Discipline. Over the last few years, especially this last one, my discipline has wavered. This is really a long story, but I am going to keep it short and sweet (I hope) for the purpose of this post. I created this site to share things I am learning along my journey to become a registered dietitian, things that are important to me, and just things in general, in hopes of possibly inspiring even just one person, while keeping myself accountable. It has been a little over a year since I posted here, in pre-pandemic days. This year has been a rough one for everyone in some way or another, and I am truly blessed and grateful to be doing alright for the most part. That being said, my nutrition has suffered, my fitness has become nearly nonexistent, and this website was put on the back burner these last nine months or so.
A few years back, before becoming plant-based, I did a round of the Whole 30 (no added sugar/sweetener, no grains, no legumes, no dairy, no alcohol). I had been suffering with different symptoms, thank you Standard American Diet (SAD), for a while and needed to make changes, this is a story for another post. I stopped any added sugar/sweeteners two weeks before, made it through the 30 days, and stuck with it a little longer while trying the reintroduction of certain foods. Something I still find funny: I was not able to tolerate legumes when I first reintroduced them - now I eat them a couple times a day! What did stick with me though, was that my body does not want dairy and it does not handle added sugar very well.
Why fast? Personally, I work well with all or nothing moments. I know that a lot of people advise against being too hard on yourself, but for me, removing something that has no health benefit for some amount of time - fasting - is not being too strict. It is, however, caring for my body, putting the effort in to make it the best long-term home it can be, because it is the only one I cannot move out of! Ha-ha.
Why Lent? I am not very religious, but over the last few years, I have become more spiritual. Lent is a time to fast, to sacrifice, it requires discipline. I believe that the higher meaning of this time, along with my going all in, will help me reach my goal, while getting me back on track to a healthier, more fit version of myself. I am mostly whole food, always plant-based, but these last nine months, especially over this winter, more refined, processed, "junk foods" have crept back into my life, and I feel worse for it! My mind has been foggy, my clothes tight, and my body sluggish. I am really looking forward to these 40 days (and beyond) and getting back to the basics of whole foods!
I will post along the way, share my experiences, what is working, what is not..
One thing to note, a whole bunch of my tea has stevia as an ingredient. Be careful if you are trying to kick your sugar/sweetener habit, they hide it all over the place! There are plenty of teas that do not include any sweetener, and of course, there are always loose tea leaves. Oh, and incase you are wondering about the refined grains part, I will be limiting my intake to whole, intact grains, such as, barley, brown rice, millet, farro, etc. I will allow rolled oats, as they are still minimally processed compared to quick oats and oat flour. I will not be consuming any flour, so no bread. Also, for full disclosure, I am going to be eating Lightlife tempeh, which apparently has brown rice in it. The main idea here is to get away from the crackers, chips, cookies, cakes, etc. I do not eat a lot of them, but I feel a lot better when I eat none of them.
Enough about me! How is your new year going? Have you made changes? Still looking to start something new, or bring back some old, good habits?
Leave a comment below, let's start a discussion :)
With Love, Kathleen
P.S. I originally kept saying "no refined grains" - thinking no bread, no pasta, etc. I realized that there are now all these refined products made from legumes and other carbs, besides grains - like lentil or chickpea pasta. I will not be eating any of those either, for at least the remainder of Lent. I do hope to keep these processed foods to a minimum afterwards also!
For so long I have been hiding from fruit. Feeding the delicious fruit smoothies to my girls while I would drink a kale one. It wasn’t until recently I would add more fruit. My new obsession are fruit smoothie bowls. By adding more fruit to my diet, I notice a big difference in energy and mood. Some weight is finally coming off and I am way less bloated. I’m so happy to have this new love for fruit!!! 🍎🫐🍌🍉🍏🍊🍒🥝 Good luck with your nutritional journey. It’s def not an easy one but it’s so rewarding!!