Do you think about your health in an obsessive way like me? I think about it all the time. Sometimes it’s to look good, and sometimes it’s to have more energy, and sometimes it’s because I worry about all of the challenges of ageing (Alzheimer’s, dementia, cancer, arthritis, etc). In late 2011 between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, I experimented with going whole-food plant based for three weeks. After feeling like crap for approximately a week, I began to feel amazing! I loved the energy, the decreased sense of hunger, and the beautiful and dead-to-the-world sleep I was getting. I didn’t drink much, if at all, during this time either, and I really felt on top of the world. I’m sure I lost a few pounds, too. But then Christmas arrived and all bets were off. I ate like an omnivore for the holidays, and I was OK with that.
In early 2012, I went back to a hybrid version of mostly whole food plant-based, and on occasion I would eat both meat and fish. On New Year’s Eve 2014, I ate my last piece of “meat”: Chicken McNuggets. I know, you expected more from me. But I was traveling and we were at a rest stop.
What is life like today? 85% whole food plant based, 10% cheese and eggs, and 5% fish. And here is where I get muddled. I would really love to go 100% plant-based, but I have some deep seated issues with feeling deprived of all joy in life if I were never to eat some cheese again, or a lobster tail. Birthday cake is my desert island food choice. Sometimes I really enjoy egg salad as a treat. But then I feel like crap after I eat the cheese or the egg salad, and believe me; these foods are not doing me any health favors. And factory farming and industrial fishing is HORRIFYING to both the animals and our planet. So I experience this epic struggle between not participating in the suffering of animals and feeling crappy after eating animal products, and my short-term, fear-based belief that to go 100% plant based is a sad, sad, existence.
So here is what I will explore in this blog: How to go 100% plant-based, while not feeling like life is over, using a lot of mindfulness techniques that I think are good for any difficult situation. If you are interested in dipping your toe in the plant-based waters, I have some resources for you.