Wellness Wednesday: Change

After last week’s Why I Became A Vegetarian post I received several messages and comments requesting tips for getting started on eating healthier. So I decided I would start a bi-weekly series called Wellness Wednesday so we can discuss anything related to overall wellness and health. I am two years into my journey and I am still learning new things every day, hopefully I can provide you guys with a few nuggets of knowledge I have picked up along the way.

 

Where Do I Start?

So you have decided you want to make a lifestyle change, vegan, vegetarian, pescetarian…whatever you choose, but you have no idea where to start. When I decided to stop eating meat and make an effort to give up processed foods I started out with a detox. I figured if I was going to make a clean start I should literally make a clean start inside and out. I forwent using a store bought detox because I wanted to know exactly what I was putting in my body. My bestie and I followed the one week detox in The Remedy, which pretty much consisted of drinking a green juice concoction for a week and slowly introducing food back into our systems.

Let me say this, I did not detox for the purpose of losing weight, I used it as a tool for resetting my eating and drinking habits. Please use your own discretion and judgment to figure out what is best for you and seek medical advice as necessary (my disclaimer).

During my one week detox I made a clean sweep of my cabinets and fridge and removed just about everything expect spices. I was ready to start all over and dedicate myself to a new lifestyle.

What Do I Eat?

 

For me it’s pretty simple, no processed foods, no fast food, no junk food, no soda, no sugary drinks, nothing that contains a large amount of sugar, not diary (except cheese on occasions) and of course no meats. I try to stay away from anything that has ingredients’ I can’t pronounce or don’t understand. Now that’s my definition of clean eating yours may be completely different which is cool, do what's best for you.

It’s going to be hard to stop eating things you love so much for example I LOVE double stuff Oreos and Pepsi…nothing gives me more pleasure then having those two things. But once I started to clean up my act, pun intended, I set aside those sugary devils for roasted almonds and organic juice, lol. No but seriously don’t beat yourself up if you slip up every once in a while, everything is a process. Every day it will get easier and you will start to feel better and better.

So you’re ready to plan your meals but you have no idea what to eat or where to begin looking for tasty healthy recipes.

My first few weeks of clean eating I ate the same thing over and over, I was afraid I would slip up and backslide. Once I relaxed and actually started to look for clean eating blogs and recipes I discovered so many great websites. One of them being Foodgawker.com this place is the Pinterest of food photos from bloggers all over the world, anything you can imagine is there. Between Pinterest and Foodgawker I really never make the same thing twice.  Here are this weeks tips for clean eating success:

Clean Eating Tip #1 – Plan your meals for the week, write down exactly what you intend to eat and drink, snacks included. This not only saves you money but you won't have to worry about what your eating everyday.

Clean Eating Tip #2 – Make substitutions in your recipes, substitute ground chicken for ground beef in your favorite taco recipe. Substitute regular cheese for organic cheese.

Clean Eating Tip #3 – Do not go on a frenzy and buy unnecessary stuff because "so and so" said they liked it. Eating clean can be expensive so take your time and figure out what you like.

This is just the tip of the iceberg and I hope you guys enjoyed reading this post as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think, if you have any suggestions or comments leave them below. Next week I will be discussing food prep.

I leave you with these weeks Wellness Wednesday recipe: Vegan Banana Bread

I have made this several times and no one can ever tell it's vegan, most folks equate vegan to tasting nasty which of course isn't true.

 

 

Weekend Wear: Diagonal Stripes

  

* Dress - Forever 21 * Purse - Marshalls * Sandals - Target (similar, on sale) *

Every year I always tell myself I am going to buy my summer clothes early.  This year I have actually done pretty well at picking up a few things here and there.  I saw this dress on Forever21.com a few weeks ago and didn't waste any time snatching it up. I loved the stripes and knew it would be perfect for a casual weekend or dressed up for a night out.

Now I just need to find some cute work appropriate dresses because blazer season is officially over! (Unless it's lightweight and unlined, ya'll know I love my blazers, lol)    

Peplum and a Pencil Skirt

* Peplum - Forever 21 * Skirt - Macys * Sandals - JustFab *

  

Thank you guys so much for all your great comments from my last post.  I didn't want anyone  thinking I was trying to convert them but I just wanted to share something that meant a lot to me. Nothing much going with this outfit just a little pre Friday fun. 

Enjoy your weekend! Nothing like a peplum and a pencil skirt to get the party and the weekend started.  

Why I Became A Vegetarian...

I am happy to report I celebrated my two year vegetarian anniversary this past Monday! Never in a million years did I think that becoming a vegetarian would make such an impact on my life.  Let me start from the beginning.  Right before my 30th birthday I started to get acne along my jaw line.  At the time I just figured it was hormonal and it would go away.  Fast forward nine months later and my entire jaw line and forehead were covered in acne.  After trying everything and visiting the dermatologist I decided I need to make some drastic changes in my diet.  In addition to that I was having major stomach problems.  I couldn't ever enjoy a meal because before I was would finish eating or two minutes after I would be in the bathroom.  I also had to blacklist certain restaurants because they would leave me praying to Jesus because I was in so much pain.  I wasn’t doing anything different but my body just wasn’t the same so I decided to stop eating meat and dairy on May 13, 2011.

In the beginning I started out by practicing veganism, I really went hard and stayed away from seafood, dairy products and meat, which lasted for about six months.  After speaking with my bestie (she’s a diehard vegan) and really researching the practice, I decided veganism just wasn’t for me.  I wasn’t quite ready to make that plunge fully.  I slowly started eating fish on occasions and eating foods containing dairy from time to time, which makes me a pesceterian/ovo-lacto vegetarian.

The number one question I usually get from everyone after they find out I am a vegetarian is "how do you feel or did your body go through any changes?"  Of course!  I was no longer bloated all the time, which I had never thought I was bloated until I wasn’t anymore.  I no longer had to take fiber supplements.  I wasn’t gassy all the time.  I stopped getting the bubble guts after eating restaurant food.  My acne started clearing up (Proativ also contributed to that).  I didn’t have crazy PMS anymore, and my flow was much lighter.  I also started to lose weight, which wasn’t a significant change or at least I didn’t think so until my family members and friends started to make comments about how I looked.

So those are all the fantastic changes I noticed after making the decision to become a vegetarian/pesceterian/ovo-lacto vegetarian.  On the other hand I am always hungry! I swear I eat about five times a day.  I have to cook just about every day because I don’t rely on processed foods anymore.  Every week I plan and prep my meals for the following week.  My grocery bill increased and then decreased.  Prior to me giving up meat completely I eliminated beef and pork from my diet and only ate organic foods, which isn’t cheap.  Once I gave up meat completely I figured my grocery bill should decrease, right. Nope it was just about the same, I was buying more organic produce to supplement for not eating meat.  Anyone that shops at WholeFoods knows that buying food from them can put a hurting on your pocket! But a few months into my journey I noticed clean eating was catching on fast and the demand for organic foods was increasing.  This was actually great for me because Publix (local grocery store) started carrying more organic produce and foods at a lower cost in comparison to WholeFoods.  I also took it a step further and found local farmers markets that sold organic produce.  My grocery bill went from about $150 a week to $60!

There further I get into this journey the easier it gets.  I do go through my lazy phases of not wanting to cook. It is also hard trying to come up with new creative ways to eat vegetables but overall becoming is a vegetarian was the best decision I could have made for myself.  I take pride in knowing that I do a great job of taking care of myself.  It's so hard undoing everything you have ever known about food and make a complete lifestyle change. 

I am blessed to have an awesome partner in this journey who is my BFF Tanya, she is always helping me and putting me on to new things.  We are always bouncing ideas off of one another and exchanging recipes.  She has really educated me about so many things, its unbelievable to me sometimes that I was able to make this change with her help.

I hope this was helpful to those of you that have asked questions about my diet.  I am no expert but I do what works for me.  Everyone has to start somewhere, but you never know how far you can make it if you never actually start.  

Speaking of staring points the first book I read when I decided to give up  meat was The Remedy by SuperNovaSlom.  This book has so much great info, I recommend it to everyone that needs that extra push.  Not saying vegetarianism is the best but adding more vegetables to your diet can't hurt right?  I also watched Fast Food Nation, Forks Over Knives, Food Inc. and a few other food documentaries.  

I didn't cover every little detail of my journey so if you have a question about something in particular leave it in the comments below or send me a message via the contact page.

Red Flare Trousers

 

* Blazer - Forever 21 * Tank - Oldnavy * Trousers - Victoria Secrets * 
* Necklace - WristSoirée * Earrings - F21 * Aviators - HM *

I just love a great pair of trousers which made it super easy to participate in this week’s Style Me Friday link up.  I personally prefer dresses and skirts to pants any day but I do love a well tailored pair of trousers.  I told you guys the back story behind these pants here.  They continue to be one of my favorite pieces in my closet, which means I should probably wear them more often.

Instead of wearing a regular v-neck tee like the inspiration picture I decided to glam it up a bit and add my sparkly tank top.  I did feel a little bit overdressed at work but I’m always overdressed (at least that’s what “they” say).  My Collette necklace I purchased from WristSoirée and my leaf earrings from F21 finished my look off perfectly.

Make sure you check out The Fashionista Next Door to see all the other lovely ladies that participated in this week’s link up.