A whole new outlook

I hadn't realized that it had been so long since I posted. That is a good example of how things went this year. But. I now have a whole new outlook. I figured that since it's summer, and I have way fewer stressers going on, I would take a good hard look at lifestyle changes I could implement now and try to turn into habit. I have a few friends who have switched to a Plant Strong or Plant Based diet, meaning vegan/whole foods, and have felt amazingly better. So, after a few months of sort of thinking about it, I have decided to take the plunge. I want to make a change, and I need to reset my tastebuds and my body. So I'm going Vegan for 28 days. :) It's going to be interesting!!!! I've decided to blog about it to help me keep track of what helped, what didn't, what I liked, and what I really disliked.

So here's my baseline. Weight: Too much. :) No more details than that. Fatigue: Most of the time, though the change in meds seems to have helped that a little bit. Pain: Usually present in joints, neck, and some just general chronic pain. Joints: Stiff, achy. Regularly take advil or naproxen or tylenol. Motivation: Lacking for most things. Has improved a little bit with the meds, but still struggle a lot. Cravings: Cheese, Ice Cream, Sweets, Soda. I want them all the time. I try not to eat them all the time. But it's hard. I crave them. A lot.

My hopes for this month:
Reset my tastebuds away from creamy, buttery sauces, cheese, dairy, sodas. 

Bond more with a wider variety of vegetables.

Learn to cook a wider variety of healthy foods.

Get through a thorough detox from too many years of bad food choices.

Reduce inflammation.

Drop some weight.

Have more energy.

Walk more on the treadmill (along with the more energy!!)

Feel better.

Feel accomplished.

Learn new recipes!!

Enjoy cooking again.

So that's the intro to my new adventure. We'll see how it goes!! I'll share successes and failures and recipes and photos as I go along. I'm cautiously optimistic and excited to start. So, tomorrow morning: Oatmeal with soy milk, agave syrup, and fruit. With coffee with coconut milk creamer! And then.... Who knows!! I get to explore my cookbooks and start trying these foods instead of just getting the ingredients ready for them.