BV (before vegan)
Just a disclaimer, I never enjoyed eating meat. I only wanted to eat my vegetables when I was little. Well, I liked some fruits and sweets, but I would eat my veggies first. I was a strange child, I know. But my mom was afraid I would get sick with out eating my "protein." She had been a card carrying member of Weight Watchers, and every other diet known to man for as long as I can remember. I'm not blaming her in any way what so ever, I'm just trying to explain how my preference was overridden by the misguided concept that you have to eat meat. Everywhere you looked was a doctor telling the masses that in order to be healthy you had to eat you protein, aka meat. And don't forget you milk and cheese. You NEED dairy in your life.
So long story short, even though my dad said I shouldn't be forced to eat meat, I was forced to eat meat...so I would be healthy. Again, I only blame the media, dairy and meat industries for this. They are the ones who have provided false information to the masses encouraging us to be "healthy" by eating animal products.
At the ripe old age of 37, I decided to make the difficult sacrifice for lent of no meat for 40 days. Okay, so the sacrifice wasn't terribly difficult for me. I didn't like steak, pork, or fish. So my diet was mostly chicken and cheese. But I thought this might be a good stepping stone to eliminating meat from my diet. I had always felt horrible for eating living creatures who feel pain. During this time, I did a ton of research. I read (well, mostly read) the Starch Solution by Dr McDougall, perused his website, and followed every viable YouTube blogger I could find. My favorite bloggers are Legit Nutrition Hawaii and High Carb Hannah.
So when Easter comes and goes, I'm still just vegetarian. I was still a little nervous to take the plunge. I don't want to do vegan wrong and prove so many people who said I can't do it wrong. I needed to make sure I knew how to eat, what to eat, and where all my nutrients were coming from. I still don't know all I need to know, but it's all about growth.
So long story short, even though my dad said I shouldn't be forced to eat meat, I was forced to eat meat...so I would be healthy. Again, I only blame the media, dairy and meat industries for this. They are the ones who have provided false information to the masses encouraging us to be "healthy" by eating animal products.
At the ripe old age of 37, I decided to make the difficult sacrifice for lent of no meat for 40 days. Okay, so the sacrifice wasn't terribly difficult for me. I didn't like steak, pork, or fish. So my diet was mostly chicken and cheese. But I thought this might be a good stepping stone to eliminating meat from my diet. I had always felt horrible for eating living creatures who feel pain. During this time, I did a ton of research. I read (well, mostly read) the Starch Solution by Dr McDougall, perused his website, and followed every viable YouTube blogger I could find. My favorite bloggers are Legit Nutrition Hawaii and High Carb Hannah.
So when Easter comes and goes, I'm still just vegetarian. I was still a little nervous to take the plunge. I don't want to do vegan wrong and prove so many people who said I can't do it wrong. I needed to make sure I knew how to eat, what to eat, and where all my nutrients were coming from. I still don't know all I need to know, but it's all about growth.
June 20, 2016
The first day of the rest of my life. My next blog entry will describe my first day and the days to follow.
