Well... that didn't work

Well... Let's try again. It's hard to get started and change bad habits. I'm so uncomfortable in my own body and I know that if I just try a little harder, I can succeed! I'm having a bit of an inner struggle right now.

I am a stress eater. My in-laws are visiting -- all of seven of them! My mother-in-law has a major sweet tooth and brings lots of candies -- caramels, toffees, cake -- with her and then wants to go out for ice cream every night. She means well, she wants to treat everyone, but it's so stressful to me and I feel so guilty for eating it, and not eating it! So I eat it, get a sugar high and feel good for a little while, get a dip and eat some more, feel terrible and eat more. Of course it's all on the counter, easily accessible to everyone. And then she brings the box around to everyone to take some.

Just writing this I find myself getting super stressed out and want to go drink some Dr. Pepper -- which I want to stop drinking more than anything! But it's not that simple for me. I don't drink it everyday...maybe only once or twice a week. But it's satisfying. I crave it.

 I have really low self-esteem and willpower. I don't want to sound self-righteous or anything, but I'm a pretty good person. I don't have any temptations...except food. I enjoy the taste, it's pleasurable for me. I use to watch The Biggest Loser and see people that were addicted to food and I would judge them. I would say that I wasn't addicted to food and that they just need to get over it. Stop whining and eat salad. (I love salads, but you know what I mean) :)

So yeah.... rambling. Frustrated with myself. Going to try harder tomorrow. Going to pray. Lots. I need encouragement. I need to feel successful.

Breakfast of Champions (...literally)

Rip Esselstyn is the author of the Engine 2 Diet (you can read more about him here.) His recipe, "Rip's Big Bowl" is my new favorite breakfast. It's very delicious and VERY filling! This is his recipe but I omit the grapefruit and add strawberries & blueberries. We also use Rice Dream as our milk substitute.

 Rip's Big Bowl

 1/4 cup raw old-fashioned oats

 1/4 cup Grape Nuts or Ezekiel brand equivalent

 1/4 cup bite-size shredded wheat

 1/4 cup Uncle Sam cereal

 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal

 2 tablespoons raisins

 2 tablespoons walnuts

 1 banana, sliced

 1 kiwi, sliced

 Segments of one grapefruit and juice

 ¾ cup milk substitute of choice

Toss all ingredients except the grapefruit and milk substitute into a bowl.

After cutting grapefruit in half, use a small, sharp knife to remove the segments. Add segments to the top of the bowl and squeeze in the juice.

 Top the bowl with milk substitute.

 Variations:

In a pinch, simply add water (the fruits blend with the water and give it a sweet taste)

Going Cold Turkey

My Mr. and I are decided that our eating habits, though not completely bad, need to change. We eat out...more than we need to! We eat meat...more than we'd like to! We eat processed junk food...more often than we should!

Cancer has become more prevalent in my family. My paternal grandfather is a colon cancer survivor. My paternal mother just passed away with leukemia and lung cancer. My dad was diagnosed with leukemia a few days after Thanksgiving last year. My maternal grandmother had skin cancer. And just two weeks ago my cousin was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma.  Other family health concerns are diabetes and heart attack/strokes. That's just on my side! I'm not sure about my husband's family history. I feel I need to educate myself so that I, together with My Mr., can raise our Little Babe(s) to live a healthier life.

After watching the documentaries, Forks Over Knives and Engine 2 Kitchen Rescue, we realized that the way we eat will eventually come and bite us on the tush! So to speak.

So together, My Mr. and I are challenging ourselves to cut meat, dairy, oil and refined sugar from our diets and eat more plants & grains for the entire month of June. It's going to be hard because we LOVE buffalo wings and pizza. And our 3rd year anniversary is coming up on the 16th and my birthday is on the 21st. I'm looking forward to finding a healthy alternative to cake & ice cream.

So here's to one month of plant-based whole foods!!

We got this.