Day 8: The Slightest Shift

It's funny to think back to my 9-day vegan pledge last year where upon realizing it was 2 more days than I thought I went crazy. Not willing to "deny" myself any longer, I marched into Target and purchased as much vegan junk food as I could (Gardein chicken tenders, Daiya cheese, Silk Pumpkin flavored creamer, chocolate.) I'm almost to that marker in my 28-day Engine 2 challenge and I have the opposite feeling. Rather than being denied, I question why more people don't eat this way. 

I'm on the road for work and packed a cooler of food. Last night, I had dinner in my hotel room with a friend. Our dinners were pretty polar opposite. Hers was french fries and a meaty sandwich on a bun. Mine was Whole Foods Edamame Asian Salad with oil-free peanut and lime dressing. It took me twice as long to eat mine (there was a lot of vegetables in the box!)

This morning, I had time to reflect about the day ahead while eating Uncle Sam's cereal and rice milk. Lunch was a bit of a pain today because after an all day morning meeting my colleagues and I went to a Thai restaurant for lunch. I elected to pass on the lunch, though I'm sure I could have found something on the menu, because I was looking forward to my avocado, tomato, red pepper hummus, spinach, onion and green pepper sandwich on a whole wheat pita. 

I think the Engine 2 challenge is working for me because: 1) I have slowly been improving elements of my eating for a year and my fiance has been eating this way for 7 months; 2) I have seen my fiance's positive results and my own (this week I lost 8 pounds!); 3) you don't have to do portion controls or count calories, you just need to make sure you're eating a balanced, well-rounded mix of tasty foods that are plant based and don't add oil, salt or sugar.