After reading T. Colin Campbell's book, The China Study.....a MUST read! (link here) Long story short, after years and years of studying protein consumption vs plant based consumption, it was determined that the long term effects of the average, animal protein, based diet led to a plethora of diseases and health implications. Soooo after reading AND loving that book I decided to go back to my vegan ways (but doing it at 80/20) because let's be real, sometimes a girl needs a slice of cheesy, bubbly pizza!!! mmmmmmm!!
I wanted to quickly talk about why I originally went Vegan. Growing up I never liked to eat meat. I thought it tasted awful and I was lactose intolerant so basically I was pretty much born a "natural" vegetarian! Anyways, once I was in my 20's, I started eating more meat and dairy based products, mostly because it seemed socially impossible not to and YES I totally fell in love with some of it, hence having baby back ribs at my wedding! Along with the obvious weight gain that comes with eating and drinking whatever I wanted, I ended up getting really, really sick last winter....I was honestly sick for around 3 months straight, would get better for a month or so and get sick again...I was even sick on my wedding day and all throughout my honeymoon. I had every test imaginable to figure out what was going on and everything was negative!!
I wanted to quickly talk about why I originally went Vegan. Growing up I never liked to eat meat. I thought it tasted awful and I was lactose intolerant so basically I was pretty much born a "natural" vegetarian! Anyways, once I was in my 20's, I started eating more meat and dairy based products, mostly because it seemed socially impossible not to and YES I totally fell in love with some of it, hence having baby back ribs at my wedding! Along with the obvious weight gain that comes with eating and drinking whatever I wanted, I ended up getting really, really sick last winter....I was honestly sick for around 3 months straight, would get better for a month or so and get sick again...I was even sick on my wedding day and all throughout my honeymoon. I had every test imaginable to figure out what was going on and everything was negative!!
I started to connect the dots backward to try and figure out what was going on by myself so I started an elimination diet that I had learned about from one of my gf's. After giving up the meat and the dairy I felt AMAZING! My skin was glowing, my hair was healthier and I felt like I could't conquer the world. I also loved the way it challenged me in the kitchen. While I know a vegan lifestyle isn't for everyone it is what works for me and makes me feel my absolute best. I don't follow it every day because it isn't very practical when trying to dine out so I call myself an 80/20 vegan. I eat vegan 80% of the time and the other 20% I eat whatever I want. I think anyone looking to jump start a nutrition program should try a one week vegan cleanse to see how they feel!
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