Officially I have been eating vegan/non-processed for 2 months and 22 days.  Since starting, I have eased up on the foods that I will eat – some oils have been added back in, but not much (other than the naturally occurring oils in foods like flax and avocado, etc) and I will occasionally indulge in some refined sugars.  I have had bread and a little bit of pasta, but I find that I don’t crave it as I used to, so I usually just avoid it in favour of something more nutritious

It seems as though I can exist, and thrive on a plant based diet.  I absolutely miss some animal products and get past my cravings by doing a lot of smelling.  When there is bacon in the vicinity, I smell as much of it as I can and relive my old bacon memories.  When a coworker is drinking a big ol glass of chocolate milk, I am invited and welcome to smell to my heart’s delight.  Oh Chocolate Milk… I miss you.

The biggest and most visible change that has accompanied by plant based/no garbage eating is the weight loss.  My goal in starting this new eating lifestyle was to get healthier and to feel better… but the weight loss has been incredible in such a short amount of time.  I still eat heartily… I just eat the things that my body needs instead of eating what it used to crave.  I have heard some concern from others that losing so much weight in such a short amount of time can’t be safe or healthy… and if I didn’t know what I was eating, I would probably think the same thing.  But the amount of food that I eat and the QUALITY of the food go hand in hand now and that makes all the difference.

After not weighing myself since the beginning of October, I stepped on the scale yesterday to discover that I have lost a total of 45 pounds since starting this crazy adventure.  I didn’t think that I had either that much weight to lose nor the capability to lose that much… I was speechless and proud.  With determination, preparedness, a positive attitude, and apparently a love for vegetables, you can do anything.