How Eating A Vegan & Clean Diet Changed My Life
I’m going to start this as I’m not trying to convince or tell you to live your life any specific way and you have the ability and control to choose what you want to put into your body. You know your body best and what fuels it, has it operating at peak efficiency and how you feel best. This is what has worked for me personally and I do believe if you took some tips and tricks from this it would work for you as well!
Being Vegan & Vegetarian for 5+ Years
When I first started my health journey it actually began as vegan. I was 100% plant-based meaning absolutely no animal products including both dairy and meat. This was something I loved at the time, I felt the best i ever had with the most energy I had ever known. The reason I transitioned from vegan to vegetarian was the challenge it brings when eating out, being in college, traveling and not cooking at home. I was in college at the time of being vegan and it was difficult eating with friends, going out to eat and more to the point where I was going hungry more than I was being full solely because I couldn’t order a plate of veggies because they were cooked in butter.
This being said, I became vegetarian. It was an easy transition that required almost nothing out of me and something I appreciated being vegan for so long was the lack of need for dairy in my life. Even though I’m considered vegetarian now I do not buy any dairy products when at the grocery store. The vegetarian part becomes true when I got out to eat and a salad dressing as milk base, butter is cooked on the vegetables or cream cheese on a bagel. I found I’m able to stomach dairy very well but it’s not something I want to rely on, purchase or support very often.
I believe I could easily transition from vegan to vegetarian with very little issues. One of the biggest reasons I switched was I truly loved eggs, it was a food I missed, enjoyed and loved eating breakfast. This was basically the only that changed in my diet from vegan to vegetarian on a daily basis but I believe you know your body best and how it feels when it’s at it’s best so I decided to make this change. No label is worth taking a hit on your health to be on trend or do what someone else is doing - you know best.
“What Do You Even Eat In A Day?”
The most infamous question. What do I even eat… how do I get my protein.. all very understandable questions and reasonable but when you begin to think about a vegetarian or vegan diet you begin to see how many options you do have. To save you the trouble i will just go into some of my favorite meals for each meal to give you an idea of what my day of food can look like.
Breakfast - Eggs, oatmeal, pancakes, granola and coconut yogurt, avocado toast, fruit, acai bowls
Lunch - Sweet potato, spinach, avocado, tofu, organic ranch, beans, chickpeas (this is legit my lunch everyday)
Snacks - Dried fruit, nuts, trailmix, fruit, veggies and hummus, pretzels, apples and peanut butter, chips
Dinner - Large plate of cooked veggies, quinoa or rice, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, beans, anything mexican is vegetarian friendly, falafel, etc.
What Did Being Vegan & Vegetarian Teach You
Food is your fuel for your life. I had NEVER felt more energized, awake, alert and healthy than I have in the last 5 years. I stay away from processed foods, meat, bread and sugars and my energy levels are through the roof. I wake up around 5am-11pm everyday and have a very active and productive day and never drink a sip of caffeine and I credit my ability to function at this rate for the fuel and food I put in my body.
Meat isn’t the only source of protein in the world. This is the biggest misconception or should I say worry for people who meet a vegetarian. I can promise you, you can get the daily amount of protein in all vegetarian and vegan friendly foods. Foods such as vegetables, falafel, beans, chickpeas, quinoa, lentils, eggs, tofu and tempeh are great sources of protein.
The longer you go without meat and animal products the less you want them. This is the most true thing I’ve learned and it continues to prove itself to me. When I went vegan/vegetarian there really wasn’t a big reason, I enjoyed meat it didn’t gross me out at all but keep in mind my meat variety was very slim. But I began to notice the longer and longer I went without it the more unappetizing it was becoming. I now cringe at the smell and sight of meat - something that never used to bother me. What I think is the most interesting is I’ve had multiple friends become more plant-based or limit meat more from their diet and they say the same thing. The less they eat it the less appetizing it becomes.
Save the planet and know what the meat industry is doing. This is one of my biggest arguments. If you are going to tell a vegetarian they are missing key nutrients from meat while they eat their Tyson chicken that is coming from a company that can’t even tell you what they’re doing to their chickens then you my friend are much worse off than I am with no meat. If you're buying organic, farm raised meat or eating animal products where you know they’re sourced then be my guest and eating the meat and feel confident you know where it’s coming from.
It’s no coincidence in the last 4 years we are seeing more and more plant-based options. This is a reality of our world. Our planet cannot handle the meat and animal stock needed to suffice our world and America’s diets. Studies are being found where vegetarian and vegan diets are saving lives while digesting processed meat is killing and shaving years of life off humans. Almost any restaurant you go to now you can find a plant-based option and that 1. makes your life sooo much easier and 2. is no coincidence because industries are seeing the demand for it.
All in all you know your body best. You know what you need to feel your best, you know should know the food that fuels your body best and you should have the ability to make these decisions and see where the change happens.