I watched the most compelling film last night called Forks Over Knives. My neighbor was over and mentioned it to me and asked if I would like to borrow it. Well anyone who knows me knows I am not "normal" when it comes to food and so I said yes right away. My mind is very open to the Vegan lifestyle since I have lived on the edge of it since I was a teenager. I do eat eggs, egg whites, dairy, poultry, and fish but I in my younger days I ate a lot of tofu and soy based products instead of dairy and I almost cut out the poultry all together at one point. And thinking back on it, I was at my healthiest. It's not the "normal" way of eating but I feel like two major components drove me to that lifestyle. First thing was diet. I won't lie, I have been a diet junky since my Senior year of high school. I lost a bunch of weight after high school from changing my lifestyle and cutting out meat and dairy. But the trick was trying to keep it off without depriving myself and at that young of an age I wasn't educated enough to do that nor did I have a lot of money to be spending on organic or at whole foods markets. I grew up in an interesting food environment with the women in my life. My Grandma always had Slimfast in her fridge or she was always doing Weight Watchers. My mom worked a lot of hours and she basically just never ate. And my sister was diagnosed with anorexia in middle school. She than after a long time of treatment turned the other way and would eat a lot but would do it in the middle of the night when no one could see her. She then decided to start weight lifting and become a power lifter. I haven't talked to her in a couple years but from what I hear her diet is pretty plant based and Gluten Free. And then there is my dad. If it's green he won't eat it. And he is a big meat eater like my husband. My husband is thankfully open to trying new things and eating a lot of veggies but he would not be open to cutting out meat, dairy, and eggs.
The second reason I chose the more vegetarian route was to become healthier after being diagnosed with my renal cancer my junior year of high school. I had it easy and only had to have one of my kidneys removed and didn't have to undergo any chemo or radiation. I think that may have been God's way of giving me a chance to shape up my lifestyle a little. A little harsh love. :)
I was talking with a friend today about this and we discussed how much easier it is to adapt to this culture or way of living in different demographics. We also discussed how sad it is for the financially less fortunate to not be able to afford these types of foods. They should be more accessible and a lot more affordable so that people can choose this healthier lifestyle not only for themselves but for their children. Although, with that being said, I am a firm believer of my child making her own decisions in life. I want her to try a lot of foods and become educated on the benefits and downsides of the things she puts in her body but also to choose for her own way of living. She is a very smart kid and I trust she will do what is best for her. I feel like as a parent it is not my job to mandate my child's likes and dislikes but to give her the opportunity to make educated decisions based on experience and knowledge.
Point of my story is that everyone should take a good long look at what they put into their bodies. I am not perfect and have my weaknesses but if I can live life on a regular healthy plant based or whole food diet most of the time and mix in the occasional indulgences, than I think my overall health and well being will benefit. I would like to think that I was able to help in my risks of cancers, diabetes, and heart disease. In my lifetime of 30 years I have seen a lot of cancer rip through family and friends. Why set myself up to fail? If you are interested in watching this amazing film you can go to http://www.forksoverknives.com/ and watch it online. I will say it is very controversial and out of the box. But hey, I have always been way out of the box. LOL!!!
