The Joy of Soy?

So first of all, things have been getting harder! I've had a lot of slip ups. Well, still nothing compared to what I would have eaten before, but still, slip ups. They have come in the form of a Coke, huckleberry ice cream (or does this count as a fruit? :P), and a brownie. Probably other things too that I'm not remembering at the moment. How long until cravings stop? Three weeks? Something like that?

Next I was wondering what everyone knows about soy. I've always thought about it as really healthy, and a good substitute for meat. But I was reading a study that links soy to some unhappy side effects. Most of them involve infertility in women, but there's no way in hell I'm having kids, so it's hard to be concerned about that particular side effect. Still, that one is more obvious immediately, but could there be other long-term effects. What have you guys read, and what do you think?

Ugh. I want a cookie. I guess I'll go eat a banana instead. *sigh*

First entry

Okay so here goes. A blog. I never thought I would stoop to this level. :) The day I join twitter, someone arrange an intervention.

So far so good! I've been thinking for a long time that I need to improve my eating habits, but there wasn't much commitment, so the thought lasted all of one meal or whatever. But now that I'm really determined, this is easier than I expected. But it's only like day 3 or something so perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.

Things so far haven't been crazy healthy, mostly because I'm eating what was left over when I made the decision to do this (but luckily I didn't have any sweets in the house, so no chance to indulge there!). This has included whole wheat pancakes with strawberries (no syrup), assorted sandwiches, cereal with rice milk (the cereal is sweetened with cinnamon but it has 20 grams of protein, and I figure this is more of a good way for a vegetarian to start her day than a sweet indulgence), and clementines and snap peas as snacks. I'm running low on food so I'm going to do some recipe research today and grocery shop tomorrow. Wish me luck there.

I slipped up once. I was at the monastery for class, and they always put out snacks for our break (these snacks vary from edamame to oreos, depending on who puts them out). This day they put out Lindt truffles, and I ate one without even thinking about. Then I realized what I'd done and ate three more. *sigh* But three little truffles in less than I could have eaten in a day before. However, I will try to make sure this doesn't happen again any time soon. :)

Some things have been tempting me. I was at the mall getting my iPhone fixed and I walked past Mrs. Field's. I LOVE their cookies. That was hard. Then at the ballet studio they put out cookies because some of the patrons who donate thousands of dollars were coming by (the kind that are really soft with way too much frosting and make you feel sick before you even finish one), but luckily I was busy and couldn't eat one, and then I forgot about them until I left. But other than that I've done pretty good, I think.

I've requested a few books from the library on vegetable gardens, including the basics of how to grow one, as well as things that grow well in the Pacific NW. I can't wait to try a garden. I need to figure out how to make a raised bed....

Thanks for the support and comments, guys. :) I need the accountability!