...all the cool kids are doing it...

Are all the cool kids really doing it?  Veganism, that is....are all the cool, coffeehouse dwelling, eyeglass matching, saving the earth one animal at a time kids really on to something? 

 A couple of weeks ago I was in the check out line at Walmart doing what everyone does...waiting...when I start perusing the magazine racks.  My eyes skimmed over the latest Kardashian Katastrophe (a headline waiting to happen), the up to the minute news on Angelina and Brad, the Reese Witherspoon "baby bump" watch, and finally landed on a magazine that I never read.  There were all the obvious articles on creating the perfect dinner party, raising the perfect children, giving the perfect...well, you get the idea.

All of a sudden my eyes landed on an article on how to jump start your metabolism and gain spirituality as well.  For anyone who knows me, you know that I have been somewhat obsessed with getting healthy for the last year.  In fact, it was a year ago this month that I won "The Biggest Loser" competition at my former employer, with a total weight loss of 40 pounds.  Since then, I've lost an additional 30...but then all of a sudden...plateau.  And while I know that is completely natural, it seems like everything I've done to combat it has been met with the same result...not much.  I began running last year as well.  I competed in my first 5k in August at the Fancy Farm Picnic.  Since then, I've done three others and am preparing for the Warrior Dash in Elizabethtown in June.  I am constantly changing up my workout.  I try to run in intervals at the gym while lifting weights and working on strength training.  I zumba twice a week, sometimes more.  I recently added nightly crunches and push-ups.  I feel like my exercise is going well. 

My eating, on the other hand...isn't always ideal.  I cut out carbonated beverages for Lent, although at the most I was having one or two Diet Cokes per week...and the occasional Sundrop or regular Coke when the mood hits.  But in the past couple of months I have totally slacked off...allowing those processed foods to creep their way back in...making less time to cook and just stopping for fast food somewhere...either way...it is NOT working. 

Back to the article...So, I picked up this magazine and started skimming over the article.  It was an article about changing the way you eat in order to boost your metabolism.  However, it has a biblical spin on it.  It is called "The Daniel Fast" and you can research it online here.  It is based on how Daniel prepared himself for entering into the lion's den.  It is a 21 day "fast" but you are still eating...it's not a non-eating fast!  I don't think I could teach and not eat for 21 days...I'd be a mess!  It is a Vegan diet, with a few more restrictions, such as, no sugar what-so-ever.  In a Vegan diet, sugar is allowed.  There are also other restrictions, but the author gets more into it in the blog, if you are interested. 

So, with article in hand, I convinced my mom to join me on this 21 day fast.  Although, I think I will make it a full month.  But I wanted to start this blog just to put into words how I'm feeling from day to day about the fast, interesting meals I've created or found, the frustrations of trying to shop for Vegan items in rural Western KY, and the results, of course!

So, here we are, day three, and all I can say about today is "I WANT A CHEESEBURGER!!!" Haha...but seriously, I love cheese...and eggs...and milk...and ice cream...for the love.  So, today has been a little bit difficult.  I am finding that you do have to eat more often on a vegan diet.  You are eating a lot less calories, and you have to be sure that you are still getting the vitamins and nutrients that you need. 

Today I ate:
Breakfast:  2 Vegan waffles with vegan butter spread and strawberries
Lunch:  Iceburg lettuce salad with carrots and pine nuts with Annie's Vegan Goddess Dressing, hummus with Vegan Sweet Potato chips, and a handful of grapes
Dinner:  I took a sweet potato, squash, and onions and roasted them with olive oil and sea salt in the oven.  I boiled fresh corn, then cut it off the ear and added it to a saute' pan with fresh portabello mushrooms.  I added the potato/squash/onion mixture to the pan and browned it for an additional five minutes.  I then served it with blue corn chips. See?

It was completely delicious!!

I jotted down my starting weight...and will keep up with the weight loss throughout the blog.  And who knows...at the end of this month, I may decide that the Veganista lifestyle is for me!!  (Until someone offers me a really nice steak....) Either way, I plan to complete this month of Veganism while continuing to grow my spiritual relationship with Christ.  I am currently doing a Beth Moore personal bible study called "90 Days With the One and Only".  I have done a couple of her studies before and I love them...I am also currently working on memorizing the book of James, based on my last Beth Moore study.  Who knows, maybe by the end of this, I'll have memorized the book of James!   Care to join me on my Vegan adventure?