Ten Tips That Helped Me Get Back On Track With My Whole Food, Plant-Based Weight Loss Adventure

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MEET THE KROCKS: We are a married couple who started on a life-changing whole food, plant-based weight loss journey in June 2018. To date, we have lost over 300 pounds combined and we aren’t done yet! Read Our Story

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Welcome to the final (I think?) installment of our “Getting Back On Track” series. As you may remember, almost two months ago on March 15th, I was in a pretty bad place.

I made a video “confessing” that I’d gotten completely off track with our whole food plant based diet. Before we released it, I went back and forth in my head (and out loud, in conversation with Brian) debating on whether I would share that original confession video. It’s hard for me to admit my failures to myself, let alone to an entire YouTube audience.

But what I’ve realized since then is that the vast majority of people are here to support us and not judge us or hold us to some crazy standard. So many of you have reached out to let me know that sharing my struggles helped you in one way or another, so I thank you for that.

Beyond the initial “confession,” I thought it was really important to bring you guys along for my journey towards getting myself back on track. You can check out the playlist here to watch all of the videos in this “series.” The good news is, I was able to get myself back on track and I have been doing really well for almost two months now. I am down around 25 pounds from where I was back on March 15th, and I have learned so much throughout this entire process.

For today’s final installment, I thought I would share some tips that have worked for me as I’ve gotten myself back on track. So let’s get into the tips!

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Tip #1: Admit and come to terms with where you are at and what you’ve done.

As I got further and further off track, I started to hide more things. This is always a red flag. For me, when I start sneaking around eating food and making up excuses to be alone, that is probably a pretty good indication that I’m not doing well. For weeks, I didn’t tell anyone what was going on, because if it was just in my own head, I thought I could get past it and not have to admit that I had failed.

I think it was important for me to “admit” to myself first that there was a problem. Recording that original confession video finally made it real for me. Once I said it out loud, it was no longer just in my own head. It was real. I’m not saying you need to “shout it from the rooftops” and I honestly don’t even think I “needed” to share it with the world. Just the process of talking out loud or writing about it for yourself can make a big difference.

Of course Brian is my partner in all of this, so I definitely wanted to share it with him. I can be pretty sneaky, and he doesn’t ask a lot of questions, so it’s pretty easy to get things past him. There is also the struggle of not wanting to drag him down with me, so in my mind, hiding it from him is also saving him in a way. If he’s doing well, why would I sabotage him by letting him know I’m not? I know that in his mind, if I ate “bad” stuff, he will use that as a way to justify eating his own “bad” stuff to sort of… even out the playing field. I know, I know… we are messed up. LOL.

But the point is, even if it’s like one of those letters you write and seal up and never send to anyone, just laying it all out there in writing (or talking) for YOURSELF can really help.

Tip #2: Don’t get down on yourself or beat yourself up for what you’ve done.

Forgive yourself. You can’t change it by driving yourself crazy with guilt, regret, etc. Instead, I choose to look at this as an opportunity. It was a chance for me to prove to myself that I could mess up and still get back on track. In the past, I’ve just given up at this point, but this time I have completely changed my diet and made a true lifestyle change. I knew I had the tools to climb back up this mountain.

Tip #3: Take it one meal, one day, one week, etc. at a time.

On the very first day, I was proud of myself for just making it through ONE meal. Then it was the entire day. And a couple more days. Before I knew it, I had a week under my belt. Celebrate each “victory” and take them one at a time. It can be overwhelming to think of doing a full week, but I find it really helps to break it down into smaller pieces.

Tip #4: Rely on your favorite “staple” recipes a majority of the time and find a few new recipes to reignite your passion.

Hopefully everyone has a few favorite “staple” recipes they love. For us, it is definitely Brian’s chili and our super smoky hummus. These two recipes, along with our giant salads each night, have gotten us through a lot of rough patches and helped us drop sooo many pounds.

Along with going back to these old staples, it really helped me to discover some new recipes. Trying new recipes made me feel like I was still getting something special or decadent, even though they were just new ways of preparing my favorite healthy foods. We decided to cook our way through The Healthspan Solution, and trying out those recipes has been so much fun!

Tip #5: Reflect back on the times when you’ve been successful and try to revert back to those habits.

Over time, I feel like we get more relaxed, so a reset back to center is necessary. We start making small exceptions that lead to bigger ones and before you know it, you can be completely off track. Although I don’t think we should be super rigid and crazy with trying to stick to a plan, going back to the “roots” can really help.

For us, we started with the six week plan from the book Eat To Live, so reading over those guidelines again helped. I’ve changed and learned SO much since we started, so I don’t think I’ll ever go back to 100% following those guidelines, but I know what works for me, so I strive to get back to that.

Tip #6: Educate yourself.

Pick up some new material to help reinforce why you’re doing what you’re doing. Again, The Healthspan Solution has been a big help to me here, and our conversations with Julieanna Hever and Ray Cronise played a big part as well. I learned so much from reading their book and having the opportunity to ask them questions.

Learning new things really helps me reinforce my passion for living this whole food plant based lifestyle. There is always something new to learn. You can check out our favorite books here for some inspiration!

Tip #7: Don’t snack between meals.

Back to our early days of going whole food plant based, snacking between meals was something I had completely eliminated. For me, when I start snacking, it’s always a danger zone. I find that if I don’t eat between meals, I actually feel less hungry a majority of the time. The moment I snack on something, my hunger is re-ignited.

This has been a simple, clearcut way to get my eating back on track. There is no gray area with this “rule.” I have actually started eating two meals a day (around 11:30am and 6pm) and I try to avoid eating anything in between.

Tip #8: Know your weaknesses (and plan for them).

We all have those foods that trigger us. One bite and you just want more. For me, it is definitely chocolate, with peanut butter coming in a close second. Combine the two… and forget about it… I’m doomed!

Peanut butter is pretty easy for me to avoid. We usually have it in the refrigerator at all times for either Brian or the dogs, but I have a really strong willpower. I just don’t allow myself to use it, unless it is a reasonable amount as part of a meal I’m eating.

Chocolate on the other hand… I can’t resist. Just a tiny bite here, a tiny bite there and before you know it, I’ve eaten an entire bar. So I decided I wasn’t going to bring any chocolate into the house EXCEPT unsweetened cocoa powder. That way, if I was eating chocolate, it was part of something else like nice cream.

I started making a chocolate nice cream shake at the end of each night as sort of a “reward” for myself for making it through another day. Yeah, this was probably my “crutch” for the first few weeks of getting back on track, but it really helped. I no longer HAVE to have one every single night, but I do enjoy them several times a week. It is a good way for me to allow myself chocolate but not feel super guilty about just devouring an entire chocolate bar or something.

So whatever your “weakness” is, just make sure you are aware of it and whether or not you can have ANY without going totally overboard. In some cases, eliminating it from your home altogether might be necessary, at least temporarily.

Tip #9: Don’t get too focused on the “labels.”

Back in February before I got “off track,” I had actually made a decision that I was going to eat 100% vegan from that point forward. One day, I went out and had a “last hurrah” of some of my favorite non-vegan things and then vowed that I’d never eat them again.

My decision was a complicated one that I’d been thinking about a lot over several months. I never claim to be an “ethical vegan,” but I have learned sooo much about it over the past couple of years, and I really just don’t see a NEED to eat meat, cheese, etc. again. So I decided to pull the plug on it.

Unfortunately, I think giving myself that restrictive “label” that I was only going to eat “vegan” going forward really messed with me. I was being too restrictive with myself. Eventually, all I could think about was all of the things I didn’t get a chance to have on my last “hurrah.”

The funny part is, I normally eat vegan 99% of the time anyway, and since I’ve stopped giving myself this restrictive “label,” I’m pretty sure I’ve eaten vegan 100% of the time anyway.

Tip #10: Don’t forget to keep having fun!

Have fun with it! I feel like this is always a tip when we do a tip video, but it’s true… this lifestyle can be SO much fun and bring you so much joy. Enjoy it. Take the time to learn new things, make new friends, try new foods… the list goes on and on.

A lot of people think following this lifestyle is restrictive, but in reality, it has opened us to a whole new world of things we could have never discovered before. It truly is an adventure for us, and I couldn’t imagine my life any other way.

Thank You.

A huge thanks goes out to everyone who has watched, commented and reached out to me over the past few months. It means more that I can express to have such a caring group of people surrounding me.

I hope these “tips” and our entire “Getting Back On Track” series has been helpful to some of you who are out there struggling as well. I know this won’t be the last time I fall down, but I can move forward with the confidence that I have fallen and picked myself back up. To me, that is worth everything I’ve gone through during this process, and I would do it all again the same way if given the choice.

Today I am stronger. Today I am ready to take anything on.