Who's With Me?!

Hello There!
How are you doing now?

As I type this I can barely move my arms after a wicked bicep, tricep & shoulder workout this morning that involved 'drop sets'. Ooff. By this evening I anticipate that I'll have to lower my face to my toothbrush on the counter to clean my teeth, as raising my arms may not be possible. Nice, eh?

Ok, so as you may or may not know, November 1st is World Vegan Day. DON'T STOP READING! PLEASE!

There was a time in the not-so-distant past where I would have stopped reading now too, trust me. If you asked anyone who's known me for more than a year, they would regale you with tales of what a carni-snob I once was. I had only the greatest disdain for Vegans and even a lot of vegetarians. I used to argue that "humans have those two pointy teeth (canines?) for a reason- to eat animals! It's part of our genetic makeup!" I clearly remember celebrating over rare steak when a close friend of mine 'came out of' vegetarianism, applauding her return to the fold. I'm not proud of that at all. But I guess I was coming from a place of misinformation about a lot of things, including what healthful eating really is and as well, I believe that I was part of the Cult of Animal Protein that I think our society is.

Let me be really clear: I am not a vegan or really even a vegetarian. I have no problem with people eating meat (to that end I WILL be making meatballs this afternoon for The Bean & Brad's spaghetti tonight). And I still eat animal protein whenever I want- even a good burger, steak, not to mention my cheese addiction- it's just that these days I don't feel like I want to all that often ('cept for the cheese, that's every day). It is my personal belief that we may not need to eat as much meat as we're being led to believe. I went from eating meat 5-6 nights a week- plus eggs for breakfast and usually something meaty for lunch too a year ago, to now eating meat maybe once a week or every two weeks. And I've never felt better in my life.

When I stopped eating meat every single day and taking in tons of cow's milk dairy, remarkable things happened. I lost a few pounds (and believe me, I wasn't trying because I was already at a healthy weight & body fat percentage, and still am now) my skin became clearer, I started sleeping better, I started having enough energy to qualify as a Bionic-Mom and the best part was that I stopped feeling so 'puffy'. My abdomen is flatter & tighter and my muscle definition all-over is better than ever.

I became interested in vegetarianism/veganism last year when I started reading up on it, as well as the raw-living food movement. Again, I don't eat Raw all the time, not at all. But there's a fair bit of uncooked veg in my life too. The benefits that I listed above from my own experience were reiterated time and again in all the literature that I came across. Lo and behold, those 'veggie granola tree huggers' (as I so diplomatically used to call them) were right! I've learned that you can get all KINDS of protein from plants- and nuts, and seeds, vegan protein powders, you name it. I'm no expert, obviously. I'm just sayin. It made sense to me and it's working out pretty good. I'm always trying to find my way with good health and I certainly don't think I've found the solution for everyone, because I do think that different things work for different folks. Furthermore, trying to completely change the way you eat overnight is a recipe for disaster and dangerous. But baby-steps- we started eating vegetarian a night or two a week and found that there is plenty of yummy food you can make that doesn't involve sausage, which I once considered as integral an ingredient as garlic, salt or pepper. And I promise- it's not all tofu & tvp and soy yoghurt at Camp Veg either. Even going veg for a day or part of the day each week will have a positive effect on how you feel.

People get into vegetarianism & veganism for a variety of different reasons, and I don't pass judgement on what those reasons are. For me, it was less about animal welfare (dont' judge!) and more about wanting to feel healthier & stronger.

Most importantly, check with a doctor, naturopath or nutritionist if you're thinking of making this kind of transition. Just eating veggies does not a healthy vegetarian make, okay? Seriously. I've checked in regularly with my doc & naturopath with a full dietary journal myself to make sure my family and I were on the right track with this stuff. You don't wanna get all anemic or something worse.

So there you have it. I've changed in a lot of ways over the last few years, not least of which the way I eat. Heck, I used to smoke cigarettes like it was my job. Charming, right? And now I'm a personal trainer and reformed carni-snob.

SOOOOO, with my diatribe over, here's what I wanted to say: I am going to give this vegan thing a go for a day, a few days, maybe even a week when World Vegan Day kicks off on November 1. I have a real problem with will-power, I admit it. So I'm gonna eat all the cheese in the house before the Big Day and see if I can stick with it for a day or more. Just a personal challenge to see if I can do it.

Who's with me?! Any takers? Can we build a cheese support group?

Oh, and congratulations if you've read this whole post. I hear I need to 'edit' myself but that's a bit of an issue when I get on my favorite topics of food & excercise, what can I say. Speaking of favorite topics, tonight's vino of choice, to accompany my primavera & spiralized zuke noodles will be one of my all time faves- THE LACKEY Shiraz. NSLC now carries it, it's the bomb. Git yerself some if you like a big, meaty red wine. No pun intended.

xoM