Happy New Year
I hope this finds you happy and healthy. A year ago I gave up bread. At first, it was reallyhard because there's bread in EVERYTHING. Seriously, I would be eating, putting something in my mouth when I would realize that I was eating BREAD (tortillas, empenadas, cake, crackers, and macaroons...doesn't look like bread, but it's bread all right). The issue wasn't that I was gluten intolerant or anything, it was that I was eating a lot of bread.
A LOT of bread. I didn't even realize how much until I tried to eliminate it from my plate. At first, it was hard, because, let's be honest, bread is AWESOME!! But, it's not food. I was looking through Pinterest and stumbled across the "Fifty not Frumpy" blog by Susan Street. She had adopted a vegan diet and mentioned that by not eating refined processed food...bread, pasta, potato...she had lost 30 pounds. I tried it and I lost about 15!
After that, I eliminated alcohol....well, drastically reduced my intake. I lost another 15 pounds. Now, I practice drinking Kombucha and water during the week, and on the weekend, I will enjoy a glass or two of wine. The real reason I did this was because I lost some very nice jewelry while drinking lots of shots of tequila. Lots of shots and expensive jewelry don't mix. Nice jewelry, jewelry that my husband had given to me. Jewelry that I miss and won't be able to replace anytime soon. That was really painful. I had to evaluate what was important in my life.
2017 is going to be the year of gratitude. I am going to live well by living simply. I am going to try to shop my closet. I am going to reduce the amount of meat that I consume. I am going to practice giving back. I am going to re-evaluate what is means to be American, what it means to be human, and what it means to be a CONSUMER.
Live simply so that others may simply live. That is my goal.
What are your goals for 2017?
What a great post! I, too, love bread and find it hard to "feel full" if I don't have some. Did it take you long to get past that feeling? I don't know if I can totally give up bread, but I sure would like to cut back! Losing 15 pounds sounds good, too!
ReplyDeleteDebbie@debbiethisandthat.com
Hi Debbie!
DeleteThat was the hardest part, retraining my brain. I mean, how are you supposed to eat a sandwich without bread? I do eat a lot of rice cakes and now I put TWO servings of vegetables AND a salad instead of bread or pasta with a steak or chicken or fish. Now, two years later, its a LOT easier to pass the fresh baked bread, but it did take a good 5-6 months of "practicing" and the results kept me going. Maybe practice for 30 days and just see what happens. Most people give up JUST before the breaking point.