Tag Archives: vegan before 6

Currently

Posted on August 18 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

There’s another fun post going around the blogosphere, it’s called “Currently.” Basically you answer a few questions on what you are currently doing. I thought it would be fun to share and give another sneaky peek into my world. Brittany at A Healthy Slice of life, also posted one recently (you can see her’s here), I thought I’d join in.

Currently Reading…

Well, I’m in the middle of two different books, but technically I’m only reading one, the other I am listening to as an audio-book. I’m reading Vegan Before 6 (yes still), life is so so busy! This is a great book and I’m trying to take my time reading it and absorbing as much as possible. I’m desperate to make a lifestyle change and this one seems like it could fit my needs very well.

I’m also in the middle of The Devil Wears Prada, this is the audio-book I am listening to. My commutes in the morning are really tough and I was starting to get REALLY stressed out with all the traffic and just being at a standstill for 30 minutes. Enter, audio-books! I thought I’d give it a try and man has it changed my stress level this week. My morning drive in is cake and on the way home (where I typically deal with heavier traffic) I am able to drive and not focus on staying in one place. It’s perfect!

Currently Watching…

Seamus and I are a little (a lot) behind the train but we started watching Dexter this week. We’re 3 episodes into the first season and I am hooked. We need to also catch up on the latest season of Mad Men, we were watching the last two seasons of 30 Rock (but put that aside for Dexter), we’re behind on New Girl and pretty soon all of our weekly shows will be back. We need more time in the day, however there are more productive ways to spend our time than TV! 😉

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Currently in Emmett’s Life…

He’s pretty much a walking pro! He still stumbles and wobbles but definitely walks more than he crawls and it seems like each day he is getting better and better. It really impresses me! He is also fully into the mimicking phase, Seamus or I will make a noise or a gesture and little Mister Emmett will attempt to do the same thing. It’s pretty adorable but now we need to be more conscious of what we say and do around him.

I was laughing SO hard at this video!!

Currently Focusing on…

Does it ever change? I seem to be in a constant state of trying to fit in exercise and eating whole clean foods. I know the secret, stop making excuses and just do it, I just seem to be stuck.

I’m also thinking of doing a road race with my bike, the breast cancer awareness ride. They have 10, 25 and 45 mile rides, I could easily do 10 or 25, I just need to decide whether I really want to challenge myself and sign-up for the 45 mile ride, not sure if I’m ready for that yet.

Currently Listening to…

The fish tank’s air pump running. Emmett’s asleep, Seamus is playing video games and the TV is off. I love being a mom but having this quiet time at night is lovely.

Currently Enjoying…

Blogging. Seriously! I have been really into blogging and coming up with different blog ideas. Anytime I’m not working, my brain is running off, thinking about new things I can do with my blog. I hope all of you are enjoying my posts as much as I have been enjoying writing them lately.

Also, this bag! I have been using a rolley bag since I was about 6 months pregnant and I’ve been wanting to stop using it for about 4 months but haven’t found the exact bag that I want. When I saw this, I knew it was the one, the issue is the cost. I need to fit it into my budget without taking money away from bills, so I keep on waiting. Anyone want to buy it for me!? 😉

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Currently Giggling at…

My neighbors across the street, they’re yelling at their dog like it is a child. The dog is on his chain and ran to the opposite side of the house and the owner yells, “DON’T MAKE ME COME OVER THERE!” I was sitting on my porch and I literally laughed out loud. How silly!

Also this…

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I love pugs!

Your turn!

What are you currently doing?

Does anyone have any suggestions for a bag that can be used for a laptop bag and a gym bag?

Filed Under: All About Me, Daily Updates, Family

30 Day Vegan Challenge – Week 4

Posted on July 20 by Jillian416 • 0 Comments

This a week late, I apologize! There’s just a million things going on and that I want to write about, trying to get through them all leads to some articles being delayed.

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As you can probably tell from my most recent food posts, I’ve gone back to my old way of eating. Well, that’s not technically true, I’m aiming to eat less meat and dairy and stick to a cleaner (that is fewer processed foods) diet, but I have added some meat, dairy and definitely eggs back in.

You’re probably wondering if I feel any different or if it made me feel better or worse, right? If I’m being honest, when I stuck to the vegan diet religiously without any slip-ups, I felt really great. I could tell my blood pressure was normal (lack of a racing heart when I’d get stressed) and any excess water weight I’d been carrying around had disappeared. My clothes fit better, my rings circled around (I love when this happens) and overall, I felt really positive.

My guess is that you’re probably wondering why I decided to stop eating vegan and go back to regular eating if I’m talking about all those positives. That’s simple, I felt myself starting to slip. Towards the end all I could think about eating was an egg with a runny yolk being soaked up by bread. When I start getting consumed by those thoughts, I know I’m losing control and in order to maintain a healthy(ish) diet, I need to add those foods that I’m craving back in, just in moderation.

Do I feel like I gave my all to this challenge? In a word, no. I definitely did not give this challenge my all, my husband can testify to that. I complained constantly about not being able to have the delicious smelling chicken he had made for him and Emmett or about how I was getting bored of beans (though, I love beans and could eat them everyday). So all I could think about for pretty much the last 2 weeks was being done, and resuming my regularly scheduled diet and that’s not really fair to the challenge. The issue wasn’t with the challenge itself but with my inability to stick with anything.

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I want to try again, but I want to take a different approach this time. Cutting these items out cold turkey may work for some and maybe even the majority but I don’t succeed that way. I’m currently in the midst of reading Vegan Before 6, by Mark Bittman. From what I’ve read so far, the concept is pretty simple, you follow a whole foods plant based diet until 6 pm, and then for dinner you enjoy whatever kinds of foods you want. Just a side note, the time 6 is just a number, basically you follow a vegan diet until your dinner and then eat whatever you want. I will do a full review of the book once I’ve completed it and have put the diet into practice for a few weeks. While following VB6 (as it is often referred to), I won’t put a time limit on it. If I follow it and love it, then I’ll just keep on going. By putting the 30 days on something, I am telling myself that I can quit in that time-frame rather than sticking with it until it either becomes habit or doesn’t work any longer.

Do I recommend the 30 Day Vegan Challenge? Absolutely! I learned a heck of a lot through the entire month and I also experimented with different foods that I previously would have never tried. If you do well with cutting foods out cold turkey, then this will absolutely work for you and I 100% endorse the challenge and you giving it a try.

I wish I had a more positive final post for this challenge, but I’m working on it and little by little I will get to where I want to be. I’m just still finding my path.

Have you given any new challenges a try?

In case you missed it, you can read Week 1, Week 2 and Week 3 here.

Filed Under: 30 Day Vegan Challenge, Food & Recipes