A LOT has changed since my last blog post.
A lot with me at least.
If you follow these pictures right to left, you can follow my health progression.
The picture on the far right was from September 23rd. The middle, from Thanksgiving, and the left, Jan 23. So, yep, there's me 4 months later.
In September, I decided to make a few changes and so I started going walking in the am with my husband. I realized I'd been grieving for my life and friends in Florida for long enough. I also decided to cut out sugar for a while. I'd been exercising for a week and off of sugar for a week in that photo.
Towards the end of October, I came across enough information that told me that I wanted to try a WFPB (whole food, plant based) lifestyle change. This included removing all animal products, sugar, oils, refined flours, and processed foods.
And it has been an interesting process! I've been learning lots of new things and it has been an adventure. Learning to cook differently than ever before. Figuring out what I and my family like or don't like.
Part of the reason for this post though, is to celebrate. I'm almost (just a few pounds shy still) down 50 pounds. Which is exciting in itself, but here's the exciting news. Today, I went out for my regular walk and thought to myself, "why don't I just see how far I can run today?" I know there are 6 hills that I'll have to climb, and I can walk them, but I should see if I can at least make it to the first hill.
And so I started to jog.
And I kept jogging, up those 6 hills and back down, and around, and I ran 4.2 miles today - without stopping! 3 months ago, I wondered out loud if I'd ever be able to run our walking route, and my husband assured me I could. I never thought it would happen so quickly! I haven't run this type of a distance since 2002... Furthermore, that middle picture...you know, from Thanksgiving? That was taken at a 5k Turkey trot. Which I participated in, and walked at least half (if not more of).
So...today was a victory for me. I was amazed that I truly felt like I could have kept going, almost double of what I'd already done (but didn't have the time). I'm excited to see where this takes me. I'm excited to see my own personal growth and achievement.
We decided to try out the WFPB diet/lifestyle simply because we'd come across so much information regarding so many diseases being preventable, solely through diet. Cancer, Heart Disease, Alzheimers to name a few. Having seen a couple of dear friends just go through cancer, we realized that if these diseases are actually preventable, simply through diet, we wanted to try it out and see how we felt.
In a couple of words, these are the buzz words we keep using:
Full.
Never thought on a plant based diet I'd say that I usually felt full and didn't have cravings.
Energy
I've been amazed at the energy levels I've found. I've cut 40 minutes off of our weekly hiking route, and was able to add in 2.5 more miles. I've slept better, and haven't felt the total exhaustion that has accompanied my exercise in the past.
Awesome
The foods are awesome, it's been a total adventure!
