6th Month Reflection

It’s been about 6 months since I started the whole food plant based diet and I love it! I feel so much better physically. I’m not as bloated as I used to be, I don’t need to worry about how much I’m eating, and I still get to enjoy the foods I loved before starting this diet by using substitutes.

I’ve finally found my core 5 meals that are my go to when the week gets busy and I don’t have time to meal prep. I’ve read a few books about being on a plant based diet, and I’ve started keeping my own recipe book with all the meals I’ve tried and loved! I finally feel comfortable with this way of eating.

When I walk into the grocery store I know exactly what I need and where to find it. I know what substitutes to use, what foods to avoid, and how to plan my meals for the week without either making too much or too little of a certain dish. To put it simply, I feel confident about eating a whole food plant based diet!

With all this being said, I have also come up with a motto when it comes to eating this way. My motto is: eat a whole food plant based diet 90% of the time and enjoy my guilty food pleasures 10% of the time. These are the foods that are processed, not vegan, or even may contain dairy. The important thing is keeping everything in moderation.

I didn’t want this diet to be one of those “oh I can’t eat that, but I really want it” diets. I wanted it to be flexible and realistic. With this approach I was able to find what foods didn’t agree with my stomach: highly processed foods and diary. These are still things I try to avoid, but let’s be real I definitely use my 10% guilty food pleasures pass.

With the 10% pass it allows me to go out to dinner with my friends and order what I want, even though I often tend to opt for the healthier options that are vegan or plant based. It also allows me to eat with my family and not have them worry about what I can and can’t eat. Like I said, I didn’t want this diet to be a burden on me or those in my life and I’ve found that this 10% rule alleviates this.

Overall I am really happy with where I am at with not only this diet, but my overall health. I feel healthier, I look healthier, and I have motivation to workout and give my body the fuel it needs. This change in my diet was hard at first, but the longer I stick with it the easier it gets. I’ve actually started craving fruits and veggies over chips. I really like this change I am starting to see with myself. I am really glad I took on this challenge of healthier eating because some of the recipes I’ve been finding lately have not disappointed me!