Training & Nutrition - This week's grocery list - Appel would die.

Thanks to some time with a nutritionist (Thanks Koffee) and doing some research after reading several posts by our resident vegans, vegetarians and pescetarians, I made the last step in an interesting exercise in 'lifestyle' change as far as my diet was concerned.

First of all, my wife and son are not eating the same as me 'technically' and therefore I have to spend roughly $60-70 a week more to eat healthy, but its worth it.

Silk Vanilla Soy Milk
6 cans of black beans
4 cans of green beans
2 bags of baby spinach (1/2 lb. worth)
14 bananas
14 apples
1 pineapple
1 bag lactose free (dairy free) cheddar style cheese
Organic spinach and wheat pastas (various)
16 jalapenos
Tofu
Wasabi peas
Morningstar 'original' grilled burgers
Kashi blueberry waffles
1 box of Clif bars - peanut butter
2 loafs of fiber enhanced bread (8g of fiber, 45 cals. per slice)
2 boxes of grape nuts
1 box of honey nut cheerios
3 Amy's Kitchen Spinach and tomato pizza
2 cans of Amy's Kitchen no chicken noodle soup
2 cans of Amy's kitchen black bean vegetable soup
2 Amy's kitchen black bean enchillada meals
6 Amy's kitchen bean and rice burritos
6 Amy's kitchen breakfast burritos
1 lime
1 lemon
1 can of salsa

That'll take care of me over the next week (possibly 2).

Thanks to some time with a nutritionist (Thanks Koffee) and doing some research after reading several posts by our resident vegans, vegetarians and pescetarians, I made the last step in an interesting exercise in 'lifestyle' change as far as my diet was concerned.

First of all, my wife and son are not eating the same as me 'technically' and therefore I have to spend roughly $60-70 a week more to eat healthy, but its worth it.

Silk Vanilla Soy Milk Good! Nothing wrong with Soy
6 cans of black beans Good! Beans are great!
4 cans of green beans Good!
2 bags of baby spinach (1/2 lb. worth) Good! Spinach makes you strong, Popeye Style!
14 bananas Banans are high in GI. But fruits are fine.
14 apples Ok.
1 pineapple Ok.
1 bag lactose free (dairy free) cheddar style cheese Ok.
Organic spinach and wheat pastas (various) Good! But make sure pasta is whole wheat!
16 jalapenos Good choice!
Tofu Good!
Wasabi peas Don't know those
Morningstar 'original' grilled burgers Don't know those
Kashi blueberry waffles Don't know those, but waffles? Hmm...maybe not good.
1 box of Clif bars - peanut butter Peanut butter is great! But watch that extra carb!
2 loafs of fiber enhanced bread (8g of fiber, 45 cals. per slice) Sounds ok.
2 boxes of grape nuts Don't know those
1 box of honey nut cheerios Skip this, have cooked oatmeal with some honey instead.
3 Amy's Kitchen Spinach and tomato pizza Don't know this, but pizza is generally bad.
2 cans of Amy's Kitchen no chicken noodle soup Don't know this, but skip the instant cook ones.
2 cans of Amy's kitchen black bean vegetable soup Same, instant noodles are the crap.
2 Amy's kitchen black bean enchillada meals Beans are good!
6 Amy's kitchen bean and rice burritos Sounds good! But, make sure it's brown rice ;)
6 Amy's kitchen breakfast burritos Don't know this!
1 lime Sounds fine!
1 lemon Sounds fine!
1 can of salsa Sounds fine!

That'll take care of me over the next week (possibly 2).


Nothing wrong with that, why did you think I wouldn't like that?

A. No meat - it was a bit of a jest, if you will.

As far as the pizza, its crust/tomato/spinach only; e.g. would mean that its the actual healthy parts of pizza, without the cheese (which is what makes pizza bad generally). The crust is whole wheat.

Amy's Kitchen is 99% organic and has an excellent supply of quick and easy vegetarian fare. Everything I picked up on my grocery list is vegeterian. Its a big deal for a guy who could eat 99% of his intake in meat (steaks, chicken, tuna, burgers, crapola like that) and did for over 31 years. Been working meat out of my diet over the last 2 months, this being the first time I've gone grocery shopping and removed all meat. Last week I still had tuna in the mix, making me a pescetarian, sorta.

I made the last step in an interesting exercise in 'lifestyle' change as far as my diet was concerned.


Santaria: Was this an abrubt diet change along with other lifestyle changes? Or, does this represent a gradual change in diet as part of an overall lifestyle change.

In the past year or so, I have increased my mileage, given up smoking and drinking and cut my caffiene intake in half. I have made dietary changes as well, but haven't adopted a whole new approach to eating. I'm curious to learn more about your approach.

those morningstar farm "burgers" are pretty good. I'm gonno try the Boca ones next. Also, I have to agree about the Honey Nut Cheerios. I don't mind carbs at all but those have a lot of sugar (empty calories) in them. I find that Multi-Grain Cheerios are plenty sweet with only 5 or 6 grams of sugar per serving. Or even go with something like Total that has 5 grams of sugar but also something 100% DV of damn near every vitamin you could ask for.

Santaria: Was this an abrubt diet change along with other lifestyle changes? Or, does this represent a gradual change in diet as part of an overall lifestyle change.

In the past year or so, I have increased my mileage, given up smoking and drinking and cut my caffiene intake in half. I have made dietary changes as well, but haven't adopted a whole new approach to eating. I'm curious to learn more about your approach.

I used the last 10 weeks to first ween myself off soda, then cigarettes, then fast food, and slowly switched from a bland, chicken only diet to what has evolved into a healthy vegetarian diet. I didn't intend to go vegetarian to be frank. It sorta just happened as I got clean from the smoking, and the fats and HFCS/fat diet.

I can say this.
I run 10 miles a day now (when this started I could run 1k). I intend to break the 15 mile mark in the first part of July. I can now run a 8:43 mile constant.

I can ride 30-45 miles without losing my breath. I've yet to keep track of my cadence, that will happen soon. I can give more info on that next week.

I swim 350 meters a day, every day.

I participated in my first 5k a few weeks ago.
I will be participating in my first triathalon (ever) in Aug.

The transformation I truly believe came from quiting smoking and eating ****. Everything else is a effect of those two changes, even the final transition to vegetarianism. If I planned it out, it would never have happened.

Way to go man. That's awesome. It's tough work eating differently from your family, but your healthful diet will bleed over a bit as well, which is awesome too. I felt GREAT when I was eating a pescetarian diet. I still try to really minimize the non-fish meat that I eat, I feel much healthier for it.

Come on, no pie?! :D

Thanks to some time with a nutritionist (Thanks Koffee) and doing some research after reading several posts by our resident vegans, vegetarians and pescetarians, I made the last step in an interesting exercise in 'lifestyle' change as far as my diet was concerned.

First of all, my wife and son are not eating the same as me 'technically' and therefore I have to spend roughly $60-70 a week more to eat healthy, but its worth it.

Silk Vanilla Soy Milk
6 cans of black beans
4 cans of green beans
2 bags of baby spinach (1/2 lb. worth)
14 bananas
14 apples
1 pineapple
1 bag lactose free (dairy free) cheddar style cheese
Organic spinach and wheat pastas (various)
16 jalapenos
Tofu
Wasabi peas
Morningstar 'original' grilled burgers
Kashi blueberry waffles
1 box of Clif bars - peanut butter
2 loafs of fiber enhanced bread (8g of fiber, 45 cals. per slice)
2 boxes of grape nuts
1 box of honey nut cheerios
3 Amy's Kitchen Spinach and tomato pizza
2 cans of Amy's Kitchen no chicken noodle soup
2 cans of Amy's kitchen black bean vegetable soup
2 Amy's kitchen black bean enchillada meals
6 Amy's kitchen bean and rice burritos
6 Amy's kitchen breakfast burritos
1 lime
1 lemon
1 can of salsa

That'll take care of me over the next week (possibly 2).

looks like to me a bunch of prossessed foods lots of lower quality carbs hardly any veggies low protien and hardly any fat. does nto sound all that great to me.

looks like to me a bunch of prossessed foods lots of lower quality carbs hardly any veggies low protien and hardly any fat. does nto sound all that great to me.

I'm curious what you would add to a vegetarian only diet to add high quality carbs, increase the veggies. As far as fat goes, I'm still sitting at 199 and really would like to hit my 175 lb. goal (I'm 5'11). So I don't want to add a huge amount of fat realistically.

Let me add something: I work 2:30 p.m.-midnight. There isn't a whole lot of 'prep' time for me to sit in the kitchen cooking stuff from scratch.

get away from wheat. and rice and eat mroe whole grains that are not so common. I know cooking takes time but it is fareasier to loose weight if you don't eat prepared foods. fats are just calories they don't make you any more fat then anything else does. but they are long term energy they make you feel full for a long time and you need them for good health. since your not eating meat butter and coconut oil are good choices.
but our lack of time is a big part of the weight issue. fresh foods that are not processed will go far longer in getting your weight down.

Come on, no pie?! :D


Again with the pie....pisser!!!

:D :D

looks like to me a bunch of prossessed foods lots of lower quality carbs hardly any veggies low protien and hardly any fat. does nto sound all that great to me.

Amy's products are about as close to home-cookin' as you can get in a commercial food. All the ingredients are things you'd put in there yourself. If he's having a beany burrito or a tofu scramble or a similarly high-protein legume at most meals, he'll be getting more than enough protein for his needs unless he's got a reason to be doing a lot of cell growth: recovery from injury or illness, or body building.

Yeah, veggies could be improved. I like a colorful tossed salad daily, the more color the better!

This grocery list, no matter how you put it together, represents nutrition far and above what the average person on the Standard American Diet is getting! I say kudos!

Come on, no pie?! :D


The real question is:
Where are the ribs??

get away from wheat. Most of the pasta I purchase(d) is Eden's Spinach spirals - Ingredients: Organic Durum Whole Wheat, Organic Golden Amber Durum Wheat Semolina, Organic Spinach Powder. I'm not seeing where its over processed or bad for me.

and rice
Unaltered rice is actually good for you. I thought I'd link this for your reading enjoyment: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=128#healthbenefits. Once again, the 'dangers' of eating rice seem to have been a culmination of the 'carbs are bad' crowd.

[Tangant] One of the reasons I actually eat every 2 hours, up to 10 times a day. Only 4 meals in the day are over 300 calories, netting about 1,200 of my caloric intake. The other 6 are sub 250 = 1,500 calories. My total intake for a day is around 2,700.



Eat mroe whole grains that are not so common.
Not sure what whole grains you'd recommend that 'aren't so common' - maybe your suggesting some arrowroot based foods, etc?


I know cooking takes time but it is far easier to loose weight if you don't eat prepared foods.
I would agree whole-heartedly. Sadly, my time is limited enough that I can only pre-cook so many of my meals. I'd love to sit and be able to make things from scratch; since that's not a reality in my life, I've done the next best thing - eating healthy, vegetarian food, with a limited amount of processing (Amy's is about as far from processed food as you can get, and still find in the frozen food aisle.


Fats are just calories they don't make you any more fat then anything else does.
Sorta true. Everything consists of calories, but the amount you take in definitely does more/or less than your giving it credit for. If your talking about saturated fats, they should consist of no more than 10 percent of your daily intake, at least that is what nutritionists I've spoken with and paid have said.


But they are long term energy they make you feel full for a long time and you need them for good health.
Fats don't 'make you feel full' that's the job of fiber. Fats help lower cholesterol, it provides burn and is used in the burning of carbos, etc. Too much is as bad as too little. It does more, but I'm not a nutritionist, and have a limited scope and understanding of it.


Since your not eating meat butter and coconut oil are good choices.
I always thought almonds were a good choice. At 14g of fat per 1 oz. serving, that's about 25% of the fat requirements for my diet. Not sure I want to take in huge quanitities of butter or coconut oil myself. Although a healthy bowl of lentil soup would rock right about now.


Fresh foods that are not processed will go far longer in getting your weight down.
I would agree. But then, companies like weight watchers are helping people lose weight, through processed and commercialized foods and, as you pointed out, calories are calories, no matter what they're from.

Unaltered rice is actually good for you.....Once again, the 'dangers' of eating rice seem to have been a culmination of the 'carbs are bad' crowd.

I always thought almonds were a good choice. At 14g of fat per 1 oz. serving, that's about 25% of the fat requirements for my diet.

I would agree. But then, companies like weight watchers are helping people lose weight, through processed and commercialized foods and, as you pointed out, calories are calories, no matter what they're from.

Great points, Santaria. Also, your shopping list looks just right to me. I've been vegan for 8 years, and am in pretty good shape and great health. It always amuses me when people think you need meat and/or dairy to be healthy.

One thing I've been making sure to stay away from now is hydrogenated oils. Whole grains are great, my noodles are whole grain, and I don't see any problem with unadulterated rice. I agree that this whole "carbs are bad for you" craze has really funked up nutritional common sense.--- How can you argue that vegetables and fruits are bad for you???? Throughout history, until Dr. Wierdo Atkinstine, noone has ever refuted this. Dr. Linus Pauling proved that vitamin C was essential to human health. Both the dairy and the cattle industry has poured BILLIONS of dollars into campaigns to promote dairy and meat as essential human food groups to the US government, along with the salt industry. How much has the vegetable and fruit industry pushed? The reason is that there is no need, everyone on the planet except the brainwashed Atkins crew already knows that fruit and veggies are essential to a healthy diet. Whole grains have even got a bad rap since this cult started, which is very sad, as they are also essential to our health and grown in an organic way are a natural product of our earth. That can't be said for anything coming out of the current factory farms producing most of our meat and dairy.

companies like weight watchers are helping people lose weight, through processed and commercialized foods
:mad: That is a personal issue! As a Weight Watcher, my diet consists of more fruits and veggies than you have on your list and certainly more wholesome carbs than Honey Nut Cheerios. :rolleyes:

Sorta true. Everything consists of calories, but the amount you take in definitely does more/or less than your giving it credit for. If your talking about saturated fats, they should consist of no more than 10 percent of your daily intake, at least that is what nutritionists I've spoken with and paid have said.

The problem with nutritionists is they get info from the so called food groups and other government based indo but that has never been based on fact. it's been based on what corporations were best represented.
Fat was never really an issue till the media got the low fat craze cranked up. Then that became law with no real basis in fact. Just look at how Americans ate 100 years ago.
We like to blame fat when it is really all the processed foods and quick foods we eat.
Fat does fill you up very well Far better then fiber ever will. This is pretty easy to test for anyone. One reason low carb is easy to loose weight on because people feel full and satisfied for a long time. Fat and protein will hold you over longer then fiber will any day.


Missed the almonds (G) not saying huge amounts of fat but some. you will be surprised how good fats help out.

agree that this whole "carbs are bad for you" craze has really funked up nutritional common sense.--- How can you argue that vegetables and fruits are bad for you???? Throughout history, until Dr. Wierdo Atkinstine, noone has ever refuted this. Dr. Linus Pauling proved that vitamin C was essential to human health. Both the dairy and the cattle industry has poured BILLIONS of dollars into campaigns to promote dairy and meat as essential human food groups to the US government, along with the salt industry



processed carbs and low quality carbs are bad for you worse then fat is. cutting back on processed carbs is very good for you. as far as spending money the grain industry won the FDA over thats why they reccomended far more servings of carbs then people need. the foods that make them ost profit are the ones that we are told to eat. not the best foods for you.
we did not evolve eating grains as they are pretty much all man made plants or milk from animals. we are meats and insects and produce that could be gathered. The most important foods we need are green veggies. they have the most nutrition per calorie.
most people eat white rice not brown rice. Most rise had been so engineered that I doubt it is all that great. Wheat is just calories. Try some of the old grains that have not been so modified by people.
No one says veggies are bad for you. Fruits can be good too. But most fruits these days are way too sweet far more sugar then they used to have in them.
I have no idea where the idea fruits and veggies are bad on a low carb diet. I guess it comes from people that really don’t know anything about it as usual.

I would say I eat a fair amount of "processed foods" (turkey breast, frozen veggie burgers, other deli meats) and I've never been healthier. Lowest weight since I was probably 10 years old. Lowest Cholesterol ever probably with a great ratio. Why are you guys saying processed foods are so "bad"?

:mad: That is a personal issue! As a Weight Watcher, my diet consists of more fruits and veggies than you have on your list and certainly more wholesome carbs than Honey Nut Cheerios. :rolleyes:

Honey Nut Cheerios are a thing my son and I eat. It beats alternatives like ice cream ect. My knowledge of Weight Watchers goes back to around 88, when my step mother and step brother were involved in the program. At that point, it involved eating a lot of processed and commercial foods. I do apologize if my information isn't 100% accurate, but then again, I'm no expert - I'm just posting on the internet:)

[nutshelled=steveknight]Same thing I'm saying, only from a different angle[nutshelled]

I'm not disagreeing with you lad, I'm saying that for the benefit of convience, I have added some quick meals.

Most definitely I'd love to be able to take at least 5-6 servings of fresh greens (and other colors!) as well as 2-3 servings of fruit to work. Now, if you can just tell me how to get all that, and keep it nice, cool and fresh on my 25-30 mile bicycle commute - you'll be rolling in money. I'm not talking about carrying around extra bags, panniers, etc. to accomplish this either.

Alternatively, I thought about bringing food on Monday for the week, but after trying to just keep my CLIF bars and Gatorade (which can last me a week easily) to last a day as they kept disappearing from the office refer - let's just say its a no win situation there.

Ultimately, I have to have foods that I can carry conviently to work, and require some degree of cooking (like vegetarian frozen burritos, etc.) simply because, its the only way I can guarantee nobody will steal my food and snack on it.

I would say I eat a fair amount of "processed foods" (turkey breast, frozen veggie burgers, other deli meats) and I've never been healthier. Lowest weight since I was probably 10 years old. Lowest Cholesterol ever probably with a great ratio. Why are you guys saying processed foods are so "bad"?

Because, taken in context like this:

Eat 1/2 a cup of raw spinach, 1/2 a cup of brown rice, black and kidney beans with a side of broccoli, some carrots and maybe half a squash that's freshly steamed...

or

Eat 1 apple and one Amy's Kitchen frozen bean and rice burrito...

Its easy to assume that the first is 1,000% better for you.

Its impossible to take into consideration that the Amy's burrito might have an ingredient list that looks like this: INGREDIENTS : (VEGAN) ORGANIC PINTO BEANS, ORGANIC WHOLE WHEAT AND WHEAT FLOUR, FILTERED WATER, ORGANIC BROWN RICE, ORGANIC TOMATOES, EXPELLER PRESSED HIGH OLEIC SAFFLOWER OIL, ORGANIC ONIONS, ORGANIC BELL PEPPERS, SWEET RICE FLOUR, SEA SALT, SPICES, ORGANIC GARLIC. CONTAINS WHEAT.

or that its nutritional makeup is:
Serving Size: 6 oz
Serving Per Container: 1
Calories: 280
Calories from Fat:60
% Daily Value
Total Fat: 6g 10%
Saturated Fat: 0.5g 4%
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: 0mg 0%
Sodium: 550mg 23%
Carbohydrates: 48g 16%
Fiber: 5g 22%
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 9g

Organic: 94%

Vitamin A: 4% • Vitamin C: 6%
Calcium: 4% • Iron: 15%


Now I'm not saying the first option is not better. Clearly it is, but it seems that the arguement is based off theory and not off reality

I would say I eat a fair amount of "processed foods" (turkey breast, frozen veggie burgers, other deli meats) and I've never been healthier. Lowest weight since I was probably 10 years old. Lowest Cholesterol ever probably with a great ratio. Why are you guys saying processed foods are so "bad"?

Commercial foods very often have unhealthful ingredients like hydrogenated fats that you wouldn't use in your own kitchen. They are sometimes processed at high temperatures that break down some of the more nutritious micronutrients and make some of the macronutrients less usable or even convert them to unhealthful forms (ie. fats oxidizing to their trans forms). And in terms of processed carbo foods, the finely ground flours (stripped of their healthful fats and fibers that might gum up the machinery) are so refined and with so much surface area that they are quickly digested and hit your system just like pure sugar. Less-refined carbos and less-processed foods will release their nutrition more slowly, avoiding insulin and blood sugar spikes, and keeping you satiated longer. They'll also have more of the healthy components of the original food; for example stone ground wheat has more vitamin E since the lower-temperature processing means the germ doesn't have to be removed to keep the oil from going rancid. Other "bad" commercial ingredients include high-fructose corn syrup, excessive sodium, nitrites in your deli meats.

If you're choosing less-processed commercial foods, like whole slices of smoked turkey instead of pressed and formed luncheon slices, you're probably doing a-OK. :)

Commercial foods very often have unhealthful ingredients like hydrogenated fats that you wouldn't use in your own kitchen. They are sometimes processed at high temperatures that break down some of the more nutritious micronutrients and make some of the macronutrients less usable or even convert them to unhealthful forms (ie. fats oxidizing to their trans forms). And in terms of processed carbo foods, the finely ground flours (stripped of their healthful fats and fibers that might gum up the machinery) are so refined and with so much surface area that they are quickly digested and hit your system just like pure sugar. Less-refined carbos and less-processed foods will release their nutrition more slowly, avoiding insulin and blood sugar spikes, and keeping you satiated longer. They'll also have more of the healthy components of the original food; for example stone ground wheat has more vitamin E since the lower-temperature processing means the germ doesn't have to be removed to keep the oil from going rancid. Other "bad" commercial ingredients include high-fructose corn syrup, excessive sodium, nitrites in your deli meats.

If you're choosing less-processed commercial foods, like whole slices of smoked turkey instead of pressed and formed luncheon slices, you're probably doing a-OK. :)
well as I mentioned in another thread I can on;y buy kosher meats and sadly our local grocery store has only limited fresh meats. I buy a turkey product that is probably high in sodium. Is high blood pressure the only negative of high levels of sodium?

well as I mentioned in another thread I can on;y buy kosher meats and sadly our local grocery store has only limited fresh meats. I buy a turkey product that is probably high in sodium. Is high blood pressure the only negative of high levels of sodium?

Yeah, as far as I know. If you sweat a lot, the salt is probably good for you!

Santaria:

Great lifestyle change. I have been vegan for 2 1/2 years. The book "Eat to LIve" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a great resource that I think you may find very useful for your new lifestyle.

Processed vs. unprocessed foods: I look at the fiber content. If its not a fruit or vegetable or bean I generally only eat it if it has 4 or more grams of fiber per serving (a serving being at least 100 calories and not more than 250 calories). The exception to this? Soymilk and tofu. If it has a high fiber content its pretty unprocessed. Grape Nuts pass this test, Cheerios do not.

As to your shopping list - looks pretty healthy. I'd make sure and add a lot of fresh fruit and veggies.

Yeah, as far as I know. If you sweat a lot, the salt is probably good for you!
good to know. My blood pressure is around 110 over 60 or 70 so I don't think I need to worry too much about the sodium. Thanks :)

Santaria, congrats on all the lifestyle changes, the benefits are long lasting and far reaching - your kids will be thanking you when you have the fitness and vitality to run around with the grandkids. I'm really impressed by your level of physical activity.

How did you go with giving up smoking? was it difficult? I'm also an ex-smoker, having smoked for 2 decades is still the one and only regret in my life (the tobacco industry should be outlawed out of existence IMHO) or at least be held fully accountable for the damage their product inflicts.

I just gave it up, oddly enough. I didn't use anything, other than a massive amount of running/swimming/cycling to compensate for it, initially. Now I can already feel a huge amount of improvements:

Case in point: I had some interesting run changes over the last 12 weeks, not sure if it was the lack of smoke in my lungs and diet, or something else. I did quit smoking in towards the end of this, around week 7-8 for clarification:

1 week - 1 mile - 5 days a week.
2 week - 1.7 miles - 4 days a week
3 week - 2.3 miles 5 days a week
4 week - off (walked about 2 miles a day - 7 days a week)
5 week - 3 miles - 6 days a week ( I found a groove here, not sure what happened, it just got a lot easier )
6 week - 5 miles - 4 days a week (Groove grew, could feel LT at the 5 mile mark)
7 week - 6 miles - 4 days a week (Nothingness approached)
quit smoking here
8 week - 7.3 miles - 5 days a week (Zen mode)
9 week - 8.8 miles - 4 days a week (Still could not understand the improvement)
10 week - 9 miles - 5 days a week (Started to see and understand why the improvement)
11 week - 10 miles 3 days a week (It all makes sense now)
12 week - current - running 10 miles 6 days a week - 1 day at 5 miles but pushing down time now.

Combine that with my 100 miles a week commute/training and my .9 mile swim now...


I don't have time to smoke, and have even less desire to ever go back. But, I am hungry now:p

I just gave it up, oddly enough. I didn't use anything, other than a massive amount of running/swimming/cycling to compensate for it, initially. Now I can already feel a huge amount of improvements:

Case in point: I had some interesting run changes over the last 12 weeks, not sure if it was the lack of smoke in my lungs and diet, or something else. I did quit smoking in towards the end of this, around week 7-8 for clarification:

<insert impressive excercise regime here>

I don't have time to smoke, and have even less desire to ever go back. But, I am hungry now:p

Wow. I am suitably impressed, that is a hell of a lifestyle change. I'm sure your family is proud of you! Congrats! Oh, and the menu looks pretty good, especially if you were eating a lot of processed foods before (I don't remember if you mentioned that or not). I own a lot of vegetarian cookbooks and one thing they mention quite a bit is the idea of combining legumes and starches to form a "complete protein". Dahl & Whole Wheat Pita, Chick Pea Curry & Brown Rice, etc.

it shouldn't cost much extra at all to eath healthy. If you are trying to cut the cost, i would look over the receipt for those items you bought and decide which one are expendable, and what you can replace them with. You should often check the items cost per an ounce because that shows you how much actual product you are getting for the price paid. I can tell, just from glancing over your list, that those frozen dishes are what is making your bill sky rocket. I don't know your particular life style but if you can afford to maybe make your own dishes and refrigerate or freeze them this may help reduce your cost greatly. Hit me up if you need any more tips and keep up the good diet! Even if it does cost more now, it will save you tons of money on health bills in later years.