Goodbye Jiggle: Leaving My Fat Behind in First Year: June 2013

So today my update is all encompassing covering my stats, food choices, and finally some visual progress.

Let's get the stats out of the way first.

Weight: 108 lb.

Bust: 34 in.

Waist: 24 in.

Hips: 34.5 in.

I am pleased.

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If you weren't already aware, I'm a vegan. It's been just over 5.5 months officially. Although sometimes it feels shorter than that. Other times it seems like I've been doing it forever. It feels longer than less than 6 months because the lifestyle is so natural to me. It's almost always cheaper for me, I rarely feel super heavy and bloated after my meals, my skin is softer and clearer, I feel a step closer to compassion, and I feel like I'm doing something positive for the world (people, animals, the environment, etc.) Of course I could just as easily have chosen to become a token "junk food vegan" who grazes solely on white carbs, chips, soy ice cream, processed soy patties, veggie deli meats, crackers, breakfast cereals, soy cheese, fries, etc. and on occasion munches on a carrot or banana... But that wasn't the route for me. I'm not saying I'm perfect because I'm obviously not. I still have the odd binge on a bag of chips (although I don't think I've done this since perhaps February so go me!) and I some of my "staples" are processed foods that come in packages (I'm always trying to reduce this though). Examples of some common packaged, processed foods I have in my fridge/pantry right now: unsweetened almond milk, Clif bars, falafel balls, and ketchup. You might be rolling your eyes at this list... But seriously. Once you adopt a whole-foods, clean-eating, plant-based diet (more like, lifestyle), you see everything in a new light. You're constantly thinking "hmm could I make these at home?" and "if I can't make these at home, then I probably shouldn't be eating them at all, right?" However, convenience is such a virtue. Yes, I can make homemade versions of my store-bought almond milk, Clif bars, falafel, and ketchup; however, I don't have the time. Nor do I have the desire to do so. With my lifestyle, I do what I can. I eat clean, whole-foods about 80-95% of the time. I eat vegan 98% of the time (2% accounting mainly for meals out of the house where I can only do my best to research and trust those who feed me... but I'm sure since going vegan that I've probably consumed a tablespoon or so of unsuspecting honey or some shrimp paste in a "vegetarian" Thai curry). Whatever.

Ok that paragraph ballooned out of nowhere! Onwards!

Here's a list some of my favorite more recent meals.

Oatmeal. Every morning (except when I go on green smoothie kicks). Banana cinnamon walnut, apple cinnamon flax, strawberry vanilla, sweet potato cinnamon, etc. But my favorite of late is: 1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup frozen mixed berries (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries... antioxidants oh my!), half a ripe banana OR teaspoon of maple syrup (depending on whether my bananas are still green or not), 1/2 teaspoon chia seeds, 1/2 teaspoon flax seeds, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and perhaps... 7 almonds... but who's counting? Mix it all up with water, microwave 2.5 minutes and mm mm mm!
Chia seed pudding. Little bowl or cup to eat from... I use ramekins. Tablespoon or two of black chia seeds. Almond milk. The rest is your imagination. Banana cinnamon vanilla. Chocolate maple raspberry. Banana chocolate date. Strawberry banana vanilla. They're all good.
Mango lassi. Ripe cold (frozen) mango. Almond milk. Almond yogurt. Some ice. Pinch of cardamom. Pinch of cinnamon. Blend and enjoy.
Green smoothies. You know the drill. Almond milk or water. Banana. Kale. Spinach. Cucumber. Berries. Melon. Apple. Mango. Peach. Kiwi. Oranges. The possibilities are endless. Good non-fruit/veggie additions are spices (vanilla, cinnamon, ginger), oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, cocoa powder, peanut butter, etc.
Baked sweet potato. Stuffed with tablespoon of cranberries and tablespoon of pumpkin seeds and a dash of cinnamon. Yummy!
Burgers. Anything from marinated tofu to sweet potato, lentils, and quinoa to black beans, brown rice, and corn. Delicious with ketchup but also hummus, mustard, salsa, guacamole, plain, or crumbled into a salad!
Quinoa pilafs. Basically quinoa and whatever the heck else I want to stick in it. Dried fruit, nuts, seeds, spices, herbs, vegetables of all kinds (zucchini, onion, cucumber, tomato, avocado, sweet potato, peppers, mushrooms, blah blah blah). Hey even fruits! Oranges are a cool twist. So are apples!
Brown rice. All sorts of options with this whole-grain staple. Stir fries. Pilafs. In burgers. And then there's also brown rice pasta for gluten free penne dinners. Oh la la.
Salads. Romaine. Kale. Chicory. Cabbage. Arugula. Spinach. Mushrooms. Peppers. Tomatoes. Cucumbers. Then, to make more filling sometimes I add one or more of these: cold (sweet) potatoes, crumbled falafel, crumbled veggie burgers, avocado, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.
Chickpea flour pancakes. I wish I had gotten into these sooner. About a 1/3 cup of chickpea flour mixed with equal parts water and a little Herbes de Provence, cooked on a skillet with a bit of olive oil, then flipped half way through. Constituency somewhere between a breakfast pancake, a tortilla, and a piece of naan. From there you can top it like a pizza and stick it in the oven under the broiler. Or cut it up like pita triangles and dip it in hummus. Or fold it over with some veggies inside like an omelet. Or use it to deliver some fresh guacamole to your mouth. Or eat it plain. These things are seriously versatile. And eventually I plan on experimenting to see if they taste good as a sweet pancake. Perhaps a chocolate banana chickpea pancake? We'll see. But for now I'm loving them because they're quick, easy, versatile, and filling for their calorie content (a 1/3 cup chickpea flour is about 150 calories and high in fiber and protein!)

I could go on and on about other foods I love to make/eat. But if I ever want to wrap up this post I'm going to have to end it there. If you've gathered anything about that list though, I hope it's that I'm not starving and I have lots of variety on my clean eating, vegan diet. Not only am I not starving, but I'm getting loads of nutritional benefits.

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Now, visual progress. First I'm going to do some before and afters. The befores I have already posted on my blog. But I'll post them again for easily comparison.

1. This picture was a year ago. I used it in my first real post from August but it's actually from June and I am around 138 lb in it. This morning I replicated the picture. The shirt is a bit loose although I still wear it. The capris I'm not sure why I still own because if I wasn't posing still for a picture, they would fall right down on me to the ground. One year, 30 lb, folks. And the funny thing is that you really don't realize how big you were until you compare it with what you are now. At the time of the first picture I knew I could stand to lose a few, but I thought I looked fine. Looking back, I want to kick myself for not realizing how unhealthy I looked.

June 2012 - 138 lb.

June 2013 - 108 lb.

Now, bikini pics. I posted a before/after bikini pic already. But now I have two more pics to share. The transformation is obvious from the first set to the second set. Within the second set, the difference between March and June is quite subtle, but it's worth noting I'm about 8 lb lighter in June. I think my midsection is a tad more toned, legs a bit smaller, and arms a smidge smaller. But maybe that's just me.

The first one is July 2012, the second is December 2012.