Stop eating baby cow juice!
PCRM | Health Concerns about Dairy Products
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Where I'm coming from
I wanted to start out with a list of my current physical issues/conditions to see what, if anything, improves as time goes by. Some of this is a little TMI, but you're (probably) a grown up and can handle it!
cellulite
rectal itch
clogged pores
menstrual cramps
breast tenderness
occasional constipation
PMS
thinning hair
irregular sleeping
tired in the afternoon
undigested food
smelly pits
mildly itchy skin
dry skin
weak nails
insomnia
uterine fibroid
20 lbs over recommended BMI
A lot of this I've had for most of my life, but other symptoms are fairly recent or intermittent. I plan to check this list in about a month to note any changes. I'll keep you posted!
Namaste, kesumo
cellulite
rectal itch
clogged pores
menstrual cramps
breast tenderness
occasional constipation
PMS
thinning hair
irregular sleeping
tired in the afternoon
undigested food
smelly pits
mildly itchy skin
dry skin
weak nails
insomnia
uterine fibroid
20 lbs over recommended BMI
A lot of this I've had for most of my life, but other symptoms are fairly recent or intermittent. I plan to check this list in about a month to note any changes. I'll keep you posted!
Namaste, kesumo
Some recommended resources
Here are a few resources I recommend regarding veganism:
The Ultimate Vegan Guide
I thought this book was great. It's very practical, humorous, and had some easy-to-implement suggestions for adopting to veganism including outfitting your kitchen and pantry, easy meal prep, and how to deal with travel and dining out. Plus, you can't beat the price for the second edition: $1! Please note the Kindle version is a dollar, so you need a Kindle or the free Kindle app. If you don't want to deal with the Kindle, the first edition is available online for free! If you prefer to read a real tree and bark version, the paperback second edition is available for under 9 bucks. Have you gotten the hint yet? Buy or read this book, it's worth it.
Vegan Outreach
This is an activist organization that does good work. The website provides info and links regarding veganism, vegan health and nutrition, and ways to support animal rights.
PCRM: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
PCRM's president is the author Neal Barnard, M.D. (Note: I haven't read any of his books yet). They offer info regarding veganism and nutrition, and you can sign up for their 21-day Vegan Kickstart, a series of daily emails that includes nutrition info and recipes.
Recommended with reservations:
Skinny Bitch
Please note the authors use snarky, insulting language to get their point across, so if sarcasm isn't your second language like it is here in New Jersey, stick with The Ultimate Vegan Guide! Also, I don't agree with everything this book recommends or claims, especially regarding soy products and processed foods. However, processed soy and fake meat seem to be often recommended as good "transition to veganism" foods, and I think this book's intended audience is for beginners. Just keep in mind eating processed and junk food isn't a good long-term strategy regardless if you eat animals or not! Also, SB was written 8 years ago, so I think it's safe to assume our understanding regarding plant-based diets has evolved since then. After saying all that, I did learn a few things from SB, and I share their sense of humor.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
PETA is more than a little schizophrenic and controversial (check out their Wikipedia page to see what I mean), but they offer a free Vegetarian and Vegan Starter Kit.
Learn all you can about eating vegan to keep yourself healthy, and use that noggin' goddess gave you! :)
Namaste, kesumo
The Ultimate Vegan Guide
I thought this book was great. It's very practical, humorous, and had some easy-to-implement suggestions for adopting to veganism including outfitting your kitchen and pantry, easy meal prep, and how to deal with travel and dining out. Plus, you can't beat the price for the second edition: $1! Please note the Kindle version is a dollar, so you need a Kindle or the free Kindle app. If you don't want to deal with the Kindle, the first edition is available online for free! If you prefer to read a real tree and bark version, the paperback second edition is available for under 9 bucks. Have you gotten the hint yet? Buy or read this book, it's worth it.
Vegan Outreach
This is an activist organization that does good work. The website provides info and links regarding veganism, vegan health and nutrition, and ways to support animal rights.
PCRM: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
PCRM's president is the author Neal Barnard, M.D. (Note: I haven't read any of his books yet). They offer info regarding veganism and nutrition, and you can sign up for their 21-day Vegan Kickstart, a series of daily emails that includes nutrition info and recipes.
This site is maintained by Rutgers professor Gary L. Francione. He's hard-core: "if you think animals matter, go veg or go home" and "happy meat is a myth" are his mottos. If you are or seriously considering becoming a vegan, he's probably preaching to the choir anyway, but his site gets you thinking. Haven't read his latest book yet but plan to.
Written by a young woman, Kris Carr, who is practicing a vegan and raw vegan diet to manage her rare cancer. She's cute, the book's cute, but I learned some stuff (especially about pooping and enzymes!).
If Jesus is your homeboy, check out this site. Basic membership is free. My car will soon be rocking one of their magnets. Would Jesus eat meat today? Probably not, and the CVA will tell you why.
Recommended with reservations:
Skinny Bitch
Please note the authors use snarky, insulting language to get their point across, so if sarcasm isn't your second language like it is here in New Jersey, stick with The Ultimate Vegan Guide! Also, I don't agree with everything this book recommends or claims, especially regarding soy products and processed foods. However, processed soy and fake meat seem to be often recommended as good "transition to veganism" foods, and I think this book's intended audience is for beginners. Just keep in mind eating processed and junk food isn't a good long-term strategy regardless if you eat animals or not! Also, SB was written 8 years ago, so I think it's safe to assume our understanding regarding plant-based diets has evolved since then. After saying all that, I did learn a few things from SB, and I share their sense of humor.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
PETA is more than a little schizophrenic and controversial (check out their Wikipedia page to see what I mean), but they offer a free Vegetarian and Vegan Starter Kit.
Learn all you can about eating vegan to keep yourself healthy, and use that noggin' goddess gave you! :)
Namaste, kesumo
In the beginning...
So, how did I get here?
I've spent a good deal of my adult life reading about diets and nutrition. My main concern up until fairly recently was weight loss. I was a skinny kid and teenager, but began to gain weight in my early 20s, culminating in a all time high of about 170 lbs in my late-30s. Yikes! I'm all of five-foot-nuthin, so this is pretty heavy. I was determined to make a permanent change, and embarked on a soul-wearying weight loss/gain yo-yo cycle up until the present day.
Right now I'm at what I call my baseline overweight: 140 lbs. This seems to be the weight I usually end up at and can maintain for some length of time. While my doctor recommends this weight as reasonable, I believe 130 lbs or thereabouts should be doable and sustainable, not to mention healthier! Maybe this is the typical American woman self-delusion and obsession with those last ten pounds, maybe not, but I've decided its my ultimate goal regardless.
But how to get there, and stay there, without going crazy? I had no intention of counting points or calories the rest of my life, even considering that option was depressing. Plus doing the same thing over and over and over and OVER and expecting a different result was the very definition of wack-a-doo, right?
I had just spent a couple of months on Weight Watchers, and knew that the only foodstuff that had no points value were fruits and veg...well, there you go, I thought, fruit and veg it is!
Not to mention I've known for years about how disgusting and cruel factory farming was and how it was destroying our ecosystem, not to mention I also knew that plant-based diets were way healthier, and there you go: Veganism staring me in the face, going, "About time, dumbass!"
Better late than never!
Namaste, kesumo
I've spent a good deal of my adult life reading about diets and nutrition. My main concern up until fairly recently was weight loss. I was a skinny kid and teenager, but began to gain weight in my early 20s, culminating in a all time high of about 170 lbs in my late-30s. Yikes! I'm all of five-foot-nuthin, so this is pretty heavy. I was determined to make a permanent change, and embarked on a soul-wearying weight loss/gain yo-yo cycle up until the present day.
Right now I'm at what I call my baseline overweight: 140 lbs. This seems to be the weight I usually end up at and can maintain for some length of time. While my doctor recommends this weight as reasonable, I believe 130 lbs or thereabouts should be doable and sustainable, not to mention healthier! Maybe this is the typical American woman self-delusion and obsession with those last ten pounds, maybe not, but I've decided its my ultimate goal regardless.
But how to get there, and stay there, without going crazy? I had no intention of counting points or calories the rest of my life, even considering that option was depressing. Plus doing the same thing over and over and over and OVER and expecting a different result was the very definition of wack-a-doo, right?
I had just spent a couple of months on Weight Watchers, and knew that the only foodstuff that had no points value were fruits and veg...well, there you go, I thought, fruit and veg it is!
Not to mention I've known for years about how disgusting and cruel factory farming was and how it was destroying our ecosystem, not to mention I also knew that plant-based diets were way healthier, and there you go: Veganism staring me in the face, going, "About time, dumbass!"
Better late than never!
Namaste, kesumo
Welcome!
Thanks for visiting! The purpose of this blog is to keep a record of my transition to a vegan lifestyle. This record is primarily for me and to track my progress and to identify areas that could use improvement, or expert advice, as well as new habits that seem to be working. All info here is based on my own opinions and experience. If you have questions or concerns, medical, dietary or otherwise, please seek the advice of a qualified individual.
I've decided to make this journey public to share what I consider important and reliable information and resources regarding veganism, and to provide inspiration to others considering or practicing veganism.
If I can do it, so can you!!!
Namaste, kesumo
I've decided to make this journey public to share what I consider important and reliable information and resources regarding veganism, and to provide inspiration to others considering or practicing veganism.
If I can do it, so can you!!!
Namaste, kesumo
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