Why I Do It

Have you ever seen 2 cuter kids? I think not. That top picture of A was a total fluke, I swear! She was playing outside, sat up, looked at me and smiled. I just happened to get the shot, I love it!
S is being Super Why for Halloween this year. That is him on his airplane flying, see the cape flying in the back? It's awesome!!! I wish I had the imagination of a 3 year old!!

So, I am changing my life, pretty drastically, but very much for the better. My sister-in-law, Stephanie, told me about a book, Eat to Live. At first I was really skeptical. I thought that it was just another weight loss scheme, something that never really works for me. Sure, it works in the short term but what happens when you go back to eating the way you always have? Well, with this, you don't. You completely change your life, your eating habits, and your health. You eat so that you can live longer and healthier. The weight loss part is just a nice benefit. In the last 6 weeks Stephanie has been vegan. She has lost 21 lbs. She feels better than she ever has. So, J and I are going to do this. We got the book this weekend and have been reading it. It really is interesting how closely it parallels the Word of Wisdom, something, that as an LDS culture, we adhere very closely to. The problem is that we usually just say no coffee, tea, alcohol, drugs or cigarettes. We so quickly forget the part about eating meat sparingly, in times of cold or famine. For a long time now, I've thought if I could just live the Word of Wisdom completely, I would be healthier and would lose weight. I just never knew how to do it. Now I do! I am really excited.

So, for the next 6 weeks I will be vegan (with the exception of Thanksgiving when I will have one piece of prime rib). I will also have very limited grains (1 C. a day) and no sweets (except for 1 piece of the vegan chocolate pumpkin pie I will be making).

J has a cold right now, usually he gets one in the fall and it lasts through spring allergy season. I think that by us changing the way we eat, he will be better very quickly. We have not eaten any meat this week although we will tonight. We are officially starting on Saturday. After the first 6 weeks, we will then go to the 90/10 lifestyle. 90% of the time we will eat vegan, and 10% we will be able to have dairy and meat. So, he doesn't have to give up his BBQ and I don't have to give up my ice cream :)

Honestly, just in doing this for a couple of days, I am already feeling better. And my kids love it! Well, S is having a harder time than A, but he is getting used to it. He even had, and enjoyed, a green smoothie this morning!

So, back to the title of this post, why I do it...for them. I do it all for my children. I want to instill in them good eating habits. I don't want them to have to change these habits when they are 30-somethings. I don't want them to struggle with their weight their entire lives like I have. I want so much more for them. I want them to be healthy, and I truly believe this is an excellent way to do it.

So...wish me luck. If you have any good vegan recipes you want to share also, please pass them along!!!