Eat to Live

A long, long time ago I promised a friend something that I knew would be hard. At the time I was thinking that I might never have to follow through on my promise... but, last week she called my bluff. It is for this reason that I have been a vegan for 1 week. I'm on a program called "Eat to Live" (as you can see from the title of this post). Don't be fooled by the use of the words 'weight loss' twice on the cover of the book below. We aren't doing it for that reason. I don't really think I need to lose weight. It is purely for health reasons.

Basically the program is to eat 1 lb of raw vegetables, 1 lb of cooked vegetables, 1 cup of beans or tofu, and at least 4 fresh fruit every day. In fact, I can eat even more of all of those things up to unlimited. I can also have some nuts and whole grains each day. No animal products are allowed.

So how am I doing?

Days one and two I felt full and hungry at the same time. The raw vegetables and other stuff make me feel full. At the same time I think that I am craving my normal food so I feel hungry. Monday night I was within a hair's breadth of eating some of the Oreos that I couldn't bring myself to throw away. Except like Horton the elephant, "I said what I meant and I meant what I said..." So, I didn't eat the Oreos and fresh fruit became a delightful treat.

I have a long history of being able to sleep through an alarm and always wanting to sleep longer. So far with this program I have been waking up before the alarm! I wake up with energy and feel ready to go. Don't get me wrong, I still feel tired throughout the day, but waking up is a cinch.

Also, I heard on the radio that eating leafy vegetables increases the melatonin so that you look more tan. I can really use some of that for my pasty whiteness.
So, one week into the six week program and I'm doing great. It still isn't easy, but I have a new-found love of spinach/berry smoothies. You should try one.

Heart Attack!!

I came home to this welcome site:

 

Thanks Favorites for being so thoughtful!! It made my day!!!