Meeting Whole Food Plant Based Head On

Beginning a plant based nutrition plan is challenging no doubt. I've been at it a while now but if I think back at the first phases of switching I can remember what a massive challenge it seemed. It wasn't the idea of giving up a majority of the foods I had eaten my whole life so much as it was just the newness of the task at hand. I started like many newbies by eating the same things over and over. Salad, nuts, juices, rice and beans were main meals. My mind driven appetite still told me I needed more and called out for a burger or a couple pork chops. Luckily the cravings I got were for foods that were beyond a doubt totally unhealthy. So I could just write it off as habit..or dare I say it.. food addiction. I will actually say that my experience definitely was an even mix of good old fashioned craving along with an equal amount of addiction. What else could I call it when for years I continued to eat and drink things that I KNEW were bad for me and made me sick. I would do it because it made me feel good in the moment but knowing for certain there would be negative implications to my total health. That is to say not only my body would have negative returns but so would my mind and spirit. When your physical health is suffering it is always the case for the other two to suffer equally. I've never met a person who doesn't feel well that is the best version of their self.  The time had come for me to start demonstrating some respect. Respect what I put in my body and it will respect me in return.

With that said, what laid ahead of me was a challenge. I needed to rethink my approach to everything. There would be no "cheat days". A cheat day would surely turn into a "cheat 2 days" and then "cheat week" and so on... Half measures would surely bring me half results. There is no cheat day for any other form of addiction so why would the rules be different with food. Also I needed to cease to view eating as merely a means to an end. I needed to think of it as more than just filling up the hole in my gut. I had been dealing with eating as an obstacle to thoughtlessly overcome. I was programmed to not think of "what" I was eating just as long as it made hunger subside.  What ultimately developed was a mindset of food as my enemy. It was thought of as an unfortunate inconvenience that hindered my wellness. Sure I loved the tastes but the trade of a fleeting taste for an existence of poor health had become an unfair one in my mind.

Preparation is key. I start each day with a green smoothie. I make sure to have plenty of leafy greens and a nice selection of fresh vegetables and fruit on hand at all times. The bottom half of my fridge is always always always packed with produce. It's a sure fire way to ensure staying on track.  I will admit my appetite is a bit large. Running will do that to you. Here is a handy green smoothie chart to help create any smoothie to your individual tastes and needs.

I could write all day long about this recipe or that recipe but instead I will include links at the end of this entry to websites that have been pretty good for me. It really is almost a complete relearning on how to cook. For me it was a welcome change because I was sick of all the food I had been eating. I can remember right before the switch looking at my dinner plate with it's usual meat entree and thinking "There has got to be another way to do this. I'm hungry and I need to eat but this is just going to completely shut me down and make me feel like garbage."  I used to jokingly refer to some of the heavier meals as "season ending injuries" because after I ate the meal I was going to be sidelined for the rest of the day. That's a pretty dysfunctional relationship if you ask me.

I always have large amounts of brown rice and quinoa prepared and in containers. (Again, preparation is key) It seems to be a base or at least an ingredient to many of my meals. For instance, in the morning I have quinoa as a cold cereal with almond milk, sliced banana and berries. The quinoa is always ready and waiting for me much like the processed box of cereal used to be there in the pantry. The idea here is to have prepared whole food on hand much the same as I had prepared processed foods on hand before. Brown rice is ready for a quick stir fry or as an addition to a soup or chili I am making etc.. Eating whole food plant based (WFPB) is work but it's work for something very worthwhile. I don't think of it as work so much anymore. It's just me preparing and making sure I'm set up for success. It takes time. I have 2 jobs that are fortunately flexible so when I have time I get in a good zone and just spend some time in the kitchen making sure I have lots of healthy choices ready and waiting. It's my version of the "grab-n-go" foods you see lining supermarket shelves. Except these foods aren't that garbage. These foods are nutrient dense, high energy and sustainable. The companies that make processed foods aren't thinking of my very specific needs when they make those foods. They need to make a convenient and cheap product that has qualities which ensure customers will continue to repurchase. Qualities like salty and sweet flavor, high fat content that lights up our pleasure centers in the brain and labeling that creates an illusion that you are getting some nutrition out of the deal are the usual tactics. It also has to be able to sit in warehouses or store shelves for very long periods of time until someone can buy and eat it. All of this adds up to a preservative nightmare along with absolutely no nutrient value assembled in the cheapest way to make sure that my cost is as low as possible. It's the perfect recipe for a low energy and toxic product that offers nothing close to proper nutrition.  That's just the store bought processed foods. Restaurants and fast food are a book for another day.

Here are some general guidelines that can make things easier if you are starting out or if you are already on course and just need a little reminder...

1. Do not overwhelm yourself. Making the changes can be challenging. Try just one small thing that you can do different daily and then add another. In time they will easily fall in place. If someone is  looking for that first thing they can change I usually suggest starting every day with a green smoothie instead of their usual breakfast. It's the perfect way to flood your body with a perfect blast of nutrients first thing in the morning. Start with a green smoothie in the morning, feel the change and then choose the next new healthful change you can realistically make. The changes add up fast and are rewarding enough that you will look forward to the next. This is  not a race. It's a reinvention of yourself. Anything worth doing takes time. Rush it or be impatient and your results will be poor.

2. If you "cheat" or "slip" it's fine. It is common for many to just say "Well that was just too hard. I can't do it. Oh well I tried" and then just give up. It's expected that if you've been eating a certain way for many years that you will not be flawless. Examine how or what happened and consider how you can do it differently next time and move on. The end. No grudges against yourself. You fell. Get up.

3. Be prepared. Always have fruit, veggies and prepared whole foods available. Bring food with you even if you are only going to be gone a short while. A few bananas and some nuts will save you from a drive thru or whatever other poor choices are out there. Buy disposable containers of all sizes so you can bring anything you'd like anywhere.

4. Remember that this isn't a diet. Anything but that damn word. It is you recreating the way you are going to eat for life. It is you being accountable for what you choose to eat. It is a thoughtful process and something to be proud of. You are treating your health with respect and refusing the crap that is being offered in the mainstream. You are being mindful enough to do what it takes to be the best version of yourself. It's basically awesome.

5. Others will ask questions and even be annoyed with you. It's a tough spot in social settings no doubt. It can be awkward. A simple answer saying that you just feel better when you eat this way and it's a personal choice is enough. If the person persists and you don't feel like elaborating just refer them to my blog  :) or any other WFPB site. Pontificating on the subject usually just draws criticism and negativity. I promise the people close to you will see and sense the changes in you. That is more than any words can speak.

This touches base on a WFPB switch but there is so much more to it. By that I mean so much greatness. Which also means many more blog entries. Going WFPB is one of the top decisions I ever made and the results have been nothing short of remarkable. If you are already on this path then you know what I mean. If you are about to embark then I will say congratulations on taking action and get ready to feel better than ever. It's a process at first but like anything it becomes the normal way and the old ways will just seem unfathomable. You might even end up so enthused that you start your own blog. I work as a personal nutrition and fitness trainer as a job but I write this blog for fun and for free in hopes that I may reach others who may be interested in reshaping their lives through something so simple as food. The food really is the key! That much I can promise you. I hope for others to experience the transformation I did. To truly have total wellness and THRIVE!

Here are some links to sites that have served me well. These three sites will give you plenty to start with and I'm sure you will find sites of your own that work well for you. I would include recipes of my own but quite honestly I am a haphazard cook. I just do pinches of this and shakes of that. Don't get me wrong, my food is fantastic but there is just not really a way to put in recipe form. So try these sites and soon you will be doing your own thing off the top of your creative mind as well..

http://happyherbivore.com/recipes/

http://engine2diet.com/recipes/favorites/

http://plantbasedonabudget.com/

Altering The Microbial Colonization Of Your Gut: The Key To Wellness

One of the biggest game changers for me when I first adapted to whole food plant based nutrition was the changes in the microbial colonization of my intestinal flora. By this I mean that the replacement of meat, dairy and processed foods with plant foods also replaced the bacterial colonies that reside in my gut. It isn't something that I had ever given any consideration to in the past. I suppose "out of sight/out of mind" applied to the situation. The thing I was able to pay attention to though was the fact that I felt amazing. My energy levels were through the roof, my mental process was extra sharp and everything just seemed to have a new and special clarity. On the physical end of things my endurance and training had increased dramatically.  All feeling of bloating and achiness had left me.  And my digestion had become flawless. It all seemed to good to be true but it was happening and there was no denying it.

There are 100 trillion cells in your body, but 90% of the genetic material is not yours. It is from the bacteria, fungi, viruses and other microorganisms, i.e. your microflora. (link here)
It really is true that we are exactly what we eat. When I was putting  processed foods in my body I was unknowingly lining my GI tract with nutrient deficient and chemically treated junk. When I was putting meat and dairy in my body I was creating flora from animal flesh or byproduct that is dead and if not organic was also swimming in hormones, antibiotics and other chemicals. Even it were organic I could be sure that it had some degree of feces and other unfavorable bacteria throughout.

The thing with microbial colonies is that when they reside in your gut they create the cravings for more of the same foods in an effort to perpetuate their existence. It is no coincidence, for instance, that when you are on a roll eating fast food that you will crave more and more fast food. Or when you have a diet heavy in meat, you will have a drive to eat meals that include meat. The same can be said for sugary foods, junk food, processed foods etc.. It will seem that nothing else has the ability to satiate your hunger/craving. Likewise, when you have made the change to a plant based program you will be driven toward plant foods and those meals will perfectly satisfy you. Meat, dairy, junk, fast and processed foods will no longer have the same appeal. I must admit that when I first changed to plant based I thought to myself that it was going to be a daily sacrifice that required major discipline....and at the very start it was. But it was only after about a week or two that I found I was quickly losing the cravings for those other foods I had eaten my entire life. After only a couple weeks an entire lifetime of habitual eating was disappearing?!?! It was nothing short of remarkable. My wife will be the first to confirm that before making this change I was adamant that every meal needed to include meat and/or dairy. Rarely did I eat a meal that didn't include meat, dairy AND processed foods. This is all while I was very committed to a daily weight training program coupled with cardiovascular training. I say that to demonstrate that it wasn't a sedentary time in my life but a time when I was unable to achieve any of the personal goals I had set for myself. I would keep adding more time and more sets to my routine but the results always came back poor. The incredulous thing I remember about all of that now is that I truly thought that I needed to add more protein (i.e. more meat/dairy) and cut carbs. I believed that I needed to cut out carbs which are the very thing our body uses as fuel and add more protein. Protein is intended for growth....I will say that again...protein is intended for growth. Unless you are still growing, taking in copious amounts of protein is going to inhibit your goals. You will grow muscle (if that's your goal) but you will also grow fat. But even more serious is that animal protein eaten in excess (which is generally the case)  can grow diseases like cancer, diabetes and contribute to overall mortality. (link here)

Protein is created within the body through the amino acids that are naturally found in a variety of plant foods. A full array of colorful plant foods will ensure your body is getting a full array of amino acids which will be used to create almost all of the protein YOUR body needs specifically for YOUR needs. Any protein not created by your body will be ingested as it naturally occurs in foods such as beans, legumes, nuts, grains and (of course) plant foods. I was amazed when I came to the realization that I didn't have to orchestrate every bite of food I took... I could just let go of the wheel and let this efficient machine do the driving. So long as I was doing my part by adding the proper fuel I could just trust "the machine" to do it's work seamlessly. The fact of the matter was that the very thing standing in my way of enjoying optimum physical health was my less than optimal thinking. It was a realization that I just needed to return to my roots. To eat the plants that I am intended to eat. I am from earth and so also my food should be.

Eating solely plant foods will introduce very beneficial live enzymes and greatly improve your GI microflora but it is important to avoid "conventionally grown" plant foods and always aim for organic. Unfortunately pesticides and GMOs exist and are just as serious to your well being as the aforementioned foods here. Farmers markets are a good source of Organic foods as well as stores like Trader Joes. Most quality supermarkets will have organics on hand to some degree as well. As far as food with labels... I always say avoid them. (eat only whole foods) But if you are eating a food that has labeling always always always READ THOSE LABELS.