Fail #1

Went shopping today all ready to get this diet thing rolling. Big disappointment! First let me confess: I've already cheated. Yeah yeah it's only been a few days lol but been dealing with a migraine and didn't have much in the house that I could eat so hubby and the kids wanted pizza. I may or may not have slipped a piece of cheese pizza. Being a vegetarian is cake (mmmm cake...) not having a problem at all with that part. This no dairy or gluten stuff is so HARD though! Never realized how much of it I ate. Seems like everything has it in it. Even the things you'd never think of has it in it. Geez...

Friday night hubby stopped by Jason's deli for dinner. He was being nice so I wouldn't have to cook since I wasn't feeling well. I said you know, just get me a salad thinking that was simple enough. Poor guy really did try which is great but I've yapped about it enough I thought he'd know what not to put on it. He came back with a HUGE salad loaded with all kinds of great veggies and cheese with ranch dressing lol. I felt bad that he tried so hard so I ate it anyway... tasted awesome too! I'm taking it slow and not as strict as I'd like but I guess that comes with time.

On to the shopping... ugh. Went to Aldi to load up on fruits and veggies like I always do. They're way cheaper there. Didn't know that on Sundays they don't open till noon. It was 10:30. Sigh. Headed out to my usual supermarket, roamed around for an hour and was so discouraged at the pitiful selection of both vegan and gluten free products. Seemed like everything I picked up that was vegan, like the veggie burgers and things like that, had gluten in it. And a lot of the gluten-free things had eggs. I know I'm a noob at this and it's going to take time but I was sooo frustrated! Did break down and got some veggie burgers. It's not gluten free, plus it has egg and milk ingredients but whatever, I'll make do with what I got. It's a start anyway and i have plenty of fresh fruits and veggies to make do. May try Earth Fare next week. Not really a fan but there's not many other options around here. Having to do it on a budget with having to feed 2 little guys and a husband. May be frustrating but it's kind of fun, I'm having to be resourceful and creative. I like that! Finding some great recipes online too so I'll need to give those a try and see how those turn out. Hubby suggested that I give up caffeine while I'm at it. I asked him if he wanted to live. He said yes so I'm keeping my caffeine.

Ok so I just proof read this post and yes I realize that it's all over the place and I was rambling. But I'm too exhausted to go back and redo it so forgive me mmk? Thanks!

Lent and a new lifestyle

Lent starts today. Usually wouldn't mean  a whole lot to me, I've never participated in Lent but someone asked what I was going to give up for Lent and it really made me think. How many things I could give up... chocolate? Nah, not a big chocolate fan. Soda? Possibly but doesn't seem like that much of a sacrifice really. So I thought, well I've been thinking of switching to veganism for awhile so why not give it a shot now. I was thinking just becoming a vegetarian first and gradually working my way up to the rest. I might go crazy if I try it all at once but that's the beauty of it... I'm sure I'll fail at times, cheat occasionally, want to quit. But I'll post all my failures right here for y'all to see, we'll have a laugh and I'll get back to it!

Hubby of course thinks I'm insane, he was asking why would you want to do that? I don't understand... Even though I've tried to explain to him several times that this diet, lifestyle change, whatever you want to call it is a good way to try and get a handle on this arthritis (I'm terrible at taking my meds. Always have been so I've been looking to try alternative methods of relief. Btw, yoga is AMAZING for arthritis!). He was trying to argue with me this morning about it saying that changing my diet won't help, yada, yada... The wife/mom/woman/annoying know it all in me had to prove him wrong and showed him the research that proves my point. It shut him up although he warned me not to try and get him to try it. He's a freakin' carnivore and there's no way of forcing him to eat anything green lol. So I'm on my own, lets see how it goes! I'll be keeping a detailed diary and doing a little research of my own to track flare ups, trying to find those certain things that trigger them and cut them out. From what I've read it seems that almost all my favorite foods are flare up culprits haha figures! With that I'll leave you with a list of the foods I shouldn't eat along with one of the links of my "Told you so" research to hubby ;) LETS DO THIS YO!!! I'm ready!

From the website:  http://pcrm.org/health/health-topics/foods-and-arthritis

"It is not recommended to bring meats, dairy products, or eggs back into your diet. Not only are they major triggers, but they also encourage hormone imbalances that may contribute to joint pain, and also lead to many other health problems."

Avoid Major Arthritis Triggers

1. Dairy products*

2. Corn

3. Meats**

4. Wheat, oats, rye

5. Eggs

6. Citrus fruits

7. Potatoes

8. Tomatoes

9. Nuts

10. Coffee

*All dairy products should be avoided: skim or whole cow’s milk, goat’s milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.

**All meats should be avoided: beef, pork, chicken, turkey, fish, etc.

Also check out:  http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/101017.php