Month 2: April - Days 1-3

Hey friends. Been on the diet now for one month. As you may have read in the last post, I've lost 20 pounds and cannot remember a time when I felt healthier in my life. I FINALLY got in my Forks Over Knives DVD and Book in the mail, and I'm DEFINITELY excited for it.


The book is full of information about the documentary, as well as 125 great recipes to go along with this diet. You could literally find a recipe for just about anything in this book - breakfast meals, dinners, snacks, desserts, and they all follow directly with this diet.

My goal is still going strong - to lose as much weight and inches as possible before May 10th (the last day for me to get measured for my tuxedo). Luckily I am in the process of moving into my new home, so there's LOTS of physical work to be done. This is proving to be very exhausting and great all-day exercise. Hedges needed trimming, boxes need loading and unloading, cleaning the place top to bottom, doing tons of yardwork, fixing drywall and doors, replacing curtains and hanging pictures. It all wears on your after a while and you're working all sorts of different muscles. It's a lot of work to be a homeowner but I believe I will really enjoy it.

Believe it or not, I'm finding out how CHEAP it is to be a vegetarian, so young couples out there, you may give it a try. For example, I went to Chipotle today (which amazingly is one of the only restaurants in my entire city that uses all organic grass fed meats, in season veggies, and uses totally organic unprocessed ingredients). I got a vegetarian burrito and some guacamole and it was like $7.50. I ate all the guac but half of the burrito (plenty). So for basically two meals I paid $3.75 per meal. And that's 100% organic, unprocessed, AND vegetarian.

Let's compare a bit. Organic cheese? $9/lb. Organic Milk? $4.50/gallon. Organic Steak? $14/lb. Organic Apples? $3.50 a pound. Who eats a pound of apples daily? Nobody! But who eats a pound of beef daily? Easily an American couple. Two 8 oz steaks (which is still smaller than most Americans get) would cost $14 or more just for their main dish, and THEN they'd have to get veggies on top of that, however, they probably wouldn't as they spent all their money on steak, steak sauce, and cheese.

The point is, you can get fruits and vegetables by the pound. They are very economical food items and they are so much better for you and YOU NEED MORE OF THEM. Feel overwhelmed? Let's start simple. My first suggestion to you comes from Dr. Neal Bernard, MD. Make a list of your favorite meals. Every single one you can think of, homemade, things you get at restaurants. From that point, start modifying meals one at a time. Taking out oils, meats, refined sugars, etc. This may not always work, for example, if your favorite meal is a burger, you may just have to cut that out (unless you want to try a blackbean & soy burger, which really isn't that bad!).

Otherwise, watch Forks Over Knives and buy the book already! It will save your life.