The book behind it all!

The book that I have basically based much of my "diet" on is "The Get Healthy, Go Vegan Cookbook" by Neal Barnard, MD and Robyn Webb. Not only is it a cookbook but it also hold information and explanation behind the benefits of following a vegan diet. Some of these benefits include (but are not limited to): getting rid of type two diabetes, preventing certain cancers (!!!), cleansing the body and digestive systems among many others!

There is so much valuable information and tips in this book about utilizing healthy foods into your diet. I would even recommend this book to people who are not vegans or vegetarians. Many of the meals in here can help any individual incorporate better things into their diet. The main thing I have noticed that I have consumed more of is fruits and veggies of course, but more specifically fiber, iron, and whole grains. Instead of trying to eat healthy by focusing on limiting calories into my diet (or trying to consume low-calorie foods that really don't taste the best) I have been focusing on implementing BETTER foods into my diet. There are so many great recipes in this book, but I have also found that ingredients like vegetables, beans, fruits, etc are easy to play around with and make up your own recipes!

Many people say "Losing weight is easy; the hard part is keeping it off" but according to Dr. Barnard, the majority of individuals who have followed this kind of diet say that losing the weight is easy and keeping it off is just as easy!
Here are Dr. Barnard's two keys for weight loss:
1. Steer clear of animal-derived products. This means eating plenty of whole grains, vegetables, fruits and legumes (beans, peas and lentils), and all the foods that are made from them, while avoiding meats, dairy products and eggs.
2. Avoid added oils. Instead of sauteing in oil, you can saute in water or vegetable broth. Instead of dribbling oily dressings all over your salad,go fat-free.
These two things are seriously so much easier than you think, I promise. No counting calories, restricting calories, and most importantly, NO FEELING LOUSY! This next quote from the book was very convincing for me:

Where are the calories in the foods you eat? Think about it for a second. A chicken store calories in chicken fat. A cow stories calories in beef fat. A fish stores calories in fish oils. If any animal eats more food than is needed for energy, those extra [fat] calories do not end up as feathers or hooves They are stored in the body fat. So if you eat chicken fat, beef fat, or fish fat, [let's be honest, there is no way to avoid 100% of these meat's fat!] you are eating the animal's calorie-storing tissues.

This actually just kind of grossed me out! So even if we are buying 97% lean beef, it's still not completely fat-free,obviously. And actually, fat permeates animal muscle tissue like water lurking in a damp sponge. So there is no way to fully avoid these things! Sorry to depress you.

Oatmeal in a crockpot!?

Here is a recipe for one of the greatest things ever. Oatmeal!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup of old fashioned oats
3 cups of water
2 cups chopped and peeled apples
1/4 cupe sliced almonds
1/2 tsp of cinnamon

Put all ingredients in slow cooker/crock pot. Cover; cook on low for 8 hours.
This is supposed to be a super healthy version of oatmeal (meaning no sugar) So if you want, it's very delicious with 1 TBS each of white sugar and brown sugar (or add sugar to your liking). Put this together at night, wake up to yummy oatmeal!

It's also good with blueberries and strawberries, basically add any type of fruit you like!

HOW and WHY?

So the initial thought to treat my kidneys better and be healthier in general came to me while I was watching LA Ink. I'm not even joking. If any of you are familiar with this show, one of the girls on the show, Arianna, has extreme kidney problems, yet eats things like chilly cheese fries. I would like to say I eat fairly healthy yet I wanted to know more. I begin googling and looking up ways to treat my kidneys better. I learned that the protein in animal products "animal protein" is hard on the kidneys opposed to protein from other products, like vegetables. After much research, I just said "What the heck? I'll try it" so here I am, almost 4 weeks later, and I feel great! But don't stop reading because you don't have kidney problems. There are many reasons by "vegetarianism" can be healthy for each individual.

First off, I want to say that like any type of diet change, too much or too little of something can cause problems. Many vegetarians or people who choose to follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, have a bad rap for being weak, not getting enough nutrients, and especially not getting enough protein in their diet. I will share with you ways to avoid that! The diet I have decided to follow is more of a vegan diet, where I do not consume anything that comes fromi animals (i.e. eggs, milk, meat, etc).

WEEK 1 and 2:

These two weeks were my experimental weeks. Each day I would try to avoid eating things that contained basically eggs, milk, and meat. I went to Boise for about five days and that was the true test. My dad is a huge "meat guy" and not eating his meat would be just down right offensive, I mean it was my trial week anyway, so it was okay for me to try a few bites (which I really only had a few bites! I was so proud of myself!) I slowly got the hang of it, and realized I wasn't really limiting myself when it came to food, but being more aware of the better things I could put in my body! I started eating more and more vegetables, fruits and nuts; I even found out that my disdain for blueberries that I have had for nearly 10 years was completely false, I love blueberries! Overall, first two weeks of experiment = success!!

WEEK 3:
Things didn't get harder as time went on, like I thought it would. Meat wasn't even a temptation for me! Great! Right? Well the only things that became a semi problematic were when we went to other houses for dinner. I didn't really want to make a big deal about anything, where our host would feel bad for making a meat dish, so I just tried to scoop up all the goodies on my plate in large portions and the other "stuff" that I wouldn't eat, I would either not take any or put small portions so it just looked like I didn't eat ALL of it. Pretty silly, I know, but for the most part, it worked! We did go with Zach's family to Bar J Wranglers in Jackson which only offered meat plates, that was sure an experience. But from what I heard from the others, the meat wasn't great. There was plenty of beans and apple sauce that I had. I wouldn't recommend limiting your meal to beans and applesauce. Ever. This week's shopping list yielded in many things like: Great Northern Beans (I've never bought these in my life!), zucchini, cucumber, carrots, asparagus (never bought this either!), bell peppers, corn, edamame, frozen strawberries and blueberries, among MANY other "healthy" things.

One thing I did notice this week, not to be overly personal in this department, but I realized this diet of mine was making me very "regular", if you know what I mean ;). Let's just say I haven't always been this lucky and this week, I noticed how much eating healthier would improve my digestive system. Now, enough about that. Overall, another success!

I am on my fourth week of this new diet change, and unlike other "diets" it really hasn't been too tough. I have been in situations in the last week or so where the only option for food is meat, so those specific ones have been hard but overall I've been happy with this new change. I have felt pretty energetic and I really haven't skipped a beat with working out. I thought it would be a really hard adjustment for me, but incorporating this vegan diet hasn't had any adverse effects on me. I've even made some meals that my husband likes! (but I've mostly made meals for him that have all the "stuff" in it and eat something separate for myself, which hasn't been bad at all.)
In a later post I will go into my routine and new knowledge in more depth, but for today I thought I'd share some quotes/sayings that are health and fitness related. Most of them are funny, but still can be motivating! :)

Seven days with out exercise makes one weak

Eat wise, drop a size (or.. Eat wise, EXERCISE, then drop a size(: )

A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips

Eat right and the pants won’t be tight

“He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything.” - Proverb

“So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health." - A.J. Reb Materi

"If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself." Mickey Mantie

"According to a new study, women in satisfying marriages are less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases than unmarried women. So don't worry lonely women, you'll be dead soon." -Tina Fey

Work out or look like your dad