Thursday, March 31, 2011

Before and After

One of my facebook friends whom I haven't seen since high school posted a before and during/after photo of her impressive weight loss yesterday, with a comment that went something like "I am still hesitant to post this..." My immediate reaction was "What?! WHY? You should be damn proud of yourself!" Then I realized that she meant because she didn't want to share her "before" photos, even though that person was long gone.

I understand this. You don't want to admit that you ever let yourself go like that. You want to forget how you felt when no clothes fit and everything exhausted you. I understand because I've been there and back, and I'm there again RIGHT NOW. I have some "before" photos, and I don't have the courage to share them just yet. Outside of Spark, I haven't shared my actual weight, either. This is stupid, because when I'm watching one of those weight loss shows and the women are like "OMG DON'T TELL THE WORLD I WEIGH 400 POUNDS!" I always think, "Lady, we can SEE that you weigh 400 pounds! Who are you kidding?" So I'm going to start with putting a ticker here. As you can see, I've lost some weight, but I still have a long way to go before I hit my goal!

Changes

Okay, so I haven't been blogging as much lately because I have been eating a lot of packaged foods and have been kind of embarrassed to admit it. However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that packaged doesn't always mean horribly processed. The burritos I eat for lunch every day are pretty much the same nutritionally as if I'd make them myself and then freeze them for later. The thing is, I tried that and I don't always have the time to spend a whole weekend day cooking for the work week. It's just plain easier to pick up the frozen burritos at the store (variety depends on which store I'm shopping at- some have many more than others!) and I'm not going to be embarrassed about not being able to home cook every meal of the day while working full time, remodeling my house, and going to the gym! (And starting grad school in the fall!) I think a lot of people are in this same boat, so I'm going to blog more about what I'm actually doing.

We do still cook dinner all but one day a week, though, and I need to get on the ball with posting those more often, even if they're not that interesting. I know that seasoned vegans won't be impressed, but that's not who this blog is aimed at- it's for those of you who want to eat fewer animal products but think it's impossible for whatever reason (money, accessibility, willpower, etc.) I want to set a good example, because I know that Dustin and I were prime examples of lazy, unhealthy Americans, and if we can change for the better, then anyone can!

I also want to blog more about my workouts. So maybe this will become more of a vegan, weight loss and fitness blog. After all, there has been a LOT more to going vegan than I imagined there would be, and it has honestly changed my entire life!

It has officially been 3 months, and I don't see myself ever going back to eating the way I did before. THAT is progress. :)

Friday, March 4, 2011

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins!



These made an awesome breakfast! Now that I know how a basic vegan muffin works, I am planning to adapt it to make other flavors, like blueberry bran (Dustin's request,) and pumpkin! I love that vegan muffins seem to be more dense than regular ones. (The recipe was slightly adapted from Vegan Brunch- I swapped some of the all-purpose flour out for some whole wheat flour.)

Oh, and from now on, I will be able to provide the nutrition facts for all of the recipes I make! Check out the "nutrition grade" at the bottom! I couldn't be more excited about this!