Eating Healthy is Delicious!!!

My Lunch:  Spinach Wrap with generous amount of Hummus, Baby Spinach, Red Bell Peppers, Cucumbers,  and Shredded Carrots; Little side salad with vinegar and oil with leftover veggies; Glass of Green Tea Unsweetened.

 

                                                              

My fiancee and I have passed the SEVEN day mark and have decided to KEEP GOING with our Vegan Diet. It is wonderful to feel good about the most EVERYTHING you are putting in your body. My energy levels are HIGH! I have been getting up earlier and feeling good throughout every day. And I must add that we in NO WAY have been limited in our diet. There are plenty of REALLY GREAT alternatives to meat! We have had no trouble going out to eat and ordering, it just takes a little more thought to do so. There is great satisfaction in knowing that you are controlling EACH and EVERYTHING going in your body and that you in fact are very CAPABLE of doing so!! It is so rewarding!

We had originally planned to stay on this diet for seven days. Just a couple days into it, it became clear that seven days is UNDOUBTEDLY too short! Giving it a little thought and the primary purpose of this diet being to become more DISCIPLINED and CONSCIOUS about the foods we are putting into our bodies, we decided to stay on this diet for 21days! There is a theory that 21 days is the amount of time it takes to MAKE or BREAK a HABIT. I have tested this with other things like exercise and the results have been REMARKABLE!!!

Are YOU one of those people who CAN"T even bear to IMAGINE a life without meat? Well, I AM one of those people! I love steaks, chicken, ribs, bacon, chicken, hot dogs, seafood, YOU NAME IT!!! It wasn't until here recently that I realized how much things like this DOMINATE my diet. Comparatively speaking, We need 5servings of fruit and vegetables and 6-12grains per day. When you have your dinner plate sitting in front of you does the meat take up more of your plate than anything else? You are not alone!!! As Americans, this is how we have been brought up! We get more meat and in return we are giving up the necessary components for a healthy and balanced diet. If we are eating more meat than we need, chances are we are eating less of the things we do need!! This is clear when you go out a restaurant and you see the portion sizes! There is so much meat on the plate that they try to compensate by adding more of the other foods and before you know it, you are walking out with tomorrows dinner too! Below are some guidelines to just how much meat IS or SHOULDN'T BE on your plate.

                                  3 servings/ounce equivalents of fish 
                                               = 1 checkbook
                                3 servings/ounce equivalents of meat or poultry 
                                               = 1 deck of cards
                                2 servings/ounce equivalents of peanut butter 
                                    = 1 roll of 35 mm film/1 ping-pong ball

We need two to three servings of meat per day at three ounces per serving. When you sit down to eat an eight ounce filet at night with a steaming baked potato, you are eating almost your ENTIRE days requirement for meat!! With obesity such a growing concern among Americans and the rates CONSISTENTLY INCREASING annually, this is something that needs to be looked at if we want to live Long Quality Lives! I urge everyone to THINK before you EAT!! What is it that is really going into your mouth and into the mouths of your families? Do you feel good about your answer? Are there some things you can do or not do that would make you feel better?