So the quick message is to myself first and also to those Heavenly Bodies who can relate. Advise to me. Listen to your needs and heart and adjust or your body will do it for you. If you have read my history, you know that I had two of those eye openers, The underlying human "doing" instead of human "being" attitude is that I have a perception that just "being" is not very valuable to those judging "others" whoever they are. They can have a hold on me if I am not diligent. These "others" are the same people who I did not want to hurt by saying, "no thank you" to anything edible. And seconds, and finishing my plate without remembering I even ate the food. those were the days. Bye bye.
So happily I can report that on my Paris trip, I worked a private tour with a wonderful woman who just happened to be a vegetarian and was up to trying the many vegan and vegetarian
restaurants on my Paris list. She was familiar with Indian food and she picked out dishes she felt I would like and that fit into my VNO eating plan. (vegan-no-oil) We had a lot of fun and it was so relaxing not to feel like the spokesperson for once. If you would like my Parisian Vegetarian Restaurant list, email me.
Then off to work the Tirkish Delight tour. 13 people, 13 days 2013. All meant a joyfully lucky time. We guides came in a week early and rented apartments. This makes the eating plan so much easier as I could stock the frig with delicious produce and could even make some stock with the pealings and skins. I also collected a list of vegan restaurants in Istanbul which we were able to enjoy.
Now the challenge. We moved to the hotel. The group was collected and we had a welcome reception then dinner. I had already talked with the restaurant and had a great special while others were introduced to many tasting bowls. Hotel Breakfasts were abundant and I was able to have fruit. We had frigs in our rooms so I could still have tea with soy. We do not do dinners as a group but there were lunches included in the tour itinerary which presented a continued clarification and explanation. It all worked out and since I had everything written out in Turkish, the card could go to the kitchen instead of being discussed at the table with the group.
There were a lot of salads and with my emergency kit of sauces and spices, I enjoyed it all even opening the pocket bread to make a pita type fare. Yum. Now the reality check. When I am at home, we make sure that the balance is kept especially when it comes protein. When traveling I lost that balance because I wasn't thinking about protein but just getting through the meal without too much bother. My energy level was dipping and I learned that lesson especially when looking at photos that showed a tired looking Elin. I have been checking out the No Meat Athlete site because the athletes really have to maintain that level of protein . Back home and back on track.
Apart from travel I did hit a low point in March unexpectedly. It was after hitting my goal weight. Now wouldn't you think that would be met with celebration and happiness and yes, on some level it was. The big BUT was a time of depression. I was tired of all.....all the food we were making but I was not into making new avenues into alternate recipes. I hit some kind of crisis of faith and doubt.... About the whole program and thought, "what if this is just a fad? A gimic, a phase? Today, no way would I choose another lifestyle because of all the awesome benifits I have enjoyed. And the big PLUS is that many people out there, friends, family and Heavenly Bodies followers are so supportive. southern Oregon has a vegan meet-up group. When I get back to normal, I will go to one of their gatherings.
Wanted to pass on a great article as how to eat well when you have no time... Enjoy
http://www.nomeatathlete.com/eat-healthy-no-time/.
Blessings on your journy
