Jessica D.

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I completed my first 30 days yesterday. Although Julie encourages us to throw away the scale, I’m not yet ready to part with it. I do recognize however that I’ve given it far too much power in the past, letting it determine the type of day/week I’m going to have and my confidence in my eating plan. So I decided to only weigh in every 30 days.

I am down 13 lbs and 2 inches from my stomach (didn’t measure anywhere else… may do that for this next month).
I feel pretty good! In 2014 I went WFPB for the entire year, actually starting Dec 25th, 2013. I stayed technically 100% but pushed the boundaries immensely and was not eating veggies; I dealt with constant food cravings the more I pushed the boundaries… making meals out of an entire pound of pasta or 2 ciabatta loaves with Simply Lemonade. I began with over 200 pounds to lose and lost about 70 altogether. Then I went off plan for about 2 or 2 1/2 months earlier this year (2015) and regained 20 lbs. I felt miserable! Sick, fat, bloated, lethargic, depressed. It was just awful. And I didn’t feel much hope.

I had heard of PD before and seen a video of Julie making a recipe but it wasn’t until I heard her on a podcast with Chef AJ that I realized all that this plan actually had to offer and joined. I began PD on April 26, 2015.

Eating the 50/50 plate makes me feel so much better inside! I have seen a great improvement in my IBS which is crazy because I thought I had to eat low-FODMAP to achieve that. Maybe it was the food additives all along?! I haven’t used an fresh onion (but plenty of chopped, dried onion and onion powder). However I use A LOT of garlic… mostly roasted, sometimes fresh. Garlic and onion are the #1 IBS culprits. So this is unexpected and wonderful, to get some significant relief just from eating PD.

I am definitely challenged with emotional overeating. I especially overeat when procrastinating. The coaching videos have helped me to become more aware of this and put a name to what I’m doing and feeling. I think it was around 2 1/2-3 weeks that I started incorporating the 50/50 plate at dinner (I was pretty much doing it at lunch because I’ve been eating salad-in-a-jar with a starch and a piece of fruit for lunch every workday at least and the same or similar most non-work days). That helped me a lot with feeling more satisfied and also just feeling… better. More well. In the last several days as I’ve realized I was quickly approaching the end of my 30 days when the goal was to “get through it” to get over the addictions and I felt I had permission not to worry about how much I ate (overate) yet, I started having major emotional cravings for sweets…. I’ve found that I’ll bake a batch of breakfast brownies and eat the entire batch in a day or two. Likewise with the mini fruit pies. Interestingly, I made the brownies when I had a family member staying with me a couple weeks ago and I only at two. I didn’t feel the craving for them because I was socially engaged! (I live alone). I have found recently that I want to make a frosty like all the time (not having enough frozen bananas prevents this) and yet they don’t taste as amazing as they did the at first… I think this is because I’m eating them when I’m not actually hungry, just emotionally hungry.

Now I know that emotional eating is not an excuse. And now that I’m past the first 30 days and no longer physically addicted to food, its time to work on that and on recognizing true hunger and especially on learning to stop eating when I’m full and satisfied. I tend to want to go to bed with the really over-stuffed feeling. So I know what I need to do and where to go next. I think I’ve watched/listened to all of the coaching videos at this point, many more than once. I find it helpful to just keep reviewing.
The things I love most about PD right now are:

1. The coaching videos are awesome because even though intellectually I know the principles and science behind a WFPB diet, Julie Marie Christensen has this way of putting words to my experiences so that I better understand what I’ve been feeling and thinking and doing. Its so empowering! And it feels hopeful to know that others have had these experiences too, with overeating and obesity and ill health, and have been able to overcome them with PD and reach their ideal weight and optimal health.
2. The recipes are amazing! Just last night I was thinking how I used to always have tons of cookbooks (actually I still do have many more than I need or use, but they’re all WFPB now) and I didn’t really make use of them much because I didn’t have the kitchen know-how for cooking techniques and because many required a lot of time and a long list of ingredients, and because often I’d have to buy a special ingredient (or more than one) and then never have a use for it again. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how Julie teaches us to stalk a Protective Diet pantry and how the same health-promoting pantry ingredients are used over and over again. I’m still working out and learning how much produce to buy from week to week but its all working out very well! I can’t really complain about an extra trip to the store for more spinach or parsley now can I?
3. This support group is amazing. I belong to some other WFPB support groups. Some are great but some just have so much drama happening in them. I don’t think I ever really realized that until I saw the contrast here. The atmosphere among the people here feels peaceful and, well, supportive.

All for now… I’m ready to start my Day 31.

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