One Month “Kind”
Today, February 2nd, 2010 (Groundhog Day), marks the one month anniversary of my transition to a vegan diet; a change which I have already declared to be, hands down, the best thing that has ever happened to me.
I call the process a transition, because I did not intend for this to be a permanent change. My decision to “try” a plant-based diet was motivated by a few different factors.
At the end of one year, and the subsequent beginning of another, we are inundated with stimuli – commercials, news stories, articles – around New Year’s Resolutions. Normally, I was the type of person who scoffed at this idea; after all, I prioritized self-improvement all year round. I had no need for arbitrarily-timed resolutions.
Yet, for some reason, 2010 was different. A great feeling of positivity had welled up inside of me, urging me to make 2010 the best year ever. And, on some level, I knew that I had to start with myself and my body.
Around the same time, and at, possibly, the worst time of year ever for trying on clothes, I was asked to attend a bridesmaid dress fitting for my cousin’s August 2010 wedding. Although all of the dresses zipped up with relative ease, I was shocked to learn that my waist, historically the smallest part of my body, was at least two inches more than I felt comfortable admitting. I knew that somehow, by August, 2010, I needed to feel comfortable in my body again. I just didn’t know how I was going to pull it off.
On the Sunday night after New Year’s, the final evening of freedom before the post-holiday return to work, I went to see Avatar with my family, followed by a heavy Italian dinner consisting of a salad (with bacon sprinkled throughout) and Chicken Francaise. During dinner, I heard a story about a vegan couple, who, at Christmas, brought their own food and lingered around the kitchen to make sure that it was prepared, vigilantly, without any butter, milk, or animal products of any kind.
Despite the couple seeming sort-of annoying at the time (as did most people with specific and unusual dietary restrictions), the story made some kind of impression on me. I had dabbled in different lifestyle changes with regard to diet, but had concluded, ultimately, that I was going to enjoy life, and not get crazy and obsessive with restrictions. I had been down that road before, and had decided that the ten pounds I might lose by doing Weight Watchers or some kind of crazy low-carb diet was not worth its return in happiness, due to the intense feelings of deprivation.
Which brings us to Monday, January 4th, my last day of meat consumption. I went back to work knowing that with this New Year, I was going to have to be consistent about taking care of myself and working out, and that I needed to make some sort of dietary change. I made it through the day eating relatively healthily until I arrived home to an empty refrigerator, a common occurrence for city-dwellers such as myself. Even with healthy, fast take-out options in my neighborhood, including Energy Kitchen and Eva’s, I opted for junky Chinese Food from a restaurant I had never tried before; Szechuan Beef, to be exact. It must have been a twist of fate that I tried someplace new, because after a few bites, the heavy, greasy flavor and gnarly texture of the meat on my tongue began to turn me off.
As a result, on Tuesday, January 5th, I decided to go meatless; a strategy I had enjoyed successfully as a means of jump-starting weight loss and fueling my fitness plan without having to feel particularly deprived. A graduate of the Weight Watchers school of portion control, I knew I could bulk up meals with “0 point” vegetables, giving me the feeling of fullness without any of the guilt. I was also a person who truly enjoyed items like tofu, beans, and vegetarian meats, even as a non-vegetarian. At the same time, as a midtown lunch-er, I started to wonder where all of those buckets of chicken came from, that fed the masses each day.
In past bouts with meatlessness, I consumed dairy liberally, as though not eating meat gave me license to eat cheese with every meal. Cereal and coffee would be shared with one or two-percent milk. Relatively aware of news and trends with regard to health and nutrition, I remembered an article I had read in the Wall Street Journal (among others), detailing the means by which the food we consume gets pumped with salt, chemicals and hormones to feed ever-growing demands for consumption.
In May 2009, after an episode of Oprah, I became keenly aware of the fact that I was putting hormones into my body (birth control) without any thought of the fact that I was disrupting my body from its natural rhythms. I promptly stopped taking birth control and had experienced dramatic physical effects. I felt as though an invisible cloud had lifted. If the absence of the pill made me feel dramatically better, then perhaps cutting out dairy products (from cows that are pumped full of hormones so they can produce milk) would affect me too. Thus, my vegan diet was born.
The first two days passed with little challenge or thought of results. I simply went about my business, secretly eating non-animal meals; I did not want anyone to think I was on some sort of crazy diet kick. It was at the end of day three that something miraculous began to happen. My body felt lighter. I took out a tape measure (all I had on hand) and my waist was, in fact, already more than an inch smaller. I felt happier and more positive. And my stomach was strangely EMPTY and FLAT, despite having eaten liberal, large, albeit non-animal, meals. I laid awake pondering: is this a permanent change? Have I been a vegan my whole life and I just didn’t know it yet? And the question that gave me the most anxiety – how are my friends and family going to react to this?
Despite fear of people’s reactions – much of our human interaction in New York City revolves around food, work, or both – I continued. Not only did I begin to feel dramatically different about myself, my body, and my decisions with regard to health and nutrition, but I also found myself fascinated by the environmental issues that went along with my choice. I read every article I could find about veganism, googled various vegan celebrities, and went out and bought The Kind Diet, by Alicia Silverstone. I laid in bed watching YouTube videos and interviews and reading Ecorazzi on my laptop at odd times of morning – I had so much more energy. In eliminating the consumption of meat from my diet, I was the one who had become consumed.
Slowly, I started to tell people about my exciting life change. Some people were immediately supportive (albeit concerned about my protein intake), while others seemed a little defensive, declaring love for meat and cheese. I didn’t care, though. This was the best thing I had ever done for myself, and I was sticking with it, no matter what anyone thought.
Even though this change is perceived by others to be difficult (“I LOVE meat” and “I can’t LIVE without CHEESE” are comments I often get), I found it to be incredibly easy. Within the last month, people frequently ask me, “what do you eat?!”, as though a diet without meat, cheese and eggs, leaves few options to feed oneself.
To this I answer, “I eat EVERYTHING…except meat, cheese, and eggs.” I am a person who enjoys eating, and to this end, I have stocked my fridge with a delicious variety of veggies, beans, nuts, fruits and grains along with treats like chocolate soy milk and tofutti desserts. I have tried amazing vegetarian and vegan restaurants, like Pure Food & Wine, Blossom, and Village Natural, where delicate and intricate dishes seem to be prepared lovingly and thoughtfully.
Whereas before, this way of eating might have seemed strange and extreme, even to me, it quickly became completely intuitive and fun. I feel as though I have lived the first third of my life (if I’m lucky) one way, and now, I am embarking on an entirely new adventure – opening doors to not only new restaurants and foods, but also to new people and experiences.
As an example, within two weeks of this transition, I signed up for my first half marathon – something I had always wanted to achieve, but never felt fully confident I could. Something inside me was changing, and I knew I had the energy to make it happen. I am now on my third week of training, and I have yet to miss a day, even with a busy work and social calendar. I have never, ever been a morning person, yet for the past couple of weeks, I have gotten up almost every day, between 6 and 6:30 AM to run, stretch, and strengthen.
In “The Kind Diet”, Alicia talks about the suffering that animals experience prior to being slaughtered. I am happy that I am no longer a cause of suffering. My next goal will be to eliminate animal products from my wardrobe, even though it means parting with items I really do like. That said, I have found that as my dedication to this lifestyle change grows, my desire to accumulate material things has steadily declined. I’m not saying I don’t love a new pair of shoes as much as the next girl; but the next pair will definitely not be made of leather.
After one month, I feel happier, healthier, and more energetic than I have in my whole life. My jeans are getting baggy. I feel as though I am experiencing gratitude for the first time. I look back on the last twenty-eight and a half years and the mistakes I have made with joy, because they have all played a part in bringing me to today – one month “kind” and better than ever. I think I may have been put on this planet to inspire, and for the next third of my life, the journey starts here.
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Tags: Alicia Silverstone, The Kind Diet, vegan diet, Veganism
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