6 weeks in and 11 lbs down!

Today marks 6 weeks since I started my journey toward eating a mostly plant-based diet and I'm down 11 pounds!  I lost this much back in January when I went on Nutrisystem for two months, but as soon as I went off their pre-packaged food, I gained it all right back again.

This time, I'm not really dieting at all.  I'm not watching portion sizes and I'm not counting calories.  I'm just consuming mostly plant-based foods with a local, organic, humanely raised animal product thrown in about once a week or so.  I do not drink caffeine and try to stay away from artificial sweeteners whenever possible.  I also try to abstain from refined and processed sugars and carbohydrates.  Basically, I'm trying to do the whole Micheal Pollan "Eat food, not too much, mostly plants" thing.

I haven't felt deprived or hungry at all, and yet the weight has been steadily falling off each week!  About 11 lbs in 6 weeks averages out to 1-2 lbs a week which is what the experts always recommend, so I feel really good about that.

I've been walking about 3-5 times a week with my dogs (like a good hour-long walk, not just around the block so they can do their business and stretch their legs a few times a day).  I'm sure that's helping some too.  I'd like to kick that up to more like 4-6 times a week with a day lifting weights in the little gym in our apartment complex.  Before my wedding I lost 20 pounds over the course of about 6 months, just by watching what I ate and lifting weights once a week (no cardio, eesh!).  So I'm hoping a combination of cardio AND lifting on a very light routine will really help me continue the downward spiral of weight loss.  I'm not looking to be my 21-year-old size again or anything, but getting down to an "average" weight can only be healthy and positive, so that's what I'm going to shoot for.