Living a Plant-Based Lifestyle

This year I didn’t have an actual New Year’s resolution. I did know that I wanted to eat healthier and get in better shape but, I didn’t want it to become just something I said and didn’t do (like so many New Year’s resolutions). I didn’t think seriously about it until about a week ago. I made the transition to being vegan. Eating a vegan diet means a person doesn’t eat any animal products; no meat, cheese, butter, milk, ice cream, chocolate, etc. I’ve talked about eating a vegan (plant-based) diet in other blogs because my mom is plant-based but, I was never very serious about it.

 

I knew I wanted to eat healthier and get myself ready for track season, so I did. There was no excuse to why I shouldn’t or couldn’t go plant-based (eating vegan but having plants be the main source of nutrition, not potato chips, white breads, etc.). My mom cooks that way every day so; all I have to do is pack a lunch for school and eat her meals at home. On top of this I’m trying to run every week to get myself ready for track season.

The great thing about eating plant-based is that all the nutritious things from the veggies and fruits help our muscles recover faster. So when I’m exercising I’m not sore for as long as I would be if I were eating a lot of animal products. That means I can work harder and get faster.

It might seem extremely hard to be vegan/plant-based because it seems like everything has hidden dairy in it or, meats might be too hard to give up. There are substitutes that you can eat instead though. Instead of cow’s milk you can buy almond milk or soy milk. I prefer almond milk because I think soy milk tastes funny. Instead of using butter you can get Earth Balance. It tastes exactly the same; it’s just made of oil instead of animal fat.

We just got New Pioneer and Fresh Market stores by our house so it’s a lot easier to find the foods we eat. These stores offer a lot of vegan and organic foods, and New Pioneer even makes homemade vegan cakes that are so good! There are a lot of workers at New Pioneer who are vegan, and they can help shoppers find the foods they need and help them make good eating choices.

If you’re thinking about going vegan it’s a lot easier to start off by having a meal plan, and having people who will help keep you and support you through it. I already have my mom and my sister but, there are support on Facebook and other websites that you can go to. If you want to ease into eating this way you can follow the Forks Over Knives Plan. It’s a four week plan and the first week you start out by only eating a plant-based breakfast; then the next week you add lunch, then the next week dinner. Then the fourth week is just refining it. They even have a support group on Facebook called, Forks Over Knives 2.

Another plan you can follow would be the Engine Two Diet- 28 day challenge. This is more of a lifestyle program. It consists of eating a plat-based diet and exercising. This is a great way to start a new lifestyle if you are an athlete or an active person.

There are just so many benefits of eating plant-based that I don’t think I ever want to go back to eating meats and cheeses. By filling your body with good foods and avoiding animal products, gets rid of acne, give you more energy, aid in weight loss, and so many more things. It can even prevent and reverse heart disease. If you’re interested in this a great book to read is Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease by Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., M.D.

I’ve been doing this for about a week now and I’ve already noticed some of these. It makes me feel light and healthy. One of the days I didn’t feel very good but, my mom said it was because my body was detoxifying itself. She said since I wasn’t eating the preservatives and chemicals I usually do, my body was getting rid of them. When your body detoxifies itself it can cause nausea, headaches, and break outs. This only lasted a day for me and now I feel great!

To learn more about leading a plant-based lifestyle you can go to forksoverknives.com. They have some great recipes, videos, and meal plans that you can check out!