Coming Out of the Meat-Free Closet
You know what your problem is? You’re eating too many fruits and vegetables. Said no doctor ever.
The Confession
I have a confession to make and if we are friends IRL (In Real Life) you might already know what I’m about to say. I have stopped eating meat. There I said it. And dairy…and eggs…and fish. I have transitioned to what many refer to as a vegan diet, but what is also known as a Whole Foods, Plant Based Diet...and yes there is a difference, but more on that later.
But Why?
But why, whhhyyyyy did this apparently healthy, bbq, steak, mmmmeat loving Texas woman stop eating meat? Friendie, let me tell you. For the past year and a half, even prior Covid, I have been on a conscious pursuit to retake control of my health; body, mind, and spirt. I have a lot of experience with various fitness programs as well as dietary & nutrition programs. Like practically every other woman out there my age, I have successfully completed Whole30, twice, Weight Watchers or what is now called WW, intermittent fasting, macro tracking, Paleo, and some ill advised programs which include but i’m sure are not limited to the cabbage soup diet.
At the beginning of this year, as an obsessive ring closer, gained a ton of momentum with my daily fitness routine (thank you Peloton!), was eating pretty cleanly and intermittent fasting, and after letting go of my fear of the scale, I stepped on. I felt pretty good, no I felt great. My heart sank. I couldn’t believe the numbers I saw. I was 190 pounds. Wow. Ok. I’m not those numbers. I felt good. I appreciate what my body can do, and I know it was strong and toned, and looked better in clothes than I had a year ago. But wow. Just wow. That didn’t make a lot of mathematical sense to me. Had I weighed more than 200 pounds when I started? Oh god, maybe.
Ok, keep moving forward. I am proud of the work that I have done to appreciate what my body can do, and that the numbers on the scale do not define my self worth. That number in your jeans? That’s not you. Your size does not define you. It is a comparison between jeans. Not about what’s inside those jeans. The numbers on the scale, that’s just one metric used to measure health. Just one. It really means nothing when you don’t look all the things…which is why you have blood work done. So why do we put so much value into those numbers? Who told us to? I could go on and on here but I digress.
So back to the meat.
I booked myself an overdue yearly physical because, you know, Covid but mainly because I have a preexisting fear of doctors, which I can associate with years of attributing my weight to my self worth and going through years of unsuccessful fertility treatments. I knew what the numbers on the scale said, but what I was shocked to find out was that my Cholesterol was elevated. My doctor’s recommendations: quit smoking (I don’t smoke) exercising 5-6 days a week (I exercise everyday), reduce saturated fats, and increase fruit and vegetable intake. Also my blood pressure was 137/82 (Normal according to heart.org is less than 120/80).
The truth is I had been “plant powered” curious for a while. My son hates it when I say this, but he doesn’t love eating meat. The husbo would always say to him, you have to eat meat to grow muscle and get stronger, while I sat there and thought to myself, I don’t think that’s true. But I really didn’t know any better. I had also returned from a quick ski trip to Park City and a little adventure with one of my OG friendies, Ironman, marathoner, and general outdoor enthusiast, Heather Maloy who had also recently gone the path of plant powered. She told me to get the book The China Study by T. Colin Campbell and The Engine 2 Seven Day Rescue Diet: Eat Plants, Lose Weight Save Your Health by Rip Esselstyn. When I told another health conscious entrepreneur friend of mine, Keri Henry, she recommended the documentary Game Changers on Netflix.
Because I’m time crunched I started listening to the Audible version of The China Study and reading The Seven Day Rescue Diet and together the Husbo and I watched Game Changers. If you are plant powered curious and want to try to get your significant other on board, watch this documentary. Not only does he documentary covers the highlights of the China Study and Rip Esselstyn was also featured. I was appalled how meat is marketed to men but astonished how plant powered athletes *actually* improved their performance without animal protein.
It’s not hard to accept that eating more fruits and vegetables is healthy, so why is it so hard to wrap our minds around the idea of eating less meat or eliminating it all together?
Here’s something else to consider. Should we really feel like we are starving ourselves to achieve a healthy weight or are the foods we are eating to blame? Maybe if we were eating food that were more nutrient dense and not as calorie dense then we wouldn’t feel like we had to starve and deprive ourselves to be healthy. It just doesn’t seem natural, and I don’t think I am to blame and neither are you.
The Husbo was in for the “seven day rescue” and I quickly realized he will eat anything if there are fresh jalapeños on top. The recipes looked good, easy enough, and as long as I felt like I wasn’t depriving myself I knew I could do it. Years ago, one of my clients Raintree Sumazin told me, that she often tried different things and see how her body felt…nothing needs to be permanent. So with that philosophy and some pretty strong research behind me, I felt ready to adopt a “whole foods plant based diet” for seven days. In the Seven Day Rescue Diet, you also eliminate oil, sugar, and alcohol. I could do anything for a week, especially after doing Whole30.
I couldn’t believe how easy it was, so colorful. Things like diced peppers, potatoes, onions over a bed of greens, seasoned with taco-like seasoning. Quesadillas with veggies and sweet potato filling instead of traditional dairy cheese. Whole grain bowls, oatmeal and fruit. But here’s the thing. Within seven days I could feel a significant change in my effort level on my Peloton. I had the analytics for similar rides, and similar rides just felt easier and my output was higher. I dropped 7 pounds in a week. I never felt hungry. I kept going.
I donated blood 2 months later and my blood pressure has dropped from 137/82 to 108/64. I work out for at least 30 minutes everyday. Every single day. I recover faster and my body feels more efficient. I track my strain, recovery, and sleep with a Whoop fitness tracker. I started running again.
So what’s the difference between being whole foods plant based and vegan? Vegan is the mainstream term for having a diet and lifestyle free of any animal products, including meat, fish, dairy, and eggs. Here’s the difference though. Many people adopt a vegan diet and lifestyle for ethical reasons, meaning they want to avoid harming animals. All Whole Food Plant Based (wfpb) people are vegans but not all vegans are whole food plant based. There’s a lot of junk food like french fries, tortilla chips, processed foods, dairy-free cheese that don’t have a lot of nutritional value that are in fact vegan. Here’s where vegans and wfpb people start to throw down. From what I can tell, wfpb peeps are more motivated by improving their health, longevity, and performance, where vegans are ethically driven to do no harm to animals and the environment. So that’s why not all vegans consider wfpb people vegans and why many wfpb people might tell you that they are vegan because its a more universally understood term. Make sense?
So where does that leave me? In seven months I have eaten meat twice…a few bites of prosciutto and some shrimp when I was in Mexico. I know that If I am craving a burger or a steak, I will eat it, but that has not happened yet. My thinking, mindset, and appetite for meat has completely changed. I have learned a lot about the environmental impact the production of meat and what it takes to go from “farm” to our beloved HEB grocery store. I also realized from a taste perspective, I don’t really “like” the meat, I like the flavor of however its being prepared.
Cheese, that’s kind of another story. Pizza is one of my favorite foods and i’ve tried a lot of vegan pizzas and they’re just not that good. Dairy free cheese doesn’t melt well. So how do I describe myself? I would say that I try really hard to be whole food plant based during the week and am vegetarian on the weekends. It works for me and I feel really good. Here’s another transformative aspect that might get a little woo woo for some of you. My heart feels lighter. Are these ethical vegans on to something? Maybe its because my blood is pumping more efficiently, maybe it’s because I’m working out more often and recovering faster, or maybe its because I’m not harming animals or the earth. I don’t know, but I know how I feel.
How do you feel? Do you feel like you could adopt “Meatless” Mondays to try it out? Do you think you could commit to a seven day reset, or are you ready to go all in? I’m going to go back to what my friend Raintree said. Try it out. Nothing has to be forever. See how you feel. Let me know in the comments how you feel about “the” meat.
Want more information about going meat-free?
Here are the books I recommend:
The China Study by T. Colin Campbell
The Engine 2 Seven Day Rescue Diet: Eat Plants, Lose Weight Save Your Health by Rip Esselstyn.
Documentaries:
Forks Over Knives
My Healthy Attitude blog was created by Allyson Cunius for informational and entertainment purposes only and is not to be perceived as professional medical advice. In other words, these are my opinions and methods I have used to encourage my own health and wellness and those I have had the privilege of working with and coaching.
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