First of all. I watched Julie and Julia. And i liked it!! but it made me love food even more then i already do and made me wanna be even more passionate about cooking then i already am. Many of my friends have made it their goal to cook more from cookbooks and such, a-la julie/julia. So WHY not me too :)
I even saw a blog for someone following and julie/julia for EFH (eat for health). Which is amazing! because that food is king and is by far the healthiest. But- my love for eating that way will have to be on hold because a) produce is REALLY expensive in the winter and not all that great b) its just not diverse enough for gourmet cooks-like myself (ha ha!). So sorry ETL but i'll have to put you on hold for now..
The GOALs. in this order:
1- STOP BINGEING!! i've been doing this secretly for far to long and im only now just realizing the discusting quanity of food i eat (good OR bad foods). it's go to stop and i've got to give it up so i can maintain a low weight and not feel deprived
ACTION PLAN?: i've heard good things about the Beck Diet- so i think i should pick up the book. Its funny how i dont FEEL like i have a problem till i have one of my little episodes and realize, yes yes i do, and then i wish id had some book like this is front of me at the time rather then the big bowl of soy ice cream, cookies, extc, that i had instead. So maybe just reading the book in advance will prep me
-also with my PeerTrainer friends, i am giving myself a sticker each day for 100days that i dont binge- the reward? lu lu lemon outfit!
-record my feeling on when i overdid it and reread them if i feel like doing it again!! not sure if that will work, but worth a try!
2- LOOSE AND KEEP OFF- the last 10lbs- Ok that one is obvious and im sure its on EVERYONES to do list this year. But ive been working at it consistently so its only on my list as a reminder to work even harder this year at maintaining as i loose. Yes- i have lost the 10lbs AND regained it. more than once. Enough. just get there and STAY there.
ACTION PLAN? my family and i need to do a biggest loser type challenge because im competitive! i havent figured out the logistics of it yet, but i need to loose 10-15! the motivation? Hawaii next christmas!! i already looked fat as hell on this one so im gonna be hot as hell on the next one, i guarentee it
And honestly- its not THAT hard to maintain weight, you work hard, you loose it, then you maintain it. loads of people have done it and are doing it right now, everyday. So why cant i?? is it that nobody notices my weight loss or gain? idk. But if i just work hard and dont think so hard about it, i can be one of those people too. without obsessing.
3-NO DIETING um how many times have i turned down dinners out with friends because i didnt wanna gain weight?? how many times have i turned down desserts, samples, movie treats because i was so afraid of gaining weight?? I have a phobia of added fats, sugar, and sodium. I am terrified of what it will do to me! i hate not knowing whats in my food. but that being said- i cant be such a control freak with everything> i need to be able to have a small but reasonable portion of whatever thing i want! (vegan only of course). and not feel guilty or think it will blow my weight.
btw. that also means- not weighing in often- or at all. that means- eating when im hungry, stopping when im full, and not eating when im not hungry. simple!
4-YOGA i started getting into it this year and at first hated it, but the more i do it, the more i enjoy it and really do feel happier and more toned. There was a period in november where i did it am and pm for 30days. i felt great! i want to continue doing it as much as possible as well as hot yoga class for the next year, it will become natural to me!
I havent done it much post vay-k and its hard to get back!! but i need to!
5-COOKING! i already consider myself an accomplished cook, but i like to make my own recipes-taking inspiration for recipes or tips ive found along the way. I have a huge collection of cookbooks that have fabulous recipes, as well as my favorite online blogs here. and i havent cooked nearly any of them! (certainly not ones from my cook books). I'm still a cooking newbie, and i need to impress people and prove that vegan isnt boring. so i need to try the recipes and make them my own.
ACTION PLAN? 200 recipes! that is the goal. Im compiling a list from these resources;
- Eat to live style; from etl, efh, and diseaseproof: various- im not counting, these are fairly simple recipes but can be time consuming and take alot of resources- cooking more of them will be good for my health, but im not that excited by all of them- i think i'll mainly use the breakfasts, dinner dishes and desserts from this one.
- Vegan cooking for one; 30 recipes; i got this as a gift very new into my vegetarianism- i was excited but didnt end up cooking much from it! i like that is only for one serving- as im the only one cooking and eating this stuff, and i hate having leftovers! id say most of these are easy- the only thing is they use soy butter, which im not a fan of using alot of.
- The Conscious Cook: 30 recipes; purely brilliant! this is going my be my biggest challenge- the recipes are defiantly gourmet and advanced but they look really pretty and would impress dinner guests immensely. i must get through this one for sure!
- One Dish Vegetarian Meals:22 recipes; im not that jazzed about this one but again, i have it and i havent been cooking from it! im not sure if i'll get through it. Easy level
- Blogs: Fat Free Vegan: 41* ok let me just say. i LOVE this woman! Susan V is an excellent cook, all of her recipes are so great and ive tried many of them before starting this challenge. they are fairly easy to follow and i adore that they have none or little fat, and not much sugar either! shes my kind of cook. So i'm going to try to make ALOT of hers. Happy Herbivore: 7 another great fat free blog! also easy recipes, i will get through all of these definatly. i have cooked a few of hers already. Healthy.Happy.Life kathy is a great and accomplished cook as well- she seems to use short cuts for some of her recipes and vegan cheese. which i dont really like. But i like her ideas and presentation, ive made a few and will make a some more!
- Vegetarian Times Magazine: ive been collecting these for a while and have at least 10! and they werent cheap either. ive always admired the recipes- so i'll try to make a few of them too. id say they are moderate. it is vegetarian though and mostly cheese based, also not at all diet friendly- so i will have to change most of them if i do use them.
Ok so thats over 100 recipes right there! 200 should be no problem to accomplish, in fact id like to do 250 but lets not get ahead of ourselves! I know its going to teach me alot and will be a valuable project. helloo..wife skillz! :). Its important that i mention that i already know how to cook and am more than capable of coming up with my own recipes, but i want to try this so i can improve my cooking and learn a bit more about food paring and flavours. So- as a result of this project i hope to come up with my own cookbook of my favorite recipes and my own recipes. maybe i'll publish it one day! or maybe i'll get good enough to share them on this blog (if i ever figure out how to post stuff!).
Wow! what a long post. I dont know if anyone reads this junk but it helps for me to put it out there as a commitment to myself and i can look back on it easily to make sure im doing what i said i would. I expect that 2010 will bring great things for me career wise, life wise, and relationship wise. I want to balance my body mind and spirit and embrace positivity in everyday life. heres to reaching our goals.
Good luck everyone! xoxo Green Love Goddess.
