Vegan
Challenge COMPLETE!
I wanted to drop a quick note to give everyone a quick update. I’ve officially completed 4 weeks of a vegan diet. I’m gonna be real here, when I first started this journey, I never in a million years thought I would actually make it. I didn’t think I would notice a difference and I thought the cravings would be way too hard to handle. I figured by the end of the 4th day I was going to be shoveling a double cheeseburger with extra bacon & mayonnaise and an ice cream shake in my mouth under a blanket fort in my bathtub. You have to admit it guys, you probably thought the same thing! I can’t even begin to tell you how amazed I am with myself for setting this goal and smashing it!
I’ve had my cardiologist appointment and I’m very excited to let you guys know that my results were simply astonishing. Where there had been fluid around my heart, there is now none. The talk of having a procedure to reduce the fluid buildup is now gone, as there is no more fluid to reduce. My blood pressure has lowered. My resting heart rate was set at 68 BPM compared to the 87 BPM that was recorded during my previous visit. After a few tests, I was told that my heart is now functioning at 92%! This is all extraordinarily great news!
Now, for the main question I’ve been asked basically every other day – “How much weight have you lost?” Guys, it’s only been 28 days! Let’s assume most of this is the fluid I had been retaining around some of my organs but 14.5 pounds seems pretty significant to me! Fluid or fat, it’s still 14.5 pounds I don’t have to lug around with my every day.
My cardiologist is amazed at what my body has done so far and has encouraged me to keep up this vegan diet in hopes that next time she sees me there will be no more need for concern at all.
I love that my friends and co-workers are all so supportive. I’m being offered more almonds than one person could possibly eat. I’m getting high fives in the hallway by people who are reading this and following along. I got the sweetest note on my desk last week letting me know that I’m an inspiration. Today I got 3 bags full of home made date bars. It’s all just been the sweetest journey so far.
I love the thoughtful messages you all send me to keep me motivated as well. The outpouring love is almost too much at times. How did I end up such a lucky girl?!
Well, my loves, I have had a day from fucking hell and it’s about 2 hours past my bedtime. It’s officially time for me to go bed.
Sweet dreams!
NSV (Non Scale Victories)
It’s been a real fun few weeks guys! I decided to write about a few things I’ve noticed since my diet change. I have already shared a small weight loss with you guys, but this time it’s not about weight at all. To be fair, I haven’t weighed myself in over a week because my scale batterie died. #lazy BUT! Not to worry, thanks to Amazon Prime, I’ll be able to provide you guys with another *hopefully* weight loss picture very soon. This post isn’t about that though, so if that’s what you came for, move along.
I’m here to discuss my non scale victories, or “nsv” for those of you who are more acronym savvy. What is an nsv, you ask? Urban Dictionary defines a non scale victory as a dieting and weight loss term for noticing your weight loss success. Examples include certain pieces of jewelry fitting more loosely & buying a smaller size piece of clothing than normal.
One of the BIG things I’ve noticed is my heart rate. Sure, it still goes crazy at times, but over all my resting heart rate has lowered over the past 3.5 weeks. The average resting heart rate for a 30-year-old woman is between 60 and 80 beats per minute. In just a few weeks on a vegan diet with absolutely NO exercise, my resting heart rate has gone from the 80’s to the low 70’s. (Not pictured is a few days of 69!! WHAT!?)
My shoes have become a bit bigger than they need to be, and those of you who see me on a regular basis know that ‘I’ve really been struggling keeping my pants where they belong. I’ve been walking around like those teenage boys who think it’s awesome to show their underpants 100% of the time. I might need to got shopping soon, if for nothing else at least a belt!
This coming Monday will mark the 4 week point of my vegan adventure. I’m not done yet! I’m going to push it to 8 weeks to see if I can help my heart even more. Over the next 4 weeks I want to work on cutting out as much added sugar as I can. The only added sugar I need in my life is the sweet sugars from my kitties, my puppies, and of course my husband.
Thank you again to everyone who has been so helpful and supportive. I truly couldn’t have come this far without some wonderful people in my life encouraging me every single day.
I’ve got a busy day today – First order of business is a lunch date with a dear friend. We are going to a vegan restaurant & I couldn’t be more excited!
Have a wonderful weekend, you beautiful soul you!
The dog days of summer
Man oh man. We have reached the time of the year where you can’t hardly even walk out to the car without wishing you were in an ice bath! I’ve got deodorant in every corner of the house JUST IN CASE! Gross. I try my hardest to avoid anything that makes me sweat. Wet t-shirt contests aren’t my thing, yet this time of year it looks like I’m constantly trying to compete and I’m doing it very wrong. Armpit sweat spots just aren’t sexy. Nope. The only time I don’t feel self-conscious of the copious amounts of sweat pouring from each and every single pore from my body is when I’m working out, and even then it’s pretty damn bothersome.
For instance yesterday, I couldn’t even visit a store in the mall without looking like I was 3 minutes away from a heart attack. I had to find something in the store to fan myself with because I was so hot and sweaty that I couldn’t even enjoy spending time with a girlfriend of mine. I’m so sick of being embarrassed every time I walk outside of my house that I never leave anymore. All I do is sit inside where it’s nice and cool. I don’t have to worry about getting sweaty and gross and having people stare at me like I’m about to fall over and die.
We were pretty hungry so we decided to stop and get some food. My friend knows that I’m practicing a vegan diet right now and was so sweet to ask where we could eat together that would make it easier for me to choose. We went for some more Asian food. (I might be becoming an Asian food addict. Seriously.)
We headed back to mi casa so we could eat a bit more comfortably. Asian take out for the win! She was asking me about what made me choose to make a diet change… I don’t push my choices on anyone. It’s been my experience that people do what they want to do, when they want to do it because they want to. However, if you ask questions, I have no issue with sharing my story and the information I’ve learned over the past year or so. I suggested she watch some of the food documentaries on Netflix. She surprised me by wanting to watch one of the right then! Hey. If I can inspire just one person to find out the truth about the food they are eating, I feel like I’ve done my job.
My heart jumped up and down when she said she was going to go to the grocery store to buy tons of veggies after she left my place. I’m very anxious to talk with her soon to see if she has decided to make any changes or if she will continue her current lifestyle. Even if she does though, at least she’s a bit more informed about the choices she’s making. I would like to suggest a few of my favorite shows to watch when I’m feeling like having something terrible for me. If you’d like to educate yourself just a little, start with some of these titles on Netflix!
Today I got to play with my adopted puppies. It was nice to run around the yard and get them all hyped up. I’ve never had the desire or the energy to do something something like that with them in my previous visits. Sure, we all came in and passed out in the coolest places we could find, but we had a grand time up until we were completely exhausted. It was a great day, nice and relaxing for the most part. Just for grins here’s an epic picture of play time with 2 of my favorite pups.
After I got home I took a look at my heart rate activity for the day. I’m pleased to say that even with the running around and the disgusting heat and humidity, my heart rate never went above 120. This is a significant difference from just a few weeks ago. I suppose I’ll have to keep it up. Perhaps one of these days I’ll be able to take these 2 goofballs for a nice walk. I was going to say run, but we ALL know that’s never going to happen.
Well my lovelies, it’s time to wind down my weekend. The alarm clock will be screaming loud and clear before I know it and the storm outside is doing a fine job of sending me into a coma. (Could be the Benadryl too. Ha!!)
Sweet dreams, my pretty souls.
Project: Life 