I get it now. I fell into the vegan junk food trap too…

 

When I came back from the plant based disease conference, I’d been eating raw and vegan for a week.  I had already dropped 3-4 pounds and felt pretty good about that! But what was really exciting was that at the conference I’d been eating rice and beans and quinoa and even some grain-free bread and not gained weight. It had been a while since I ate very many carbs. I’d been eating more low carb, thinking that it would help me stop that slow upward creep of weight that so often happens to women in their 40’s.  It wasn’t really working.

So when I started eating rice and bread again, I was thrilled. I love rice! When I was young, my mom used to say I should have been born into an Asian family because of how much rice I ate. And really, who doesn’t love bread? When I started feeling justified in eating more carbs because that meant I wasn’t eating animal foods that damage the environment, that’s when things started to go downhill. My kids are young and need more carbs to grow, so there were lots of opportunities to “taste” their meals now that I wasn’t avoiding bread and rice and potatoes. Everyone in the family was supportive of eating plant based, so I started cooking more meals centered around beans or rice or potatoes to make sure they got full. When we started trying vegan restaurants around the Atlanta area and I started eating soy buffalo wings and vegan potstickers, things really started going off the rails.

 

 

Now, I don’t mean I gained a bunch of weight or ate a loaf of bread in one sitting. But things weren’t right. I started saying yes to all the foods I’d normally limit, like cookies and chocolates. My weight started fluctuating and my rings were tight. I’d decided to ignore the fact that just because something was vegan, it wasn’t automatically good for me.

Now, of course I already knew this. I’ve said to patients before that eating vegan doesn’t make you healthy – you can eat candy bars, potato chips, gummy bears and soda and officially be eating vegan. The key is to eat a whole foods, plant based diet, and while that’s a lot more words than the label “vegan”, it’s a much better description of how to eat well. Let’s break it down…

 

Not whole foods…

 

First, whole foods are minimally processed, which means while you may cut it up, season it and cook it, the food you’re eating started as one ingredient (broccoli, potato, carrot, spinach). And while chicken, eggs, pork chops and steak are single ingredient foods, they don’t meet the criteria of plant based, so they’re out (or at least very limited). This is where I went awry – the more processed plant foods had crept into my eating and I got sucked in. It’s easy to do – processed foods have more sugar, salt, and fat, which seduces your taste buds into wanting more. Then when you have the choice between a baked potato and a salad vs soy buffalo wings, the wings win. Your mouth doesn’t want the salad and it’s hard to make yourself eat it. The other problem is convenience. Processed foods (vegan or not) are often easier to prepare quickly, so when you’re hungry and can rip open a box of frozen burritos, you do that instead of baking and chopping and mixing. Cooking takes time, and it’s not something everyone loves to do. These days  it’s more common to watch people cook on TV or at an open kitchen at a nice restaurant than to cook for yourself at home.

But to me, cooking is an act of love. When we take the time to prepare a meal from whole foods, we are choosing to invest our time and energy in caring for ourselves and anyone we feed. It’s not that if we feed the kids some nuggets and tater tots for dinner that we don’t love them, but we could choose to cut up veggies and make oven fries and give them food that has the love of our hands in it. When I prepare my food from whole ingredients, I’m putting my energy and love into my food, and telling myself that my body and my health are worth the effort – that I’m worth the effort. It makes a difference.

 

The whole foods I’m making today…

 

So, I need a reset. The good news is I know what to do: The bad news is I want to eat more bread and potstickers. But I have a plan! Conveniently I’m going to be working at the hospital this weekend, and there aren’t a lot of healthy and vegan options for meals (isn’t that sad – shouldn’t a hospital have the healthiest food?). So I’m going to have to travel with food, and that means I’m cooking. It’s actually not as hard as your brain is telling you it is. Here’s what I’m going to do:

 

Pray first. I can’t make everything I need to do work out the best way without God’s help. So I’m asking and listening for the best way to go.

 

Make a salad. This is an easy foundation for any meal. I cut up all the veggies (or buy them chopped), throw them on top of different greens (romaine, mixed baby greens, spinach), and store them undressed in a container or zip top bag in the frig. Then when it’s time to eat, you’ve got half your plate already made!

 

Best bagged salad ever!

 

Bake some sweet potatoes. That’s easy, and they’ll sit in the fridge ready to be heated and topped whenever you need a meal.

 

Grill a mix of veggies. I like to grill onions, peppers, zucchini and mushrooms. Drizzle them with a little balsamic and maybe a touch of olive oil and that goes with everything!

 

 

Have a plan. I also might want something hot with my salad, and if the potato or grilled veggies isn’t going to work for me, I have to have a backup plan. Besides, sometimes you want to change things up. So, some actual cooking may have to take place. This is where some time investment comes in, but if you cook when you have time, make extra, and freeze it, then you have more meals for when you need something fast. Right now, I’ve got a frozen bag of black lentil chili that’s coming out for the weekend! Sometimes, a quick stir fry with extra firm tofu is in order.  If you give it some thought and write down your meal ideas, then when your tummy rumbles and your mind goes blank, you don’t have to rip open the bag of frozen wings – you’ve got options that honor your body, your spirit, and your commitment to yourself.

 

Defrosting some black lentil chili and chard quinoa I made last week…

 

Remember your why. I wrote about this in a different post, but you’ve got to have a reason why you’re eating differently that keeps you going when your will power or craving threaten to take you over. Whether it’s health, or weight, or the environment, or animal cruelty, or all of the above, you keep reminding yourself why you’re putting this time and energy in, and it makes it easier to stay on track and keep going!

I know that the struggle is real. No one just gets up one day and does everything perfectly – that’s called a fairy tale! But every day is a chance for a fresh start, and I’m grateful for that. Now, I’ve gotta go – I’ve got some grilling and baking to do!

 

 

What do you do to get yourself out of the trap of eating poorly? Do you have a way to get yourself reset when you get off track? Please share in the comments below!