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Tag: Body image

Stress: That Sneaky Culprit

So Delicious Cashew Milk Salted Caramel Cluster Frozen DessertSo it happened. I wondered if it would. And it did. The stress finally caught up to me: the stress of finishing a big work project while packing to move; moving day, accompanied by the worry of how I am going to afford to buy furniture (I have virtually none); being on my own, alone, in my own place, with everything I own piled up in boxes around me, for the first time since the late 90s. I thought I was handling it. I really did. But last night I snapped and ate a whole carton of ice cream.

The entire concept of my whole-foods mission went out the window. Highly-processed with Iots of sugar and fat, you say? Bring it on. Yep, I scarfed back a full tub of So Delicious Dairy-free Cashew-milk Salted Caramel Cluster. Not all in one sitting, mind you. But all in one evening. Because that’s so much more dignified. Oh, and I quaffed a bottle of rootbeer. Artisanal, family-owned, small-batch brewed, of course—nothing but the most pretentious of rootbeers for me when I’m self-medicating with food. But I’m not fooling anyone; we all know it’s still just pop. Might as well be mainlining sugar. Sigh.

So what’s a girl to do? I thought I had the answer. My first class of Beginner’s Yoga that I had signed up for at my new community centre was the next morning. Perfect. Mitigate the damage with some soul-soothing yoga. Good plan. I hit the snooze button a few too many times but managed to finally drag my ass out of bed and get organized. Not a moment to spare. Then I looked up my registration receipt and noticed that I had the time wrong; there was no hope of making it to the class on time. Arghhh. Best laid plans. “Well, I’m up and all dressed in workout gear,” I thought. “I’ll go for a walk.” But first lemme just lay back down for a few minutes. I’ll just close my eyes for half an hour and then head out. Right. I’ve heard that one before. Finally rolled out of bed at 2pm. Yep, mid-afternoon.

So how does one rescue a shitty day? With cupcakes, of course! I spent what was left of the afternoon exploring my new neighbourhood and stumbled upon a fabulous vegan cupcake bakery. Lemon cupcake? Yes, please. Oh, and a chocolate-vanilla one too. The only saving grace is said bakery is 16 blocks from my house. So there was some walking involved.

Thankfully there is a happy ending to my story. After gobbling up the aforementioned cupcakes, I jolted my body back to a whole-foods plant-based (WFPB) reality with a big kale salad and some quinoa & black bean salad. This is the only strategy that actually works to get me back on the healthy path. Recalibrate. Pressing the reset button. Whatever you want to call it, my body is reminded of what real food tastes like. Because I never feel great after I eat highly-processed foods—whether it’s cupcakes, ice cream, fried foods, donuts, whatever my poison of choice—I’m always tired and lethargic with a slightly off-kilter digestive system afterwards.

Putting suboptimal foods in my body not only stresses my physical body but it messes with my mental and emotional health too. I sleep too much, either sleeping in or napping a lot. Negative thoughts about my body run rampant in my head. Stresses and worries are disproportionately heightened. Obstacles suddenly seem insurmountable. So it’s critical to shake the processed-food blues as soon as possible or I start spinning down a scary vortex. And the secret is a hit of WFPB foods. Kale and black beans to the rescue. Give it a try and see if you can wake up from that processed-food coma.

The Power of the Pound: How to Avoid Being Bullied by the Scale

When I started Project Squishyplum, weight loss was not a primary motivating factor for adopting a whole-food, plant-based (WFPB) diet. My main goal was simply to feel better and more energetic in my body. I did anticipate, however, that eating the WFPB way would lead to some weight loss. After all, whole plant foods are definitely poster children for a super nutritious and healthy diet. And by eating fewer processed foods and less junk, I surmised I would effortlessly consume less calories, provide my body with the right kind of fuel, and start moving towards my new healthy normal weight, naturally. And I was right.

The scale started to move. A pound or two each week. Slow and steady. And I was pleased. But then the holidays arrived and brought with them all the glories of wine and Christmas cookies and dark chocolate – all vegan, mind you, but still. The scale stopped moving. And then it went in the wrong direction. That was when I realized that, although I was only weighing myself once per week, I was letting that number on the scale dictate how I felt about myself for the rest of the week. This was not good. And definitely not in the spirit of WFPB living.

Fit from Within coverI am not a Skinny Minnie, to coin my mother’s term. And according to BMI charts and medical parameters, I am not at an ideal weight. Certainly, I’d be happy to drop a few pounds but it’s not like I’m a cheeseburger away from a heart attack, as Joe Cross of Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead fame likes to say.

I have a pretty healthy body image — I genuinely embrace my curves and am blessed with a partner who loves my body and makes me feel sexy — but it hasn’t always been this way. In my early thirties, struggling with a serious weight gain, I read a book that made a significant difference in my relationship with my body: “Fit from Within: 101 Simple Secrets to Changing Your Body and Your Life — Starting Today and Lasting Forever” by Victoria Moran.

And now, more than 10 years later, our paths serendipitously cross again. Moran is the co-founder of Main Street Vegan – a book, a podcast, a vegan lifestyle coaching program. Just makes sense that she also turned to a plant-based lifestyle to make peace with her body. And became healthier, lighter, and happier in the process.

So I’ve put away the scale. Relegated it to the storage locker, alongside the Christmas ornaments and garden tools. For now, I’m going to measure my progress in yoga classes and Pilates sessions and walks along the seawall. And remember that the ultimate goal is TO FEEL GOOD!

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