Eating Like a Vegan for a Month - the Second Stage of My Diet

 I found the second Stage of  my diet was most challenging as I was supposed to go without meat or dairy products for a month.

Going without meat was not too difficult for me, but eliminating all dairy products from my meals - no cheese, milk, yogurt and eggs was a challenge. How was I supposed to get my protein?
From beans, nuts and lentils - the book said.  I am not a vegan, never intended to be one, therefore I have no idea how to cook nutritious vegan food that would meet my daily dietary requirements.

It was a good thing that I was following Dr. Sandra  Cabot's book which provided a number of tasty recipes containing meatless dishes.

Flax Seeds

I particularly like her suggestion of  including LSA in my meals.

LSA - a mixture of ground seeds.
L - Linseed/ Flax seeds
S - Sunflower seeds
A - Almonds

Sunflower seeds

I grounded up these three different kinds of seeds and stored them in a jar. Whenever I ate my meals, I put a few tablespoons in my food. In fact, the LSA tasted so delicious that I put it in all my food to increase my protein intake.

Almonds

Yes, the second stage of my diet was challenging as I must bring with me my own food when attending my friends' parties or eating out with friends and families. But it was rewarding!

Going to the gym 2-3x a week was important

During my dieting period, I kept going to the gym 2-3 times a week to take part in dance exercise classes. |Every time I weighed myself, I got lighter!



This continuous weight loss really motivated me and kept me stuck to my dieting and exercise program.  When my weight dropped below 120 lbs, I started to get a little nervous. I have never been this light for a long long time.  I was at this weight almost twenty years ago!

The continuous wt. loss kept me going

   By the end of the Second Stage of my diet, ( 6 weeks later )  I learned a lot about eating healthy and starting to develop a healthier cooking, eating and life style.

The Third Stage was almost like the first stage and it was much easier as I could have some meat.






After two months of the detox and dieting program, I lost a total of fifteen pounds!
I have never been on a diet before and I was glad that I have achieved my goal!

R.T.
Toronto