The Energy Experiment: Update

A few weeks ago I posted about drastically changing my diet in an attempt to gain more energy.  

Just thought you might be curious about how it was going, so I thought I'd give you a little update.

The first three days were realllly hard.  I was super hungry and more than a little crabby.  I just kept reminding myself that this could totally be worth it if I stuck to it, so I pushed through the hardness.

Then I settled into a groove, stopped craving sugar at the end of every meal, and started (mostly) enjoying feeding my body delicious, nutrient-rich foods.

For example, I loved every bit of food I ate today-- green smoothie for breakfast, yellow curry with rice and tofu for lunch (Thai with Loriann!), bowl of quinoa with banana, flax seed, and walnuts for a snack, an apple and baked sweet potato fries for dinner.

I have had moments of desperately wanting to eat some cheese, and I occasionally indulge in a fantasy about  beef jerky, but overall I've been surprised at how little I've missed the foods I've cut out.

I definitely have to put more time/effort into food preparation and have been annoyed at the amount of time I've spent in WinCo as of late, but I imagine if after thirty days I decide to keep this up, I'll settle into a groove and everything won't be quite so time-consuming.  Plus, the Green Smoothie Girl promises that every minute spent preparing healthy foods in the kitchen will be repaid in extra energy and vitality to spend doing other things.

So how am I feeling?  About the same.   I was hoping there would be some magical instantaneous transformation after two weeks, but alas, there was not.  I do think my digestive system has been happier sans dairy, but other than that, everything is the same.  Though there is something quite fulfilling in knowing that I'm really nurturing my body, giving it foods that will help it grow and heal in the ways it needs to.  I still have hope that a plant-based diet will help with my overall well-being.

I have cheated just a little: I occasionally eat Craisins, which are sweetened with sugar, I have eaten white rice on two occasions, and at Abe's company party I ate a twice-baked potato  (and paid dearly with digestive upset the next day).

Stay tuned to see how the next two weeks go!