Well hey there, long lost blog buddies and readers! It has been 3 months since my last blog post and I think it is time for an update – am I right?
In one word, these last 3 months have been a TRANSITION.
I have transitioned into my life as a full-time graduate student, teaching assistant, and research assistant.
I have transitioned into a schedule that involves a more sedentary lifestyle than I was previously used to.
I have transitioned into a commuter. And guess what? I enjoy it. That always seems to surprise people – but my time in the car is my ME time. I listen to podcasts, plan my day, and simply relax. I am a type-A multi-tasker and being in the car for 2+ hours a day keeps me grounded and present. It’s all about what you make of it, yes?
{reading articles, watching The Walking Dead, and walking on the treadmill—multitasking at it’s finest}
Finally, I have also transitioned into an even bigger proponent of a plant-based diet.
When I first started this blog, I had recently lost a large amount of weight. I fell in love with fitness and healthy eating and never looked back. I had also transitioned (word of the day) into a vegetarian diet which opened my eyes to the wonderful world of plants. Initially, I still relied on what I thought were healthy “diet” foods.
You know what I am talking about—those foods that come in a box (sometimes frozen) stamped with all kinds of health promises. Low calorie. Low fat. Low carb. And the unfortunate and unlabeled – HIGH CHEMICAL. I also avoided certain foods because they had picked up a bad reputation somewhere along the way. I bought into the widely publicized diet trends. Bread has too many carbs. Fruit is filled with sugar. Cashews are fat bombs.
Changing your mindset towards food is a long, bumpy road. Dangerous: curves ahead. But eventually, I realized that whole foods (those that don’t come in a package and don’t need a nutritional label) were the key to health (for me).
During the month of December, I had a break from school. I survived my first quarter—yay!
{mantra}
To be honest, I ended the quarter feeling pretty run down and in need of a full recharge. First and foremost, I needed to get some quality family time!
It felt great to be at home and not always in go-go-go mode. As a side note, Adam (my son) has been so awesome during this transitioning. He is an amazing kid—independent responsible, helpful, and supportive. I don’t even believe in luck but I often wonder how the hell I got so lucky.
In addition to family time, I needed to step away from technology and stop relying on caffeine as my life source. I also needed to reconnect with my absolute passion for healthy living. And I did just that.
I cleaned up my diet. I said goodbye to entire pots of coffee and dinners consisting of snap pea crisps and hummus (as delicious as this combo is, it’s not nourishing). Then, I watched several documentaries (Food Matters, Hungry for Change, Vegucated – to name a few).
Vegucated hit me hard. When I initially became a vegetarian, it was for ethical reasons. I have a deep love for animals and I simply could not stand how they were being treated (I could go on a huge rant here, but I’ll hold back). While I stopped consuming animal flesh, I continued to consume dairy (mainly, cheese and yogurt) and eggs. Somehow I didn’t connect these foods with the meat industry. Maybe I didn’t want to connect them because I wasn’t ready to give them up. Regardless of the reason, this documentary (and a lot of sobbing during a few parts) changed that. I have now cut dairy products and eggs from my diet. I’m hesitant to call myself a vegan as I do not feel labels are necessary – but I am eating a cruelty-free plant-based diet.
I don’t want to sound preachy though. I like to keep this place positive. Plus, I do more than enough preaching to my family and friends (they will gladly attest to that, I’m sure). And I’ll probably never stop. Preach on, sister (at least that’s what I’ll keep telling myself #sorryimnotsorry). I simply enjoy sharing my reasoning behind my personal choices—especially when it comes to health. Despite this, I realize that what each person chooses to put in their body is a very personal choice.
One huge issue is that our world is consumed by conflicting information about what to eat. Cut out carbs. Go low-fat. No more fruit. Drink only juice. On and on. People are on a constant quest to find “the healthiest diet.” But to me, it’s not about a one-size-fits-all approach. Do what’s right for you. You may think I am crazy for avoiding all meat and animal products—and I am totally cool with that.
So here’s what I know for certain: the only tried-and-true way to lose/maintain weight while keeping your body functioning optimally is to follow a healthy lifestyle. Balance is key. Moderation is my mantra (80/20, baby). Exercise-induced endorphins are awesome. Processed, chemical-laden foods are junk. The produce section takes the cake. And in the ever-so-wise words of Michael Pollan: “Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.”
Over the break, I also had the time to read two wonderful books:
In the Crazy Sexy Diet, Kris Carr energetically describes and chronicles her quest from a processed food junkie to a green juice loving vegan. She (re)ignited my passion for green juice and motivated me to get more creative in the kitchen.
In the Beauty Detox Solution, Kimberly Synder talks about everything from food combining to staggering meals from light-to-heavy. While I don’t agree with everything in the book, I have taken away some great principles. I love (love, love) her glowing green smoothie and glowing green juice recipes. These are now staples in my diet. I also really like the idea of eating light-to-heavy (i.e., lighter in the morning and gradually heavier throughout the day). We all know that feeling of being stuffed after a heavy midday meal, right? Hello, naptime! Well, by eating a lighter planted-based lunch filled with energizing veggies, you can help stave off that midday crash. This isn’t something I’ll always follow – but it’s certainly a great takeaway.
My “diet” is constantly evolving. I am always experimenting with what works for me. And I am not talking about experiments with fad diets – no offense, but most are complete crap. Healthy eating and moderate exercise is where it’s at. I am focused on staying energized and avoiding burn-out by fueling myself properly.
To do this, I am incorporating more fresh, raw vegetables into my diet. Green smoothies/green juice have become my morning treat. No more blindly stumbling into the kitchen for my hit of caffeine each morning. Rather, I am mindfully choosing to fuel myself with raw energy straight from the best source – plants! Am I eliminating coffee? Nope. I love the stuff. In fact, I am drinking a nice cup of java at this moment. My goal is to break my addiction—I don’t want to wake up needing that hit of caffeine. Waking up needing my hit of green juice? I’m cool with that.
Of course, this was all super easy over break. I didn’t have to wake up and rush out the door. I could meander to the kitchen and take my time preparing a fresh smoothie or vegetable juice. And now here comes another transition and a new challenge – school is back in session.
I used to think I knew what it meant to be busy. If I was busy before, I am now busy on steroids. I also used to think I had the whole healthy living in a hectic world thing down. And maybe I did at some point. Now I have to find out how to live healthily in a new type of hectic.
Planning ahead is the name of the game and consistency is the key to success.
Meal-wise, this is the plan:
Breakfast will consist of a huge green smoothie or a green juice followed by a banana (or a piece of fruit that’s easy to grab). The juicer is a pain to clean—but it’s worth it. The blender, on the other hand, is easy to clean. Thus, smoothies may reign over juices for a while.
Lunches will be simple. They’ll also be easy to throw together because I will prep and clean everything over the weekend. Each night, I will fill a container with a variety of veggies (recent favorites: kale, arugula, radishes, matchstick carrots, bean sprouts, chopped red cabbage), a protein (tempeh, black beans, chickpeas, quinoa), and a creamy vegan dressing (hummus, nutritional yeast, salsa, seasonings). Pair that with celery sticks, an apple/banana/pear/orange, raw nuts/seeds, and a larabar – grab and go.
I have also been obsessed with Food for Life products – Ezekiel or brown rice wraps filled with veg and hummus are easy and delicious.
I will get a bit more creative with dinner—cheese-less pizza on cauliflower crust or vegan flax crust, roasted veggies and grilled tofu, whole wheat pasta with loads of veggies and spicy marinara sauce, chili loaded with beans, grilled hummus and veggie sandwich with creamy tomato soup, chickpea tacos, etc.
Snacks will involve veggies dipped in hummus, my beloved snap pea crisps, raw nuts, cereal with almond milk, fresh fruit, chips with salsa and guacamole, Trader Joe’s Kale Chips, toast with almond butter, etc.
And for some sweetness, I will enjoy dark chocolate (every day), coconut milk ice cream (So Delicious is dangerously addictive), and mugs of cereal. Yes, cereal satisfies my sweet tooth.
Will I be perfect? Nope—not possible. And definitely not fun. I never want to get to the point where a healthy lifestyle feels forced or restrictive. If that ever happens, I will reevaluate. My willpower is strong but sometimes I can’t say no to frozen yogurt, Subway cookies, or pizza. I’m only human.
This all spilled over into my beauty and cleaning routines as well. I stopped using Proactiv—my skin is still revolting, but I am pushing forward. The Tarte Amazonian clay line became my go-to make-up brand. And baking soda is my new best friend – did you know that you can clean your toilet, bake a cake, exfoliate your skin, and brush your teeth all with one natural product? Pretty versatile (and super cheap)!
To wrap it all up, I learned something very important. You don’t have to give up things you love when you start a new endeavor. When I started grad school, I thought I had to give up blogging completely and at times, I often put exercise and healthy eating on the back burner. But why? To what end? I am passionate about getting my education and I am also passionate about health. I do not have to abandon one to achieve the other—the two can co-exist. And they will. With some transitioning, of course.
So (if anyone is still out there)—tell me: how the heck have you been? What have you been up to?
P.S. Sorry for the longest post that has probably ever graced this blog. It’s been a while. ;)
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