#veanism

A few weeks after the massive amount of food I prepared for Thanksgiving and my family is now singing a different tune. I succeeded in creating everything for Thanksgiving dinner, all by myself, but with coaching from my lovely mother. I did indulge in a bit of turkey. I didn't go overboard and nearly every time I tried to eat a bit of meat I ended up pretty sick. Duh. I don't usually eat meat, hence my body's rejection of it.

Fast forward a few weeks later and here I am. Bright and doe-eyed. I am now fully vegan. After watching Forks over Knives, and getting sick from my "natural" turkey, I decided enough was enough. I had given up meat but not fish. I cooked with meat for the boyfriend but picked around it for my food. If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right. No more half attempting to get my health right. This time I mean business.

I went to the doctor for a physical last week. I had lab work done and I'm anxiously awaiting for it to arrive in the mail. I will have another set complete lab work done in six months. I've weighed myself, and taken pics. I will be thoroughly documenting this new lifestyle.

It's been about a week without meat, and about 3 days without ANY form of animal products, dairy, eggs, sugar, and caffeine. My body is detoxing and it hurts.

At first I thought my newly formed pain was from yoga on Sunday morning (I haven't practiced in weeks!) but I was wrong. Everything hurts. My stomach is going bat sh*! crazy, my arms and legs feel weak and as though my nerves are on fire and I've had headaches from caffeine withdrawals for about a week straight. It is oh-so-pleasant!

Today I decided to fast. I'm only drinking water and green smoothies I've been preparing for a few days. Last night I created a delicious one with lettuce, bananas, OJ, water, and raspberries. This morning I switched out the lettuce for Spinach (rotate your greens!) but kept the other ingredients the same.

I'm not going to lie. I'm still not feeling 100% nor do I know how long this detox will last. All I know is I've spent years adding toxins to my body and I can't expect to be magically healthy overnight. I will be patient but I am hurting. I'm glad this is will only be temporary.

Other than the obvious detox symptoms I feel great. I never thought I could give up sugar but I have, thus far, and I feel really amazed by that. I'm proud of myself. In an effort to support my decision my boyfriend has decided to only eat meat once a week, and has cut out most dairy. He says by Jan. 1, 2012 he will attempt veganism. YAY!

I feel blessed to have a brother and mother who are going through this journey to health with me. Plant-based whole foods are the way to go. I wish more people cared enough about their health to do the research and decide to stop consuming processed "food-stuff" and making their bodies acidic with meat and other acid forming foods. I'm doing my best to let my body return to its alkaline self. Bring on the green smoothie revolution!