Welcome to Peaches and Apples.
My friend Katie and are still working out the specifics of this blog so you will likely see a lot of changes in the next month.
As much as I want to lament about my weight problem and call my self fat, I hope to become a beckon to someone else out there struggling. I hope to provide myself as an example of an uncompleted project. When it comes to my weight, I feel like I am on the brink of a health crisis. Currently I weigh 275 pounds. I am 5'9" and just under the obese BMI cut-off point. I am a 26 year old female living in Georgia. Obviously, I have not gotten to this weight overnight as I have been overweight since I was very young. I could finish a footlong sub in second grade. I remember seeing the scale tipping over 200 pounds when I was 14 years old. During the last summer I hit my all time high of 300 pounds and woke up. I desperately wanted to make a change.
I have since lost 25 pounds mainly from working out consistently (more like constantly!) I joined a weight loss group through my student gym and was very successful. I can run over a mile and half without stopping. Even though I have had some success, it all comes back to the same thing: food and how out of control I am about eating. I consume too much and too often the wrong thing. I also really love beer. Even though I find myself pretty knowledgeable about health, implementing it to a daily routine has been a big problem.
Ten years ago my father was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes and it has completely taken over his livelihood. My father was unable to come to my college graduation on account of the wounds on his legs that wouldn't heal. He lost all of his teeth because there was so much sugar in his saliva deteriorated his enamel. In the spring of 2010 he had a over four heart attacks and had to be revived twice. He has never quite gotten his medication or lifestyle straight. I am very happy and thankful he is still around however I feel like the whole experience is nothing but a warning sign. Diabetes, for the most part, is completely avoidable and for someone who is tinkering around 280-300 pounds I would be a fool to ignore it. I recently got tested for Diabetes and thankfully I am in the clear for now. I am taking this as an opportunity to give myself a healthy future that I deserve.
I have been doing my own research about what diet will work for me and why. After reading Michael Pollen's Food Rules: An Eaters Manual and watching the film Forks not Knives, I was inspired to adapt a animal product free lifestyle. Vegan. It's been difficult, and I am still a beginner. I haven't completely eliminated everything to be honest. However, every time I prepare a meal, it a Vegan one.
This blog is about diet. This blog is about progress. This blog is a project to document what I intend to be a lasting venture to health.
I went to the doctor a few weeks ago and my blood pressure was 130/82. The nurse told me that was 'border line high' which only prompted me to start eating better immediately. I have done 'pretty good' and have survived the holidays. Still, I am pretty scared because I don't know what I am doing. I don't have a solid routine or a plan. I just make sure I don't eat terrible while tracking my caloric intake. This has been a real struggle for me mainly because I have very embedded habits and an appetite for large amounts of food.
Katie is a friend I met while attending a Women's College in Missouri. She has been a close friend of mine since we were students together five years ago. I was completely honored that she chose me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding in 2008. The only problem is that I live in Georgia and she lives in Washington State. I could not have chosen a weight loss partner further from me. That's what the internets are for! There is no other person I could think of better to help support me. Even though this journey is about our own individual paths, doing it together feels more manageable.
What this blog will be about is yet to be determined. I hope to focus on recipes, websites, books, and other weight loss blogs that have helped inspire me. I love to take photographs and hope to update often!
Mostly I want this space to be about Vegan clean eating. Food food food!
Happy Eating.
