Restart

Okay, okay...I have fallen off my SOTD! Never mind the fact that I posted in January and not again this year! So yes, I am going to restart, but first an update.
My New Year's Challenge was completed! I was Vegan for 2 months and I felt great during that time.  The first 2 weeks my body was detoxing (won't get into those details)! After those 2 weeks, I noticed my digestive system was happier than before. Most evenings I end up feeling pretty icky, bloated and a bit nauseous, With this challenge, that icky feeling was gone and I felt good in the evenings. Also, after those first 2 weeks I had lost 6 lbs! Unfortunately, after my system regulated itself, I gained those lbs back :( In addition, I cut out all added refined sugar and most of my caffeine intake.
  At the start of my challenge I went and had my cholesterol checked, I was surprise at the results (higher than anticipated for my "bad" and my "good" was low). At the end of my challenge I tested again, another surprise! My overall cholesterol went UP??? Wait, what? However my triglycerides went down, my bad cholesterol went down and my good cholesterol went up. Nothing was a significant change, but still. I had a friend that told me when she went vegan for 6 weeks her cholesterol dropped 100 pts. I wasn't really expecting that, but some kind of drop was more what I was hoping for!!


 I have had people tell me "you need longer to see any change". Um, two months of vegan should produce some kind of change! I also have had it said that it could be due to a lack of Vitamin D that would throw this off. Um, ND in the winter time, ok, I could believe that! Also, I know our body produces its own cholesterol, could I be just odd person that overproduces all by themselves? Anyway, those were my results.

For anyone who wonders...no I didn't stick with it, for a number of reasons. The first one being, although my husband supported my challenge, he did not join me in it. Therefore, I was cooking a meal for myself and a meal for the family every meal. That was more than I wished to continue.


Right now, I am ready to start another challenge, maybe not full plant-based diet, but mostly a plant-based diet.  My husband is willing to join me in this challenge now. We will be moving toward that and see how we like it (I have some meat in the freezer that I don't want to waste my money on that we will need to use up).

For today, restarting the SOTD challenge.
Strawberry Pineapple - how have I NOT made this combo yet???
1/2 banana
1 cup (ish) hulled fresh strawberries
1/2 cup fresh pineapple
2 T hemp hearts (these are my go too protein item!)
4 T raw oatmeal
almond milk to blend (maybe 1 cup)
touch of vanilla
Yum.