Day 21-what's next?

First a little debriefing of day 19 (Friday) and 20 (Saturday):
Friday was a typical day. Donuts at school which are not even an issue anymore. Ate the typical and had some leftovers from the week for dinner. I did have a 2 by 2 piece of the family's homemade whole wheat pizza, so a little gluten and a little cheese.

I had been a little apprehensive for Saturday to come all week long. I had a 16 mile run planned and the furthest I had run since Columbus marathon in the Fall was 12 miles. The turned out to be sunny and about 30 degrees, and I have to say my run was a JOY. I ran out in Amish country, very few cars, a few Amish buggies. I felt great until the last 1-2 miles. Pace was better than expected. No issues with my knees or hips. I think this diet is helping with the inflammation. I was a little sore the rest of the day and this morning, but after 16 miles that is to be expected.
Of course, after burning over 2000 calories on my run, I needed a little extra as the day went on. I had a chocolate almond smoothie from the Thrive Diet book in the afternoon and a homemade energy bar.
We went to 5pm Mass and then had to go directly to see my neice in a play at 7pm, so dinner was a bit of an issue. I brought an apple and a Larabar and a bottle of water, but was starving...so I had stopped at Subway for my daughters. Lizzie got a veggie delite and so I had about a third of her foot long. Again gluten, and it had ranch dressing so some dairy. I also then had some popcorn at the theatre, with butter so more dairy.

I think to take care of those problems I just needed to bring more food with me, especially after a long run day.

So here we are on the morning of DAY 21.
When I started I was hoping to:
* get control of my cravings, which I feel I have for the most part

*lose a little weight, as of this morning I have lost about 7 pounds in these 21 days

*become more conscious of what I was eating before putting it in my mouth. I think I have improved on this. I want to continue making progress on this.

*see how some changes in my diet would make me feel. I feel like I have MORE energy, my skin is clearer, my body seems like it is recovering quicker from workouts, I feel lighter and my mood is better.

OTHER things that I did not expect:
I did not expect to feel like I wanted to give up all animal products for good. It had never crossed my mind that I would become a Vegan. Because of how I feel, and because I am immersed in reading The China Study, The Thrive Diet, and Quantum Wellness I do not feel like I should go back to animal products. It is partly for humane reasons, but mainly for health reasons.

I am not going to be an EXTREME vegan, which may offend vegans out there. I may have a piece of cheese pizza every once in a while. I may have soup that is made with Chicken Stock, or has cream in it every once in a while. I may have buttered popcorn. But in general these will be things I will avoid.


So...what's next?
When day 22 comes tomorrow, I will have 50%caf/50%decaf coffee beans in my coffee maker (Actually I am trying it out right now as I type this) and so reintroduce that small amount of caffeine into my diet.

I will reintroduce a glass of wine once or twice a week.

I will still avoid added sugar as much as possible. I will keep gluten to a minimum, but will reintroduce a piece of whole wheat bread now and then.

So for the most part, things will not change. My typical day will continue to be:
oatmeal
almonds/dried apricots
Big leafy salad
apple/energy bar
dinner of lots of vegetables and a little bit of grain (quinoa/brown rice...)

Hoping to keep out between 'meal' snacks and after dinner snacks. After dinner I will have Teavana tea as my evening 'treat'.

Hoping to lose another 7-8 pounds for vanity and to help me run faster.

I also want to continue to make progress on making my diet healthier. In the Thrive Diet Brazier talks about trying to stay as RAW as possible. He also suggests NO soy. He has some very different recipes in there. I want to continue making progress toward eating HEALTHIER. even more leafy vegetables, less of anything that is not WHOLE foods...there are lots of improvements I can make.

I would highly suggest people that are out there thinking about trying this to JUST DO IT. 21 days is such a small percentage of your life. You can do this for three weeks. Plan your meals, prepare some things on Sunday, as you walk out the door have something that you can eat if you are going to be out for a while.
See how you feel.

as I posted on my facebook status yesterday...not perfection, just progress!