Plodding along this week. I ate more veggies this week, and liked how I felt afterward so I decided to go veggie heavy this week. I think the extra fiber will also be good for me–hell, I know it will be. I’m learning to listen more to what my body feels like having, and this week it really wanted more veggies.
So at the grocery store I picked up some zucchini for baked zucchini in tomato sauce, some fresh green beans for homemade green bean casserole (from scratch), some zucchini corn cakes from Whole Foods, and some gorgeous red leaf lettuce for salads this week.
Beautiful red leaf lettuce, apples (for my hubby), zucchini, mushrooms, green beans, Boston lettuce…just really wanted some veggies this week!
I’m not worried about hitting protein goals this week because I am confident that I’ll get enough protein. I follow Dr. Garth Davis on Facebook, and I’ve been reading his posts a bit more closely about how we do not eat enough plant-based food because we are so focused on protein, protein, protein! and how this behavior is quite detrimental to our collective health. If you aren’t familiar, Dr. Davis is a bariatric surgeon in Houston who is also a vegan. He advocates strongly for a plant-strong diet, and what I admire about his brand of nutritional evangelism is that it is all research-backed and evidence-based. There’s not a shred of psuedoscience in what he says, unlike some food bloggers who shall remain nameless. Dr. Davis is currently writing a book on nutrition which comes out in September, and I look forward to reading it. It’s too bad that most doctors are not thoroughly trained in nutrition, because I think more health problems can be solved simply by changing what you eat. Pills are not always the answer.
While I don’t think I could ever be vegan (I love cheese way too much, and unless milk comes from a teat/breast, it is not milk, it is juice), I do love me some veggies. And this week, I was craving some in a bad way. So I took care of that at the grocery store. I’m looking forward to digging into my zucchini and tomato sauce for lunch, the leftovers of the green bean casserole I made as part of dinner tonight, and having a hummus sandwich as a snack tomorrow. I’ve already planned on making a pot of beans over the weekend for next week, and am thinking of making a broccoli salad.
I did make it to the gym last week and I’m going to try to go again this week. I tried a different workout that got my heart rate up, which was good. But I was so tired when I went to the gym that I didn’t work out for as long as I would have liked. Hopefully this week I’ll get more sleep since one of my big side projects is done with.
Slowly but surely, I will get this train back on track. I can almost taste summer–it’s so close! I can’t wait to have more time to go swimming, walking, and just get back to being active in general. I can’t believe that nearly 2 years has gone by since my surgery. And while I’m not close to where I’d like to be, I’m far from where I was 2 years ago. I remarked to my husband today while we ate brunch, “You know, 2 years ago I would have never gotten excited about eating a a hummus sandwich.” This got me thinking about things I would not have been excited about or would have looked forward to 220 pounds ago.
So here’s the beginnings of that list.
Things I Would Not Have Been Excited About at 440 Pounds:
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts
- Going for a walk in the park
- Going for a walk anywhere
- Shopping for clothes
- Taking a plane trip (I still don’t get excited about this, but not for the same reasons)
- Using wall-mounted toilets (I don’t get excited about this, but I am just glad that I don’t fear them like I used to)
- Being able to run
- Being able to take a flight of stairs without getting winded
- Hummus
- Walking 10 miles in a day
I’m sure there are other things that I’ll think about later. For now, sleep. I need more of it.
La Guerra de La Gorda 