That said, it's been a struggle the last six weeks for me to stay on track. Mainly because of stress -- there's nothing more "convenient" than working at a bakery when you are in desperate need of comfort. I accept full responsibility for the last 5 (or so) pounds I have put on since the end of October.
At least the last I knew about it was a 5 pound gain. Nothing to mope about nor worthy of shedding tears over at least.
Aside from my sneaking in of too many work cookies, Abel and I have still been following our menu board day in and day out. I'm getting in all of my veggies and fruits and I can at least be proud to report nothing has changed in that respect.
We're still incorporating the SASS Yourself Slim strategy to our meals and Abel is down at least another 5 pounds from where he was in our last weigh in. He now stands as my personal role model because even with a few holiday treats here and there he's managed to keep it all fully balanced. Something that makes me wonder if I'm in denial as to just how lax I've been with my own eating.
Nevertheless, we have set up a new challenge for ourselves to kick off 2013. After watching the documentary Vegucated on Netflix a few weeks ago we decided to try going Vegan for the month of January.
Some of you may recall we went meatless in August and quite frankly ever since then, I don't think meat of any kind has been i n our grocery cart more than 4 times. We've fallen in love with beans and chickpeas and even though we both think vegan lifestyle is too extreme for us, the documentary was more than enough to say we'd like to give it a shot.
I've seen other documentaries before and though I generally feel inspired after each of them, this one managed to hit a little deeper within my core. Mainly because of the treatment of animals.
I've heard the stories of how the animals go from the farms to our plates. "Yes animals die, lets all get over it"... that was my particular attitude towards it at least. Not once did I stop to think how they were treated or how they lived prior to their death sentence though. Believe you me I am personally not a big fan of animals in the first place (lack of a trust factor) but that doesn't mean I want them to suffer all of their lives for the sake of my breakfast.
If you haven't already seen it I would definitely recommend it. I won't go as far as saying its "life changing" but it's definitely interesting. Most of the documentary involves following three individuals who volunteer for a vegan challenge and seeing what kind of changes going vegan brings their bodies. Its interesting if nothing else.
Personally, as affected as I was by the documentary I am not about to tell you its enough to turn me around overnight vowing to never touch an animal product again but it IS enough for me to accept a 30 day challenge AND do what I can to ween myself away. The entire concept was Abels idea and he's not certain where it will take him either but I'm sure his newfound "foodie" lifestyle is quite anxious to keep trying new things and thats where his commitment will come from.
With so many "rules" to who can and cant call themselves vegan it's got me leary enough to even wonder if I can call what we are attempting "veganism" but if I may say, its the attempt and the endeavor that I stand behind, we're not here to earn badges nor entitlements to step on soap boxes. We're just here doing what we do for reasons of our own. Its a new chapter, new experience, new findings... keepint it all positive without the black and white rules that deem us as successes or failures.
That said, we'll see what January brings and I trust that any readers who may still be out there are having a wonderful holiday season!
