Motivation in March!

AustinRuadhain

What has you out to eat a plant-based diet? Health? Ethics? What are your favorite sources of motivation? Let's do the work to be connected with our motivation for plant-based eating this month!

AustinRuadhain

Happy Monday, plant-based friends!

No idea if this will be a motivating name for our March thread, but I gave it a shot!

I am currently listening to an audiobook that has me thinking about my life and the choices I make:
Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans

I have been doing well at cleaning up my eating the last few days, after a week and a half of not-so-great eating. Still plant-based, but I at some sweets and too many nuts. I have tight pants now, and I am not going to buy new pants! I went to the grocery store yesterday and was delighted to find fresh fruits and vegetables in the store again! My last 2 trips, I had struck out. Finally, I can get back to a more regular diet with fresh foods!

I am doing well today at eating (out to get in all of Fuhrman's G-BOMBs!), am weighing & logging, and have plans for good exercise as well. My plant-based food today:
B- coffee, unsweetened cashew milk, apple slices
L - steamed spinach; red lentils; steamed zucchini, carrots & mushrooms with chopped raw onion & tomato; steamed acorn squash & cranberries with diced apple; a few goji berries
S-almond butter & goji berries (I am aiming for a small 100-200 calorie snack)
D (planned)-big salad with warm veggie dressing (broccoli, nooch, dijon, ACV, garlic)(aiming for 1 lb fresh veggies)

Exercise
- upper body work
- outdoor walk (planned)
- yoga (planned)
- martial arts forms (planned)

hawksgirl229

@AustinRuadhain
Thanks for starting March🍀

My reason for more of a plant based diet..
Health
I feel better..I just don't love meat.
Motivation
My annual labs..I'm 55 and I've been lucky
enough to not have to take any medications.
Family history
Alot of cancer/diabetes (both sides)
I'm 80 20 with my diet...I try to stay plant based 80% of the time and the other 20% not as clean. If I deprive myself too much I get the munchies. I also have a couple of pounds I'd like to shed as well.

Workout
40 minutes treadmill
Cleaned 1/2 the house..I'll finish on Wednesday.
I still want to do 1/2 hour yoga dvd But we shall see🧘‍♀️.


MENU
BREAKFAST 2 Slices Ezekiel toast with pb
LUNCH Salad with gbombs except berries with balsamic vinegar
DINNER Bowl of fruit with coconut flakes on top.

I'm glad to hear things are returning to normal for you.

@Mihani
Your menu sounded tasty too..Sorry work was so busy..

Mihani

Thanks for getting March going, Austin! Menu sounds great. Hope you got to all your activities.

I love ezekiel toast hawksgirl. Regular bread seems boring now. Great job on the workouts.

I managed to finish my project last night and getting ready to start on tonight's project, but I'm going to bed earlier. I am taking more time to myself on weekends, or at least trying to, but that means more working in the evenings during the week to get that down time.

B - luna bar
L - raw veggies, an apple
D - lentil soup, wasa crackers

Will do my meditation and yoga before bedtime.

syrr

Hi guys, I'm new here! My doctor likes to suggest plant-based eating for all his patients, and I'm finally getting on board. Why I'm ready to jump on board:
* I've been feeling sluggish, heavy and mentally fogged and have a feeling this will make a
huge difference.
* I don't like cooking meat, so I'll be more excited to make meals!
* Improve cholesterol numbers and overall health
He gave me a long list of resources, and I'm excited about Forks over Knives so far, so I purchased the recipe app and am doing the free trial of the meal planner to get a couple weeks help to get started. That automatic meal plan/grocery list/bulk prep is so convenient, I may have to subscribe to premium but we'll see! I'm excited to go to the grocery store this weekend and prep for next week!

hawksgirl229

Welcome syrr, I'm new as well. !!!!
I've been keeping to my workouts. I'm going later today to see what our forest preserve trails look like..If walkable my husband and I plan to walk this weekend..The weather is finally getting nicer here (I'm in Northern Illinois).
Menus have been more or less the same..I'd also like to read Dr. Furhmans book Eat to Live.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE 🍄

Mihani

Welcome syrr! Your goals sound very doable and sensible. I like Forks Over Knives too. The guy who wrote the first FOK cookbook is in my city and I took a couple of his cooking classes some years ago. Hope we can provide lots of support here. I'm in the middle of tax time so I'm a bit hit or miss on checking in right now.

Hope the trails are clear and you can get out for a good walk hawksgirl. I like Eat to Live probably the best of Dr. F's books, and Super Immunity was very interesting. I also highly recommend Dr. Essy's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease.

It has been an insanely busy week and hoping to do some catching up this weekend. Still no kitchen for another couple weeks so I'll just keep muddling through.

B - oats with blueberries and chia seeds
L - lentil soup and wasa crackers
D - big ol' salad with chickpeas added

AustinRuadhain

@Mihani
Wow to those cooking classes you got to take. That sounds inspiring! I hope you are muddling through tax time okay.

Hello, @syrr ! Welcome! Have fun making yo0ur plans for next week! And Forks Over knives is indeed inspiring!
It's great that you have a doctor that actually suggests plant-based eating. Mine was impressed when I lost all the weight, but is not very engaged in nutrition as a primary focus.

@hawksgirl229
I hope the trails were welcoming. A hike sounds like a fine idea!
I found Dr F's Eat to Live inspiring and very helpful. I will add that his recipes run a little bland for me, so if you try those, be prepared to taste and adjust.

Food is good so far today. I have been h it or miss for a couple of weeks as far as *optimal* eating, and so have banished fried fruit from the house for a while, except for goji berries which are low in sugars and not so gratifying.

So far so good today:
B - coffee, cashew milk, apple
L - steamed spinach with white beans, red onions, chopped tomatoes and green chiles; steamed zucchini, mushrooms, carrots with chopped fresh green onion and tomato; steamed acorn and butternut squash with chopped apple and jicama
S (planned) - cashews (about 5), plus half an apple
D (planned) - big salad with homemade veggie-based dressing

Mihani

Austin, I agree about Dr. F's recipes. I made 3 or 4 from the ETL cookbook and was not impressed. I have liked a couple from the ETL Quick & Easy cookbook.

I am heading up to my desk to work from home all day today. Will get laundry started first so it can get done while I work.

Managed to jump on the treadmill for a bit yesterday. Plan is to keep it going at least 30 minutes a day and continue with my yoga in the evenings.

Plan for today...
B - ezekiel toast with PB, a banana
L - lentil soup and an apple, maybe a couple wasa crakers
D - big ol' salad

AustinRuadhain

Happy Sunday, all!

I stayed on the food plan yesterday. I got in an hour of bicycling with my husband, which was lovely.

So far so good on my Dr F plan today:
B - coffee, cashew milk, apple
L - steamed spinach with white beans, red onions, chopped tomatoes and green chiles; steamed zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, broccoli with chopped grape tomato; steamed parsnip with chopped apple and jicama
S (planned) - cashews (about 5), apple
D (planned) - big salad with homemade veggie-based dressing

Right now, I am finishing lunch. Next up an hour or so of housecleaning and studying.

hawksgirl229

Hi everyone 😊

We were able to walk both Saturday and Sunday. The Trails had snow in places and very soupy
still in other spots.
I ordered the Eat to Live book from Amazon. Looking forward to reading it..Will that also have his six week challenge or is that somewhere else?
-Menu has been pretty much the same and I've been able to stick to my workout schedule and water goal.
Today my mom had 2 appointments (lab and a doctor) so that was the morning. Workout will be a bit later today. We also need to bring Mason back to the surgeon on Friday. I think his knee is bowed a little strange and I'd feel better having a professional opinion.

@Mihani
I Hope you got at least some of your weekend to relax..As usual your menu's look tasty. Great job managing to still use your treadmill!!

@AustinRuadhain
Your menu looks yummy too. A bike ride does sound lovely, glad you enjoyed!!! I also find I do better if I don't have my "triggers" in the house. Too tempting..

🍄 Happy Monday Everyone 🍄

Mihani

Yay for a bike ride, Austin!

Sounds like a busy day for you hawksgirl. Hope Mason is well.

Busy day and will be working more here at home this evening after I eat my salad. Meals same today as yesterday. Probably will be same all week as I am really pushing to get some things done.

AustinRuadhain

Good morning, all!
I got in a great walking meditation session this morning. If anyone else is interested in that kind of thing, I am a fan of the Plum Village app. It's free (donations requested but optional) and includes pieces by Thich Nhat Hanh.

I did pretty well yesterday, but ended up skipping my salad as the evening got busy. I will be eating that salad for sure tonight!

jennyoofu

I'm new to the group, hello! I started researching ETL in earnest in 2019 when my mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She was unfortunately not onboard with the changes, and as pancreatic cancer is super aggressive, we lost her last year. My research did change my WOE somewhat since 2019, and I'd probably call myself a 95%-er since mid January. I'm doing this for my overall health, but was also pleased to see the scale numbers dropping along the way (along the weigh?? ha!) I suffered a torn tendon in my foot last April, and had to put running on hold. I gained a significant amount of weight since that time - thanks, 2020!

Now, I'm less than a pound above my weight at the time of injury, which feels like a huge milestone to me. I've been building my activity level back up gradually, just finished a round of PT to help with back and hip pain, which came from compensating for my injury.

Regular activity these days is walking and hiking.

Mihani

Welcome jennyoofu! So sorry to hear about your mom. Pancreatic cancer is so awful. Glad to hear you are mending from your injury and well done getting back down to where you were pre-injury!

Austin, I haven't tried walking meditation although it sounds good. When I took that mindfulness course a few years ago they recommended that for people with anxiety or other issues that prevented them from sitting and not letting thoughts overwhelm. Thought that was interesting. I definitely have anxiety issues, but I seem to do fine with sitting for my meditation.

Got home later than hoped since I had errands to run, so I don't think I'll do much work tonight. I am tired and could use an early bedtime. I'll check emails and finish a couple things, but I could use a chill evening and some treadmill time.

Bisky and Magic... thinking of you! Check in when you can. Bisky is probably busy getting ready to head to Japan.

hawksgirl229

Hello everyone, happy Wednesday!!!

Today was errands and house stuff
Workout
Leslie Sansone burn in 30
21 day fix yoga
Menu
Breakfast Large salad
Lunch split pea soup
Dinner A bowl of fresh fruit

@jennyoofu Welcome, I'm pretty new to the group myself. I'm very sorry to hear about your mom. We lost my uncle and my aunt to pancreatic cancer. I know what a terrible disease it is.. I took a fall a couple of years ago and really did a number on my ankle. Overall, I got lucky and didn't need to have surgery, but it's not the same. I have to be mindful of my workouts too. I strive to be mostly plant based with the occasional life happens😊 I just received my copy of ETL (Amazon) and looking forward to reading it. Most of what I have learned has been from internet searches.

Have a great night all

Mihani

So happy for you that you are ready to dive into Eat to Live, hawksgirl. It's a really good read. I have been thinking I'm going to do a reboot of Dr. F's 6 week plan once I have my kitchen back. It has been a while since I have done the strict 6 week plan and I'd like to drop 30 pounds. I was still struggling with the last 15 or so that I wanted to lose, but then I gained 15 thanks to work stress and Covid.

I was so tired today. I am going to do a little bit of work but mostly planning to treadmill and get to bed early.

hawksgirl229

HELLO EVERYONE
@AustinRuadhain Hello, hope all is well there😊
@Mihani
Hope you were able to get some rest and your workout in last night. Your kitchen should be pretty close to being finished..How exciting, so nice to get something done that you really wanted. I think the next project in our house will be the master bathroom..It's 30yrs old and really needs to be updated.
Are you thinking of the 6 week ETL challenge?
It would be fun to do it as a group (or just who is interested) We could post our menu's maybe a weigh in? I'd love to do it with others. I'd like my pants to be a little looser by the nicer weather At least in the winter it's easier to hide😊lol!!

WORKOUT
Cindy Crawford full body workout..I think it's 45 minutes.
Breakfast A large banana with pb
Lunch. Evole shake (chocolate) with fresh
strawberries
Dinner large salad

🍄 HAPPY MENUS 🍄

Mihani

Hi hawksgirl, I'm planning to start it a week from Monday. The kitchen should be done by then and I'll be able to cook and prep over the weekend to be ready to start. It has really been a struggle with no kitchen, not even a sink. I managed to scratch the brand new half bath sink trying to do dishes in it and I'm not going to keep doing that and cause more damage. I've muddled through this long, and can continue muddling another week.

I don't know if it's a challenge, just Dr. F's strict plan for the first 6 weeks on Eat to Live. I think Austin does pretty close to the 6 week plan 365 days a year. I go through stages where I'm a little more off the rails, but I'm always vegan and mostly stick to little or no SOS. I try to stay pretty close to 100% Eat to Live during the week, then allow some leeway on the weekends, but lately it is seeping into the weekdays and I need to refocus on healthy habits for sure. I've always struggled with emotional/stress eating, but it isn't as bad as it used to be. Age tends to slow down the ability to overeat as much, but my younger days were pretty horrifying with the binges. I only managed to keep my weight somewhat in check by crash diets and activity, but I'm not as active as I used to be either with working so much at a sedentary job. I do try to at least get up several times during the day to stretch and walk around which helps a bit.

I'd be happy to have you along for the ride on the 6 week plan! That gives you a week to read the book and get ready too. Maybe some others will join in by then too.

syrr

Hello everyone!

I have enjoyed my first week of my FOK meal plan and am trying to decide whether to subscribe to it or just do it on my own. I feel silly paying for the service but like the idea of trusting them to put the right recipes together each week to ensure I'm getting the right combo of things and not wasting ingredients. I could probably handle it on my own, though...decisions, decisions!

I do an exercise class at my local Y twice a week (called boot camp) and keep meaning to add jogging, yoga and lifting weights in the mix but so far, the boot camps are the most consistent exercise.

I've been trying to get into meditation as well (using Insight Timer app, currently)

Excited to continue better choices all around!

magic71755

Morning all!

BACK!

Today’s plan...

Black coffee
Oatmeal with blueberries
Rice with steamed veggies
Yogurt
Rest of lunch
Grapefruit

Hope you’re all doing well!

Good to be back!

Thanks for the start Austin!

My Motivation
72 years young...wish for my very senior years to be completely independent of any daily caregiver! I want to live in my own home and operate my own life with my Lulu by my side!

New knee on the horizon Fall 2021

magic71755

Left off a couple of things...

My house is totally clutter free...worked with an organizer for four days

I just have to finish separating the paper monster

Have a professional shredding company coming next Thursday

End of March heading to IKEA to pick out new master bedroom and office furniture

April 4th is my Vegan Anniversary 2 years

Knee replacement end of September...I hope!

But house will be completely ready for all the help I will need and my ability to rehab comfortably

Most importantly will be a day bed in master bedroom that will allow me easy access in and out of bed with new knee

Lulu 🐾❤️🐾 is going to love how that room completely opens up for more play room

I will take before and after pictures

WELCOME all new peeps...love seeing our group grow

BTW I work Full Time...receptionist at luxury car dealership FRI - MON

Have a super weekend everyone! ❤️

Mihani

Hi syrr! Glad to hear you have enjoyed the first week of FOK. I love the idea of meal plans, but in practice they never work out for me. I never know if I'm going to get stuck late at the office or if I'm going to have time/motivation to cook. I do best with batch prepping and cooking once a week and maybe throwing together a stir-fry or something mid-week. Since you are new here you may not have heard me mention this, but I hired a friend of mine to prep my salads! She shops, cleans, chops and packages up lettuce and a variety of veggies every week. I just have to whip up a salad dressing and I'm good to go. It has been a lifesaver for me the past year!

Magic's back... jiggity! We missed you!!! How did your organizing projects go? So proud of you devoting a whole month to gettin' it done!

I'm home early as I had an issue with a project and half of it was on my desk at home. I'm going to have to go to the office tomorrow for a while because I left my desk in utter chaos. Chaos I tell ya! But it is a beautiful day, warm and lots of sunshine. I am going to deal with this project then take the rest of the day off to enjoy it. Might take a book out to the deck and soak up some much needed vitamin D.

Mihani

Just saw your second post after posting mine Magic... well done on the organizing and de-cluttering! It makes you feel so free!

hawksgirl229

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE 😊

Errands in the morning..My mom's urine culture came back positive for a Uti. I had to pick up her prescription from the pharmacy and then she had a taste for a carry out from Portillos for lunch.
My husband worked a half day today because we have Mason's knee appointment in the afternoon.
No workout today (rest day) We are walking our forest preserve trails this weekend.
Menu pb and a bananas breakfast
Large salad and potato wedges lunch
Probably large bowl of fresh fruit dinner and
A slice of soda bread

@syrr What's the difference between FOK and ETL?

@magic71755 Hello..Glad to see you back..Looking forward to seeing everyone's remodels!! Happy almost 2 year vegan anniversary.
Hoping you can have your knee done in Sept..
@Mihani
So is it March 22nd to begin strict 6 week ETL? I've started reading the book last night..So I'm in to begin then..Hope you can get out and enjoy the nice weather today..😎.

🍄🍄🍄 TASTY MENUS EVERYONE 🍄🍄🍄

magic71755

Before and After Dining Room

Mihani

hawksgirl, there's not a lot of difference among the big WFPB docs, they are all lots of beans, veggies and fruit. No oil and little to no sugar and salt. I have noticed a lot of people confuse Dr. F's 6 week for his life plan. The 6 week plan is limited to 1 cup of starches per day and that's it. Once you are through the 6 weeks then his plan would be pretty similar to McDougall, FOK or Engine 2, etc. It's just designed for maximum weight loss for 6 weeks, and he recommends sticking with the 6 week plan indefinitely if you are trying to lose a substantial amount of weight. Most of the other docs encourage more starches from the beginning as long as whole grain or starchy veggies.

I hope that Mason's checkup has good results!

WOW Magic... what a difference in your dining room. I'm sure you feel great about the change!

Went to the office for 4 hours, then ran some errands. Waiting for grocery delivery now. Tomorrow I'll be working from home and will also get laundry and some other chores done.

B - skipped it
L - salad with chickpeas and cashew caesar dressing
D - not sure yet but maybe pita pizza topped with greens, red pepper, onion, broccoli

hawksgirl229

@magic71755 WOW!!! Your dining room looks AMAZING..

Busy day with my usual 2 trips to my mom's house.
I get there around 6am to get her breakfast, watch while she gets washed/dressed (assist if needed) just to make sure she doesn't fall, get mail/newspaper from her porch, trash out that sort of stuff. Then back around 11am to get her lunch (hot meal) and prepare her dinner. She has a cold dinner which is a sandwich, a fruit cup and a side of chips ,cottage cheese or potato salad. I Also lay out her evening snack too. Then when she's ready for dinner she can take the plate out of the refrigerator and eat..My husband helps me on the weekends. He changes her sheets for the week, sweeps and uses the swiffer wet to clean the floors. She lives 2 blocks from us, so not far which helps...
Mason's knee appears to still be luxating even after the second surgery. Surgeon says he didn't like that it has started luxating again, but it needs to finish healing to know if the surgery was a success or another failure.😔 Needless to say..not what we wanted to hear...

Hoping all is well with everyone and that your able to enjoy some nice weather🍀

hawksgirl229

🍀🍀🍀HELLO 🍀🍀🍀

Errands (always🤪)

Menu
BREAKFAST
A banana with pb, some honeydew chunks and blueberries. Ice water
LUNCH
Cabbage, potatoes and carrots (Boiled) leftovers from yesterday
DINNER
Fruit

WORKOUT
Yesterday long walk in our forest preserve
Today 1hr treadmill

Mihani

Quick hello... countertops went in and are gorgeous!! Next is backsplash, painting, new trim and etc., but I should have a fully functional kitchen by the end of the week. Woohoo!

I had the day off but of course I'm working from home anyway. LOL

Hawksgirl, sure hope that Mason heals well and the surgery is declared a success. Your meals sound great. Do you eat any beans or tofu?

hawksgirl229

@Mihani
I'm sure your kitchen will be stunning!!!!

On my menu no beans yesterday. I was stuffed from the copious amount of Cabbage, carrots potatoes leftover from Sunday 🤪

Menu
Breakfast Oatmeal with blueberries, pecans and cinnamon. 1 cup coffee
Lunch Large salad with lettuce blend, shredded Cabbage, grape tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, diced red onions, carrots, pecans,raisins,black pepper, kidney beans tossed with balsamic vinegar
Dinner fruit salad..
WORKOUT 1HR TREADMILL
HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE 🍀