1 month already???

Wow, as I sit here and reflect back on this first month into this journey. I am proud of my progress. Before I started, I set some goals as to what I wanted to do this first month:

1. Eliminate my soda addiction
2. Switch from cow’s milk to non-cow’s milk (almond, cashew, coconut)
3. Limit the amount of red meat I ate
4. Cut my diary consumption in half
5. Eat a heavy plant-based diet
6. Exercise

I am happy to say I have eliminated soda completely. Now, that doesn’t mean I don’t drink any caffeine. I drink 1 cup off coffee in the morning or green tea (hot or cold – depending on my mood). I now drink Almond milk instead of cow’s milk. I haven’t had any red meat in about 3 weeks. I have cut my dairy to my yogurt with my overnight oats & a sprinkle of cheese on my veggies or potatoes occasionally. I eat lots of veggies – more than half my plate is veggies. I am trying lots of new recipes.

I have to say just making those few changes I am already seeing a difference. You might be wondering what changes I am seeing. Well, let me take you back to before I started this journey. Here are some of the symptoms I had everyday: flank pain on my left side, Urinary Tract – urgency, frequency, discomfort urinating, constant nausea, loss of appetite, confusion, extreme fatigue, abdominal pain & bloating, swelling in my legs, and muscle pain. Those are the ones I dealt with daily.

Now a month later, some of these symptoms have gotten better and some are just ones I will have to learn to live with. For instant, I no longer have any Urinary tract symptoms, the confusion has gotten better and so had the extreme fatigue. My dietician tells me that the muscle pain will continue to get better as my body continues to get rid of the build up of toxins my body has stored. I am learning to deal with the constant discomfort in my flank and Right Upper abdomen.

I am proud to say I have lost inches from my waist and hips. Even the scale is down 10 pounds. I have several more inches and pounds to go. But I am proud I actually lost and didn’t gain more weight. This month hasn’t been without set backs. However, I can say I didn’t once think about quitting. I just refocused myself and picked up where I stumbled. By stumbled, I mean I quick meal prepping. That was a big stumble for me for the simple reason once the food was readily available I found myself wanting to grab things that weren’t as healthy for me.  Even this I have overcome with the help of having salad mixes and celery on eat to munch on.

Exercise has been a little harder for me. As it wipes me out completely and takes a couple days to recover from the exhaustion and muscle pain. So, right now I am focusing on increasing my steps each week by 1,000 steps. I have started doing yoga and some pilates. This has been much easier to stay activity for me. Instead of trying to do squats, jumping  jacks, crunches, cardio and weight training. Little steps will get me to the big steps one day soon.