Week 2 – Commit
Welcome to Week 2 of the Spinach & Apples Diet, 28-Day Fresh Start. Week 2 is the week to commit and begin to experience change. You are committing to 3 weeks on a 100% (or at least 99.9%) plant-based diet, that is high in nutrition and low in processed foods. The goal is your good health.
All you have to do if pick the day!
You’ll want a good set of measuring cups and, if you can, a digital kitchen scale — you are gauging servings not calories. You will love the freedom this brings. This is a conscious effort: you have left the Week 1 – Transition behind with Week 1 so, no cheating. The purpose of no cheating is to give yourself a chance to see how it “feels.”
You are communicating with your body that there’s a new game in town: you are educating your palate and eliminating old cravings, which means you can’t be feeding old cravings at the same time. That said, if you slip, don’t stop. Just continue on and try to do better — no beating yourself up or giving up.
This is a guilt-free lifestyle, but old habits die hard, and I’m not talking about eating habits — guilt is a habit. As soon as you master one thing, it’s easy to begin focusing on the next thing you don’t do well and beat yourself up for what you are not doing, rather than appreciating what you are doing.
You will also want to eat frequently to avoid temptation. In-between-meal snacks are encouraged. A good vegan cookbook is an important resource as you begin. Our favorite “beginner” cookbook is The Happy Herbivore.
Here’s the Key — so long as you are eating the “right” foods, you can succeed. Also keep in mind, prevention is the best medicine, so eat before you are starving — and keep some things on hand that you can take along when you are out, just so you don’t grab for something convenient that is off the diet. We will have more on eating out later.
Do NOT measure your success by the scales – lose the scales and measure how you feel. The weight loss effects may not kick-in the first week — but it will kick-in, so relax and know if you are eating the right foods and improving your health, everything else will take care of itself.
Next Up . . .
