Hello friends, I hope you are doing well. We are busy over here with lots of home projects and homeschooling. While it has been a lot of work, I’ve enjoyed the past few weeks so much. The Lord has been so good to give me the blessings that He has.

One of the blessings that I am grateful for is my current health. It has been six months since I finally lost the baby weight from my nine pregnancies. When I was in my thirties, I had a baby almost every two years. I wasn’t careful about what I ate during this time, and over the years I gained some weight.

Now that I’m in my early-forties, I’m unsure if any more children are in my future. Once my youngest son was weaned, I felt compelled to finally get into better shape.

I felt like this wasn’t just for me, but was for my family, too. They need a mama who is healthy and active if I had the ability to be so. I realized that eating processed foods and other unhealthy things was selfish of me. It might have been the convenient way to eat, but my husband and children deserve a fit and healthy mama who would not come down with a disease when I was older based on my food and fitness choices.

So a little over one year ago, I made some changes. I now eat plant based, and I exercise for at least thirty minutes each day. I’ve cut out almost all processed food out of my diet. I’m convinced that this has helped me so much. A little over six months ago, I reached my goal weight of 108 pounds. (I am 5’2). I am thankful to have kept my weight within two pounds either direction of that number.

When the scale starts to go up a bit, the culprit is almost always too much plant based butter/oil, or processed bread. I love bread, and I sometimes over indulge in either Thomas’ Whole Wheat Bagels or Sara Lee 100% Whole Wheat Bread. I’ve realized that these items are processed, and while they may be a healthier decision than most, they still are not the best for me. I limit them when I can.

While change is hard, I absolutely love what I eat now. I’ve heard that it takes about one month for our taste buds to readjust to food. Just like other cells in our bodies, they regenerate. I made the decision to stick with my new eating plan for at least a month to let my body adjust.

I did, and after that time I no longer craved sweets like I did. In fact, a lot of times sweets are too sweet. They leave an unpleasant taste in my mouth. The same goes with greasy foods. I’ve taken a bite of these here and there over the past year, and I usually regret it.

I thought I would share a sample menu of what I eat on a given day below:

Breakfast – Chocolate Chip Granola Bar

Morning Snack – Peach

Lunch – Vegetarian Taco with Rice and Corn Chips

Afternoon Snack – Salad with Almonds and Honey Mustard Dressing + Banana/Peanut Butter/Flax Seed/Almond Milk Smoothie a couple of hours later

Dinner – Cucumber Sandwich with Mayo, Grapes, and an Apple Cinnamon Squash Muffin

I try to drink water throughout the day. I gave up all soft drinks over three years ago. This is one of the best things I could have done for my health.

I love my diet, and especially look forward to my granola bar and smoothie each day!

If you are hoping to lose weight, I know you can do it. Once I got used to the new foods I incorporated into my diet, it became easy.

Thank you so much for stopping by my blog today, friends. May the Lord bless you and your family!