It actually started in 2012 when I decided to try clean eating for the first time. Up until then, I was your classic, misinformed American twenty-something. History of yo-yo dieting, only eating diet foods and low fat options, blah blah blah. We all know the story.
Over the course of the past few years I have taught myself to cook, adopted an entire clean eating life-style, and have gotten more into the notion of micro-nutrient profiles instead of just basic macros.
But recently, with the progression of my back injury healing, I have taken up 2-a-day workouts again, and have decided I am ready to dedicate the next 6 weeks to dialing in exactly what I am feeding my body, how I am training it, and trying to engineer my outcomes.
On my birthday, I bought a Vitamix. I thought it would be a fun and healthy toy to motivate me to push forth; blaze new trails, reinvigorate the process, etc.
Well, it did, And then some...
I got into sourcing my produce from Farmer's Markets. I had elected to take a month off of volleyball training to focus on my gym sessions and cautiously monitor my back. This freed up my weekends, and I found a great joy in picking up fresh product from farmers, and then going home and blending it into a meal right away. And this meal became an art and a hobby for me; I realized that produce that normally gave me digestive issues (either by type or quantity) no longer did when I ingested them in smoothie form. I assume its because the produce is being broken down into its most bio-available source requiring minimal enzyme processes in the digestive tract, but I am no expert so who knows. I also transitioned from shopping mostly from Trader Joe's, to exclusively from Whole Foods, purposefully selecting only organic, non-GMO products. It was for fun, but it also felt right; I felt like I was doing something lovely for my body, and respecting it.
But then I went further. After successfully completing a 1-month stint of incorporating green protein smoothies into my diet, I began to wonder if I could take this another step further. Could I replace dinner with a smoothie too? If I used homemade almond milk with my cereal in the morning and ensured my snacks were plant-based (vegan) and supplied necessary macros like fat and carbs in the right quantities, could I go full-time vegan? What if I bought a juicer to supplement my afternoon snack with a shot of more produce?
So I began the easiest, most accessible research I could start with: Documentaries on Netflix. Netflix has a vast library of nutritional documentaries on hand. I watched The Gerson Miracle; Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead; Food Inc.; Hungry for Change; Forks Over Knives; and Crazy Sexy Cancer (Vegucated and Chew On This TED Talks are next on my viewing list). What I began to realize is that this is something I believe in, and exactly what I've been looking for for over 7 years. Something I could inspire myself with -- an art, a hobby, and a means to help achieve the physique and health I want -- all the while expanding my knowledge and creating a new career option for myself.
So I've decided to make an experiment of myself, much like countless others before me. I intend to go to the Library later this week and rent The China Study and any other materials I can get my hands on, and I signed up for information on beginning my studies to get my certification from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. From what I have thus far researched, it may be possible that with specific practices and enzyme supplements, I might be able to bypass (and perhaps "cure"?) my digestive issues with certain vegetables. It will take a lot of careful research to determine exactly how to get all the proper macros I need considering as I want to be building lean muscle mass while I do this, and I will need to spend a lot of time tooling and re-tooling menus so that I am never left wondering what to do. The goal is simple: a whole foods, plant-based diet. No crap "vegan food" with soy fillers and other junk. Whole foods. Plant-based. Plain and simple -- the amino profiles for protein are easy to develop by educating oneself and combining plant-based sources.
I will be dedicating the balance of this year preparing for this ultimate New Years Resolution, and I will be purchasing a Omega Juicer for myself for Christmas :) And I have decided that I will allow myself every right to opt out if I find I need to stop to figure out a better plan of attack given what I learn, or if I struggle too immensely with addressing and combating digestive complications. But one thing is decided: I will 100% be dedicating at LEAST 30 days to this diet. Thus, I will have the first month's menu and battle plan figured out, and then I will repeat it in February if all goes well, while developing the following month's diets.
So, allow this to be the first of many posts on this new journey -- the struggles, the changes, the recipes, and the challenges of trying to develop a physique on a whole foods plants-based diet. I will be seeing my doctor to have a full blood panel done, as well as other tests to establish a base-line. And then I will test myself again after 30 days, 90 days, 180 days, and 360 days. I have no real underlying health issues from which to measure progress, but I trust the stats will improve regardless, and in conjunction with reporting on other mechanics like body fat %, lean muscle mass %, sleep quality, strength, and other things..... I think it will be able to paint a picture of what these documentaries are trying to convey.
So... 45 days to plan, 365 days to execute. Here. We. Go. :)))
No comments:
Post a Comment