Good evening! I’m posting dinner quite early, but that’s because I think I’m going to sleep very soon (if you can believe it!). I am so tired, and I am running 18.0 miles tomorrow as part of marathon training. I need to get to sleep STAT.
First things first….
Today I got into graduate school! :) I have been taking night classes in an attempt to gain entrance into USC’s Physical Therapy program, and I am happy to announce I earned one of the 18 coveted spots today. I am not entirely sure what my game plan is right now because of the book, but it’s nice to know that all my hard work over the last 6 months have been rewarded. :) Yay! (You can read more about my grad school application process in this post, and yes, we are moving in the summer).
Secondly, I did this huge Operation Beautiful note in a parking lot this afternoon (I was bored):
Thirdly, I also took this really cute picture of James. My, my – what big ears you have!
By the way, I’ve been keeping the puppy page updated! 🙂
Fourthly (OK, I’ll stop now), Blogger Vegan 4 A Day was a success! As in, I did not give in to my 4 PM cravings to inhale an entire pint of coffee ice cream. :) No, really – in all seriousness, here are my thoughts on being vegan for today:
- In many ways, it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be in terms of finding things to eat. I think it would’ve been harder if I was a meat-eater and was transforming my entire diet, but going from vegetarian to vegan (for just one day) wasn’t bad at all.
- In other ways, I felt like I was on a diet in the sense that “not†being able to eat something made me seriously want to eat it SO BADLY. Now, I do not think veganism is a diet, of course. It’s a serious lifestyle choice. However, because I just agreed to do it for fun and didn’t actually have the desire to give up eggs and dairy, I was tempted. This, my friends, is exactly why “diets†do not work in real life. Restricting yourself from anything (when you secretly still want to eat it) is going to backfire. I’m fine with restricting myself from meat because 99% of the time I don’t secretly want it. However, I will probably have ice cream for breakfast tomorrow. :)
- I realize that I should not judge veganism on one day. I think I would probably have to do it for a full week to understand how it would impact my life and energy levels.
- Vegan 4 A Day taught me that I don’t need milk as much as I thought I did. I liked using almond and rice milk in lieu of milk, and I think I’m going to make that change permanently. It’s an easy way that I can reduce the amount of dairy I eat.
So, I am proud to say that I am going to try to choose non-dairy alternatives over regular cow’s milk from now on, when practical! :) But seriously, I love my yogurt, cheese, ice cream, etc. and don’t plan on giving that up anytime soon.
Thanks to Katy and Michelle for doing Vegan Week. I learned a lot, and I hope other people did, too!
Here are my vegan eats for the afternoon:
I snacked on Grape Nuts (my granola wasn’t vegan!) and Rice Milk:
A Clementine:
Pita Chips:
Dinner was homemade Butternut Squash and Carrot soup, which was so easy to make!
I just boiled peeled and chopped butternut squash and carrots until they were soft, and then blended the veggies with organic vegetable broth. Tada!
I’m also going to have a bagel with PB (vegan!) before bed.
Going to get a little bit of work done, and afterwards, I’m prepping for my run and hitting the hay! I’m also going to walk the dogs down to the chin-up bar and try to bang out 3 chin-ups. :) Have a good night!
“In other ways, I felt like I was on a diet in the sense that “not†being able to eat something made me seriously want to eat it SO BADLY.”
This was EXACTLY my problem today!! All I wanted was meat and cheese and milk and eggs, even though I never crave these things on a typical day. I think I should maybe try going vegan for a day gradually; first going veggie for a few days, then slowly cutting out dairy, eggs and other animal products.
Good luck with 18 miles tomorrow, and congrats on graduate school! 😀