Baby Steps

I have so many thoughts and ideas bouncing around in my head I don't know where to start.  I've spent the day on the internet looking at different food options & diets and here's where I'm at, I've always been intrigured by the Vegan/Vegetarian lifestyle but never wanted to commit myself to it.  I'll be honest I love meat, dairy, eggs, etc but I always hear so many positive things about it that I'm intrigued, almost envious of vegans.  On Oprah the other day (and a few months back) she was talking about Food Inc and she also had on Alicia Silverstone talking about her "kind diet" but its just all the perks that she talks about that I want soooo bad.  Maintaining her goal weight without trying, clear skin, healthy digestion, bright eyes, strong nails ~ all of which I'm seriously lacking.  I mentioned recently that I saw Food Inc, and it was such an eye opener, however, I'm not on an alternate food kick because of this movie, I actually sought out to watch this movie because I have all these ideas already and I really want to learn more.  
Reasons to change how I eat 1) I've been dealing with a huge pimple for days now, this is getting rediculous.  I'm 30 years old and still have to deal with gross huge bulging pimples and I'm f'n sick of it. 2) Another thing I haven't mentioned but needs to be said, I'm highly irregular.  I mean I hardly ever "go".  I have to drink prune juice daily if I expect anything to happen and when you're trying to lose weight its imperative that you "go" or you're doomed.  I hear Alicia S bragging on Oprah about how she goes 2 sometimes 3 times a day, she's in the bathroom for a minute - in & out, and I'm so jealous I can hardly stand it.  Odd thing to be jealous of but if she can brag about it on national tv and have a gleam in her eye when she talks about how "perfect" it is I think thats something to strive for.

So, here's the deal, I don't think I'm ready to commit myself to being a vegan, I think if I dove in head first it would fizzle very quickly (and my boyfriend would probably leave me..lol).  I plan to take baby steps to find certain food alternatives that are practical for me and do not sacrifice taste and nutritional value.

My Baby Steps
1. Find an alternative to milk (please see lesson learned for today).  Whether its soy milk, almond milk, rice milk, I'm gonna try them all and whichever one I like the best is the one for me.  If anyone has suggestions by all means,  I'm looking for something close in taste to 1%, don't want it to be sweet and something I can cook/bake with and won't change the taste of my food too much.
2. Cutting way back on cheese.  I've actually been doing this since I joined WW because I don't like to sacrifice the points in a sandwich, salad, wrap, casserole etc when I can barely taste it anyway. 
3.  I will cut back the portions of meat that I cook and eliminate from recipes when practical. For example, chili.  I made chili the other night without meat, loaded with beans, corn, tomatos and it was delish, didn't even miss the beef. 
4. I cut out diet pop 95% (never drank reg pop).  I know this is not a veggie choice but it goes towards the idea of cutting chemical and genetically engineered and processed foods out.  I've been buying for some time now crystal light/wylers light & hawaiian punch 5 cal packets and I haven't bought pop since.  Now I know what you might be thinking, this is a chemical too, I get it but I'm talking baby steps people ~ one thing at a time and I feel good about not drinking diet pop anymore.
5. I've cut out butter also for some time.  I have the spray margerine and I've cut back on butter comsumption hugely.
6. Once I get back to NS and I'm near a health food store I commit to trying new meat alternatives.  I will try to cook with tofu, soy, veggie burgers, etc.  If I like it (and bf likes it) great!!  If not, oh well I tried.

For me this has to be practical, I'm not willing to eat foods I don't like but I am willing to try another way to be happy and healthy and I'm really excited about the path to new discovery.