I’ve made a huge lifestyle change over the past three days. I gave up meat and dairy in favor of a plant-based diet. In other words, I went vegan.
The arrangement I made with myself was to go vegan for 30 days and see how I feel. If it has made a difference in my overall health & well-being, I plan to stick with it. Yes, I realize everyone else is doing it and, no, I don’t care if it seems I’m following a trend. My health is more important to me than how many cool points I may be losing.
You see, thanks to my genes, I am a prime candidate for heart disease. Every one of my grandparents has/had heart disease. Both of my grandfathers had heart attacks in their 50s, one of which was fatal. My maternal grandmother had a brother who died of a heart attack in his 30s. Based on this genetic predisposition, I’m screwed. If I don’t take care of myself, I could end up dead from a heart attack in twenty years. And when I think about how I want my life to pan out, being an old lady wearing muumuus stuffing my grandkids with sugar is always part of that vision. There are too many things I want to do in life to have it shortened unnecessarily.
If you haven’t seen Forks Over Knives yet, then you might not be putting it together how I went from Taking Heart Disease Prevention Seriously to Becoming a Vegan. According to the research presented in the film, a plant-based diet can prevent, control and reverse the degenerative diseases our society is plagued with–including heart disease. I watched it and decided, why not?
To be honest, I could also stand to lose some weight and gain some energy. A vegan diet supposedly helps in that area, as well. I got all booed up over the Summer and stopped working out. While it’s awesome to have love in my life, the side effects of such bliss have left me flabby and lazy. I’m starting to gross myself out. There is only so much one can hide with capes and scarves…and I’m saving Muumuus in Public for when I’m an old lady, remember?
Look, I am not even going to pretend I won’t be one of those annoying health freaks who scan labels and encourage everyone they know to try quinoa. Because I already am. I might even change my name to Quinoa. I FUCKING LOVE QUINOA. Not a fan of soy cheese, but I found some soy ice cream that is AMAZEBALLS (Trader Joe’s Soy Creamy Vanilla). And I spent $7 on a bag of cashews. Because, apparently, EVERY vegan dessert recipe requires raw cashews.
Luckily, I have a partner in this adventure who makes it all feel normal and keeps me motivated. We’re making black bean burgers tomorrow night after we go to meditation class. WE ARE SO VEGAN.
When I’m not cooking or talking about vegan food, I’m researching all other things vegan. Mostly so I can throw these tidbits of information at anyone who questions my veganism.
VEGAN TRIVIA!
Q. What former president subscribes to a vegan diet?
A. Bill Clinton
Q. What food group did Harvard researchers leave off entirely from their recently published Healthy Food Guide? (Which also happens to NOT be influenced by food lobbyists unlike the–ahem–USDA guidelines)
A. Dairy
Q. What percentage of Americans identify as vegan?
A. 1% —Finally, I’m part of the 1%!!
Plus, I’m totally saving the world by going vegan. Yep. Like a plant-based superhero. Captain Quinoa at your service.
As I continue with this for the next month, I’ll probably post some recipes and update on my progress. I’ll also likely become more annoyingly vegan. Here’s a preview:
Like this:
Tags: bill clinton, forks over knives, heart disease, quinoa, shit vegans say, vegan, veganism
I have also recently decided to try Veganism (capital V). I’m having a tough time with cream for my coffee, but other than that, It’s going alright. Oh yeah, and pizza. Damn cheese. Had some tasty jackfruit tacos yesterday at Fud, though. I could stay vegan on those tacos. Good luck to you, Quinoa!
Forks Over Knives had a similar effect on me, but I am just vegetarian at the moment. I’m really impressed that you were able to go vegan in a matter of days. And I love the video you posted.