Fat Vegans 101 - from the inside out

Fat vegans - we know who we are. Dr Mcdougall has a whole chapter in his latest book, The Starch Solution, called simply, Fat Vegans. Ouch - not popular. I didn't like it either. I could debate his points, but that wouldn't win my anything in my constant struggle with being one.

So apologies in advance if this post offends. This is my truth about being a fat vegan with an eating disorder, and maybe some of it is yours, and sometimes, the truth hurts.  

It's never easy being fat

So what's the big deal? Anyone who's fat has their share of problems. But it can be hard to be fat and vegan because: 

Vegans are supposed to be thin

Everyone knows that vegans are skinny and weak! And the truth is that vegans and vegetarians are thinner than average. Vegans and nonvegans will make generalisations about veganism and weight loss. What is wrong with me, the vegan who is not skinny?

Vegan advocacy

I feel like a poor role model for the vegan lifestyle. It can be uncomfortable to spread the word when I am spreading over my seat, even knowing that I have lost weight successfully and kept most of it off. I dream of a professional role in food advocacy, but I know my advice could be ridiculed and dismissed at my current weight.

Vegan food porn

Vegans are on a mission to show everybody how amazing vegan food is (and it is). We want to dispel the annoying but persistent myth that food is boring if you're vegan.

Vegans constantly share pictures and recipes of their latest amazing creation...far more often than omnivores. And it's usually the gorgeous chocolate cake, "cheesy" lasagna, and tofu burgers.

Vegan gatherings

Vegan solidarity naturally gravitates toward food. We all have to battle in the nonvegan world to find suitable food, so when we get together, we celebrate our shared delicious all-vegan food (see above).

Yes, veganism is about much more than food...but we don't throw vegan shoe parties.

Food addiction

Vegans love food, and so do I. But for my health and happiness, I need to think less about food. I especially need to think less about chocolate cake, "cheesy" lasagna, and tofu burgers.

An alcoholic or cigarette addict can just not have alcohol or a smoke ever again. I can't just not eat. Well, I could and some do: people in treatment for severe eating disorders often report themselves as vegetarian (1/3 to 1/2) But that's not the answer.

So what can I do?

Get plant-strong

Vegans are not all about your health - in fact a vocal and popular expert camp argues that human health is a lesser issue, or even a barrier to the vegan cause.

I don't go a week without hearing some variation: how selfish and shallow it is compared to animal rights, or how it's not really vegan, to care about your own health. (Not surprisingly, I also have an opinion.) 

So look to plant-strong nutrition and health gurus rather than vegans. Their recommendations are 99 to 100% vegan anyway, so vegans hardly have to flex our well-developed modification muscles.

Plant-strong experts:

Dr McDougall, Dr Esselstyn and Rip, Dr Greger, Dr Campbell, Dr Barnard, Dr Klaper, Dr Popper, Jeff Novick...

They have published so much free information that you can become an expert too.

Get expert help

There are vegan advocates who have never struggled against gaining weight. They may not get it - some will be casual or even cruel about the power of the vegan diet to cause easy weight loss. But there are experts out there who have fought our battles.

• Fitness: Lani Muelrath really knows how to get your body through the hurdles.
• Cooking: Chef AJ. Again, plant-strong recipes are your new best friends.

Get a life

Food is a basic fulfilment. But when I start using it to fulfill all my needs because my inner child thinks that food is the only way to feel good, something needs to change.

Find a happy healthy habit away from food: exercise, declutter and donate, volunteer, play with the kids... When that habit is no longer exciting, find another exciting fulfilment. Repeat and enjoy.

Get a support group

Find (or start) a group who will help keep you on track. This can be in person or online. Stay connected, so you don't become isolated in a world full of trigger foods.

Limit food-related vegan activities

This is a tough one, because I love getting together with vegan friends. But I'm fighting for my life here. Or maybe I'm fighting because my daughter recently found a box full of my pretty dresses under the bed, and I had to tell her why I couldn't wear them.

In the same way an alcoholic shouldn't visit bars, I need to stay out of rich food environments. My friends will understand.

And the rest...

Standard dieting tips can also help. Mindfulness, brushing my teeth to signal I'm done eating, drinking plenty of water, drinking green tea, writing a food journal, etc.

Be aware that all these methods have a honeymoon period. Be ready with another plan for when you start cheating.

There is no one solution to this complicated problem. This story is not done. I welcome your contributions.

Decluttering toys for a brand new year

After Christmas is the perfect time to make the New Year's Resolution of decluttering the toys. In our house, we have birthdays early in the New Year - even more motivation to make room for the new favourites.

Since I do regular toy audits, I don't have large dump piles. But my my youngest is now school-age, so there are quite a few toys that will not be missed much.

What's gone

Mr Potato Head and a puzzle or two went to a friend (always my first choice). My favourite charity shop also benefited from my constant search and seizure of tiny unloved treasures. It never stops. I try to remember my own advice on toy decluttering and the Top 10 Toys List.

A small building set went on Trademe - it's a quality set but we got lots more Lego and Brainbox for Christmas, and those are what we'll build on.

A shallow storage tray, reclaimed from wooden puzzles, became the Lego tray - much more accessible and stored under the couch.

Other bulky items on their way to another home...



The biggest win for the big picture was selling the kids' art tables.

My sister had these made and they are great. But kids grow.

It wasn't a large cash payout, but it was like the right move in those sliding number puzzles.

The student desks came downstairs into the office space with us...

The dollhouse moved into the toyroom.

Now the lounge looks one grade clearer and two grades more grownup.

Who am I kidding? I've just cleared space for bigger Lego projects!

What are your New Year decluttering goals?

Taking Decluttering Public - Group Clutter

It's no surprise that 1/4 of these 8 Habits of Organised People involve decluttering. And even though I've been far too quiet lately, the decluttering has continued...and it's grown!

With the goal of decluttering professionally, I have decluttered at my sister's house (hopefully more on this later.) I am also decluttering for an entire club.

As the new president of Explorers, I have a serious job on my hands. The previous long-serving and super hard working president is also a confirmed packrat, who doesn't think we should get rid of anything if we've spent money on it.

No prizes for guessing what the club storage cupboard looks like.

Along with the overstuffed shelves of activity resources, we have three library carts of books and games. Rather, we had about five carts' worth stacked onto three carts.

Making the Decluttering Case

In home decluttering, you will encounter resistance from those attached to the stuff. At an organisation level, it will be worse. You will hear all the usual enemy whispers, this time on behalf of the organisation.

We have a treasure trove of super cool stuff in the cupboard. Here is why the club agreed to declutter:

Dependence

The storage cupboard was so full that things only fit tightly packed in a few ways. Only one person really knew where to find things and where to put them away again so we could slam the door closed at the end of the day. Nobody else was sure of navigating the cupboard, and nobody wanted to.

This is a dangerous state for a club to be in!

Wasted Time and Energy

Every activity day needed a major extra commitment simply to take out materials and put them away again. Often we would still be setting up and in a rushed mess as people arrived.

Because only one person knew the right way to pack up (but often other people had to put stuff away anyway), the storage cupboard needed regular reorganisations (at least once a year) where many people stayed for hours to take everything from the cupboard and put it all away again.

People aren't too keen about this. Constantly shifting and sorting stuff is not a rewarding volunteer job.

Damage

Overstuffed storage damages the stored material.

For example, on our library carts, we had books in every crevice. Books stacked on top of each row of books plus piles on top. It was too heavy for one person to move. There were so many games that they spilled off the sides.

And when we moved them in and out of the cupboard, stuff on the edges got crushed against everything in our way. Of course, we had to pile other boxes on top of the books and games carts to get the cupboard door closed.


Access and Utility

The usual clutter complaints also apply

• People could hardly browse the library carts for fear of starting an avalanche. Small children certainly couldn't do it. There was always a mess to clean up simply from people trying to get things out.
• We often rebought materials because we didn't know we already owned them - or suspected we might but couldn't find them in time.

Decluttering Process

We've had two decluttering marathons already - the library carts and the general cupboard shelves.

Library

Our librarian defined a purpose for our library. This meant when we looked at a book or game, we could see it in the context of its use for our club, not just how cool it was.

We also took into account how easy it is for Aucklanders to get books from our public library.

The games and books now fit on their carts.

Shelves

I didn't know what was on the shelves, but my purpose was at least to

• remove any damaged or outdated material
• reduce duplication
• consider the value of all materials for the club's future

This is still a work in progress. We only got through about half the shelves, and we took out lots and lots of stuff.


What happened to the stuff?

After library clearout, before Open Day Sale

It's at my house. Good thing I'm an expert declutterer.

We sold some for about $400 at our annual Open Day, and a few large items sold on TradeMe. We are donating the rest.

Beneficiaries have been:

• NZAGC (our national org)
• Franklin Discoverers
• Playcentre
• Gifted Education Centre
• Montessori

After Open Day Sale and after cupboard clearout

Today, after many donations.

Someday very soon, I will post a photo of a clear floor. If this had been an easy task, someone else would have done it long ago.

The lesson?

Groups need to be even more careful than individuals with their decisions about stuff. With shared responsibility comes avoided responsibility.

Has anyone else encountered group clutter in your organisation?

The punchline?

The cupboard is still full.

Freedom - in living colour

I don't always get a gasp of astonishment from my husband when he gets home. (Maybe I could, but that would be promising more than I can deliver.)  But I did yesterday.

I just covered the freedom of giving.  With no more specific goal in mind than decluttering, I'm proud to report transforming another space from a Before to an After.  More Before Pictures...

Original guest bedroom, 2010

We got rid of a table from my student days, emptied junk off a great office desk and moved it in.  The bookshelves went behind the couch - but we could still reach them, sort of.

Reshuffled guest bedroom

Slowly and surely, items found better homes. The office desk went into our new office.  I released books and the little bookshelf holds kids' books in the kids' room.  A chair is now my reading sanctuary in our bedroom, and another small shelf is holding up a family dollhouse.

I looked over (from my standing desk) one day and saw what could happen if I cleaned up some stray small clutter.

And now for the happy ending...

 Not only can we reach our books again, we can sit down and read them too.


"Why didn't we do this before?" asked DH. Honey, now you know.

And I post these photo histories to show you that if I can do this with the stuff we had, anyone can.

Where are your histories waiting to happen?

Giving your way to freedom

Worth selling?

In my decluttering journey, I've sold many nice things.  Recently.....

Chasing value

Around each thing that owns me, I still see a double golden halo:

1. the money I spent on it
2. the money I could get for it

1. Illusion

The money I spent on it is gone. The time to save that money was when I decided to buy the thing - a good lesson for next time.

The thing is no longer my money; it is a thing of some functional worth to me.

Or it is not.

2. Gamble

The money I could get for it seems irresistible. Some of that GONE money could come back!

I'm gambling that the effort of selling will return enough money to be worthwhile.  Of course, from any cash I get, I must subtract all the time it takes to run an amateur secondhand shop. Time to:

• photograph
• advertise
• contact a buyer
• maybe wrap a package, address it, and take it to the post office.

An optimistic figure? 1 hour. How low must I value my time to leave any lovely money in my hand?

And some things didn't sell, so after all the effort, I simply gave them away. Or worse, left them in my house in the hope I could sell them later.

Winning the gamble

Some things can be worth selling. But remember the main benefit is a clearer space, a clearer mind, and a clearer life. So...

1. Be realistic about the money you'll get back
2. Value your time fairly

You'll gradually get a feel for your true profit margin, and when to just let go.

Most of what I showed you earlier in my sold portfolio?  Should have just let 'em go.

Giving away is not throwing away.

Yes, another person might gain from your stuff.  Value that more than the stuff and find freedom.

Decluttering - big time

Some of my recent decluttering has been on the small side, but plenty of big stuff is still going down.

On the shelf

Building on past success, I've again decluttered so well that I had DH remove an entire shelf that he so kindly installed for me in a previous life.

"More storage will solve my problem!" "Yes dear."

 "Maybe I just need less STUFF"

 "What about even less?"  Now you see it...

 ...and now you don't.

Our walls need some care after their abuse, but I still love it.

A bedtime story with a happy ending

We had a double bed (from my student days) leaning against a wall.

Then we used that bed as co-sleeping space alongside our kingsized bed.  Acres of sleep space - almost wall to wall!  Kids loved it. By night a bed - by day a super trampoline.

 Then we moved that bed into the au pair's room, and bought a simple single bed to be co-sleeping space.

Now, co-sleeping still happens, but only the cats use that single bed. I like the cats, but they already own the entire house, so...

Now I have a retreat. 
And we can get in and out of bed without gymnastics.
And we already sold the single bed for more than we paid for it.

Aaaaaahhhh....

 

 

 

 

Moral

My successes are just me rescuing myself from problems I'd created in the first place. 

Wallet minimalism and handbag sexism

My wallet and backpack featured last year on The Everyday Minimalist's Minimalist Wallet series.

That exercise showed me that I could downsize several items. But in the unstuffed wallet, the important cards get lonely and slip out of their pocket when not carefully handled.

More recently, my husband minimised his wallet from a traditional trifold to a simple bifold card wallet.  He's given that bifold to me now... so now I get to put my money where my minimalism is.

Handbag sexism

While we're on the topic of what we carry around, ponder this. Handbags are a hot feminist issue (along with women's pockets)  Women are burdened by bags full of makeup and stuff for everything that could happen to us or anyone around us.
Men have always carried wallets, heedless of their clothing profiles.  Few take even a comb along with them because their morning's grooming is good enough.

These bags bind us as much as high heels - you can't run very fast with either.

And just like any space, you start with what you actually want, and the unplanned items sneak in until you're forced into maintenance. Bigger is not better.

I don't need to carry nappies and clothes changes everywhere I go anymore.  When I do need to carry water bottles and a snack, I've downsized from the daypack featured earlier to this child-sized backpack (of course, one of my many Secondhand Smarts buys). 


So on to the shrinking wallet...



Old wallet

Trifold wallet with numerous pockets, contains:

• Cash
• NZ driver’s license
• Credit card
• Cashpoint card
• Automobile Association card
• Library card
• Supermarket points card
• Bulk store membership card
• Explorers clubday concession card (card stock)
• Health food store loyalty card (keychain size)
• Airline points card
• 2 store loyalty cards
• Food preferences card designed by my sister for giving to restaurants not familiar with the McDougall Program. Never so far used.
• Medical insurance membership card

New wallet

I kept everything I used on a weekly basis or more and the auto card for emergencies. The airline points card is new to me and still to prove itself.

I released

• 2 store loyalty cards (not local)
• Food preferences card 
• Medical insurance membership card
• Cashpoint card (credit card is dual purpose)

The rest fits pretty nicely.  I could add a little more.

Advantages

Beautiful...

As well as the obvious, it's much easier to carry in that rare creature: the women's clothing pocket!
 
Risks and downsides

There's no place to keep much cash or receipts I want to save.  I've already wasted a trip thinking I had a cheque in my wallet - and I didn't!  Then, I coudn't find the cheque for some hours afterward.

This is truly an experiment - wish me luck!

My ideal wallet would be a bifold that also has a long side pocket for bills - anyone know where I can get one? 

Decluttering: a win-win

Last year I was lucky enough to win a beautiful set of eco-friendly bamboo party ware from Friendlypak in New Zealand. More about eco-friendly packaging...check out the new biodegradable cling wrap!

I had a serious decision to make - these bowls and trays are beautiful, but I already have a set of party bowls.  The prize bowls also needed a home...not the downstairs sofa.  So was their home in my home or someone else's home?

I implemented Workout #4 of my Productive New Year's Workouts and cleaned out all the shelves in my refrigerator, pantry, and other kitchen cupboards. That is a serious workout, and it lasted a couple of days.

Mid-clean

After

Not only did I get clean cupboards, decluttering is a natural side-effect.

I repackaged some food items and threw out some more.  We still have a full pantry, but just better.












 And just look at our wine collection.

We don't drink wine!

It always seemed wrong to just get rid of perfectly good bottles of wine.  So instead, we left them hidden away until they were no longer perfectly good bottles of wine. When the inner hoarder wins, everyone loses.  Those bottles of bubbly are from our engagement and wedding - some 15 years ago!

Out they went, the less antique ones free to friends who were up for a lucky dip, and the antiques down the drain and into the recycling.

And the prize for decluttering? 

A new home for my prize...

Don't they look great at my son's birthday party?

What things do you have hidden away that need a new home?

Workout #1 really worked!

I've been following my own advice.

As suggested in Productive Workouts, I tried on all the clothes I owned.  It took time and commitment.  And look at the results...

I thought I'd done a good job of clearing out clothes already.  But trying them all on in a short time worked better because I could:

• really see and feel if the clothes fit
• make firm comparisons: which clothes are better or which I have too many in a type

Two of these shirts were actually in my current active wardrobe - but although they are good quality and comfortable, they are unflattering because of size and cut (and I only allow that in my exercise clothes).

And as I hoped, this exercise added extra motivation for improved fitness, since there's nothing like the nostalgia of remembering how you used to love wearing that.

Naughty bits

I also had fun rediscovering my lingerie collection.   Yes, you don't have to be a size 6 to enjoy these! 

I tried everything on and moved what I want to keep from the storage box into a drawer (emptied by previous decluttering).  I even found a short lingerie wrap that I can use as a summer dressing gown for a bit of well-deserved luxury.

Another triumph for Shopping At Home!

5 Productive New Year's Workouts

Resolved to have a fitter New Year?  Here are some free holiday workouts that leave you with more than just an endorphine rush.

Caution:  Don't try all of these workouts in one day without medical advice.

1.  Try on all the clothes you own - a foolproof way to get rid of a few things and step down from holiday eating. 

Hey, the workout's not done until you've folded and put away everything!

2.  Empty your worst storage closet, declutter, and replace.

3.  Get in the garden - check out container gardening if you have no garden space (those big pots are great for for weightlifting).

4.  Clean the fridge and pantry.

5.  Play tag with the kids (or other fun-lover of your choice).

Happy New Year, everyone!

Constant decluttering

These left us a month ago.

When I feel like I never want to see X again, I'm going with that feeling! 

OK, I'm not throwing all the toys away just yet, but there are plenty of other candidates.

Remember that things keep coming in, so things must keep going out.

I probably should have let someone else drop off the donations bag.  Continuing the Christmas spirit, I did not leave the charity shop empty handed.

These left today (note this bag is wider than half the sofa!)

Girl clothes on their way to another family

I've continued my paper decluttering successes and reduced some major stacks with a new resolution:  Keep Some.

I have some company stocks and a long-held bank account, both of which have generated many years of statements (back to the 80s!). 

I've been afraid to get rid of anything just in case I get into trouble without the records but also haven't yet decided what I want to do with them.  So the statements pile up.

My triumph

I've kept one statement from every year, plus anything that looks tax related.  So I have records in case someone should demand them, and I also have much much less paper!

Left: gone!  Right: kept

Challenge

Find 10 things today that you will never use again - bin them or put them in your donations bag.  (Start a donations bag!)