No.
That's the short answer. It isn't necessary to change your life completely and switch to an entirely plant based diet. For most people it would be a fairly large challenge and likely inconvenient. When I work on a client's nutrition each person is at different place in their daily food habits and goals. Some are doing well and just need to clean it up a bit (I say "a bit"..they may disagree) and others are pitted in bad choices. It's those clients that I don't expect to make a jump to a 100% plant based. The circumstances that led to my choices are almost accidental. I eat 100% plant based for many reasons now but in the beginning they were simple.
I'm 44 years old now. Without getting into my autobiography, it's safe to say that I have put some pretty hard miles on my body. I grew up eating a high fat/high sugar/ high salt/ processed food diet. (sorry mom) In my young adult years I continued with the same but added large amounts of fast food, alcohol and tobacco. I lived a lifestyle that was high stress, no sleep and very poor nutrition.
Around 30 I began to look like what I had been putting in my body. My happiness reflected the abuse with low energy levels, no strength, no wind and a nice fat spare tire. I joined a gym. I had gone before.. by that I mean at least once or twice a year. I told myself THIS was going to be different. It was a small personal training gym by my house and hired a trainer named John Siracuse. (props to John!) I worked with John and got back some aesthetically pleasing results but the fact remained that I made poor choices when it came to food. For me at this time, aesthetics were enough. I never considered the whole package. As the saying goes "Tis better to look good than to feel good." I was able to eat and drink as I pleased and maintain an appearance of fitness just as long as I stuck to a dedicated training schedule. Nothing more than maintaining my ego while ignoring my true self. Brilliant. (sarcasm)
Flash forward to mid to late 30's.... All of what I wrote about that worked in my early 30's was not only failing me now but I was losing ground. With no plan of nutrition I resolved to "eat healthy" (what I considered healthy is laughable now) and stay on an even more rigid gym routine. I increased my lifts and time in the weight room. I think the thought process was that I will pack on so much muscle it will overcome the fat. Like an imaginary territory dispute going on within me. I warned you that the thought process was laughable. With a diet plan of no less than a gram of protein (almost always animal protein) per pound that I weighed I set forth. I got really strong. I was ridiculously strong actually. I was packing on muscle at the same rate as fat though. My weight shot up as high as 250 Pounds. My energy levels were beyond poor...they were tragic. I felt TERRIBLE and looking back I didn't look good either. Now my ego isn't even getting fed. This wasn't going well at all!
So we arrive at the last 4 years...the gluten free trend is in full swing. I was still eating poorly. I had heard the gluten free buzz going around. I had no idea what gluten even was so to Google I went... It was pretty easy to understand. Basically all you do is avoid all wheat. Hmm? Why not? I just thought I would try it out for a month to say I had tried it. I had no idea what I was in for. After about a week I felt the "swelling" in my body go down. I don't know how else to put it. It just felt like in my deep core I had always been swollen. This swelling caused me joint and muscle pain. It also caused me acid reflux. I weighed 250 lbs but always felt more like 400 lbs because of the swelling sensation. I read about what was going on with me. My whole life I had a gluten allergy and I had no idea. I always thought that you were just supposed to feel like I did. I thought all meals were punctuated with lethargy and indigestion. This opened up my mind to the idea of "If this made that big of a difference then what else can I do?!"
That's when I bought a juicer... I started juicing vegetables with the intent of flooding my body with huge doses of nutrients my poor eating habits left me deprived of. I watched movie "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." (watch it HERE) It's a documentary of a man around my age who completely reclaims his health through juicing. Very informative and very inspiring. Well, now this is going somewhere! My energy levels skyrocketed and weight began to shed without any effort beyond what I had always done. The weight leaving my body wasn't just fat though. It was inflammation and bloat. I could see my former self emerging in the mirror. It was nothing short of a miracle. I also began to feel happy. I started to realize that this fitness thing is so much more than how I look. I mean what could be more ego driven than pursuing fitness just for the outward appearance? It set me forth pursuing the whole gift of fitness...total fitness of mind, body and spirit. These three areas work synergistically and when one isn't tended to the others will fail. There is no exception to this rule. You'd think this means three times the effort but it actually ends up being less. When the mind and spirit are strong they carry the body and likewise. They rely on each other and work perfect as a team when I am conscious and take care of them.
This is when I decided that the next step was to start running. My energy levels had surpassed any amount of gym activity I was doing. I was bouncing off walls with new found energy. I heard of the book "Finding Ultra" by plant based ultra triathlete Rich Roll. (link HERE) Rich's story was very similar to mine. He had struggled with poor choices but found his righteous path through running and a 100% plant based diet. The story just resonated with me. The juicing had removed the urges or cravings for unhealthy foods. I was being naturally pulled into a plant based diet and running felt like it would be a perfect compliment to it all.
So I went for a run. Just a couple miles. I had run in the past but nothing more than for leisure. The bulk of my "cardio" (as the gym saying goes) was on treadmills or machines. Running those couple miles made every inch of me struggle, hurt, gasp...I found my challenge. I ran one or two more times and with that arrived at the idea that I would run a marathon. Obviously right?!?! I went online and chose one I felt was far enough out that I could train properly. I chose the 2013 Springfield IL marathon which was 15 weeks away. This new boundless energy had me believing I could run a marathon in 15 weeks even though I just began running. What's that saying about hindsight?? No matter...I was doing this thing no matter what. I started reading/studying how and why a 100% plant based diet was the best nutrition plan for marathon training and recovery. I was convinced with all I read I could make this goal happen.
I set a running/training schedule for myself was off to the races. My run times increased with each week. One hour..... 2 hours....three hours...and eventually FOUR HOURS. I could run for four hours now without stopping. I tried my best to never look at distance. I just wanted to know I could run for long periods of time. I have a heart rate monitor and kept my rate in a zone that worked only off my body's fat reserves. Fortunately in this situation fat was in limitless supply... a limitless supply of running fuel so long as my legs would carry me. On October 20th, 2013 I did it. I ran a marathon. It was by far one of the hardest physical and mental accomplishments of my life and I did it on a 100% plant based diet.
So now I can go back to eating meat and dairy, right?? I didn't want to. I still don't. My body thanks me daily for making the switch to plant based. I see my true self when I look in the mirror. Not just the physical me but my whole happy self. Everything about me has changed. It has been very fulfilling. It's a very rewarding way for me to live. I look back on this long and error filled journey and am grateful that I'm here. It was always my intention to feel complete wellness. It was not always my intention to listen to others. I had MY way of doing things. MY way took me a long and arduous literal lifetime to experience the gift of wellness. It really doesn't have to be that hard. I suppose it is all part of arriving at my true self to experience the flaws of my character along the way..... to choose to assassinate my ego or kill it slowly. What works for each of us individually is what's supposed to be happening. It certainly didn't feel this way to me most of the time but it does now.
My change to eating plant based has been life altering. It seems strange to suggest that "food" could play such a big role in happiness but it does. There aren't suitable words for it. For me it was a case of my healthy self dying to do well for me if I would just treat my potential for wellness with respect. In the past I was putting poisons in my body to get a fleeting sense of well being. Anything had to feel better than how I did so my attitude was "bring it on!" Temporary solutions for permanent problems with a residual effect of death. Not just death as we think of it but a waking death compared to what I am capable of. To put it in easy terms...Selling myself short.
This returns us to our original question...."Is eating 100% plant based necessary?" If you ask me personally...well I'm going to say yes. I am aware that we all have a limited experience in life. What has been my reality isn't necessarily going to be yours. I do know that what I have shared here is worth sharing. It may be valuable to some of you and others it may not. To be committed to your goals is virtuous no doubt. To be stubborn is not just foolish but a tragic waste of time and potential. An open mind goes a long way.
