Monday, September 21, 2009

First Post

Hi! So welcome to my little home in the blogosphere. Just a couple of things about where I've been and where I'm heading.

I've been on a "journey" for over 4 years to drop weight and keep it off. Long story short, I turned to vegetarianism a little over a year ago both for health and ethical reasons. Shortly thereafter it seemed veganism was everywhere I turned. Maybe it was divine intervention. Two instances really stand out. I started listening to this podcast, "Yell at Your Fat"( a GREAT show, btw) and Wendy, the hostess with the mostess has successfully lost 139 lbs due in large part to her veganism. Not long after I started listening to YAYF, I came across a little book titled Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. I had no clue until I got underway with reading it that it promoted veganism. Well, I took those little inspirations and ran with them. Back in February of this year, I went on a 30-Day "Challenge" and eliminated dairy, caffefine, alcohol, and sweets from my diet. I managed to lose 20 lbs in a month and hit my lowest weight in almost 10 years. Immediately at the end of the 30 days, I came down with strep throat and not long after recovering from that, I herniated two discs in my lower back and have been dealing with sciatica ever since. I became depressed and just didn't care, quickly putting those 20 lbs back on plus 20 more.

Well, enough is enough. I'm in my 3rd week of Weight Watchers and I'm recommitted to learning all I can about vegan cooking, foods, and resources. Here I will share my trials, tribulations, successes, and failures.

So...why reluctant?

Simple. I LOVE dairy. I adore chesse and ice cream in particular and have yet to find a suitable replacement for either. So I AM a reluctant vegan - but I'm working hard to stay committed.

So, thanks for reading and stay tuned!

5 comments:

  1. Have you tried Tofutti "ice cream"? I love the chocolate, and while it is not totally low in fat, it is vegan and can be lower than regular ice cream (I'm not entirely sure on that one). I had a cheese obsession before I was vegan. Now it is no big deal. I've been vegan for three years and really enjoy my new way of eating. I hate to say it, but I really haven't tried a vegan cheese alternative mainly because I do not really want to. But I'm sure you can find something. Keep up the good work and always remember why you are eating the way you are.

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  2. Reading 'Skinny Bitch' is what made me turn vegan. I've been vegan for about 18 months and started off a very unhealthy vegan but I have improved heaps this year. I love trying new recipes from the internet.I'm still trying to lose the weight I put on when I was an unhealthy vegan :(

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  3. If you can, you should try the coconut "milk" put out by So Delicious. It's great in lattes and on cereal, and only has 50 calories/serving. Sure, it has fat... but it's really creamy like I remember milk to have been.

    Happy MoFo-ing!

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  4. You can do it! Seriously, if I can do it, anyone can. Personally, I try to stay away from a lot of those "faux" products, but Follow Your Heart: Vegan Gourmet makes fantastic "cheeses" that actually melt. Oh, and Tofutti makes a "Better Than Cream Cheese" that's yummy too!

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  5. I love your blog! Very inspiring. Something that helps me with dairy is making all sorts of creamy and cheesy things with cashews and other nuts. You might get into that, too. I pretty much hate all the faux products, though I tried Daiya at the Portland VegFest and it tasted pretty good! Anyway, cashews are incredible. Cashews + soymilk + a little oil + any flavorings and salt = incredible sour cream.

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