Sunday, January 18, 2015

A New Journey

Just like lot of other people out there I have struggled with my weight for years; losing and gaining every year, even restricting so much that I was nearly skeletal version of myself.  It’s a struggle, but more so, for me, is that I’m not always sure what is the healthiest option or what my diet should be. (note: I use the word “diet” as a noun, I don’t like to use “diet” as a verb.) Over the last couple months I’ve been thinking I needed a change, I wasn’t sure what, but something. Besides the fact that the holidays were a mess for me this year and I ate awful, I felt like something was missing.

A couple years ago I watch a documentary called, “Forks over Knives.” It moved me. I was amazed by it, but I was young and healthy so I didn’t think I needed to worry about all “that stuff.” Cut to January 2015: My brother was over and wanted to watch it, so we did and I remembered how I felt when I first watched it, but this time I was moved and knew it was time to make a change. Within a week I watched “Fat, Sick, & Nearly Dead” one and two.

While I don’t have any health problems (other than being overweight) I do have some problems in my family history, the biggest of which is cholesterol. Everyone in my family has cholesterol and the last time I had my blood checked it was borderline.  My doctor told me to watch what I was eating and make sure I exercise so I was a good girl and ate right and exercised but I wasn’t feeling well and fell off the bandwagon.

I will be blogging about my journey to what my friends (and even I) would call the dark side: A meatless, dairy-free existence.

I’m not starting today, I’m still researching some things but will start in a week.  

My plan:
 I will be on a juice diet for at least a week, possibly longer. Research shows that at least a week does a good jump-start of your body. It takes a few days to get over the withdrawals (which I’m bound to have) and actually feel good again. I like the idea of the juice diet first because I think it will help me get in the mindset for the next phase.  I think the length will be determined by how I feel. Teaching is a physical job; yes, "all I do" is walk around the room or stand in front, but I have to be “on” all the time and it can be exhausting.


Once I start eating again, I will be eating a plant-based whole food diet. All micronutrients and all vegan. No processed foods, no alcohol. 

Important fact: I am human and I may make mistakes and that’s okay, but this is my goal diet. (This should be my daily mantra)

I am not making this change for the weight loss, which will be a side effect, but I’m doing this for the health benefits in the long run.  I dislike the idea of being on medications, and see what my father takes every day, and that life is not for me.

When I get a hold of my doctor, I would like to get my blood work done and I will post it on here as a form of staying accountable and hopefully in 4 to 6 months I will check it again and see where I am, continuing this process until my doctor and I are happy with all my numbers.

This will not be easy, I’ve given up meat before for Lent, but I always knew I’d go back to it, so maybe that’s what made it so difficult. Moreover, my family is full of happy carnivores and a lot of my favorite Armenian staples are meat stuffed! I need to think more about eating to live, and not living to eat. A plant-based diet can be delicious and luckily I love veggies!

My goal with this blog is to document what is working and not working for me. I hope to post at least once a week about the juices and foods that I’m eating, changes I’m seeing and feeling and even the challenges I’m facing. I’m the type of person who loves [constructive] feedback so please comment at any time.

Like I said, I haven’t started yet, I have to finish the “crap” [read: meat] I have in the house before I can start this journey. I also want to start on a weekend so I can be sure I’m near and can get to a restroom as juicing makes you have to GO GO GO!!

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!


1 comment:

  1. Fist off I am so proud of you for making such a good decision for your health!! Way to go!! I'll make sure to share any of the vegan recipes I find so we can be healthy together. I'm here to support you and motivate you. My mantra may help motivate you as you go through your journey. "Progress, not perfection" love you!

    ReplyDelete