Growing up in the Oakland, CA and attending undergraduate school at UC Berkeley, I was familiar with those crazy vegetarians wandering the streets of University Ave. Even in a diverse setting as California, I understood a vegetarian lifestyle was only practiced by a generation of undercover "edumacated" hippies. You know, those white kids that wanna be something completely opposite the lifestyle desired by their 6-figure salary parents. I know! I'm admitting to my own ignorance and stupidity.
The definition of a vegetarian is an easy one. A vegetarian omits all meats in their daily food choices. Please note, that I will never use the word diet because they are fleeting. I've chosen to commit to a lifestyle of healthy food choices, instead of a quick fix. Vegetarian food choices are widely acceptable in today's society. We see this in just about every restaurant and even some fast food places. But what does it mean to be vegan? Vegan food choices involve no animal products whatsoever (no meat or dairy). You then have your sub-cultures...(hehehe)..of vegetarian and vegan options. I will explore these in future blogs.
So, what possessed me to become vegan? Here's how it all began.
Well, there isn't one day that I can point to because for years I have been in desperate pursuit to loose weight. The ironic thing is that I have always remained active in playing sports and always ready to play some recreational basketball. In the Spring of 2002, I did one of those shake and meal diets from an Atlanta based nutritionist. It was great! I lost 56lbs in a matter of a few weeks. Yea, I was hot! LOL! But like any other diet, the quick turn around was not a long-term experience. I slowly gained half the weight back. Along with graduation from grad school, planning a wedding 3500miles away, moving, etc....I gained another 40lbs. Yikes! Yea, we enjoyed ourselves a bit much after the honeymoon.
Jekelvin and I will have been married for 3yrs this coming August '09. Last year, I began exercising and trained to run a half marathon. I ran the Raleigh City of Oaks half marathon and knew there was something more to my training than changing my eating habits and running on a weekly basis.
Which brings me to February 13, 2009. Thanks to the internet, I found 3 powerful resources that helped to catapult my vegan lifestyle.
1) Laura Beck. Laura is a high school friend who's an all-out advocate for vegan choices. It's something how being vegan and advocating for healthier food options for children is not as rewarding as promoting Viagra pills. Hmm...Lol! Laura is probably less than half what she was in high school. When I saw how much weight she'd lost, I inquired and she began educating me about what it means to be vegan. She's such an inspiration and I'll have to write a tribute to Laura later:-)
2) Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. Colleen has a podcast that you can find via her website:
http://www.compassionatecooks.com/. Here, you will find a genuine response to all the questions you have about being vegan. I totally recommend subscribing to the podcast and listening to one-a-day. You will not be sorry. Again, I will write a tribute to Colleen, as well:-)
3) Books & Internet Resources. I will share the books and websites that educate anyone interested in living a "real" healthy life not chemically balanced by supplements, powders, or other weird processed foods.
As of today - May 18, 2009 - I have lost roughly 35lbs. Not sure when I'll post
my actual weight in lbs, but want to be as transparent as possible. This means, I will blog about any cheat days but I don't have that many when I prepare my foods for the day. Look forward to reading about how to really take back your life without paying anyone. We're responsible for our health and there's nothing or no one that can stop you from changing your life.
Post your comments and let us share our journey to "real" and "long lasting" health with no compromises!