milk.  I then toss the mashed potatoes with fresh diced green onions, corn and black beans.  Next toss in some minced cilantro and salt and pepper to taste. If you like your dish spicy you can add in some freshly diced jalapeno peppers.   

Within 30 minutes of putting the potatoes on to boil I end up with an amazingly yummy main dish which I usually eat with either grilled vegetables or fresh carrot and celery sticks on the side.  

Wishing you prosperity in your journey!

Sharon

Deceptive Eating - Staying Clean and Coming Clean

Honesty is a trait society values, however, I would venture to say that 99.9% of morbidly obese individuals are dishonest at times about their food intake and I am no different!  

Like my fellow extreme chunky monkeys I struggle with keeping it honest about my eats.   And even to this very day, despite successfully losing almost 50 pounds since December, I still want to keep my slips a secret!

 So, since I am blogging about honesty, I must admit I would greatly prefer to keep my pride intact and my poor eating choices to myself, however, I believe it is more important for my overall recovery to keep it honest.  After all we are all human and we are all going to occasionally, during a new eating plan, make some unhealthy choices. 

Recently I spent some amazing time with my family in Kansas and Missouri and throughly enjoyed it!  While I technically I stuck to my vegan and gluten-free diet I am thinking there is a good chance I might have inadvertently had wheat in the soy sauce that was used to make the Szechuan green beans with rice that I had at a Chinese Restaurant while on vacation.   

Also, with this trip came exposure to some of my old favorite food items, such as soda!  It was a warm sunny afternoon and we were at the park - everyone was off playing and enjoying the unseasonably warm March weather.    I was hanging out at the picnic table with a bottle of water and entertaining myself with a mindless game on my phone while soaking up the sunshine.   Off to my right was a 12 pack of Dr. Pepper that keep calling my name.  At first I resisted, but as the minutes ticked by "my old happy being fat self" started to whisper in my ear....."You know Sharon, Dr Pepper is vegan and it is gluten free!" and "You don't have to tell anyone....as technically you will not have broken your commitment to eat vegan/gluten free."   

I am sorry to say that I caved and ended up pouring half of a can of Dr. Pepper into a glass and downing it!  But the most surprising thing happened - it tasted sickeningly sweet and rather unpleasant.  Wow!! My taste buds had changed and I was shocked when I realized that I no longer liked the taste of soda.  Hallelujah, my body had actually learned to not enjoy the taste of sugary soda and I for one was not going to try it drinking it again in the hopes of reconditioning my taste buds to enjoy it again!  

Despite the slip, I am happy to say that I did not feel compiled to throw in the towel, as I would of in the past, and have a proper binge.  I now realize it is just not worth undoing the weight loss and the health benefits that I have achieved to date - I DO NOT WANT TO START OVER! 

The secret I am now trying is to learn is to not let the occasional unhealthy food choice define who I am going forward!

Wishing you prosperity in your journey!

Sharon