Resist your cravings. Give up snacking. Cut out fats, sweets, and salt.
Resist. Give up. Cut out.
Well, what kind of foolishness is that? Actually, it’s the exact mantra I chanted to myself when I turned 50 five years ago.
I’d just seen a website that challenged a 30-day vegan trial. Well, I don’t do anything halfway; it’s usually all or nothing. So, I did it. I was already a vegetarian – had been one for 20-plus years. All I had left in my diet was cheese – ahhh, yummy, melted, gooey, savory cheese. Savory because if I put cheese on anything then it had to have garlic powder, bacon bits, onion, and sometimes jalapeno. I also had: pretzels, tortilla chips, eggs, and bread products. But I kicked all that out of my diet.
It lasted for two years.
It was two years of nutritional bliss though. 🙂 I’d started running more too and between my vegan diet and running at least three times a week, I lost boo-coo weight – from a medium/large size clothes down to a solid small. I ate lots and lots of veggies and fruits, and barely anything thing else except the occasional bag of Munchos when I had a supersize craving of salt. But I got bored.
I experimented with different veggie mixes, various cultural options, used veggie cheese to liven up flavors but going vegan was a health preference, not an animal advocacy mandate. And little by little, my cravings for more flavors led me back to include eggs for baking bread, and mozzarella cheese because it has less fat than cheddar and I can melt it on everything. 🙂
But I don’t consider giving into my cravings as my nutritional downfall. I don’t accept the mantra that we have to resist, give up, and cut out. A more realistic mantra for me is to cut back, not out; to practice portion control, not resist; and to drink water, water, water to keep it all moving.
I’ve maintained a solid medium size with this method – more realistic than the small I was a few years ago. I’m very selective if I buy processed food – label reading for salt, carbs and fat is a very effective method for weeding out the truly bad for the tolerable. I also stopped eating at night- from 7:30 p.m. til 7:30 a.m. – when I’m sitting for the longest period of time.
Being realistic about foods I like and want periodically, watching portion control, minimizing processed foods and limiting food intake while sitting has made a positive difference on my nutritional health and weight.
I traveled the path of resist, give up and cut out and enjoyed the benefits
But now my nutritional journey feels like it has some staying power.
Change Grow SHINE! 