Skinny Bitch?

I started the following draft in The Common Room about a month ago:

No, I have not turned into Monique! However, my friend may have created a monster just as bad with her very thoughtful Christmas gifts. One was a PostSecret book and if you don't know about PostSecret, you should. The other was a recipe book called Skinny Bitch in the Kitch: Kick-Ass Recipes for Hungry Girls Who Want to Stop Cooking Crap (and Start Looking Hot!). This description describes me to a T and appeals to my potty mouth so I see exactly why she picked this one up. So with categories like Bitchin' Breakfasts, PMS (Pissy Mood Snacks) and Down Home Cookin', I was excited to start cooking. Then, I started looking at the recipes. I saw a whole lot of soy, tofu and recipes with meats in quotation marks. Then I realized I was looking at a vegan cookbook. Now this same friend is always commenting on my "healthy" eating choices - no soda in fridge, my organic lactose free milk, my organic tortilla chips, fresh fruit in my water - but a vegan, I am not. I have toyed with the idea more than a few times but I'm still eating my chicken and turkey and drinking my lactose free organic milk. However, I thought that this gift just might help me make the adjustment. Then I realized that this recipe book is a follow-up book to Skinny Bitch, a book encouraging women to change their lifestyles. So I went out and bought Skinny Bitch too.

At that point, I was afraid to read the book. I talked to The Maven about it on Christmas Eve, wanted some BBG feedback on the vegetarian/vegan thing, and really wanted someone to read the book along with me, but I never got around to finishing the draft... Well over the last month, my weight has basically hit a plateau and I've been losing and gaining the same 2 pounds every other week. Then, it hit me. I never really changed what I was eating. I ate smaller portions and added healthy snacks to my diet but I basically ate the same stuff I always ate. I just stopped pigging out on it. That and almost daily exercise helped me to lose the first 20 pounds but it wasn't working any more. I decided it might be a good time to make some changes to my diet. Immediately. Monday night I requested the Fat Smash Diet and The 4-Day Diet from the library. Tuesday morning I realized I didn't want to wait on the library and ordered the books for myself. When the books didn't arrive quickly enough, I started reading Skinny Bitch on Thursday night. By Friday afternoon (after my breakfast/lunch), I was pretty sure I'd never look at a chicken wing or a slice of turkey bacon the same way. Saturday afternoon I was planning vegan meals and hitting Trader Joe's reading all of the labels. I now have soy cheese and milk, tofurkey, and tempeh in my fridge. I am channeling my inner Skinny Bitch, eating whole grains and veggies, and trying to give up animal products. I'm not sure how long it will last but I'm excited to eat better and take better care of myself from the inside out. I'm taking the Pledge to Be Veg for 30 Days! And we'll see what happens. Anyone wanna join me? Do you have pointers on making the transition easier?