Inspiration for this newsletter brought to you by… a conversation with my 9-year-old daughter.
The other morning while we were having breakfast, my youngest daughter asked me, “When you eat unhealthy foods, what happens in your body?” I thought to myself, “Oh boy, where do I even start? Do you have a few hours?”
She already chooses to eat a plant-based diet but was curious to learn more about the why. So in response, I launched into a kid-friendly discussion on the health-based reasons why I follow a plant-based diet. It’s something I’m super passionate about. Through our conversation, I felt called to share some information with you about this topic.
Keep in mind that my job is to educate and empower you to make the right choices for yourself, not to choose for you. You are the designer of your reality. I’m here to help awaken your truth in many areas of your life, whatever that may look like. I respect wherever you are on your journey and am here to support you.
In my book SOAR, I talk about plant-based eating, as it has played an important role in my spiritual awakening. I have included several excerpts from SOAR in this newsletter. I hope that what you read may resonate with you to whatever degree your soul is ready for. And prompt you to think about food from a different perspective.
Disclaimer: any time you are considering making shifts in your eating regimen, you need to be mindful of any underlying health conditions. Consult the appropriate professionals if needed (e.g. your doctor, nutritionist, specialists, etc.).
No Judgements – You’re Right Where You’re Supposed to Be
The discussion of plant-based eating can sometimes be controversial. In SOAR, I frame it up with a “no judgements” spirit.
“Know that there are no judgements whatsoever about the eating regimen you choose for yourself. Remember that you are the designer of your reality and you make your choices, right down to whether or not you choose to read this section. If you’re not in a place to entertain the idea of plant-based eating, go ahead and skip it. I totally respect your choice. If at a point down the road you want to come back to this section, it will always be here for you to reference.
It blows me away that five short years ago, I was standing toe-to-toe with plant-based eating advocates defending my position as an omnivore. Quite frankly, I thought vegetarianism was a bit extreme and exited many discussions around the topic. After following a long and winding journey of self-discovery in this arena, I am now a passionate plant-based diet advocate and have fully embraced a sustainable lifestyle rooted in plant-based eating. I am totally energized as I impart my knowledge to others so that they may be educated and empowered and make the choice for themselves.”
Wherever you are on your journey, I’d encourage you to start asking yourself questions. Am I comfortable with my current eating regimen? How does it make me feel? Is it in line with my belief system? Is following a healthy eating regimen important to me? What are my objectives? Am I fueling my mind, body and spirit in a way that moves me forward? Would I ever consider a plant-based lifestyle?
My Journey to Plant-based Eating
Many people over the years have asked me about my journey to plant-based eating. Let me just say that I didn’t go from Point A to Point B linearly. It doesn’t usually work that way. I made some shifts, then went back to my old ways for a while, then picked it back up again.
In SOAR I share this first-hand account of my journey:
“The process of transitioning from the standard American diet to officially following a plant-based diet has been a process of rich self-discovery. In transitioning from an omnivorous diet to plant-based eating, I initially went from one end of the spectrum to the other. I was totally vegan for about seven months, but at that point in my evolution found it to be a bit too extreme and not sustainable long-term.
I periodically stepped away from plant-based eating and lapsed back into my prior omnivorous diet. In the interim, I educated myself and explored the topic in greater depth and detail, and spent time discerning whether or not this was the right approach for me to follow. I noticed that each time I stepped away, I was able to re-immerse myself with more knowledge, clarity, energy and a commitment to this new way of eating. While these deviations felt like setbacks at the time, now I am able to look back and understand how they were a crucial part of the process. There were people trying to convince me that a plant-based diet was the healthiest way to eat, but I needed to discover the truth for myself and follow my own process. I resisted and even met them with counter-arguments that had no empirical basis or scientific evidence whatsoever, in an attempt to justify staying in the rhythm of the only way of eating I had ever known. I’ve finally reached a point where I am currently a plant-based eater and am very close to being a vegan.”
Part of my process was learning to view food in a new way. In this next section, I talk about how food is not just a vehicle to satisfy hunger. It can also be our fuel and our medicine.
Food is Our Fuel AND our Medicine
“Prior to my mid-thirties, I had no idea that the food we eat plays such a powerful role in fueling the human body appropriately and keeping us free from disease. I didn’t make the connection between what I was eating and how I was feeling. I was often tired, but didn’t realize that it was because I wasn’t fueling my body appropriately.”
“It is my personal belief that there isn’t enough dialogue around the connection between food and its power in preventing and treating disease. We’re accustomed to operating within the construct of a self-feeding system that is focused on industries feeding other industries, rather than what we are feeding our bodies, and it’s all so simple. All you have to do is buy the majority of your foods in the produce section and ensure that you consume adequate fats, proteins and carbohydrates from healthy sources. That’s really all there is to it.”
Throughout my journey, I’ve simplified considerably. Following this basic shopping and lifestyle structure has removed a lot of complexity from my life. It also freed up the space to put my energy towards other things.
Creating a Healthy Ecosystem Within Your Body
Food plays a huge role in creating an ecosystem within our bodies that either fights or fuels disease. The goal is to maximize your body’s alkalinity. This is to create an environment that will make it difficult for diseases to flourish. Examples of highly alkaline foods include spinach, broccoli, kale, cucumbers and avocados.
At the other end of the spectrum are acidic foods that bolster a biochemical environment. It encourages the proliferation of various diseases. Examples of acidic foods are dairy, meat and poultry. Also, certain beverages such as alcohol or drinks with artificial sweeteners, refined sugars, processed foods and fried foods.
What can you do this week to help promote a healthy ecosystem within your body? Look for ways to incorporate more plants into your life. It’s great to start your day with a healthy, nutrient-packed salad.
We’ve Barely Scratched the Surface
We’re now about 1,200 words into this blog. And I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface on the topic of plant-based eating. Plant-based eating has far-reaching implications in so many other areas — it raises our vibration and impacts what we attract into our reality, extends more kindness and compassion in our world and benefits our environment in a powerful way.
We live in a world where information is so readily available. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to sift through and organize it in a way that feels manageable and implementable. If you feel like you are at a place in your journey where you are ready to dive into plant-based eating, I’d love to help you curate your plant-based lifestyle.