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 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 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!

Day 16 of 90: Weight issues

I weighed myself this morning. I don’t know how many of you guys know this, but I struggle with a weight issue. I’ve been big all my life, and I continue to struggle against it everyday. It can be kind of disheartening to wake up every morning and see that your weight isn’t fluctuating, though you’re eating less and exercising your ass off.

A plateau is a horrible thing to hit in your weight loss goals, though they happen all the time if you have large amounts of weight to lose. I’m going to tell you, you can work through it. Half an hour a day walking, or some other form of physical activity outside your norm, can change your life. Hell, it can do more than change it, it can save it.

This past year, I’ve lost over 150 lbs, with only 200 more to go from my goal. Last year at this time, I would have problems even standing, let alone going for a walk. One day at a time, I’ve used my stubborness to get closer to my goal. And though I’ve plateaued right now, I know I’ll break through it as long as I keep on keeping on. It’s all about perseverance.

One day at a time, you conquer your demons. If you get in the habit of taking enough time out of your day to improve yourself, before you know it, you’ll be a greater person than you ever expected. A little bit at a time, it will add up to the greatest version of you.

Soo….a little bit of an update on the weight loss front.

Figure I haven’t done one of those in awhile. Sara and I started doing daily walks in the morning, to attempt to jump start my weight loss from this prolonged plateau, but so far no luck. Still 515 pounds, but I’m still having people tell me I’m slimming. So it’s not all bad, just annoying.

I have been seeing some Training Mask around the internet recently, and seeing how fat is expelled from the body as carbon dioxide, I thought I’d check it out.

I’ve only had the thing one day, but I can tell you that I think it works and very effectively. Being a bigger guy, I have tons of people that try to talk to me about losing weight. They all say the same thing, Walk! And while I completely agree it is the best method to lose weight, when you’re a quarter ton and struggling with each step, not the best advice to give. I don’t have a problem walking, (other than it’s boring to me) but when I do, I struggle to breathe. The pain hurts, and is a major part of why I continue to struggle, but when I’m gasping for air it’s hard to keep walking even when I want to.

I struggled for a way to explain this before, but once I opened their instruction booklet and started to read, I found a passage that explains it perfectly.

The booklet says “The best example of this is a person running for the first time in three years. They start off fine, their breathing isn’t labored. But, before long, they start breathing deeper and faster, and for a short time this works. Once they get halfway down the block, they notice they are breathing faster and shallower, and despite the fact they are breathing faster, they notice they are short of air, winded so to speak. Their legs start to burn, their back gets tight, they start to slow down, and then those beloved side cramps kick in.”

Now, I don’t know about you, but this explains my excistence. I go to take a walk, and before I reach the end of the block, I’m just find myself falling apart. I’m hoping to keep a running update on this, as I use it longer, and continue to walk with Sara. Hopefully I won’t forget about updating it. (Like I did with the Kombucha! Love that stuff, but it’s not an everyday thing anymore. Maybe once a week.)

ADDED BONUS: Something I didn’t consider when I purchased it though, it is a breathing trainer. I meditate on a regular basis, and have for years, but even to this day I struggle sometimes to master my breathing. This helps with that. It forces you to slow down your breathing, making for a nice even inhale and a nice smooth exhale. I used it when I meditated this morning, and now my stomach burns like I’ve been doing sit ups. So not only will it help strengthen your lungs and diaphragm, it will teach you how to breath properly for meditation.

I know I’ve only had it a day, but so far I would happily recommend it to people looking to improve their breathing capabilities. You WILL notice it the first day.

So I’m thinking about branching out into book reviews….

I’ve noticed something as I prowl the internet in search of people to read and rate my book without me having to pay. While there are tons of reviewers out there, there aren’t enough! So after talking to Sara about it, we’ve decided we might be branching out into book reviews. No porn books or sloppy love stories(Read romance or erotica), they get enough spotlight. Let me know what you guys think.

Oh, and I guess I should add in a weight loss update, since I haven’t in awhile. Weighed myself this morning, that’s two days under 510 pounds. Now I’m up to 130 pounds lost in just over a year.