I started Weight Watchers in August of 2011, and I lived it to the tune of losing 67 pounds (about 1 pound per week, when averaged out over 15 months). My weight loss came to a standstill, of sorts, this past fall. I would lose 3 pounds, gain 2.5 pounds, lose 1 pound, gain 1.2 pounds, etc. Back and forth and up and down but hovering around the 67-pound loss.
I tried a variety of things within the Weight Watchers structure to get my body back on course, but my about-to-be-fully-menopausal body was having none of it. The holidays came, and while I stayed on program, I also enjoyed the holiday bounty. I didn’t deny myself, but neither did I go on a throw-all-caution-to-the-wind binge.
The result: I lost .7 pound over Christmas and New Year’s, which I’m very pleased about, and not too surprised because my clothes fit in such a way that I would have known if I’d gained. I’m mainly pleased because I managed to strike a balance – something that’s not easy to do, necessarily, in the nearly two-month window of festivities that opens on Thanksgiving and closes on New Year’s Day.
So, here I am, four days into 2013, and three days into my Herbivore training. Yes, I’ve made the switch to a plant-powered lifestyle. It was not as big of a leap as it could have been. I gave up dairy, save for the occasional slice of cheese, over a year ago, and I gave up beef some time ago. Over the Summer I was close to eating plant-based, if you ignore the two eggs I had for breakfast every morning, and the barbecue chicken I consumed once or twice a week.
I’ve been thinking about it for months and months and more months, and have been following Happy Herbivore‘s blog since Spring, if not before, and following Peas and Thank You‘s blog for well over a year. Being a lover of most things fruit and vegetable certainly helps, as does my enjoyment of whole grains, beans and lentils, and non-dairy milk.
What won’t change is food tracking and counting. I am tracking all my food, as I did with Weight Watchers, and am simply counting calories instead of points. I figured out my BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate), and from there the number of calories I needed to eat per day (using the Harris Benedict Equation) to lose weight at a safe rate of one to two pounds per week.
So, having completed two days of eating plant-based, I can say “so far, so good.” Today will be my first weekly grocery shop as a Herbivore, and I am determined to make good use of Happy Herbivore’s recipes and meal plans to help me along.
If you want to find me, I’ll be in the produce section. I’ll be the one fondling a variety of fruits and vegetables, and considering the many ways in which I can make them succumb to me. Especially the bananas. (<–Click on the link right there and go see what I’m talking about. Really. I’ll wait.)
You’re back! Now you know the banana secret, too, which means not only do you know where to find me, you know how to reach me.
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What do you think? Could you be a Herbivore?
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I have a couple of people in my life who have alternative diets; my foster-daughter and brother-in-law are milk-and-egg veggiesauruses, and my sisters wife is a full-on vegan (who’s considering adding milk-based foods back into her diet as she’s also considering getting pregnant).
Our diets consist mostly of white meat; there’s beef in there every so often – maybe once or twice a month – but you’re far more likely to find chicken on our table. That being said, I could probably give up meat, but I’d have a terrible time giving up milk and cheese; I love yogurt, I start my morning with a glass of protein-powder in some milk, and there’s nothing like a blindingly cold glass of milk with a just-out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookie.
THAT being said, I am head over heels in love with fruit. Melons, strawberries, peaches (oh, dear Goddess, the PEACHES! I’m certain you’ll recall my swooning over the sink as I ate late peaches in the office…). I’m fond of most veggies, as well; green beans, snow peas, and carrots, in particular, though it’s the fruit that gets me.
I’ll be interested to hear how your transition goes, and let’s plan another lunch date – somewhere with an excellent salad bar or superb veggie-burger!
Love!
Chili
You and peaches! HA!
What a fun memory, Mrs. Chili. 
I was cooing over the assortment of grapes (six different types! the colors!) in the produce section of Market Basket yesterday, and cracking myself up for it.
I’ve heard good things about Good Karma Cafe in Exeter! I’m game, if you are.
Love! back.
~Ellen
Power to ya Ellen! I’m such a meat and tater eater and a non-veggie liker, I don’t think I could do it. I look forward to joining you on your new journey (as an outsider of course) and see where it takes you.
Good luck!
Thanks, Bren! Thus far, it’s been pretty easy-peasy. May it continue to be so.
Abel and I are in the same boat, I misled myself to call it “vegan” but after realizing going vegan is a HUGE HUGE leap from what we are already doing, its absolutely more accurate to say our goal is plant based which is in itself still a bit of a leap for me personally because I love my eggs and cheeses. Kudos Ellen <3 The happy herbivore books are like my little Godsend right now
That’s great, Frances! Awesome, actually, because I’ll have your shoulder to lean on.
Kidding, kidding… Maybe. 
It seems to me you were poking at the line with SASS – and a run to your site, and your New Year’s Eve post, confirms that supposition.
I thought I’d miss my daily eggs, but I’m loving my new breakfast items too much to miss them. Between pumpkin overnight oats and pumpkin pancakes, to say I’m satisfied is a vast understatement. I’m making Happy Herbivore’s Creamy Carrot Soup for supper, and I’m already drooling over what looks to be a delectable eating experience.
I’m going to blog about how I’m feeling from a physical standpoint on Monday, and I think I’ll make that my weigh-in day, too, even though last week’s weigh-in was on Tuesday. If I reboot to Monday, I can share my findings more readily.
Now I need to see if I can subscribe to your blog via email, because if I can’t do that, I don’t tend to see what people post.
Happy New Year to you and Abel, sweets!
xoxo
Ellen,
have I told you lately how much you inspire me? Your words lift me UP ))))) Xxxxx Uuuu ROCKkkk
congrats on losing 67 pounds. WOWWww
You do my heart good, sweet Kim! Thank you so much!
xoxo
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