Comic of the day...

Halfway Point! ...and a confession...

The year 2010 is half over. So is my personal challenge to lose 50 pounds in 2010. How am I doing?

Drumroll, please...

I am down 25.2 pounds this year. In other words, I am right on schedule!

I remember a time when I thought that I needed to lose 8 to 10 pounds a month otherwise it wasn't "worth it". Now when I lose a pound a week, I am thrilled! And so far this year, I have been doing that.

Some weeks I lose more (this week I am down 1.6) and some weeks I lose less (last week I was down .6) but I almost always am down SOMETHING and for that I am so proud of myself.

I do credit The Kind Diet to helping me reach my goals. But only partly. Because here is my confession, dear followers:

I have started to follow Weight Watchers again. I am still keeping the principles of the Vegan section of TKD, but am also counting WW Points every day.

As much as I was enjoying the freedom of not counting anything while strictly following TKD, I found that I was being too loosey-goosey about the whole thing, especially my hunger signals. And I fully intend to stop counting again at some point. But that point is far into the future, because I think that right now I need the accountability that comes with counting.

I think that WW and TKD work very nicely together!

B.R.A.T.

My stomache has been aching lately. I actually went home from work yesterday because of it.

So I am officially going to be doing the B.R.A.T. diet for a couple of days to even my angry stomache out.

Bananas

Rice

Applesauce

Toast

All vegan (if you have whey-free bread for the toast), isn't that interesting... The fact that many meat and dairy eating parents are huge advocates of this BRAT diet when their kids are sick makes me think that deep (DEEP, DEEP) down, they know that meat and dairy are irritants and should be avoided to keep their kids' tummies happy.

Of course, since I've been vegan for months now and still have come down with this stomachache, I guess that I should shut up! :-)

Goodbye, obesity!!!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen. I am officially no longer contributing to the great American Obesity Epidemic! I have a BMI of under 30, meaning that I am officially overweight.

It feels great to say "goodbye" to obesity. May I never find it again. I hated being obese. I'm thrilled to be overweight again. Well, maybe thrilled isn't the right word, since I'm hoping to leave overweight, too.

But I have been waiting to see the number "185" on the scale for quite some time. So today is a day for celebration.

But also to set a new goal: 170. That is the next weight that I will celebrate with this much enthusiasm, because that will mean that I've lost 5o pounds since starting this "lifestyle change"/diet/weight loss journey.

For now, I am 36 pounds lighter than I was a year ago, and for that I am so proud!

Baking french fries...

This week I have baked some Ore-Ida french fries nearly every day. I am loving them, for several reasons:

- VEGAN

- delicious!

- cheap

- help me from eating potato chips.

Since I have to bake them, I put only a serving (or two) on the pan, snack on some raw veggies while they bake, then eat the fries guilt-free. They keep me away from even wanting chips. Since they are frozen, it's pretty impossible to eat the whole bag.

Fries have been my savior this week. I have been craving salty, crunchy goodness.

(note: not a superhero food)

New Blog...

Not that I really needed one, but I started a new blog about the rest of my life. (work, money, boyfriend, school, future goals, growing up). I will remain faithful to this blog and only blog about my adventure with The Kind Diet/vegan weight loss, but will blog about other things on the other one. Just in case you're curious, here's a link:

http://leahgrowingup.blogspot.com/ It's called "Quarter Life Crisis Averted"

It's going to be another adventure in blogland... Loving it!

Easy-Peasy-One Two Threesie!

How is it that being vegan, something that I always thought of as being so difficult, is so easy?

Years ago, when I was a vegetarian, I would say, "No way could I ever be vegan. I could never give up my cheese!"

Months ago, when I started the vegetarian transition again, I said the same thing. "How can I give up pizza? I'll give up the pepperoni, but NEVER the cheese! It's too delicious!!!"

So how is it that I've been vegan now for over a month, with very few difficulties? Why was there such fear of failure going into this?

I'm not sure. There is definately a stigma about veganism. People think that it's too difficult. That it's nearly impossible. That all vegans eat is vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds.

There is a BIG DIFFERENCE between veganism and raw veganism. I am pretty sure that I never will be a raw vegan. I'm pretty sure that I would never want to be. It's not for everyone, and I think I'm one of the people that it's not for.

However, it is very easy for me to be vegan. I don't feel deprived at all. I'm eating all sorts of delicious foods every day. For example, this is today's menu (typical work day menu):

breakfast: PB&J on a whole wheat sandwich thin, banana

lunch: bean and rice burrito, carrots

dinner: avacado, EVOO, salsa, Daiya "cheese", wasa crispbread; brown rice

snacks: Tofutti cutie (vegan ice cream sandwich), broccoli and cauliflower

I would love to be not eating any processed foods, and I am still working on that. But for now I think that I've found a sustainable and happy medium that I can stick with and enjoy. It works for me!

Veganism rocks.

Can following TKD help prevent dementia??

The answer, according to my research, is PROBABLY.

Several articles that I've read indicate that though there is no proven way to prevent dementia, there are ways to reduce your risk.

One of the biggies is diet. The number one recommendation is to go on the Mediterranian Diet, which includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and healthy fats. It does specifically mention fish, but we all know that there are other ways to get those fats, even omega-3, without eating a friendly fish.

Here are the basics of preventing dementia, according to a lot of scources, including cnn.com, webmd.com, dementaicarecentral.com, ehow.com, and more...

Diet: Go towards a more "Mediterranean Diet" which is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and healthy fats and eliminates processed foods.

Exercise: Exercise is good for the brain! Exercise at least three times every week.

Keep your heart healthy: eat healthy, exercise, don't smoke, maintain a healthy weight, good blood pressure

Mental exercise: Stimulate your mind with puzzles, challenging reading material, board games, playing a musical instrument, dancing

Protect your head: Prevent head injuries. Always wear a helmet when you ride a bike, always wear your seatbelt, and avoid sports that risk head injuries

Socialize: (copied directly from dementiacentral.com article) Older people who engage in regular social activities show less cognitive decline. One reason for this effect is that social activities promote new connections between brain cells.

Back to vegan (for awhile)

Being a superhero is definately not for me. Not right now, anyway! It was too stressful, even on an every other day basis.

I just adore some processed foods entirely too much to not consume them daily. And some processed foods are not that evil, such as wasa crackers.

Still going strong as a vegan, but not anywhere near macrobiotic yet, and I'm not sure that I even want to be anymore.

I love tomatoes, potatoes, and spinach. So there.

Good news? I'm down another 1.4, which brings me to a new low weight of 186.8 pounds. Very exciting! Now if I can only lose 4.8 in June, I will be down 25 for the year and right on track to my very lofty goal of losing fifty pounds in 2010. Only time and effort shall tell...