So my foodporn photography needs some work but I promise this meal was delicious! Spinach, sweet potato fries and a ‘burger’ with homemade tomato sauce, homemade ‘cheese’, a lentil veggie burger patties (thanks Tesco!) and using portobello mushrooms as the burger ‘bun’. Plus a few different kinds of sprouts to fill and viola! Happiness on a plate. And now happiness in my tummy!
I am thoroughly enjoying all these new foods, flavours and combinations. My eyes are still much bigger than my stomach so I do have to be careful of not overeating. I’ve been eating a lot of soups, then some steamed veggies and then tonight, this wonderful meal above.
It has been an up and down week. Firstly, I have to redo my blood tests as the samples clotted. A bit disappointed that I won’t have exact comparison for pre and post fasting. Secondly, my tummy has been a bit all over the place. I think it’s having a freak out with all the extra fibre as I’m forever going to the bathroom. I’ve also been paranoid about putting on weight. I released 13kgs during the fast and have put on about 2kgs. Which, if I’m honest with myself, is a NO SHIT SHERLOCK! Of course I’m going to put on some weight when I started to eat again! I just have to constantly remind myself that I’m not eating processed crap anymore. Or refined sugars or anything like that. My body probably does need to plateau a little bit while it figures out what the hell just happened. And I’m hoping that eating a plant-based diet will cause the weight to permanently tumble off.
I had 2 squares of chocolate tonight on the way back from the supermarket. And it tasted like plastic! I threw the rest of it in the bin. Then I stood next to the bin wondering to myself “what the hell just happened???” and I must have looked liked a stunned mullet as a man asked me if I was ok! I have no memory of ever disliking the way chocolate tasted, let alone throwing the rest of it in the bin! Some good changes have happened. I also had the feeling of wanting a binge last Saturday too. I was feeling really down and not happy with my weight. And I wanted a kebab, chips and ice cream. Somehow, I reminded myself about my lifestyle change and that I was CHOOSING to eat better. Instead of going to buy a heap of crappy food, I spent Saturday night making soups and dhal. On Sunday I realised what a mountain I had just climbed. In the past, I would’ve been out the door at the first thought of a kebab, chips etc. This time, I was able to stop myself going into robot mode and chose to cook food that nourishes my body instead of buying food that takes me away from being healthy.
I may not be making perfect choices for my body but I am definitely making better choices. I still have much better mental clarity, I’m sleeping better, I’ve been told I’m more radiant AND I’ve started swimming. My cravings for junk food have decreased although I do feel that I’m hungry more often. Hehe, perhaps this is because my food world has been completely blown apart by new experiences and I don’t want to miss out!