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.
