Eat with Abandon

I have made it to my fifth full day in a row of Vegan meals and ninth day of vegetarian meals. YAY! I feel so good and so full, even though overall I am eating less food. By eating more beans and legumes, I am getting my protein and carbs at the same time, except they are GOOD carbs that I am allowed to eat. Beans and Legumes are perfect double duty foods and I really do feel fuller, longer (but not a gross, stuffed full). It is a comfortable feeling of not feeling hungry, which is hard because usually I am hungry all the time. It is so hard to explain, but since most of my food is now plant-based, I feel like my body is more evenly fueled and I am not feeling dramatic dips and spikes in hunger. I am comforted by knowing that I can eat with abandon--bring on that big vegan salad or big bowl of vegan soup! I am not stingy with my servings and I know that if I get hungry later, I can always have a snack. Today was a day of leftovers for lunch and dinner (leftover barley salad over greens for lunch and 16 Bean Soup for dinner) and that made life so easy. I had a medjool date and some dried coconut as my afternoon snack to hold me over before dinner. Those dried fruits are like candy to me, so that was my Friday treat for sticking to my goals this week. I think I can keep this up if I remind myself of my mantras:
1. Baby steps
2. One meal at a time, one day at a time
3. I can always eat again if I am still hungry
4. Patience
5. Be kind to my body, be kind to animals
6. You are what you eat