Switching To A Plant Based Diet Day 10

No, you didn’t miss any posts. I have been focusing on getting my videos up on TikTok and YouTube, and I haven’t posted them here. I think I am only going to post the videos here when I have something to add to the message of the video.

Today is a perfect example. I wanted to explain some of the vegetables I am enjoying and why I chose to eat them.

The first vegetable I’m going to talk about is the humble sweet potato. These orange tubers of deliciousness are chok full of vitamins and minerals fantastic for your health. I find them to be delicious with just the right amount of sweetness to match the other vegetables I enjoy.

I can eat these every day no problem. A cool trick I learned is to cook them the night before and leave them in the fridge. It not only enhances the sweetness (I know a subjective view), it also transforms the starch into a resistant starch, which is shown to be extremely beneficial for your gut micro biome.

That’s just one of the many benefits to eating sweet potatoes. I’m happy that I’ve included this little bomb of flavor into my diet, and so are my guts!

Switching To A Plant Based Diet Day 6

No craving for meat today. I just couldn’t resist last night because Popeye’s Chicken Sandwiches are more addictive than crack. I feel like it was easy to get back on track because of the vegetables I eat. I tend to stick with starchy vegetables, because of the way they taste. I can’t stand leafy greens, no matter how much I try. The taste is just disgusting, without making them unhealthy. Not to mention leafy greens always leave me feeling sick.

Where as mashing sweet and russet potatoes together and enjoying some corn and peas is absolutely delicious. I use a little bit of butter in the potatoes, I would use coconut oil but I hate the smell and taste of coconut. I use a little half and half, just a splash to loosen the potatoes up and make them smooth after mashing. The rest is spices to change up the flavor. The ability to bring a new flavor and spice into my vegetables will help stave off flavor fatigue.

I believe I will be successful at keeping to a plant based diet over time, as long as I stick with what is enjoyable to me. That’s going to be key eating this way, as it is in any diet. I won’t be able to succeed if I don’t like what I am eating.

Switching To A Plant Based Diet Day 5

Switching To A Plant Based Diet Day 4

I had a wonderful piece written about how this diet wasn’t so bad, but the ether ate it. Instead just know I did not crave a hamburger today.

Switching To A Plant Based Diet Day 3: I want a burger

And I mean a big one. I want it greasy and dripping with cheese, the bun perfectly toasted. I want to taste sauteed mushrooms and caramelized onions mixing to synergeticly in a secret home made sauce.

I think I will survive this diet, I may even enjoy it at times. It’s a good thing I have Saturdays to look forward to, I really am craving a burger.

Switching To A Plant Based Diet Day 2

Quitting fasting and switching to a plant based diet.

I’ve decided to quit fasting. There is nothing wrong with the practice, if it is working for you then by all means continue. I know from experience that what may work for one individual doesn’t necessarily work for another.

After a long discussion with my health care professionals, we decided fasting isn’t having the effects we hoped for, and my heart health is slowly but surely deteriorating.

It’s funny, I would have thought that not eating every day would be an issue for me, but it wasn’t. I found it actually removed stress from my life and made it easier to enjoy the foods I love. Fasting has offered some benefits to my health, just not the ones that I need.

I need to look at my over all health, and after much discussion I have decided to go with a mostly plant based diet. This is a major challenge and change for me, as I typically don’t like what people consider healthy vegetables.

There aren’t a lot of vegetables I even enjoy. I can count on one hand the vegetables I enjoy. Maybe this will help me to broaden my perspective.

It doesn’t matter. I’m going to do what I need to for me. I have to do something for my health. If that means sacrificing my favorite source of protein and fat, cutting meat from my diet except for one day a week, then so be it. If it means attempting to find a dark leafy vegetable I enjoy, I’m less enthusiastic about that, but I will do what I need to.

I will start to introduce you all to the vegetables I do eat, and why I eat them, over time. Know that I am not giving up on animal products. I will still use butter and milk as healthy fats in my diet. And as I stated before, I will reward myself once a week with the meat I enjoy most.

I know I need to get on top of my health issues. I know I need to keep working to lose weight. I know I have tons of people who love me in my life, and I need to do what I can to keep myself here on this plane of existence for as long as possible.

At the same time, I want to start posting videos every day to my YouTube channel. Short little bits about my struggles and successes. A vlog if you will. I’m want to offer motivation for others in my predicament. I want to help others succeed in their weight loss journey. I know life is better when you attempt to lift others up, rather than ignore their issues and let them suffer. If I can help, I want to help, and I want to see others succeed.

The Apps I Use To Edit My Audiobook

I finally finished chapter 1 of Urban Punk. Took much longer than I expected, but that’s because I was choosing images to include in the video. They were tough to come by. Pexels.com and Pixabay.com were instrumental for helping me get proper imagery. They’re not just great for book covers, but awesome for quality stock shots all for free ninety nine.

The Nikon Z 30 is my preferred camera for video content

My Nikon Z 30 is an amazing little camera. It works perfectly for the image I want to create for my videos. It also has a microphone jack for plugging in my Rode Wireless Go 2, giving me high quality sound without having to worry about cords being in the way. I can also plug the transmitter into my PC, and use microphone as a dedicated input for sound. Even if you choose not to record your audiobook as a video like I did, I still highly recommend the Rode Wireless Go 2 microphones for recording yourself.

VLLO is a great reasonably priced video editor for Android phones

Again, I am using a video editing app to edit my audio/video. VLLO is simple, easy, and intuitive to use for simple clipping and cutting of videos. Spend a little money on the app and you get access to a ton of features to help perfect your video. If you are focusing on audio, you can use a program like Lexis Audio Editor or Wavepad Audio Editor that are designed specifically for audio.

Video to Mp3 converter is great for ripping audio from your videos

Video To Mp3 Converter is another simple, easy to use application that is free. It does exactly what the name suggests and rips the audio from your videos, leaving you with a high quality sound file to upload and edit.

The last application I use is a free web app from Adobe. Adobe Podcast makes it simple to get great quality sound from my original audio. It took tinny, hollow sounding audio and made it sound rich and full, all with a couple clicks of a button. And that’s how I edited the video above, and the programs I’ll use to help me convert it to an audiobook.

Creating your own audio book (Cover Reveal for Urban Punk audio book)

I’ve been working on Urban Punk recently, to publish it and release the audio book at the same time.

I’ll admit, audio is still the most difficult part. Even if you believe you have a good audio setup, it’s probably not good enough. At least I know in my case, using the budget setup that I have, I’m not going to get perfect audio.

I don’t have a professional microphone, at least not for anything like recording a book. I have microphones that I use with my videos, but are they going to be good enough quality for an audiobook?

There’s only one way to find out, and so I’m going to start recording Urban Punk chapter 1.

I’m going to make it into a video, and I believe I’m going to try and share the whole process with you.

The process will be posted here, as pictures, because I’ll admit I’m too lazy to edit a video like that. I enjoy my cameras, I do not enjoy editing videos.

I really hope I’m able to help someone else in the same spot as I am. Or someone who’s just starting, and trying to figure it all out.

The equipment I’ll be using is a Rode Wireless Go 2, And that will be plugged into my Nikon z30. I need to get some better soundproofing, in order to make my tone sound richer and fuller, but for a basic setup this will work.

My soundproofing is not expensive. It’s simply a box with egg foam on the inside. A thicker denser one that absorbs the sound. That makes it easier to tear it up and put it down, since it’s not something I plan on leaving up all the time.

I will attempt to share how I do all my editing, even the video editing, on my phone. And hopefully, I’ll end up with a halfway decent audiobook at the end of it.

I hope you guys had a good day today, and I hope your evening is even better. Y’all have a good one!

The struggle is real!

I’ve been struggling to get back on track with my intermittent fasting. I have too many friends and family members that just cook excellent meals, and it can be difficult to resist. I wanted to share some strategies I’m using to get back on track after the holidays.

I hope you all have a great day! Keep being awesome, and support indie authors and artists!