(Preface: I’m going to ask for people to keep their comments
to themselves on this post. If you’re an asshole hillbilly who doesn’t respect
other people’s life choices, then please hit the back button and continue scrolling
through Facebook. Thank you.)
For the
past two years, I’ve known nothing besides eating like a caveman. High protein,
high fat, low carb. Eating basically endless amounts of animal protein and
healthy fats. Paleo changed my life. It opened up the gates to the world of
whole foods, however; since going Paleo, I’ve done a ton of research. I’ve
educated myself on just about every diet out there. Low carb, high carb, low
fat, high fat, weight watchers, paleo, 80/10/10, vegetarian and vegan.
The past few months have been
extremely rough on me. Starting with an emotional downfall in October then soon
worsened by my seasonal depression, it’s safe to say I wasn’t feeling too well
and all those pounds I worked so hard to lose eventually found their way back
to my mid-section. Around January was when I’d finally had enough. I felt like
shit. The crazy thing was that I changed absolutely NOTHING in my diet and
workout routine. The pounds just kept creeping back up on me. I was so
frustrated and so upset I didn’t know what to do with myself. On top of all of
that, my naturopath encouraged me to drop my birth control which was the only
thing that I felt was making me stable. I
was an unstable, emotional wreck. And I was fat again which in turn made me
more unhappy and the cycle continued on down.
That’s when I found 80/10/10 diet.
These are crazy fruitarians who eat literally nothing but fruit. 80% carbs
(from fruit), 10% fat (which most of them cut out totally) and 10% protein (from
plant based foods). I was fascinated with this lifestyle. I mean 10 bananas for
breakfast? 6 mangos for lunch? 1lb of greens and more fruit for dinner? Yes
please! I of course read the book cover to cover soaking up information on a
low fat vegan lifestyle. Since the 80/10/10 diet was a bit extreme for me, I
started exploring Veganism. I started doing my research. For me, it wasn’t about
animal rights, it’s about what our bodies are physiologically made to process
and break down.
We have very little evidence of Paleolithic
days. We have little to no evidence that Paleolithic man ate a wholly mammoth every
day. Chances are they were probably gathering more than they were hunting. Here’s
a few reason why humans aren’t made to chow down on a cow:
Walking: All carnivores walk on four feet. We walked erect on two
feet.
Claws: Take a look at your hands… Could you rip through tough
animal flesh with those things? Probably not.
Opposable thumbs: We have thumbs that make us well equipped to do
things like pick up fruits and pick vegetables. We could no more catch and rip
the skin or tough flesh of a deer or bear barehanded than a lion could pick mangos
or bananas.
Colon formation: We have 26 feet of intestines. If you were to lay
it all out, it would cover an entire tennis court. Carnivores have a very, very
short intestinal tract. Meaning that it breaks down the food and shortly after,
eliminates it. What happens to it in our colon? It takes hours to break down,
then it stays in your intestines rotting away for a day or two until it is
finally eliminated. Ummm, I don’t know about you, but I would rather not have
rotting meat and cheese in my gut.
Vitamin C: Carnivores manufacture their own vitamin C, humans need
vitamin C from the food we ingest.
Teeth: Take a look at your teeth. Could you rip through flesh with
those things? No way.
Stomach Acid: The pH of a carnivore’s stomach acid is roughly 10x
more acidic than a humans. The acidity levels help break down flesh.
Basically, our physiology is way
different than a carnivore’s. What makes us think we can eat the flesh of other
animals without backlash? Truth is we are getting some serious back lash from
it. Heart disease, diabetes, cancers, strokes, clogged arteries, Kidney disease
and the list goes on and on. These are all risks of a diet so high in animal
protein and byproducts. And don’t even get me started on milk! At what age do
mothers stop breastfeeding their child? 5 months? A year? It can vary, but it’s
abnormal and downright weird to see a child older than 4 breastfeeding. That’s
because we no longer need that nutrition anymore. We stop producing the enzyme
Lactate to break down lactose. It’s estimated that 75% of the population is
lactose intolerant. Isn’t it a bit weird that we stop drinking our mother’s
milk, but continue to drink milk from another animal…? Is that just me?
It didn’t take much convincing for
me to get on board the vegan train. I was 100% vegan for a month and had
finally taken off some weight again. However, I was still feeling bogged down. That’s
when I found the 28 Day Fast Metabolism Diet. This diet is supposed to heal
your metabolism, adrenal glands and thyroid. It’s no different than how I was
eating before. It’s simply whole foods. The only difference is that I have to
eat certain foods on certain days at specific times. Crazy enough, I’m just
starting my last week of this diet and I’ve dropped 18 pounds. Everything that
I gained back and more. I feel like 75% better and am looking forward to
getting back on the Vegan lifestyle as soon as this diet is over and I can go
eat some sushi.
I guess the whole point of this
post was to show that setbacks happen. For me, it was my hormones that screwed
me over. I’m hoping that this year I can heal my mind and my body through a
healthy lifestyle and meditation so that when winter comes, the depression
doesn’t come with it. I truly believe that a Vegan lifestyle is the way human
beings were supposed to eat. We are supposed to eat whole foods that come from
the earth and are given to us to nourish and heal our bodies. Your body is your
temple. Treat it with respect. The more I research, the more I learn. Nutrition
is my passion and I will continue to go through life trying to find the ideal
diet. I may have just found it.
I know I have a lot of readers from
Pendleton. Since I grew up in Pendleton, I turned my nose up at any animal
rights bullshit. Who cares if cows are slaughtered? I get a nice juicy steak
and that’s all I care about! Trust me, I had that exact mindset. I know all you
Pendletonians will give me hell for my change of lifestyle. Go ahead; call me a
hippy or a hipster or whatever. Just take a look at this before you judge me
for my choices. Maybe the next time you bite into a steak or hot dog, you’ll
think twice.
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