A Success Story?

Almost a year ago I made the conscious decision to go from omnivore to vegan and it has opened up an amazing new world of food. Though my initial reason was for animals, it has grown into three reasons ... still for the animals 💗, for the earth itself, and most surprisingly for my own health.

I have lost 35 lbs since last May and am now in better, healthier, stronger shape than I was over ten years ago just before I became pregnant with Evey. Exercising, any little bit, every day has become a habit again. For example, push-ups no longer feel awkward!

In February I had my annual bloodwork done and my cholesterol is 136, my HDL is 74 & LDL is 54, and my vitamins and minerals are all at good levels. I plan and hope to live a very long time. I want to be part of the next generation of 80+ year old cavers and hikers!

I'm not perfect (mmm desserts), and I'm often really hard on myself for that even though I know I shouldn't be. 😯 I am a work-in-progress. We can always get stronger and more skilled, both physically and mentally. It's OK to celebrate along the way though, right?

First I struggled with whether to write this at all, and now I keep revising it. Why? At least in part because I don't want to come off as a braggart. Also, because I'm afraid of failing, not at being a vegan - of that lifestyle I'm confident, but of "letting myself go" again.

I will not let that happen. I have come a long way in the past year, and I think I should be proud of it. And to feel OK with being proud of it.

Decisions

I’m a terrible blogger, but occasionally I find I still have reasons for writing a post.

On April 23rd, while Jeff was working and my mom was out of town, I took the kids to Fox Hollow Family Farm. We had been there before – it’s a fun place for the kids with a variety of things to do in a very pretty setting nestled between Squak and Tiger Mountain in Issaquah. While the kids played in and around the Farm Village playhouses toward the end of the afternoon I found myself sitting next to the pen where a mama cow and her baby were. Both of them ambled over to me and I petted them. As I looked into that mama’s eyes and let her sniff my hand it struck me what it meant to eat meat. I had reached a turning point and I felt it. A short time later a worker happened by and the sow mooed at him, several times.  Laughing, he told her it wasn’t supper time yet.  He said she knew exactly who he was, and what it normally meant when he came around. Food!

For a while I hadn’t been going out of my way to eat meat, but that day I believe I moved from unconsciously avoiding it to consciously avoiding it. On April 27^th, I ate my last steak tacos from the Taco Truck here in Maple Valley. I kept my Altoids for a few more days and had s’mores that Sunday, but eventually I threw out the Altoids and I bought vegan marshmallows for some upcoming camping trips. I even returned an unopened bottle of calcium because it, too, had gelatin. After doing some soul-searching which included research on the internet (yeah, I know how that sounds. I've become very good at being critical of everything I read online) I realized I didn’t think I could stomach dairy anymore either. At its most basic, cow milk is meant for baby cows. It’s what calves need to grow rapidly into +1,000 lb mammals. Perhaps there’s a reason 75% of humans are lactose intolerant to some degree. I breastfed my kids for a combined total of six and a half years … and partly I believe because of that, when I watched this video it gutted me. Dairy cows are animals, and they are mothers. Just like me. In all honesty when my kids were very small my love for animals took a back seat to my very own humans, but that has gradually changed. I have enough love for all in my heart. How could I genuinely care about cats and dogs, but not for the welfare of pigs who have been proven to have higher intelligence than our pets?

On May 5^th, I ate cheese with my lunch for the last time. I’m undecided about eggs, only because if I want to I could buy them from a friend whose chickens are very well-cared for. I’m also on the fence about honey … because sure, bees are alive, but they are insects ... like mosquitoes, no?? I purposely sought out a brand of sugar that doesn’t use bone char the other day though.  And so this is a journey I have embarked upon. It’s a life change. I’m so very far from perfect, and I have to try to remember not to mentally beat myself up if I make what I perceive as a mistake.  There is so much to learn, and I don't feel like I've closed a door, but rather opened one. There is a huge new world full of delicious variety to explore. Except for asparagus. That's still gross. I’m not exactly a newbie, considering my mom has waded between vegetarian and vegan since I was a kid. We already own this book, and my goodness are there some yummy things in there.

As if this wasn’t a big enough change, on May 9^th I registered for the Tough Mudder Half with some friends that happens at the end of September and I’m super excited about it. I’m very much not a runner.  I never have been.  But I started running in preparation for this event, and I’m finding I like it. I did a Warrior Dash and Mud Run a few years back and now I’m feeling super motivated to get fit and even more healthy. A few months ago I bought a new cave suit and it was just a tad snug. I'm planning to need it come October and I'm determined that it fit me a little loosely instead!

Like so many others, I resolved myself time and again to eat healthy, but I always fell off the wagon. Mostly at night or on the weekend was when I was most tempted.  But since consciously deciding to forego meat it has been super easy to say no to junk food, even to almond and peanut butter M&Ms!

Instagram Image from our visit to the Fox Hollow Family Farm