Well I've made it threw my first week and boy do I feel G-R-E-A-T! I've tried vegetarian and vegan before but failed a few years ago. Coming from Wisconsin where the Land of Beer, Brats and Lard hail king of the food chains, I was determined to change my ways.
My Father's side of the family is fairly healthy except for a few eye problems like cataracts and glaucoma. All live up into their 90's (so far) and are thin to average, but no bigger. Most are of average height to tall and fairly athletic. My Grandmother is from California and my Grandfather from Wisconsin. She moved here with him and got married. But also brought with her, her mothers recipes and cooking regime. My Grandmother was also a chef for many years at a fancy private club and new how to cook healthy. My father told me the only days they looked forward to as kids was Friday's because that was the one day of the week they would have fried food. Almost always Fried Fish.
My Mother's side of the family is a whole different ball game. Only my mother and one of my aunt's are short. About 5'3" ( which I think is actually average in the United States, but in my Family they are considered Hobbits) I'm a little over 5'10" but not quite 5'11". One of my brother's is about 6'2" and the other is almost 6'5" ,I'm betting, (and he's only 15!). Everyone on my Mom's side is "Large Boned" as she likes to put it. Most of them if not all of them are overweight, some I would even consider Obese. The diseases in this family are Heart Disease, Breast Cancer, Diabetes, Anemia, Gall Stones, Kidney Stones, High Blood Pressure/Cholesterol, Depression, Bone Cancer, and my personal favorite....Brain Cancer. They eat nothing but meat, (fried) potatoes, butter, and beer. If the veggies aren't fried, then they are soaked in butter. It's almost like, "Would you like some corn with that butter".... Seriously... And I never see them eat any fruit. The only cousin of mine that's in shape is my cousin David, whom used to be a Track star, I never glanced at his plate, but I do notice he only eats one plate of food and not four! My cousin Troy used to be in good shape, in fact was going to be a Major League Baseball player but gave it up for a girl at the time that asked him not to go. (He's not with her anymore, by the way) Now he's a teacher and a single father, his wife died this passed summer to Brain Cancer. Both my Grandparents on this side are from Wisconsin. My Grandfather on this side only lived till his early 70's ..he died from his 9th heart attack. My Grandmother made it to her early 80's and I'm not even quite sure what she died from, she had a bad fall and ended up in the hosptial, her whole body just started to shut down one organ at a time. The last few months before this happened though...the only thing she wanted to eat was fruits and vegetables, and fruit and vegetable juice. Her Mother, however lived to be 99 and most of her life ate nothing but what she grew on her farm...Interesting...
So I look at my two families and realise, yes...part of having any health issues is genetics. But I can't help but feel that you fuel these diseases or "turn them on" while they lay dormant by the foods you eat. The fact that the Track star in my family and the almost MLB star had to follow strict diets and exercise regularly and have no health issues is a big Red flag for me.
I've read a two books that really inspired me to take a step back and look at myself and my family and realise I can make changes to myself before it's too late, "Breaking the Food Seduction", and "The Cure". Breaking the Food Seduction breaks down the chemical makeup of the foods we eat that are addicting, like Chocolate, Cheese, and Sugar. "The Cure" is more about one doctor's own struggles growing up and watching his mother die of cancer and success stories of people he's helped when they have already given up. He's even cured a few people of cancer!
Then came, "Christina Cooks" a cooking show like I've never seen before and it's on on Public Television. Thank God for DVR, because I was able to rewind what I missed and watch the whole thing. She cooked Baked beans, Macaroni and cheese, Grilled cheese, Stroganoff, Quiche, even Peanut Butter cups! And guess what.. it's Healthy?! I couldn't believe it. She's only on once a week but I make sure it's priority on the DVR so I don't miss a show. I love the way she educates you as you watch explaining what kind of vitamins and minerals you're getting from this recipe and other substitutions you could use as well. I even bought her new cook book "Cooking the Whole Foods Way". I'll follow you up on that book review.
After all of this I realised this was a sign...a sign for me to take control of my life again. I now have been doing the whole foods/vegan diet for one week and I feel so great! I work in a school and two women I work with closely are so sick they looked like they should actually be in the hospital (and shouldn't be at work) they're coughing and hacking all over the place. Blowing their nose, sneezing and clearing their throats constantly. Amazingly I never caught this sickness (*knock on wood*) and I put that on my new diet :) My boyfriend who's being completely supportive of this new diet and actually likes the food says he hasn't felt this way since we tried being vegetarians. Well, we're back!
I recommend this lifestyle to anyone that feels like crap everyday. I have Depression and when you have that it's hard to feel good about anything..ever, but when I did this I started having energy. And when you have energy, at least for me, it's hard not to be in a good mood. I don't ever remember having this much since I was on the Tennis team in High School! If you need inspiration and want to actually get a visual on some good looking and tasty food try to catch Christina Cooks on Public Television. She's a Red Head with a big smile and always cracking jokes. She makes this lifestyle almost effortless :)
