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Plant Based Living

About a month ago, Mike and I watched a documentary that I believe will change the way we eat for the rest of our lives. The movie is called “Forks Over Knives” and it is an extremely provocative argument against eating animal protein, including both meat and dairy. Although I have watched a few food documentaries in the past, including “Food Inc” and “Super Size Me,” they didn’t change much about my eating habits. I already completely avoid fast food (with the occasional In & Out) and in general ate a diet of fruits, veggies, nuts, healthy fats, low-fat dairy and lean protein, with the exception of when I attended BBQs, weddings or family parties or the occasional pizza or burger. I justified eating more of the later during Ironman training due to what seemed like a never-ending caloric deficit from up to 22 hours of training per week. However, we still ate spinach and other healthy foods in bulk.

My diet has truly evolved over the years, as I outlined in a post last year called The 5 Foods I Won’t Leave the Grocery Store Without.  Two of those foods were eggs and turkey breast and now if I were to update that list, those would be replaced with black beans or lentils and oatmeal (although I always ate a lot of oatmeal now we eat it 6 days a week). In America we are constantly bombarded with nutritional information that contradicts each other – red meat is bad vs. women should eat red meat for iron, saturated fat is bad vs. saturated fat is ok depending on the source, olive oil is healthy vs. olive oil turns to saturated fat when cooked over a certain temperature. I could go on and on.

Fad diets proclaim health  benefits of eating right for your blood type, cutting out carbohydrates, drinking shakes for two out of three meals, replacing meals with cereal, or eating like a caveman. I’ve fallen victim to many of these diets over the years as I’ve struggled with my weight and my acceptance of my body. However, in the most recent years, I’ve begun to eat food for reasons other than keeping my weight in mind. Whereas in the beginning of my life I ate just what tasted good, soon I ate what I thought would make me skinny (even if it was full of artificial ingredients), later I began to eat to fuel my body for workouts and now, I am eating food that will not only fuel my body better but also help me avoid disease and live a long, happy life.

Forks Over Knives does not promote a fad diet. Rather, it presents the results of years and years of research, including the most provocative led by Colin T Campbell called The China Study, that prove that eating animal protein is the cause of many of the most of common diseases that Americans suffer from. These diseases include cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, MS, diabetes (types 1 and 2), lupus and more. The good news is, that we can actually reverse these diseases with a healthy, plant-based diet.

Mike and I watched the movie prior to Ironman but decided to continue our normal diet leading up to the race and the few days after the race. Meanwhile, Mike read the book “Eat and Run” by Scott Jurek, an elite Ultra-runner who is also vegan. Scott Jurek believes that a lot of his success is due to his vegan diet. Mike was especially motivated to make the change when he read that it could have a positive affect on his athleticism.

My first vegan dinner from Whole Foods!

When we got back from CdA we went to Whole Foods that night and decided to only get vegan food from the hot-food bar. The mostly Indian-inspired food was delicious and flavorful and we were excited to start our journey toward a more plant-based diet. Once I researched recipes and went grocery shopping (and bought a lot of spices I didn’t have!), I started making us  healthy, vegan meals that tasted surprisingly amazing. I found that I wasn’t missing meat at all but that I was still cravings eggs and dessert (duh). Although eating more veggies and grains takes a bit more work in the kitchen, it’s actually not all that much more time consuming than usual to cook. On the 4th of July I even made homemade mushroom-lentil burgers from a recipe I got from Scott Jurek’s book. They were amazing and super filling.

Ingredients for Lentil Mushroom Burgers

We both decided from the get-go that we wouldn’t label ourselves as vegan or even vegetarian. We plan to still eat dairy and meat on occasion, but in situations that we can control, we’ll opt for the meatless, dairy-free option. I enjoyed a wonderful steak dinner with all the fixings in Vegas while I was there for a bachelorette and I have had cake twice. I’m not going to get upset if the bun on my veggie burger at a restaurant has butter and I’m not going to scrutinize every little ingredient in everything. On occasion I plan to have pizza (my favorite!) and chocolate (couldn’t live without it), but all in all, meat and dairy won’t be a regular part of my diet. If, over time, we both decide that going completely vegan is in our best interest, we may make the switch, but for now, we aren’t going to that extreme. Although personally I believe that a plant-based diet is right for me, I’m doing my best not to make others uncomfortable when they offer me non-vegan food or are eating it in my presence.

If you want to see for yourself, I highly recommend watching the documentary “Forks Over Knives” and/or reading the books “The China Study” and “Eat and Run.”

Stay tuned for some yummy plant-based recipes!

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Related

July 20, 2012 By fitnessfatale 6 Comments

Filed Under: Nutrition, Uncategorized Tagged With: endurance athletes and vegan, Forks over knives, going vegan, Scott Jurek Eat and Run, The China Study, vegetarian athlete

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Page

    July 21, 2012 at 1:40 am

    Wow, ok, I’m watching this asap. Thanks for the recco!

    Reply
  2. Shauna

    July 22, 2012 at 11:09 pm

    Very interesting! Your old diet sounds a lot like mine. My issue is that I just don’t really care for vegetables. I eat them because they’re good for me but a plant-based diet just sounds so unappealing. :'(

    Reply
  3. Laura @ Mommy Run Fast

    July 22, 2012 at 11:14 pm

    That movie is so powerful! We eat very much like you– mostly vegan/vegetarian, but occasionally some dairy or meat. I find it hard to commit 100% to a vegan diet, but cutting way back on meat and dairy is still beneficial than not at all, in my opinion. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Change of Pace

    July 24, 2012 at 3:14 am

    I was wondering how this was going for you guys- thanks for the update!
    Kelly (my husband) went vegan over a year ago. He sticks to it 99% of the time. On holidays it’s tough, so he mostly goes vegetarian.
    I think the best thing is to do what you’re doing…not label yourself and not beat yourself up if you want that piece of chocolate or cheese on your pizza.
    I’ve been meaning to pick up Jurek’s book and now will for sure!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. But What About Protein!? « says:
    August 15, 2012 at 9:26 pm

    […] osteoperosis, and autoimmune diseases such as MS, rhueumatoid arthritis, and Type 1 diabetes. As I’ve mentioned in this blog before, the documentary and book have changed my diet completely and I am now following a mostly plant […]

    Reply
  2. What I’ve Learned During 2 Years on a “Mostly Planted Based Diet” | Fitness Fatale says:
    June 30, 2014 at 4:12 am

    […] change happened in June of 2012 after watching the documentary, “Forks Over Knives,” which explains the health benefits of a […]

    Reply

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