Diet Update (Since it seemed to be a popular post)

The Enerhealth shakes are really working. I don't actually have a scale, but my waistline is definitely  improving. Bigtime. So much so that I think that I might have only needed one month to achieve my costume goals instead of the two I allotted. I have been adding a little more water, so it has been 1/2 cup milk and 1-1/2 cups water to 2 tablespoons of meal replacement. With the added liquid, it keeps me full 5-7 hours, and is only about 150 calories. I highly recommend it. It could probably be worked into a regular CRON diet as well I would imagine. I have been using it for 1-2 meals a day, and eating a regular sized(for me) dinner.

Diet starting today

I have a costumed event coming up in about 2 months, and to lose those last few pounds, (because I just have to show up the 20 year olds) I am going on a no alcohol and no sweets really low calorie diet. I really want to look better this year. I decided to try these meal replacement shakes so I could lose even more weight then when I count calories and stop drinking normally. The ingredients seem legit and in line with my diet, unlike most other diet drinks that are simply chocolate flavored clever combinations of the top 3 GMOs, cottonseed oil and aspartame.


Amino Acid Omega Balanced Natural Meal Replacement Ingredients:
Coconut Milk Powder, Chia Seeds, Sprouted Mung Beans, Sprouted Chickpeas, Organic Spirulina, Organic Chlorella, Sprouted Black Beans, Organic Vegetarian Nutritional Yeast, Sprouted Green Peas, Organic Purple Dulse, Organic Kelp, Organic Spinach, Organic Amaranth, Organic Alfalfa Leaf, Organic Barley Grass, Organic Wheat Grass, Organic Rose Hips, Sprouted Millet, Organic Beet Root, Organic Orange Peel, Organic Winter Cherry Root, Organic White Asparagus Root, Organic Dandelion Leaf, Organic Lemon Peel, Wildcrafted Papaya Leaf, Organic Horsetail, Organic Barley Grass Juice Powder, Organic Wheat Grass Juice Powder, Organic Cardamon, Organic Cinnamon

I tried the first glass just with water and stirred it with a spoon, and I ended up with a large, really gross tasting clump at the bottom when I was done. The drink itself was not great, but completely tolerable.The second glass I had I stirred 2 tablespoons with one cup of milk and one cup of water and threw it in the blender. It was MUCH better. There was a bit of a foamy island of unmixed drink at the top, but it wasn't so bad.


The best part was, it actually made me feel full for about 3-4 hours,at only 155 calories(with milk added)! It must be the coconut milk, or the fact it has poop-loads of nutrients in it. I'm going to bring a jar to work so I can continue there as well. We'll see how it goes.




 

A diet by any other name

You're a vegetarian, aren't you???    ...My diet has been an avoided topic lately, and it really shouldn't be. I've been responding to questions like that with "It's complicated", mostly because the average person doesn't actually want any answer to a question that takes more that 1-2 sentences. I've been a vegetarian twice, for over a year each time, and would be one today if I was single. Cold turkey does not work, and the last time I went full veg I had weaned myself off of meat product so slowly in fact that my boyfriend did not even notice until an awkward shopping trip to Costco where not wanting any of the suggested products resulted in him calling me out forthright "Did you go Vegetarian!?!?!" ...So, that lasted a year, until what I like to call, The Great Compromise.  I agreed to eat grass fed and pasture raised meat if he agreed to only eat the same. Honestly, I made out like a bandit. Due to cost constraints, we each eat meat maybe twice a week. He came down MUCH more that I went up into the meat direction. He learned a lot of new and interesting recipes to boot. 


...But the point of this post is, what do I call my diet?

-I would rather not eat meat at all, but you can not preach that farm animals should be treated with respect and not buy the products that meet your standards. There is no motivation for change without a market, and I seem to notice the food market changing every day in my favor:) That is the reason for buying and eating grass fed beef and pole caught tuna.
-I do not buy processed food that contains foods likely to be a GMO. That means nothing with soy, corn, or canola, except for salad dressing, unfortunately, until at least one brand stops putting it in there.
-I do not eat gelatin. Sorry, that's just gross, above and beyond the fact I wouldn't eat a factory farmed meat by-product.
-I try to garden to the best of my ability and to the extent my tiny backyard will accommodate. This is really the only way to ensure your food really meets your standards. I'm not a saint, but I only want poisons that I intentionally ingest in my body.
-I will eat organic when I can.

I know I shouldn't need a label, but people seem to need a label on you or they feel uncomfortable for some reason. I was thinking Eco-tarian? Is that taken? I feel very similar to when I discovered I was an anarcho-capitalist. I really thought I did not have an identity, as I was outside of the 2 established boundaries. I thought I just wasn't political. then I realized not only were there other options out there, but they had labels too. I really just want coworkers to stop staring at me trying to figure me out. Why is food/ diet so important to people that they ostracize you when you don't fit in? Who cares if I don't want any of the smoked whatever everyone chipped in for? What are they scared of?