vegan diet

How to Lose Weight – Week Two Check In

Posted by Lisa Eirene

How to Lose Weight – Week Two Check In

How was this week? This week’s challenges may have been more difficult.


Getting rid of the all the junk food in the house was probably the hardest part of this week’s checklist. I for one hate wasting food. I don’t know why it drives me nuts to throw food away, or waste money, but it really does. Hopefully you were able to get over that hurdle and get the temptations out of your house.

You can read Week One to catch up. Here’s a quick recap:

Step One – Measure Your Body and Weigh In

Step Two – Count Your Calories

Step Three – Get a Journal

Step Four – Set a Goal


This week we did a few crucial things:

Step One – Remove All Junk Food From the House

Step Two – Exercise

Step Three – Don’t Drink Your Calories

Step Four – Make a List

I don’t expect many people to comment on this ongoing series. It’s more of just a way for me to answer a lot of the common “How do I start?” questions. The basic concept of losing weight: burn more calories than you eat. While that can be something super simple to understand logically, emotionally it’s difficult. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with the entire task of losing a lot of weight.

One reason it’s harder to DO than it is to KNOW is because our bodies need food. No matter what. We have to eat. It’s not like we can just stop eating and lose weight like an alcoholic would just stop drinking. Plus as Americans we live in a nation of excess and moderation is not something that is very common. I used to think that a restaurant portion was a portion. What a difference awareness makes! Holy cow! Was I wrong!

So I will continue this series because I know that someone, somewhere, will appreciate it. Maybe they’ll read the steps and something with click for them like it “clicked” for me.

QUESTION: What was the most difficult challenge this week? How did you do with the other steps?

Check back in on Monday for Week Three.

 

The Gorilla Diet

Recently I read an article about how Gorillas living in captivity are prone to heart disease. The gorillas, specifically Western lowland gorillas, were dying prematurely from heart related diseases.

 

The article went on to talk about how two male gorillas have lost 65 pounds by eating a diet of endive, romaine lettuce, green beans, alfalfa hay, dandelion greens, flax seeds and multivitamins. They eat about 10 pounds of this green leafy salad every day. Compare that to their previous diet: on their old sugary, starchy diet they were overweight and less mobile.


Animals are so smart. They just intuitively know.

What I find the most interesting is that they are basically describing a raw food or vegan diet in a way. I don’t have any experience with a vegan diet. I was a vegetarian for about 12 years (and did everything wrong). While I’m a full-fledged meat eater now I’m fascinated by this topic. Maybe because in a way I am attracted to whole food diets. The more that Michael and I Meal Plan and eat healthier meals, the  less processed foods I want to eat.

I’ve noticed that I feel better since the Meal Planning. We’ve both also lost some weight. I am listening to my body even more and I see what types of food fills me up the most: protein and fiber. It’s great seeing the correlation and progress.

 

QUESTION: Are you vegan? Or do you eat a raw diet? Thoughts?

The Cure for Stress

Posted by Lisa Eirene

So that is one cure. OR a good cure is going to a friend’s house for dinner and girl talk!

I went to my friend Star’s house for dinner after work. She is one of the best cooks I know but unfortunately she doesn’t measure or follow recipes when she cooks! I can never recreate her masterpieces because of that.

Dinner was vegetarian soup. She made her famous cornbread too.

The “recipe” for her cornbread is:

Bob’s Red Mill Cornbread mix

Splash of vanilla

Small can of chopped chilies (mild)

Handful of corn

Pour into an iron skillet and top with grated sharp smoked cheese.  The cheese will sink into the cornbread as it bakes. Bake it according to the package.

Delicious! I love her cornbread. Topped with a little melted butter and it’s the perfect side dish.

Now for the amazing soup.

  • The night before, she soaked a cup of black beans.
  • With a potato masher, mash the black beans into a puree.
  • Chop a whole sweet onion and a red and yellow pepper.
  • Sautee the veggies in a skillet with garlic and butter.
  • Pour a couple quarts of vegetable broth into a pot.
  • Add the sauteed veggies.
  • Toss in an entire cube of low fat cream cheese.
  • 1 can of roasted tomatoes (don’t drain liquid) and 1 can of Rotell.
  • Add frozen corn and frozen soy beans.
  • Add some dry brown rice.
  • Simmer for at least an hour and a half.

It was creamy and delicious. A storm was brewing outside. When I arrived at her house (my old apartment building too) the wind was kicking up and the clouds were threatening rain. A creamy soup was the perfect meal for a rainy night.

I got seconds. It was just too good not to.

My friend Star had some recent illnesses and she switched to a 90% vegan diet. She looked healthy, happy and has lost some weight. The program she’s doing seems to be working. I don’t know that I could be vegan. I just love dairy too much.

Talking with a girlfriend about stress usually makes me feel better. The current situational stressors have been taking a toll. I wish I could say the soup cured me! It didn’t but it did make me feel a little bit better.

QUESTION: How do you de-stress?