Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Confessions of a former carnivore...

Yup, you read that right - I really have gone vegan.

(NOTE: This entry was taken from a message board I am on. If it reads a little off, that's why. I just wanted for people to see WHY I even considered it! You'll see that I'm going to copy all my blog entries over here - that's why the date is off for the first several. I'm goingto keep track of this here instead so I can allow others to read it if they'd like.)

Anyway, I had been feeling quite yucky for a long time - several months. I'd felt "draggy", my libido was gone, I felt sort of not quite with it. My typical diet was 3 eggs with sausage and veggies for breakfast, something with meat for lunch and steak or hamburgers or pork for dinner. Rarely did I ever eat a meal without meat. I also ate a lot of veggies, but very few carbs - even good ones. Okay, French fries were pretty common. LOL!

Then a few weeks ago I started taking Fematril to help with my libido. That helped a little, but certainly not a lot. And then one night my heart felt funny. Like it was beating too fast or too hard or something. Something bad. I was so tired, though, I didn't really think much about it at the time. (Although looking back, it's pretty terrifying!) So I cut out the Fematril immediately, thinking that was it.

But I started thinking more about it. Wait. What's my diet? High fat foods. Loads of cholesterol. Hmmm.... not so great for the heart, eh? (And that's not new or a surprising revelation from a dietary standpoint.) So I started thinking about changing my diet. I figured low fat foods, more veggies. And then I ran across a reference to someone on a message board I frequent (photography one) that had gone vegan. I laughed out loud! I mean, if Andy went vegan that means that the world must have shifted! Last I saw he was sending his favorite ribs to all his friends. Hmmmm.... And a co-worker of his mentioned The China Study and how it changed their lives. Whatever. Vegan freaks.

But I was a little intrigued and read more and found that it had a lot of smart things to say - and things that felt right for how I was feeling. Things that helped others. So I cut WAY back on meat and dairy (I don't get much dairy anyway) and I started feeling better. Then I got the book after Chris was kind enough to send it to me. Some of the things they say are downright scary. Terrifying. And I found sources to back them up from all kinds of reputable places - American Cancer Society, Cornell University and more.

So.... I've cut out anything that comes from an animal. I'm still a bit surprised that I've done this. I NEVER considered going vegetarian, let alone vegan! Seriously, never ever. But that book has truly... um.... "changed my life". I eat only "whole" plant foods. Not overly processed things, only things that are closer to the plant they came from. So no white bread, white rice, chips, fries (although I'm sure I'll have those things, they aren't part of my regular diet.)So, how do I feel in the 10 days since I've gone partially vegan and 2 days of fully? (Well, except for one bite of burger.) Here is what I've noticed....

  • Libido - This has definitely returned after being gone for quite a while! I'll leave it at that...
  • I've lost about 5lbs - Yesterday I put on a belt and when I went to the bathroom, I was one notch in from where I had been before! I didn't even realize it until later! Although I would love to lose weight, I haven't really had that in mind. It's more about FEELING better and eating better. But 20lbs wouldn't suck! LOL!
  • I feel lighter - I noticed this almost immediately and it's not weight related. I'm a bit surprised by this, but then again... meat does make me feel weighted down a bit.
  • I feel full! I'm eating a lot! I am probably actually eating a few fewer calories just because of all the fat I was eating, but I'm sure I'm eating more than they recommend for losing weight. I'm finding a LOT of really yummy, yummy foods and I'm not really missing meat like I expected. At all. I eat when I'm hungry - and sometimes when I'm not. And I still have been losing weight. Weird.
  • I feel more alert - which is odd since I should be more tired. My energy level is more consistant, too.

Anyway, this whole change in outlook is 90% because of this book. (10% came before because I wanted to feel better.)

I'll be posting my journey as I figure out what the "right" way for me to eat is....

1 comment:

Andy Williams said...

Boy howdy, I am so happy for you :) Congrats on a great life-choice.

Holler for help or a shoulder to lean on ANY time.

Andy