Plant Based Eating… Something Lost or Something Gained?

Whenever we make a big change, human nature is to think about what we give up. To succeed at virtually anything, it’s important to think it terms of what we gain.

Take plant-based eating. The first response you will likely get from others when you tell them you are plant based is this; “How can you give up meat and cheese? And cheese. Oh cheese. I could never give cheese up!”

My recommendation with these types of questions and comments is to ignore them. If you try to defend your position, you may find yourself in a no-win situation. And, you may begin to doubt your choice based on the opinion of others.

Rather than buy into someone else’s belief about what you are supposedly giving up, you can think in terms of what you are gaining.

Additionally, you can think about all the things you are not missing. For me, I don’t miss the extra 35 pounds that I carried around that made me incredibly sluggish.

I don’t miss the mood swings that happened shortly after eating highly processed, sugary foods. Or, what about the afternoon energy dips. Then there’s the inflammation that I started believing was a part of aging.

And let’s not forget about the headaches for no apparent reason.

And of course, being very disconnected about the fact I say I am compassionate to animals, yet, they somehow were a big part of my diet.

Ignorant Rationales

On the issue of eating animals, I’ve heard so many ridiculous rationales from people trying to convince me I’m somehow missing the point of why it’s okay to eat animals.

Everything from the way animals kill each other in the wild is vicious to, “Who’s to say the moment they are slaughtered is a bad moment? Maybe we are doing them a favor.”

What??????

Doing them a favor by breeding animals unnecessarily, raising them in confined quarters, taking babies away from their mother so the cow can produce milk for human consumption while the emotional pain the calf and cow go through is unspeakable, killing millions of animals every day due to forced reproduction and on and on.

Let’s get real. Factory farming is inhumane, filthy, disease ridden and unnecessary. It’s a very spiritually bankrupt way of “food” production.

People can try to justify it all they want, but if they do the research, which many people refuse to do because it will make them “lose their appetite for meat” they will likely have a change of heart and appetite.

The Gains

Plant based eating gives me so much more than I could ever imagine. Often, I don’t even realize how much I’ve gained until I have an ah-ha moment like the last time I went on a business trip.

Before going plant-based, when I returned home, it could take a couple of days to recoup. On my last trip, which was nearly a week, I didn’t feel any lag in energy during or after. As a matter of fact, my energy was incredibly great throughout and upon returning home.

When someone asks, “Don’t you miss…. (you fill in the blanks),” you can respond with, “Actually, what I don’t miss is…”

Your health, energy and aligned living is something that others can’t give you. It’s something you create moment by moment in the decisions you make on what to let go of and what to embrace.

My friend Brian Rodgers not only gave up 120 pounds that were literally killing him, he gave up several diseases that were restricting his quality of life. Diseases like liver disease, severe hypertension, dyslipidemia, triglyceridemia, obstructive sleep apnea, Fatty Liver Disease, Metabolic syndrome, cushionoid and morbid obesity.

Brian Rodgers, Pit Master and Founder of Fool’s Gold Plant Based BBQ

Today, he’s healthy, slim and vibrant. Night and day from how it used to be. Not wanting to give up one of his favorite things to eat, bbq, he created a company out of his own desire to find a healthy way to eat bbq. Check it out.
http://www.foolsgoldbbq.com

If you’ve been plant-based for any period, why not do a quick inventory of how you feel and perform now compared to when you consumed meat and dairy. Often, we can become so accustomed to feeling great that we forget what it was like until we sit down and take a trip down memory lane.