Think of how you feel when you are angry, afraid, and grief-stricken. Bear in mind the physical feelings that accompany these emotions — fear, grief and rage — produce chemical changes in our bodies. They do the same to animals. Their blood pressures rise. Adrenaline courses through their bodies. You are eating high blood pressure, stress and adrenaline. You are eating fear, grief, and rage. You are eating suffering, horror and murder. You are eating cruelty. You are what you eat.
The above quote comes from a book I read over the summer called “Skinny Bastard”. The book is a tell-all about the food industry as we know it today and it’s harmful by products which we eat everyday. It is a short and very convincing plea for humans adjust their eating habits and commit to a more healthier lifestyle.
One of the most elemental points raised in the book is that it’s a very good idea to start eating vegan. The reason is because of the government sponsored multi-billion dollar food industry who only care about profits and not the well-being of you and I. The industry itself is poorly regulated, corrupt and ultimately unfit to supply nutritional value in the foods that we purchase from them.
From an evolutionary standpoint, the argument is made that humans did not evolve to eat meat and dairy. Quite frankly this was news to me. It was not something that I had previously thought about before. I grew up eating and loving meat so in my head there was never really an issue with it.
The term “veganism” was new to me as well, it was definitely not a word or concept that I heard about growing up. In today’s world the word is as popular as ever and there are whole industries created around the vegan lifestyle. After I finished the book I told myself that I would give it a shot.
When I returned to New York I vowed to go vegan at least two times a week. While I am learning to code I have been stretching my dollars, with grocery store runs replacing Chipotle visits more often than not.
I also bought a steamer the other day to align with my now healthier eating plans. It’s almost been as revolutionary in my life as the blender was (same company: Hamilton Beach makes great products by the way).
I buy fresh vegetables from the grocery store and just throw them into the steamer without any preparation. Sometimes I add a little seasoning or maybe some garlic and black pepper but that is it. Twenty minutes later and I have meals for the whole week, it’s amazing.
Eating vegan a couple times a week has been much easier than I imagined. I love meat, especially the taste of chicken or a nice hamburger but I find that I don’t crave it as much I thought I would. On my vegan days I usually eat a combination of sweet potatoes with carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes and this week kale. I’ve also stopped eating yogurt and milk which makes my breakfast list shorter. One bowl of oatmeal and a fruit smoothie is all I need.
The real question now is do I feel any healthier? I’m only about a month in and that makes it difficult to guage any significant results. However, at this point I know I’m definitely leaner.
After my cheat days (Saturday) it would take me a couple days to get rid of the belly and now I’m finding that my stomach is flat throughout the whole week.
Furthermore, I have noticed that I’m less groggy in the mornings. I have no idea if this is due to the absence of milk or more vegetables, but it is a change that I have no complaints about at all.
I’ll continue going vegan a few times a week or at different meals when I can. Although I love a good thigh of BBQ chicken, vegan-life is not so bad at all.
