Me? A VEGAN?!

So for the last month, I've been living a life without wheat. The whole wheatless thing was inspired from a book that I read called "The Wheat Belly". It was very interesting, and I enjoyed how I felt when I didn't eat an abundance of wheat like I was used to eating. It was for weightloss mostly, although I do have a skin condition that is supposed to clear up by removing wheat from my diet.

So what happened to get me to the doctor was I was getting super strict about my weightloss, I was writing down everything I ate, keeping it at 1500-2000 calories a day (I'm 6'1'', so this is cutting back for someone my size) and I was working out 5 days a week for at least 1 1/2 each day, and at the end of 2 weeks of doing this, I GAINED 7 pounds! This not only frustrated me, but got me a little worried, so I went to see my doctor. She did some blood work on me and it turns out my thyroid is on the low side of normal, nothing to freak out about, but it could be a contributing factor to my sluggish metabolism.

My doctor decided that a radical change was something that I really needed; taking out all animal products, gluten and processed food from my diet. I'm not going to lie, when she told me that she wanted me to go on a vegan gluten-free diet, I kinda freaked the fuck out. I had tried being a vegetarian once... yeah, that lasted all of 2 months. Being a vegan was way too crazy for someone like me.

 I'm doing a liver cleanse right now (doctor's orders). The cleanse consists of drinking 16 oz of room temperature apple juice for breakfast and lunch, followed by a dinner of raw fruits and vegetables, while drinking 8-10 glasses of water throughout the day. That goes on for 5 days, then on the 6th and 7th day, I have to drink a solution of water and epsom salt. This binds with the toxins in the liver, allowing you to poo out the sludge and waste being stored in your liver. It comes out as little bb sized lime green stones, and you are supposed to count them. A healthy liver will have very few, but my doctor has had patients who have had thousands. So that is my first week, after that I am on all raw fruits and veggies for another week, then I am to see my doctor again where she'll see how I've done and probably introduce nuts and beans into my diet after that.

After I'm off the strict diet that she has me on now, I think the biggest problem will be cooking. I've never cooked without using oil before: I didn't even think that was possible! I'll need to find all new recipes and try to incorporate them in my new whole foods, vegan and gluten-free life. It's life changing to say the least. But the cleanse has been awesome so far. I haven't really been hungry, because the apple juice does a good job at filling me up. I also find that I have a clear head and I wasn't tired or groggy this morning when I woke up.

I still struggle with my food addiction. My parents brought In-N-Out Burger home last night for dinner, and I had to sit there and watch them eat it and SMELL it... while I was chomping on a carrot. I can tell it's going to be a struggle. But in times of weakness, I'll just have to pop in the dvd "Forks Over Knives" to remind me why I'm doing this. I know it's good for me, but food addiction doesn't go away over night.

So that's about it. As of now I am a gluten-free vegan. Technically I'm a raw gluten-free vegan, but the raw part of that will only be for another week or so. This is a huge lifestyle change for me. I fear that it could change the dynamic of my relationship with Kris. We had, up until this point, always bonded over food. It was a big part of our lives. We love trying new restaurants and we eat out more than we should. Now everything of mine has to be made at home. It will be a huge change, but Kris has been extremely supportive and happy that I'm working so hard to get healthy. He's been great, and I appreciate his help!