Still veggin' out!

It's day four of the veg-tacular experiment and so far all's goin pretty well. My thoughts so far?

Well, first I'll just say that sugar comes from the devil. Cause it's HELL to get off of. But I've been able to go sugar-free for four days- this includes white, brown, honey, AND white flour, plus artificial sweeteners. Which alone is really hard to do, but I couldn't stop there, instead I decided to go all masochistic and give up meat and dairy products as well. Oh, and coffee.

Why, oh why this insanity you may ask? Well, several reasons, but I can share what I've learned so far:

• My diet (and most Americans) is overly reliant on processed/packaged stuff. And I previously thought I ate pretty healthy- i.e., I don't eat a lot of cookies, chips, frozen pizza, lunchables, ect. But a lot of stuff in boxes nonetheless.

• I (and most Americans) eat WAY too much sugar. Anyone who has seen me prepare coffee or tea inevitably gasps in astonishment at the number of spoons it takes to sweeten my coffee (full disclosure: three heaping spoonfulls. *gasp!* see, I told you) And I can drink several cups of coffee/tea a day. I gave up sugary soda's several years back, but I replaced them with the 'diet' version, which many docs will tell you, not such a healthy replacement. I've tried to give up sugar in the past with poor success (worse symptoms than quitting smoking), so to lose the pounds, it's time for another go.

• I (we) eat meat and dairy too frequently. Now, this is problematic for health reasons as well as other reasons which I mentioned previously within the fuzzy category of "environmental". I decided shortly after I moved to P-town that I would try to buy meat and dairy products from 'happy' local farms only, since they are in relative abundance here. These are smaller, family-run farms that practice sustainable non-concentrated animal feeding operation methods, which not only make for happier farm critters, but also reduces the crap (literally) that ends up in our streams, preserve top-soil, and actually produces more nutritious meats (more Omega 3 for example comes from cattle that graze on grass) than industrial CAFO methods. The problem I have run into though, is that some days, I'm feelin lazy and really just want to walk down the street and buy 'regular' chicken from the conventional grocery store for a stir-fry. And while traveling, it is near impossible to eat meat/dairy that is non-CAFO, but I'm so huungry, and I just have to have that yummy bbq. So, I have concluded that I need to first wean myself off ALL meats and (most) dairy's for a few weeks until I get used to eating mostly vegetables/fruits and grains. Once the experiment is complete, I will eat as a vegetarian who will occasionally eat fish while on the road, and when at home, I will occasionally indulge in the bounty from happy local chickens and cows.
  

• Traveling while trying to eat responsibly is really tough...but doable. Tonight I'm sitting on the bed in my hotel room in Baton Rouge (yes, had to come back) surrounded by the remnants of my dinner, all brought from home: vegan instant black bean soup, flax seed/whole wheat corn chips, homemade salsa, and an orange for dessert. Yum. I did walk across the street to go to the grocery for b'fast and lunch items for tomorrow, but I was so disheartened that I walked out with just a canteloupe and a green smoothie. Just about everything in the store is meat/cheese/white flour/sugar based. The produce didn't look that much more promising, cause it was all industrial ag produce, and I don't exactly have the means to prepare a meal from scratch in my hotel room (and I'm already sick of salads). What I need is a Whole Foods- they have a much better selection of prepared healthy foods. So, in lieu of Whole Foods, tomorrow night I'm treating myself to a Ruth's Chris Steak House (wait for it) vegetarian meal of grilled portobellos, garlic mashed potatoes, and asparagus. Now, that's a meal I can get excited about.

So, how am I feeling? Well, Day 1 was not so bad- felt okay. Day 2: I thought about french bread first thing in the morning, and by later in the day (after a bike move too), I was pretty grumpy. Day 3: grumpy and really spacey (like putting frying pan in freezer instead of cabinet spacey). Today (Day 4): Better. Not so grumpy, and a little more alert. Also, I only slept 5 hours last night and I was not the slightest bit groggy when I woke up (may be due to lower caffeine since I've switched to tea). Overall on the grumpy scale? (1 = Richard Simmons and 10 = the devil), I've been about a 6, or Oscar the Grouch. Tomorrow I'm shooting for Ernie, but may have to settle for Bert.

And in fitness news, I have still not run. This chest/coughing thing is still a problem, but I plan to run tomorrow no matter what. I was able to ride a bike this weekend helping out on one of these, but I felt like crap afterwards and hacked up half my lung.

I'll just leave you with that lovely image.