I can’t wait to write about my Vegan Valentine’s and all the new info I learned just from one day of experimenting.

BUT…

I told myself I would do some sort of record keeping. Some sort of measurement of my progress.

As a teacher (at heart) I am pretty fucking sensitive to measures and tests. Children often get summed up by a test score. And it often doesn’t look good, and it often doesn’t give a real sense of the progress they have made.

So I want to be careful in how I judge and weigh myself here. Clearly, the easiest answer is to track my weight. If I think my weight is holding me back, I should track if I am losing any.

But just like my former students, there is much more to me than a number. There is much more to this journey than a number.

So what really matters?

For my students, I feel like it matters what NEW things they can do (what they have accomplished), and what fuel they have been feeding their brain. Did they memorize a fact, or did they do an experiment so they truly understand the reasoning behind the fact?

What have I accomplished and what fuel have I been feeding my body?

For now, I think I will measure the following: plant-based and meat-based meals, exercise, eating in and eating out, treats, low body performance moments, and new accomplishments. I hope most of these are self-explanatory. Eating in must be better for me than eating out for no other reason than portion control. I think eating more plant-based meals will be better for my body in many ways. Sweets are clearly not a healthy choice. I also want to keep track of what makes my body feel bad, but also what it accomplishes each week.

Week 1.

Out of 21 meals… (3 meals a day x 7 days a week)

Plant-based- 4

Meat-based-17

Eating Out- 10

Eating In- 11

Treats- 15 (and this is moments of treating, NOT number of treats. Each moment might have involved a couple of cookies, not just one)

Workouts- 3

Low Body Moment: Eating mainly waffles for breakfast. Afterwards, I wanted to curl up and die/fall back asleep. Food should be energizing. If it makes me wanna go back to bed 30 minutes later, I’m doing it wrong. Damn refined carbs.

Accomplishment: By my 3rd walk around the neighborhood, it actually felt doable. I can get my body to move.

What do I make of all this?

Goals for this week:

1. Lay off the sweets. Aim for one sweet a day instead of indulging twice a day. Jeez EJ.
2. Plant-based- Three out of the 4 were me shoving a banana with peanut butter in my mouth as I ran out the door. This is not a meal and shouldn’t really count. Goal–eat full meals. 
3. Workouts- Keep it up. It’s a slow start, but it had to start somewhere.

So it’s not just about the number on the scale. It’s about making healthy choices, building a new lifestyle. This is week one. This is where I am. And now I have a better picture of where I need to go.

Come check back tomorrow to read all about my Vegan Valentine’s Day. It was nuts. And exhausting. Is cooking a workout?