I’ve been told that I’m long overdue for an update. So here it is. I’m in my 8th week of eating a plant-based diet. I’m doing OK. I’m starting to miss certain things, like being able to enjoy a nice night of take out with my husband or simply a buffet at a friend’s wedding. I’m finding that certain restaurant commercials on tv make my mouth water. It’s not really any specific food I crave (sometimes it’s ALL the foods!) but it’s more the idea of them. I then remind myself that I’m doing this for my health – it’s my drug of choice, so to speak. I want to get my Crohn’s under control in any way I can that does not involved chemical medications. However, lately, I’ve been experiencing some additional manifestations of my Crohn’s Disease. This is very disheartening. I really was sure that changing my eating this dramatically would make a big difference. Perhaps, it has. Perhaps, if I continued eating the way I was, I’d be having a full-blown Crohn’s flare up, rather than just little bothersome manifestations. Who knows? So I’ve decided that in one more month’s time (which will make for 12 complete weeks of eating a strict vegan diet) I will go to my doctor and have my blood drawn and tests run on my blood to measure my Crohn’s Disease activity. This should give me a good indication as to how my newly acquired diet has affected my health, if at all. After that, I will continue keeping a plant-based lifestyle at home, but will allow myself a meal out at a restaurant once a week with my husband (or a night of take out!) This will still involve me eating healthy for 96% of the time (figuring that I’ll eat 21 meals in any given week). Plus, it will help me tame the cravings and let me enjoy much-needed alone time with my man. It will also reinforce my middle ground resolution. (See my last post for more on that). So, there you have it. Nothing fancy, just a quick update to all of my loyal readers – especially to you, Nate.
As many of you know, we are in the middle of the ten days of repentance – a period of time that begins with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and ends with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. It is a time of self-reflection – when we take an honest look at our self and our actions in the past year and consciously make the decision to change for the better in the upcoming year. A lot of times this involves deeds we did to other people and we apologize to all of those people we might have wronged. But, sometimes, some of our wrong doings are things we’ve unknowingly done to ourselves. We must also make amends for this as well. In Hebrew, the word for sin is “Cheyt”. The word actually comes from the sport of archery and literally means “missed the mark”. As we reflect on our lives during this ten-day period, we acknowledge all of the marks we’ve missed and “return” or do “Teshuva” to the correct mark(s).
I am far from perfect. I’m the first to admit it. In fact, I have a lot of faults. I disclosed in a blog entry a few months back that I suffer from anxiety and panic disorder. This ailment has actually been getting worse in recent weeks. I had been seeing a therapist for a few years, but wasn’t making any progress. Three weeks ago, I decided to seek out a new therapist – one that specifically specializes in anxiety and panic. I found the most amazing therapist – Vidalia onion* – I’ll just call her Vid for short. I’ve only seen her three times and in this short time, I’m happy to admit that I’m making tremendous strides and overcoming issues that have plagued me for years. I’ve been discovering so much about myself. One of the things I’ve learned is that I’m an “all or nothing” person or a “black or white” person. There is no middle ground, no gray area for me. At least in the past there hasn’t been. This is apparent in most areas of my life. For instance, I won’t start cleaning the house if I know I don’t have the time to clean the entire house at once. So instead of cleaning a room on one day, and then another the next day, etc. and have the entire house cleaned within a few days time, I might put it off for 2 – 3 weeks until I have the time to do it all at once. If I only have 10 minutes to exercise, I’ll skip the exercise and wait until I have the time to do a full workout. I even waited a few weeks to start eating a plant-based diet until I ate up all of the meat, eggs, and cheese containing foods of mine that were in the house.
That brings me to my update on a plant-based diet. (This really is not a digression.) Last week, I wrote how I was having some cravings and getting a little frustrated with my plant-based way of eating, especially since my mom was going to quit “the diet”. Well, since then, I’ve found some new recipes, some dairy free cheese that is amazing and I’ve been re-reading all of the literature that has reminded me why I’m doing this diet in the first place. My strength has been renewed. But, underneath it all, I’m so afraid that the “all or nothing” beast will attack. That’s when I realized, that I have to find that middle ground and be a little gray with my eating. I can’t be so strict and unyielding, otherwise I will break. I’m pleased to say, that I finally have found my touch of gray and I found it tonight. My parents went to an amazing Italian restaurant that they only go to once a year (when they visit the cemeteries two hours away, where their loved ones are buried). I asked them to bring home my husband’s favorite dish – Chicken Alfredo. Before they left the restaurant, they called me and asked if I wanted some eggplant parmesan. I thought for a moment and figured I could pull of the cheese and told them “yes, please”. When the food arrived, it smelled amazing and my mouth started watering. I realized, that, though, I am dedicated to being healthier, I’m still allowed to enjoy life and the earth wasn’t going to crumble if I *gasp* ate some cheese. But this was unfamiliar territory I was entering. I was leaving the comfort of the black zone, yet not going all the way over to the white side. Could I do it? I was inching towards the gray area! So I took a deep breath, and cut a piece of the yummy eggplant wrapped in cheese and brought it to my mouth. To my surprise, lightening did not strike me down. Quite the opposite – I enjoyed every single bite of my meal. I felt completely satisfied. And I did not feel one bit of guilt. Success! I arrived at the gray area and I was OK. I know that tomorrow I will continue on my plant-based diet. This one meal with cheese isn’t going to tip the scales one way or another, regarding my health. If anything, it helped me learn that I need to indulge once in a while to be healthy. Granted, this will be neither an every week nor an every month occurrence, but it’s FINE when it does indeed happen. I need to learn that it’s OK to be in the middle – in fact, it’s necessary. I’m working hard on trying to apply this to all aspects of my life. I might only have 5 minutes free, but in that time I can scrub the toilet. The baby might be waking up in 10 minutes, but I can use those 10 free minutes to do some yoga. And so, as I enter this New Year, I do it in the gray area and hope in the coming year to find and maintain that balance that I often lose sight of.
May everyone have a wonderful new year filled with only health, joy, and prosperity. May the gray area be with you.
*To maintain some privacy, instead of using people’s real names, I use aliases that are either fruits or vegetables.
I’m in the middle of my sixth day of eating clean. I feel great! I already have more energy and feel happier! I haven’t been hungry at all, nor have I felt any deprivation.
Today, I attended my first social event since I began my new eating style (I hate using the word “diet”). It went very smoothly. There was tons of food and I scouted the table and sought out the fruit salad. I had 2 huge helpings of that and a bottle of water. I didn’t miss eating all of the “junk” out there.
If you had told me last year, that I’d be eating a vegan lifestyle, I would’ve laughed at you. But after reading the many books that I have read on the subject, I feel like it is the only way for me to eat. The China Study and the Rave Diet both showed me all of the studies done that proved eating this way can reverse most diseases including heart disease and cancer and does wonders for autoimmune diseases (one of the main reasons why I decided to go this route in the first place). They also showed studies and had statistics showing just how much animal protein and especially dairy makes people sick (I’m not talking about stomach ailments, but heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.). But the best book I have read thus far is “Skinny Bitch” by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. The authors really dug into the politics behind our food and conveyed a lot of wonderful information. They did this while being a little crass at times and well “bitchy”, but in a humorous way. However, the overall message was serious and based on truths cited from many reputable references. The book was really eye-opening for me. I highly recommend it – even if you have no desire to eat a plant-based diet.
At first, when I was thinking about eating in this manner, I worried about things that most people worry about when they think “vegetarian” and “vegan” and that is will I get enough protein without eating meat? Will I get enough Calcium without drinking milk? And will I get enough vitamins in general? And the answer to all of those questions is “yes”, “yes, “and “yes”. All the books I have referenced in my last several posts all have solid medical studies that prove that the answer is yes. As long as I eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables and grains, all of my dietary needs will be fulfilled. Even with me be a lactating woman, I will still be getting all the nutrients both Tangerine and I need. In addition, this diet is perfectly healthy and preferable for children as well. Again, many studies have proven this and a great book that goes into more depth about it is Disease Proof Your Child by Joel Fuhrman.
Though, thus far, I’m really enjoying my experience, I have to admit that on the evening of Day 3 (shortly after I posted my last blog entry) I ran into a couple of bumps in the road. The first was that I was struggling to make two different dinners (one for me and one for my husband, who has not jumped on this bandwagon yet) while attending to my active toddler. Somehow, in the middle of the confusion, I slightly burned my husband’s dinner. Luckily, he’s very sweet and understanding and wasn’t too upset about it – especially since this was the first time I’ve burned a meal in the 3 years we’ve been married (I didn’t burn anything in the year we lived together either). The other road bump that night, was that I put a little too much garlic in my dinner (which was whole wheat pasta, stewed tomatoes and chopped spinach) and had a bit of tummy ache that night.
All in all, I am enjoying my healthy eating journey and am excited to experience new adventures of this healthy lifestyle every day.
So far, I’m loving this “diet”. I was afraid that I would be hungry all of the time (especially since I still nurse Miss Tangerine constantly). But quite the opposite – I’m only eating half of my meals and saving the rest and eating them later.
Granted, I’m only on my third day of this new way of life, but so far, I haven’t had any cravings. I already feel heathier, lighter and enlightened.
My biggest challenge and “pain” is that I have to cook two separate dinners – one for me and one for Mango. He is not on the plant based band wagon by far.
I’m still toying over whether or not to include olive oil and other healthy oils in my diet or not. Two of the books I’ve read, advocate for no oils at all (The Rave Diet and The Engine 2 Diet). While other books I’ve read, including The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone and Disease Proof Your Child by Joel Furhman all use healthy oils in their diets. So far, I’m staying away from the oils…but I’m still conflicted. I’d love to hear what some of your thoughts about this are, and why.
I’m looking forward to Day Four tomorrow – bring it on!
