28 February 2012

Photos of proof that Plant Based Diets work

I thought I would post some of my fat pics on here for people to see the difference in my body. The pics start in 2006.
Here I am in front of the Red Neck Cafe on the West Coast at about 185 pounds.

This photo I am in New York in 2007:
I weighed about 190 pounds at that time.

Steve and I at Sandusky Park in Ohio. Road my first roller coaster there. (also my last ride on a roller coaster, thank you.)





And this last photo was taken by my eldest this past holiday 2011.

I do ride my bike in good weather, but the bulk of this weight came off due to cutting out animal meat and animal by-products (also known as liquid flesh)
Yes, I did get an allergy that caused me to give up dairy but I have been susceptible to the effects of dairy on my body for years.
Changing to a plant based diet has brought my health to a level that is amazing. I feel so great these days and I have LOADS of energy to do everything that I need to do. I have ZERO days of being "blocked up" and ZERO days of the lethargy that comes from consuming flesh, cholesterol and fat.
So check out the pics and see how my body has changed.

25 February 2012

The year of living Veganly.... or other bad movie title puns

So, as my readers may know, last year I discovered I had suddenly been "ALLERGIZED" or in other words, developed an allergy to dairy products.
At first this was daunting and really pissed me off.
Now, however, I have to say honestly, it was the BEST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO ME.
Steve and I both cut all dairy out of our diets. We also cut out meats, since the way BIG FARMS feed cattle is atrocious and it also contains dairy whey or casein which was making me ill.
We were going to continue to eat fish and seafood. I was trying to coin a new term for it (peskavegan) which didn't seem to catch on... grrrr.
BUT now we are COMPLETELY plant based!
No more meat, fish, dairy or processed foods.
We shop the produce section of the grocery store and the frozen veg section and since we drink almond milk, we shop that outter ring. The only things we shop the inner isles of the grocery store for these days are grains, beans, canned tomato and cat food. (ladies monthly products as well, however I didn't think that should be typed without brackets.)
I am 43. Will be 44 in May. I feel like I am 16.
I don't have to stretch my legs before I get out of bed anymore to ward off the pain in my foot.
I can climb stairs quickly and take two at a time if I like.
I can walk up the SUPER big hill by the house to Main Street and can still hold a conversation while doing it.
I weigh 130#!
Yes, 130 pounds! I haven't been this thin since I was 20.
As soon as the weather breaks and it gets warmer up here I should be dropping those last 10 pounds by cycling all over the Great Allegheny Passage and the C&O Canal bike trail. WOOOOOOOOO!
The best thing there is I have maintained the 130# through this winter, with no exercise. Now, I am not advocating no exercise, but just saying that a plant based diet has make it easy for me to stay at this weight when I am not very active. WOOOO!

So, I am going to post a recipe a day for 30 days so that anyone who says, WELL I DON'T HAVE TIME TO COOK will have to eat their words, while eating a lovely plant based dinner!
AWESOME!
LET THE FOODING BEGIN!

13 February 2012

RENOVATIONS!!!!!! (Or what I am fantasizing about today)

Okay, so I can't really DO any renovations today, or tomorrow, or next week for that matter and I am not just talking about the snow.....
However, the lack of funds does not stop me and Steve from talking about all the AMAZING things we want to do.
Todays amazing thing is the parking pad at the bottom of the lot.
It's cold out up here in the Burg today. It's been bitter cold the last few days and the wind has been whipping like a sum'bitch. (that's a technical term in Western Maryland.) But today, the sun is shinning nice and brightly. When I let ol' Ripley out this morning the back porch was actually warm!
The car however, is plunged into winter by being parked in the shade of the estate (I have decided to call our house THE ESTATE now. I like the ring. So until I think up a name for the place - and yes, I intend to think up a name- I will refer to it as THE ESTATE.)
So even on days when the snow is melting and Steve thinks he can get a tan in the "redders" weather, the car will have ice on the windshield that I have to scrap to be able to see out of it. Ugh.
Thus the idea of how to make a car parking pad in the front where the sun shines like the Bahamas. WOOOOOO!
We figure we can back-hoe out the front area by the street and use garden style railroad ties (I guess that is how you spell it, that's how it sound when people say it to me) to create a wall at the back and bricks on the side as well as for some steps. We could do this ourselves. After all, my old boyfriend was a bricklayer, so I can do it! (HAHAHHAHAHAHA - I know, I can't wait to see if I actually can or not.)
THEN we started talking about how we would take up the walk way to create a new straight path from the steps right up to the front porch.
THEN I realized that if we simply back-hoe the area right in front of the mailbox and next to the driveway, then we can pull in head first, be in the sun, be able to break up the bad part of the path with the back-hoe and the steps will be way easier as the natural slope will work in our favor! WOOOOOOO!!!!! It's not even a part of the yard we use! It will work!!!!
Now, we just need to find someone who has a back-hoe and LOVES movies, so I can do a free movies passes for a year to pay for it. Then I have to find someone who can asphalt it for the same payment! LOL! Ahhhhh fantasies.