From vegetarian, to pescaterian, to vegan, to raw vegan to???

The last couple of months I’ve experimented with different types of eating styles as you can see from the title. As a result, I finally burst through my year long plateau and lost a total of 10 pounds. So far I have gathered a lot of information about veganism and raw veganism. In order to fit my life style I decided to encompass all the different eating styles in one. Over the next few posts I will break down my reasoning in sections to prevent very lengthy posts.

No chicken, beef, or turkey just seafood

In order to stay sane and enjoy life I decided to keep seafood in my diet. Where I live there is not a lot of vegan or vegetarian restaurants assessable. To speak frankly, my man and friends have expressed several times they are not vegans. When eating out sometimes they will compromise and decide on a restaurant like Sweet Tomato. Sweet Tomato is a salad and soup bar and there is no meat on site. This restaurant is great and has saved me many times when eating out. These last few weeks I’ve noticed that most restaurants do not have a “vegetarian” option. A few times I find myself getting creative with ordering off the menu. For instance, if the dish has rice I’ll replace it with extra vegetables lightly steamed.

Living a vegan lifestyle can cause deficiencies in the diet such as a B-12 deficiency. B-12 is not found in vegetables so you will have to consume dairy or meat. According to Fit Day, B12 helps in maintaining the health of the nerve cell and the nervous system. The vitamin B12 is also needed for the synthesis of the red blood cells. It has been found to be very much needed for the growth and development of children. 

As a compromise because I do not want to consume chicken, beef, pork, or turkey, fish or seafood became the best option. Even though seafood is back in my diet, I do not eat it every day. Normally, I save fish for days my honey wants to take me out or hanging with the girls on the weekend for dinner.

No dairy or sugar

In 2005 when I had a personal trainer assisting me with my weight loss goals, one tip he gave me was to stay away from cheese. He stated that cheese adds fat to the waistline. All these years later did I follow his advice, maybe but not all the time. But this time around, I plan to really stay away from cheese. Last year, during my no dairy/cheese challenge I ate soy cheese as a substitute. Well throughout my research I learned that casein which is found in milk can possibly lead to cancer.  One day I decided to check the ingredients of my favorite veggie cheese and casein was there. From that day forward I swore off of veggie cheese as well. Every now and I’ll fall victim to cheese but it’s real cheese and not the “vegan” version.

Additionally, I’ve stayed away from mayo, yogurt, and ice cream. Every now and then I’ll have a bowl of cereal but will drink almond milk instead of cow’s milk. By no means am I perfect so yes there are mishaps. When the mishaps happen I can totally notice a difference in my body because after consuming some form of dairy I’m immediately bloated and gassy.

These few changes discussed have made such an impact on my body. For one, at times I have more energy than I can deal with which is very new for me. One morning at work I was waiting for my cinnamon/raisin toast to pop up and I started doing one leg hops. Yes, for no apparent reason I started doing hops because I couldn’t keep still. Amazing! Stay tuned for more of the changes I’ve incorporated.

Ciao!