Why I joined EmpowHer and what I'm looking to get out of it
I've been a vegetarian for about 15 years now. This does not mean I've been healthy for that long. Quite the contrary. At my highest point, I weighed 337 pounds...as a vegetarian! I lost about 120 pounds about 4 years ago and have since gained back 30. I've maintained this weight for a while now, but would like to lose at least 50 pounds more.
A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I traveled from central New York to southern West Virginia. We hiked the blue ridge mountains, ate very healthy, low-fat vegetarian foods, slept well each night and left feeling invigorated! With plans to return to the area in April. Our hope is to be 25 pounds lighter by then, to make hiking easier for us.
We were the heaviest people in our group of friends down there! They climb those mountains every day...they eat healthy foods every day...they live a much simpler, healthier, happier life than we do...and we want that! We both felt really inspired to get fit and healthy, watching these people!
My husband had been a vegetarian for about five years but in the last couple of years went back to eating meat. He used to run, but an injury to his knee stopped him from running. With the addition of eating meat and the lack of running, he put on quite a bit of weight and is currently at his heaviest weight ever, around 240. He's decided to move back toward a vegetarian diet, with eating meat only occasionally, like if we go out to dinner or if we're at meat-eater's home.
I'm looking forward to simplifying our lives, getting our health back on track and making this a lifestyle, not a diet!
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Dear dcfkaf
Thanks so much for your share and well done on all that weight loss!
I'll be celebrating my 20th year as a vegetarian next year. I agree with you - there is a fallacy out there that all vegetarians are skinny and that's not the case at all. In fact, a good veg diet can definitely leave a person with curves! A vegetarian diet is often naturally high in carbs (depending on food choices), and can be high in calories too, just like any other diet.
Any diet, in fact, no matter the type, can cause a person to gain or lose too much weight.
Congrats on taking back control and please update us on your progress. I wrote an article called The Vegetarian Diet last year here on EmpowHer that I'll link you to, I hope it helps! http://www.empowher.com/community/share/vegetarian-diet
Thanks for the link! I'll certainly check it out! ;D
Hello dcfkaf -
Thanks so much for sharing why you joined EmpowHer. You're so right on when you say that what you want and need is a lifestyle, not a diet. I'm looking forward to hearing more from you in the weeks ahead as you and your husband work toward your goals and good health.
Take good care,
Pat
Thank you, Pat! I'll check in often!
Hi, Dcfkaf,
I love your attitude, your enthusiasm and your goals!! I also am a mostly-vegetarian. I eat fish and occasionally poultry but not red meat. And, like you, I am not at my ideal weight. (People forget that you can be a vegetarian and still eat potato chips, french fries, ice cream and chocolate bars, darnit!)
I have just moved to an area where hiking is one of the most popular forms of recreation, so perhaps I will take a hint from you and make it one of my regular activities too!!
What sort of things will the two of you do between now and April, exercise-wise?