Thanksgiving Recap - HONESTY

I've hesitated to say this for a few days, but here goes. Thanksgiving was wonderful - it was filled with so much fun cooking and great times with friends. BUT, in the end, I think I'll do it much differently next year. Although I kept all my dishes vegan, and focused on trying to incorporate whole foods, I still wanted to have some of those traditional favorites that are laden with fat and sugar. They were delicious, but not delicious enough to justify the next few days for me. After Thanksgiving, I felt pretty bad the next day - physically, not mentally. My stomach was bloated, my digestion was entirely halted, and I had a headache, persistent stomachaches, and cravings for salt, then sugar, then salt, then sugar, then salt...you get the idea. I thought this was probably mostly due to also imbibing a decent amount of alcohol on Thanksgiving, so I thought it would pass and kept enjoying leftovers. It didn't pass. The bloating, digestive problems, stomachaches, and cravings continued and came on stronger. I haven't had cravings like this in months.

This whole paying-attention-to-how-my-body-feels-after-I-eat is something new to me...and probably to many people, but I'm embracing it.

When you eat high amounts of salt and especially sugar, a chemical reaction happens in your brain, and tells your body to eat more. It's basically like doing dope. I had been on such a cleansed diet that when I fed my body concentrated sources of oil, salt, and sugar, it just wanted more, more, more.

HERE'S THE BOTTOM LINE: as Kasey at Powercakes would say, #betruetoyou ! For some people, the taste of those delicious foods is enough to justify the pain they know is coming. It's like a lactose intolerant person sitting down to enjoy a big bowl of ice cream - you just have to be willing to deal with the consequences. For me, the consequences weren't worth it, and this Christmas and next Thanksgiving, I hope to focus on eating lots of clean vegetables and #cleaneats ! This might not be true for you. You might be someone who really likes to go wild on the holidays - by all means - be true to you! Or you might be that lucky person who had no physical problems eating this way once in a while! I hate you, but enjoy :) This is me. I'll do me, you do you.

What I ate this year: sweet potato casserole.

What I'll eat next year: sweet potatoes (and squash!) - simply roasted and maybe sprinkled with cinnamon. 

*By the way, the same thing goes for being vegan - I have never felt so good in my life. I love the way my body feels on this lifestyle, but not everyone does. You do me, I'll do you. There is no one way to fitness or health.

That being said, I'm so glad I had the experience I did this year. Do you know why? Because for the first time since overcoming my struggle with disordered eating, I enjoyed. I didn't "indulge," and I didn't "binge." I just enjoyed. In the following days, for the first time, I didn't feel bad about my body - I felt bad for my body and what I put it through. I had no plans to detox after Thanksgiving, but had just planned to return to a regular diet. While this might have worked, I felt so bad that I did detox a little with clean green smoothies, lots of raw veggies, and tons of water and tea.

Frozen banana, frozen spinach, almond milk, cinnamon, pumpkin, powdered peanut butter, protein powder, spirulina. Topped with hemp seeds and granola.  

Hummus + Trader Joes' Garlic Eggplant Spread. Topped with hemp seeds. 

Happy Healthy Holidays!
Vegan [Wanna-Be] Housewife