Tricks of a vegan foodie

I'm posting nice and late today because I spent the day relaxing :). Today, I took my pills and was pleasantly surprised to find so many left-overs in our fridge for lunch.

You may know that Kill and I went vegan about 1 month after I started chemo, although, I still ate fish for months afterward because I'm a tough sell. The best thing about being vegan is that I didn't gain the 20 pounds or get the constipation that comes from chemo (too much information?) Now my weight has stayed down (something, I think, benefits many illnesses) and when I tried on wedding dresses last week I fit into a sample size. Now, I know that I'm gloating but that feeling was brand new for me, seeing as I was always a little fleshy prior to my diagnosis. Not fat, but a consistent size 10/12 and with periodic turkey neck in photos.

So why am I torturing you with this info? There are some tricks I use to eat just enough food to be full. I bought cute salad/dessert plates and we only use those for our meals. We use a full size plate as a platter. I don't warm up extra food anymore because then I feel I should eat it (or it will go bad). I drink water before I eat.... actually, I've started drinking mostly water. I was inspired this Christmas when I was at my grand parents house and the lovely man who runs Mountain Equipment Co-op in Calgary told me that he drinks water and... only water. At the time, I thought he was strange but the idea percolated in my mind for a few months. Water has no negative impact and it helps everything in me work. I still drink herbal tea (my favourite) and the occasional soy/almond beverage but less than before*. We've also started using small spoons to eat with instead of large ones. Every little bit helps right?

Today, I put my delicious lunch: 2 small pickles, 2 carrots, herb salad with balsamic vinegar, brown rice and lentil curry and half of a bean cake in some flat bread on a small plate. Then I took a picture of it next to a big plate, I measured the plates (8 inches and 11 inches), I moved all my food onto the bigger plate, I moved my food back to the small plate, I realized that I'd now dirtied 2 plates and have no dishwasher, I was then tempted to lick the big plate clean and put it back in the cupboard but I decided not to be disgusting so I washed it by hand. What  had I learned? I would have eaten more if I had more space on my plate, a few more carrots, extra rice, etc..

Why does tricking yourself work so well? I don't know, but I do it all the time by smiling, humming and telling myself "good job". I trick myself into feeling good and hell, it's working.

*note: don't take your pills with anything but water, a clever pharmacist taught me that last week. It turns out that some medications can be rendered 50% less effective by doing that!!