I know it’s been a while since I’ve done this, and a lot has happened in that while. I moved to Syracuse, New York. My baby sister got married. I chopped a foot of my hair off and quit my job. There’s a lot more, but that’s not why I’m here. Amongst all of these life changes and stress, my stomach developed a weakness for food. This has been a real bummer, because I’d you know me, you know I love food. Now the positive side to this is I list a significant amount of weight that I have been trying to lose for a year. So at least that happened.
If anyone out there is like me and has a weak stomach when times are hard or in general, I would like to share how I got through it without shrinking my stomach and getting sick.
The first thing I had to do was recognize that stress was doing this to me. Finding time for yoga and relaxing exercises was something I had to do. I also had to realize that my job played an integral part of my stress. Even though I didn’t have a job lined up, I had to leave Starbucks because it wasn’t a healthy environment for me anymore. Now some of you might wonder, “isn’t being unemployed more stressful? You don’t know how you’re going to pay for anything.” Sure, it’s stressful if you don’t believe you can find a more suitable and fulfilling job in the near future. I know I can be a great asset to any company that I choose to work for. This whole experience has helped me realize that you shouldn’t go through life doing something just to pay the bills, even if you’re good at it. You should love what you do and be surrounded by peers that feel the same way. That is what makes a business thrive and be successful.
Anyway, back to the point. Quick and easy vegan food to help the weak stomach. Raw almonds were my life saver. They are a good source of protein and they are delicious. Pressing some tofu for 20 minutes then throwing it in a skillet with some garlic and broccoli was pretty much my staple meal. Its a good source of protein and the garlic and broccoli helped get that vitamin C, calcium and fiber. My mornings usually consisted of a banana for some potassium and my afternoon was usually an everything bagel thin with tofutti cream cheese (gotta get those carbs in there for brain function!) Even if I wasn’t hungry, I knew I needed to eat and I knew I needed to pick healthy foods that would get my out of my funk, not pull me further down. Staying away from sugar was hard, but I know it would have an adverse reaction to my goal.
Food plays an important role in our moods and energy. Knowing that, I have been pretty mindful of what I put in my body to help me get through these hard times. You only have one life and its up to you to take care of your body to maximize your experience on this beautiful journey!
My new hair and my new attitude!
Living a vegan life in the Midwest 