Losing Weight (Almost) Effortlessly

Going to Hawaii at the end of June has definitely helped with my motivation in terms of fitness and losing the extra pounds. I'm not a dieter, though, and know I never could be as I resist major changes so much, so I had no choice but to figure out easy lifestyle changes that I could make that would help me lose the weight.

So far, I have noticed a pattern that is almost 100% consistent: if I don't eat late evening, my weight is likely to be lower in the morning. What I mean by that is this: When I was eating snacks every night, my weight wasn't budging and I would sometimes even weigh more in the morning. I've had more and more evenings of not snacking after... not sure what time... 7? 8 at the latest... and my weight seems to go down or stay on the lower end when I do that. I ate a ton of food yesterday, including two (small) pieces of cake after supper (but probably before 7:30) and was certain my weight would be up this morning, but it was actually the lowest it's been in ages. I used to eat supper and often wait until late evening to have that extra little something, but I've been having the extra little something earlier and it seems to be making a difference.

My theory is that my body retains water more easily if I'm snacking later in the evening. I don't know if it's the particular foods I'm snacking on or just that my body gets more time to deal with the food before I go to sleep, but I honestly don't think I've lost 6-8 lbs of fat in the past few weeks (yes! I've lost that much!) and certainly didn't lose a pound of fat in a day, and in a day where I ate lots of Easter food. But another clue to it being water and my eating late night having something to do with water retention in my system is that I did not drink a whole lot yesterday, which might normally have gotten me feeling dehydrated and puffy, but I did not feel puffy at all this morning.

Omitting the late-evening snacking hasn't been the only thing I've done, though, and since what I've done might work for someone else, too, I thought I would share.

First thing is I've cut back on portion sizes a bit. I realized I was eating the amount I was eating out of habit and not out of hunger. Just cutting back a little bit on cereal in the morning, or not finishing the last bites of something (you know, the "I don't want it to go to waste so I might as well finish it"--well, it's either going to go to waste in the garbage or on your body!) I'm sure have helped. Not only that, but it's been a few weeks of that and I've hit a point where I'm much more sensitive to needing to stop eating, of not crossing that line between being satisfied and feeling full or overfull. I will often have some cereal left (need to cut back a little more, apparently!) and am not as bothered by throwing out stuff from my plate anymore. I didn't realize just how much I would finish stuff off just because it was there or I figured I "should." Any amount of food that is beyond what we need is going to get stored. (Yes, if you tell your kids to finish off the food on their plates, you might reconsider and have them figure out if they have had enough to eat. No good developping a habit of eating more than we need just to finish off the plate!)

A very simple thing I've done for cutting back is on treats. Take something like Oreos: I'll still have some, but instead of taking 2, I'll just take 1. At first, I had the rule that I would just start with one and if I really wanted the second one, I could go back and get it. I rarely did go back for the second because it was a hassle (the rule involves closing the package and putting it fully away before eating the first) and if I savoured the one treat, I was fine and didn't feel any need for the second. Now, I'm satisfied with just one and have even gotten to a point of not wanting them as much. Which is why we still have packages of Oreos in the house after more than a month. I'm well aware that I am typically their primary consumer in our house. This could fit in with the idea of cutting back on portion sizes, I suppose!

I'm not counting calories, but I am being much more aware of the junk calories. I wanted something to eat as a snack the other night and was going to go for PopTarts. I normally like to eat 2 of them. I then read the label: 200 calories per blueberry PopTart. Well, yikes. Good deterrant to the junk. I can't remember what I ended up actually eating, if it was something healthy or another junk item with fewer calories, but let's just say that I'm no longer going through PopTarts the way I used to.

And I also try at times to crowd out the less healthy stuff by first eating healthy stuff: melon cubes in the morning before eating something else, a salad at lunch before eating something else... Fill myself up at times with healthy, nutrient-dense stuff so that I don't have as much room for the other stuff.

Does this seem ridiculously simple? It is. I didn't make all of these changes at the same time (remember: I don't do well with major changes!), but in a nutshell:

1. Cut back on portion sizes. Not going to extremes, just a bit at first and keep cutting back as needed to truly satisfy the appetite and not the habit.
2. Think about the calories when you do want that extra little something and see if you can opt for something lower calorie--or healthier.
3. No late-evening snacking. Not only will this help cut back on calories.
4. Think healthy first--doesn't have to be only healthy, but get the healthy foods in first.

Do I always cut back? Never eat extra treats? No. Just mostly. My desire to see my body change is greater  (most of the time) than my desire to give into certain habits. And since they say that most weight loss is 80% due to diet... I'm paying attention to what I can almost effortlessly change.

Are you going to try these out? If you do and see results, come back and share! :D Do you have other easy tips for readers that have worked for you?

Oy.

Definition of OY

—used especially to express exasperation or dismay <oy, what a mess>

From the Merriam-Webster online dictionary

As I sit here working on the laptop with the TV on in the background, there are commercials running that I'm not paying too much attention to. Then something in one of them catches my eye. Not in a good way. It's a Slimband commercial. My reaction is, "What?" So I rewind and discover, ironically enough, that there is a Burger King commercial right before it. Regardless...

Onscreen image: a cartoon overweight woman thinking, "Yay! I lost 2 lbs." and a calendar with "Week 1." The voiceover says (as images change):

"So you start a new diet and then you get invivted to a baby shower or you go to the movies and then along comes the big family event. With temptation everywhere, no wonder it's so hard to lose weight." (Image now shows she's gained 3 lbs. at week 4) 

"But it doesn't have to be that way. Slimband works because you can enjoy the foods you love and lose weight. Want to learn more? Then visit us online to see if Slimband is right for you. Because life is too short to be on a diet." (Cartoon woman is slim and eating movie theatre popcorn.)

Oy. OMG. Oy. What else can be said about this? A mentality that says that aiming to eat correctly isn't worth it and you should just get Slimband done so you can keep eating whatever you've been eating, but now you're stomach space will be smaller so you'll be full faster? It IS dieting, what they are doing. It is restricting how much food people can consume. It's just that you don't actually have to grow in self-respect, knowledge. Oh, but wait! A quick look on the Slimband site reveals that part of the procedure involves access to consultations on nutrition. Oh, and once you've had the procedure done, they recommend, and I'm copying and pasting from their website here:

What types of food should I stay away from?
We recommend that you choose nutrient-rich foods. This means avoiding high-calorie, low-nutrient foods like milkshakes, ice cream, pudding, mashed potatoes, carbonated drinks and other junk food. Some patients may also have a bit of difficulty processing some breads and pastas, so eat these in moderation.

Hm. Two things here: 1) But you still get to, quote, "Enjoy the foods you love!" according to the commercial. 2) What they are recommending is part of a healthy lifestyle! To have the best success on Slimband, you have to do what their commercial says you don't have to do: eat healthily. Let me share another FAQ from their site:

Will I feel hungry or deprived with the Slimband?
You'll probably feel slightly hungry for the first six weeks. This is your body's natural response to the adjustments you'll be making in your eating habits and patterns, and also to the post-op nutrition plan. Eventually, when you have fully adjusted to your Slimband, the feelings of hunger will subside and you'll find yourself satisfied by your three small meals a day.

Um, okay, so you'll feel the hunger pains of dieting, but you won't have room to put food in. And you have to follow their post-op nutrition plan for a while. AND your body will be adjusting to the changes made in your eating habits. But you don't have to diet. No. *shakingmyhead*

Okay, another 2 parts from their FAQ:

Can I eat any food in moderation?
After your recovery period, once you're back to eating solid foods, you can eat anything that does not cause you discomfort. However, because your portion sizes will be smaller, the ideal foods to choose are vitamin-rich and filled with nutrients. Filling up on fatty and sugar-laden foods will reduce the efficacy of the Slimband.

What about alcohol?
Alcohol is high in calories; it breaks down important vitamins, and it can also irritate the stomach lining. Drinking in moderation with an occasional glass of wine is fine; however try to avoid consuming alcohol often. [Followed by more FAQ's that talk about changing habits, exercise...]

Again, you need to be on a healthy "diet" for this to be properly effective. One price I found for this procedure was... wait for it... $16 000. So, you are paying $16 000 for a procedure that will force you to diet, even though it's supposed to help you avoid dieting "because life is too short to be on a diet." One testimony wa that you have to be on a liquid diet for 3 weeks post-op. Well, flip, you'll lose a lot of weight being on a liquid diet for 3 weeks. How much of the weight loss from Slimband is from the post-op diet and all the restrictions they seem to be placing on clients. Oh, and this testimonial about the liquid diet? A later post on that blog reveals that 2 years post-op, she is gaining weight.

If you are reading this and thinking of going the Slimband route, or you know somebody who is thinking of it, please, please, don't spend $16 000 (possibly more now; the price I found was from 2011) on a procedure that still requires that you learn to eat healthily. Contact me instead; I'll do what I can to help you--for FREE. (To avoid automatic email collectors, hopefully you can figure out the following: you can email me at emicolas. I have a yahoo.ca account. :D ) Have I ever done such a thing before? No. But that's why I'm offering my assistance for FREE. Why do I believe I can help? I have been learning about nutrition and different "food lifestyles" (if I may call them that; the word "diet" has too many different meanings) for over two decades. I have seen the effects of the diet mentality in a family member and know from experience what my own habits--and food sensitivities (you might be surprised at how much of your weight is the result of your body protecting itself from a food senstitivity by retaining water)--do. I also know the difficulty in moving out of a comfort zone, the difficulty in making huge, sudden switches in what is eaten.

Anyhow, I put this out there. From everything I've been reading about Slimband, the "successful" people are those who have changed their eating and exercise habits. You don't need to spend thousands of dollars and undergo a surgical procedure to do that.

BMI Charts: Not All They're Cracked Up to Be

There is a picture floating around with plus-sized model Robyn Lawley, a picture that has created some great discussion about what exactly constitutes a plus-sized model. Whatever people think about Cosmo calling her that, it turns out that Robyn calls herself that! What does Robyn look like?

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/celebrity/news/robyn-lawley-swimwear

If this is a plus-sized model... But I digress.

I saw a comment one woman posted on Facebook, with her height and weight and a comment that she must be obese if Cosmo says this model is plus-sized. To be honest, my immediate reaction to seeing the height and weight was, "Um, that sounds obese to me." I didn't write it, just had the thought cross my mind.

Forever the researcher, I went onto Google and looked up a BMI chart. According to BMI charts (regardless of the one I looked at), the woman is obese. But then I actually had a look at her photos. Hm. She's overweight, but not what I would consider obese. And there I was reminded of why I don't trust BMI charts and neither should you. Yes, they can give a general idea, but they can not proclaim in stone. For example, when I look at the chart for my height,  I'm sure I would fall into the overweight category before I hit the weight they say I would need. On some charts, the lowest weight (the lower 18 BMI) they say I can be before being underweight is definitely too low for me. I know somebody who was using the BMI chart as a way to set a goal weight, because according to the chart, if she hit a particular weight, she would no longer be overweight. But once she hit that number, she still appeared overweight, especially since she carries her excess weight more in her belly than elsewhere. Someone else I know said that if she actually hit the highest acceptable healthy mark, she would actually be too skinny; the BMI chart does not take into consideration bone structure, muscle mass, etc. Like I said, the BMI chart can be a guideline, but it's not the be-all, end-all of whether you are overweight or not.

For what it's worth, Robyn Lawley's reported weight from a time when she looked heavier than in the picture above was well within the healthy guidelines. Even if the BMI chart said she was overweight, would anybody believe it? It is a shame that she has to be in the plus-sized market at a healthy weight!

Day 9 Pre-Christmas Challenge--Christmas is Coming!

"Where did day 8 go?" you might be asking. Well, here's a brief recap of my day 8:

• Woke up with a fever and headache and had a runny nose on and off all day
  
• I had 5000+ words to finish for NaNoWriMo (yes, I managed to finish! woot!)
  
• I was looking after my nieces and nephew yesterday (they had a day off school), which involved my 5-year old niece showing me magic tricks she created, making cupcakes, seeing my son come upstairs with a Nerf gun and sunglasses on and oh, so much more
  
• I still did school work with my daughter in the morning, and she had dance class in the evening, which I drive her to and stay in the waiting room
  
• Had a Christmas card design to work on

Any wonder I didn't write? :) I did eat raw in the morning. Actually, I have a picture. Know what's better than Ani Phyo's Coconut Breakfast Cakes? Let's have a peek at before and after pics:

lol. Coconut Breakfast Cakes with blueberries! Soooo amazingly good! We've got a very low supply of fruit, so I was kind of stuck with what to eat that would be raw and fill me. Technically, the blueberries are frozen, which means they probably aren't raw, but I'm not going to be a stickler with this. It's fruit. No sugar added or anything. It's all good.

And yes, I did my exercises and yoga!

Now we are on Day 9 (I wish I could write it the way that sounded in my head):

It may be Day 9, but it is also December 1st! Nothing like hitting December 1st to really feel like Christmas is coming. I weighed myself this morning, as I did a couple other mornings, and let's say that it's prompted me to up the ante on this challenge. I had lost three pounds right off the bat when I was eating lots of fruits and veggies; when my appetite started dwindling in the morning and I have not been getting a whole lot of fruits and veggies, the weight's gone up a pound or so. Those fruits and veggies are so crucial to our well being, but especially my water retention issues!

Trying to convert what's going on in my head to something measurable to challenge myself with is, well, a challenge. I know I need more fruits and veggies; I know I need fewer grains. I know I need to keep up the water. Maybe for right now, that's just what it is: Trying each day to improve my fruit and veggie consumption beyond the previous. Well there, that's given me an idea: I will track my food the next few days and see just what is it that I'm eating, how much, where can I really tweak things to improve. With busy days, it's easy to just eat out of habit rather than consciously!

There are 23/24 days until Christmas. Lots of time to start up your own challenge! What will you do today?

Leaning into it

I decided to weigh myself a couple of times this week. Why? Because I felt I looked a bit different and wanted to see. Indeed, two pounds have come off and stayed off.

I thought back to what I did this past week in terms of food (exercise wasn't any different--as in 0 exercise this past good while), so it had to be food. Was I eating less? Eating fewer grains? Eating healthier grains when I did eat grains? I'm not tracking my food (maybe I should) so I can't be certain, but I do know that I had a few lunches of brown rice with veggies, did turn to fruits and veggies more most days... Started several days off with fruit. That's about all I can come up with. lol. Over all, yes, it was a healthier week, even if a couple of days were grain-heavy.

Another aspect that is changing is I've been working at chewing more and eating more mindfully. This led to me eating white rice last night and not being very impressed. There's pretty much no texture to it, it gets chewed very quickly with little flavour. No wonder my family puts soy sauce or Braggs on their rice! (I've never liked the taste; I usually put just a bit of vegan margarine but didn't this past week and didn't last night, which perhaps emphasized the reality of how "yuck" white rice really is.) Compared with the mindful eating of the brown jasmine rice earlier, it was really not good. The brown jasmine rice was tasty without anything added to it, nice and chewy, too. On that bad food side, I can't remember what it was that I ate but it was something not at all good for us and I was really struck by the taste and texture--and not in a good way. So, my advice to you: eat mindfully! Be really aware of what you are eating and the after effects. It can really change what you end up choosing to eat. The mentality starts leaving of "I should eat brown instead of white rice" to "I really do prefer the brown rice. Why would I want the white rice?"

Kathy Freston really encourages leaning into veganism. It's nice. It's gentle. You take whichever step you can at the moment you are in. I am confident that I will make the whole switch over time. Not sure how long--hopefully within the next year. But I'm doing it. I've been doing it. And I'll keep doing it. :)

Raw Food Mini Rant

I keep seeing over and over how you can eat as much as you want on a raw food diet, with the implication being that you never have to worry about your weight again.

Nonsense!

I have read anecdotes and seen enough from raw foodist pictures that have shown raw fooders can definitely put on excess weight. Including those who lost weight initially, kept believing that they could eat however much they want of whatever they wanted, ate lots of the "gourmet" raw foods and eventually put back the weight. In one case, it looks like the raw foodist weighs more now than before they went raw. (And no, it doesn't look healthy.)

Now don't get me wrong--I'm all for eating a completely raw food diet. But that doesn't mean that you can just eat as much as you want of anything. Many raw foodists eat a ton of nuts. Guess what? Many of them gained weight. Who knows what it could be doing to their cholesterol levels (cholesterol levels are not only tied to animal products consumption. We produce cholesterol and the food we eat affects how much and of what type.) There are some foods that you can overeat on a raw food diet.

Don't fool yourself into thinking you can eat as much as you want of whatever you want!

I saw this raw food pyramid today (you can buy a poster of it from the site vegan-raw-diet.com):

Do you see how it's laid out? Now, this is only one version of the raw food pyramid, but it's one that makes a lot of sense. Having more fruits is another possibility. Do you see where nuts are? Way up near the top. The nuts section, the herbs section and the seaweed section combined don't make as much as the leafy greens section. You could probably eat as many greens as you like, as many fruits and veggies as you like, perhaps even as many sprouts as you like, but you can not eat as many nuts as you like. They may have some wonderful nutrients for you, but you have to still be careful. None of us is designed to have nuts be a major source of nutrients!

Motto: Question everything. Yes, even question what I've written above. We live in an age where people pass around information without having their facts straight and you need to check into it before you buy into it!

Changing Focus

My mind has been thinking a lot lately. Not that it doesn't usually ;), but it's been thinking along the lines of how do I change to accomplish what I want to accomplish?

I will not have the -Free Life I long for if I keep doing the same things I'm already doing. "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." Change has to happen. But it's not going to just happen on its own. I have to change myself. I have to change the parts of me that block me into parts that support me. And maybe add in some new things.

Change can be hard. It requires we get out of our comfort zone and sometimes by a lot. Being out of our comfort zone can feel threatening, scary, nerve-racking and even wrong. We have a mistaken belief that everything feels right when it is right, but that's not always true. Sometimes all that's wrong is that we're just not used to it and we need to grow into it.

There's a lot of talk out there that says that everything we do should feel right. Which feeling though? Some feelings are really instinct talking, or divine inspiration. Absolutely, if that side isn't "feeling it", we should listen. But others are just emotional issues--or even physical issues, like in the case of an alcoholic.  Addicts don't feel right when they're not succumbing to their addiction, so does that mean they should stay addicted? A ridiculous thought! Clearly feeling isn't all what it's about. Some feelings are wisdom and others are just our emotions talking. And it's not always easy to tell the difference.

My point with all of this is that I feel the need to change. I'm tired of not getting closer to my goals. I learn all about things but can't seem to get myself to take action on them. There are all kinds of plans and no action. The only way I will get to action is if I change at least a bit. The saying "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" doesn't actually mean that if you plan it will all just work out. Action needs to be taken, too.

One thing I've realized is that part of my main motivator in changing my diet to a -Free diet has been my weight. My weight is still considered "normal", so it's not really a serious issue, just one of those things I'd like to improve upon. It's been clear in my mind that the water retention and likely fat gain over the past 10 years has been the result of lifestyle, mostly what I eat. They say that in your 30s, your metabolism changes and that's why weight gets put on. But what if part of it is that your body just can't handle the cr*p anymore? I've seen this slow weight gain as a message to detox my diet. Not just do one of those detox weeks or whatever, but really remove the cr*p. Weight is not my only issue: sinus problems, sinus headaches, frequent colds/flu, tiredness, skin issues (acne, rashes, dry skin...), my complexion is no longer bright and vital looking, increased environmental allergies and food sensitivities... Good grief, with this list, my weight should hold no importance! And I know it's not about the weight. Losing 10-15 lbs is not going to make my health any better unless the 10-15 lbs are the result of my health getting better. I know that as I take charge of what I put in my body and aim to be healthy with all the other current issues, the weight will take care of itself.

And yet, what do I do? I check the scale. I don't check to see how long I've had a headache--or when I can last remember not having a bit of a dull ache. I don't check to see if I've got increased or decreased skin issues. I don't check to see how healthy my diet was yesterday. I imagine how I will look when I've lost the weight--because that's what things like The Secret say to do, right?--but don't really imagine how it would feel to be fully healthy. (Do I even know?)

So, I'm changing myself. I'm changing my thoughts and focus. My focus is on being healthy. I know that to do this, I need to pay more attention to really fuelling my body with healthy foods. (And really, let's be honest, if it's not healthy food, is it really food?) I started today at lunch. "What can I eat that will be loving toward my body and help it be healthy?" was my focus rather than simply, "What is there to eat?" or "What should I eat?" I came up with this:

Essentially, a salad (without dressing) in a pita, like buying a wrap from... hm... can't remember the name of that outlet at the food courts. Yes, it's a white pita and not whole wheat. I spent 5-10 minutes at the store trying to find one that did not say, "May contain milk ingredients." (I do wonder how much of my water retention is the result of all these "may contain milk" products. I have gained in the past 3-5 lbs of water weight overnight simply by having milk products, and have equally lost 3-5 lbs over the course of a couple of days when I was careful to cut all milk and any chance of milk. And now I wonder just what is in that pita--is it healthy? Does it have nasty chemicals? I was so focused on it not containing milk that I didn't think about the rest. And obviously wasn't thinking in any way about wheat-free. ;) ) It was vegan until I decided to put a bit of mayonnaise on the one pita flap. I didn't fill it enough, so I was hungry afterwards and steamed myself some cauliflower. Yes, I've had some junk over the course of the day (and paid attention to the headache after the cookie), but I do believe in the mantra, "Progress, not perfection". And more than anything, I can truly feel my focus changing to "What can I do to support my body being healthy?"

This change in focus is going to force me to change in other ways. Like (at least sometimes) not eating some unhealthy thing that I'm craving. Like taking the time to prepare that orange or bowl of grapes or whatever. And despite my talk above about not necessarily trusting when it "feels right", this change in focus and the changes it will lead to does feel right. Gut feeling right. It's not going to be easy, I don't think. Memories of my first wheat-free day from a while back come to mind on how difficult it might end up becoming. But...

It'll be worth it.

Time to refocus!

A little recap of the past few days:

*Saturday: wheat-free, but heavy on other grains, low on fruits and veggies.
*Sunday and Monday: NOT wheat-free. Even went a little overboard perhaps.

I told you it was a little recap. ;) I will say that my weight has stayed the 2lbs down. It'd be lovely to see it go down more this week. I've slowly had weight creep up over the past 5-10 years, not a lot, but 10 lbs down from where I am now would be fantastic.

Today, I need fruits and veggies. I'm craving them. But I have realized I don't really have a focus anymore. I wanted to see if I could do wheat-free last week, ended up having 4 days wheat-free (wow!), so that's accomplished but I don't know where I'm going from here! What are my goals again? lol.

I still have a yearning to be high raw, at least for a while. I find myself often thinking of people who went 100% raw for a while and their allergies just faded away. I especially think of it when I'm rubbing my eyes lately due to something in my environment driving me crazy. :-/ Or when I would like to eat certain foods raw but can't. My body needs to detox.

I guess this helps give me a vision for the week: more raw, less processed. That's one thing I can say about lately is that there have definitely been fewer processed foods prepared by me. There's so much garbage added to them all that just removing them will probably make a difference.

What does this mean for today?

*Wheat-free again. Why not? It was much easier than I thought. I do have to set some limits on the other grains I eat, like the corn Tostitos in the house (I've been eating them with the Daiya cheddar as nachos and cheese; yum!).

*I've been having a hankering for Ani Phyo's Coconut Breakfast Cakes from this cookbook:

I've had them a few times before and really like them.

*Of course, that doesn't take care of my fruits and veggies situation. I have oranges, not sure if the bananas are ripe yet, there are some grapes... I just have to prepare things. If the bananas are ready, I'll make myself a nice green smoothie today. I can add a salad or two in, cut up some carrots and cucumber and eat that with hummus...

I have lots of great food in the house; I just need to take the time to prep and eat it.

I'm going to have to get more adventurous and really try some different recipes. I have a few raw cookbooks here. I just hate taking the time to prepare something and then I don't like it and have to figure out something else to eat. lol. Of course, it has also happened that I've decided to try a recipe, I've bought the necessary stuff, it's stayed in the fridge so long that I've forgotten which recipe it belonged to. *sigh*

Doing a wheat-free day

I've decided I really, really need to do something about my eating habits. Becoming more aware these past  couple of days has really shocked me about what I'm eating. And the weight that has crept up 2 lbs in the past couple of weeks has helped in the awareness, too.

I have therefore decided that today I am going to go wheat-free. By doing this, I won't turn to those easy, convenient snacks and lunches--crackers, muffins, bread... This will force me to eat more fruits and vegetables, not let those go to waste in my fridge as they so often do. But what can I eat?

*green smoothie
*for fruits, I have: a honeydew melon, oranges, a grapefruit, grapes galore, frozen blueberries, raw blueberries, pomegranate, raisins
*for veggies/greens: lettuces of all sorts, celery, carrots, broccoli, maybe some cauliflower
*I also have some sunflower seeds, raw pumpkin seeds and some raw cashews

Other than that, I have brown rice and potatoes, both of which can be incorporated into lunch and supper. I may even have some rice noodles if I'm desperate at lunch, and Rice Krispies if I feel that fruit just won't be satisfying enough. Oh, and oatmeal. (I've got to stop finding non-fruit and veggie items to eat.)

I will track what I eat today and share later on! I think the Canadian recommended intake for women my age for fruits and veggies is 7 servings. I will do everything in my power to accomplish that! And not give in to wheat!