I Guess I Can Do Anything For 21 Days?
Well, it's a new year! As if you all didn't know that, waiting and considering, reviewing and deciding. Just what will I change? How can I change? What will I do to improve my lot in this life...this year? Last year I did the unthinkable. I quit shopping. My reflections and lessons learned aside, it won't happen again. But this year, I will certainly be a bit more judicious with my time and money. I went shopping for the first time last Sunday, at an outlet mall, no less. I bought a "few" things. I was happy with my restraint and proud of my resourcefulness and my beauuuuuuutiful new Coach bag. And in spite of serious health concerns, I am making every effort to be hopeful and just as judicious about how I nurish my body. As I get older, I certainly regret my fixation with fast food in the past and wonder "just how much trans-fat did I consume over the years". Well, there's nothing I can do about that now, except to try to develop and maintain a heart healthy lifestyle and keep to a healthy weight.
Now, you all know I can get a bit radical with the resolutions and as tradition would have it, I've been decidedly radical again this year. I've given up beer....dun, dun, dun, dunnnnnnnn! The dreaded year long beer abstention is at hand. How WILL I survive? Well, there is wine. An abundance of it. It just so happens that we have an impressive little wine cellar just under the steps leading to the kitchen. Yay! Anyway, since I demolished 2 cases of Great Lakes Christmas Ale and then put quite a hurtin' on the beer reserves of Disney World over New Year's Eve, I figure I can switch up for a while. Besides, if I can give up shopping, I can give up beer for a year. But that's not the major focus of this year's deprivations. This year, as recommended by last month's poll and in keeping with my quest to keep my heart beating for a long, long time, I'm going to try a new heart healthy diet every month. It's as good a resolution as any. I don't smoke, I have a gazillion exercise machines, a gym membership and enough clothes to start a resale shop. So, it sounds like a plan.
This month, I looked into some variations of the most extreme of diets...the vegan diet. Not vegetarian. Unfortunately, there is a marked difference. To put it plainly, vegans don't consume any animal products, not milk or butter or eggs even. With my aversion to soy, I knew this would be hard, since soy is in literally every margarine product made, but just how difficult has been a surprise. I read the insanity of Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, author of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, completely vegan and excludes any and all oils, even fish and olive oils. Don't get me wrong, the man has saved lives and I respect that but I figured I'd go lighter my first time out. But check it out if you get the nerve, http://www.heartattackproof.com/.
One of my myriad of doctors suggested that I give the 21 Day Vegan Kickstart diet a try. Now, vegan is vegan, but this has a little give. But it's a doozey. Like I said, vegans can get pretty serious. Just check out the debates on any vegan blog. Some vegans won't even wear leather. And I read the most intense albeit banal, discussion recently over whether clams and mussels and other mollusks can feel pain or can process thought for purposes of preserving their own lives. For me, it's not that deep. I just think that I needed to get rid of the hormone based animal meats and fats and eat more fruits and vegetables. I don't care whether clams can think. Vegans don't eat anything with a face or a mother. I've decided mollusks don't have faces or mothers. Whether that's debatable, matters not. Otherwise, I'd starve to death. How boring would whole wheat penne pasta be without any butter? I mean, it's hard enough to get a decent jar of spaghetti sauce that's not full of meat or soy...yes soy. Remember, soy is in EVERYTHING. I've made my own vegetable soup in addition to finding a tolerable canned vegan soup called "Amy's" organic and vegan soups. I'm not making my own spaghetti sauce.
I gotta tell ya. If I thought giving up shopping was angst-ridden. This is even more so. I have to eat to live. I don't have to shop to live. And this diet just might make me lose my mind. I work, I go to doctor's apointments more often than I'd like these days and I have a life to live. Searching the world over for foods devoid of aniumal meats, animal fats, soy, milk, cheese is one task I can do without. What do I put in my coffee? Even non-dairy creamers contain some crap called "sodium casein", a milk derivative. I'm trying to find a plant based "milk" that doesn't repulse me. So far, almond milk makes my coffee smell weird. Funny, but that's a big deal for me. And I've replaced my Atkins protein shakes with a brown rice protein powder that I mix with fruit, almond milk and diet V-8 Splash. Tastes okay...I guess. But this is a lot of drama. Everything has either, milk, wheat, lard, hydrolyzed something or other, soy or eggs. And I mean everything. Read your labels, folks. If nothing else, you'll get a true sense of what's going into your arteries. Some of which will never come out, and we know what that means. The "Elizabeth, I'm coming to join you, BIG ONE".
So, for the most part, besides adding a few clams to my menu, I've complied with the diet to the letter. And how I'd love a baked potato with real butter instead of olive oil mixed with a dash of butter "flavoring". But for now, it'll do. But can someone explain to me how I gained 4 pounds in one week? What the......????? I'll have to re-assess my menu. Too many carbs maybe. And I do recall treating myself to a few french fries with my falafel. But really? Four pounds! It's been 12 days. I've got 9 days more to go for crying out loud. Can I really do anything for 21 days? Any menu suggestions out there? Log onto the "kickstart" and tell me what you think, http://pcrm.org/kickstarthome/.
Talk soon. Happy New Year. What are your resolutions?
