Wednesday, March 4, 2020

5 Things I Learned from Going Plant Based for a Month

For the month of February, I dipped into plant based living for the first time with the FASTer Way VIP Community (I am a member and a coach). I was looking forward to giving it a try to see what, if any effects it would have on me. Plus, both of my step daughters are plant based so I was excited to learn more about their lifestyle.




My goals going into the month were pretty simple:
  • increase my veggie consumption
  • reduce my meat and poultry intake
  • try new recipes

I really expected to eat a pescatarian diet throughout the month. Most of my life I've been pretty picky about vegetables, so I thought if I didn't at least have some fish I'd probably be starving!

Not exactly!

The great thing about this plant-based challenge, was that we had LIVE trainings in the VIP community to help us navigate our way. This was so helpful for someone like me who was brand new to all things plant based! Each online training was meant to help us learn more about the lifestyle, understand the benefits and the effects. Our training topics included:
  1. A plant based Q&A
  2. The science behind plant-based living with Dr. Stephen Cabral
  3. Why being regular is important!
  4. Review of the documentary, Game Changers with Dr. Alex 


So, how did it go? I was not plant based 100% of the time. I had eggs a couple of times, some cheese on a cauliflower crust pizza and a few meals with fish. Most of those happened when we were traveling. However, I did not have meat or poultry at all, and made it a point to eat veggies at almost every meal. 

One thing that made this easier for me was that mrC was totally on board with trying plant based month, too. We initially became curious about the benefits after watching the documentary Game Changers.  

Here are my top five takeaways:
  1. Definitely felt the benefit of more fiber! Gassy and a little bloated at the beginning but definitely regular. Regular people and happy people!
  2. My bad knee which always feels swollen, even though it doesn't look swollen, began feeling almost normal and was overall less cranky. This was a HUGE win for me.
  3. I'm a pretty good sleeper in general, but I have been sleeping through the night and skipping the early morning wake-ups to use the bathroom.
  4. I need more veggies in my life! This challenge has made me more aware of ways I can sneak more veggies into all of my meals.
  5. There are a lot of really good plant based recipes that I will keep in my recipe file!
Moving forward, neither of us are in a rush to go back to our old diet of chicken and turkey and lean beef with nearly every meal, but we will be eating fish again. Plant based month has been great for getting more veggies in our lives. There is no downside to eating more fruits and vegetables.

Are you plant based or tried it?
I'd love to know your thoughts or your favorite recipe.
Share your comments and questions below!





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