I Must Be Out Of My Mind: Vegan-Week 2019

I have simply lost my mind.  Welcome to 'Vegan-Week: 2019.'

First things, first.  I am a meat-eater... and a cheese eater... and an anything else that's bad for you eater.

I have been working out at Farrell's Extreme Bodyshaping for just over 3 years.  After a year and a half I had dropped an amazing 67 pounds.  My diet was fairly clean.  I ate a lot of lean protein, fruits and vegetables through the week.  On the weekend I would give myself a one day break, or a "fun day" as they like to call it at FXB.

After that year and a half I was feeling really tired of my nutrition routine.  While I try to change up my meals, I was feeling a bit of burn out.  I decided that at some point I would have to back off my nutrition slightly to find my balance of "how much can I eat if I'm exercising and not gain any weight?"

Well, 8 weeks ago I found myself about 240 pounds, or 35 pounds heavier than my lowest point of 205.  I still work out everyday (or as close to that as I can), but obviously my relaxed attitude towards my nutrition has had its effect on my waistline.

I had a conversation with a family member who told me of her weight loss journey.  While exercise and nutrition were both beneficial, it was when she transitioned to a vegan diet that she saw an incredible decrease in her weight.

Seems obvious, right?

No stranger to trying new things, I set out to do a little research.

A vegan, as a noun is defined as "a person who does not eat or use animal products."  As an adjective it's defined as something "using or containing no animal products."

Cheeseburgers... nope.  T-bone steaks... that's a negative.

Tofu... have at it!

(In what must be an omen I tried opening a container yesterday and the water the tofu was packed in exploded all over me!)

I asked a number of people who use both vegetarian and vegan based diets and got a lot of great advice and menu ideas.  Laci and Kip at Farrells are always great resources.

Natural peanut butter is cool, so I'll be eating a lot of that.

So I'm gonna try it for a week... maybe two if I don't murder someone.

God bless those people who can live a lifestyle featuring healthy food and choices.

If you've had any experiences you'd like to share or menu items I might want to try, shoot them my way at chris.farber@townsquaremedia.com.

~CMF