End of April check in

So the vegan challenge is almost over. While I've not lost a ton of weight - I did learn many things. Vegan is not for me. BUT I found many recipes that I loved. And I found that limiting dairy is very good for me. My body feels much better with less dairy. I will  definitely be changing my diet for good.

On the exercise front, spring has finally arrived. I am able to walk places in town - and these last two days were SO wonderful, walking to school, walking down to the baseball game... Very happy to get fresh air and exercise!

My weight loss was completely plateaued over the winter - but I'm still down the 35+ pounds from a year ago. So my personal goal is to lose another 35 pounds this year. Slow and steady wins the race. Right?

So getting some physical exercise EVERY day - either zumba (two days a week) or walking to and from work/activities, and gardenging, is TOP on my list. As is weight lifting. I've been lacking in my muscle building, and that is so important as I get older.

I turned 43 this week. And I'm so proud that my lifestyle has come to what it is. Very little stress, lots of physical activity, and whole eating. Life is good, and getting better every day. Kind of like that Tim McGraw song about the "next thirty years". All good guys. All good.

vegan challenges

On the whole, I am enjoying the 30 day vegan challenge. As a foodie I have loved trying new recipes. And personally, I love veggies and grains, so it's been a treat. But I have found a few challenges:

• Not being prepared. On days when I've not cooked/prepped, it can be very tricky to eat. Hard to have things "to grab and go".
• Cooking "regular" food for my family. They are not doing the vegan challenge, so at night and on weekends, I am cooking for them, often leaving me with a partial dinner, eating only the parts of the meal that are vegan.
• I miss having cheese to cook with. It is a missing level of depth that my cooking is lacking.

I have noticed that the reduction in dairy is definitely good for my body. I will maintain that I think later on. All in all, I feel amazing. I'm putting tons of different fruits, veggies, and grains, into my body - which we all know is good!

Keeping up the challenge!

Vegan cleanse - day one begins!

I am a little behind my friends trying the vegan cleanse, because we were out of state on vacation. But I"m excited for the challenge today! I cooked up some high protein grains, so that for lunches and breakfasts, I have things ready at my fingers! Having brown rice with apples and cinnamon for breakfast, and have brown rice and black beans with salsa for lunch. Not sure what I'll go with for dinner - will think about that at school today!

I weighed myself this morning, and I was very worried. It was a BAD vacation for eating. We ate horribly. Rich, bad-for-you foods all over the country. But I was very happy to see that I'm still at the same weight - still down over 35 pounds since this time last year. So we'll see what a month of vegan eating can do to boost my health - and hopefully restart my weightloss!