I'm a living vapor...

I'm still keeping up with this diet thing, but I feel like I'm still cheating because I've been having bread and crackers with some of my meals. >sigh< I'm actually having pita bread made with whole wheat and flaxseed with Hummus and Taboule. This Mediterranean dish is pretty delicious and it's VEGAN!! Hooray!! lol. The breads, pasta, and rice should be limited to one serving a day. As long as 90% of the food I consume each day is mostly fruit and vegetables, then I'm ok. My joints are still hurting, especially my left ankle and right hip. I'm practically limping while I'm walking. I keep reminding myself that I want to get better, though. "No more medications," I keep saying. Also, I was supposed to go to my doctor's appointment to see my rheumatologist a couple weeks ago, but forgot. So I rescheduled an appointment but the next available date is some time in mid-November. I realized that about that time, I should be on my 4th week...

This is the first day of week 2!! Last night, I was talking to mom about the few times I cheated in the first week. I was kinda disappointed about it and was even thinking about "starting over" with this week being a "re-do week." My mom insisted I continue with the 2nd week and not worry about last week because there are still 5 more weeks to go and for sure, during that span, my body should already be adjusting to this new lifestyle. Over the weekend, it was that time of the month. I would just like to say that I did not feel bloated at all. Actually, it kinda made me not hungry as much because my stomach keeps turning from the cramping. But all is well. I love the feeling of not being bloated because then I don't feel guilty about eating. I thought to myself, " I could get used to this ." On the other hand, my joints haven't been doing too well. On Saturday, my left ankle hurt so bad that when I put weight on it when I walked, I felt like fa...

Finally, it's been 5 days since I've started this vegan lifestyle. It really isn't that easy. In the first week, I've already broken the "rules". My brother's birthday was yesterday but we had to celebrate it on Tuesday so we ate out at Cheesecake Factory. There really wasn't any vegan meal (if there was, I just didn't see it, lol). The stuff I ordered had cheese on it...>sigh<. Then for small group on Wednesday, my dad made this "vegan" mango bread because he replaced oil with applesauce (or apple juice, not sure). I thought it was vegan, until my mom told me this morning that he used eggs. As soon as she told me that, I felt sick to my stomach...which surprised me because I didn't think I'd react that way. I can't really say that I feel so much better since starting this diet. My joints still hurt as ever, specifically my left ankle. My mom keeps reassuring me that it will get worse until it gets better...which sucks ...

Today is the day that I am starting the 6 week challenge to eat strictly plant-based foods without any animal products. In other words, I'm going vegan. I'm not doing this for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) or for anybody else. I'm doing this for myself and God. I really need to be taking care of my body because not only have I been eating foods that aren't good for me (nutritionally), but I have rheumatoid arthritis and have been taking medications since I was diagnosed at age 7. For more than half of my life, I have been seeing some doctors about my health and I remember them saying there's no cure for arthritis and that I'd have to be taking medications for the rest of my life. Basically, my whole life would have to be done and scheduled around this disease. For example, if I wanted to have children I'd have to consult the doctor months ahead so we would work together on what medications I should and shouldn't take. The reason I...