To Diet or Not to Diet...

What better time to make changes than for a milestone birthday! On July 5^th I turned 30 and it marked almost a week since my decision to go vegan.  I made an exception for some birthday cake (which of course had some egg and/or milk so it was still vegetarian), but otherwise, with all my other food, I stayed true to a vegan diet. 

When I say “diet” I don’t mean diet in the sense that someone goes on a diet like Adkins or South Beach or *insert trendy diet of choice here*.  I mean it in the sense of simply what a vegan eats on a regular basis.  I don’t want to confuse it with something as temporary as a “diet”.  In our culture a diet is something that ends.  It has a set of rules; a list of do’s and don’ts (mostly don’ts). It’s like cramming for a test. You do as much as you can to force your body to do what you want it to do in a designated amount of time, all the while counting down the days until it ends so you can see your results and go right back to eating just like you used to.

This, my friends, is a recipe for disaster.  Yes, you lose weight, but you aren’t getting healthy. Unless changes are made that stick with you, how can a “diet” make you healthy?  If you go right back to how you were eating before, nothing has really changed and the weight lost will find its way right back to your hips.  I’m not saying that everyone has to eat a vegan diet (though I do believe we would be better off), but if we want to be healthy we need to make lifestyle changes rather than attempting the next fad “diet” that comes along.

I truly have no desire for meat anymore. Occasionally I will crave cheese, but then I remember how bad it is for me (I believe I may be slightly lactose intolerant) and how processed it is and I decide I don’t want it, no matter how much I think I’m craving it.  I WANT to eat better foods for me. I DON’T want to put all the processed junk in my body anymore.  One of the documentaries I watched recently (more than once, I’ll admit) called Hungry for Change said something that really stuck with me.  There’s a tremendous shift that happens in the brain when we can go from “I want that but I can’t have it” (fad diet) to “I can have that but I don’t want it” (lifestyle change).  The choices in what we eat and don’t eat become effortless rather than making yourself stick to a set of rules.  And as you make better choices, your tastes and preferences will change some as well.

After not even 2 weeks I already can’t stomach all the sugar I used to eat.  I don’t want it anymore.  Oreos are technically vegan (some of them; I check them with my handy-dandy little “is it vegan?” app on my phone), but they aren’t healthy of course.  We got some thinking it would be a nice sweet treat to have from time to time, but I don’t even want them anymore because the sugar in them is too much now.  It amazes me and excites me that my body has adapted to the changes so quickly. Maybe it’s because this is how we are intended to eat.  I’m finally giving my body what it truly wants and needs and it’s excited and reacting positively in response.

I haven’t started incorporating exercise yet, though I do have more energy in general, but through the changes I’ve already made in just 11 days I’ve already dropped 5lbs.  Without even really trying!  It’s not a struggle because I’m not writing out a list of do’s and don’ts for myself.  I genuinely don’t want the things I used to want, I WANT things that are better for me.  I’m sure it won’t always be easy, I’m not expecting it to be, but I’m really excited about the changes I’ve made and that I’m on the right track to better myself and my health.