Weeeee

I'm happy to tell you I've been doing great! Going to weigh myself today and see if I've lost any.
Very excited, I'll let you know how it goes. My new fav is sandwiches with veggie patties or veggie chicken nuggests on a potato roll with onion and tomato and spicy pickles!

Getting back on

Really fell off the vegetarian wagon there....omg Chinese food!!! Weakness city.
And plus, I just started a new second job and I didn't prepare. Totally my fault. Went into this knowing that I would succumb but now I'm back on the band wagon.
Of the 14lbs that were gone, only 4 remain gone and I'm determined to keep them off.
So looking onward to the next pound that will be leaving me. :) Not looking back, just forward!
Hoorah!

Fell off the wagon

This month I did horrible! I'm crossing this month off my vegetarian list!
Starting to fully grasp my new job's responsibilities and I didn't plan well for lunches/dinners. Plus working 3 jobs, I didn't plan much. So here's to a new month and better planning now that I've got more things under my belt.

Wish me luck! Next month will be much better!

Excited and Discouraged All At Once

Well, I now have 3 jobs! But it's not as glamorous as it sounds. I dropped hours from one of my jobs to take on my dream job - get my foot in the door so to speak!

So that's the excited part... now onto the Discouraged part. I weighed myself and I'm up 3 lbs. UGH. Seriously? But maybe that's because I've not been drinking enough water. Also, my weight chart (I use the app Weighty Lite) has fluctuated before...going up and then down and then up. So I think this is a normal part of losing weight. But still. It'd be nice if I could break the 230 mark. I'd be ecstatic!

I had a veggie sub today! <3 Delish as always. Those Amy's Entree's aren't bad either. Veggie and Organic and you can actually read and picture all of the ingredients on the back of the box! Maybe that's an idea for another post. Ok well I've got to go and clean the house now.

UGH

Ate Checkers Chicken Nuggets and Fries at 1AM because I was starving after my nieces bday party.

Paid for it last night by trying not to vomit and then again this morning when I woke up. By that time it had made it to the other exit. OMG. NEVER doing that again.

I'll stick to whole veggie foods as I have been doing. I don't know what I was thinking. My poor stomach is in knots.

Had an organic pb&j sammy and felt a little better. UUUUUUGGGGGHHH.

I have found my kryptonite.

Things are going

much better.

I'm going to update my financial blog later but for now, things are going great! I'm down 14 lbs since our initial veg trial. I'm working about 60 hrs a week - give or take and I'm doing wonderfully. The second week of working both jobs was really tired and stressful, however, I think I really came through it without blowing up at home or completely being an ass. I was tired as hell and Wednesdays were so aggravating, but this week, I'm really getting the hang of it. Things are flowing smoother.

So about being a veg-head, I've had little bits of chicken here and there and it just reinforces that I don't want it. I know you've heard me say that over and over, but once you go veg, you remember how things tasted and then you start thinking about it and tell yourself - oh I'll just have a piece because I liked this so much. And when you put it in your mouth it just doesn't taste like it used to and so then you're done with it again. Until the next time you think that you really really like something that apparently you don't like anymore.

I watched Forks Over Knives with Mike and it was a very interesting movie. I've decided to start cutting
diary out of my diet. Lately, I was bulking up on my dairy since I wasn't eating meat -  I thought that I really needed the calcium and everything. Well, apparently not. And my stomach has thanked me for it! I love that my stomach isn't "heavy" feeling. I never feel (anymore) like something is just sitting in there. My stomach is always full and empty at the same time. What I mean is, it's not hungry but it doesn't feel like I have 10 rocks sitting in the bottom of it.

So far, so good. I'd like to get a veg book just to make sure that I'm getting all the minerals and vitamins I need. I don't want to take vitamins- not into all that supplement stuff. Ok well that's all for now! Chao!

New things...

Well, I have great news to report on all fronts.
First, our finances are well on their way to becoming under control. They were never really out of control, they were just getting a little "blobby." Sorta like myself. But now that I'm working 2 jobs, we'll really be cranking out those bills and getting them paid off. I'm excited!

In other news, I have had chicken a few times...a few pieces of popcorn chicken and a few bites of chicken tenders and I'm happy to report, I have had no cravings and the pieces I did have reinforced the fact that it tastes different. Not as good as I remember it. And, I don't crave it.

My weakness now seems to be when I have not planned and I am super hungry.

We went out and bought salads and mushrooms and veggie lasagna today. My friend Julia sent me some delish veggie recipes, including one for a smoothie that was YUM!  I'm going to be on the lookout for more veggie recipes.

And also, finally, my friend, Carolyn, sent me a link for some video called Forks Over Knives.
It was a documentary detailing 2 doctors --one in a science field and one in a clinical setting-- and they both did research and conducted their own trials regarding dropping meat from patients diets.  They also detailed a study done on just about every deceased person in China and their cause of death. Their findings were mind boggling!

 It also covered a study done on the number of heart related deaths in Norway prior to Nazi invasion and after Nazi invasion. Why is this important? Because prior to the Nazi invasion, heart related deaths were on the rise in Norway, then the Germans infiltrated and took all their livestock to feed to the Nazi army and the heart related deaths plummeted.  Then in 1945, they began to rise again.

How crazy is that?

Anyway, this documentary is on a whole food vegan approach.  So no processed, prepackaged food. That's something I've been trying to get away from but find it difficult because of the ease and convenience.  Hopefully, I'll have some extra money next week to buy the book that goes with the documentary I watched. 

And all you marketing guru's out there, before you go running and screaming that you can smell a sales pitch a mile away- yes, I know. Me too. But there are some things in this life that you just have to grab a hold of.  We have been doing the Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover" going on 3 years this May.

What does that have to do with a vegan cookbook? It's exactly the same. When I found Dave, we were struggling (way more than now) to pay bills and had no plan. I found Dave and bought his book ($29 at Barnes N Noble) and everyone screamed that I just gave this man money to teach me what I should have done all along. And then I took his class and my mother gifted that to me at a cost of ($99) and people screamed that I have just given him more money. But you know what? He armed me with information. 

Information that I could do this, others have done this - and more importantly- he armed me with the tools to accomplish the goals that I set for our family.  Whether or not I used them was a different issue. I'm happy to report that although we have had some slipups, we are much better off now than we were three years ago.

So here we are. I have just watched a life changing documentary and now I would like more information. I would like the tools that I need to pull this thing off. And those tools are recipes. Tasty, fresh, vegan recipes. Can't wait, I'll keep you updated!