A little history....once upon a time I ate animals not a lot and I was selective on the kind. I could once be found eating chickens, turkey, your assorted sea life, and yes, even steak although it was never my favorite and that ended sometime in 1994. As time went on and I became more in tune with my body and the new choices I wanted to make. Thankfully change is welcomed by me. I adapt easily and love to do unique and often considered *oddball* things. I was never a milk drinker and was not able to digest large quantities of dairy so I remained limited on those items. I didn't envision myself giving up seafood, but when I suddenly suffered severe anaphylactic shock and landed in the ER in 1999 that came to a screeching halt as well. Poor me!
I have always preferred eating healthy over not because it created better benefits within me. More energy, more clarity, more longevity, more quality of life, more motivation....I was not your typical child growing up either. I did not want candy, soda and traditional junkfood items. You would never catch me throwing a tantrum at the checkout line of a grocery store insisting my parent buy the candy for me! Those items never appealed to me because they weren't normal for us in our house. I agree that if a child does not have access to those junkfoods in their home or see them being used as "treats or rewards" (I often hear parents saying) they are less likely to want them or eat them elsewhere. I truly feel these items are highly addictive and are the cause of so much illness. I do believe things in moderation will not damage beyond repair. It's all a choice one makes. Today we have so many alternatives to choose from to make the switch from unhealthy to healthy.
I made a lot of extreme changes with my food choices once I became pregnant with my first child. I did not want anything "bad" entering my body for her sake. From that point on I continued on the educating myself by doing a lot of research something I always enjoy on nutrition.
Diet alters every part of our life inside and out. It’s that simple. Having a good healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean you are untouchable to disease or sickness it just means the life you do lead is higher quality and potentially easier at fighting such obstacles.
Weight gain is not hereditary it is a learned behavior and a lazy quality people possess along with allowing emotional baggage to run your life. You can have two obese parents who feed their child well ultimately they grow up making good food choices for themselves and are slender. You can have extremely fit parents who feed their kids crap all day at home and at school add in no exercise or physical activity and they will become obese. I know people who are super fit and exercise regularly and yet they have fat kids who are now getting diabetes! One of my pet peeves! You care enough about your own health, but won't take control of your child's? That's crazy to me!
In recent years say the last 10 I have altered my husband's diet gradually (he resists change not as much now as he did in the past). Today my husband is vegan all the way! Which means he no longer eats animals, dairy, or any animal by-products. Instead he consumes a plant based diet. He began a 3 week challenge a friend of ours started and he felt so good he continued. It has now been 4 months and he has lost 40+ pounds! His weight was getting out of control. I could feed him well at home with healthy choices and the second he left the house he was hitting the fast food places. He ate late into the night and consumed large portions of sweets. He grew up entirely different then I did. End of story. Now he looks great, feels great, and shares his story with everyone! Our friends are amazed at the transition. I am so proud of him for making this choice and sticking to it and I know all the animals in the world are too! We are lucky enough to have many restaurants to choose from that cater to vegans. Some of our favorites are Ethos , Cafe 118 even restaurants who don't have vegans as their main patron still offer incredible dishes Season's 52 , PF Changs , Loving Hut has many locations all over the US these are just a select few we visit in our area.
People look down on the Vegan lifestyle and that is so silly to me. They say "it costs more to go that route" and I always ask how so? If you eliminate meat, processed foods, soda, and excess junk snacks from your grocery bill do you realize how much money you save? Buying more produce instead is still not spiking up the grocery bill. Purchasing alternative items are readily available and taste good! Your food is fresh and makes you feel great. No more depression, anxiety, sleepless nights, confusion, short tempers....all of these behaviors are a direct reflection of the foods you consume. Go see Food, Inc Surrounding yourself with like minded people is what will set you apart from the rest. Reach out for a support system believe me they are out there!
Eggs and dairy products are not essential for optimum health. They contain saturated fat and dietary cholesterol, and eating them can inhibit the absorption of iron. On a balanced vegan diet there is no risk of calcium, iron or protein deficiency. In fact, consuming dairy products can actually lead to osteoporosis and weak bones. This is because eggs and dairy products are rich in animal protein, which makes the blood more acidic. The body tries to neutralize this by drawing calcium from the bones. Scientific studies show that a plant-based diet is ideal for optimum health and lowers your risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes and some cancers, as well as increasing your life expectancy.
Challenge yourself for 3 weeks and see how it goes. Be serious and stay on track and you will be amazed at the difference! Watch this funny interview from The Daily Show Jon Stewart talking to Robert Kenner see below:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Robert Kenner | ||||
| www.thedailyshow.com | ||||
| ||||
No comments:
Post a Comment